Chapter 1

Everything was going too fast for me to process. One minute I had been a concubine, in despair after receiving confirmation of my master's death, dreading the uncertain, but bleak, future. The next, I was a sponsor, not only able to choose all of my former sister-concubines, but the two other people who had recently become very important to me as well. The reversal from numbing sorrow to unbelievable joy had left me breathless -- or maybe that was due to the tight hugs from the others -- and left my mind reeling. We just huddled there, together, and if happiness had been light, we would have filled the room with a blinding glow!

Looking at them, the horrors of the past month faded away. Chuck and Chandra were newcomers, but were thrilled that I had chosen them. Xifeng and her daughter Meili, Meredith, Chital, Tina and Moira were all my former sister-concubines who had been with me since the beginning, although Meili had had to wait impatiently for months before being old enough to join in. I did find out recently that she had broken Steve's rules and snuck in one time to see what I tasted like when she was still underage. It had been a minor mystery to me for a long time, but during the dark days on Quay, she confessed to breaking Steve's rule.

Sadly, there was only so long that I was able sit there, surrounded by my (MY!) concubines, before the medical staff started hinting it was time to move on. Reluctantly, we broke apart, all of us smiling happily. Looking at the medtech, I asked her if she would ask the AI where our new quarters were. She just grinned and told me to ask it myself. That's when I realized what a stupid request it had been.

"Sorry, I'm still in a concubine mind-set," I said ruefully, blushing. "AI, where is our designated pod?"

"Follow the orange line to your quarters. Also, the captain asked me to send his compliments and ask if you would join him for lunch in an hour," the AI replied.

It was a novel thrill having the AI talk to me without having to get permission first. Suddenly the AI's voice echoed in my head, <You do not need to speak aloud to communicate with AIs anymore. After the results of your CAP retest were determined, you were given an AI link to silently communicate directly with any AI in range.>

I remembered watching sponsors communicating with the AI silently, but never really knew how they did it. Trying to get the hang of it, I kind of muttered under my breath, <You mean like this? Can you hear me?>

<Yes. A brief session in a sleep trainer will familiarize you with your new rights and responsibilities as a sponsor as well as instill information to familiarize you with AI interactions, including using the AI link.>

"How long was I out for?" I asked the others aloud. As usual, I had no sense of time passing when I was in the medtube; it might have been an hour or it might have been a week.

"We had to wait almost two long days for you to get done," Xifeng said softly.

Pausing for a moment by the medical bay's replicator, I ordered my first set of clothes. Steve had gotten me clothes when I asked or when he felt like it, but this was distinctly different. Now I got to choose what to wear and could order it anytime I wanted. I chose a smoke grey uniform. It was as close to the color of the ejecta debris from Quay as I could get. I would never forget what happened there, and I wanted others to remember as well.

Tucking my new CAP card in a pocket, I turned and looked at the others. That was when it registered on me that they were all naked. "Two questions," I said, "one, why are you all naked, not that I mind in the least, and two, where are the kids?"

Meredith responded to my second question, "The kids are being watched by some of the other concubines in kind of an unofficial day care that the crew allowed us to set up."

Tina spoke up and said, "As for our clothes, we don't have any. The ones we were wearing on Quay were shredded and utterly disgusting, so they were recycled. Since the AI designated us as unassigned concubines, we aren't allowed to make new clothes or anything else.

"Some of the crew are still trying to get our status changed to refugees so we'll be treated better, but the ship's AI just isn't buying it. Nothing to watch, no games to play, and we're only able to make basic boring food, that's it," she finished indignantly. Still sounding angry, Tina continued, "Honestly, we were lucky a few crewmembers were willing to guide us here to medical. Otherwise we'd still be locked in a pod going slowly insane with boredom and worry."

Memories of our first day with Steve resurfaced. We had not been able to do anything until he had given us permission. It had really brought home how dependent we were on him and how worthless we were in the eyes of the AI's. Luckily, being a sponsor now, I could change that.

"AI, as their sponsor, I grant all concubines assigned to me full access to all pod amenities, including the replicator, without restriction. I also grant them the right to wear clothes and to have you answer their questions or to have you put them in communication with each other or me. They may enter the pod at any time and leave whenever required for ship business or at my request. All of our children are granted access to entertainment programs and games, replicators for food production only and have access to the pod at any time. They may only leave when escorted by an adult. Do you understand my orders?"

