Chapter 7

"AI," Ellen told the ceiling, "would you please ask Kathy to join us?"

"Acknowledged," was the reply. Ellen and Sarah Edwards nursed their lattes and made small talk until Kathy joined them.

"Is this for me?" Kathy asked as she inspected the latte placed in front of her. Sarah nodded with a smile. "Hello, Sarah. I'm glad to see you again. How are you doing?"

Sarah blushed. "That's what we wanted to talk to you about." Sarah tasted her coffee drink and put it down but could not raise her eyes to meet Kathy's.

"Sarah has a problem," Ellen explained. "Do you remember the token Sarah gave to Bob on the day before we boarded?" Kathy thought for a moment and then nodded, smiling. "Sarah wants Bob to redeem that token. Bob doesn't seem to be able to do so. Sarah wants some advice from us, and maybe some help."

"I like this already," Kathy cackled. "What manner of devious plan have you two concocted?"

"Bob is completely loyal to you and your family," Sarah pointed out. "I'm sure he feels my offer is not permissible."

Kathy chuckled. "Bob loves us, loves Sandy and the kids. He cares about the rest of our concubines, but come on, there are eleven women in and out of his bed already. I know Bob cares about you, Sarah."

"I thought about asking Bob to be my concubine early on," Sarah confessed, "but I couldn't work out in my mind how to deal with my own mom and dad. Circumstances changed, and the opportunity was lost.

"Bob is everything my dad is not. The thought of having Bob as a concubine sort of morphed into ... wanting Bob. The more time I spent with Bob, the more I saw and heard what he did for the program, the more I heard he did for the girls, the more I saw that he was the dad I'd never have, the more..."

Ellen and Kathy smiled and nodded knowingly. They were silent for a time, each lost in her own thoughts. With a feral grin, Ellen told them, "I have an idea."

"AI, would you ask Bob to please come home when he can?" Ellen asked. "Tell him 'don't run, but don't dawdle.'"

When the door opened, he found Julie and Sandy there, waiting for him. This was almost customary. More often than not, a sexual encounter of one sort or another greeted him when he returned home. After loving, lusty kisses from each, he was wordlessly guided to the master bedroom. Julie and Sandy hung on both sides of him, their lips at his neck as they sensuously released buttons and fasteners. When they passed through the bedroom door, Bob saw Kathy and Ellen sandwiching a third woman. Kathy's ass faced Bob and her hair flowed over the face of the woman she was passionately kissing.

Ellen's hand was in the woman's pussy, two fingers deeply inside and her thumb circling the clit. The lips and thighs glistened with moisture and it was clear that Ellen's ministrations had the woman desperately trying to achieve release. Bob, transfixed with the tableau, hardly noticed that his guides had him completely undressed and were fondling his rigid cock.

"Welcome home, Roughneck," Ellen purred. "I'm glad your equipment is ready. How about you climb up here and drill this hole real deep? I bet you'll have a gusher in no time." Thinking that Laura was sandwiched, he obligingly climbed in. As soon as he was in range, Ellen grabbed his pole and guided it toward its target. Kathy's tongue must have been drilling the woman's mouth. Her hair cascaded over the victim and Bob could see only the back of Kathy's head. The woman raised her hips, welcoming the invader. Bob felt the clasping muscles trying to draw him completely within. Without breaking the kiss, Kathy found Bob's hand and guided it to the breast on her side of the woman. Ellen did the same on her side. As Bob leaned forward, Kathy broke the kiss and pulled away.

Sarah.

Bob froze, two hands full of breast and his cock half-buried inside her pussy, which was vibrating with need. Sarah was deeply flushed. Her skin had a sheen of perspiration. Her expression was a mixture of lust, triumph ... and a terrible fear of rejection. The deadly silence stretched on.

"You have passed the point," Sarah spoke softly, "that you can decline my invitation. Will you refuse my offer? Will you shame me by sending me away?"

Ellen and Kathy withdrew only far enough to give Bob room. When he relented and brought his chest down to meet Sarah's, they gently stroked his flanks. Bob's face was now directly over Sarah's and their eyes locked. His cock sank inside her completely.

"I know you are intensely loyal to your family," Sarah whispered as they gazed at each other. "You just don't realize how big your family is. All of the children in this colony are your children. By the time these babies are toddlers, you will have fifty children. Fifty. In your own household. In my lifetime, I will have two dozen children, at least. And which of my children will I love more than any others? These. My first. Your children. Our children. And all of your children, in your household or not, whether you've fathered them or not, will be loved and cherished and nurtured. That's what we're about, Bob, all of us: raising children with love and respect and honor."

