Abel III's Awakening - 10. Chapter 10 The New Year

Chapter 10

The New Year

January 2734

New Year's day started slow but got busier as preparations to leave Magellan accelerated. All supplies had to be triple checked and scanned thoroughly before they were allowed aboard. The Silverspin's main docking module was on the main or middle deck but was close to the shuttle bay and down two decks with a convenient freight elevator between them. All material was initially checked by invoice at the docking bay and then was directly moved by our crew to the shuttle bay where every item was uncrated, hand and visually inspected, then put through a scanner which was monitored by Hal before it could be released to ships stores. Fortunately, nothing else out of the ordinary was found.

Mark Spencer had put out the word at the behest of my grandfather that we had received materials, which failed to meet product specifications. Accordingly, it was decided not to do the refit on Magellan and a lawsuit against the suppliers was being considered. Any additional defective material found was to be put aside for possible inclusion in the litigation. The crew also was informed that my cousins and a lawyer were expected on the second and that we were scheduled to clear the station on January third.

My day was spent monitoring the flagship of the fleet and the progress the request for inspection had made at the appropriate clerk's desk. I found it had been shuffled to the bottom of the queue as it was marked low priority. I still maintained a link and kept a general scan of the ship in place. I also noted that our suspicious security agent was having a bad day with a hangover and avoided going to the medical bay to get appropriate meds, as he did not want that on his record.

I also went through the cabins that were to be my cousins and tried to integrate what they were planning with the actual space. While the cabins were spacious as compared to crew space they were not the size of their adjoining bedroom suites in their father's house on Earth. While moving bulkheads and reconfiguring the far end of the family wing was a possibility during a refit, it was not a priority, and other expensive refits were already planned and budgeted.

However, I did have some friends in maintenance and knew the colors the guys liked so I recruited a couple of the crew to repaint the walls in the palate that appealed to them. Originally, the walls were all painted a satin finished light bluish gray and that had never changed. The boys were more into a light brown shade with a slight touch of a burnt orange. One wall was painted cream colored to provide some contrast. The ceilings were painted in the same cream color. As the cabins were empty the job was done quickly. It made a real difference. Even I was impressed since for me the wall color hadn't even previously really registered, it just was.

I also had one of our maintenance crew change out the computer access points in their rooms from a guest or crew standard one, to one more fully featured like the rest of the family had. These provided more access, greater bandwidth and capacity with more features and applications access. I also had them place new space rated, com link on each of their desks.

The entire crew was aboard for dinner that night and it was a lively meal. Baked ham with sweet potatoes, rolls, fresh pineapple, baked beans, corn bread and lemon meringue pie for dessert made it a festive occasion. After dinner we adjourned to the family area and I showed my elders what a fresh coat of paint did for the cabins reserved for my cousins and they too were impressed.

We then met in my grandfather's cabin and discussed what we had accomplished that day and went over what still had to be done prior to leaving Magellan. They were concerned about the request for a military inspection and whether a telepath would possibly be included. I reassured them that the request was way down in the queue and that I was continuing to monitor the situation. Dad said he was all ready to deal with the attorney. Kade said the internal power systems were coming on-line normally and the ship's main propulsion engines were initiating from a cold start. All needed supplies were already received, with just a few extra things due to be delivered the next morning.

Grandfather and Drew had spent the day going over plans with Hal for the refit to include all the proposed added changes I had scoped out in my general scans. The biggest expense was going to be for the changed command and control interfaces and bringing the bridge up-to-date to handle the increased functionality. When completed, the bridge would be more fully integrated into all working parts of the ship and almost every powered system could be controlled directly from there including life support. Additionally, Hal was to be upgraded with two larger and distinct core units, one just below the bridge with direct access running both across the front section of the ship as well as down the eighteen hundred meter section of the central hull. The second one was to be isolated under the family wing and serve as a backup, which could take over if the main unit became compromised. The upshot was that engineering would be even more automated, as would all powered systems.

The medical bay was also due for a serious upgrade with a better whole body scanner and a more automated lab. Even the accounting section would be getting a software upgrade to better coordinate the many kinds of information tracked by that system. Finally, even though our food service provided great meals, it too was due for upgraded storage and freezer space with an automated system to monitor supplies used so they could be efficiently reordered. All the updates also meant that the ship could be crewed by fewer men and still function efficiently.

Finally, Drew announced that since there would be so much done that the refit was now planned to take a minimum five weeks and it would end with the entire crew and family areas being repainted as they were truly impressed with the difference paint made in the family cabins for the Browns. After that, we all retired to our cabins for the night.

