Chapter 2: Disturbing Confrontations

I stood up and walked toward the door, leaving my unfinished drawing on the easel. Jessica gave a cry of annoyance, as I walked away. I heard her easel crash to the floor behind me as I left the building.

Outside, I walked a few feet from the door and then turned around. A couple minutes later Jessica stormed out of the classroom. She walked right up to me and slapped me across the face. "How can you embarrass me like that!" she hissed.

I said nothing. Instead I pointed to a bench set far from any of the buildings. When Jessica looked toward the bench I started walking. Jessica gave another screech of outrage and ran past me as I strode towards the bench. She sat down facing me, scowling as I walked up.

"Now," I hissed. "Perhaps we can have the discussion in silence, rather than broadcasting who knows what."

"You are a jerk!" Jessica railed out. "I just asked some questions, and you embarrassed me in front of the class."

"Actually, I got us out of there because your questions had the potential to embarrass both of us," I said calmly. "It seemed like you were fishing for an answer, and eventually someone would have noticed. I'm still trying to figure out why you were asking so many questions."

Jessica crossed her arms under her breasts. There was not much to push up, but the action still enticed me. "Jerk," she muttered. "I'm confused, and I trust you."

"Trust is a wonderful thing," I said. "But asking random questions doesn't help the person stuck answering. It was rather obvious that you had a purpose behind your questions, and I figured if we were alone you'd be able to ask clear questions. It seemed like you didn't just want to ask me your real questions in there."

Jessica blushed. I had to admire how her normally dusky skin slowly turned red as she sat and looked at the ground. "You're right, I didn't want others to hear my real questions," she whispered. "I guess I figured that you would figure out what I was asking and give me the answers I wanted anyways."

I sighed. "Not in front of everyone. At least, not in a form that you could use. Especially if the questions were for the reason I'm guessing."

"I have a CAP high enough that I think I'll be able to take others with me," Jessica responded. "Is that good enough?"

"How high?" I asked.

"Six eight," Jessica said. "Six five is the minimum they'll take as a volunteer. Daddy learned that earlier today. He texted me about it at lunch."

"So your problem is deciding if you really want to volunteer?" I asked.

"No!" Jessica said firmly. "I know I'll volunteer. I just don't know what to do about bringing others along. And I worry about letting anyone know my score. I hid the fact that I had tested from everyone. I know Billy and Roger think I will score under five"

"Do you know much about this whole thing? How can you make a decision if you have no knowledge?" I asked.

Jessica smiled. "Do you remember last year; when that group of union organizers went after Daddy's company?"

"Don't remind me," I said. "Father hosted those guys at the house on several occasions. They were loud, crude, and terrified Matti. I seemed to spend half my time protecting her and the rest listening to them plan criminal activity."

"You should have reported them," Jessica said.

"While the lead detective and top sergeant from our local police department were there during the planning sessions? Somehow I expect any complaint I sent in would have been buried, and I would have been punished," I observed. "I did try to get warnings to your father through Yolanda Rios. She was working as his secretary back then."

Jessica nodded. "I wondered how and why she had the money to move out so suddenly. Daddy did say she had earned a bonus, but he refused to say more. Well, if you remember that, then you should remember the two men Daddy hired as security officers for the company."

"Eek and Ook?" I said with a laugh. "Yeah, I know of them. Father complained quite a bit when they caught Jethro trying to sneak into the plant back in November."

Jessica giggled. "Oh, I should let them know you call them that. They'd have to get you back on their own though. The key is where do you think Daddy found them?"

I shrugged. "I remember hearing that he went to an old friend and asked him to recommend someone who would suit. They have definitely been perfect. Mike is terrified of them, and he's helped my father with some dirty tricks on others. He refuses to try anything on someone who works for your father."

"Well, ex-Special Forces soldiers can do that," Jessica said. "The reason I asked is that Daddy found them thanks to friends he has in the military. One of them, a Commander William Evans, gave him a call last night. Some of the terms for the extractions are still being negotiated, but he did say that the fewest companions a person would get is two; the most is ten. At least those are the official numbers. I guess he admitted that a lot of the officers expect everyone to be seeking ways to carve out exceptions that allow them to bring along additional people. But for now you get two people for each full digit."

"No," Jessica said waving her hands in front of her. "It's not quite like that. It's two for six five to six nine. It rises to four at seven zero and adds two more for each full number above seven."

I nodded. "So you will get to take two people with you when you are picked up."

