Chapter No 11.

Everyone was in a good mood the next day. The G-force suffering was only a memory and a good nights' sleep helped bolster the crew's feelings about traveling in space.

The women spent some of their time running around the quarters deck, after which they decided to go down to the agricultural deck to relax in the pool that stored water for the crops.

Ryan was already down there checking out the status of the crops and the robot farmers. He went to an arch command center that allowed him to check the status of the agricultural deck's parameters. That's when he noted that the quartz Xenon arc lamp that substituted for a sun was on its last legs and needed replaced. Unfortunately, he needed help to do it.

He walked through rows of corn stocks to the pool. When he arrived, the women decided to tease him.

"Come on in!" Margaret sang. "There's plenty of room."

"I would like that, but unfortunately, I have a job to do." He pointed up. "The lamp that acts as a sun needs replaced, and I need help to do that." He was looking at Janet when he said that.

"I gather that you're recruiting me," she said.

He just smiled.

Janet climbed out of the pool and dressed and walked over to him. "I'm ready."

After Carl and Janet left, Alice turned to the Margaret and Janice with a grin. "Are they a couple?"

"No," Margaret replied. "He's training her to do his job if something happens to him."

"Does that mean that she's second in command of this big slug?"

"I don't think so. I believe that she understands the engineering that goes into this ship."

"I'm glad it's not me."

Alice and Janice agreed.

Carl and Janet went to the arch command center. He showed her the bulb that they needed to replace.

"How are we going to get that up there," she said, pointing up to the center of the deck where the lamp pod was suspended by means of four cables that were connected to poles at locations around the deck.

Carl pointed to a square box-shaped container. "We use that."

"What's that, a flying carpet?"

Carl chuckled. "It's a lift."

"How convenient."

"We have to connect ourselves up to the rails on this because as we go up, we'll lose artificial gravity." He handed her a harness that she put on as if it were a shirt and then connected it to a ring on a rail of the lift.

Carl moved a box with a new bulb onto the lift and secured it. He then did the same as Janet to secure himself to the lift. When he finished, he pressed the button on the lift control to begin its ascension. As the lift got closer to the center of the deck, both he and Janet could feel that they were no longer operating in artificial gravity.

The first step that they had to do was remove the old bulb, which was no longer operating. Auxiliary lamps attached to the walls provided a more subdued illumination. Carl unscrewed the old bulb, and with Janet's help, lowered it to the lift's floor. After securing it, he and Janet lifted the new bulb into place. Carl made sure it was oriented correctly before securing it in place.

They both took a break. Janet looked down to where the women were enjoying the pool and waved. They returned the gesture. The view from the center of the deck was spectacular. One could see all of the deck from their location.

Carl activated the lift to begin the return to the deck floor. Once there, he dragged the old bulb in its box to the arch, knowing that the robots would take care of it. He then activated the new bulb. It caused a marvelous flash of light that bathed everything. The emergency lamps were
automatically extinguished.

He turned to Janet. "Thanks."

She offered a subtle grin. "You're welcome."

She gestured. "Come and join us."

He repressed a grin. "No, you deserve your privacy."

When he walked away, Janet went back to the pool, stripped, and jumped in the pool.

"Did you have fun up there?" Margaret teased her.

"Depends on what you call fun. It was hard work to replace the lamp."

"You didn't get a reward kiss?" Alice asked with a teasing grin.

"I invited him to join us, but he said that we deserve our privacy."

"Bummer," Alice replied.

They laughed.

Carl spent his time making sure everything was running to specifications. The women worked on trying to get a good look at Enceladus, but at the distance that they were from it, what they could see wasn't all that helpful in understanding what was happening there,

"I don't get the blue atmosphere," Alice said. "Wouldn't that require a high concentration of nitrogen?"

"That's the problem," Janet said. "It doesn't make sense. Its gravity is not high enough to maintain an atmosphere. What's even more mysterious is that it's not blowing out plumes from its south pole. Enceladus is known to be supplying more ice to Saturn's E-ring."