I used my rock show shower and experienced another awesome orgasm fueled in part by my anticipation of the arrival of my cousins. I did a full round of T'ai chi and then I slept soundly and for once, without dreaming.

The next day I again awoke and immediately scanned for the flagship and the status of the requested search. The administrative tech on duty was even further behind and that request had slipped further down in the queue as higher priority items were received. Satisfied that we would be long gone before any such inspection was even going to be scheduled, I headed to the toilet and then my shower. I showered and had another explosive orgasm that morning. I was looking forward to the arrival of my cousins and the opportunity to have fun with them and again that played into my fantasies. I was sure from my light scans that they were similarly excited.

I went to breakfast and again ate hearty and finished quickly as Hal informed me that the shuttle reported it had made it's delivery and picked up the cousins and their uncle and was expected within an hour. I knew the cousins were excited and perhaps just a little apprehensive from my light telepathic contact, as they knew that we were leaving Earth and its environs shortly. I also checked on the twins who called themselves JJ and found that they actually had returned to Earth on the thirty-first and attended the party of their choice and were officially on a bit of a vacation from government work so they were out shopping for some new clothes.

I then checked again on my tag to the Orion and particularly the tech handling the request for the military search and found that things had drastically changed in the short time since I checked earlier that morning. The annoying and determined intelligence officer had followed up on his request and could not understand why it was at the bottom of the queue. When informed it was because he had marked it a low priority, he nearly went ballistic until he reviewed what he had actually sent and saw his mistake. He had then withdrawn the prior request and submitted a new one correctly marked high priority and it was now near the top of the queue. I then suggested the tech review the available time slots left for the appropriate military inspections and noted the next available time was not until January fourth at 09:00 hours and suggested he schedule it for that time.

When I got to the shuttle bay I did a group send to my family and Hal to bring them up-to-date and suggested that perhaps we move up the time to leave station on Magellan to the morning of January third. Hal concurred and we decided to do that. After a brief wait the shuttle landed and the big bay doors were closed and the shuttle was moved on rails into the interior bay. It brought the last of our needed supplies, the brothers and their big dual compartment storage container as well as their uncle Joseph Dunsworth. While dad and Mark ushered the lawyer to a conference room to begin their work, the supplies and the kit for my cousins all had to undergo the close scrutiny and inspection all materials had since we found the problems with stuff arriving while stationed at Magellan. Even though this batch had not arrived through the normal channels on station but directly from our shuttle, we were being extra careful.

As that would take time, I ushered the brothers to the family wing to see whether my choice in the new paint met their approval. They looked at it critically and through my link I could see that one would have selected a tad slightly darker brown and the other would have selected a shade with slightly more burnt orange tone but that in general it met with their approval. Both remarked that it was a huge improvement over the bland color it covered. They both liked the contrast with the cream color on one wall and the ceiling. They told me of their plans and all the stuff they had brought to make their cabins seem homier. They noticed the new com links and immediately began transferring data files from their Earth based units to the new ones which were larger and a little bulkier in addition to being far more sturdy with much better encryption and range.

We then moved to the family hall as their gear started arriving. Thankfully it was clearly marked as belonging to either Steve or William. Soon they were busy directing where their stuff was to be stacked so they could begin to unpack. When they said they were bringing all sorts of supplies and furnishings they were not exaggerating. They each had area carpets for their cabins with throw rugs for along side their beds as well as bath mats for outside their refresher units. Pictures and wall hangings were not overlooked either along with the fasteners to secure them. I helped them unpack and place stuff and the brothers worked well together. We started in Bill's cabin and getting it mostly sorted, moved on Steve's. I had to admit that with the throw pillows, designer duvets, carpets and other accessories that they each had put their personal stamp on their cabins and it forced me to appreciate just how bland and nondescript mine looked in comparison. It took us several hours and despite only a quick break for sandwiches at lunch we worked well into the afternoon.

Despite the work of unpacking, I encouraged them to join me in my workout and they agreed so off we went. During my workout, I was scanning Bill's natural shields and the information I had about shielding someone else to see if I could adapt his natural shields so that he could not be caught in any backwash when Steve came into his power. My intent was to make it look like completely natural shielding and not one that had been put in place to shield the person. I made a few adjustments but decided to take it slowly. The session passed quickly and I was sweating freely as were the brothers when we finished. We all trooped into the group shower and again things got playful quickly. They were much more uninhibited than I ever was and very good-natured. I was almost jealous as I remembered my seven years of self-denial due to being clueless. In almost no time, the usual emissions were joyously released and whisked away in the drains.

