*** Author's Note ***
*** Sorry for not having a chapter ready for you yesterday. I ended up getting caught up in trying to describe what they were discovering about the new world and ended up having to trash it and start over last night because it ended up sounding like a late night National Geographic show. So I hope today's chapter is more captivating than it originally was before I had to rewrite it. And, again, I'm sorry for you having to wait two days for this one. ***
As they awoke the next morning Dawn jumped the luggage she had put in the storage room down so they all would have fresh clothes to wear for that day as well as the bathing suits she had wishfully packed for each of them. After they each had a short breakfast, Holly, Rachel, and Jessica eagerly rushed back to the ocean to go swimming again. But Stephan nervously looked at Dawn not having a swimsuit in hand and asked, "Ummm.... I don't see your swimsuit and I don't own one so I have to ask, were you serious about going skinny dipping yesterday? Because, while I think you look awfully cute and all, I don't think I'd be able to even look in your direction without blushing and dying of embarrassment. Especially being as I am nowhere near brave enough to go naked in front of anybody and am just going to go swimming in the suit I was wearing yesterday."
Dawn laughed heartily and, after catching her breath, answered as she tapped her head, "I appreciate you finally telling me you like me instead of trying to keep it hidden from a group of girls that all have the ability to tell how you feel. And as far as the skinny dipping, to be honest, growing up I kept hearing the creepy thoughts from the guards dad kept me surrounded with and how they wanted to strip me naked and grope me and other nasty stuff so I've never been comfortable even being close to naked around folks. So I wasn't really planning on going skinny dipping and was just teasing you knowing how you felt about me.
Plus, "she finished with a smirk, "If you men knew how to actually look at stuff you would have seen the bathing suit I bought for you when I went shopping last week." as she pointed at the suitcase they had prepared for Stephan.
He groaned in exasperation and partial relief when he found the swimsuit and then clarified with Dawn, "So no skinny dipping right?"
Teasing him she sighed, "If you insist." then turned to head outside.
Still not seeing her swimsuit, Stephan asked, "Aren't you going to go get changed and put your swimsuit on?"
Dawn laughed as she tapped her head again and said grinning, "You keep forgetting about our abilities. One of the things I learned how to do so I wouldn't have to give those guards the opportunity to see me even partially undressed was to jump my new clothes on underneath what I'm wearing." She then pulled out her waistband enough to show him part of her bikini so he could see it then walked out the door, leaving Stephan alone to get changed.
A short while later, as they were all relaxing in the comfortably cool water, Jessica gasped and said, "There are already plants here!"
Rachel lectured in response, "Given the stable climate and the hospitable conditions it was quite possible to find some form of life here."
Stephan added, "Yeah, for all we know there might even be aliens here. In fact, we might run into aliens of different types all over the galaxy."
Jessica then fumed, "No! Listen! I was looking around with my talent and I found a couple of fields with different types of plants in them. So I looked deeper and some of them are like some of the vegetables back home! So we might not even have to bring a huge load of food to get by. We could have it already growing and ready to gather up when we bring them here!"
"It's alien plant life sis. We might not be able to digest it and, Stephan scolded, "for all we know, it might even end up being poisonous."
"Wrong and wrong." Dawn stated, "I just checked on it and, while we won't know how it tastes until we try it, it is all edible and none of it is poisonous."
"Growing up I used to help my mom prepare supper so I might be able to see if it'll be worth it taste-wise." Holly volunteered.
Stephan sighed dejectedly and responded, 'We'll have to wait until next visit. We're gonna have to head back in a couple hours to keep up appearances for our cover story."
Rachel then grinned, looked at Dawn, and said, "We could always take a couple samples back with us so we would know if we needed to bring any particular seasonings back."
Dawn returned the grin and added, "Either way, now we know that on our first trip back we have to bring some farmers and a couple of the group of talents that will be able to help grow more seeds and prepare the ground for the fields."
Jessica giggled then stated, "Sounds like a plan. And since mister spoilsport says it's almost time to go, I'm gonna get as much swimming in as I can!" as she energetically swam into the the deeper area of the small ocean.
Later that evening, as they were finishing up with getting ready to jump back to the ship and head back home, Stephan checked to make sure that everything was ready and called to Jessica, "Jessica! HR! Dawn! Everybody come down here to the table! We have some serious adult business to attend to before we can go back home!"
As everyone then entered the room, Stephan had them sit down until Jessica, being the last one to enter, got directed to sit down at the head of the table. Feeling weird that he had made here sit in the spot that Stephan usually liked to sit in, Jessica asked him, "So bro, what boring stuff are you wanting us to go over with you about now?"
"This boring stuff, my dear sister," Stephan demanded, "was just found in the kitchen and it needs all of your attention so I can find out who the culprit is and give them a couple licks for messing up my brand new kitchen!" while he stared directly at her.
Being defensive, Jessica pleaded, "Sorry bro! I was royally craving some chocolate and couldn't help searching for it like crazy! You don't have to go for the licks! Just give me a bit to finish getting ready to jump back up to the ship and I'll make sure to clean it all up and make it look brand new"
Keeping a serious face, Stephan shook his head and ordered her, "No way out of it this time girl! Now I want you to stand up, face the wall, and then lean forward with your hands on the wall and your eyes held closed. If you don't I will double the licks!"
She meekly did as instructed and, while her eyes were closed, Stephan secretly waved for Rachel to bring something in from the kitchen as he then positioned himself behind Jessica and sternly told her, "Now! I want you to count out each one of these licks until I am done!"
He then gave her 16 spanking with the others repeating Jessica's count after each one and doing all they could not to laugh about Jessica not knowing what was actually going on until Stephan got to the 15th spanking. Then, after Stephan did the 16th one, Jessica finally went to throw her hands behind her to defend her backside from more spanks but Stephan quickly reached out and got her as he announced, "And a pinch to grow an inch!"
Jessica growled as she asked, "OK! Ha Ha. You got me! Can I sit back down now? Preferably on the couch so I can rest this bruised bottom?"
"No!" Stephan directed, "You can't sit down until after you keep those eyes closed as you turn around and make a wish as you blow out these candles."
She turned around and gasped when she saw the extravagant cake that had been prepared as she slowly sat down and then blew out the candles as she made a wish. With tears of thankfulness in her eyes she hugged her brother and asked him, "How did you keep such a big cake hidden away from me in that rocket? And how did you manage to jump it down here so quick without me knowing or seeing it?"
Stephan chuckled as he told her, "You're forgetting that I also have a builder skill that I was able to use to turn that grass looking stuff you saw out there in that field into this nice looking and wonderful tasting cake."
"Wow." She wondered, "I didn't even think about you being able to build it. Much less being able to change it into whatever you wanted it to be.! Thanks, bro."
Stephan gave her a hug in return as he said, "Glad you liked it sis. It was the best I could come up with on such short notice given how I originally expected us to be uneventfully back home after just a long hours and wasn't expecting to end up in another star system on a new planet that we plan on making our new home."
As I said at the beginning of today's chapter, I'm sorry for the unexpected delay but I couldn't subject you to the boring National Geographic episode the chapter had ended up turning into. Either way, please let me know what you think of the new chapter and I will do my best to keep putting out a new chapter every day as I lead you up to them exploring the universe further after they get the colony established with people that also have abilities like they do.