ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE

STAR BLAZERS---REORGANIZATION

Being the tenth and final part of THE NEW COMET--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz


This Act is being completed with the Cooperation and Assistance of Derek A.C. Wakefield (as usual)---Freddo

Note-Chapter contains some content intended for mature audiences. (Even though the writer is sometimes not terribly confident of his own maturity…)


ACT FOUR: OF FAMILIES OLD AND NEW


 

I. FOXY’S MANSION

 

Earth

 

Great Island

 

The Outskirts of the Great Megalopolis

 

Kazuo Foxworth-Savela’s Mansion

 

Monday, October 19, 2207

 

1003 Hours Local Time


 

It turned out that Foxworth Manor was a beautiful, eccentric mansion built by an equally eccentric owner.

 

Patterned after a strange castle seen in an old movie once by its owner, Foxworth Manor was a bizarre castle built on a hill outside the Megalopolis.

 

Filled with rooms lined with simulated woods, it had many weird features.

 

It had a huge entry area that led to a room with a massive staircase; a room filled with bizarre knick-knacks.

 

One of them was a strange clock built out of a wooden coffin. Katrina gave Foxy a weird look when she saw the clock, and Michelle screamed when he opened the coffin to reveal a human skeleton inside. As the clock chimed 1000 Hours, Foxy grinned and dusted cobwebs off the skeleton and said, “This was one of my uncles. We dug him up to keep him around.”

 

Derek Wildstar gave the skeleton and Nova a weird look, but Nova shrugged and said, “He’s always had that.”

 

“Vat sort of other weird things does he just happen to have?” Katrina said.

 

“This way,” said Foxy as he stumbled over a wheelchair that was left sitting in the path for no reason. The group came to a huge, old-fashioned elevator car that was closed with a metal grating that one pulled back and forth. Foxy ushered them in, and he worked the elevator like some old store operator, stopping to drink from a bottle of wine kept in the elevator car. “Anyone want any?” he said as he passed the bottle around.

 

Nova shook her head hard; the day outside had been warm, and since she knew she would be helping Foxy and Katrina clean, she held Ariel against a chest clad only in a very light blouse tied under her breasts. Other than that, Nova wore only cutoff shorts and thongs on her body. Derek had on shorts and a rugby shirt with sandals, and he held little Alex. Jonathan had come along for the trip in shorts, a t-shirt, and bare feet.

 

Katrina and Foxy also wore similar summer clothes along with Michelle. The eight of them were the only ones in the odd castle as the elevator passed two floors and stopped at another floor.

 

Finally, they reached their destination; an odd-looking den filled with lots of potted plants, wicker chairs, and the like, along with various large stuffed representations of dead bears and other such large Terran animals.

 

“The Zen Room,” said Foxy as he stumbled over a sea chest.

 

Nova randomly opened a small box on a table, and she jumped back and screamed as a human hand came out from out of the box.

 

“I see you’ve met Thing,” said Katrina. “Do not be concerned. He is both robotic and harmless. Foxy keeps him around primarily to frighten the unwary.”

 

“I hope so,” Nova said as she waved at the disembodied hand and watched as it closed its box.

 

“So why do you need us here?” said Derek. “This looks like a hunting lodge for rich weirdoes.”

 

“You said you wanted to be here to help us move in and clean up the other day on the yacht,” said Katrina.

 

“Yes,” said Nova. “We did. Well, show us what we have to do, and we’ll be happy to help…”

 

Katrina grinned, thinking, This will be fun…

 


 

FIVE HOURS LATER….

 

A sweating Derek watched as Nova used an old-fashioned carpet beater to slam the dust and crud out of an old Persian-style rug that Foxy had put over a clothesline in the side yard. Foxy, Derek, Nova, and Jonathan had done about sixty-one percent of the work, while the servants had done maybe thirty-eight percent of the work while Katrina ate grapes and did maybe one percent of the work as she watched everyone else working in the heat.

 

Whew,” said Nova after she stopped and reached down to play with Ariel in her baby carrier. “Foxy, think I got it all?”

 

“I would say so,” he said.

 

“I wish Katrina would get off her butt and help us,” Nova said as she picked up Ariel and gave her a breast.

 

“I’ll see if I can scare her to come out here and help me carry in this rug,” said Foxy. “You lay in the grass with her and get some rest. You’ve done enough today.”

 

“Thanks,” said Derek as he kissed Nova after he checked Alex, who was asleep. “Where’s Jonathan?” said Derek.

 

“Last I saw, off in the pool with Michelle,” said Nova. “They found him a swimsuit someplace.”

 

A few minutes passed; Nova then burped Ariel and put her back in her carrier after closing her blouse. Then, she lay in the grass on a towel, watching the clouds in her cute, barely-dressed outfit beside Derek as she said, “What do you think of this place?”

 

“It’s weird, like them,” he laughed. “It suits them.”

 

Nova nodded as she flexed out her long legs to get some sun. “This is sort of fun, you know?”

 

“Yeah; it is funny watching Foxy make Katrina work. She sure has this regal, high and mighty attitude, though. I wonder what sort of work she did when she was a pilot?”

 

“Some pilots are lazy,” said Nova. “Witness Sakamoto and Bryan Hartcliffe. But she is a good pilot. I know. Remember that one day at the airfield last week in San Diego?”

 

“Yeah…when you took her for a ride in a Tiger?”

 

“She landed us,” said Nova.

 

“You let her land a Tiger?” said Derek.

