Food for Thought

The light from the explosion washed over Logan as he stood at the window watching. That was the direction the starport was in, and he could only think of two reasons for what he was now witnessing. Option one, a ship's reactor detonated for some reason. The thought of option two even being possible sent a shiver up his spine; the Navy could have dropped a fusion warhead from orbit.

The situation was dire enough, but Logan still couldn't imagine the Navy doing something like that. The Pretorian Fleet could have, they had a reputation for being ruthless, but there was no way they had left the inner sphere.

Smoke and debris rose to join the storm clouds overhead as the glow started to fade, the sky returning to deep black and greys. A faint light clung to the horizon over the rooftops, likely a fire in what remained of the starport and surrounding buildings.

Sleep tugged at Logan, and his glass said it was two in the morning. There wasn't much to be done other than look out the window. Turning, he saw everyone except Lilith standing around him, equally wide-eyed and shocked.

"Are we next?" Lindon asked; he was shaking slightly, like a tall pole in the wind.

"Unlikely, if it were an attack, then the Navy would have hit the whole city at more or less the same time. It's possible a reactor aboard one of the ships that was still at the starport exploded. As for why, I couldn't tell you." Logan's own nerves were frayed, but he did his best to speak evenly and project some confidence.

"What do we do?" A little gruff, Vance didn't seem too worried, but Logan got the sense he was a stoic man.

"Go back to sleep if you can, honestly. Fusion detonations have no fallout or radiation. The debris and dust might linger for a day or two." Logan wasn't sure what answers there were right now. Being tired and on edge wouldn't help anyone. He saw a little movement in the stairwell and noticed Lilith keeping a low profile. Still, she must have seen part of the explosion, given the slightly worried look she carried.

"Sleep? After that? Shouldn't we be preparing or doing something?" Lindon had changed his tone, still laced with anxiety but seemed more agitated now.

"What exactly would you want to prepare for? Do you want to head out there yourself and play with rubble?" Effie's voice was elevated; she sounded tired.

Sinking slightly, Lindon retreated into his thoughts, and the floor returned to the kind of silence only heavy rain could bring. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, realizing most people were half naked, having been jolted out of bed.

"Look, I know it's a hard pill to swallow, and everyone is on edge, but there's nothing we can do right now. I, for one, am going to try and get more sleep," Rubbing the bridge of his nose Logan headed for the stairs; Lilith was a few steps ahead of him.

As he descended the first few stairs, Logan saw the others begin to disperse, their anxiety and fear still visible.

Lilith was sitting on the bed wearing an oversized shirt that almost looked like a dress; Logan was curious but realized it must have been one of the items she grabbed when they were outside yesterday.

"I heard most of the discussion. Pretty sure no one saw me." The baggy nature of the shirt somewhat hid Lilith's stomach. It helped that some of it had already been absorbed; she was nowhere near as big as when they fell asleep.

Logan sat beside her and put a hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently. Logan still needed sleep, and he felt pretty tired.

"I haven't quite finished your last batch of cum, but if you want to fill me up again, I won't say no." Lilith spread her thighs slightly and gave him a flirty look, but it was apparent she was being a bit of a tease.

"Maybe we can try that at a later date. Who knows how pregnant you'll look with two loads in you." Logan could play the game just as well; his hand slid up her thigh and came to a rest on her still partially rounded belly.

Lilith's mouth hung open slightly before she bit her lip and blushed furiously.

They sat together for a moment before tiredness gripped them again. Getting back in bed together, Lilith pulled her shirt off and wiggled herself against Logan, who turned the lights out.

In the darkness, they cuddled, their breathing not really slowing.

"You're pretty certain the Navy didn't attack, right?" Her voice was quiet, and Lilith sounded troubled.

"Fairly. We can discuss more in the morning if you want." Logan yawned slowly.

"I trust your judgment, Mr. Spy." She squeezed his arms as they held her tightly.

Logan chuckled as he started to drift off. "Wasn't a spy."

There were no dreams as he slept, waking slightly more rested than he had felt when the explosion shook him to consciousness. Sleep felt like it still clung to his bones, but Logan shrugged it off.

