Xon rolled over in bed and placing his hand near the pillow felt around for a moment as he woke up, there should have been a body right there his brain told him as he came fully awake, Aaron's body to be exact. Opening his eyes he saw light coming from the library and curious he entered silently and stopped and stared as Aaron looked like he was doing some strange form of martial arts as he twisted and moved around inside a holographic projection, the projection of a bio-tube and surrounds. "Aaron, may one ask what you are doing."
Stretching his neck at a funny angel, Aaron waved his hand parting the hologram and smiled, "I didn't wake you and Derrick up did I?" not waiting for an answer, Aaron popped back into the hologram, "Be with you in a moment I almost have the interface designed."
Moving closer as he watched Aaron wave his arms or make pushing motions, Xon raised first one eyebrow then both of them as he realized that this was some form of interactive hologram, and when Aaron stated he was designing an interface, he was actually doing so inside a holographic form. Stopping several meters away Xon took in the surroundings and noticed the arms for a lack of a term that had come out from the plasma wall under the terminal, it appeared there were several holographic emitters along the rail which was the source of the hologram.
Blinking in surprise Xon stared at Aaron as the hologram disappeared and Aaron quickly turned to the terminal and his fingers flew across the touch pad at an incredible speed, finally he turned around smiling, "Done, and finished. I just need to have the assemblers install the redesign on the Sol Station's trauma pods and we'll be set."
One eyebrow hidden by his hair Xon looked at Aaron before finally firing off questions, "What and how does that holo emitter work, what is the purpose of working inside a hologram, and finally what were you designing at five in the morning and why?"
Grinning, Aaron motioned Xon over and pointed to the screen, "What I was designing was a gestalt link that could be used in the trauma pods so any kinetic could draw power from the gestalt generator instead of themselves, thus eliminating the problems I had the other afternoon." Pointing to the newly designed bio-tube on the plasma, "If I had this to draw from the other day, I would not have done all that micro kinetic surgery with only my body producing the energy, instead I would have pulled the power from the gestalt and I would not have suffered like I did or worried everyone half to death."
"Well after the other afternoon and collapsing after once again depleting my reserves, I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with a solution so I could install a gestalt into the trauma pods, I must have thrown away hundreds of designs because power and liquid are not a good mix, until this morning, I woke up with the answer. So before any demands on my time reared their ugly head, I came in here and designed what was needed." Aaron smiled as he looked up at the diagram of the bio-tube.
Laughing, Aaron pulled Xon into a hug, "It came to me this morning that all my other designs were flawed by the simple idea that there had to be an exposed access point for the gestalt, then I remembered that I have in the past, pulled energy from the gestalt from several meters away so I found my solution." Blinking a moment he grinned, "As far as your other questions, I was using the interactive holo designer so I was inside the object I was designing and could see the interactions or problems my additions would cause."
Nudging Xon into the center of the square he had been using, Aaron went over to the terminal and activated the schematics for bio-tube, "Now, if you move your hands around you can lift layers or sections and move them around so you can see what room you have to work with, you can even program in changes and run a simulation and like when you walked in, watch your changes unfold and see how all the new components will interact with the old ones." Smiling at the awed look on Xon's face Aaron turned off the holo emitters and retracted the holo arms into the terminal wall. "This is the only terminal that has the holo emitters built in that you can do design work from, but once we move over to Altare prime in Centauri, we can retrofit several of the terminals over there, until then, feel free to use this one."
Walking towards Xon who was lost in thought, as if stalking his prey, Aaron hovered just this side of body contact as he snaked his body around Xon's, leaning over, he used a hand to cup Xon's balls and bounced them as if weighing them, "Shall we wake this morning's lovers and empty these, or shall we just go for a long steam bath and work on it by ourselves," Aaron asked, as his mouth hovered centimeters above Xon's skin exciting him and making his blood boil.
Growling in lust, Xon snake like struck, catching Aaron's lips with his own as he let the passion rise in him, after several minutes of the fight for dominance in each other's kisses, Xon released his hold, "I think we should not be the only ones awake this morning."
Eyes laughing like a maniac, Aaron let his hand tease Xon's nether regions one last time as he got lost in the kiss before breaking it off, "I so like your thinking, love."
Standing in the shower, Aaron stretched towards the ceiling as he basked in the hot steam swirling around his body, feeling a hand on his butt, he turned and kissed Mark, doing so caused Mark to suddenly have a hand full of very hard cock.
"You're still hard! Are you sure you did not add Satyr DNA to your mix when you went through the alteration process?" Mark sounded surprised and then moaned as he felt a hand reach for his half hard cock and tease it, causing it to rapidly stand at attention.
"I rest my case," Aaron chuckled as he reached for the soap and started to lather up his hands, then moving the sudsy froth to Marks chest and lovingly washing him before letting his hands move elsewhere.
Mark hissed, "Much more of this and I'll shoot," as Aaron fondled his ball sac. Grinning at what his hands could do to his lover without ever touching the length of the hard cock jutting up towards the ceiling Aaron turned around and reaching back, pushed Mark's hard erection down and slid back on it, not stopping until he felt Mark's balls hit his leg. Wiggling his butt, Aaron started the slow thrusting, or riding of Mark's shaft until his lover took over and pounded in and out of him rapidly, stiffening up and pausing for a moment before frantically thrusting as he fired his load inside Aaron.
Holding onto Mark's arms as he leaned against him as Mark panted in the heat Aaron had to smile as he felt the hardness inside him rapidly deflate, seems he was now totally spent he told himself. After Mark slipped out of him Aaron turned around while holding Mark up and gently lathered up the spent tool, giving it a final wash before kissing him gently and touching the sensor to activate the water.
Holding the door open for Mark, Aaron followed him out to the sinks and started to brush his teeth as they chatted about what they both planned to do today, "I really need to get over to the Farm planet and take a look around. Even after going through all the data that was sent over I, along with Tommy and Brian, need to do a hands on inspection of the facilities and stock."
Rinsing, Aaron thought about it, "That actually sounds like a good field trip for all your helpers, why don't we see how many want to go along with us and make a day of it."
Mark looked at Aaron in the mirror as he finished rinsing, "You realize that you'll spend the entire day porting people over there, how the hell are you going to get any sightseeing done yourself if you're stuck in a gestalt recliner all day?"