"And that's the problem. Daddy was told that you don't just walk to a center and say 'I have my companions, and I'm ready'," Jessica said with a frown. "Instead, pickups will be random. Some of the military has already been picked up. They will put some kind of interdiction field around a building or field. Anyone in the field with a qualifying score can be picked up, and companions are selected from the others within the field."

"Quickly establishing the authority of the volunteer over their companions," I mused. "Not exactly an elegant way to do that, but I'm sure it's quite effective. I bet that companions will have to arrive on the ships naked, just to help enforce the idea that they aren't worthy."

Jessica nodded. "I had not considered that, but it does make sense. The problem is I have no idea what to do. I mean, I'll get to take two people. How do I decide?"

"Well, I don't think you have to decide today," I said. "And I also don't think you should obsess about it too much. Instead of panicking, think about what this process is. If you are..." I struggled for a word.

"Extracted is the word I hear the military is using," Jessica provided.

It was my turn to nod. "Extracted. It fits. So, say you are extracted."

"I'm extracted."

"Wait til I finish my thought," I muttered as Jessica giggled. "Well, when you are extracted you'll get to take along two others. It's at this point that your selections will matter. So the question becomes do you have anyone you absolutely want to take? Someone you know today, and don't want to leave behind?"

Jessica shrugged. "Nope. Daddy has his own score, and I expect he'll dump my mother since she's more interested in fucking the poolboy than helping him. I like Trish and Millicent, but the idea of living with them makes me want to break out in hives."

"Any boyfriend?" I asked.

Jessica giggled. "Other than Billy and Roger, you are the only guy in class who isn't intimidated by my father and his wealth. And you never tried to date me or dance with me. Even when we showed up at the big gala for New Years."

"Father would have killed me," I noted. "You are attractive, but I think we'd drive each other crazy. But I had to ask. Next question..." I paused and could feel my face warm quickly. "Have you or do you ... cuddle with other girls?"

"Cuddle?" Jessica said slowly. "Wow, what a wimpy way to put it. Mark on my fourteenth birthday my mother allowed me to have a slumber party. She personally gave me three different vibrators as gifts and whispered that I should try them out during the party..."

She paused. I looked at the ground as my face burned even hotter. I could feel my pants getting a bit tighter. I wanted to reach down to adjust things, but kept my hands by my side as Jessica giggled louder. "Part of you wants to hear this," she observed. "Yes, that night at the slumber party I stuck my tongue in Millicent's twat and licked her until she screamed. She's a complete bitch, but her pussy tasted divine. She sucks at giving orgasms though."

"Well, I guess that establishes that you are bisexual," I muttered.

"No," Jessica said. "I'm more of a try sexual. I'll try anything if it might mean I have a few orgasms. Heck I'd try to trip the pool boy and end up under him if the guy wasn't so enamored with Mother's skanky cavern of a pussy."

I shook my head. "Too much information. I never realized you were so crude."

"My father is ex-military and owns a manufacturing company. I've been around men who swear and talk about women since I was a babe," Jessica snapped.

"You still are a babe," I muttered.

Jessica just glared at me. "I was trying to ask a question. And you are now the one losing focus."

"Not really," I answered. "Look, if you are taking companions, they should be people who you want to have around. If what little I caught from the rumor mill fits, the companions don't really have rights once they are in space. They almost belong to the volunteer who accepts them. So the question you will need to ask yourself, is not just who, but why. Do you just want someone to help you ... relax after a hard day of training and fighting, or are you looking for someone who is important to you outside the bedroom."

Jessica started to giggle. "Oh god! Only a goof like you would even think like that. But you are right." She paused and sighed. "That's what has me so troubled. I mean, how can I justify taking someone from Earth and taking away pretty much their entire identity."

"You'll do it because it gives that person a chance," I said. "Look, I don't know how real the tales are about these locust aliens being close enough that they will arrive on Earth within a decade. But if they are that close, Earth will be hit hard when they arrive. We might fight them off, but life here won't be the same. Ask anyone who lived in London during World War Two. Even though Germany never invaded, the city was bombed nightly and saw a lot of people die. These aliens appear to be a bit more energetic than any military we've faced before. They will kill a lot of people before we stop them completely."

"You think we'll win?" Jessica asked.

"We can hope, but we might see many cities destroyed. So think about that. While there is no guarantee that you won't die as a volunteer, depending on your posting, you do give anyone who goes with you a chance to live in peace. They will receive the benefits of the alien medical technology. And it's likely they'll see their children grow up. Maybe even their great-grandkids too," I observed.