 

Nova nodded. “I was hovering over the controls to get her out of trouble when we landed after she asked to land it, but she did land it. I was impressed. She knows how to fly, all right. I wonder what she is like at her job, though.”

 

“Okay, she’s just…weird,” said Derek.

 

Katrina came out with Foxy a few minutes later; Nova almost giggled softly as she heard Katrina yelling at him when he tried to make her work. Finally, Nova smiled when she saw Katrina struggling with a corner of the rug as she and Foxy carried it back into the castle.

 

“He got her to work,” said Derek. “He actually got her to work.”

 

“Good for him,” said Nova as she kissed Derek. Derek kissed her back.

 


 

About an hour later, Nova and Katrina were sitting together on a towel with Alex and Ariel while Foxy and Derek went off to shoot some pool in the castle. Both of them had needed diaper changes; Nova had shown Katrina how to strip Alex out of his light baby clothes and undo his diaper pins and diaper as she also did the same with Ariel. Then, Katrina had fumbled with the naked baby in her lap as Nova rolled up her eyes and frequently helped Katrina wash him (he was just wet, luckily), powder his bottom and diaper area, and then, Katrina laid him on a fresh diaper, smiling a little as he wriggled with his dark hair, little nose, smiling face, little chest, belly button, boyhood, pudgy knees, and ten little toes all out on display to be tickled.

 

“He looks like a living doll,” said Katrina, who was beginning to fall in love with the little tyke even as she fumbled his diaper.

 

Nova laughed and brought over Ariel, who wore only a half-closed diaper. “The diaper goes over him like this,” said Nova as she demonstrated with Ariel. “Be sure you get his thingie up under the flap and covered or he’ll wee all over the place…”

 

Nova smiled as Katrina fumbled but got the diaper over her son. Nova then helped with the safety pins before Katrina poked him in the hips with them. A moment later, Nova helped slide Alex into a light onesie-type garment in blue as she dressed Ariel in a similar one in pink as she waved her arms and legs all over the place. Nova smiled at Katrina again as she said, “You actually helped with him! Thanks!”

 

“It was not so bad,” said Katrina as she handed Alex back to Nova. In her lap, he reached for her breast and began to whine. Nova smiled and undid her top, letting him have what he wanted.

 

“How does that feel?” Katrina asked as Nova nursed Alex.

 

“If you get them latched on right, fairly pleasant,” Nova said. “If they get on the nipple the wrong way, it can be Pain City, though. Also, their appetites vary. They’re easy today. One day last week, they wanted them so often that I spent half the day doing my housework with Ms. Eloise in the nude. Derek loved that.”

 

“It is a good thing you’re not that self-conscious with your body, especially with those twins.”

 

“I was in the beginning, Katrina,” said Nova. “Not now. I’ll be glad when they get interested in baby food and I can do this a little less. I am planning to have them weaned when I start Medical School next fall. Potty training will come a bit after that…”

 

“You adore them, don’t you?” smiled Katrina.

 

“Of course I do,” laughed Nova. “I think I might well be pregnant again at some point while I am in Medical School. Another kid or two then would be fun after the first year of professional school.”

 

“You look like you have fun being a mother,” said Katrina.

 

“I do; better than fighting all the time,” Nova said. “Four space wars in eight years. I think we deserve a break now. Earth has had enough. Some peace would be great.”

 

Katrina nodded. “It was the same for Pellias,” she said. “I wish Pellias still existed.”

 

“Astrena said she might try to have her daughter find a new world for their people someday,” Nova said. “Ever thought about moving on with Foxy?”

 

“No,” said Katrina. “Earth is nice. We like it here.”

 

“Great,” said Nova. “I’m so happy for you.”

 

Katrina smiled back.

 


 

Later on, after the Wildstars had left, Foxy and Invidia were alone in their wing of the house with Michelle. The servants had retired to the servants’ quarters for the evening, so Katrina had dropped her disguise and was showing herself off to her husband and adopted daughter as herself.

 

“So how will you get to your job now that you live with me?” said Foxy.

 

“I was on the phone with them earlier,” said Invidia. “My job was independent in nature, so I can send articles to them via long distance over the ‘Net. However, you have your cottage by the baech in San Diego?”

 

“Yes, we will be living there, too,” said Foxy.

 

“That’s good,” said Michelle. “Someone has to take care of the yacht. And watch over dorky Jonathan.”

 

“Actually, your brother is growing up to be quite a nice young man,” said Invidia. “Nova loves mothering him.”

 

“Do you love mothering me?” said Michelle with a sigh.

 

Invidia smiled and gave her adopted daughter a kiss. “I’m getting used to it; let us just say that.”

 

“Thanks for being so cool…both of you,” said Michelle.

 

“No need to mention it,” said Foxy as he sat near Invidia on the couch and began to brush her hair. “It looks better now that it is no longer a mess…”

 

“Thanks,” Invidia said as she lay against her husband, looked at the video screen, and smiled.

 

 


 

II. A SWEET, WARM, GOOFY DAY

 

Earth

 

The San Diego Megalopolis

 

A Nail Salon Downtown

 

Tuesday, October 20, 2207

 

1123 Hours Local Time

 


 

Nova had decided to go get her nails done; why, she didn’t know….she just felt it would lift her spirits a littlle.

 

At the spa, Nova sat with Sasha (whom she had also treated to a time at the spa) as both young women got facials, manicures, pedicures, and got their hair fluffed up.

 

Afterwards, Nova sat on a couch, clad again in her white Headquarters uniform and matching white sandals, sipping at a lemonade and smiling as she looked down at her pink fingernails and toenails. “Like it?