Chuckling as he strapped on his equipment pouches, "I don't plan to spend the day in the recliner, we'll take the Reliant, one port and we're there, plus the gestalt crew has been practicing and I think they might be ready for the next step, and they can do the porting while I watch on to give them a confidence boost."
"So how long can we stay? If we have help we can get things done a lot faster," Mark mused as they met up with Xon and Derrick in Aaron's office an hour before everyone else would get up.
Sitting in the chair, Aaron activated the wall of plasma screen, "Well if we left at 9, that gives everyone time to eat breakfast, we could be back around four this afternoon just in time for evening chores at the farms, that gives us roughly seven hours, do you think that's enough time?"
"I foresee one flaw to this plan," Xon commented, as he listened in, "I have a need for the Reliant today; the transporter buffers have been installed on the Reliant, without which my day will be fruitless."
"There is no reason the Reliant can't drop us off and return here, that will give you at least seven hours, is that going to be enough time?" Aaron glanced at the plasma screens and pulled up his email program, quite pleased to see only a handful of emails needing his attention.
"Adequate, I estimate six point four hours to complete the project from start to finish, excepting the replication of the temple proper on Altare Prime," Xon smiled as he pulled Derrick close and kissed him, "I have time to do some more research before it is time to leave," letting his hand trail down to Derricks crotch Xon caressed what was hanging there for a moment before leaning over and kissing Aaron and then Mark on his way out back towards the common room.
Aaron stared at Xon's retreating back bemused, "Well that is a first, I wonder what brought on that bought of confidence."
Smiling dreamily, Derrick moved next to Mark, leaning against the chair so he could have one of his lovers on each side of him, "He's been researching the term dominant and all about tops, if the vote goes as he thinks it will he wants to be prepared to be what Ichiro needs."
"I heard we're going on a trip," Pete smiled while walking into the office, "Good morning Loves," stopping and staring at all of them, "Do you know how much I still get a thrill out of saying that and hearing it said back to me."
"Morning yourself lover, I admit it's a very good feeling isn't it," Aaron laughed as he glanced up at the clock and pulled up some of the files on their new home.
"Oh good you're looking at Prime, Tim and I noticed a problem that needs to be fixed before we can move," Pete walked over to the plasma and pointed to the city map, "There is not a single gestalt point anywhere we could find, as far as we could discover yesterday, the only gestalt access is on the station, even the farms don't have any."
"Crap," Aaron turned his chair and looked at the map, "Great, I get one problem solved about draining my reserves and another crops up," he mumbled not loud enough to be heard by anyone but Derrick. Bringing up schematics of the gestalt post in the Clan Hall, Aaron studied them for several moments, "I think we can easily replicate the gestalt posts, and the assemblers should be able to install the power shunts. But it is going to take time, at least a week, longer for installing the gestalt generators in the office buildings and..." quieting as he pulled up the power grid, Aaron frowned, "We're going to have to install several more type one reactors."
"How long?" Pete asked as he watched the map change to a floor schematic of the Clan Compound and sensed Aaron was pleased by the fact there was a gestalt station already installed and there was more than enough power available.
"That depends, I guess I need to go over there and hunt up the assemblers to see how many are over there and if the ones at the fleet construction docks can handle being temporarily linked to another control station. Without anyone living there, to have to work around, anywhere from days to slightly more than a month," Aaron guessed.
"I've heard you talk about assemblers and assembly lines and all, I know that they are all automated but what is an assembler, what do they do?" Pete asked, as he wandered over to Aaron's side as more of the Clan started to filter in, now that it was after six.
Chuckling, Aaron brought up a picture and plastered it on the main plasma and laughed at Pete's expression.
Sputtering, Pete stepped back, "But...Why...How...that looks like an octopus mated with a trashcan and got stepped on," Pete was indignant, didn't they know robots were supposed to look like C3P0 or even R2D2, you know, something that looked like a robot.
Picking up on Pete's broadcast thought, Aaron started howling in laughter, which was infectious and soon had the others laughing at Pete's confused look and then he to found it funny and laughed. Panting for breath, Aaron sat back up, "That's why they're called assemblers not robots, they're made to assemble things, hence all the arms."
Bouncing out of the chair, "Hug patrol starts in a few minutes, so let's get a move one, I have a lot of guys that are going to be very happy when they find out we are going on a field trip," Aaron giggled as he grabbed Kenny and Doug and ported to the vet barn.
No sooner had they arrived than Aaron was enveloped in a hug, leaving his two to rush over to get their haulers ready Aaron turned, "Good morning Darren, you're here awfully early aren't you?" Aaron returned the hug with equal force and the young teen seemed to melt into him.
"I wanted to thank you for the birthday present you got me yesterday, well you and the other Clan members," Darren tried to become one with Aaron, soaking up the caring that was coming off of him, "In my old life, no one ever gave me a birthday party before, or presents.."
Maneuvering them both so he could sit in the gestalt chair, Aaron pulled Darren into his lap, "I'll never understand parents that don't love and cherish their kids."
Suddenly Darren's body reacted to being this close to another guy and he started the throw some massive wood as his friends called it, "Damn," he whispered, "It's been doing that a lot lately."
"Embarrassment time then, how often do you jack off each day?" Aaron whispered back and hugged him, "It looks like you are good sized for your age, so don't be embarrassed about your body."
"Per day, I thought you shouldn't do it that often, that's what the kids at my school used to tell everyone," Darren glanced up to see if he was being teased and seeing he was not, whispered, "Damn, I've been missing out."
Laughing, Aaron squeezed him tight one more time before nudging him off his lap, "No one is using the shower room right now, why don't you go in there and take care of that before everyone shows up looking for hugs." Grinning at the shy smile, he looked down and noticed that Darren had nothing to be ashamed of, it was at least eight inches if not bigger, slapping his pert ass as he rushed past, he let the laughter he was holding out, as Darren turned the corner into the shower area.
Ten minutes later, Aaron noticed Darren walk out of the shower area looking pleased with himself as he was in the middle of hugs and telling the young teens and kids about the field trip, "Well Barry, if anyone who wants to go shows up at the gestalt point by the dining hall before nine, they can go with us, make sure all your friends and the afternoon shift know about the trip." Chuckling as the excited youngster ran off to catch up with his friends, Aaron glanced around before smiling, "Feeling better now Darren?"
