Chapter 2: A Man with a Plan

Jack looked around the camp. He knew they had a while until the rest of the family showed up. The other patriarchs liked to have fun in Fairbanks for most of the day, hitting gun shops, strip clubs and other “Manly Places” while their women folk ran around and did the last-minute shopping in preparation for the month-long family reunion. “Well, there’s no rush. However, I really need some time to process all this. On top of that, standing around here looking at the remains of my old life and having to deal with the hate-filled looks of my father and grandfathers, really doesn’t help. Let’s just move on with this process.”

“Very good,” the sergeant replied, as he motioned for his men to gather everyone up. “We’ll get everyone up to the ship in a jiff.”

Jack gave a quick glance towards the men who, until recently, had ruled and guided his life, and frowned. “What’re you gonna do about them?” he asked of the sergeant still next to him. “I highly doubt they’ll just sit here and let your men do what they need to do and you really can’t just leave them tied up.”

The sergeant shrugged. “The plan was to do just that ... leave them tied up for others to find.”

Jack shook his head. “Ya can’t do that. That would be giving them a death sentence and, no matter how fucked up they are, they don’t deserve that.”

“A death sentence?”

“Have you ever been in the wild, sergeant?”

“We do field training quite often. Why?”

“No, I mean camping, roughing it ... actually living in the wilderness around wild animals.”

“Can’t say that I have.”

Jack gave a loud sigh. “With all the food around here and no one to keep the animals at bay, soon enough they’ll come to get to the food. At first, it will be the smaller animals. They won’t do much harm and would keep their distance from humans. Eventually, though, larger animals, wolves or bears ... maybe even coyotes will show up ... attracted by the smell of the food and the smaller prey animals. To those predators, large, tied up or especially unconscious humans, would be a delicious snack.”

“Ah, didn’t think of that. But surely someone else will be around before too long?” “Nope. The family members here right now are the ones who are supposed to get most of the campsite set up and prepared for when the rest of the clan arrives. Most of them won’t be around until a few hours before nightfall. They’re in town having fun and will want to maximize their time there.”

“So, sir, what do you suggest?”

Jack looked over the tied-up men, taking a long look at each one, calculating their current body language, posture and the likelihood that they would do something stupid if released. Eventually his eyes fell on his two cousins, both were his age and both made every effort not to look at him, the women or any of the marines. “I’d knock out all the adult males, leave the two boys tied up and just before you’re ready to fade away or whatever it is you plan on doing, untie them with instructions to watch over the others. They’re the least likely to give you any trouble at this point. They’re young and not as stupid or set in their ways as the rest.”

The sergeant patted him on the shoulder. “Good plan. We’ll be sure to leave someone awake and free to watch over everyone. Now you and yours need to get on the transporter.”

Jack nodded. He looked over to Hanna, who watched him with a smile. She gave him a wink and started organizing the women and got them headed towards the transport. It took a few minutes to get everyone gathered up, mainly because the younger girls were busy trying to get their clothing on and zipped or buttoned. “While you were fucking your Grandmother, most of the girls took it upon themselves to get undressed and play with themselves while they watched ya.” His mother whispered into his ear.

Sergeant Fair looked over the motley assemblage, and told Jack, “Protocol says that all concubines must be naked when they transport to the ship. Your call, this time, because the gaggle you have hasn’t been tested. What a cluster fuck!”

Jack nodded and then told his future harem, “You can wear or bring your clothes, but, once we’re all sorted, concubines will be naked.”

Once all the girls were dressed, they headed to the transporter. A strong scent of arousal surrounded the group, not all of which came from his concubines. Jack’s grandmothers organized everyone into their family groups and lined them up behind Jack. One marine motioned for Jack to head into the device, saying “this will transport you to the ship. Once you arrive, step out of the way and do everything the Marines on the other end tell you to do. We have a lot of work to get you all processed.”

