Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Thin Walls

A little more than a week after the installation of the seismograph sensors, Vesta had yet to record one official bear attack. Before the sensors, one person was dying every other day but so far it had been nine days in total, and the early warning system was working as designed.

Alex’s guess that it would give seconds back to the defenders of the mining biosphere proved to be accurate when on the fifth day after installation, the alarm went off and warning shots were fired at the rim. A bear was spotted but it didn’t descend into the bowl as it normally would—a victory in its own right.

The problem was that there were still too few sensors. And while Vitale was still creating them, Alex had no budget to pay for them. And there was still a lot of terrain between the mining biosphere and the rest of the city.

That was why Alex wasn’t surprised to hear that someone had been attacked on the road, where there were no sensors. A veteran VDF member had been carried off and killed before the rest of his comrades even knew what happened.

No sooner than an hour after the attack, Alex was called to task by a meeting of the Council.

“Councilor Hawthorne, if you cannot keep our people safe, then perhaps we need to promote someone else to the commander position,” railed Belladonna, looking down at him from her high horse. “This latest attack is inexcusable!”

“And what exactly makes it inexcusable?” asked Annette. “Did we not have bear attacks with the last commander as well?”

Belladonna huffed. “The last commander didn’t promise to stop the bear attacks, did he, Annette? Councilor Hawthorne has vowed an end to the terror and that’s not manifesting.”

Annette snorted. “He’s been in charge of the VDF for only three weeks, Belladonna. And in that time, he’s already put into place several changes for the better.”

“And yet, our people are still dying!” snapped Belladonna before she pointed her finger at Alex. “If you can’t control it, then I will put someone in there who will!”

“You forget where the attack occurred,” replied Alex, already feeling his anger rise. “There have been no attacks at the mining biosphere, where we were able to install the seismograph sensors. So far, those sensors have proven to be very valuable to us. If you would allow me the budget to purchase more of them to line the road to the mining biosphere, we could prevent any future—”

Belladonna waved her hands, interrupting him. “Nice try, Councilor Hawthorne. But I will not be manipulated into allowing you any more unnecessary funds. The only thing, and I repeat the only thing, that will get you more money is results.”

Annette shook her head. “He can’t give you any further results without more sensors, Belladonna. And you know that.”

“Not my problem, Annette,” replied Belladonna. “He’s the commander. He can figure it out.”

Annette stood up and planted her hands on the desk. “What’s your problem? You weren’t nearly as hard on Rooney as you are on Alex. You’re letting your personal feelings get in the way of professionalism.”

Belladonna scoffed. “How preposterous for you to even suggest that! I like Councilor Hawthorne just as much as the rest of my fellow councilor members.”

That statement even earned a snort from Serrano, which caused Belladonna to glare at him.

“Are we done here?” asked Cassara. “I’ve already made the arrangements for the funeral and have alerted the family. Unless we’re taking action against Councilor Hawthorne, I don’t see anything further for us to do.”

Alex wasn’t done yet though. He felt the death of the latest man on his hands, and he knew that only more sensors would help them.

“I have to request again more budget for the VDF,” said Alex, feeling like a broken record. “Today could have been prevented with the right technology. And it’s not even technology that we don’t have. We just need a way to pay for it.”

“Denied,” quipped Belladonna just as quickly as he finished speaking. “And I will ask my esteemed co-councilors to weigh in as well.”

“Denied as well,” replied an uninterested Cassara.

Serrano actually turned to look at him. “Looks like you’re shit out of luck, Hawthorne. Better find some cheaper toys to play with.”

Alex was ready to spit nails. He glared at Cassara. “I hope you told that to the family then. ‘Sorry, we could have saved him but we didn’t want to spend the money.’ I hope you told them the truth.”

“Commander Rooney was never this disrespectful,” muttered Belladonna. “If only Rooney had better people, he might still be alive today.”

After the meeting, Alex unloaded on Annette.

“Those jackasses are going to get all of us killed!” he raged as they walked away from the council meeting room. “This isn’t only negligence, it’s willful ignorance! They don’t give a shit how many people die as long as they can still keep the mines going while they line their own pockets!”

“I’m sorry, Alex,” admitted Annette. “I told you things were pretty messed up here. With us being in the minority too, it just means we get a front-row seat to their madness.”

Alex let out a deep sigh as he resisted the urge to start throwing things. “What can we do, Annette? Seriously, we have to get power out of their hands. Vesta won’t last much longer if we don’t take action.”

“I wish I knew how, I really do,” she replied. “Elections are held every year though. We still have a long way to go before we can think about changing the makeup of the Council.”

Alex nodded glumly and stayed quiet for a few moments. When he started to speak again, he was much more calm.

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to unload on you. I’m just so frustrated lately. The Council is one thing but Jenna still weighs heavily on my mind.”

Annette winced. “Nothing yet? It’s been over a week. You still haven’t heard from her?”