Grinning, Darren only blushed slightly, "A lot better, actually," whispering after closing the distance, "So how often can you do it before it's too much?"
Shrugging and keeping his laughter inside, Aaron replied as they walked over towards the back door so they could watch for a minute all the guys having fun, "If you end up sore after a while, back off and cut back, if you're asking how many times a day you can cum, well my lovers and I usually do it about seven or eight times a day, I imagine."
Darren's eyes bugged out at hearing eight times and he really blushed, changing the subject, "I heard part of what you told Barry and the others, where are they going and can anyone go along?"
"Sure you can come along if you want, as for where were going, Mark, Tommy along with Brain, want to go over to the Farm planet today and take inventory, see what they have to work with and what would need to be done to get the farms up to speed, there is some work involved, but it should be fun for the most part," Aaron smiled as he felt the energy buzz rolling off of Darren as he started to project his excitement, "I take that as a yes you want to go."
Darren jumped into Aaron's arms and hugged him tightly, "This is so cool, I dreamed of going into space ever since I was old enough to watch TV."
"Well, it looks like you're going to get your wish; we're going to do some serious work though, so you'll need to bring some protective clothing in case things get rough, "Aaron smiled as Darren jumped back and rushed over to the chair, eager to get back, "Hey, do me a favor if you find Drew or Eric let them know about the planned trip, will you, that way they can plan ahead." Smiling as Darren ported out, Aaron waved at Tim who appeared for gestalt duty and ported to the sea farms for his morning hugs.
'Good grief,' Aaron thought as he looked around the area jam packed with excited teens and younger kids, it looked like half the city turned out for the trip over to the farm planet, glancing around the crowd that was being ported out in groups of a dozen and sometimes more, Aaron spotted the orange and brown of the Shaolin mixed in with the youngsters, a lot of youngsters.
"I sense you are shocked by the turnout, Prime," Tzu spoke softly from behind and to the right of Aaron.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Aaron's mind went into overdrive at trying to place name with face, suddenly he smiled, "Well good morning Tzu, I have to admit that when Mark and I talked this morning, I had no idea it would turn into this type of circus, it almost looks like every person we've rescued is here right now waiting to go up to the Reliant."
"Not quite, Prime, there are a large number, too large, I fear very jealous right now, they wish to go with us and see the new worlds and be in space. Yet they have not undergone alteration so are barred from going, this is going to cause resentment, even though those that have been altered have been very careful not to make the others jealous." Tzu looked around and pointed at the very obvious jealous stares off to one side.
"I might be able to help with that," Aaron told him, as he, followed by Tzu and several other Shaolin, made their way over to the staring teens and climbing to the top of the ledge near the steps leading to the path to the park, Aaron sat down. Pulling out his P.A.D.D. he tied his communicator into the park's speaker system, extended his mic and activated the communicator, "Can everyone hear me alright; I want to make sure that all of you here that are upset at being excluded can hear me, and the explanation and solution I've come up with."
Giving it a moment so all eyes were on him, Aaron sighed, which echoed through the park, "First thing I want to address is the fact that none of you can go to the farm planet or look at Altare Prime, our new home world. The simple fact is that the defenses in place around the whole planetary system would activate and destroy any craft if the scans found non Alteran's on them, the weapon systems would power up and destroy the ship." Staring across the silent crowd, Aaron let his eyes stop every so often so they could see how serious he was, "The defenses that were put in place are the best in the universe, making that system the safest place for all of us."
"The problem is, we rescued all of you in such a large number, and so many of you needed healing that it overwhelmed our med bays. That was the single reason I brought Sol Station here early," pointing up at the ceiling Aaron smiled, "Sol station has a med bay that can handle twenty thousand patients at once. The reason we did not start transporting you up there Monday when we arrived was a simple one, I needed a couple of days to train the healers in how to use the equipment,"
"So, I suppose in a way what is happening here this morning's very unfair, here you were told over and over again this was a chance for a new start and to grab your dreams, and then this morning you found out you were excluded from something that might be your dream or something the rest of us take for granted and it hurts. For that, I am sorry, and in a real sense what you were told is a lie in your minds right now, truthfully, it's not." Standing up so he could see everyone, Aaron smiled, "So instead of everyone of you getting an email this afternoon, telling you to report for alteration if that was what you chose to do, we'll do it early, and we will do it a different way."
"So as soon as all the groups going onboard the Reliant are gone, we will start transporting you up to the Sol Station, so you all will still get to experience space for the first time. And you will have several hours to explore Sol Station before having to report to the med bays so you can start the process." Aaron felt the excitement start to build in the crowd and the resentment disappear, "Now, for the other issue of not being able to see the new home system, let's address that issue, the group that was initially invited this morning is going over there to inventory the farms, and in a sense, put in a full day's work, starting this Monday, we will need crews that will be willing to go to the home world itself and start working on getting things set up. All of you left behind today will be given first choice for those assignments," Aaron looked over the smiling faces and let his mind wander to the areas he could not see, and felt the satisfaction growing there too as they listened to him.
"Remember this, the only reason you are not going with us today is I don't want the automated defenses blowing us up, so the sooner those of you that want to be altered go back to your apartments and make sure everything will be okay to be left alone for two days, the sooner you can go to the Sol station and explore and begin what will be the first step in chasing your dreams." Aaron tapped his communicator off before entering a few commands into the P.A.D.D. before placing it in his pouch and jumping down.
"How many of them do you think will jump at this opportunity?" Tzu asked, as they moved back towards the portation area as the crowd rapidly dispersed.
"I would think almost all of them, a handful that are waiting for family members or boyfriends to get out of the med bay or Altair Trauma so they will skip this time and someone will have to let them know as soon as they meet up with who they are waiting for they can go up and be altered, or they can still go up for the day and come back," Aaron smiled at a group of teens milling about listening in.
"Thank you, I was wondering what to do, so I really can go up for a visit and wait for my brother?"
"Is that what each of you wanted to ask, were there other questions, if there were, I'll try my best in answering them?" Aaron asked, as he stopped at the group of hopeful teens.
Nervously looking around, one teen finally stepped forward, "Uh...there is something, my brother is still with the rents and they are not the nicest of people or I wouldn't be here. Is there any way I can check on him and if he's not being taken care of..."
