Chapter 5

Becky decided it was time to take her run at things. “About Anna, Captain...”

Rendec blinked. “I thought I made myself clear; I understand that Anna MIGHT be better off, but I’m not running a social welfare institution. Anna isn’t a combat troop, and I can’t allow pets. I also can’t ship with a socialator-in-training, especially one with one fuck under her belt — the numbers don’t work! Better to ship without!”

Becky stood there, hands on her hips, determined. “What ARE the numbers?”

“Upwards of two hundred males, and a few females whose tastes run in that direction,” Rendec replied. Anna’s face flickered; Rendec didn’t know whether the females thing had squicked her or not. “At one a dec, that’s twenty DPs to get through the population, going all ten dec a DP. MAYBE an experienced socialator could handle that pace, but Anna isn’t one, and she’d have to sleep, sometime. Generally, a unit the size of mine ships with three or four, each a specialist.”

Becky eyed him. “ ... And you didn’t.”

Rendec looked hangdog. “This was supposed to be an easy patrol contract — a show of force, with plenty of downtime. Instead, we’re on the short end of an undeclared war, and downtime hasn’t been possible...” He shrugged, looking around.

“Okay,” Becky returned, not letting him off, “Anna won’t be alone; I can fuck now, but it’d be better if I waited a bit — but I can give blowjobs, and the ass works ... She’d be able to get time off while I spelled her.”

“You’re too young,” Rendec returned, shaking his head. The kid was — what — eight GSCs?

Becky turned eyes on him that suggested that she was forty, not fourteen. “For what? Blowjobs? You can make an infant a cocksucker, if you go about it right! And asses stretch — perverts do that kind of thing all the time!” Yeah, she’d seen a thing or two, in various orphanages and foster homes. The ‘generous souls’ that took care of the homeless were often public personas that masked other things...

“You’re too young, I said! We have laws ... How old are you?” Rendec’s eyes gave him away; he was thinking about it.

Trick question, no doubt... “I’m eighteen — just slow to mature. Since I LOOK younger, I’ll appeal to the Lolita crowd. I’m getting periods — wanna see my tampon?”

Well, the age gambit had failed ... Rendec took ‘Lolita’ and ‘tampon’ in context; the girl was obviously telling him that puberty had arrived, and ‘Lolita’ must equate to ‘young stuff’. Time to up the ante... “How do I know that you know any more about sex than Anna?”

“Seeing’s believing.” Becky threw herself to her diminutive knees before Rendec and went to work on his trap. She’d never ACTUALLY given head, per se, but there was that old perv when she was eight who’d taught her all about hand jobs, and licking up spend. If her mouth had been big enough to handle the old bastard’s fat cock, she’d probably STILL be living in that foster home ... The upshot, anyway, was that she knew her way around a cock; once she fumbled through the trap, she fished out the heavy hunk of meat and handled it with easy familiarity. “Nice!” She slid her tongue along the underside of the head expertly.

Rendec realized that his bluff had been called. As soon as he’d stiffened a bit, Becky expertly jacked back the foreskin and started running her tongue around the ridge at the base of the head. Obviously, little Becky was no stranger to cock! “Okay, okay, you’ve proved your point! That’s not the whole show, however; just because Annuh likes Sabac’s dick, doesn’t mean she’s going to want anyone else’s! And I can’t let him have a pet...”

Rendec shut up; Anna had walked around in front of him, got down on all fours, and was looking over her shoulder at him expectantly. Becky hadn’t let go — she was jacking him like she’d done it a thousand times before — and he was fully up and running, despite the recent run-in with Red. Everyone in sight had that look on their face that said, “Well?” — even Pops and Irma! Trapped, Rendec dropped to his knees behind Anna and started rubbing his cock against her rubbery nether lips.

Anna moaned and dropped to her forearms, presenting her ass to make an easier target. Rendec found her opening and began to work his way in. Entropy, it was tight! And hot! “Mmmmmmmm,” Anna purred as Rendec worked himself in deeper using short strokes. Rendec had to agree — this was the good stuff! Settled in, he started long-stroking, glans to root; Anna made it easy by meeting every stroke halfway.

Sabac, having moved around front, had a view that Rendec lacked, and thus knew in advance what was coming. Anna was more or less constantly emitting a purring, “Mmmmmmmmm...” but it was getting more urgent; now he watched her go pink from her forehead to her puffy pink nipples. Seconds later, Anna went, “Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh!!! FUH! FUH! FUH!” and started slamming her ass back toward the surprised Rendec. This frenzy went on for about ten strokes, then she froze, shaking, and wailed, “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” Rendec was thoroughly taken for the ride as Anna’s vagina clamped down on him, bringing him off in long squirts, a somewhat foolish look of surprise on his face.