Lilith was draped over him, breathing slowly, lovely amethyst-like eyes watching him. A small smile crept onto her mouth when she realized he was awake; she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

They didn't talk for a few minutes, opting to lay together and feel the warmth and comfort of skin-on-skin contact. Logan held her tightly and wished they were deep in a rainy forest, curled up in a cozy cabin with large ceiling-high windows. Views of the rain-soaked foliage, fog drifting through the trees. Maybe one day.

"What are you smiling about?" Lilith sounded like she might fall asleep again.

"The future." He replied plainly.

"Oh? Must have been a nice thought." Logan felt her hand cup his balls as she spoke.

"It was quite nice." His smile got a little bigger.

"You already feel so full again... " Her hand gently squeezed and weighed each of Logan's balls.

"If we could have sex right now, I'd love to, but I'd still like to avoid dealing with everyone else. Unless you want to stay in the room all day." Logan gave her a very suggestive look.

Lilith looked like she was seriously contemplating the idea before she frowned and slowly shook her head. "I would be very up for some slow morning sex, but I agree it's probably not the smartest idea. I want to spend part of the day getting to know some of the others."

"That sounds like fun. I had hoped to try and get the hang of my vision 'powers' for lack of a better word. Hopefully, some practice might reveal something; at the very least, practicing to control the nanomachines seems like a good use of time." Logan hesitated momentarily before adding, "You might be able to do the same things I can."

"I'll be able to completely stuff my own body with your cum?" Her playful over-eagerness earned her a tiny slap on the butt.

"You know what I mean." Leaving his hand on her soft and well-formed butt gave Logan ideas that he was probably better off thinking about later in the day.

"I guess we will have to wait and see if anything develops for me." Lilith wiggled her booty into his hand.

Giving her butt cheek a firm squeeze, Logan kissed her lovingly on the lips before peeling himself away from her warmth.

"Nooo, more cuddles, please!" Lilith pouted in protest.

"We can cuddle later if you want. I really need some food. I feel ravenous." Growling at him, his stomach did a great job of letting him know that, in fact, he was starving.

Logan questioned why he felt so hungry but chalked it up to nanomachines working on something.

"What if I fed you right from the tap?" Lilith was cupping one of her breasts and pointing a puffy nipple at Logan. "Then we could cuddle more."

He couldn't tell if she was being serious or just incredibly playful. It was probably a mix of both. Logan rolled his eyes slightly and started to get dressed.

Her light laughter at his response told him she was mainly joking.

Lilith rolled out of bed and started to get dressed. She wore a knee-length black dress that looked very comfy and flowed as she moved. It also looked a size too small for her new cleavage, which aggressively spilled out of an already low-cut neckline.

"Oops. I guess I didn't realize the girls were bigger when we were at the store." She looked a little unsure.

"I was going to ask when you got it, but I assumed you grabbed it and that shirt from last night when we were out." Logan couldn't help but take in her lovely cleavage.

"Do you think it's too much boob?" Blushing, Lilith smiled when she saw how he looked at her.

"Possibly, but it looks comfortable. Plus, I get an even better view whenever I look at you." As Logan spoke and continued to eye Lilith up, she reached over and threw the baggy shirt on.

"Definitely too much boob for the current atmosphere." She smirked at him gently before blowing him a kiss.

Logan just smiled at her; it didn't matter what she wore. She looked gorgeous in just about anything.

With their shoes on, the pair headed out into the foyer and found Vance about to head upstairs with what looked like a cereal box.

"Morning." Vance sounded a little glum, "We set some tables up on the second floor if you want to join us; it's nicer than eating down here."

"Sure, sounds good," Logan said, turning to Lilith to see her smile and nod in agreement.

Everyone was upstairs except for Lindon, who, according to Effy, was a tired wreck after not going back to sleep. Logan had some cereal and synth milk. Getting any kind of fresh animal milk was almost impossible if you were not on a trade, agriculture, or large city planet. You could taste how long 'fresh' milk had been frozen. Synth milk might have tasted slightly different, but it was better than drinking freezer burn.

