Chapter 1

For Jacques "Jack" Delacroix, his divorce from Sabrina had taken a strange turn. Her recent affair with a punk named Omar, who convinced her that he would be a sponsor, had followed the typical path of the "hot wife, wimp" lifestyle. Her problem was that Jack wouldn't wear a cuckold's horns, and in fact filed for divorce. He refused to let her sway him with the prospect of being part of Omar's harem. He was a proud man of French-Canadian and Huron stock, and he wouldn't submit to such humiliation.

Jack didn't mind the idea of an open marriage, but he would not let his wife and another man impose such a double standard on him. He certainly had no interest in sucking a guy's spunk out of his wife. The idea of sucking a cock or taking one up the ass turned his stomach, particularly when it belonged to a wannabe gangster.

On the other hand, the émigré liked the idea of pounding a transsexual, and he knew of at least one. The attraction for him was not dick, but ass, and the knowledge that he would definitely get anal with such a partner. The cruel fashion in which the school had forced one of the teachers to use the men's room instead of the ladies' toilet let everyone know that Loretta Andersen wasn't far enough on her hormones to qualify as female from their standpoint. It was a risky legal position, but they stuck to it and she found a personal motive not to report them to the authorities.

Some of the faculty and parents still shunned the blonde, but Jack found her a friendly and flirtatious colleague. Once he knew that his wife refused to be as faithful as she expected him to be, Mr. Delacroix even took Ms. Andersen up on her offer of bathroom quickies (a proposition she had strangely not made to any other male teacher at the school). No one complained because that would mean dealing with Jack's fierce temper. The man had some terrifying rage, as exhibited during hockey games where he coached the high school's varsity team.

Then again, Jack had one less provocation for his anger as he considered the reality that his marriage would probably end without any red tape or lawyer fees. If Omar was indeed a volunteer, then the thug would simply take Sabrina with him and the formerly conservative Canadian socialite could deal with the consequences of her poor taste in lovers. That being so, he dropped the suit, since he didn't care about his wife's trust fund.

This didn't mean that Jack still lived in the same house with his wife. They were still separated. He stayed above a gym, as part of a deal with the owner. The price was that he had to teach a martial-arts class for the health club, since he was a black belt in judo and karate. This also helped him brush up on his skills for the CAP test that was now mandatory for him. It also permitted him to handle his rage better than he had since learning of the affair.

Jack's previous CAP score was 6.3, but that was right before his move to the States. He had issues distracting him, which led him to accept an invitation to teach French and coach hockey for a high school in Vermont. Sabrina whined about it, but she agreed to do it because she still loved Jack (she hadn't met Omar yet, of course) and she hoped that the necessary re-test would raise both of their scores (her CAP was even lower at 5.6.).

His major problem back in Montreal was his provincial parents, both staunch Earth First adherents, who daily berated him for voluntarily taking the CAP. He suspected that his mother held his father back, since Jean-Marc Delacroix could easily pass the CAP if he didn't listen to his wife and Father Andre all of the time. The elderly priest was a hard-core anti-Confederacy zealot. He was also a known racist and anti-Semite.

Jack laughed when the Provincial Assembly passed a law requiring all Quebecois aged fourteen and up to take the test within a month of his emigration. His parents reluctantly complied and his father indeed got a 6.9. His mother Francoise came closer than anyone anticipated by receiving a straight six. Father Andre obstinately refused to take the test and fled before the authorities could arrest him.

The day of his new CAP, Jack postponed hockey practice, since the entire team wanted to test together. He had inspired them to attempt to contribute to the defense of the human race, impressing on the youths the greater priority of their civic duty and the practical benefits of scoring well. He made a point of the fact that he intended to retest for his CAP, so as to serve the species against the Swarm.

He also picked up Loretta, whom everyone knew to be his friend with benefits, since she was popular with the team and needed to try again for her CAP. She feared that her transsexual status held her back, but she wanted to at least impress Jack enough to have a chance at being a concubine. If women old enough to be her mother could be part of a harem in a supervisory role, so could a tranny, right?