After a moment, a somewhat shaken Rendec extracted himself from Anna’s still-pulsing pussy. “Okay, so, she can fuck!” He climbed to his feet and made to close his trap, but Becky dove in and collected his oversensitive hard-on, cleaning it with her mouth. “And you can suck,” he added, somewhat breathlessly. “But that STILL makes for about one and a half socialators, and we need three to four. If you want to ship out, you need to find two more,” he directed, sweeping the trio with his eyes. “I’d go see Red, if I were you — she’s a pretty good bet. But even if she says yes, you still need one more! Now git! And don’t bother me until you’ve found ‘em!” Rendec turned toward the counter, “Coffee, Pop — quick!”

Becky started close-in — with Marian White, who’d witnessed most of the exchange from a position at the fringes where she and Ariel were eating hot dogs under the somewhat loose control of Brok and Tenyek. Becky didn’t even phrase the question — she merely looked at the older woman. Marian shook her head, “Sorry, I’m the one man at a time type. Today’s given me enough problems,” she glanced at Brok, “but the Captain says he won’t allow pets...” Brok blinked — the woman was actually attracted to him?

Becky shrugged. “It was worth a try...” Turning to Sabac, she announced, “I’m gonna try to lock down Red — you two could HELP, you know!” then she dashed off.

Clusters of activity around the blonde and the black woman were the primary activity in an area where things had pretty much quieted down. The noisiest thing in sight was the black woman, who was wailing “Yes! Yes! Yes!” while some trooper pounded her doggy-style. The daughter was on her back, her arms and legs wrapped around the big black trooper she’d been hanging out with while he worked his cock in and out of her. The blonde was making quiet grunts, but not much more was going to escape around the big, black cock sawing in and out of her mouth; nonetheless, it was apparent to Becky that Blondie was finally a full participant. You could tell the difference, if you looked closely, and Blondie was into it.

Becky found Red lying on her back on a bench, panting, her head on the lap of a big trooper who was idly caressing her face and hair. “Uh, Red?”

Valerie looked up, “The name’s Val, Honey.” She caught the trooper’s hand to deflect it so that it wouldn’t be a distraction as she talked to the youngster; the trooper seemed just as happy to squeeze it. “What can I do for you?”

“Did you have a good time?”

Val checked the girl for sarcasm, but didn’t find any. “Well, yeah. It’s been a long time since I was challenged like that — I thought I was turning into an old Fudd. Reminded me of some great parties in college...” She pulled herself back from nostalgia, querying, “Why?”

But Becky had been distracted. “Fudd?”

“Elmer Fudd, the cartoon character.”

“Oh.” The look on her face said that Becky still only had a vague idea... “Uh, how good was it? Would you want to do it again?”

Val frowned. Such strange questions... “Well, gang-bangs are more dangerous than they used to be ... These guys have pretty good medicine — I hope — but I don’t move in circles where you can just invite a bunch of guys over to fuck, any more.”

Becky fidgeted. “What if you did?”

Val sat up. “Out with it.”

“Okay.” Becky looked at her feet. “My friend Anna and I, well, Anna in particular ... We’d be a lot better off if we left with these guys.”

“Why?” Val tilted her head.

“They understand Anna — she has a speech problem, but they have things that allow them to not even notice. Around here, she has to hang out with morons because she can’t talk ... They might even be able to fix her.”

“Okay ... Did they tell you that?”

“No. They didn’t make any promises, if that’s what you mean...”

Val nodded. Whatever else was up with them, these soldiers hadn’t lied to anyone that she’d noticed. If anything, her time with their leader told her that the whole thing was somewhat complicated by the fact that they weren’t really pirates or anything. He’d seemed to be making it up as he went, trying to control a situation that had started out more or less out of hand and that he felt bad about. “Go ahead, Honey.”

“Well, the Captain says he can’t let the troopers take ‘pets’ — he doesn’t mean we’re animals; he’s just making a point — and Anna’s not a soldier, so he says there is only one way he can justify taking her along — as a socialator.”

“What’s that? And what makes you think that he’s taking ANYBODY?”

“Well, there’s one guy, one of the female troopers had sex with ... He’s been up here — you might have seen him. He’s been acting as an interpreter and stuff ... He’s already changed into one of their uniforms!”