“You see I got them to do mine blue,” Sasha said as she extended her fingers and toes.

 

“That’s cute, but sort of weird,” said Nova.

 

“Matches my outfit,” Sasha laughed. She had on a maternity version of her favorite blue outfit, with dark blue sandals on instead of her boots.

 

“How’s your stomach?”

 

“Sometimes I have a little trouble keeping food down, Auntie…”

 

“Throwing up?” Nova said as they went outside. Derek and her mother were going to meet them in the mall in a few minutes with Alex and Ariel.

 

Sasha nodded as she almost ran right into Katrina. “OhmiGod!” Sasha squeaked. “I’m so sorry!”

 

“You should look to where you are going!” Katrina snapped. The boxes that she was carrying were all over the place now.

 

“I thought you were supposed to be at work,” said Nova as she nodded at Katrina and helped her as she began to pick up boxes. “Oh! Some of these things are gift-wrapped! Were we going to surprise someone?”

 

“Don’t you look at those!” snapped Katrina. Katrina did not want Nova to see that some of the boxes had pictures of little storks on them, nor did she want Nova to see that her own name was on the gift tags on some of those boxes.

 

The reason why was because a surprise baby shower was planned for Nova at her own house at 5PM that day; but no one wanted her knowing about it. The hard thing about this was that Nova was both very smart and usually very nosy! Katrina had to almost grab a box out of Nova’s hand since Nova was just trying to be helpful in picking it up.

 

Luckily, Sasha figured out how to distract everyone. She coughed and said, “Nova, I’m getting sick to my stomach! Go buy me a milkshake so breakfast doesn’t come up?”

 

“Sure,” said Nova. “Let’s go.”

 

Sasha winked at Katrina as she left, and Katrina smiled a little and nodded back, thinking, The Iscandarian airhead actually did something right for once! She has a brain under all that fluffy blond hair, after all! Thus left alone, Invidia was able to keep her secret and she didn’t let Nova know the reason she was out of work was because she was a conspirator for a baby shower for her…

 


 

Katrina smiled when Nova met Derek at a food court at the mall. He and Nova’s mother had Alex and Ariel in their baby carriers. Nova and Teri had spent some time buying Alex and Ariel new baby clothes, and the two of them looked adorable. Alex had on a mostly white shorty coverall with little blue stripes, a blue shirt, and little white and blue sandals, while Ariel wore a little white sundress with a pink sash white sandals that matched the sort her mother had on.

 

“I see you’ve been busy,” Derek said.

 

“You got them such adorable clothes, Derek…Mom! Thank you!” Nova said as she picked up Ariel and let her kiss her. “When can we go home?”

 

“They need you on the ship for a few hours,” Derek said.

 

“Why?” Nova replied.

 

“Problem with the computer system,” Derek said. This was not a lie. Commodore Wildstar had been aboard the Argo earlier that day, and the main computer had been giving them some trouble. Wildstar and Frank Carmody, head of the civilian contractors supervising the Argo’s refit, had been having a horrible time adding some things to the computer system. “We need you there to look at it while I run around the ship and pick up Jonathan from school later on. I don’t think we’ll be home until….oh…1700…”

 

Derek then winked at Katrina, who smiled back. Good, she thought. I still have that house key you gave me. That will allow us enough time to get everything in there to surprise Nova. Invidia had always been good in setting up sneaky little plans like this, and she enjoyed scheming of this sort.

 

“Well, let me finish lunch,” Nova said. “Then, aboard ship, I’ll need our cabin to give these two lunch myself.” Nova smiled, but she knew when she mentioned feeding Alex and Ariel, her breasts would start to ache for them. Darn, she thought. I did have to mention that. In this uniform, with this slip being all the underwear I have on under my blouse and skirt, I’ll have to strip to feed them. Can’t exactly do that here! I hope I don’t start leaking or something….

 


 

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER….

On the Argo….

 

Derek couldn’t help smiling at Nova as she tapped away at a keyboard in the Captain’s cabin on the Argo. Alex and Ariel had begun crying for milk almost as soon as they got aboard ship, so Nova and Derek had gotten up here, the bunk had come down, and it was a good thing there were no contractors in the cabin that day, because, with Derek’s help, Nova had gotten out of her uniform very quickly and had gotten Alex and Ariel into her naked lap just as quickly to give the milk and comfort of her breasts…with the privacy shield down, of course.

 

“Good thing we’re up here,” teased Derek, who kissed Nova’s shoulder as she lay back on the bunk to work on her keyboard in comfort in the nude as the babies suckled her.

 

“Yes. If I had to do this on the First Bridge, it would have driven everyone crazy, right?”

 

“I know you wouldn’t,” Derek said.

 

“Not unless they’re screaming,” Nova said as she rubbed one of her bare feet against the deck. “That feels new. Did they just put that in?”

 

Derek nodded.

 

“Mommy’s not going to put her shoes back on aboard the ship,” Nova cooed to Ariel; her little girl had everything on but her sandals. “Mommy likes the way the deck feels. When you start walking, you’ll like it, too…huh?”

 

Ariel stared at her mother and smiled before going back to lunch at her mother’s nipple. Nova then looked at the screen and said. “Darn those contractors!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“The warp subroutine is messed up. Because of the way they have security set up, I have to be at the main Administrator console to rewrite this. Could you watch them when I’m done, Derek?”