"So, Loretta, what's your current score?" Jack raised the topic while he drove to the center.

"6.1, actually. What's yours?" she asked the question that she wondered for a while now.

"6.3, as a matter of fact. Are you hoping to qualify as a sponsor?" Delacroix asked her, truly curious about her intentions. He doubted, sadly, that transgender women had much of a prospect of military service, but there was a slim chance.

"Not really. I want to get off this planet, before the damn Swarm show up. I actually prefer to be a concubine, particularly for a certain teacher. I don't have a womb, but there are other uses for a sex slave. The hormones haven't taken away my fertility yet. I stopped them short when this whole Swarm business started," Loretta answered with a smile.

"Do you have a particular fellow in mind?" Jack probed.

"Well, if he passes his CAP this time, a certain French-Canadian fuckbuddy of mine would be a great sponsor for me. You're really my best hope of getting into the Confederacy in any sense," Ms. Andersen remarked.

"Tabernac! That hadn't occurred to me about you. You always seem like such a catch from my point of view," Delacroix replied, laughing at the blonde's candor.

"Merci, monsieur. Why do you think I was so glad when Consuela convinced you to teach the French class for Morrill High School? She was already the principal and Spanish teacher, so someone had to deal with your language. I was just pleased when a virile and dynamic man instead of a pretentious old woman walked into the teacher's lounge that first day. It was part of why I flirted so blatantly with you that morning. I wanted you, and I hoped that you would be the one guy who would actually fuck me and not treat me as a circus freak," Loretta answered, while they left his Blazer.

Each of the players took to their scenarios with enthusiasm, as did Jack and Loretta. It was no real surprise when everyone in that group raised his or her score. Jack suddenly found himself a future volunteer with a rating of 7.5. More than half of the team qualified as well. The rest resolved to try again and pass next time. Loretta was less than crushed by her slightly improved CAP of 6.3. Evidently, her attachment to Jack had boosted her sub score for the loyalty category, which was her main concern.

"So, Jack, what do you think of me as a possible concubine?" Ms. Andersen asked him directly. She wanted to get this issue settled for her own peace of mind.

"Well, I wouldn't mind taking you with me, as long as you're in my presence at the extraction. I meant my comment about you being a catch, regardless of the ignorant views of others," Jack assured her.

The whole team liked the sweet transsexual, even if their parents and some of the teachers hated her. She didn't fuck them, because they were students, but she never patronized them. In fact, she treated them as adults and was more than helpful with the financial needs of the hockey team. Her excellent divorce settlement from her ex-wife made it easier in that sense.

The next day, there was a town hall meeting for the whole community. About half of the population showed up, but that was the most reliable and active segment of the citizenry. Jack often wondered if the Confederacy would ever consider this as a pickup spot. He wouldn't have to ponder this issue much longer.

Although not technically allowed to vote because he was a foreigner, Jack Delacroix was well aware of the school board issues that the meeting had convened to address. Loretta and he were among several folk who objected to the board's attempts to pretend that nothing was different with the world.

As a health teacher, Ms. Andersen wanted to modernize the sex ed curriculum to fit the new situation with the Confederacy. She wanted to prepare prospective sponsors and concubines for their likely circumstances. The board, dominated by a fervent Earth Firster named Alden Tyler, rejected her initiatives, especially since the principal supported her. He held a grudge against Consuela Moreno since their breakup.

This was supposed to be the main confrontation between the Rev. Tyler (a Congregational minister) and his faction on the one side, and the Moreno-Delacroix-Andersen camp on the other. Mayor Pamela Jordan, a retired federal judge, held a lot of influence, which might tip the balance in favor of either group. She hadn't openly taken sides, but rumor suggested that she was either bisexual or a lesbian, which would make her more sympathetic to reformers on such controversial matters.