“Okay,” Val nodded. “Honey, I’ve heard the term ‘socialator’ bandied about — and it sounds a lot like ‘hooker’!”

“Well, it’s more than that — sex is a big part of it, but it isn’t illegal, and there is more status to it.” Becky stubbed a toe in the grass. “I don’t know enough about it to tell you properly — all I know is that it isn’t the same...”

The big trooper sitting beside Val cleared his throat. “A socialator derives her — well, generally, her — income from sex, but that’s not the whole idea. Basically, our culture doesn’t enter into quasi-permanent mating contracts as yours does — everything is a bit looser. Most males — and some females — aren’t looking for permanent, exclusive relationships. Socialators cater to this; they have a sliding scale for services from a quick fuck to a regular relationship where they live in with the client. More is expected — it’s more like having a mate one night a week, in a lot of cases. The socialator also provides emotional support and intimacy — maybe mothering, if that’s what is needed. Maybe ‘contract mistress’ is closer to the mark — or polygamous mate. And it’s all VERY legal. Many times, a company like ours will ship with a few socialators aboard to provide structure and keep the testosterone levels down...”

Val turned to him, “But you didn’t, this time?”

“No.” The trooper looked at the ground. “We were trying to cut corners and maximize profits on a low-rate job where we were SUPPOSED to have regular access to facilities. Damned thing turned into a war. The Captain isn’t happy — Hell, I’M not happy — I was in on the original decision, and that makes me at fault for this, too!”

“You’re a leader of this bunch?” Val waved her hand.

“I’m a platoon leader,” LT Kald announced dryly. “About a quarter of these troops answer to me.”

“You don’t do this all of the time, then...” Val looked up to see the homely young woman who was apparently a subject of this conversation, and the trooper she’d been with most often, walking up. “We have laws of war...”

“No. Well, pillaging the losing side is allowed after a victory; we’ve learned that it provides an incentive to both sides,” Kald related, “But this is an unaligned, backwater world with barely emergent technology — that makes you innocents. Since you’re theoretically primitives, and we are allowed to claim this world for commercial exploitation, there are grey areas, but most would consider this little raid as a blot on the unit’s reputation, despite the fact that we haven’t killed anybody.”

“You haven’t?” Val was surprised.

“Nope. Closest we came was her,” Kald waved toward Allison Hayes. “But our med tech IS good — physically, you won’t find a scratch on her. And all of the effort that went into adjusting her mental attitudes will go by the wayside, too, when we leave; we’re going to put everyone to sleep with an agent that causes a short-term memory loss.”

Val blinked. “So, I’ll forget all this?” She made it sound as if she’d gone to some effort — and she had! And, frankly, this attempt to get the whole thing out of her system had failed miserably. If she forgot about all of this, and went back to where she was mentally this morning, how long would it take for her to make up her mind to do something about it? And what then? Gang-bangs didn’t just happen every day...

Kald eyed her in mild surprise. “Yes. In virtually every case, I’d say it’s a good idea, wouldn’t you? We were told that your psych people weren’t very good, yet — better everyone forgot the trauma. Besides, we need to wrap this thing in secrecy...”

Val sighed. “I’d prefer to remember — and move on...”

Sabac’s expression blanked. “What would you move on to?”

“I ... don’t know.” Val was a lousy mother; her temperament just couldn’t handle the demands. Mike did a lot better, as did Panfila, the maid. Lack of sex just made things worse ... She was going to leave Mike; she knew that, now — but the future was cloudy; there just weren’t many perfectly legal outlets for her sex drive ... She shook her head. Back to the basics... “Where were we? So, your friend, Anna, here, can ship out, but only as a fancy camp-follower. I’m starting to see why you’re standing here, but it isn’t clear yet...”

Becky looked at Anna, who nodded encouragement — SHE couldn’t explain to Red; it was up to Becky. But Becky was sidetracked again... “Camp-follower?”

“Honey, whores have been following armies around since forever. A huge collection of males is a magnet for prostitutes,” Val explained.

“Oh. Okay.” She stomped a foot. “You INSIST on treating this as if it was evil! It’s not!”

“Okay, okay. It is where you and I come from, and I have prejudices to deal with,” Val replied.

“Well? Then what does that make YOU?” Becky ranted.

“Uhhh, okay, I get your point,” Val placated. Becky had hit the mark; while she was being judgmental, she’d been ignoring her own recent activities. “Go on...”