"Can we rescue him too? Is that what you mean?" Aaron nodded as he pathed Friedrich, "I need a security detachment to the park near the crèche dining hall, Friedrich I want you to take one of the rescued teens home and check up on his brother and if you need to, rescue him."
Several uncomfortable moments later, Friedrich appeared near the group and walked over, "Your Majesty, as requested, I have my team ready to go."
Aaron smiled as he pointed to the teen, "Friedrich, meet Sergei; Sergei here needs an escort to check on his younger brother and I thought you were the perfect person to ask," he held his laughter in at the awed and shell shocked expression on Sergei's face.
Leaving the two together, Aaron continued his walk towards the last remaining youngsters being ported up, "Are you planning on coming with us, if so it's time."
Placing a hand on Aarons shoulder, Tzu and Aaron ported to the Reliant's gestalt deck, Aaron frowned as Joe laughed at his expression when one of the bridge officers yelled out, "ATTENTION ON DECK...Reflagging Reliant, now squawking Altare One."
Tzu kept his smile under control, as Aaron glanced at the reclining gestalt crew and glared one more time over his shoulder at Joe, before sighing. "If the three of you don't feel confident, I'm more than willing to link with you for the port, I don't think I need to, but it's your call," he made sure he smiled at them to put them at ease.
Bolstered by the confidence his Majesty had in them, the gestalt team looked at each other and Davis nodded, "Gestalt to bridge prepared to port on command, holding at three minus."
Aaron smiled as he turned and listened to Joe give the command to break orbit, "Z plus two AU from the ecliptic Carlson, let's get this show on the road, I understand we have a lot of passengers who are excited to get their first taste of space travel." Joe pointed to the monitors showing the cargo bays and the recreation areas of the ship full of excited youngsters.
Grinning as he heard the cheers erupt form the youngsters on the ship, Aaron strolled over to the railing and watched Joe work as he let his mind hover nearby the gestalt team in case he was needed. And he wasn't; once Joe gave the order, the team flawlessly linked and pulled power out of the gestalt then pushed them to the destination, "Very good, all of you, that was smooth and flawlessly done," laughing, Aaron realized he embarrassed them, but underneath he felt they were secretly pleased.
"Give me a moment to go down to the main building guys, I'll give you a good visualization once I'm down," Aaron pathed, well he broadcast to everyone, feeling Tzu lay his hand on his shoulder again, Aaron closed his eyes and sent his mind down to the planet and ported them to the main facility.
Releasing his hold on Aaron, Tzu looked around and noticed the immense control facility and the large window that took up one entire wall, making his way silently over to the wall, he gazed out the window, oblivious to Aaron, who was powering up the systems, bringing systems back to full power that had long sat idle in hibernation.
Systems fully online, Aaron walked over to the window and noticed a small touchpad in the center and placing his hand on it, entered his access code and grinned when the wall slid aside and he walked outside for the first time, there in the distance was the tree Xon had transported down and it was now in full bloom, "Here is the perfect place to port down too," Aaron sent the visualization of a picnic area near the outside of the building to those waiting above in the Reliant.
As the last group of youngsters ported down, Aaron pathed "Xon, do me a favor, there seems to be a large amount of produce in the shipping stations, if I port it up, can you port it down to the city once you get back to Earth orbit, that way none of it goes to waste, actually there is a lot of it ready for shipment, surprising in a way and also very much needed." Hearing the answer, Aaron smiled, "Thanks, I'll be ready to port it up in a minute," he sent back.
Catching sight of Mark coming his way, Aaron smiled and pulled his excited lover into a hug, "I'm going to port up the produce ready for shipping, so Xon can leave, I'll be back in a few minutes." Placing a kiss on Mark's lips, he ported out, eager to get the harvest to the Reliant so he could go over to Altare Prime and look around.
Arriving at the shipping warehouse, Aaron looked around and noticed how big the containers actually were, these would definitely need to be ported to the hanger bays, this was going to be a problem, Aaron decided, not a single gestalt point anywhere around, he'd spent the last five minutes looking around for somewhere to grab power from without luck.
"Aaron is there a problem," Xon pathed down as he walked onto the bridge, so far no one of the shipments containers had arrived as promised.
"Yes, there's not a single place around here I can grab any energy from, it's like this place was never designed to be used by us. Either that, or they expected we would use ships to pick up the shipments, which doesn't make any sense, they had the same skills we did, well at one time they did." Aaron replied as he stared at the warehouse full of shipping containers.
"That is very illogical, why would they not provide such a basic necessity," Xon replied as he stared at the forward plasma, noticing that the station was midpoint between the two worlds, "is it possible that they never installed the generators on the planet because they had the station, at last count there were six hundred eighteen gestalt access points on board the Sol Station."
Reaching out with his mind Aaron easily found the command gestalt deck on the Centauri station and prepared to port but hesitated at the last moment, if the station was not powered up there would be no atmosphere aboard, not only that he could freeze to death. Instead he ported himself up to the Reliant, arriving on the gestalt deck. "Excuse me a moment ensign; I need to borrow your recliner."
Smiling a greeting at the new gestalt crew, Aaron waited until the ensign had moved, sitting on the recliner, Aaron activated the gestalt at full power and pulled the energy up at an incredibly fast rate and started porting the containers up four and five at a time, as he was doing this, his mind flashed on the fact that each of those containers could have held fifty or so people easily, a fact that would do so much to save time when they moved people around. Four minutes later, Aaron opened his eyes and grinned at the awe struck looks form the gestalt crew. He jumped up and pulled Xon into a hug and kissed him, "I've just had several ideas that I have to wonder why I didn't think of them before, I think I've found the reason for those large cargo bays deep inside the station, the only question I have is, where the pods for those cradles are stored."
Xon looked at Aaron curiously with one eyebrow raised and felt the information being sent to his mind from Aaron's, he smiled back in understanding, "Indeed that revelation is so logical and it would explain the mystery of those rooms nicely."
"Well I know where some of the answers to these questions lay, so I'm off," Aaron pulled Xon close once more and kissed him sensuously, "I'll see you later, Love." Porting away, Aaron arrived at the core access entry and waited for the scan to confirm his identity.
Walking up the steps, Aaron noticed Jeeves flickered into existence, "Jeeves, have you been online all this time or do you activate only when someone walks up onto the platform?"