We dressed in clean jumpsuits and went to the dining room arriving a little early. The table was set already and we sat and waited for our elders who arrived after a bit. I got my first chance to talk and get to know their uncle Joseph. It was obvious both brothers were very fond of him and that they had been close to him growing up. We learned that uncle Joe was the one who took them camping and taught them how to play sports as their dad was always doing medical research. I scanned him lightly and found that he and his wife were childless and he thought of his nephews as his heirs and in fact had them in his will. His aura was very benign and he clearly had a sharp legal mind. Since he had finished his discussions about the lawsuit, he was most interested in what his nephews would be doing on board and what they would be learning. Grandfather gave him the short version of his plan to rotate them through the various sections of the ship operations so that they could learn it from the bottom up.

He announced that since they had finished the legal work, he would be leaving after supper and would take the regularly scheduled evening shuttle back down to Earth from Magellan. He wanted to see the boy’s rooms before he left and when we finished; they conveyed him to the family wing to show off their cabins. He was impressed as were my family members. We then accompanied him to the docking bay and said our good-byes. He hugged each of his nephews tight and then he hurried to make his connection.

We then walked back to grandfather's cabin for the usual planning session. Kade said that the ship would be ready to leave at 09:00 the next morning and that we would have plenty of time to make our window for the best time through the transition points. The brothers were interested in seeing how a big cargo ship actually undocked and moved away from something as complex as Magellan and dad replied, “very carefully. A ship this big moves very slowly and carefully in confined spaces. Fortunately, we are docked at an outer arm in an area where refits are normally done and we don't have a lot of small craft traffic out here. “ He then invited us all to the bridge by 08:30 to view our departure which my cousins were overjoyed to hear.

Grandfather complimented them on their cabins and how they decorated them and suggested that perhaps they could provide some suggestions for the rest of us, which got a grin from them. I suggested that they could start with my cabin and they both readily agreed to help. We let them talk about their excitement at going into interstellar space and the transition points. I asked them if they were ready for reduced gravity of only twenty percent and they admitted they were excited to see how they adapted. I joked they would have to learn to walk with a skating type motion, instead of a loping stride otherwise they would be bouncing off the overhead bulkheads. Grandfather then reemphasized the importance of daily workouts to keep their muscle mass, bone density and cardiovascular systems healthy.

The meeting adjourned and I left with my cousins heading toward my cabin but I was waylaid and we all ended up in Steve's cabin to 'christen' it. Jumpsuits were shed and we all headed into the refresher shower unit. It was not yet upgraded like mine but Steve indicated that both he and Bill had units like mine still waiting to be unpacked with a few other surprises. We never-the-less enjoyed getting clean and intimate. The dryer function worked nicely and then we adjourned to Steve's bed.

It was as large as mine and held all three of us comfortably but I didn't get any rest. For at least the next two hours, where they worked in tandem to try to wear me out with their sexual gymnastics. I was proud that I was able to keep up with them without any problems except orgasmic overload. Each of us came at least three times and I think Bill came four but I could not say for sure because I was otherwise occupied myself. I know I swallowed at least three of the creamiest loads I had ever imagined and one might have been mine as they had me on my back with my ass in the air as Bill ate it out getting the load previously deposited by Steve who pumped my cock toward my mouth. I had kept my telepathic probes damped down but the sexual tension and excitement was palpable. I also monitored Steve and Bill and even did some more work on Bill's shields on the fly so to speak. Finally, completely and utterly sated, we cuddled together in the middle of the bed and pulled the cover over us as we drifted off into a most contented sleep.

My dad found us there the next morning when he came to see where we were. He told us to get cleaned up and hurry through breakfast if we wanted to observe in the bridge as we undocked and left Magellan. Being young we all stretched and let our piss hardons lead us to the shower where we cleaned up quickly and donned fresh uniforms before hurrying to breakfast. Breakfast was about over and we ate heartily but quickly and soon were headed to the bridge. Dad had brought in extra seats arranged around the back and asked us to all strap in as a precaution.

At 8:30 dad sounded the alarm and the docking mechanism started to release and withdraw. Thirty minutes later the last of the umbilical connections were separated and the Silverspin was entirely on it's own power. Kade obtained final clearance to begin maneuvering away from Magellan and dad slowly and carefully backed us away from the docking arm. The display panels showed a panoramic view as we slowly departed the station environs. Dad was busy at his console and so was Kade and we kept quiet while they worked and communicated with engineering, the station traffic control and other craft in the immediate area. It was a very long and slow careful dance to put distance between us and the busy station, which took about two full hours.