“Okay.” Becky stopped sulking and moved on. “Well, it’s like this: the Captain says she can ship as a socialator, but he can’t ship with just one, or one and a half — it’s not enough to handle the troops. He said we can only go if we find two more...”

“One and a half? We?” Val arched an eyebrow.

Sabac entered the fray. “This is going downhill. The two of them refuse to be separated — they’re like sisters. Becky’s an orphan, and hasn’t had it good here, either — from the demo blowjob she started on the Captain, I imagine she’s experienced beyond her years. Basically, he’s bending over backwards, but he’s right; one socialator — or even two, if Becky lives up to the tall tales she’s telling — doesn’t service a company. It would be too much work, and in the end would probably make things worse than not shipping with one at all.”

“So, for the benefit of everyone concerned, you’re looking for two volunteers...” Val couldn’t damp the sarcasm. “Becky is jailbait, you know...”

Becky stamped a foot. “I AM NOT! I’m EIGHTEEN! I’m just developing slow!”

“Oh, really?” Val locked eyes with the diminutive spitfire.

“Really.” Becky held Val’s eyes for a moment, then winked. No one else could see. “I’ve been around cock. I bet YOU had, too, at my age...”

“By eighteen? Certainly. But...”

“I was eight. Foster home.”

Both males present gasped. Val rubbed her face. “That’s exploitation, of the worst kind. And it’s what I’m trying to prevent, here.”

“This is employment. I know what I’m doing, and so does Anna.”

Sabac entered the conversation, “Can I speak to you privately for a moment?” Val nodded and got up, and the pair stepped away a little distance. “The Captain is going out of his way, here,” Sabac insisted. “Both of these women are insistent, and he’s trying to do right by them. Annuh was a virgin when I got to her, but she was MORE than willing; the Captain braced her with her inexperience, and she knelt up and took HIM, right there!”

Val raised an eyebrow. “That’s all well and good — Anna is old enough to make these decisions and follow through with them — but Becky? She’s not eighteen — I figure she’s about fourteen...”

Sabac looked a bit embarrassed. “Our regs say that she’s not an adult until she reaches ten GSCs — about fifteen of your years. But others disagree, and I’ve been places where nobody cared at all. If she and Annuh weren’t close and she weren’t an orphan, the discussion would be over — but they’re kind of a sister act ... The Captain asked her her age, and she swore she was eighteen — if she’d said fourteen that would have killed the thing, too — but the other issue is the fact that she DOES know cock! She proceeded to demonstrate on the Captain, and I have to tell you, she’s been there — it was obvious to everybody watching! The Captain asked all of the right questions — the fact that she doesn’t have her birth documents with her allows him to pretend ignorance and keep them together. But if it weren’t for the other things, there wouldn’t even be a discussion.”

“Still, sex with a fourteen-year-old?”

“The plan under negotiation is that we take on both Annuh and Becky as socialators in training. Becky’s excuse is that she can fill in orally for Annuh until we can get her mouth in better shape. Anal sex might be an option, too, depending upon a number of factors, all under Becky’s control — you don’t rape a socialator, it’s a relationship.”

Val frowned and shrugged, but nodded, and the pair returned to the group. “This gentleman has convinced me that the pair of you are serious, sooo ... Let’s hear the rest of it.”

Becky eyed her. “You already know. We need two more, or the Captain won’t let us go. You’re...” Becky stopped, at a loss for words.

Kald filled in the blanks, “ ... Eminently qualified. You obviously enjoy sex in large quantities, something important in a socialator.”

Val rubbed her face. “Sure, I like it, but I can’t see me stalking some strange world as a two-bit hooker with a worn-out...”

“It’s not like that!” Kald erupted. “Socialators come in all shapes, sizes and capacities, but the pay or whatever other benefits you negotiate are excellent and there aren’t the links to crime that you’re expecting. Worst case might be a bad business deal ... You call the shots! You say who, when, how ... For instance, we have a standard contract rate, based upon the number of troops you expect to service — we need more, but even one every couple of DPs is above subsistence rate! That’s why we won’t lift with just one or two — coverage is inadequate! Nobody expects you to hold gang-bangs...”

Val chuckled. “What if I LIKE gang-bangs?”

Kald, nonplussed, threw up his hands. “Up to you, then ... It might make it easier to justify coverage, if you did, but nobody would expect it.”

Sabac called his captain on comm, “Sir, could I borrow Leegates? We’re having trouble pitching the concept of a socialator; apparently, the nearest thing here is a criminal activity...”