"My lord, good to see you again," Jeeves told him, before doing the blinking shimmering as his programming caught up with Aaron's question. "I have been programmed to activate upon detection of your DNA stepping on the third step from the top."
Interesting, Aaron thought, so if I skip that step it should keep the program from activating, making himself comfortable on the womb recliner, Aaron stared at the hologram for a moment, "How many assemblers are there on Altare Prime?"
"Twelve," Jeeves stated firmly.
Aaron rubbed his face, this was not going to be easy, "What was used to build this city then, and how is it maintained?"
"A team of five thousand assemblers and construction servo's were used to build the city and infrastructure, with the completion of the city and infrastructure, the bulk of the construction force was recycled," Jeeves pointed at the plasma that activated to his right, "for maintenance issue's, only twelve assemblers were left, as there was no one living here yet; the system determined that was satisfactory."
"Shit...well, I guess the first thing to do is install a series of replicator suites then, otherwise it will take forever to prep this place." Staring at the hologram a moment Aaron asked, "Jeeves, why are there not any gestalt points on the maps or at the Farm planet?"
Blinking in and out again Jeeves turned to face Aaron, "During the initial programming of the system core, the designers decided that all local gestalt stations would be built after occupancy. It was decided that you would know where to best utilize and install such facilities, in the meantime, the SO station project was modified to increase gestalt stations by two hundred percent."
Blinking in and out again Jeeves changed tracks, "My lord, you must understand that the designers, the remnants of those who had survived were cyborg's, hence they were barred from using their gifts forever."
"So they had no use for the gestalt stations is what you are telling me," Aaron sighed, well for the most part, everyone could get around under their own power, it was porting between planets and the Farm that needed them the most. "How many assemblers are on the Farm planet then?"
This blinking thing Jeeves did was annoying, Aaron thought, as he listened to the answer, "The Planetary Farm was stocked with a multipurpose droid, they are programmed for dual purpose use, to maintain the buildings and facilities and to harvest and plant crops, current total in use ten thousand eight hundred seventy four...five hundred thirty nine in standby mode."
Aaron smiled, this was more like it, he could just relocate what he needed from the farm planet and use them to build the network of stations here on Prime. "Initiate reprogramming on two hundred of the standby droid's, oh that won't work. Jeeves, can the standby droids be synched to work on this planet?"
"Yes my lord, as part of the disaster recovery programming done to the droids, once they relocate to this planet's surface, they will automatically synch systems with this facility." Jeeves finished after blinking in and out again.
Okay so we first need to get the replicator suite set up here and on the farm planet and then we can move some of the droids over, Aaron sat there for a bit, thinking and planning things out as he made notes on his P.A.D.D.
Xon stared at the data stream on the efficiency of the transporter buffers as his crew continued to remove all traces of cultivated crops, so far, the system was working within tolerances as expected. Moving across the cargo bay while avoiding the moving dense matter bricks, he stared at the screen as his other team performed quantum scans of the temple structure before dematerializing the buildings. A quick calculation told him that they would be finished in one point one hours, well ahead of schedule.
Satisfactory he told himself as he moved over to one of the spare terminals and logged in, checking his email, not finding anything worth noting, he checked Aaron's public folder and sat up straight in concern as he opened the one marked medical emergency. Reading it, his eyes flashed in anger as he contacted Fred, "Fred, are you still on Sol Station processing the rescued?"
Startled, Fred looked up from the pod station where he was activating the resequencing for the whole section at once, tilting his head towards the ceiling, "yes, and I will most likely be here for several hours, as there are not enough of us authorized to initiate gene restructuring, is there a problem?"
"Yes, but I shall handle it if you can send me a healer to take charge of the two patients I was notified of in Arkansas, send one of the Shaolin, as that will not deplete your resources, they can be ported in to the cargo bay we shall leave from here." Xon told him, as he activated the ready alert tones, sending the reliant to condition two while his voice rang over the ships intercoms, "Marine squads one through four, report to cargo bay alpha, combat ready...Bridge prepare for combat drop of all Screaming Eagle Squadrons, target is Lewisville Arkansas. To be more specific the Lewisville medical center, medical evacuation and rescue to commence immediately."
"I have a Shaolin healer on the way, he'll be with you momentarily, be careful, Xon. I've alerted the trauma bay and we will be ready for your patients," Fred sent as a Shaolin appeared not far from him looking around before spotting him.
Moving away from the terminal, Xon closed his eyes and concentrated on his closet and ported his armor to his hand, he was almost fully dressed as the first of the marines rushed through the door. Coolly examining the marines as they assembled, Xon decided he was not fully dressed without his Thal'os'cylys, or 'fang of honor', and ported it to his hand, removing it from its sheath Xon stared at the naked quad edged blade for several moments before gripping the naked blade hard enough to cut his hand thus bloodying his blade
Joe who had walked in to find out what was going on let his eyes bug out in shock as he watched Xon cut his hand with a wicked looking knife, pulling up what little he knew about the samurai tradition, he remembered they only bloodied their blades before going into battle, Xon's words brought him out of his recollections.
"Twenty minutes ago, we received an email cry for help from a hospital worker, it seems two teens were admitted to Lewisville medical with multiple injuries resulting from a severe beating. The local emergency room staff has shunted these two teens into an out of the way place so they can let them die, as they refuse to treat..." picking up his P.A.D.D. Xon read the email again so he could get it right, "Their words were `all these godless abominations are going to hell and I will not be damned for helping one'. Consider this a hostile extraction..." standing up straight, Xon held up the bloody Thal'os'cylys for all to see, "I am Xon of Clan Stranton...a message needs to be sent and we shall send it."
Letting his fingers activate the SE110's video feed Xon pointed to the hospital grounds, "Squad one, you will secure the perimeter while Squad four moves between the woods here and the back of the hospital. Squad Two, secure the emergency room, squad three secure both floors of the hospital." Xon extended the mic on his communicator, "Screaming Eagles...all squads, deploy." Turning and facing the Marines, Xon motioned the Shaolin over, "DEPLOY."
Looking into the Shaolin's eyes, Xon saw the determination there and nodded as he ported them to outside the emergency room door, Joe looked around the room for a moment longer before going over to the terminal, entering his access codes and placing a finger on the red blinking square that popped up when his identification was accepted, the alert tones were back , but this time they were more harsh, louder as the bridge plunged into a deep blue, Joe walked out the doors to the cargo bay as the voice came over the intercom, "Battle Stations...all personal report to their action stations."
