Once he was free of her clutches, he went over to where Deidra was watching. He could tell from her body language that she was a bit annoyed, even though she was beautiful.
She had given up on wearing jeans while pregnant. He had to admit, the dresses and skirts she wore made a sort of sense. She had used them initially to hide her baby bump. Now it was rather obvious to everyone who encountered her that she was pregnant.
He was wary of her mood swings while pregnant though. She had that whole dangerous but gorgeous vibe going. He couldn't help but bend over and amuse her by going in for a kiss.
"Not quite the kiss I had in mind," he said with a small smile as the kiss broke.
"Oh?" her eyes looked at his. "And what sort of kiss would that be pray tell?"
He grinned and knelt watching her respiration pick up. As she started to gasp, he leaned in and kissed her belly button.
"I'd rather kiss this than a domina with a mole any day," he teased, looking up to her.
She smiled down at him and she reached out and stroked his hair. When he blew a fart on her belly, she guffawed and then they fell to play fighting.
~~~^~~~
Max Howlett looked over to the right where he expected his wife. She wasn't there; one of them had to mind the fort while he sat through the tedious meeting. Besides, she'd given birth two months ago to the twins so she tended to prefer to stick around and keep an eye on the kids.
When he'd signed on to Eugene Ryans' traveling circus, people had thought he was mad. He was a mechanic, inventor, and something of a mad genius when it came to all things technical. He loved his job, and he'd loved the idea of going to another planet.
He had never intended to remain though, just see the sights as the team mechanic and then return with everyone else. He definitely hadn't thought he'd fall for the buxy Brunhilde woman and partner up with her permanently. Finding love was something you read about or saw in bad movies.
But, to his surprise he'd done it. He'd been the first. Ryans had held out against Deidra and the machinations pushing them together for quite a while before inevitably falling for her. He smiled ever so slightly as he looked at them out of the corner of his eye.
They were his two favorite people besides Cecily and the kids. The duo ran interference for him and Ryans was a fair mechanic when he wanted to be. More of a dabbler, but he could mean business when he wanted to focus.
Pity he was stuck shining his ass and kissing babies most of the time.
Once a week, the Terrans and some of Deidra's Privy Council held a meeting. Eugene jokingly called it a cabinet meeting. They were well aware that some didn't want to be involved in politics and were too valuable working on improving technology and the lives of the people in the Imperium. That didn't mean that Deidra and Eugene weren't above dragging out of their labs and workshops to seek out their opinion though.
Max brought up workplace safety again. It has become one of his number one hobby horses since he'd seen a couple of accidents and some of the terrible ways the Imperium built things. He'd insisted on overhauling a lot of safety procedures in just about every technical field.
That had spilled over into other fields too. "We are getting there; people are beginning to take safety very damn seriously," he said, holding up his callused hands. "Look." He wiggled his fingers as they all turned to him. "At no time do the fingers ever leave the hand. I'd like to keep it that way."
"True. And it only took blowing up a beast carcass once every few months to drive the point home with the workers in the explosives plants and armories," Eugene replied with a nod.
Some in the military liked to see the violence, but the leadership had tried to drive home the dangers of working with explosives as well as machinery.
"Exactly. We've come up with some strict protocol on handling the explosive material. And we don't experiment with anything in large quantities."
"Good."
"We're almost to the point of stable plastic explosives and the advanced forms of smokeless gunpowder. Some of them are not impact or fire sensitive. I've been working on electric squibs to set them off."
Eugene nodded. He'd seen a test demonstration of the squibs. They popped nicely. Most people expected a bigger boom but that wasn't the point. The detonation device set off the real explosive.
Max, Cecily his wife, Charlie, and her chemists were still arguing over making better det cord. He knew they were going to need it to improve mine efficiency, but for the moment, just having reliable and safe low-order explosives was fine with him. They still couldn't fully process the rubble they generated.
"I still wish we could move on from gunpowder weapons totally. Hell, I'd love a rail gun; that'd be one up on Earth!" Max said eyes bright.
"Ah?" Deidra asked.
Eugene snorted softly.
"They made them before we left. Saw it on YouTube. The navy was starting to get big about them. A couple of people were making man portable ones with linear electromagnetic rails and nails for rounds. Cut the ends off and instant ammo. They look like a gun from Starcraft."
"Huh."
"Hefty though, and they had to keep them short-range obviously. I don't know about penetration for something like a basilisk," he admitted, taking on a thoughtful look.
"You also have the problem of power and control. For the moment, pass," Eugene said patiently.
Max ran a hand through his short hair. "Oh yeah, I know. Still, it'd be nice to at least have a few. Something different," he said.