 

“Sure, Nova. I do hope you will be getting dressed…”

 

Nova rolled up her eyes and threw a pillow at her husband. “Of course I’ll put my uniform back on. What? You think I’m going to run around the computer room naked?”

 

“You weren’t very dressed the other day in the holography room.”

 

That was different,” Nova said primly. Nova then checked Alex’s and Ariel’s diapers. “Wet,” she said as she sat up. “Derek, fresh diapers, please?”

 

Derek kissed Nova and his children and nodded as Nova got Alex and Ariel out of their little outfits.

 

A tap came at the hatch a moment later while Nova and Derek began wiping little Alex’s bare bottom.

 

“Ohhhh, who’s that?” Nova said. “Go away! I’m not decent!”

 

“Just your mother,” said Teri.

 

“Derek, go get that…”


Derek let Teri in. She dropped her bags, oohed and ahhed over Nova and the now-naked little twins, and got a camera and began snapping pictures.

 

“Great,” muttered Nova. “I’m working, and you want to take pictures, Mom!”

 

“But you and they are so cute!” Teri said as she tickled Alex and Ariel at their mother’s breasts.

 

Then, a moment later, Nova heard a little farting noise from one of the babies. It was Ariel, at her mother’s breast.

 

Ariel squirmed, kicked, wriggled….and, once again, just like at the baptism a little while ago, she pooped all over herself, and all over her naked young mother. The yellowish baby poop ran over Nova’s stomach, over her hip, and down her naked bottom and upper thighs in streams that ran down her legs all the way down to her toes.

 

Akkkkkk!” Nova squealed as she tried to hold on to her baby daughter. “NOT AGAIN! Ariel Starsha Wildtar, you are a poop machine!”

 

“Oh, no!” laughed Teri as Derek laughed and went “awwwwwww…” again.

 

“Derek, Mom, I…”

 

Teri smiled at her daughter. “Here we go again. At least, this time, you don’t have any stained clothing on to remove, so this will be easier, won’t it?”

 

“I think I noticed,” Nova said. A moment later, Derek began wiping her clean, helped by her mother. Nova put up one foot and the other as her mother tenderly washed her lower legs and feet. Nova could not hold back giggles as her mother washed her toes clean, nor could she hold back shivers as Derek washed her lower abdomen and upper thighs clean. Nova then shivered a bit more as Derek and Teri worked to gently wipe the mess off her body and Ariel’s little body using lots of baby wipes as rags. A moment later, Teri undid a package and spread out a new baby blanket on the bunk for Nova and the twins to lie on. The soft blanket felt wonderful under Nova’s bare feet and bare bottom in the warmth of the cabin.

As Derek washed her lower abdomen and held her close to wash her crotch, Nova kissed him and moaned slightly as she took this necessary treatment with both babies suckling at her again a moment later. Then, Nova felt much, much warmer and far more tingly as Derek washed her bottom, going up between her legs again with deep tenderness, and her legs were shaking and her toes were curling rythymically in the blanket as Derek finally, as gently as possible, put his hands and a fresh, cool baby wipe right between her thighs to make her clean while she thrust out a long, beautiful, bare leg as he again washed the most tender part of her form as she stood up and sytood right in his arms.

 

Teri winked at them and said, “Nova, where’s the bathroom? We need towels…”

 

“Back that way…” Nova said.

 

“I’ll take him out to dry him,” Teri said. “You both look as if your hands are full….”

 

Teri stepped out of the cabin with little Alex in her arms

 

Oh, my God, Nova thought as Derek cuddled her. I wish he’d stop…but how can I ask him to…he’s just cleaning me? I…I don’t want him to stop…God forgive me, I…I…

 

Nova, while being washed with her babies in her arms, went deep into her husband’s protective embrace.

 

I…I…love his hands on me….God forgive me…I….in front of my Mom, I…oh, God…this feels good! Just like in the church…I…

 

Nova then shut her eyes, and put her mouth against her husband’s shoulder to stifle her tiny gasps as her sensitive naked body just let go in a now not altogether unexpected shivery and sensual climax almost as helpless as her baby daughter’s accident right into Derek’s hand while she was being washed.

 

Luckily, Teri never noticed, being in the head with baby Alex.

 

“Derek…I…” whispered Nova. “I…”

 

“you what?” Derek whispered. “Did you just do what…I think you did….in my arms? Again? You are becoming hypersenstive, dear!”

 

“Yes,” Nova almost sobbed. She whispered, “You gave me the most…wonderful little moment…oh, God, ohh…yes…you just…you’re horrible, but…you made me feel so nice…like you do at home at times….”

 

“Honey, it couldn’t be helped, given where I was washing you…” Derek whispered. He smiled, thinking of how things like this had been happening at home, where, especially when Jonathan was not around and it was just Nova, Derek, the babies and sometimes Ms. Eloise, Nova wore very little or nothing at all home…and many stolen little moments like this had happened. Once, he had even made love to Nova from behind in the kitchen while she had been standing there nursing Alex, with both of them naked and fresh from the bath. “Now stand still while I finishing cleaning you up,” Derek whispered. Nova looked over and saw Teri coming back in the cabin with Alex, who was now very clean but still dressed in just his baby skin.

 

“Now, time for your new outfit,” said Nova as she nuzzled Alex while feeding Ariel.

 


 

Later on, Nova had gotten dressed again (except for her shoes, she still went barefoot) and she was kneeling on the deck in the main computer room, working on the Argo’s computer while Derek and Frank Carmody watched.

 

“What did you find?” Derek asked.