"Carlson, relocate the Reliant to geosynchronous orbit above Lewisville Arkansas, bring weapons online," Joe ordered as he appeared on the bridge, porting up from the cargo bay.
Xon appeared right behind the Marines and followed them into the emergency room, ignoring the screams of the staff, glancing around the emergency room, he approached the desk and stared at the nurse cowering behind the desk and skimmed her mind, "Where are the two boys that were brought in after being beat nearly to death?" picking up the information from her mind Xon turned to the Shaolin, "They have been taken to the basement, somewhere near the morgue," pointing to two of the marines, "Go with him and find them."
Spotting the doctor cowering in one of the patients' rooms, Xon walked over to him as he skimmed the man's mind, most of what he was finding was distasteful, "You are supposed to heal, is that not why you became a doctor in the first place. To purposely let your patients die in agony because of your beliefs is repugnant to intelligent beings everywhere."
Hearing a noise behind him, Xon moved with incredible speed and the security guard that had snuck up behind him with his weapon drawn, slid down the wall, dead, with the handle of his Thal'os'cylys sticking out of his forehead, slowly extending his hand Xon ported the blade back to his hand and looked at it before bringing his attention back to the doctor and the people in the room with him, "Where are the two boys that were brought in that you refused to treat?"
Picking up the information from the preacher with the doctor, Xon tapped his communicator, "The boys are in the furnace room, they planned to feed both teens into the incinerators dead or not."
"All three of them are to stand in judgment...take them; I will deal with them momentarily," Xon ordered the Marines who had followed him and stepped aside as they rushed the room and dragged the men out, screaming their innocence, or that they had no authority to do what they were doing.
Staring at the nurse behind the desk, Xon looked up at the patient triage board, "Are there any other doctors in this hospital that can continue treating those that are here for treatment?"
"That aren't like the one you just dragged out of here," the nurse scoffed, "you've got to be kidding me."
Nodding his acceptance, Xon looked up at the ceiling as he thought about it, tapping his communicator once more, "Theo, respond...I am in need of two trained healers to take over in a small bigoted community hospital until all patients have been transferred to other facilities to complete their treatment."
"Sir, we've found both teens and they've been ported out to the trauma bay..." the marine reported, but stopped when Xon raised his hand.
"That is correct Theo...I plan to close this facility down after all patients are removed...understood...Have Kyle escort them to our location, he can contact me for a visualization...acknowledged...Xon out." Facing the Marine, he looked him over for a second taking in his rank insignia, "Sorry sergeant, but I was already in a conversation, your report that you found both teens in question, please."
"Yes sir, both teens were recovered before they were placed into the blast furnace. Sir, they both were still alive at that point and aware, though in pain...those bastards planned to burn them alive," the Marine's voice broke at the end.
"Understood, they will pay for their actions; have your teams scan every staff member for knowledge of these atrocities. Bring all with knowledge to the front lawn, judgment will be served shortly," Xon nodded as the Marine snapped a salute before doing a precision about face and rushing off.
Kyle contacted him a moment later and Xon gave him the visualization of an empty corner in the emergency room and turned as a shimmering bright light dissolved into sparkles as Kyle arrived with Theo and four residents. "Theo this nurse can bring you up to speed on any patients remaining in the emergency room, afterwards please clear the rest of the hospital as quickly as possible." Watching Theo and his teams disperse Xon noticed a hesitant orderly approach him. Moving closer out of range of the nurse at the desk, he skimmed the young man's thoughts, finding out this was the person who had asked for help.
"You got your warning to us in time, both teens still live, do you know why they were attacked in the first place and what local law enforcement has found out so far?" Xon asked as he looked around, then added when the orderly shifted uncomfortably, "please think hard on your answers and I will hear them if you are uncomfortable speaking to me."
Standing up straight Gary spoke, "My father was stationed here last month, he's with the highway patrol, it doesn't matter if they find out I helped or not, I can always go to school somewhere else so I'm safe. I called him, by the way, soon after you arrived, that way the sheriff's department couldn't prepare a trap for you."
"I see," Xon deadpanned as he glanced out in the waiting room, watching several people holding onto sick loved ones, raising his voice, "I have brought our healers with us, they will see to your illness or injury momentarily. If your condition has worsened please let one of the Marines know and we will get you seen immediately." Tapping his communicator again, "Theo you have a waiting room full of people you might want to send out one of the residents to triage them."
"You said you contacted he who is your father, what were his instructions," Xon fell back into Kathat speech patterns as his thoughts took off in different directions after noticing the slowly enlarging group of prisoners on the lawn outside.
"He told me to pass along a message, he's rolling along with as much back up as they can get in a reasonable amount of time, he should be here soon," Gary told him as the doors opened and he heard the sounds of sirens coming closer, that wasn't good his dad was too far away still, "That can't be him or his men."
"Joe dispatch a weapons drone to my location please," Xon pathed as he saw the red flashers in the distance after moving closer to the window. Hearing a shocked gasp from his companion Xon turned to look over his shoulder and noticed the weapons drone had appeared. Pulling his P.A.D.D. out he accessed the drone program and uploaded instructions to the drone as he studied the weapon, finished, he moved within the sensor range of the door and stood in the open doors as the drone exited the building and took up position near the entrance. "Call he who is your father and tell him to make sure his teams do not approach within one hundred meters of the grounds or the weapon drone will fire on them."
Gary's eyes widened in shock and he took off towards the phone on the desk and started dialing.
Staring out the window as the Marine Sergeant returned, "Sir the hospital is clear, though our teams have found evidence that those boys were not the first to be placed in that furnace."
"Thank you Sergeant, I will prepare myself, please be advised the local Sheriff's department is to be considered hostile," Xon told him as he closed his eyes and contacted Fred. "Fred, am I interrupting anything important?"
Fred placed his juice on the desk and closed his eyes, "I'm taking a break right now, what's up, did you find the teens?"
"Yes we rescued them in time, or at least in time from having them placed in the incinerator while alive," Xon told him as he found his center, "As eldest of the adults of Clan Stranton still on Earth, I must give you my report before I stand in judgment of those who have done this and other atrocities. These were not the first to be placed in the incinerator from the reports I was just given."