"I'll take keeping things simple and streamline with our logistics over fancy toys any day. The last thing I want to do is call a time-out in a battle and try to find a place to plug something in to recharge," Eugene said dryly.
Max grimaced but then reluctantly nodded. "Agreed."
"Something tells me that's not going to stop him for long," Cecily said, looking at Eugene with a resigned shake of her head.
Eugene looked at the mechanic and inventor and his dreamy eyes and snorted. "Probably not."
"Should I alert the electrical grid to be on the lookout for brownouts in the future?" Charlie Therman, their chemist, asked with a grin.
"Possibly."
"We could use electromagnets in monorails too. It'd be easier than building traditional rails, just put the pylons in and the track would be above, no worries about animals …," there was a loud chuckle. The mechanic frowned. "What? What'd I say?"
"Nothing. Just you being you," Deidra said with a pat on his hand. He looked at it and then nodded. His wife smiled and nodded.
~~~^~~~
Deidra was annoyed but amused by the pictures taken by Eugene. She continued to protest and ended up play wrestling for the camera. That turned into a play fight until their little one got involved and started to kick up a fit within her.
She sat on the edge of the bed and felt Eugene's hand tenderly touch her tummy as if to help ease their child. She focused on her breathing. Once everything was under control, he teased her a bit, kissed her on the nose, and then they sat and looked through the pictures. He let her select a few to delete, but only a few, and only if she posed properly for others later. "You say you want them all gone but give them time and you'll want them."
"Nay!" She protested.
"Yes, you will! When you want to show them to the family, make it clear what you went through to carry them into this world, you'll have proof," he said, hefting the camera.
"Huh," she said, not totally convinced.
"Just that? Huh?" he asked when she didn't say anything further.
"I'll think about it."
"Okay," he said, cuddling with her. "And you should know you are beautiful in any state."
"Oh you!" she protested but couldn't help but smiling.
"Including buck-,ass naked, early in the morning all mused, and in a very pregnant and delicate state," he said as she pursed her lips and tried to glower at him. He just smiled. "So, I'll treasure these even if you won't."
That made her break down a little. He sigh
ed as he cuddled with her.
~~~^~~~
At breakfast the following morning, Doctor Nate Billings, their biologist and naturalist, and his partner in crime Mary Delouses, their resident botanist, continued their argument to move forward with the science expedition. Nate and Mary had continuously argued to move forward with it despite their duties to help improve farming and general agriculture. They were surprised when they got the final approval.
"You are only doing this to get us out of your hair," Nate accused.
Mary poked him. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," she stage whispered.
"We'll let you take the cart and wagons if only to spare us the harpings," Eugene said with a roll of his eyes.
Nate chuckled. He looked over to Max. "As much as I'd like to wait …"
Max held his hands up. "I know, I get it. That's why we have the carts and wagons as a backup. I'd hoped to have better vehicles for you, or to let you use the old ones we've got here. It isn't going to happen anytime soon so we'll make do. Or, I should say you will."
"We'll rough it," Mary said with a nod. "So, we're a go?"
"Yes. Get moving. Hire locals to flesh out the team. You'll need guides. I want the final list and a departure date soon. And I want an itinerary. You are to be back here before winter," Eugene warned.
Both scientists nodded dutifully.
"I mean it. That means you've got only a few days at each stop. You'll have to factor in weather. You're going to have to do weather station monitoring, the works."
"As much bang for your buck as you can get out of us?" Nate asked.
"Too right," Eugene replied.
Chapter 4
The science expedition launched on a cool morning. There was a pretty good turnout. Initially, students and the castle denizens were there, but then some of the families of those going turned up.
Doctor Nate Billings couldn't help but feel excited by the coming adventure. Sure it wasn't what they'd initially intended, but it was fine.
They had the latest generation of carts and wagons made. They had plenty of spare parts and draft animals. Nate knew that Max wanted them to wait but he was pretty sure they'd manage just the same with what they had.
He looked over to Doctor Mary Delouse and nodded. She nodded back. The carts and wagons might be buggy whip equipment compared to modern vehicles, but that was fine. They'd get the job done.
Deidra made a point of announcing their expedition with a speech. He squirmed a bit about the delay, but Mary's wink helped him to sheepishly settle down and endure it.
There was a crowd who applauded politely. Nate was sure a few were not sure about their expedition but he didn't care. They were finally doing what they'd come for, to explore the planet and catalog its wonders properly.
Once the speeches were done, Deidra, Eugene, and the others mingled with them. He was aware that Max was there, but he was called off to some emergency. Cecily remained to check the gear over one last time. She made a point of checking every wheel, making sure they were secured and had the cotter pins in place. She even checked the two generators she and Max had cobbled together. The generators were attached to the axles and would charge a pair of batteries in each wagon. They would provide limited power for the equipment like the HAM radio, lights, and science equipment.