 

“Trouble,” Nova said as she tapped away at yet another keyboard. “Good thing we’re not about to try warping the ship now; otherwise, we might not have any control over it.”

 

“Which means?” said Frank Carmody.

 

“Uncontrolled free warp into the Fourth Dimension,” said Derek.

 

“That’s not good,” said Carmody.

 

“Your workers caused it,” Nova sighed. “Who’s been at this subroutine?”

 

“Some guy named McEllway,” said Carmody. “I’m really sorry, ma’am. I’ll get this guy written up and help you fix the program myself.”

 

“Thank you,” Nova replied.

 

Nova and Frank worked together on the program for a while, regenerating it from backups that were in other memory cells in the system. Derek watched them working for a while, and then he went up to his cabin to check on Alex and Ariel.

 

I wonder when this day is going to be over? Nova thought as she wiped some sweat of her brow. I’m so tired! Whew!

 

Nova continued to work on the computer system, smiling to herself when the screens and indicators began turning from red to blue, indicating that the computer was busy repairing itself from its backups.

 

“I’m not going to let anyone else touch this except for Sandor for a while,” said Carmody as he began closing screens. “That way, the warp subroutines won’t get corrupted again.”

 

 

“Good idea,” Nova replied. “Let’s run a simulation of a warp to see if it’s working right…let’s start about now…we’ll calculate a mock warp between the Moon and Jupiter.”

 

“Let’s get to it,” said Carmody.

 


 

When Nova was done, she came back up to her cabin needing to get some water or soda. When she found Derek, Derek was busyplaying with Alex, who had on one of his new outfits, namely, a blue striped shirt, shorts, and little blue sneakers.

 

Ariel was asleep in her baby carrier and was being rocked and sang to by her grandmother.

 

“Did you get the computers fixed?” said Derek.

 

Nova nodded and smiled as she took the bottle of bottled water Derek handed her. She drank it and then picked up Alex, playing with him on her lap while she grabbed up her sandals and finally put them back on. “What time is it?”

 

“You mean you lost track of time down there?” said Derek.

 

Nova nodded.

 

“Now it’s about…uh….1610,” Derek said as he looked at his computer and closed up his log. Derek winked at Teri, and she smiled back. Teri thought, We should be ready. We kept her on the ship long enough….

 

“Let’s head down to the car,” Teri suggested.

 

“Shouldn’t we wait until Derek’s ready?” Nova said.

 

“I’ll be along in a few minutes,’ said Derek. “I have to make some notes in the log about today’s repairs.”

 

Nova bent down, holding Alex in his baby carrier, as she kissed her husband. “Don’t take too long, now. You’ll get me worried.”

 

“I won’t,” Derek said.

 

Teri slipped back on her own sandals and picked up Ariel, who wore a yellow top and a little white skirt with matching sandals. Ariel cooed as she woke up, and her father bent down over her to kiss her. “Listen to your grandmother now, and be safe. I’ll follow you soon…”

 

Nova and Teri left with Alex and Ariel, as Derek called his own house in San Diego at his phone. He was not surprised when Katrina answered.

 

“Yes?” she said.

 

“Katrina, we’re leaving now with Nova and the kids; we’re also stopping by the school to pick up Jonathan; he had a Photography Club meeting after school and so he was going to be late today anyway. How much is ready?”

 

Katrina smiled, looking over at Sasha, Diane Henson, and Wendy Glitchman, who were there long with Dawn Hardy and Angie Hartcliffe. “Most everything is ready,” said Katrina. “We have the streamers up, blue and pink ones, and we have a big new baby blanket down. It’s surrounded by the gifts.”

 

“We know it’s not usual to have a baby shower after the babies are born, but we couldn’t exactly do this during the war,” said Dawn.

 

You don’t know how right you are, thought Invidia as she flashed back to what she was up to just a few weeks ago; namely, plotting the conquest of Earth. We couldn’t have done this when I was on the Comet plotting to destroy or conquer all of you. Now…things…well, they’re different, she thought.

 

“Good..” Derek said. “We should be able to pull a nice surprise for Nova when we all get home.”

 

“I hope she’ll like it,” Sasha said as she got back on the phone again.

 

“I think she will,” said Derek.

 


 

III. SURPRISES!

 

Earth

 

The San Diego Megalopolis

 

Rio Amarillo Apartments

 

Derek and Nova’s Residence

 

Tuesday, October 20, 2207

 

1700 Hours Local Time

 


 

At five PM, Nova stepped into her apartment, carrying Alex. “Derek, why is the apartment all dark?” she said. “I could have sworn we left the curtains open and the lights on when we left this morning?”

 

“”Step out of your shoes and walk in,” said Derek.

 

Nova shrugged and sat down on the little bench in the foyer and got rid of her sandals. She took Alex out of his carrier and waiting for Derek to follow with Ariel after he got rid of his shoes; Jonathan had his school shoes off last and he nodded at his father as they walked into the darkened living room.

 

Suddenly, the lights went on, and everyone yelled, “SURPRISE!”

Nova almost dropped Alex as she looked up at the big banner that read, “CONGRATULATIONS, DEREK, NOVA, ALEXANDER AND ARIEL!

 

Nova smiled, biting back tears as she looked at Sasha and Deke, Brew and Bangs, Mark and Holly Venture, Sandor and Diane Henson, Katrina, Foxy, and Michelle, Homer and Wendy, Bryan and Angie Hartcliffe, and Dawn and Jefferson Hardy as they sat there with Frank and Marina Carmody and their children along with Karl Forrester and Nova’s brother and sister David and Aurora. They were all sitting on a large blanket with gifts around them with IQ-9 and Ms. Eloise sitting nearby.