Fred stiffened, hearing what Xon just told him and he tried to remember what Aaron told him and the others, "you can leave this to Aaron to handle when he gets back, you know that don't you. As Aaron did for each of us who faced our ordeal, I will do for you," Fred broke contact and rushed out of the pod, when he reached the gestalt point Fred pulled power into himself and ported to Xon's location, the location he had picked up on out of Xon's mind as they conversed.
Arriving in the emergency room, only wearing shorts Fred walked through the sparkles, spotting a cart with scrub tops on it he found one in his size and pulled it over his head as he walked out in to the waiting room, seeing Xon standing near the window, "As Aaron did for each of us, I now do for you."
Xon turned in surprise hearing Fred behind him and turned around quickly, "I did not mean to interrupt your work in the med bays."
Fred smiled before getting formal and standing tall, "As eldest adult of Clan Stranton in this system right now, I shall do as Aaron would; I give you your options, as taking a life is not, and should not be an easy step. I stand here and will gladly take over at any point that is needed, if you so desire you can defer judgment until they can stand in front of the King's Bench for their crimes, or you may ask me to take over at any point and I shall do so without thinking any less of you."
Xon stood up straight as he listened to Fred's words, "You consider this my ordeal then?"
"If you stand in judgment of those being held out there, then yes, this is your ordeal," Fred moved next to Xon and looked out of the window at the twelve people being guarded outside on the lawn, "If this is your ordeal, have you considered who you will ask to stand their test or will it be by your hand?"
Placing his hand on his fang Xon considered what he was asked, before he could say anything, Fred shook his head no, "If you do this you will stop their heart with kinetics, and you will merge with Aaron within half an hour after this is over..." seeing Xon was about to say something, he preempted him, "No exceptions."
"I find your wisdom logical," Xon looked around and tried to remember if Friedrich had mentioned if anyone was wanting to be tested or not.
Mike remembered back to the day he had met the king, Aaron Stranton was an incredible person and that was the day that he started living his dreams. Somehow even without saying anything, Aaron had known what he wanted and needed, the first time he looked at the Reliant he knew he was home. Hearing the two Clan members talking, he knew about the scuttle butt floating around, and he knew if he stepped forward, he would have to leave shipboard duty, but then again he would get the chance to do something few could. Stepping forward, Mike Cleared his throat, "Excuse me for interrupting, Sirs, but I overheard your conversation, if I was asked if I would accept the test...if asked I would reply I am willing to accept the burden of being tested." Mike stared at Xon, trying to show his willingness in his posture.
Fred turned around and looked between Xon and the Marine, "You realize this means you will be reassigned, don't get me wrong, you'll travel to amazing places and see and do amazing things, but you will not be a Marine any longer, you will be Clan Security." Stepping close to Mike, Fred examined him, like he would some new and interesting piece of equipment, "Only the best become Clan Security, they are the best of the best."
"And I can only hope I can live up to their standards, young lord," Mike snapped to attention.
"It's up to you Xon, you can accept Mike's offer or you can contact Friedrich," Fred left off that they needed to get started as he returned to looking out the window and the pile of police vehicles on the side of the road. Looking up, he noticed the drone actively patrolling the road in front of the hospital.
Xon came to a decision, "Mike Carlton, you are being tested, do you accept the test?"
Shocked that Xon knew his name, Mike snapped to attention, "Yes young sir, I accept my test."
Kyle had been listening in from the emergency room and walked over to the Marine as he pulled his sidearm out of the holster, "Its time, Marine, follow me." Kyle motioned for the Marine to follow him outside, leaving Fred and Xon standing in the lobby.
A minute later, Xon was ready, walking out the doors he strode over to the group on the ground and glared at them, "I am Xon, of Clan Stranton of the Kingdom of Altare, and I stand in judgment. Each of you have done unspeakable things, and right now we shall find out the extent of your crimes, starting with you," Xon pointed to the doctor who was dragged over and dropped to the ground in front of him by Mike.
Staring at the man, Xon finally invaded his mind with a sharp precision, finding more than enough reason to condemn the man, Xon spoke, "As a healer, your own creed that you lived by was to do no harm, yet I find, from your own mind, that you have broken this vow you have made on numerous occasions, since you made it, not just with the two boys brought before you today, I find you guilty of attempted murder and torture, and sentence you to death. Sentence to be carried out immediately," no sooner had Xon finished speaking than he moved to the preacher and stared at him as he skimmed the man's surface mind.
Pulling his imager out of his pocket, he reached forward and grabbed the man's hair, pulled his head back and placed the imager on his forehead before releasing him, registering the sound of an electrical discharge, Xon pushed his way into the preacher's mind, and he had not gotten very far before he felt like throwing up. "Your crimes of hate and intolerance know no bounds, it seems, you have repeatedly encouraged and participated in multiple counts of homicide of those you feel are a sin against your perverse god, your crimes go back over thirty years, starting in your teens; be glad I am using logic to judge you, if I used emotions, I would make sure you experienced the torture you put others through for your enjoyment, before letting you die."
"I sentence you to death for your crimes, your crimes are so horrendous that I find you guilty of crimes against humanity, and sentence you to death of DNA, your genetic material shall be removed from the gene pool," noticing that the imager had finished, Xon reached over and removed it without taking the crystal out first. Moving to stand in front of the hospital administrator, Xon tilted his head as he stared at the man, "Elder of Clan Stranton, do you have a spare crystal on you?"
Fred stepped forward and shook his head no, "No I don't carry them unless I plan to leave the kingdom."
Xon nodded once and pointed to the man, "Hold this one for trial in front of the King's Bench," walking to the woman next in line, Xon shook his head, "So much hate and intolerance you hold inside. So many children that never made it through their first night, due to you not liking their parents, I find you lacking any compassion and give you none, I find you guilty of crimes against humanity and sentence you to death of DNA, your DNA shall be removed from the gene pool."
Each and every one of the people Xon judged was sentenced to death and finally he reached the last one and stared at the young man who was openly weeping, skimming his thoughts Xon discovered that the young man had not committed any crimes he only felt guilty, but the thing that had brought the Marines attention to him was he knew who had attacked the teens and why. "You are not guilty of any crimes, yet you seek to be punished for the actions of others, this is not logical, why do you seek punishment?"