"Children?" Jessica asked. Her voice jumped up a couple of octaves, and she sat up abruptly.

"That's part of the reason we'll be seeing the aliens help us get off the planet. They understand the need for children, and it is a way to move the eggs around so they aren't in a single basket, so to say. They haven't officially said, but I expect any women brought along as companions will be expected to have children," I observed.

Jessica frowned. "I never thought about that. So if I do go and bring others, any girls will be pregnant or get pregnant, and I basically own them. But they do escape the war on Earth we know will come. So what do I do?"

"First, you stop worrying about it today," I said. "Next, you need to remember to concentrate on school, during school. Then, once you stop allowing it to upset you so much, you need to sit down and ask yourself what you want. Decide how to picture any person going to the stars with you. Will they be a friend? Will they just be a pet? Do you want someone you can sit at a table and play games with? All of that will help you when you finally are at a pickup, and it's time to decide."

Jessica nodded. "I guess that's what I wanted to hear."

I choked back a laugh. "No," I said firmly. "It wasn't what you wanted to hear. You wanted to hear that I knew some mystical way to allow you to know what the right decision was. If there was a real right decision that might work, but everyone will have to make their own choices here."

I turned and started to walk back to the classroom. Jessica did not follow as I made my way across the yard. When I stepped inside the classroom Mrs. Greer was standing near the doorway. She seemed a bit surprised by my entrance.

"Where is Jessica?" she asked as I returned to my seat. I looked at the clock and noticed that we had less than five minutes left in the class. No one had disturbed my drawing, so I began carefully storing it.

"She'll be back in a moment," I said quietly. "She needed a moment to think."

Mrs. Greer said nothing more, so I put my artwork supplies away and then began to straighten up the easel Jessica had been using. Her abrupt exit had knocked all of her supplies onto the floor. I was kneeling on the floor and picking up some of her pastel chalks when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll get this," Jessica whispered. "You should hurry to your next class."

The bell rang signaling the end of class. I stood up, grabbed my pack and ran from the room, leaving Jessica kneeling on the floor, gathering her scattered pastels. Mrs. Greer reminded the class to walk slowly and be prepared to create two more still life artworks before the end of the week. We had the option to do them at home or to wait until class.

My next class was history. Here the class was definitely distracted by the news from the previous night, and the teacher joined right in. Mr. Franken was a former city councilman who turned to education after he was voted out from office before he could vest his pension. Desperate for income and unlikely to find employment elsewhere, he served as an object of pity to most of the students. He was never organized, his lectures had more lies than most campaign speeches, but once you learned how to listen, it was easy to get high marks on his tests. I had planned on completing one of my English assignments, but Mr. Franken opened up a discussion on the new announcement.

Of course, being Mr. Franken, his main complaint was the way only high CAP scoring citizens would have the opportunity to lead. Most people knew that he had obtained a CAP below five. He was a huge fan of the "Nobody's Perfect" line of apparel, and was the only teacher in the school who never wore one of the pins that displayed a person's score.

I took a seat near the back and tried to hide behind my book as Mr. Franken started into a tirade. "Since the dawn of time, empires and those that serve them have abused those they consider primitive. They come and entice the youth of the weaker culture. Shiny beads and crumbs made from the higher technology held by the empire are used to weaken those they would conquer. In the end they steal away everything, even the writing of history, twisting what happened until it appears that their victims invited the empire's greedy minions into their homes."

"That is what we face today," Mr. Franken continued. "This alien government. This Confederation of alien races is a fraud. They did not come here to rescue us. They even admit that they plan on abandoning Earth and leaving our home world to the alien swarm they fear."

"So why should we worry about what they can give us?" Mr. Franken asked.

The room was silent. I tried to raise the book up to shield my face. The speech by Mr. Franken did not surprise me. He was the union representative for the teachers union. I had met him when he came to meetings at my parent's house.

The silence deepened. I wanted to peek around my book, but I figured any movement might inspire Mr. Franken to call on me. I waited quietly and finally our teacher took a deep breath.

"We shouldn't," He answered his own question. "There is a reason we still use the phrase 'beware Greeks bringing gifts'. When a nation offers you a gift, it's because it benefits them. Here, we are told that the aliens could use our help fighting against these Sa'arm thingies. They must be desperate to offer us so much."