“No problem,” Jack responded and then headed into the transport device. About half way there he stopped, turned, and looked at the sergeant, “You might want to grab all their cell phones.”

Jack felt a slight shift, and his stomach turned a little. He then found himself in a large room with several seats, benches and tables. He stepped forward at the direction of the marine who stood next to the arrival point. He looked around at the large gray room and saw that it was clearly of alien design and that the overall aesthetic of the room was a little unsettling.

Hanna appeared shortly after him, followed by her two younger daughters. One by one the rest of his harem and their daughters followed. Overall, eleven concubines and fourteen children. Most of the marines, including Sergeant Fair, followed after them. Hanna ushered everyone to tables and benches, still grouped together with their respective parent.

Jack took in his surroundings as his harem got themselves organized and situated. The room was obviously designed to receive a large number of people at one time ... substantially more than were currently gathered in it. It was also seemingly designed to make whoever was in the room feel small and uncomfortable. Jack thought it was a very good design; a way to keep a large group of unknown and possibly hostile people in line and willing to listen to orders. He’d also noticed that the marines’ body language had changed as soon as they entered the room. They’d gone from being on-guard, but relaxed, to authoritative and even a little aggressive, especially Sergeant Fair.

Jack smiled as the sergeant approached and interrupted the man as soon as he was about to speak. “Sergeant, please ... before you say anything, I’m sure there are protocols and procedures for all of this and I can see by your mannerisms that you’re about to shift into ‘Drill Sergeant’ mode to stress the importance of the unpleasant things you’re about to ask us to do. Please trust me when I say, that with this group, it isn’t needed and will probably result in the opposite of what you intend. Just let me know what needs to be done, and we’ll get it done.”

The sergeant took a step back and looked at Jack for a second, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Of course. This is, by and far, a very different situation than any of our other pickups. Nothing we’re doing has a precedent. The first thing we need to do is get all of your concubines, that haven’t been CAP tested, tested. We also need to get everyone medically examined. Our med-tubes will do both.”

Jack motioned for his grandmothers and Erin. The three women approached him and Jack gave them instructions. “Hanna, Kelly, can you please get all my concubines, except for Erin and Julia, and have them go where Sergeant Fair needs you to go? Erin please gather Julia and all the children together and have them prepare for their medical examinations. Also, please get with each of their mothers and see if there is anything that needs to be reported about the children, health-wise.”

Hanna and Kelly nodded and walked off with Sergeant Fair. Erin started to walk away and then stopped. “Jack, can I ask a favor?” she asked plainly.

“Yeah, sure, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. You might be my slave, but you’re still a person to me.”

Erin nodded and smiled. “Yes sir. My husband and son ... Can you look to see if there’s some way that you can get a warning to them not to return to the camp? I have a really bad feeling that your family, those left behind, will take all this out on them.”

Jack nodded and began to think on the issue. The more he thought, the more his mind came up with other problems that will be caused by this extraction. The resultant chain reaction didn’t look at all good in his mind’s eye. He motioned for one of the marines. “Sorry to bother you, but I have some questions that I hope you can answer for me?”

“I will do my best sir,” she responded.

Jack told her what he needed and what he was concerned about. At first, she looked confused, but then, as what he was saying dawned on her, she grew concerned. “Um, sir, I really can’t speak to that. You’d need to talk with the AI and Sergeant Fair,” she said, as she tilted her head slightly, nodded, and then looked back towards Jack, “Sir, Sergeant Fair is on his way.”

Jack nodded then turned to Erin. “Can I have your cell phone? ... And hand me Julia’s as well.”

Erin nodded, fished out her cell phone, and motioned for Julia to do the same. Once they gave up their phones, the two walked off and began to round up the children and talk with their mothers, before the concubines followed Hanna and Kelly out through the one door in the room.

“Sir,” Sergeant Fair started as he walked up. “I’m being told you have some questions and ideas that you would like to address?”

“Yes, we have a small problem that has the potential to get much larger. I have ideas for some possible solutions, however, that will, in the long run, just make an even larger problem. I don’t have all the facts to come to a complete conclusion, so I have some questions on the technology that’s available and about the rules of behavior in regards to pickups ... both those that have precedent and the exceptions that have been made in my case, as well as those made in the past.”

Sergeant Fair nodded, and then a robotic voice chimed from somewhere in the room. “What are your questions, Lieutenant Adams?”

Jack, Sergeant Fair and the AI discussed his ideas for about 30 minutes before the AI made a decision. “Your idea has merit, Lieutenant Adams. I suggest we examine it more in the security of the war room.”

Jack and Fair headed for the main doorway just as his mother and his Aunt Jane were returning. The group stopped and Sergeant Fair took a look at their CAP cards. He nodded and handed the cards to Jack. “The two of you will need to remove all of your clothes and leave them and your belongings on one of the tables. Your sponsor will decide later on what you can keep and what will be disposed of. Please hand your cell phone and any other electronic devices you may have with you to your sponsor.”

The two women nodded and handed their cell phones to Jack before they stripped off their clothes and headed over to the closest table. Jack looked at their CAP card, his mother scored a 5.3. Her highest scores were in teamwork, loyalty, empathy and maternal instincts. She scored mid range with Lover/Fighter and innovative/creative, and scored really low as a submissive on her leader/follower scale. His Aunt, with a 5.6, pretty much matched all his mother’s stats. but was a lot less submissive.

Sergeant Fair motioned to the female marine Jack had talked to before. “When the others come back from their CAP testing,” he told her, “collect their cell phones and bring them to the war room. All Concubines need to remove their clothes and wait here for their sponsor’s return. If anyone scored high enough to be a volunteer, I will talk with them after this discussion is over.”

The marine nodded and went back to watching the room.

They went down several gray, unadorned hallways that looked all the same before they entered a room with a large holographic table, that currently showed Denali Park and the surrounding region. A beautiful blonde-haired woman in a sharp military uniform, with an amazing figure, stood next to it talking with a large male wearing a similar uniform.

The two looked up as Jack walked into the room. The blonde-haired woman said, “Lieutenant Adams, the AI tells me you have some interesting ideas that involve my ship and crew. Ideas which could possibly put both in danger, but, if successful, could be quite lucrative for the Confederacy.” This seemed to be a question, but she made it sound like a matter of fact.

“Yes,” he replied calmly. “I have some ideas. Please, pardon my ignorance, but you are?” Jack extended his hand.

The woman shook it, saying “Captain Adriana Sokolov. I’m the highest ranking Confederacy officer on this ship.”

Jack made eye contact with the woman and found himself blushing. Something in him felt right about his firm grip and maintaining eye contact. He could tell that this moment was very important and that this woman was sizing him up. He could see something in her eyes, a wisdom or knowledge that exceeded her apparent age, which likely explained her rank.

The two shook hands for a few more seconds, sizing each other up, before he took a step back and turned to the table. “So, Lieutenant Adams, what’s your bold plan?”

Jack set five cell phones on the edge of the table, one his and the four he’d collected from his concubines. Just then, the marine from the arrival room walked in with several more cell phones and handed them to Sergeant Fair. She also whispered into his ear before she walked out of the room. Sergeant Fair set the rest of the phones next to the five from Jack. “Well Sir,” Fair said to Jack, “it looks like you have need for new concubines and a new Head Concubine. Both your grandmothers scored quite high on their CAP tests and have agreed to volunteer.”

Jack nodded, not at all surprised by the news, and then turned back to the table. “AI, please bring up a symbol for my concubine Erin’s husband and son. Represent these markers with a light blue color.” Two light blue lights appeared on the map a few miles outside of Fairbanks, headed towards the town. “Thank you. Now please scan the provided phones and correlate the contact info on them with government records. Once you’ve identified all the members of my clan, please display the location of all of their phones on the map. Red for males and lime green for females.”