She let him work that through as she regarded him with an expression of love. She nudged her pelvis upward, inviting his response. With a still-guilty grin, he withdrew and then sank himself deeply within her body. Her smile made her radiant. She lifted off the pillow and kissed him tenderly.

"Kiss us, too, foolish man," Ellen rasped. "Unbridle your love, Bob." He turned and kissed her deeply as he started stroking into Sarah.

He turned and regarded his wife, who was beaming with happiness. They kissed deeply. When the kiss broke, Kathy whispered, "Now focus on Sarah. Give her every ounce of your love and lust. I love you more than enough to share you."

As he turned back to her, Sarah saw that his doubts were gone. "I want a boy and a girl," she told him.

"Acknowledged," intoned the AI.

"We have exited hyperspace," the AI told them, "and are approaching the moon Aphrodite and its primary, known as Aresat 4. Aphrodite is tide-locked to its primary. To minimize exposure to radiation, the colony occupies the hemisphere away from the primary, on the dark side of the moon if you will. This is your opportunity to see Aresat 4. Shall I open a view port?"

"Soon," intoned the AI, "the Kilo class transport Capricorn Clipper will arrive at its destination, the moon Aphrodite. From this time forward, sponsors may decide whether, and what, attire concubines may wear, in public and in private."

The Pruitt sisters cheered. Sarah Edwards, their sponsor, smiled. George and Karen Lasher also smiled, but shrugged. "You don't seem as anxious to get dressed as I thought you'd be," Sarah observed.

George chuckled. "I'm eighteen years old again. I'm healthier, better looking, better built and in better shape than I ever was the first time. I am the willing slave to a delightful and intelligent young woman whose carnal desires are bounded only by her willingness to share me with my lifelong friend Karen and three pixy sisters." They all laughed. "Karen has always been lusty," he continued with a chuckle, "but now I have to contend with five supercharged, beautiful, sexy women. Even when I first reached puberty, I never dreamed of so much sex, so much love. Dressing and undressing at least six times a day just sounds like more work." They laughed again.

"For my part," added Karen, "I'm excited about carrying new life within me. The last time I was this young, I had to wear normal clothes for as long as I could before I graduated to those tents they sold as maternity wear. I'm excited and delighted to be pregnant, and I want to show anyone who wants to see." She looked down and rubbed the not-yet-visible bulge at the base of her abdomen. Sarah smiled and rubbed her own tummy, her babies only a little younger than Karen's.

"I got to become older," giggled Diana, "to look the same age as Lindsay and Tanya, and the rest of you. I'm proud to be a woman, proud to belong to you, Sarah, proud to share the love and the lovin' of our whole family."

"There are children in the public spaces," Karen observed with a smirk.

"And they've had an eyeful since we left Earth," Tanya pointed out. "Naked adults are a fact of life now. There isn't a lot of sex in public, but there isn't none, either. I bet all the kids have seen their mothers and their new mothers orgasm so often that it's a non-event."

"Every woman is beautiful in her own way now," Lindsay added, "and every man is handsome. I don't need to attract the attention of an available man anymore. Any man, or any woman, who admires my body is just giving me a compliment. No one has to go without anymore."

"Still," Sarah said with a wistful smile, "let's see which way the wind is blowing when we go out for dinner."

"I got it!" laughed Karen. "Let's design clothes that are even sexier than being naked!"

It had been a long night for Mona Theisen. The floor was hard, uncomfortable. Every movement of her body caused pain. After some hours, she was able to hobble into the shower. After the initial shock -- the water washed salt into all of her wounds -- the hot spray was comforting. It took a bit of searching for her to find the bunk with her name on it. She had not used it since departure. Thankfully, it was the lower bunk. She sank her head into the pillow and was soon asleep.

When she awoke, it was deathly silent in the room. She was alone, unsure of the time. She stepped through the doorway to a blast of noisy children playing in a nearby room. She realized that some kind of soundproofing had allowed her to sleep peacefully -- or at least without any noise. Her entire body ached, and every movement in her bed had briefly awakened her.

She saw no adults in the upper level corridor. When she descended on the lift, conversations in the living room abruptly halted. Without meeting the eyes of any of her roommates, she made a beeline for the hatch, trying mightily not to limp. She felt all of the eyes on her back as she left the pod.

"Will you guide me to the med bay?" she asked softly.

"Affirmative," replied the AI through her collar. "Proceed to the transporter pad."

The walk was not long, but she was exhausted as she approached the med bay and her gait deteriorated. Her arrival threw the med tech into a tizzy.

The med tech's frantic call for the Civil Service officer was re-directed by the AI to Ellen. She arrived in the med bay to find a docile Mona sitting in a chair, ignoring the intense questioning of the med tech.

"Calm down!" Ellen barked.

"Doctor Waters," the med tech whined, "this concubine is severely injured. She won't tell me what happened to her."