Finally we received clearance to use more than maneuvering thrusters and dad called for one-quarter impulse power with the course set to our first transit point. My cousins had watched and listened spellbound. I was monitoring them lightly and was sure they had not even noticed the change in gravity from station standard of fifty percent prior to undocking to the ship standard of twenty percent afterward. Dad indicated he was open to questions and my cousins had a lot for both him and Kade, which they answered patiently. Finally, dad suggested we might want to go and check if grandfather or Drew had anything for us. We unbuckled and as expected both brothers got up too swiftly and found themselves almost bouncing off the overhead. I reached out and grabbed them both and got them settled on their feet and explained that twenty percent gravity was a lot less than the fifty percent that they had acclimated to so quickly. Small fluid motions keeping your feet in contact with the lightly magnetized deck worked best.

I glanced at dad and Kade and they both were smiling. We left them on the bridge and headed to my grandfather's cabin. They were expecting us and asked the brothers what they thought of the experience and got an earful in response. Meanwhile I had been monitoring the Orion and noted that notice of our departure from Magellan had been logged and the request for the inspection was automatically deleted. I also continued to make minute changes to Bill's shields. I noticed my grandfather also was quietly monitoring Bill and noticed my subtle changes to his 'natural' shields and was admiring my handiwork. A short time later we all headed to the dining hall for lunch. I noticed both brothers were very carefully moving their feet in skating motions and appreciated that they took directions easily.

Lunch at the family table was usual except Kade stayed on the bridge while dad ate which he did quickly and then left to return to the bridge so Kade could eat too. Ships as large as the Silverspin traveling in Earth's home system did not rely solely on computer controlled piloting because they were required to maintain a pilot on the bridge at all times.

While maintaining light contact with the brothers, I contacted Hal and asked: {I have a light contact with both Steve and Bill and I was wondering if you could sense them through my link with you?}

{Yes, but I can only do a very light surface read} Hal replied.

{I was wondering if I handed you a tag for each of them whether you could add them to your list of people that you monitor?} I asked.

{Perhaps we should try. Why don't you take them to engineering and see if I can maintain contact separately using the tags you handed off to me} Hal replied.

{Will do} I sent.

As we were finishing lunch I suggested that perhaps Steve and Bill would like to take a tour of engineering to see the various power plants and engines in action. They readily agreed and I shepherded them there. With all the engines purring, it was a beehive of activity with six crewmen on duty. George gave them the grand tour and explained what everything was doing and how it was an integral part of the ship.

While he was doing that I asked Hal, {How is the tagged link working?}

Hal replied, {It’s working fine but wonder if it can be maintain it if you were not in proximity to the brothers?}

I sent to Hal, {let's try it out.}

I let the brothers know that I needed to check out something in the shuttle bay and I would leave them with George for about twenty minutes and then left.

When I got about two hundred meters away from them I sent to Hal, {How are the tagged links working now?}

Hal replied, {Everything is fine. I just have to keep a continuous monitor on them to maintain the tagged links.}

{I expected that} I replied.

I got sidetracked with a couple of the shuttle technician's who wanted to know if their suggestions for some upgrades to the shuttle were included in the plans for the refit. I told them I would check on it and get back to them, as I didn't recall any mention of them. They explained to me what they wanted and why and it made sense. Our shuttle was over one hundred years old and had been a workhorse for all those years and needed refurbishing both inside and on it's outer skin. The engines were fine as they had been overhauled, about ten years earlier and should be good for another twenty years. But that was about all that had been done. They took me on a tour to show what they meant and it was clear the shuttle needed some refitting as well. The interior, which I had not seen for seven years, was actually a little shabby. The exterior tiles also were marred and chipped in several places. Not enough to be a safety hazard, but certainly not up to full specifications. I made several notes on my com unit including taking photos and video and again assured the men that I would bring their concerns to the attention of my father and the rest of the family.