Picking up on the young man's guilty feelings, Xon turned to the side and looked at Fred, "He is not guilty of any transgression, yet he blames himself, this is not logical for healthy living. I request that he be placed with the mind healers to work through these issues, Colin should be able to help him deal with this illogical guilt he is experiencing."
Fred moved close and gently reached down and captured the chin of the weeping young man and stared into his eyes as he skimmed his thoughts, "I agree. Kyle, Mike, if you both would escort this young man back to Altair Minor and place him in Colin's care please, we have one more stop to make in town. Justice cannot be said to have been carried out if the people who have done the violence and caused it are left to roam free."
About then one of the Screaming Eagles that had up to now been hovering silently opened fire, its target some distance away, "Report..." Fred ordered as Kyle helped the young man stand, by grasping his arm and pulling upwards.
"Young Lord, a sniper was spotted one point two klicks out and had acquired target...sir he had targeted Xon." The pilot reported as the dust settled and they could see there was no hill there any longer; heck there was a crater the size of a football field where the hill used to be.
"Fred, the hospital is empty of patients, the only ones still in there are parents or people needing to get in their cars and drive to the other hospitals," Theo announced, as he and his team of residents walked outside, "I also called in to the med channel and told them this facility is closed."
"Thanks Theo, I'll let you get back to work, or resting if that was what you were up to, I'll have a few Marines stay back to make sure nothing happens to this place until the state troopers show up," Fred turned his head and smiled at Theo as several Marines moved up next to them and extended their arms.
"Xon, I'm going to take two of your squads and go in town to capture the four people who did this to those two teens, we'll turn them over for trial by King's Bench, once the state police show up, turn the hospital over to them and return to the Reliant then prepare for transport to join up with Aaron, even with Kathat iron clad control and having done this in the past, you need to be checked out by Aaron." Fred smiled as he faced Xon, "You have emotions once more and they will play havoc with your brain, and I don't want to lose a lover, especially since tonight you are mine and Brian's."
Blushing slightly, Xon nodded his head, "As you wish, Elder, logic forces me to inform you that you are correct, emotions are making things difficult right now, my control is slipping."
"Frag that then, Xon, report to the Reliant, right now," Fred ordered as he tapped his communicator, "Joe, prepare the Reliant for portation, as soon as Xon is on board I want your gestalt team to make the port to the Farm planet and contact Aaron, consider this an emergency." Seeing Xon still standing looking at him, Fred frowned, "What part of port to the Reliant immediately did you not understand, Xon."
Glancing down, Xon sighed, "As you command, Elder of Clan Stranton," porting to the gestalt bridge Xon did not have time to look around before Joe ordered the gestalt team to port.
Gazing down the road where all the cop cars were still flashing their emergency lights, Fred spoke, "You know I'm just slightly pissed that they put a sniper out there to shoot at us," glancing back at the Marines standing around, he grinned, "I really do think some of you should explain our displeasure at that little unfriendly greeting, don't you?"
Moving away as several of the Marines got together to plan the assault, Fred motioned one of the Sergeants over, "I need two squads to go with me into town to capture four people, if you would be kind enough to keep things under control here until I get back I would appreciate it."
"Right away Young Lord, Squad two and three, front and center," the Sergeant called out as he moved to the side as the troops rushed over.
"Thank you Sergeant," Fred smiled as he glanced to the twenty Marines standing ready to go, "There is a place in town that all the kids like to hang out, the four we are after are supposed to be there, take the visualization and let's go," Fred sent the visualization of the hangout and nodded as they started to port out, a minute later, the Sergeant walked through the empty lawn and over to the group of Marines watching the road, he was pleased to see his men taking the initiative in helping the locals find a renewed interest in pushups. "Oh that one had to hurt."
Fred glanced around the street at the crowded teen center as the Marines moved out and secured the building, causing pandemonium amongst the younger crowd. Hearing only silence now, Fred entered the building, glanced around and spotted the four people from the young man's mind, "Susan Walker, Francine Flemings, Paul Watkins and Vince Blanco, you four are herby remanded into Alteran custody for trial in front of the King's Bench, a telepathic trial where your crimes shall be verified."
"No you can't do this...it was all her idea, "Francine bellowed, as the Marines moved in for her as she started to cry out, "It was all her, she wanted to get back at Steven for not wanting to date her, she's the one that told Paul and Vince that Steven and Craig were gay and perving on them."
Fred continued to stare at the girl, as she was dragged out of the center, once she was gone he glanced around the room and noticed the uncomfortable looks being exchanged between the other teens, "So easily you condemn people and make it okay in your minds to hurt or even kill them. Have someone you want to get back at? Just spread the rumor they are gay and as she put it perving over someone else, and sit back and let them be beat to death. You are supposed to be the future of your race, and yet when I listen in as your minds shout out in happiness at others being dragged off for punishment, I find myself comparing it to minutes before, where you had hero worship for those you condemn so easily now."
Turing around and starting to leave the center, Fred's words echoed through the hall, "You disgust me, if you are the future of your race, then maybe I should talk to Aaron about making that future end now, before you end up killing more people with your hate and ignorance."
As Fred reached the door, he ported out leaving behind sparkles of light as the LSB did its job of misdirection, leaving behind a lot of scared and confused teens.
Arriving back at the hospital, Fred noticed several state troopers and one of them had his arm around the young man from the emergency room lobby, walking over as the rest of the Marines ported in, Fred activated his communicator, "Screaming Eagle squadrons return to Altare hanger until Reliant returns, stand down for R & R until then." Looking at the trooper curiously, "This facility is now under your control; we have affected the rescue of two teens and justice has been served, if further information on unexplained deaths in your jurisdiction comes to light, we will inform you of the facts."
"Sergeant, recall all your troops and return to Sol Station until the Reliant returns, or dismiss your men back home if their duty shift is over," Fred started to walk away and prepared to port back to the Station, he had authorizations to finish programming in.
Watching the young man walk away, the state trooper looked around at the eerily quiet hospital and caught the flash of light from the Marines being transported out, looking back to follow the young man's progress, all that he saw was several fading sparkles.
Editors section:
RadioRanchers Musings: That was quite a display of force and hopefully somewhat of a lesson for people to learn. I would say that Xon is shaping up to be a very good young man, even if he is over 250 years old.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher