Chapter 4

The Edgar folks were still suffering from a kind of 'jet lag, ' their bodies not yet accustomed to Greenwich Mean Time. The AI succeeded in prodding the sponsors to get themselves up and about. In most pods, there was enough time for morning ablutions and a leisurely breakfast. Some opted for more vigorous exercise -- there were babies to be made, after all!

The embarkation itself was routine. The Edgar sponsors and their families allowed themselves to be led to their new living quarters on one of the two deck levels reserved for them. There were a hundred and nine Edgar sponsors. One pod was taken up by the unassigned concubines. The remaining eighteen pods were assigned to 'foreigners', scattered -- in pairs -- throughout the two deck levels. Four sponsors hailed from New England, four from the Canadian prairie; four were from Australia; four were from Japan, two from Ireland.

The combined families of Bob and Ellen quickly scattered throughout the double pod, investigating their new living quarters. Bob found the materials he had requested in the replicator. Finding Marcie, he told her, "It's time for you to go home, Marcie. Come with me, please." Marcie was a bit startled but nodded her head in acceptance.

Together, they proceeded out the door, back past the transporter pad and down the corridor opposite -- three right turns. There were few people in the corridor. Most had retired to their new abodes. Aside from a few neighborly greetings in passing, no one paid attention to Bob and Marcie.

They stopped in front of another door. "Wrap this around the top of your thigh," Bob instructed as he produced a rather thin band that was colored exactly like her skin. Puzzled, she did as instructed. The band adhered to itself, snug but not tight, all but invisible against her skin. He handed her its mate and she applied it to her other thigh. "Now, your wrists," he said as he handed her one and then a second smaller band. They too were snug. Next, he handed her a mask. "Use your forehead muscles to pull your eyebrows up, like you're surprised," he instructed, "then put the mask on." The mask adhered all along her eye sockets, narrowing over the bridge of her nose. "Put your hands at your sides," he told her.

The wrist and thigh bands adhered to each other instantly. Bob stood still, watching as Marcie investigated her new situation. Upward, outward, forward and back, she could not make her wrists move at all. She tried to use her shoulder to rub off the mask, to no avail. She choked off a sob. "I guess I deserved this," she whispered. "What's going to happen to me?"

"This is Steve's pod," Bob answered. "I don't think they know what's going to happen, either. I know Steve wants this to work. I know the girls do, too. If it doesn't, you'll have another two dozen women to compete with for a new sponsor, if you don't get yourself recycled. You're very important to me, both of you. I very much want you to succeed."

"What about the kids?"

"Jack and Lisa are going to stay with us so they can play with the rest of the kids," Bob answered softly. "They'll be fine."

The door opened. Steve stepped out and, after a nod of appreciation to Bob he said, "Welcome home, Marcie."

<Please report to the transporter pad on this deck, > the AI told him through his implant. He hardly flinched at the sudden sound in his head. He had nearly reached the main corridor. When he turned, he saw a woman in a dark blue uniform standing beside the pad, which glowed red.

"Hello, Bob," she said as he reached her, "I'm Brenda Hoekstra, one of the stewards aboard Capricorn Clipper."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Brenda," answered Bob with a smile. "I guess you know who I am, since you called me by name."

She smirked. "I know you're the Civil Service officer for this little flock. The unassigned concubines are about to be embarked. I need to give you some pointers and then help you get them settled in. They will be housed in the pod next to yours, there on the corner," and she pointed.

"I'll gladly take all of the help and advice I can get," Bob said. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Let's sit down and chat for a bit before the women arrive," Brenda suggested. Bob nodded and they seated themselves at a nearby table. "First, I want to give you a little primer on the AI implant. I know you just arrived in the moon on Sunday. I'm told you haven't had time to receive the sleep-trainer module on the implants. By the way, I encourage you to do so as soon as you can. You need to devote a considerable amount of time to the sleep-trainer, and soon. But, for now..." and she looked around the area. "Do you see the man over there with the red shirt?"

"You mean Fred Gregory?" Bob asked.

"You know him?"

"Brenda, I know everybody on this deck and the other deck that houses all of the sponsors from my town. We were all extracted at once, and we're all going to the same place."

"Oh," Brenda said, deflated. She looked away and seemed to whisper to herself. She turned her attention back to Bob. "Well, I was going to use that unknown guy over there as an aid in your learning how to take advantage of your implant. I guess I'll volunteer myself. The way to access your implant is to sort of whisper to yourself. You don't even need to make any sound. Soon you'll learn that you don't have to enunciate very well. You'll want to learn that so you don't tip your hand. But for now, I want you to practice. Tell me who my roommates are for this voyage."

Brenda watched Bob silently mouth the question to the AI, and watched his reaction to the reply. He rattled off their names. "Good," she smiled. "Now, ask to see my CAP score and my four highest sub-scores. You have my permission, but you also have the authority in your capacity as Civil Service officer."

Again, Bob mouthed the question. This time, the response was displayed visually, the overall score together with the four highest sub-scores with name and value. Bob blushed furiously. "Too much information!" he gasped.

Her laugh was musical. "Yes, my sex drive is my highest sub-score. And I'm stuck on a transit to a breeder colony. There are more than four females for every male aboard. Fortunately, I had my sex drive turned down to about the level I was before I was extracted -- a little lower, actually. Which brings me to a point I want to make: the Confederacy is fundamentally opposed to any mind control techniques, per se. On the other hand, the body can be manipulated endlessly. It might suit you to have the sex drive of an unassigned concubine turned pretty much completely off -- or have it cranked way up. Yes, the brain is the most important part of sex, but there is a lot of other alteration that can be done." Bob nodded an inkling of understanding.

"You're a nice guy," she said, "and that's going to work against you. I don't expect you to do an about face and become a creep. You are going to have to make tough decisions. You will regret the amount of slack you allow. I'm sure you'll just keep trying to do the best you can. That's the kinda guy you are. Okay, here come the ladies. Let's get over there. Have them identified for you as they step off the transporter pad."

Brenda and Bob had scarcely stationed themselves near the transporter pad before the women began to emerge. As suggested, Bob got some information about each woman as she appeared, but before long, the facts were all running together and he did not think he could remember any of it. About a third of the women had children with them. Brenda sent each of the women to stand against the wall. It became immediately apparent that there were some mules among the mares. Some wandered off to use the replicators. Some were flirting with anyone -- man or woman -- in range. Some were obviously preparing battle space for an expected turf war. Bob simply sighed and shook his head sadly.

Brenda guided the last woman toward the wall but veered toward the corner, beckoning the women to follow. Bob rounded up the strays and they followed Brenda. The last of the women was entering the pod when Bob turned the corner. He guided his charges into the pod and then followed. The hatch closed behind them. Bob was surprised to find that Judy, Bonnie, Faye and Gwen, the four Edgar women who were rejected or stranded, were in the pod as well. Bob realized that it only made sense to house all of the unassigned concubines together. He just wondered who had ordered the Edgar women shifted here.

The pod was designed to house a lot of people. Brenda had apparently instructed the AI to temporarily disable the lift. Brenda and Bob herded everyone into the living room and got them seated. Brenda turned to Bob and said, "I'm sorry to steal your thunder. Is it okay if I get them started?"

"Be my guest," Bob grinned. "I haven't got a clue what to do." Brenda nodded and turned to the audience.

"Alright," said Brenda as she tried to quiet the crowd and get their attention focused on her, "we're going to have a little meeting and then the kids can go play. Please be still, kiddos, so we can get you out of here." A hologram model of the first floor of the pod appeared and hung in mid-air in front of her.

"This is the lower level of this pod. As you can see, the living room is quite large. The kitchen has enough seating for thirty people. There is a bathroom in the corner. There are two bedrooms on the lower level where, we hope, you ladies can do the horizontal mambo now and then. There is an office that has a bunch of cylindrical things in it that are sleep-trainers. Both adults and children will be using the sleep-trainers quite a bit."

Another hologram, this one a representation of the upper level, appeared beside the first. "As you can see," she continued, "on the upper level there are two bathrooms and twelve rooms. Seven of the rooms are for four women each. Three rooms hold six children each. The six-bunk rooms are for children. Four-bunk rooms are for adults. You will find nameplates on the end of the bunks. The bunk with your name on it is yours."

"What about closet space?" someone piped up.

Brenda looked at the woman as if she had two heads. "You're buck naked, except for your collar. You're going to stay that way for the entire trip. I didn't see you carrying anything when you came off the transporter. You don't need linen. What is it you have in mind to store?"

The woman blushed. Everyone else laughed. Brenda thought it was a good ice breaker. "Back to the upper level," she said with a smile. "The two rooms without beds are activity rooms, primarily for the children. You kids have discovered many of the ways the AI can entertain you. There are a lot of you to be playing in two small rooms. You'll figure it out. You can also play in the bedrooms during the day." She surveyed the little ones in her audience. Turning to a girl, she said, "You look to be the oldest. Let me guess: are you twelve?"

"Eleven," blushed the girl.

"Anybody else eleven or older?" she asked the group. There were no takers. "How many of you are nine or ten?" Two boys and a girl raised their hands. "The four of you should help the littler ones, even though," and she turned to she turned to a cluster of six- to eight-year-olds, "you don't need much help, do you?" They shook their heads, smiling. "You'll help littler ones, too, won't you?" They beamed and nodded. "Good. AI, please enable the lift. Children, off you go!"

The older kids were off in a flash. As it registered with the younger kids, they got up and scampered off, too. Three toddlers remained with their mothers, not going anywhere. A girl of about three tried to drag her mother along with her. Brenda knelt beside the child. "Your momma has to stay here, Sweetheart. You can stay here with your momma, or you can go play with the kids. Which do you want?" The child looked at her mother, uncertainly.

The eleven-year-old knelt beside the child. Brenda turned to her and said, "Thank you, JJ, for being so thoughtful." The girl blushed at the praise and for having been called by name. She focused her attention on the child. After a bit of coaxing, she rose and led her toward the lift and they were soon gone.

Brenda rose and took in the women. "My name is Brenda Hoekstra. I am a steward with the Capricorn Clipper. At a later time, you will learn more about stewards. You will meet many of us over the course of the voyage. This is Bob Minter, the Civil Service officer for the colony. Unlike many of you, Bob was extracted only two days ago.

"Let's find out a little bit about you. How many of you know more than two people here?" The four Edgar women raised their hands, along with half a dozen other women. "How many of you have been in the moon for five days or less?" Only the Edgar women raised their hands. "How many have been in the moon more than eight days?" This time, there were no raised hands.

"Okay, as you know, you are bound for Aphrodite, a recently founded colony that will specialize in the production and delivery of young sponsors. All of the babies will be twins. Three quarters of the babies will be girls. In twelve years' time, you could easily have twenty children yourself, all age twelve and under. Every sponsor in the colony has at least three concubines. There could be sixty children in your household by then.

"You have been sent along as extras. You will be sponsored by newly-minted sponsors or by sponsors who lose or reject any of their concubines. No additional concubines will be allotted to current sponsors for at least a year, if ever. One or two of you may find that a steward has a vacant concubine spot and will be willing to take you. Don't count on it.

"There's probably four thousand dependents on board. I should think that some of them will score in the sponsor range when they turn fourteen. The CAP score is known to rise with maturity, so I don't know if there will be that many."

Bob added, "The passengers include over a hundred sponsors from my little town of Edgar, Washington. We got ourselves organized and got almost the whole town extracted at once. In the months leading up to the extraction, we cancelled regular schooling for kids in the eighth through twelfth grades. Instead, we had them working all day, every day, trying to learn what we thought might raise their CAP scores. I'm sure that that has been tried in other places at other times. Anyway, we have been instructed to institute a program like that on Aphrodite. We don't want to limit the trainees to dependents. If there are male or female concubines who want to try to raise their CAP scores, we will encourage the sponsor to allow these concubines to participate. If any of you want to participate before you are chosen, I will allow it. In fact, I encourage it."

"Still," Brenda said, "it will be months before all of you are sponsored. Some of you will replace concubines that are sponsored now, and that concubine will come to live with the rest of you. It is a requirement, though, that each of you be pregnant before we reach Aphrodite."

"Are you going to fuck us all?" one of the concubines said to Bob. Unlike the others, she was slouched down in her seat, her knees spread obscenely. She looked to be about forty. Bob learned in answer to his sub-vocal query that the woman was named Mona Theisen. She was aggressive, greedy, self-centered and -- oddly -- organized.

"Mona," Bob answered evenly, "right next door, I have a joint household with Doctor Ellen Waters. Between us, we have a dozen concubines. In our household, there are eleven women and three men. I'm afraid I'm not going to be fathering any children among you."

"You gonna fetch us some dick?" another woman barked. "You don't look like no pimp. Some of us ain't been fucked for much too long!" Bob was informed that the woman was Theresa Lemay, age thirty-two and another roughneck.

"I hadn't planned that far ahead, Theresa," Bob answered. "We've only been here for a few minutes."

"I don't think I'll be waitin' on you," Mona growled. "I'll just go hunt down my own."

"I don't think we're getting off in the right foot," Bob sighed.

"Look, Bob," Mona said with some exasperation, "it sounds like you can dip your wick whenever you want. We been in the meat market for a week. We been inspected, injected, rejected, neglected and dejected. I've had enough of that, I'll tell you right now."

"Let us get organized a bit," Bob said. "There are sixteen decks on this ship. This is deck nine, pod forty-nine. The Edgar people are on decks nine and ten. I don't know a soul on the rest of the ship. As far as I'm concerned, you can come and go as you please. There is said to be at least one area on each deck for physical activity, for adults or children, or both. Go explore for a while. Just don't get yourself recycled. I can't be your babysitter. Show up for required meetings and scheduled activities.

"AI, for now, give these women full concubine access to the pod and its features, unrestricted access in and out of the pod, and full access to the common areas of the entire ship. If that needs to be modified, we'll do it some other time."

Marcie had been guided only a few steps into Steve's pod. She stood, blindfolded and bound, waiting, knowing Steve was nearby, watching her. The silence stretched out. Finally, Steve softly said, "I don't know what to do." She did not answer. After another stretch of silence, she faintly heard him pad away.

"Steve," the AI said, "it is recommended that you spend time in the sleep trainer. During that time, the concubines can watch a video presentation."

"I guess that'll work," said Steve. He exchanged waves with Aly and Maddie as he headed for the office.

The girls did not know how to respond to Marcie, either. The wall lit up opposite the sofa where they sat as the presentation began. The path of least resistance was for them to watch the video.

Marcie could hear the presentation perfectly well, but she did not want to remain standing forever. She slowly edged her way deeper into the pod. She had been free to move about in the living unit in the moon. She had briefly seen Bob and Ellen's pod, which was not terribly dissimilar. She hoped Steve's pod was laid out like Bob's. She moved slowly, fearful that she would break a toe. Her legs bumped into a piece of furniture. Expecting that she had encountered the back of a chair or sofa, she worked her way to the end and around the corner.

The next edge of the furniture was shorter. She turned the corner again, finding that the furniture edge was much lower on her legs. She moved along the front of the furniture far enough to satisfy herself that she had not encountered the legs of either girl. She moved back, turned around and gingerly seated herself.

The program droned on about colony life for a concubine. It discussed the implications of life on a breeder colony. It explained that concubines have absolutely no rights except those granted by the sponsor and that those could be withdrawn. She 'witnessed' -- in her mind's eye -- a concubine's assault on her sponsor, and the near-immediate execution.

Before long, Marcie realized that the subject had turned into a demonstration of a sponsor's sexual power over concubines, especially over same-sex concubines.

Marcie could not see. She certainly could hear, and her mind painted vivid images of the scenes. She listened as the female sponsor demanded sexual service from her female concubine, and the resulting sounds of her pleasure. Every word of direction from the sponsor made her own pussy pulse. She squeezed her thighs together, trying desperately for friction. She imagined herself being forced to service the woman. The act that had long repulsed her suddenly became a craving.

She listened as a male sponsor choke-fucked his male concubine, roaring his release while the concubine retched and choked. A shriek announced to Marcie's mind that the sponsor had buried his cock to the hilt in the agonized male concubine's ass. The sponsor's bellowing became a duet with the concubine's wailing. Finally both fell silent.

Marcie was horrified, terrified -- and all but crazed with lust. The movements of her thighs had spread her copious juices almost to her knees, but did nothing to assuage her aching need. She pulled and yanked at her restraints, all in vain. She gasped and squealed her frustration.

Aly and Maddie sat together, completely immersed in the pornographic presentation, fingers sawing furiously into their pussies. The squeals cut through the fog of their lust. In a flash, they were beside Marcie. "What's wrong?" breathed Aly.

"Touch me!" screamed Marcie. "Please! I'm burning up!" She threw her knees apart and threw her hips into the air. Aly's fingers landed on Marcie's clit. Maddie jammed two fingers deeply into Marcie's body. The combination was like a bolt of lightning. Marcie convulsed, screaming, through a gigantic orgasm.

Aly and Maddie glanced between each other and the heaving Marcie. As the orgasm began to subside, Maddie gave Aly a head nod before she knelt between Marcie's outstretched knees. Aly snuggled in close to Marcie, cooing and softly stroking her.

Maddie knew this was not the time for subtlety. She plunged her face into Marcie's crotch and started licking furiously. Marcie turned and blindly sought Aly's lips, locking on as best she could in a passionate kiss. Aly used both hands to attack Marcie's breasts, squeezing them, rolling and pinching her nipples.

Marcie convulsed through one fiery orgasm after another. Maddie was relentless. "No more!" Marcie finally begged. Maddie pulled back. Aly collected Marcie in a gentle hug. The shuddering aftershocks slowly subsided, only to be built back up in blubbering tears. Maddie and Aly had seldom seen such a display of abject misery and pain.

As her sobbing diminished, she began to wail. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she repeated over and over. After a couple of deep sighs to help her gather herself, she turned and tried to use her body to push Aly down onto her back. "Let me do you," she softly said. "I want to do you!"

"You don't have to," Aly answered softly. "It's okay."

"I want to!" Marcie hissed. "I want to show you I can do it! I want to give back to you!" As Aly struggled in vain to fend her off, Marcie begged, "Please?" Aly relented, lying back on the sofa, guiding Marcie between her outstretched legs.

Marcie wasn't going for delicate. She dived right in. "Slow down," Aly said softly. "Be more gentle." Having gotten herself past the initial trauma, Marcie stopped and collected herself. She resumed her work by exploring every inch with her tongue and lips. She marveled at Aly's completely hairless mons and lips, finding not the slightest trace of stubble.

Still blindfolded and bound, Marcie had to rest one part or another of her face against Aly's pubic bone. Marcie's ass was high in the air. Maddie stood and began gently caressing Marcie's ass. As Aly began to respond to Marcie's ministrations, and Marcie lost herself in providing her oral attentions, Maddie let her fingers play over Marcie's ass, sometimes trailing into her pussy. Maddie soon added kisses and, when Marcie did not object, started licking. Maddie gently focused her fingers' attention on Marcie's pussy. As Marcie began to respond, the licks zeroed in on her rosebud.

Marcie at first flinched but forced herself to receive the surprisingly wonderful attention from Maddie's tongue as well as her fingers. Marcie had to devote more and more of her concentration on her own work as her own lust skyrocketed under Maddie's attentions. As Aly screamed out her orgasm, Maddie went into high gear. Marcie exploded into her own orgasm.

"Capricorn Clipper will break orbit in ten minutes," the AI informed them. The girls and Dawn's kids squealed with delight. "Would you like to have a view port opened?"

"Absolutely!" answered Michael Martin.

A huge screen appeared on one wall. The Earth took up more than half of the display, its beauty all but breathtaking. Stacy and Kayla pulled one end of a sofa until it nearly faced the screen before plunking themselves down, making room for Abigail and Noah. Jenny, Dawn and Michael found places on the sofa opposite. Alexis sprawled herself out on the love seat, legs stretched out in front of her.