She ran a hand over the sides of the cart. Max had wanted to make an electric deterrent to shock animals that tried to attack the wagons away. Unfortunately, they'd run out of time and weight. The draft animals were pulling near their max weight as it was.
"You are good to go," she pronounced with a nod as she wiped the grease from her hands on a rag.
~~~^~~~
Deidra leaned against Eugene, holding his hand as they watched the expedition trundle off. "Think they'll be okay?" he asked softly. There were only two squads of troops going with them. They were all heavily armed though with Terran-designed weapons.
"I don't know," she said quietly, surprised by the question. They'd tried to provide for every contingency.
"Not exactly the answer I was hoping to hear," he sighed.
"It's an honest one though, which is what you wanted," she reminded him. She even hip bumped him gently to drive the point home.
"Yeah," he said, heaving a sigh again. "It's a big dangerous world."
"Well, the good news is we've explored a lot of it. We haven't documented it as you have though. Nor as deeply as they intend to," she said. "I wonder what they'll find?"
"Ah," he murmured.
"And they have guides and guards. And they've got the radio," she said, indicating the whip-like antenna as it brushed under the gates.
"Yes, there is that."
~~~^~~~
Max watched the expedition move out from his position in the shadows of the opening to the garage. It was hard, oh so hard seeing them off. He had no idea if he'd see them again.
If they'd only waited! If they'd only given him another season, maybe a year, he could have had native-built vehicles. He was sure of it! But no, they were impatient. And, he had to admit he hadn't come through on the vehicle promise.
He had a few, but the fuel was an issue. Sure he could produce biodiesel but there were inherent issues in using it. There was also a range issue, and you couldn't pull over to a local 7-Eleven to refuel when they didn't exist.
But if they couldn't have trucks, the carts and wagons that the draft animals were pulling were the best he could make. He knew that much; he'd poured a lot of blood and sweat into the design to make them sturdy, light, and packed with gear. He'd tried to throw as many improvements at them as he could when he ran into issues with the vehicle logistics. In a way they would act as a test for native-built vehicle suspension, alternators, and other tech.
Deidra had given him a pretty good budget too, so he'd outfitted them not just with science gear and spares but any manner of things they might need for their adventures.
He went over their inventory in his mind again, wondering what he'd forgotten. Something as simple as an additional turnbuckle could be the difference between life and death for someone.
"Worried about them?" Cecily asked, coming over to him from behind.
He turned and wrapped his arm around her waist. "A little. It's a big world out there, and it's dangerous. We tend to forget that."
"I know," she murmured, leaning into his side. "But you are working hard to making it a better one."
He looked down at her in surprise and then smiled as she slowly looked up at him. "You mean we are," he said, touching her face gently with his fingertips. She smiled back. "For us and for our kids, and their kids," he said.
"Then maybe we need to get back to work?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.
He chuckled. She had come a long way from the timid student he'd first introduced to science and technology not so long ago. "Yes, ma'am," he said.
She snorted and ducked out from under his arm and then gave him a playful push to get back to work.
~~~^~~~
The following morning life returned to normal in the capital. Once Eugene finished his morning workout, he headed to the courtyard. He tried to avoid Deidra; she was in one of her foul moods.
Soldiers were training in various locations in the courtyard. There were people out working on their truck gardens or doing chores. He headed over to the area designated for military training and tossed his work-out towel on the railing. He put a set of padded training gear on, then the helmet and face mask, and got ready for another workout.
He tried to vary his weekly routine to keep from forming a pattern, but some things were inevitable. Once a week he did four different bouts of more advanced workouts. One was martial arts training to keep his hand-to-hand skills up, another was riding in order to get up to snuff there, another was shooting be it handgun, rifle, crossbow, or bow, and the last was melee weapons.
He didn't care for the broadsword some of the natives preferred, but he didn't like the battle ax either. He liked the rapier s
ince it was fast and deadly. But he forced himself to train with the other weapons too.
Deidra hadn't been happy about his preoccupations but she understood it. A soldier and especially a lord had to keep in practice. They never knew when they would be called to war. And his physique and Terran training helped him a lot.
That didn't mean there wasn't some risk. He'd received his share of bruises and sprains. Deidra was careful to vet every opponent he trained with. The last thing either of them needed was for an assassin to have an “accident” in the ring.
He knew that she had been getting good at fighting but was now stuck doing yoga and light exercises until the birth. He was also smart to get out of their small suite gym before she got in there and complained about his sweat smells.
Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2) Page 5