I was gone for a lot longer than I anticipated and sent to Hal, {Are my cousins still in engineering?}

Hal replied, {George has their full attention. I do not see that they have missed you.}

Relieved, I headed back and found them raptly listening to George expound on the power units that supplied the life support system, including the light magnetism of the decks, gravity, air, heat, water, internal electricity and also powered the massive plumbing and recycling system. It was interesting and I joined the audience as George explained how the systems were interconnected and performed. He went into great detail explaining how cold the depths of space really were and how important every BTU really was to maintain life and that the two lower decks and two upper decks acted as insulators for the main middle deck of the central core and that the outer decks were kept about five degrees cooler with all heat being able to be shut off from those decks in case of an emergency. In that case they would only be accessible wearing insulated and heated jumpsuits.

I thanked George for the tour and shepherded the newest crewmembers back to my grandfather's cabin. When we got there I asked whether there were plans for any shuttle upgrades during the refit and grandfather went to his desk and went to work on his computer and found that there had been a request from the shuttle techs but it had not been formally added the project. I then brought my com unit to him and point downloaded all the information they had provided me to his terminal and went through it including the video and pictures I had taken both in the interior and on the exterior of the shuttle. My cousins added their voice to support the upgrades for the shuttle interior, which they thought, was like being in a poorly maintained warehouse. I told my grandfather that I'd be willing to pay for the shuttle upgrades if money was a problem as I was convinced they were necessary.

Before grandfather could say anything, I noted over my light scan of the brothers that their jaws had dropped and they were amazed that I could fund such a project.

Grandfather over-ruled me and indicated they would begin to cost it out but that the company funds were more than adequate to cover the expense. He then asked, “Have you started to invest your funds in any specific areas or, do you still have the bulk of them invested in government bonds? I do know we specifically told you that you have full control of your trusts and other funds when you attained age twenty-one.”

I replied, “I haven't taken the time to research any investment ideas and all my dividends and interest are still reinvested in government bonds and money market funds.” I reported that I only kept a small stipend from my ship's salary and had used no income or principal from my trust funds ever, and over the past several years it was getting to be quite a large amount.

Grandfather looked at me and said, “You have spent the last year and seven months in accounting and been bored to tears and did not think to take some time and investigate your investment opportunities?”

I replied, “Well, on a compounded annual basis, those safe government investments have averaged about twelve percent which is competitive with most other investments and I had no motivation to invest in any specific project. My total portfolio as of December 31, 2733 was about a hundred million sovereigns which is pretty good for someone my age.”

My scan of my cousins showed they were again surprised, as they had thought of themselves as the rich relatives based on the way they lived on earth and that each of them had about ten million sovereigns in their trust funds. Grandfather who was also lightly scanning them also noted their reactions.

I noted he was also thinking of ways to keep them busy over the next seven to ten days on our journey to Alpha Centauri so I sent: {Why don't you ask my cousins to come up with a color scheme for the repaint job not just in the family entry way and the family cabins but also to survey the crew to see if perhaps they have some preferences for the crew quarters and their work areas as well?}

My grandfather never broke his composure, but from my scan I could clearly see he was surprised at how easily I read him without him being aware of it. He of course ignored me and acted like he was just changing the direction of the conversation when he asked his other grandsons: “Steve and Bill would you be willing to work together while we are in transit to Alpha Centauri and come up with color schemes for the family entry way and the family cabins in consultation with their occupants and then also do that for the crew for their quarters and work areas as well?”

Both jumped at the suggestion and got out their com units and brought up diagrams of the ship with all the various areas and excitedly began calculating surface areas that could be painted.

Drew who had been watching silently sent to my grandfather knowing I was monitoring, {Abel III makes a suggestion and you immediately adopt it like it was inevitable.}

I was shocked and wondered if my 'suggestion' was really a use of my ability for suggestibility and decided I could not tell.

Grandfather looked at Drew and sent, {It was a good suggestion whether there was an element of suggestibility or not. However, I think we will need to more fully consider Abel III's suggestions before adopting them.}

Alarmed I sent, {Please don't reject the refit for the shuttle as I am convinced it needs to be done and like I said, I will pay for it if necessary.} Both grandfather and Drew looked at me and sent me assurances that they too thought the shuttle updates were important based on the information I had obtained.

Steve and Bill had been discussing how they would break down their task and Steve turned to me at that point and asked me “what are your favorite colors?”

Of course I was replying before I even gave it a thought: “Silver and any shade of blue, from light to dark navy blue almost black.”

“Figures!” he replied and looked at his brother with a smirk. Then he turned to grandfather and Drew and asked, “What colors do you two favor?”

Drew replied, “I like greens and yellows but the old guy likes blue too.” And we all laughed. I then activated my com link and contacted dad and Kade, “What colors do you two like as Steve and Bill are gathering ideas for painting your cabin?”