When the AI said, "Acknowledged," Tina squealed in joy and the others made it very clear they were thrilled as well. The two days of being basically imprisoned had really set them on edge.

"However," the AI continued, "it is highly recommended against giving such blanket permissions to newly chosen concubines."

Gritting my teeth at how stupid the AI's could be sometimes, I simply replied, "I understand, but my orders for them remain unchanged." I trusted each and every one of them with my life, and I would be damned if I started my life as a sponsor by betraying them and treating them like slaves.

After a long, hot kiss with each of them, I ordered, "AI, make a shift and slippers in their favorite color for each of them." Once we were all dressed, I led my parade out of medical and headed for the pod to get ready for my lunch with the captain.

On the way to our pod, we stopped at the crèche pod to pick up the children. It was not technically a daycare, I was told, since all the children whose entire family units were dead were living there. It did make a good central location to keep the children, and for anyone who wanted could go there and help out watching them. Conversely, any concubine who wanted their children watched could drop them off there to play, assuming they could get a crewmember to bring them there.

When the door opened, it took a few seconds for the happy children to notice us. When they did, many heads turned, and a thrilled voice screamed, "Moddy Char!" A beaming Suda was suddenly racing toward me. I dropped to one knee and braced for impact. When she slammed into me, I put my arms around her as she hugged me tightly.

It surprised me how tightly she clung to me. I was even more shocked by her tears, "I was scared when they took you away that you would never come back to us. That you would just vanish like Daddy Steve," she whispered, burying her face in my hair. Chital was watching with some amazement as her shy, quiet daughter cried happily on my shoulder.

"Promise me you won't ever leave me again!" she demanded.

A whole range of emotions went through me when she said that. Before I could analyze my feelings, the rest of my concubines' thrilled children piled onto me. Although not as emotional as Suda, they all made it very clear they had been worried about me and missed me terribly. My heart was filled with happiness again, seeing them and knowing how much they loved me.

Looking back into Suda's eyes, I said as honestly as I could, "Honey, I don't want to make a promise I can't keep. You saw what happened on Quay. Daddy Steve didn't leave you because he wanted to. I will promise you this: I will never willingly leave you, and if we are separated for any reason, I will do everything in my power to see you again as soon as possible, ok?"

She thought about it for a moment, obviously not thrilled I had not offered an unqualified reassurance. Finally, she nodded and hugged me again.

I spent a few minutes hugging the children while Xifeng collected her baby boy. When I went to lead them back to our pod, Suda insisted on being carried by me, even though she was way too old and reserved to normally ask for something like that. Once again, my enhanced strength surprised me as I rose to my feet holding the nine year old without the slightest effort.

Apparently, being a sponsor now, I rated my own pod, despite how overcrowded the ship was. It would be tight quarters for us, but luxurious compared to what the rest of the survivors had. I filed away the guilt I felt, hoping to use it on the captain to improve things for the rest of my people.

That thought brought me up short mentally. They were no longer my people; they were just unassigned concubines and children under the captain's care. When we reached whatever planet we were heading for, they would be split up. After that, I would not be likely to see them again. The thought was surprisingly upsetting. I had spent a month leading them and fighting to keep them alive. Letting go of that feeling of responsibility was not going to be easy.

One of the first things I did when we got to our pod was to have the children sit down for a talk. I had all of my concubines stand along the walls so they could hear as well. Everyone knew me, but that was as just another concubine; now I was the master. While I trusted all of them, I needed to explain the change to the children and make the others understand that things would have to change slightly in the way I was treated in public.

"Ok all, first I just want to say how thrilled I am that we all made it off Quay! I could not have done the job I did without you, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You guys rock!" I said, and meant it.

Looking at the children, I said sadly, "We all suspected it, but I just wanted to confirm that Daddy Steve did not survive the dark time and will not be coming back." Calling it the 'dark time' seemed a little melodramatic to me, but it was the most apt description I could come up with for them. It was also something the children could understand and relate to.

Most of them already suspected that, but the confirmation brought a few sniffles and teary eyes anyway. "As you know, Steve was the sponsor, making him the absolute head of the family. After my time in the medtubes, the AI retested me and determined that I was now a sponsor, making me the new boss."