“Stand by.” Rendec switched to Teela, “Put Leegates on with Sabac — he’s got a translation problem.”

“Sir.” Teela spent a minute teaching Lee how to switch channels on comm, then turned him loose on Sabac. In the meantime, the whole group, including Brok, Tenyek, and the Whites, began moving back toward the boat.

“What is the problem?” asked Lee.

“We’re trying to interest Red in being a socialator, but she’s apparently hung up on the fact that your nearest analogous activity is illegal. I need new terms...”

“Hmmmm. Try heterae, or courtesan. She probably won’t know of the former, but might have a concept of the latter. I’ll pitch the former when I get there...”

“Thanks.” Sabac turned to Val. “Ever hear of a heterae, or a courtesan? Leegates says that might approach socialator closer than your other terms.”

“Courtesan ... Hmmmm. It’s a fancy name for it. I’m not sure they’re paid, either; they’re more like mistresses, I think...”

“Maybe that’s it. Most socialators aren’t into short-term cash transactions — they enjoy themselves, and they may live with a man or move between two or three. It’s not just about sex, although it is about the sexual arts.”

“Hmmmm ... I dunno...” Val glanced up to see the group arrive, and picked out Lee. “Okay, so, what’s a heterae?”

“Ancient Greek sexual professional,” Lee replied. “Prostitution was an honorable profession before idiot moralists and STDs. It’s a recognition that men, in particular, have needs, whether they’re capable of a relationship or not. Instead, we look the other way, and desperation leads to all kinds of problems and abuse.”

“Maybe,” Val grunted. She eyed Lee, “Why are YOU going with them — and in what capacity?”

Lee looked embarrassed. “It’s a prime opportunity to do some things I’ve always wanted to do, and get away from a trap I’m in. I’m officially a consultant, but I have a military background; I might end up in boots again.”

“Opportunity?”

“Space travel. See new places, new things. Apply my mind to bigger things.”

“Trap?”

“Bad relationship. Divorce would leave me penniless. This way, I’m dead — and can start over...” Lee glanced away.

The comment surfaced Val’s prime excuse, “I’m married, and I have two little girls...” She looked at Anna and shrugged.

Anna was deeply disappointed. This would make things impossible, in all probability ... Sabac, more practical, grunted, “Best move on, then ... Maybe the black women — they’re popular.” The trio — Sabac and his women — moved off.

Val caught the eye of her friend Marian. “I was worried about you.”

Marian, settling herself on the bench beside her, waved it off. “Brok? He’s a pussycat — well, a tomcat...” She grinned at the trooper in question, who fidgeted, wondering where he should be.

“Allison Hayes might not agree...”

Marian snorted. “Allison is abysmally stupid, and handles every situation in a single manner.” She paused a moment. “Ever heard of a berserker?”

“Uh, yeah...”

“Nice guys, generally, but when they go into combat, the adrenaline starts flowing and they turn into the Incredible Hulk. Beneficial in combat, but you don’t fuck with them. Allison fucked with Brok, and he was charged up, so he fucked back...”

“So, you had a plan?” Val asked, sardonically.

“Yeah,” Marian agreed. “I KNEW, from looking at him — his eyes in particular — that he wasn’t rational. He was charged up from the landing — probably a conditioned reflex; God knows we weren’t a threat — and floating in a sea of testosterone on top of that. The Captain had got his attention, so the whole thing was receding, but anything less than full cooperation was going to make things rough. And you KNOW I have those slave fantasies...”

“And the choke-fuck?” Val grinned. Marian wanted to be used, hard. It was a regular thing when they talked about sex.

“We were both out to prove something — Brok that he was Master, and me that I was going to do as I was told. It worked.” Marian smiled.

“What’s with them?” Val asked, waving at Ariel and Tenyek. Out of some sense of decency, Tenyek wasn’t quite pawing Ariel’s small breasts, but Ariel would have welcomed it; her position, leaning against the big woman, made that clear.

Marian was nonchalant. “Apparently, there was a little girl-play in the barn. I don’t know any more than you do, but...”

“You’re not pissed?”

Marian shrugged, “Like I have a vote? Besides, Ariel is a chip off the old block — I’m ... omnivorous...”

“Shit.” In five and a half years of coffee talk that centered regularly around sex, THAT had never come up! Val wished it had, loudly. “Jeez, we could have been doing EACH OTHER all this time!”

Marian’s eyes crinkled, “You, too?”

“Well, I like my dick, but I’m not allergic to pussy juice...” She switched gears, “The girls?”

