The journey to Heaven had been short, but Abbie had moped the entire day. She couldn't get Eric off her mind. She had always told herself that when she met The ONE, she would know it. The fact that she had met Erik so early in the trip had her in a dilemma. Did you leave someone you knew you were falling in love with to keep looking for something better? She wished her mom were here to guide her. Sam had her Cyrus and Jo had Brad. She had just left the man for her behind on Nirvana.
After they landed in Heaven the next day, everyone set off to explore this popular tourist destination. If Paradise had been a perfect tropical destination, Heaven was for those who wished they could have visited the Mediterranian coast back in the good old days. The sunlit beaches were alive with naked people. The cafes and bars had a Riviera vibe, serving a variety of dishes from France, Italy, and Spain. The bars followed the same Mediterranean tradition as the cafes.
They decided to leave the ship unoccupied for their visit there and checked into a luxury resort hotel. When the manager discovered the identities of his guests, only the best service was delivered. They were given the entire penthouse suite on the top of the resort. Again, a private chef was available to them for any cuisine.
After strolling on the beach and doing some souvenir shopping, they would stop in a bar or cafe, refresh themselves, and hit the beach again. The water was blue like the Cote d'Azur and there was nothing in the water that would harm anyone. All of their group were strong swimmers and they enjoyed their time on the ocean. In the evenings they went dancing and then retired to their suite for dinner.
The first night they had the French cuisine. The chef had earned 5 stars in the Michelin guide book here on Heaven. That may not have been as hard to accomplish here on Heaven, but their food was as good as any they'd ever had on Earth. The second night, the Italian cuisine was just as good, and the Spanish cuisine was equally as good on the third night. Unable to decide which was best, they told the manager to just continue rotating the chefs in the same order.
After the fifth day on Heaven, Abbie was nearly despondent. The first few days had all been new and exciting, but now her loss of leaving Erik had made her hopeless. She would never find love again. The rest of the party went out to the beach as usual, but Abbie stayed in their suite. About 11 o'clock Abbie looked up and saw everyone coming back into the suite, they were all too happy, Abbie thought.
"Guess who we found wandering the beach?" Sam asked her sister.
Abbie looked up. "Who," she asked, in her sarcastic voice.
"I thought you would be happy to see me again," Erik said, stepping forward into the room.
Abbie flew out of her chair and jumped on Erik, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She kept kissing his face, not letting him get a word in edgewise. Finally, he found her lips and kissed her hard enough to keep her from kissing him to death. When they broke their kiss, Erik set her down on the bed and finally got a chance to speak.
"After you left, I realized that I couldn't let you get away from me," he told her. Were you serious about living with me by the mountains and the beach and going surfing and trekking and going away for weeks at a time with me?" he asked Abbie.
Abbie answered by kissing him again and saying "yes, yes, yes, and yes," to his questions. Over drinks and tapas at the bar down the street from their resort. Erik explained that as soon as the Starseeker had boosted into space, he started making inquiries about selling his office space and his third hand shuttle. Everybody laughed when he told them that he actually had to pay a recycler to take the vehicle.
The Maxwell siblings were so happy for their sister. Abbie was hanging on to every word that Erik said. He told them that his veterinary friend had taken the bush baby in and would release it back into the area he was rescued from when it was ready to find its own food in the jungle. The next three weeks were a totally different experience than the first.
The Algood brothers, including Cyrus, went out looking for chicks every day, and Sam, Jo and Rae had several dates over the next two weeks. Mike found several girls that he liked and had sex with, just as Sam, Rae and Jo were doing. As before and always, Mike wanted JoJo to have every opportunity to find the right man for her, even if it wasn't him. When the time finally came for them to pick up Sally, David, Ken and Alessandra, Erik joined them on Starseeker.
When they finally arrived back on Elysium, the rest of their party were ready. Sally and David were happy to see Rae again, but sad to leave Toni behind. They were happy that Edwin had been contacted by Stellardyne on Nirvana to come work with them there. "Promise that you'll call us every week," Sally told her children as they them behind at the space port.
"They're going to be fine, Dear," David told his wife. "We met each other at that age," he reminded her. "You were already pregnant with Rae and you were in a relationship with Gabby and Brad, remember?"
David's last statement caught Jo's attention. Was Rae she and Mikes half-sister? She would have to ask Gabby.
Sally sniffed back the tears she was forming. "You're right, but they just seem like babies," Sally said. David and Rae hugged her, giving her emotional support.
Alessandra spoke to Abbie about some of the routes she had plotted to return them to Eden in record time. She explained that while Allen Feldon and his scientists had found a way to travel through space avoiding known jump points, she had developed a method of travel that used the multiverse to travel outside the current universe.
Abbie was wary of this method of travel and called Ana. Ana assured her that the Stellardyne scientists had gone over these routes with a fine-toothed comb and they were all checking it out for safety. They had even delivered a new upgrade to ALI by travelling all the way to Elysium and back within the last three months. Everyone had traveled through several different universes to emerge in their own universe with no adverse effects.
No wonder Stellardyne was going to pay these people a premium compensation package, it would certainly be worth it! Abbie checked with her siblings and with ALI and they all agreed, they were willing to take the risk for a quick trip back home. Once Starseeker launched, ALI took control and everybody just kicked back and enjoyed the ride. Their fate was in Alessandra and ALI's hands.
The passengers had a nearly continuous orgy all the way back to Eden. The addition of Sally and Alessandra had made things more sexually interesting for Mike, even though for the first week it mas mostly family incest for everyone. Rae was spending nearly every night with her father and mother. Between her husband and sons, Alessandra was busy for the first week also. After the first week, the regular pattern of swapping resumed. Even though he still had sex with every female aboard the ship regularly, JoJo ended up in bed with him every night to sleep.
Jo told Mike about all of her sexual encounters during the trip and confided in her brother that out of all the men she'd met, she still found him to be the best man for her. Mike confided in his twin sister, that he had experienced the same thing. Maybe Jo would find someone when they continued their adventures after dropping of the two families they were travelling with, Mike thought.
Sometimes, Starseeker would travel in the familiar universe, as they witnessed from ALI's readouts. If they looked out of the ship using the visual sensors, they could see the familiar stars. Other times, they would see nothing, neither light, gravity, or time existed where they were. They spent most of their time in this state of existence.
As bizarre as the trip home to Eden was, they made it all in one piece and in record time. Ana, Gia, Gabby and Brad were all there to meet them as were Bess and Jack, Jade and Daniel, Holly, Courtney, Savannah and Rich. Sophia, Dawn, Ed, Kai and Hokulani were all there to greet them along with all of the Stellardyne Scientists and members of the Council. The travelers felt welcome and were very happy to be on Eden.
"You're all in time for the big cookout," Chuck, Brad's apprentice pit master, told them. "The sausages and beer you sent from Himmel arrived just yesterday!" he said.
As the crowd moved over to the outdoor area where the cookout was being held, they met the rest of the citizens of Eden. While everyone enjoyed the sausage and new German style beer, all of their friends came by and welcomed them back home. Nearly everyone asked the same question; "What are your plans now?"