Their reply could clearly be heard in unison, “Shades of silver and gray with maybe some black and red for contrast.”

Dad then said, “If you guys want to see our approach to the transit point, you should head to the bridge now otherwise, you will soon need to take a seat and buckle up.”

With that the brothers and I headed out to the bridge, which was just out the door and around the corner from grandfather's cabin.

From the Human Space Encyclopedia

Transit Points: Seemingly randomly occurring “corners” of converging gravitational waves that make entry into intra-stellar space possible. The first one was discovered by mankind in 2147 and first utilized in 2162 at which time mankind encountered the “Elders”. It did not go well. The Elders decided humans would be corralled in the Orion Spur as we called it and limited in using transit points into intra-stellar space to traverse to points in our local arm only. They did assist us in providing data for interactive star maps to all the transit points we were allowed into in our section of space which showed their various positions over time as everything in the galaxy was in motion, even if that wasn't always apparent. Access to going outside of interstellar space freed mankind from the speed limit of light and made colonization of other star systems practical.

The displays on the view screens were impressive. There were several spacecraft of various sizes in the queue ahead of us approaching the transit point all seeming to be taking advantage of the fortuitous line up of transit points for our destination. We took our seats and buckled up as dad sent out the fifteen-minute warning for all hands to take their seats and buckle up for our entry into the transit point. From our approach the transit point looked like a giant portal in space with a softly glowing rippled appearance set against the darker expanse of space.

Finally, the last craft in front of us disappeared through the portal and dad called for the point defense to be fully deployed and for engineering to give us full forward thrust as we approached the transit point. When the screen went dark, dad called for all forward thrust to come to a stop. The outside sensors and cameras shown on the displays showed only a dark black as we were outside of time and normal space. We continued that way for exactly one hour of time aboard our ship. That part of the trip was actually boring. Then we exited normally into space about one light year from our prior location and only about 3.3 light years from our destination. Kade verified our location, scanned the area for other craft, and programmed in a course to our next transit point at three-quarters impulse power. He announced we should arrive there in approximately twenty-three hours.

Dad made the announcement that everyone could resume normal activities and point defense to return to its normal mode. He then relayed our current location and when we were scheduled to arrive at the next transit point.

The brothers were in awe, but wondered why everyone had to buckle up for the transit and asked my dad. He replied, “It is a safety requirement. Traveling in between or outside of normal space through the transit points is usually safe with a 99.9998% success rate. But anomalies do occur and some ships have never been heard from again. In the early years before the Navy became established with a meaningful presence, pirates waited at the egress points of the transit points and attacked ships. That hasn't happened in centuries but traditions remain. That is why the point defense is fully deployed before entering the transit points as well. Finally, humans really can't fathom the vastness of space even after all of human history contemplating it. We just traveled one light year or about 5,878,499,810,000 miles which is nearly six trillion miles in one hour of time. And we still are 3.3 light years away from our destination, which is the closest star system to Earth. Some people panic as they realize they are traveling outside of normal space and it is better to be buckled in should that happen.”

As I was lightly scanning both of my cousins I could see the immensity of space and our own relatively insignificance begin to be appreciated by both of them. As the bridge was secured, we quietly left the bridge and headed for our workout before supper.

Working out in twenty percent of Earth normal gravity was much different as my cousins soon found out. While the machines had been adjusted for the changed gravity, it was a distinctly different work out than before for them. Muscles responded differently in the much lower gravity, blood had a tendency to pool and oxygenated tissue tired sooner, especially for those who had not worked out in the lower gravity before. Both cousins were sweating freely before they finished their round of the various machines and were ready for a shower before even their grandfather. That tickled him and worried them but my dad reassured them that they and their bodies would adapt sooner than they thought.

Supper was family style with sliced roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, fruit salad, crusty rolls and dessert was a surprise with baked Alaska! Afterward we again went to grandfather's cabin and discussed the day. We did not spend too much time and decided to call it a day.

Unsurprised, I was again waylaid so we could 'christen' Bill's cabin. We actually had more fun than the prior evening as we were dealing with only twenty percent gravity and the 'fumbling' was more playful as moves were apt to be more exaggerated. To say my cousins got a little exuberant would be to understate their playfulness. Both were very orally demonstrative. I had to keep my shields locked down and almost stopped reading them completely so as to not be over-stimulated. We tired ourselves out and were well spent when we finally had a final shower before we cuddled together in sleep.

Needless to say my dreams of camaraderie and warm embraces were very pleasant.