They all chatted while they ate. Logan learned that Vance's family operated a medium size company that produced munitions and small arms for the Colonial Navy. It wasn't a leading manufacturer, but they were slowly growing due to the quality of their products. Based on the outer sphere planet Estrin, Estrin Dynamics was planning to jump to ship weaponry soon.

Tanya's Mother was in line to be the next CEO of Interstellar Credit, the third-largest bank in Terran space. Tanya herself worked as an analyst trying to predict Terran Exchange market shifts.

Effy was a little more hesitant to share but eventually admitted to being a part-time smuggler. A few connections she made during her mandatory service helped get things going when she couldn't find any other work. She bounced back and forth from legitimate cargo transport to moving slightly illegal things, but nothing too out there.

A few of them were curious about what it was like to be an auditor. Logan got the sense they were a little disappointed when he described what the job was like for most of the current workforce. In most cases, an average auditor's work ended up being underwhelming and something that a different organization would have certainly been better suited to.

Logan finished eating and wished everyone as good a day as possible in their current situation. Tanya, though she had seemed quite shy at first, was currently eagerly talking with Lilith about her past job experience. Lilith smiled at him as he stood and headed to the first basement level. It was time to try and exert some control over the nanomachines.

Having no clue where to start, Logan turned off the lights and sat in one of the smaller rooms on the first basement level. It was pitch black, and he couldn't even see his hand an inch from his face. 'If I can see, then I guess I'm doing it right,' He thought.

Sitting quietly, his mind did its best to distract him; thoughts and worries ran circles around his attempts to quiet his inner voice. Minutes passed in the dark, though it was hard to tell time.

"Night vision activate!" Growing frustrated, Logan had opted to try something unlikely to work. It didn't. Letting out a breath and feeling slightly foolish but glad no one had heard him, he took a deep breath and tried to focus again.

He kept coming back to the conversation he had with Lilith regarding intent. At this moment, he'd like to be able to see in the dark, and he wanted to. That didn't seem like enough to make anything work.

"I can see in the dark." He said confidently. To his disappointment, he couldn't, in fact, see in the dark.

Previously he hadn't really had to think about it, nor was it something he had thought about at all. He was always focused on a task when his abilities kicked in. Logan decided 'Abilities' was a better word, making a mental note to refrain from saying 'powers' again if he could help it.

Logan closed his eyes; the sound of his heartbeat filled his ears while he sat in the quiet room. He tried to imagine the glowing dots flowing around his body with every beat, the faint warmth on his fingertips from the gentle purple light, and the buzz of energy he had felt a few times.

His breathing eventually slowed, and Logan started to feel relaxed; he wondered if he was trying too hard. The abilities he previously demonstrated had activated at times of need and heightened emotion like they were extensions of himself rather than a switch to be flipped on and off.

It would be much easier if he could just turn a switch on and off. Shaking that thought, he focused more on his breathing and tried to find that sense of connection he had felt with Lilith, except he was looking for it within. Were they meant to talk back to him?

Nothing happened, the room was still, and his heartbeat was a distant, slow sound to the gnawing quiet that now filled his mind. How was he supposed to tell the nanomachines what to do? Logan kept reaching for something, a feeling, a sensation, anything to indicate he was headed in the right direction. There was no response.

So he continued to sit, continued to wait, and continued to reach out; mind focused on making a more robust connection if possible and gaining some control.

Minutes or hours passed; Logan didn't know.

A faint light caught his attention. It was purple, small, and warm. Logan recognized it as the light from his dream; it drifted slowly beyond his reach. He tried to open his eyes but realized they were already open. Had he fallen asleep?

Logan looked down and saw his body, faint silver lights drifting around him. Slightly dark in color and almost grey but still silver and shimmering, the lights passed through him and orbited slowly. Did they represent the nanomachines? What else could they be? Looking up again at the purple light, there was only one thing it could be: Lilith or the nanomachines within her.

Questions and other thoughts started to push in on him; there was a sharp tug on his consciousness or being. It was hard to tell, but it felt like he was being dragged away as he lost focus.