 

Derek pretended to act “surprised” as he said down with Nova and the babies while Jonathan sat down with them and winked at Felicia Carmody, who was now officially his girlfriend. Felicia had on her school sailor dress and high white socks as she smooched at Jonathan’s cheek and whispered, “I got home early and helped Katrina set this up. Isn’t this great?”

 

“What did you buy them?”

 

“You’ll see,” said Felicia. “Nova’s got that box in her hands.”

 

Nova opened the gaily gift-wrapped box and pulled out a set of pink and blue rattles and pacifiers for Alex and Ariel. Both babies were soon sucking away on the new pacifiers and looking with interest at the rattles both parents were holding.

 

Sasha and Deke gave their gifts next; Nova and Derek were pleased to receive three robes and some bath cushions in boxes. The little robes were white, trimmed in pink and blue for Ariel and Alex, and there was a big adult-sized white robe in pink for Nova to wear after bathing the twins. Nova’s mother gave them some washcloths, towels, baby oil and baby shampoo, and two Lionel train sets…one for Alex and one for Ariel, while Karl Forrester surprised Alex and Ariel with some new clothes and some envelopes that Nova found held stock in some aerospace corporations, along with notations that the dividends for Alex and Ariel’s stock would go into bank accounts for them where they would be held in trust for them until they became twenty-one. Alex and Ariel would be shocked on their twenty-first birthdays when their parents presented them with the stock and bankbooks that by then held sums that were in the hundreds of thousands of credits.

 

The baby shower party went on for much of the evening. After all the gifts were opened,and all of the pictures taken, Nova put Alex and Ariel to bed, yelled a little at Jonathan and Felicia when they were caught necking in the guest bedroom (even though Nova secretly thought it was sort of cute), and then, after having some apple juice, she finally went in for a nap around 11PM as the last of the guests were leaving.

 

Nova gave Wendy and Homer a fond farewell, knowing that she and Derek would be at their wedding in just two more days, on Thursday, the 22nd. They were looking forward to that, and they would be travelling back to Great Island that morning for the wedding and the reception.

 


 

But, at the same time, on Great Island, two people not invited to Homer and Wendy’s wedding were planning a wedding of their own.

 

Namely, the people in question were pilot Shigeru Sakamoto and his fiancee’ Duchess Caella of the Comet Empire.

 

They were still living on Great Island; they currently lived on a farm north of the Kwanto Plain near some of Sakamoto’s relatives in Japan, who were also farmers.

 

As Caella was discovering, they were also rednecks and hicks.

 

Some of Sakamoto’s relatives from America, namely the Sakamotos of Northern California, the Leeces of Kentucky, and the McFarrells from the hills of West Virginia had also come to Great Island for what Sakamoto’s weird cousin Cletus McFarrell, a farmer from West Virginia, called “A glory-filled weddin’ bash with lotsa moonshine.”

 

Yes, some of Sakamoto’s relatives were actually hillbillies! 

 

At the moment, Caella, who was barefoot in an old pair of coveralls and a halter, came out with a straw hat on to watch Cousin Cletus, barefoot, who, in coveralls, a straw hat and bandana, sat working on their tractor engine, cursing and drinking moonshine while he chewed on a piece of straw in his rotten teeth.

 

“Damned dagnabbed thing of a tractor, Caella. Where did ya bring this from, honeypie? The wreckage of your goddamned Comet?”

 

“Sakamoto-san bought it at the local Tractor Company branch, Cletus. This was a perfectly good tractor two weeks ago…”

 

“Damn no-count stupid-ass brainless cowshit patty head fiancee of yours was usin’ this thing to drag-race, ah reckon! He really mucked up the clutch, worthless no-account son of a bitch!”

 

“Cletus, cool it,” said Sakamoto, clad in a leather jacket and jeans, as the old hick cursed up a storm.

 

Cletus’ wife, Marty Sue, came up and said, “Cletus, get off your no’count tail and comeon over to the ceement pond these people got. Akron’s tryin to pee in it again…”

 

“Why don’t you stop ‘im, Marty Sue?”

 

“Why don’ you stop him, Cletus, ya worthless, moonshine guzzlin’ hunk of dried out sake residoo?”

 

“I’ll get him, Mammy,” said Takeo Sakamoto, a big giant of a man who weighed maybe 350 pounds. A minute later, Takeo was pulling Akron, (who had his shorts open) away from the Sakamotos’ swimming pool and hitting him as he cried.

 

“I need to go pee!” cried Akron, a little 8-year old freckled, inbred example of humanity.

 

“Go in the damn outhouse then,” growled Takeo.

 

“But there be spiders and bugs in there,” said Akron.

 

“I go in there all the time,” sighed Caella, as she thought, Why did Zordar and Invidia ever want to conquer this planet? We should have either left it alone or blown it up! “Now, c’mon and I’ll show you how to go pee!”

 

“Thank you, Auntie Caella,” said Akron as he walked along with his shorts down around his bare knees; otherwise, he went naked. When he came out of the outhouse a few minutes later, he was naked (having whizzed all over his shorts and then thrown them down the outhouse hole) and he jumped right in the pool that way.

 

In the meantime, Akron’s sister Victoria was randomly spray-painting things on the side of Sakamoto’s barn as she giggled, wearing a frilly dress that was rapidly becoming filthy with spray paint as she chewed on a piece of dried dog food in the corner of her mouth. No one thought much of this. She had just stolen it from Sakamoto’s ugly mutt dog, who was named Spike. Victoria had also torn out two of Spike’s teeth in the bargain. Spike was currently whimpering, afraid of the little 6-year old hellion.