I was about to continue when Suda shouted, "YAY Moddy Char!", while Carl gave me a thumb's up. That brought a big grin to my face, while Chital gasped in surprise at her reserved daughter's outburst. Apparently, little Suda had bonded to me far more than anyone had suspected.

Ruffling her hair fondly, I continued, "The first thing I did upon finding out I was a sponsor was to choose all your mommies as my concubines so no one is going to go away. You all know Chuck and Chandra, they will now be joining us permanently." That also got smiles from everyone, since they were both well-liked by the children. "I don't know what the future will hold for us or where we are going, but we will all be together and I will do everything I can to keep us safe. I'm having lunch with the captain soon and maybe he can at least tell me where we are headed. For now, all of Steve's rules are my rules, and if I want to change anything, I'll let you know. I told the AI you can get snacks from the replicators and watch movies and play games, so it won't be as boring as it was for the last little while. I really love you all and I'm so glad we will stay together."

I had to stop after that since I was getting all choked up. So much for my manliness credits. Not that anyone would believe I had any just going by looks. Still, I really loved the look that Steve had given me, and was not ready to change it yet. I could not help but think it was a little odd that the 'man of the house' who made the rules and was going to get all the girls pregnant was a tall, hot blonde with ridiculously long hair and big boobs. However, I was enjoying the female-looking Char still and could not foresee switching back anytime soon.

I gave all the kids teary hugs and sent them exploring the pod. They worked with Meredith and Tina to figure out what toys and games to make. Then I had the others go and start working on changes to the pod. I hated the industrial-boring standard appearance of the pods. I pulled Chuck and Chandra aside for a brief welcome and talk. Chuck got a steaming hot French-kiss that left me weak-kneed, while Chandra got a tight, reassuring hug.

"Ok guys, I just wanted to say welcome to the family. I'm really happy that you both took me up on my offer," I said with a big smile. "I want you to know that unless something changes, Xifeng will be the head of the household after me. Anything you need, or any problems you want addressed, see her first. In the future, if I'm on a mission or they send me somewhere and you guys can't come with me, she's going to speak with my voice. This especially goes for you, Chuck. I used to play alpha-male at work and know how hard it can be to let go and follow orders. I thought I'd happily settled down to being second- or third-fiddle in the group, but the moment I got the chance to take over, I did. Granted, it was an emergency and no one else was stepping up."

"Oh, woe is me," he said in a theatrically tragic voice, "it's so horrible having to give up making all the hard decisions and the only compensation I get for my sacrifice is a bunch of gorgeous, horny women to sleep with and some wonderful children to play with. Oh, the horror!" As I laughed, he continued more seriously, "I understand, and if the past month is anything to go by, Xifeng will be an excellent head concubine. I'm perfectly happy sitting back and letting her make all the decisions while I play daddy and stud."

"I just wanted to make sure you understand. No more throwing me down and ravaging me in public anymore! Well, not often anyway. I have to pretend to be a responsible adult now." That sally got another round of laughter. Turning to look at Chandra, I said, "Ever since that time in Todd's pod when I held you while you cried, I've felt responsible for you. I know we drifted apart on Quay before the dark times, but I'm thrilled that you spent so much time with us over the last month. When the AI granted me extra concubine slots, I had no doubts who I wanted to choose." I had to pause there, as the fourteen year old threw herself into my arms and started crying. Resting my chin on her head and stroking her hair gently, I continued, "I'm so glad you are here. I just want you to know, you are loved. We have never slept together, and we won't until you're ready. Something Steve made sure of when we first became his harem was that we were given as much time as needed before becoming physical. It was actually several days after we landed on Quay before I slept with the last member of his harem, well over a month after we were picked up. I guess what I'm trying to say is, wait until you feel comfortable, it will be so much more rewarding for everyone, ok?"

She looked up at me and said, "Thanks! I love you so much already, but the things that have happened to me, the things I've seen... ," she trailed off, shuddering at some remembered horror. I was not sure if she was referring to watching me get brutally raped in front of her, or something else Brian had done to her, or if it was something she had seen during the dark times. "Thank you for letting me decide when I'm ready," she finished. I kissed her forehead and sent them to join the others while I headed up to the freshener to start getting ready for my lunch with the captain. I was looking forward to thanking him in person for saving us.

Chapter 2 »