“They’re playing in the barn, safe,” Tenyek replied. “I don’t molest girls who aren’t old enough to want it.” This time her hand stole into Ariel’s blouse; Ariel nodded confirmation of the first assertion to Val, then shifted her attention to her mother, who failed to react negatively to the sight of Tenyek’s fingers working her nipple. Satisfied that there wasn’t an issue, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Watching you two give head made me SOOOOO hot...” Her eyes popped open. “Especially YOU, Aunt Val — you’re a sex machine!”

“Everybody says so,” Val remarked absently.

Zakan hit his comm as he approached the ambulance, “Hey, Sprik, open up!”

“Do the combo — I’m busy!” Sprik replied, his voice reflecting some exertion.

Zakan blinked. “Okay.” He hit the combo, wondering what Sprik was up to ... The hatch opened, and he announced himself with, “The Captain apparently wants us to hand out a shitload of generals...” His eyes, adjusting to the lower light levels, picked up motion in a bunk. That HAD to be Sprik’s ass bobbing up and down... “Entropy, Man — in the ambulance? You’re gonna clean that up...”

“Shut the fuck up,” Sprik grated, panting, “and lemme finish this in peace. Captain made me (puff) defrost a BDU...”

“Oh, okay.” Zakan shook his head and started breaking out short-term general maintenance bot loads in their disposable injectors, flicking his eyes at the couple working more and more furiously in the bunk. The woman was this odd, reddish brown shade ... Chunky, too — had a big ass ... Zakan thought about it and took another look; yeah, it was one of Dolf’s victims. She wasn’t acting like a victim, now, with her legs wrapped around Sprik’s skinny frame — the sound she was making was more like a purr ... Zakan suffered a certain resurgence, watching the pair at work — the blowjob from that stupid blonde had been hard to get through, but was easily forgotten. He’d dropped a tray into place and started a second layer of injectors when the woman started wailing, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, ohh, Baby! Fuck, fuck, AWWWWWW!” Zakan looked up; that big ass was going a mile a minute; she was doing all the work from the bottom, it looked like!

“Sucking entropy!” Sprik squalled, and stiffened, arching. “What a ride!” He collapsed on Nayla, who settled down fairly quickly, but seemed to be in no hurry to release him.

Zakan filled the tray, then looked up. “You gonna help?”

Sprik levered himself up, taking in a creamy smile on Nayla’s face. “Yeah, I guess.” He squeezed a fat, brown nipple. “Damn, you’re good!” She was pretty when she smiled, too — oh, not beautiful, but she had sweet features... “Let me up.”

“Okay.” Nayla unwrapped her legs. “Later?”

“Again?” Sprik was surprised. Big Ass — well, he didn’t have a name for her — had taken to cock pretty quickly... “We’ll see — I’m worn out, for now.” He stood up.

“Lucky you,” Zakan grunted. “All I got was a pretty poor blowjob from a stupid blonde who thought looks were everything...”

“Now you mention it,” Sprik threw a thumb over his shoulder, “she gives good head, too.”

“Fuck!” Zakan groused. “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

Sprik stopped and looked behind him, locking eyes with the Indian woman. She merely returned his gaze, not making any indication of her preferences, leaving it up to him. Sprik shrugged, and stepped into the rear bay, “I’ll lay things out for a while; go get you some.”

Zakan glanced up, surprised, at Sprik, then looked toward the woman, who merely looked back. He headed toward her, but stopped when Sprik added, “But do right by her; she’s kinda sweet. I don’t want her ... unhappy.”

The pair of them looked at the woman, whose dark eyes glowed. She smiled at Zakan and beckoned, “Come on, then.”

Rendec passed the word to his first sergeant, and 1SG Kamicki got on the all units band, “Awright, you yard birds! Start recovering to the boat! And if you fucked it, sucked it, or even slapped its ass, it goes to the ambulance for a general! Don’t trip all over yourselves, but start moving things back toward the boat — we’re outta here in half a dec! If you’re quick, you still got time for sloppy seconds — or thirds...” The troops heard, and took their time, but to Zakan’s extreme irritation, people started showing up at the after hatch of the ambulance almost immediately. Sprik waved it off and started handling things by himself, and Zakan went back to applying cock to the gently smiling woman below him.

Anna and Becky shifted their attention to Donna Jackson, but Donna was wasted. Amelia chuckled, “Anything’s better than that bastard Alvin — besides, Momma likes cock!” but Donna wasn’t having any. “I’m not goin’ wild places — I can barely handle it here!”