 

Akron got dragged out of the pool by his mother, who washed him roughly with an old sponge, and then got thrown back in along with some chlorine.

 

In the meantime, Cletus was drinking moonshine and cursing while Caella talked about her wedding dress.

 

Then, Sakamoto said, “We’d better get dressed. You got a suit, Cletus?”

 

“Ah’m goin to see the preacher like this,” said Cletus.

 

“Takeo?” said Caella.

 

“I’ll go if I can have sake and get drunk.”

 

“Go and get Victoria and Akron,” yelled Cletus at their mother, Daisy Jo. “You and Jeb get some clothes on them little pieces o’ crap!”

 

Victoria be decently dressed,” said Daisy Jo as she held up the cross-eyed little barefoot girl in her paint-smeared dress.

 

“C’mon,” said Caella. “You’re going to be the flower girl. You have to put on this pretty dress.”

 

“Okay with me if ah can rub in the mud later on,” said Victoria as Caella pushed her and Akron off to get dressed.

 


 

Later on, at a synagogue on the outskirts of the Megalopolis, Homer was putting a wedding ring on Wendy Singleton’s finger under the canopy. She was crying. So was Sasha, who was her matron of honor. So was Nova, who was waiting with Derek.

 

Then, the wine glass was broken under Homer’s shoe, and Wendy and Homer left the synagogue, newly married, laughing as they ran towards their limo.

 

Katrina ran next to Foxy. Katrina had on a dark red gown with spaghetti straps that showed off her shoulders, worn with black sandals. Foxy ran beside her; he had on a black tuxedo with a white bow tie.

 

Half an hour later, they all ended up at a huge country club far to the north of the Tokyo Megalopolis, where Dash, who was the best man, stood at about 1500 giving a rambling speech for the toast while he paused every now and then, hearing weird noises from the other room next to them.

 

Katrina shook her head at the noises. She ignored them, and went on talking with Foxy.

 

They had made their decision they were going to have a big wedding of their own in early December. Katrina had picked out a country club nearby that they had passed as a venue, and she was cuddiling with Foxy and talking about who they were going to invite, when….a few minutes later, the doors to their reception hall burst open, and Cletus staggered in in his bare feet, old dirty overalls, straw hat, and so forth.

 

Katrina wondered what THIS was (some joke on Homer’s part?) when she saw that Homer and Wendy looked just as shocked at the hick as she did. She looked at Foxy, who nodded. Then, he looked at a shocked Wendy and Homer (Homer and Wendy were dressed very nicely; Homer had on his EDF dress blues, while Wendy had on a beautiful satiny bridal gown with satin pumps). Cletus then spat tobacco on the rug and said, “Ya look nicer than the other bride. She’s green!”

 

Green?” asked Wendy, very confused.

 

Commanding General Singleton came up, cleared his throat loudly, and said, “Sir, are you from the Sakamoto wedding party next door?”

 

“What if I is? Who are you? The Penguin in Chief?”

 

“I beg your pardon! I am the Commander of the Earth Defense Forces,” said Singleton as Nova introduced Derek (who was in his blues and peacoat).

 

Nova looked imperious in her black dinner dress and sandals as she said, “Sir, this is Commodore Derek Wildstar, Commander of the Argo and the Star Force. We were here to see a shipmate getting married. I think you’re in the wrong place. I’ll walk you…”

 

A minute later, everyone screamed as Spike the Ugly Dog ran into the room, trailing a leash made of rope behind him. He barked, growled, and put his head in the champagne fountain and began lapping away loudly while most of Homer and Wendy’s guests looked on in disgust.

 

Little Victoria came in in her bare feet, whooping and yelling as she ran up to Spike and then she screamed at litte Aurora Forrester, about her age but more nicely dressed, as she tried to make the dog heel.

 

“Is this your dog?” said Aurora firmly.

 

“Yeah, he my dog,” said Victoria. “What’s it to you, city slicker?”

 

“He’s ugly and he is not welcome in here,” snapped Aurora. “My big sister will make him leave with a stick if you don’t get him out of here!”

 

Then, a moment later, people screamed and yelled as an apparition in white entered the room.

 

She was dressed like a bride, but a very tacky one.

 

Caella had on a white, short bridal dress, white fishnet hose, two garter belts, and clear plastic sandals that had goldfish swimming in the clear plastic platforms that made up the soles of her shoes. She was also very drunk.

 

“Why are you hitting MY DOG?” she yelled at Nova as Nova tried to grab the drunken mutt by the collar. Nova was usually good with animals, but she was batting .001 with Spike, who had just bitten her twice.

 

“I’m very sorry. This dog is loose, drunk, and a menace to humanity. My babies are sleeping over by that table. I do not want this thing biting my children. And who are you?”

 

“Duchess Caella of the Comet Empire. I just married Mister Sakamoto Shigeru over there.”

 

Nova smiled, nodded at Caella, and then turned to Sakamoto. “Sakamoto. This is Homer and Wendy’s reception. We didn’t invite you…”

 

“So leave!” snapped Sasha as she came up. Sasha also pointed at Cletus. “And take that drunken farmer out with you, please.”

 

Cletus, in the meantime, was attacking Homer and Wendy’s wedding cake. Wendy was beginning to cry as Homer grabbed him and said, “That cake cost three thousand credits! You’re paying for it now!”