Inhaling sharply and pushing everything else from his thoughts, Logan focused solely on the lights drifting around him. There had to be a few hundred. Was each one a nanomachine? He had to refocus, or else there would be nothing but questions.

An exceptionally bright pulse of dark silver light drew his eyes to it; slightly larger than the others, it lazily floated across his vision. Logan reached out and settled his palm underneath it. The light pulsed again warmly and felt like it settled into his hand. Unsure what to make of it, he brought it closer and examined it.

It had no substance or weight, just a gentle warmth that flowed into his palm. The other lights continued their aimless drifting, occasionally bumping into each other and then drifting off again but never straying too far from his body. Logan could discern no order, pattern, or reason for their movements.

"What's controlling you guys?" He thought out loud. The light resting in his palm pulsed weakly as he spoke. They were machines, incredibly advanced ones, were they capable of individual function, or did they require a control center?

Logan focused on the light in his hand and tried to will it to move. It vibrated slightly and then fell still. There had to be something missing; they had to need some kind of communication between each other to work.

He stopped mid-thought. The energy surge must have changed how they were functioning; everything felt slightly different before that happened. Especially with the pain in his head, he hadn't felt anything after the nanomachines latched onto the energy and absorbed it.

He wasn't ready, or maybe the nanomachines weren't ready. Something that advanced had to have been shielded from energy spikes unless they misunderstood the situation and intentionally overloaded themselves to save him? Or possibly they were at a vulnerable point.

It's also possible they were unable to repair themselves or whatever damage was done, just floating around latching onto whatever impulse seemed the strongest.

Feeling another tug, much more assertive this time, Logan dropped the extra thoughts for now and instead focused on the light in front of him. He didn't want to lose this moment.

"I don't know if you're actually a nanomachine inside me or something else, but you're going to help me, alright? You are going to be..." he paused momentarily and thought of what to say; Logan was out on a limb with this idea. "...The primary control unit."

The light didn't react in any way to his words; it just sat there quietly glowing.

"Alright, buddy? It's your job to organize all the other nanomachines, ok?" Logan saw another light drift in front of him and had another idea.

Scooping it up with his other hand, he brought it close to the first light. They were machines, after all, so this might work. The control one needed to be more powerful to help organize the network. Or at least that's the assumption he was operating under.

Slowly he pressed the two lights together, "Ok, you two, you're going to combine into a bigger, better helper so we can get a handle on your friends."

They resisted. Hard. Logan was surprised; suddenly, the lights in his hands felt heavy as they pushed away from each other. Something they clearly didn't want to do. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't an option.

Logan centered his thoughts on them and focused as hard as he could. They would merge, create organization, give structure, and generate control.

His hands started to shake gently, and he felt a massive wave of exhaustion pass through him, but he persisted, throwing every ounce of effort he had at these two small lights.

Flickering silver light pulsed from the two beads and began to dim and fade; Logan's hands clapped together. He froze, unsure of what just happened. He was worried he broke something, which was possible since this was technology he knew nothing about. Or he was about to die.

The exhaustion he felt grew heavier; his bones felt like lead weights. A slight thrum of warmth pulsed in his hands. It was soothing. Slowly opening them, Logan was greeted by a very weak singular dot of light; it thrummed again dimly, giving off another wave of warmth.

As Logan's tiredness grew, the light started to grow stronger. Every pulse increased its size until it was clearly more prominent than the others around him. Humming with gentle warmth and a strong light, Logan watched it for a moment as he felt his mind start to slip away into sleep.

Whatever he had done, Logan hoped it helped.

****

Something warm and soft was pressed against him, he still felt exhausted, but at least nothing hurt. Opening his eyes, Lilith was curled up on top of him, where he sat on the floor, leaning against a wall. Logan wasn't quite sure how he got there; he was pretty sure he was sitting in a chair. The lights were also on.

Lilith was asleep, taking a nap after not sleeping well, with good reason. He put his arms around her and squeezed softly, he'd love to stay here like this, but Logan had no clue how long he had been out.

"Hey." He did his best to rouse her gently; she sighed happily and started to wake up.

"Mmm, hello." Yawning, Lilith snuggled against him and showed no genuine desire to get up.