Ellen's withering stare shocked the tech. "And you've left her sitting here while you interrogate her? We can sort out the facts after she's been through the med tube. Let's get her in one now."

Ellen guided Mona to a nearby med tube and helped get her settled. As the hatch closed, she checked the read-outs on the machine. Turning to the med tech, she said, "Mona is an unattached concubine. She has been a troublemaker since she arrived. When she has finished in the med tube, I will go back with her to her pod and find out what happened." The med tech shrugged, fighting down intense curiosity, and turned to resume his work. Ellen left, sub-vocally instructing the AI that she wanted to be present when Mona emerged from the med tube.

Mona's expression as she eased herself out of the med tube was almost, but not quite, contrite. Ellen decided to let Mona speak first, if she wanted to.

"Can I go back home now?" Mona asked evenly.

"You may," answered Ellen. "Would you like some company on your way?" Mona simply nodded and moved toward the exit. Ellen fell in beside her and they were on their way. The pace Mona set was comfortable but purposeful. Neither spoke.

As they stepped off the transporter pad onto Deck 9, Mona said, "I deserved that." She could tell by Ellen's expression that the doctor was unaware of the details of Mona's episode the night before. Now Mona's pace was slow, as though she did not want to make the remainder of her trip home.

"I'm not going to ask," Ellen said softly. "I'm not going to ask Nicole, either. But I will listen, if you want."

Mona turned to Ellen, her eyes filling with unshed tears. She simply nodded, unwilling to trust her voice. The common area was sparsely populated. Ellen guided Mona to a small table, apart from other people. "You need some food," Ellen said, "and perhaps a cup of coffee. What would you like?"

Returning with a plateful of breakfast for Mona and two cups of coffee, she sat down opposite. She removed her cup and passed the tray across to Mona, who nodded thanks. Mona didn't pay attention to the food or drink, didn't pay attention to Ellen. She seemed lost in her own little world for a time. Ellen decided to simply wait.

"I had a life," Mona finally said softly. "I had a home, a job, grown kids, parents, family, friends ... Still, I wanted to live, wanted to get away from the Swarm, start a new life all over again on a new world. I jumped at the chance to be extracted. It was one of those giant things where they take all comers and sort them out in the moon." As she spoke, she looked off in the distance, remembering.

She snorted. "I'm no spring chicken," she sighed. "I know I'm homely. I'm still fertile. I know I would be good for young girls who have no mothering experience." She blushed, still unable to face Ellen. "I would have been able to teach a young man how to be a great lover.

"So I was all gung-ho when I entered the meat market. I didn't let my flabby body bother me. I aggressively sold myself to any sponsor who would listen. I sucked cock, I took it in the ass, I ate pussy, I did anything, took on any personality I thought the sponsor wanted. 'Thanks, anyway, ' was all I ever got. As the days slipped by, I went through every emotion in the book. I lashed out at other women, those I knew would finally find a sponsor instead of me. At the end of the week, I had no chances left, no choices. I became an 'extra' bound for a breeding colony."

She turned and locked eyes with Ellen, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. "Now I live in a brothel. I'm a whore!" She laughed bitterly. "I'm not even a two dollar whore. I get to part my thighs for anyone who wants me, for free! Anything you want, mister, anytime, anywhere. I got babies in me and I don't even know who the father is, much less his name!"

She turned away again, tears streaming but sitting rigidly, refusing to curl up and bawl out her pain and anguish. Ellen let her cry, let her gather herself until she could continue.

"So I lashed out. I lashed out at everyone. I wanted to punish everyone for what had happened to me, for the monumental unfairness of a good woman made into a slut whore." She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, attempting to calm herself. "But I didn't punish anybody. Oh, I hurt people. I made some people hopping mad. I'm sure some got a kick out of the stupid slut and her antics." She looked Ellen in the eyes again. "But I didn't punish anybody, but myself." She took another shuddering deep breath.

"Nicole was right. I have a new life. I'm going to find dignity wherever I can. I'm a whore. I'm going to be the best damn whore there ever was." She smiled wanly, determination written all over her face. "I'm going to find satisfaction helping anyone I can, anytime I can, teaching, working, helping, just being there."

Ellen nodded approval. They sat in companionable silence for a time.

Mona entered the pod and made her way, as inconspicuously as possible, to take a seat at the end of one of the sofas. She made eye contact with no one. Nobody spoke to her as she entered. Mona kept her expression blank, not angry, not happy, not sad. All of her roommates, trained by this time to give Mona a very wide berth, left her alone. Mona did occasionally look around, ever careful not to meet the eyes of her neighbors.

All of which sparked endless comment and gossip among her roommates, always careful to make their remarks out of Mona's earshot.