“She ignores me every time she sees me,” said Alex with a groan. “She acts like I don’t even exist. About the only time I can actually get her to respond is using the command structure for the VDF but even then it’s business only.”

Annette reached over and rubbed his back. “I’m sorry. My offer still stands if you think it will help. I’m more than willing to talk with her. Unfortunately, she hasn’t tried to talk to me either.”

“I’m thinking about going to see her in the next few days,” he admitted. “Just to see if I can actually get her to talk to me. Like you said, it’s been more than a week. I’m hoping she’s not still as angry as she was, or at least not angry enough to bite my head off right from the start.”

“Seems like a tall order. I wish you luck whenever it does happen though.”

“Thanks,” groaned Alex. “I’ll need all the luck I can get.”

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They separated a short while later as Annette went back to her unit in Biosphere Three. Alex gave one regretful look at the unit he shared with Jenna before turning to head toward Rick’s unit on Biosphere Eight.

Truthfully, living with Rick was starting to get really old. He still enjoyed spending time with his oldest friend but Rick’s living situation only served to make Alex more miserable. It was beyond obvious that Nikki and Michelle had found a way to compromise, and now their threeway relationship was stronger than ever.

It was also noisier than shit. Alex had spent many nights wishing the walls were thicker so that he didn’t have to hear them having sex together.

At least he still had Kristina.

Alex found the housing unit empty save for her. She was in the bedroom that he used (which had been Michelle’s bedroom for a very temporary period as they figured out their relationship). Once Michelle moved into the main room with Rick and Nikki, Alex took it over.

He found Kristina still plugged in but her eyes opened as soon as she shut the door.

“There you are, Alex,” she said, smiling at him. “How was the Council meeting?”

“Shitty,” grunted Alex as he kicked off his boots. “Apart from Annette, those people weren’t meant to run a lemonade stand.”

Kristina frowned and unplugged herself from the power source. She moved quickly to his bed and sat down. “Sorry for asking. I know how much it troubles you.”

“Not your fault for asking,” replied Alex.

Kristina’s hands went to his shoulders and she started to knead the muscles carefully. “Anything I can do to take the edge off? I hate seeing you so tense and upset.”

That was the best part of the new Kristina. Not only was she just like a real woman, but having her with him during the past week had helped to stem some of the misery he felt. It also helped sexually as well. Kristina wasted no time in giving him repeat performances of oral sex, taking care of him after a long day. And she was looking particularly inviting right now.

She had already changed her appearance once, turning her light brown hair to blonde at his request. Her eyes were already set to green, which he kept as her default setting. While there was never a way anyone would mistake her for Jenna, it was at least close enough to the real thing for him.

“Take your panties off and lean back on the bed for me,” whispered Alex.

Kristina purred with happiness as she sat up to do so. She turned so that her butt was in his face and took off her panties by only bending at the waist. In the process, he received the perfect view of her lower anatomy, which was already glistening in response to his request.

Though Alex had no idea how it worked, her body managed to produce enough secretions to stimulate actual feminine wetness.

Once she laid on the bed and spread her legs, she crooked her finger at Alex. “Come here, baby. Let me show you how much I want you.”

Kristina pulled her shirt up at that moment, exposing her tits. They were a delightful handful, capped with stiff nipples that he loved to pinch.

Alex pulled off his pants and crawled between her legs, not stopping until his cock touched her opening. Kristina wrapped her dainty arms around his neck and smiled at him while he slipped his cock into her body.

“Careful there, big boy,” she said, feigning discomfort. “You need to give me time to get used to that monster.”

She was even programmed to assuage the male ego, a very nice touch.

After a moment or two, Alex started to thrust. Kristina’s grip around his neck tightened and she started to moan softly in his ear as he pounded into her.

“Mmm, that’s it, Alex. Take me. Take your dirty, little slut. I love feeling how your big cock stretches me open. Keep pounding me just like that. Just like that. Oh, fuck, that feels so good.”

Despite liking the way she moaned, Alex needed more.

“Kristina, modify your voice to sound like Jenna Whitaker’s,” he ordered.

“Of course, baby,” she replied. When she spoke again, she sounded just like Jenna.

“Is that better, my love? You just wanted to be with me tonight and not Kristina?”

“That’s exactly right,” replied Alex, fucking her even harder. “I miss you so much.”

“I miss you so much, Alex. There’s nothing I love more than being intimate with you. I love the way your body fits with mine. I love you so much, Alex.”

“I love you too, Jenna,” he replied.

With that change, it didn’t take him long to cum. He shot his load deep into Kristina while she moaned with Jenna’s voice.

She continued to mewl in happiness as Alex rolled off, feeling worse than he had before the sex. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why, and Kristina noticed within a few moments.

“Alex?” she asked, using her normal voice again. “Are you okay? Is it something I did?”

Alex shook his head. “No, you were great, Kristina. Nothing’s wrong.”

She reached over to caress his cheek. “Are you sure? I’m inclined to not believe you by how you’re behaving right now.”

Alex swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ll be fine.”

He only wished he believed his own words.

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