"My gawd!" she groaned. "How can I be so horny! All the time!"

Stacy giggled. "I think whatever they did to our sex drive has taken full effect."

Kayla added, "I learned how to rub one out in my bed late at night when I was about eleven. A couple times a week, that'd come to mind as a good idea for later. Any more, I don't want to wait for 'later.' And my fingers don't do the job for me anymore! I always want some relief right now!"

Dawn frowned. "I'm not too keen on where this conversation is going in front of my children. Could we talk about something else?"

"MOM!" squalled Abigail. "I learned that lesson a couple of years ago. You five have been ... coupling ... with Michael ever since you agreed to be in his pre-pack." Dawn blanched. "After we started living in Michael's house, I never had any doubt which of you got your garden planted the night before." She laughed.

Dawn was scandalized. The rest of the adults burst out laughing. "Where did you learn to talk like that, young lady?"

"I was in the program at school, Mom," Abigail said with some exasperation. "They've seen me naked lots of times. I've seen lots of ... coupling ... at school when they thought nobody was around. Why do you think I wear this around the house all the time?" Abigail had taken to wearing a diaphanous nightgown, and nothing else, when in their living unit. "I hope it's sexier than being naked. I hope Michael tears it off of me on my birthday. I want to lose my virginity in my coochie, not in my butt. I hope you don't wear him out before my birthday!"

"What about Noah?" asked Dawn, only slightly mollified.

"Have you learned to have fun with your stiffie?" Abigail asked him with a smirk.

"I don't want to talk about it," Noah said, leaning back in his seat.

Abigail giggled. "He knows, Mom," she said. "That's why he wears tighty-whitey underpants -- he doesn't want us to see when he has a stiffie." She looked over at her brother and continued, "He probably gets a stiffie a lot these days." Turning back to her mother, she said, "You look only five years older than I am now, Mom. Every one of you ladies is beautiful and sexy. I'm going to be a mother before you wean your next babies, Mom. There's nothing shameful about our bodies. There's nothing shameful about making love. Get over it."

"I'm not even pregnant," gasped Dawn.

"Yeah, but you will be next month. That's so cool. I want the very first sperm I ever get to make a baby inside me," Abigail said dreamily.

"Well," observed Jenny, "if you want that, you'll have to hold off on your first time. Your birthday's only a couple of months away. The girls are already vying for spots in the lineup. You're going to be last in line," she smiled.

"Still," chirped Kayla, "a month until conception for Dawn, nine months gestation and six months of nursing. You'll definitely be a mother by then!"

"One minute," intoned the AI.

That ended the conversation. The family settled in and watched a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The bout of frenzied sex between the three sister concubines had burst the dam. The three spent a long time afterward cuddling, crying, caressing, laughing, crying again.

"You're like the older sister I never had," Aly pointed out softly.

"That's a pretty good analogy," Maddie allowed. "I don't have an older sister either. Well, I didn't have an older sister before. Marcie, your body is only a couple of years older than ours. Huh. I never thought about it like that. I think about it being like sleeping with the boyfriend of my BFF, having her find out, having her not be able to break up with the boyfriend -- or me. She has to keep fucking him, knowing the son of a bitch is fucking me, too, and planning to do it again and again."

That sparked yet another crying jag from Marcie.

The restraints did not come off. Steve and the three concubines carried on as normally as they could. It was embarrassing for Marcie to have to ask to be guided to the toilet and wiped like a child. Maddie and Aly were attentive but did not hover. Marcie was guided into the sleep trainer for a session. She had pleasant chats with each of her sisters as the other had a sleep trainer session of her own. There were times when Steve and the girls left the pod. Marcie did not want anyone to see her plight -- to see her combined punishment and training -- so she stayed at home. She put the alone time to good use, thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into and how to make amends.

At dinner, Maddie and Aly alternated giving bites of food to Marcie. They made a game of it and they all had fun. Steve was mightily relieved. He hoped that the cure was taking, that his family would come together in harmony.