Lunchtime came. Many of the girls, as they now called themselves, went into the common areas for their meal. One girl steeled her nerve and asked Mona, "Would you like something to eat? Something to drink?"

Mona raised her head to answer, but made no eye contact. "No, but thank you for asking." She turned away again, lost in her own thoughts.

The rest of the girls had their lunch in the kitchen and dining area, surreptitiously studying their long-time nemesis, afraid that the time bomb would explode unexpectedly. The afternoon passed quietly. Mona remained seated, alone. A few of the girls made weak attempts to talk to her. Mona always responded and was always polite. The conversations went nowhere.

Beth had had a few bouts of sex with Mona. Beth had decided early on that, against Mona, resistance was futile. She had allowed herself to be bedded, thinking -- hoping -- that cooperation would make the session less of an ordeal. And, to an extent, it had worked. Beth had done what she thought Mona wanted, being neither aggressive nor passive. There had been no tenderness, but no brutality, either.

Beth sat on the sofa next to Mona, not close enough that they were touching. Beth said nothing. Mona said nothing. Mona had been on the sofa for six hours already. Beth sat quietly, waiting. And waiting. Another hour passed.

"What?" Mona finally asked, not looking at Beth.

"You seem to be busy," Beth answered softly. "I don't want to interrupt you."

Mona snorted. Both remained silent. Ten more minutes passed.

"I was told to expect a new person to join us today," Beth said. "I want to introduce myself..."

"Thanks, Beth," Mona said quietly. "I appreciate that."

"The girls have watched you sitting here. Of course, they're all atwitter. They're starting to call you 'Mona the Meek.' I was wondering whether you'd like to take the wind out of their sails by becoming Monique."

Mona chuckled. "Monique?"

"Come on, Monique," Beth said as she stood and offered her hand, "let's go get some supper."

Over dinner, Mona, now in her own mind evermore Monique, shared a much more sober and reflective explanation of herself and her past behavior. She allowed as how, in her anger and pain, she had tried to punish everyone she could. Instead, she knew, she had only inflicted her pain upon others, gaining no solace for herself in the process.

Beth for her part was quiet but attentive, allowing Monique to purge herself at her own pace. Only when Monique's silences stretched out did she ask a question or make an observation, gently prompting Monique. Finally, Monique was done, winding up by sharing her resolve to make the most of her new situation.

They turned then to the parting words Nicole had left them with the night before. Beth was heartened when Monique took those words as a challenge and goal. Before long, the two women began to plan. The most famous whorehouse in the galaxy was not mere happenstance.

They toyed with names for their establishment. 'Legends' captivated them. 'Fantasyland' and 'Outrage' seemed trite. Other names were bandied about. They left the name to reveal itself when the time was right.

They started to prepare for the fantasies they might encounter as they served their customers. Sex in weightlessness was something everyone had imagined, but neither of them knew much about it. Before long they were both giggling as a new scene was imagined: Wesson Oil parties, school girls, pretend rape, bondage of various sorts, swings, saunas, hot tubs, massages, lecherous doctors, job interviews carried away, gang bangs, and more.

"We have to share with our sisters," Beth said as their talk wound down. "They'll have ideas, too. We need them to act out the parts we'll play in fantasies."

Monique sighed, suddenly glum. "They won't want to hear anything from me," she quailed. "They won't trust me. They hate me. And they should. I've been nothing but pain and anguish for them."

Beth smiled, letting Monique stew for a moment. "They hate and fear Mona," she finally said. "They don't know Monique at all, except what little they saw today. The rest of us didn't have trouble accepting our new station, Monique. We're just single girls, happy to accept even a little attention. We're bored, aimless. We know we'll have lots of children to tend, but that isn't a major part of our lives yet. We care about each other. We would have made Mona part of our family, if she'd let us. Mona's gone, Sweetie. They're not going to have any trouble welcoming Monique."

Beth and Monique made their way back into their pod, sitting together on a sofa, but not touching. When they were comfortable, Beth announced, "Girls, we'd like to clear the air, and introduce you to Monique." Beth watched as her sisters gathered around. Some would have nothing to do with their tormentor, and left the room. Monique could not raise her eyes to meet them. Most of the girls were wary, suspicious.

"I'm sorry," Monique said in a clear voice, but she could not bring herself to look anyone in the eyes. The silence stretched out as the group waited for her to continue. Finally, Monique was able to look up. She slowly surveyed the room, seeing the emotions on the faces of her sisters. "I will talk with you, individually, when we can. For now, I need to tell you that I was ashamed, and devastated, and outraged at what had happened to me. I had a home. I had a job. I had parents, and children, and friends. I belonged. But I wanted a new life, safe from the Swarm, doing my best to make my master, my sister concubines and our children happy and contented.