 

“Here’s your cake,” said Cletus as he shoved some cake and frosting in Homer’s face.

 

Wendy screamed and kicked Cletus in the behind with one of her open-toed pumps. A minute later, she was on the carpet, coughing and gasping as Caella jumped on top of her, tore her veil off, and began smacking Wendy’s face against the carpet while yelling, “Princess Invidia! I thought you’d show your ugly face sooner or later! Here’s mud in yer eye!”

 

Wendy screamed and shoved some of the ruined wedding cake in Caella’s face as Katrina ran up to the melee.

 

In the meantime, Akron, down to his tuxedo jacket and underpants, ran in and dodged Derek Wildstar. He picked baby Alex up out of his baby carrier (little Alex had on shorts and a baby tuxedo and looked adorable) and Akron began bouncing him, yelling, “Whoop the baby! Whoop the baby! WHOOP THE BABY!”

 

Alex caught a look at the ugly face of the nasty little boy bouncing him around and he began to scream with terror as Derek ran up and yelled, “What are you doing to my son?”

 

“Babies is basketballs! Babies be good for throwin’ around!”

 

Akron tried to throw Alex into the wedding cake as people ran around and screamed, but Nova ran up and grabbed her son out of Akron’s arms and comforted him while looking daggers at Akron. Nova nodded to Derek, who grabbed Akron and said, “You’re waiting here for your father!”

 

“That’s my cousin,” said Sakamoto. “I’ll take charge of him!”

 

“Good,” snapped Derek. “I recommend you give him the spanking of his life! He could have hurt my son!”

 

In the meantime, Katrina tried to help Homer comfort a hurt and crying Wendy while Caella looked down at her and said, “Look at you. I thought she was Invidia!”

 

“You’re drunk,” snapped Katrina, who recognized Caella at once but did not want to let on that she knew her (it would blow her cover wide open). “I recommend you leave before they have you arrested!”

 

“INVIDIA!” screamed Caella at Katrina. “YOU ARE INVIDIA! THE PURPLE HAIR HIDES CRAP!”

 

“Are you deluded?” snapped Katrina. “Invidia is very much dead!”

 

“You’re her!” yelled Caella as she grabbed a pie and threw it at Katrina.

 

Katrina ducked, but the pie hit Nova in the face instead. Caella began to laugh her head off while Nova wiped lemon meringue topping from her eyes….until Nova fired back with an apple pie she grabbed up. (Nova had seen enough ancient Three Stooges shorts to know that when someone threw a pie in one’s face…you threw a pie back)

 

The apple pie hit Caella in the face, but Caella snarled and bit at Nova.

 

Nova slapped away Caella and succeeded in kicking her in the butt with one of her pointy-toed sandals.

 

Caella fell over, and then she got up and punched Katrina in the face, and Katrina punched back, knocking out one of her teeth.

 

Caella grabbed a glass of champage and threw it in Katrina’s face. Katrina hissed, found a fallen curtain rod and began to hit Caella with it while she punched Nova.

 

Nova punched Caella very hard in the head to help Katrina as Sakamoto and Derek were wrestling on the floor. Derek yelled as Akron bit him in the behind, but he responded by slapping away the holy terror of a little kid while he punched hard at Sakamoto.

 

And in the meantime, nasty Spike the Dog bit Homer, but was stopped by Eager grabbing him by his collar, wrestling him down, and then hog-tying him.

 

“What are you doing to that dog?” said Dash.

 

“Hog-tying this varmint!” said Eager. “That’s what we do to them in Texas!”

 

Then, the Shore Patrol and the police showed up while Nova, Katrina, and Caella stood in the center of the melee, forcibly separated and yelling at each other. Before Derek knew it, Caella was handcuffed and walked out of there, followed by Katrina, and then followed by Nova, who was in handcuffs for the first time in her life.

 

“Where are you taking them?” yelled Foxy as he ran up.

 

“Jail,” said one of the policemen. “They’re all charging each other with assault. Well, purple-hair and blondie here are charging Greenie here with assault and this Cometine defector is charging both of them. They’re all under arrest until all this is sorted out….”

 


 

IV. JAILHOUSE ROCK

 

Earth

 

Great Island

 

Fujiyama District Jail

 

Thursday, October 22, 2207

 

2300 Hours Local Time

 


 

Katrina leaned on the bars of the door of the jail cell she shared with Nova and said, “Well, at least she’s stopped yelling from her cell. I hate that Caella!” Then, she bit her lip and looked very depressed and tried to keep the tears from coming. “Criminals. Caella and her family ruined Homer and Wendy’s reception and we are the criminals?”

 

“I hope my babies are all right,” Nova said as she mournfully paused from playing a harmonica a guard had given her. Nova was lying on one of the lumpy bunks chained to the wall. “It’s a shame. I try defending everyone from those maniacs, and we end up in here.”

 

“Why are you playing that mournful music?” said Katrina.

 

“It’s called the blues. It fits being in jail,” sighed Nova. “I hate it here. I wish Derek and Foxy would come soon to bail us out.”

 

“You and I both,” sighed Katrina. “You and I both…”

 

And, on that note, both Katrina and Nova waited to be bailed out of jail.

 

When is Foxy coming? Katrina throught through her tears… This is so unfair!

 

 


 

TO BE CONTINUED….

 

(THE NEW COMET WILL END NEXT CHAPTER WITH CHAPTER FIVE: “RECEPTIONS AND HOLIDAY PARTIES”)

 

To Return to the Introduction to The New Comet, click here