"I don't understand how it could be terraformed," Margaret said. "It's too small to maintain a habitable climate."

"I hope this isn't another cosmic ray blaster," Janet said. "I'm tired of these timeline changes.

"I agree," Margaret said. "We like living in Carl's mansion. It's like being on an unlimited free vacation to a Caribbean Island paradise."

"I feel embarrassed to be taking advantage of him," Alice said. "He's paying for all our food and beverages."

"He's got plenty of money," Margaret said. "Thanks to his Ex."

"I'm surprised he hasn't asked for favors," Janice said. "He seems to be avoiding us."

"I think he's afraid of favoring any one of us," Margaret said. "He probably assumes that it would cause a rift."

"I wouldn't mind taking turns," Janet said.

"That would make us whores," Janice said.

"I prefer to label it as providing special favors," Janet said.

They giggled.

They each realized that they were just kidding around. The last thing that they wanted was a cat fight to determine who would win his attention.

The next morning, they found their sujet d' amour sitting at the command station intently viewing the main screen.

"What's happening?" Janet asked him, taking a seat next to him. The other women assumed chairs nearby.

"Our antenna froze up. I sent a robot out to loosen it."

"How'd he do that, grease it?" Janice asked.

"Oh no! Grease would freeze solid in space. He's injecting nano solid lubricant into its moving parts."

"How can he walk on the ship's hull?"

"His feet can be magnetized slightly enough to act like gravity." Carl smiled. "Looks like he was successful. Saves me from having to go on an EVA."

Alice activated the main telescope and entered commands to make it point at Enceladus. After adjusting the focusing, she noted something that surprised her. "What is that shiny object there?" she said, pointing at the screen.

"Is that a polished ice block?" Carl asked.

"It could be, but even if it were, it wouldn't be that shiny. That has to be a polished mirror."

"Can you get a spectral analysis of it?" Carl asked.

Alice punched in codes to start a spectral scan. After several minutes, she had an answer. "It indicates that it's silver."

"Hmm," Carl reacted, rubbing his jaw. "Maybe it's a telescope mirror. If it is, how did it get there?"

"Maybe NASA isn't telling us everything about this mission," Margaret said.

"I'll send a message back and include an image of the object," Carl said. "It'll take a while to get there and for them to send a reply, but we aren't going anywhere."

The robot that repaired the antenna made it back to safety. Carl was amazed by how useful these little mechanical workers were. Unfortunately, he had to replace some of the electronics in his EVA robot because of radiation damage.

The message came back from NASA, and it was vague. It intimated that they were just as surprised as he and the women were, a response that made Him more suspicious that this mission was not what it was cracked up to be.

The next evening when the women were in their bunks, Carl was at the command station trying to get a more detailed scan on the Enceladus object when Janet, barefooted and with her shapely chassis wrapped in a towel, sat down next to him.

"Burning the midnight oil?" she sang with a matching playful grin.

He momentarily looked over at her before returning his attention to the screen. "I'm trying to get a better view of the shiny object on Enceladus."

"Maybe you would prefer a more satisfying view of a different heavenly body."

He didn't turn to her to make a reply. "I could give you a rating, but it wouldn't be legitimate."

"Why not?"

"I'm not a beauty expert. My expertise is in planetary science. Besides, I've seen your chassis."

"Yeah, but I can provide you with a much more satisfying view of my hidden assets."

"Those assets pretty much look that same for most females."

She pouted. "That's ridiculous!"

Just then Margaret showed up. "Are you flirting with our commander?"

"Nah, I'm just trying to get his attention."

"He's seen your boobs before."

"I was going to entice him with a more interesting aspect of my physic."

"He's also familiar with pussies," Margaret said with an ornery grin.

"You gals need to go take cold showers," Carl said without looking at them.

They laughed as they turned and sauntered away.

Carl realized that they were only doing this because they were bored. It's the result of being cooped up together on a spaceship that doesn't allow much for privacy.

Author's note
It's been found that the universe locally is not real, meaning that it can change when observed. This could be the reason that there are multiple universes.