Chapter 3: The Journey

Frank looked at his schedule for the next day. One of the CAP tests was actually a retest. Raziya was already a 6.3 and obviously wanted to see if she had gone up a notch or two. This was the first such retest he had seen on the voyage so far. Thinking about it, he realised that there probably should have been more of them. He queried the AI, “There are almost 400 Kindertransport concubines on board, aren’t there.”

“Three hundred and eighty two, including concubines Afiya and Masika.”

“With 380 Kindertransport concubines them that’s a bit more than one birthday every day. I realise that those with average scores probably won’t bother, but I’m puzzled why I’m not seeing a few more of the higher scoring ones coming for a retest.”

“There are very few CAP testing facilities in Africa, sir,” the AI explained. “The great majority of the Kindertransport concubines were initially CAP tested only a few weeks ago when they first arrived in a camp. Not enough time has elapsed for them to be eligible for a retest. Raziya is an exception because she was tested in Greece last year.”

“Ah,” Frank said, “that makes sense. Mind you, it won’t apply once we start taking Kindertransport women from Europe and other places with more CAP testing. Most of them will arrive in a camp already having a test score, so more will be ready for a retest.”

“That is probably correct, sir.”

“Add that point to the list of stuff I’m putting together for Centurion Robertson. Create a section called ‘Future Issues’ to put it in. It’s not a problem now, but it might be in future.”

“Done, sir,” the AI confirmed.

Unfortunately for Raziya, she didn’t manage to increase her score and stayed at 6.3. All Frank could do for her was to smile encouragingly and suggest that she studied hard before retesting again next year. He ordered the AI to continue allowing her access to the special courses for concubines barely below the cut-off. Perhaps next time she would do better with the extra help. A new sponsor was a lot more use to the Confederacy than a concubine, so the effort was worth it. Some of the near misses would make it over the line, even if Raziya herself didn’t.

There was a second CAP test later that day, for Julius Mkapa. His estimate was 6.5 to 6.8, so the fourteen-year-old boy would very likely be the first new sponsor on this voyage. With almost four hundred unattached concubines on board, there would be a large pool for him to pick from. Frank greeted the new young sponsor as he emerged from the tube and asked what service he wanted to volunteer for.

“The Marines please. Do I have to call you ‘sir’?”

Frank smiled, “Yes, Julius, you call me sir.” He tapped his collar tabs, “I’m an officer and you call all officers sir.” The new Marine was obviously willing, but hadn’t got things completely right yet. Willingness could take him a long way though.

“Thank you, sir.”

The replicator pinged, indicating that Julius’ uniform was ready. Once the young soldier had put on his uniform and received his new Confederacy Military ID card, Frank led the way to his pod for Julius’ sponsor briefing.

As they came through the hatch, Frank shouted, “Masika! Two beers please.”

“Yes, Frank,” she replied from the kitchen. Frank and Julius had barely sat down when she emerged, a glass of beer in each hand. Frank happened to be looking directly at Julius when the teenager first saw Masika. He could barely restrain himself from bursting out laughing. It was like one of those cartoons where the boy’s heart beat its way out of his chest and his eyes popped out on stalks. Frank had read somewhere that it took around two minutes to fall in love with someone. He doubted if it had taken Julius as long as two seconds. The lad was obviously completely smitten.

Turning towards Masika he could see the same look, with little hearts flying round her head. In her case it was more like the trashy romance novels his former wife, now lead concubine, Deirdre read – gooey eyes and heaving bosom, and Masika’s could certainly heave impressively. She had it as badly as Julius. Love at first glance.

“Thanks, Masika. Sit down,” Frank told her.

His words barely got through to her. She got one of the beers close enough for Frank to snare it. With her eyes locked on Julius, it was mostly luck that it was even that close to the target. She did manage to get Julius’ beer to him reasonably accurately since she was at least looking in the right direction. She sat down next to the new sponsor and they immediately held hands, gazing into each other’s eyes.

Obviously, given his current state, any advice Frank gave Julius would be in one ear and out the other. “Julius,” he said. No reaction.

“Julius!” Louder this time, so the teenager noticed. He tore his eyes away from Masika and turned to Frank.

“Yes?” Julius quickly realised his mistake, “Oh, sorry. Yes, sir?”

“Would you like to have a test drive with Masika?”

“Yes please!” the new sponsor replied eagerly.

“Masika?” Frank could barely finish speaking before Masika immediately said, “Yes!” in turn.

“Take Julius up to Suite Two,” Frank told her.

The two of them disappeared at a fast walk, not quite running, and holding hands. Julius’ beer was left on the table, forgotten.

Any advice for Julius would have to wait until the fourteen-year-old was ready to listen to it without any distraction. Frank took advantage of the delay to let Sergeant Briscoe know that she would have one new Marine recruit to start on basic training. He also checked with the AI to see how well suited the two of them were for each other. As he expected, they were a very good match. In the top ten percent according to the AI’s statistics, a good augury for their future. Masika was his responsibility, so he wanted to make sure that she would be well placed after she finished her time with him. Julius was obviously a good choice for her and she for him as well. He relaxed happily, sipped his insipid replicator beer and waited for them to finish their test drive.

The pair of them emerged, still hand-in-hand, though not walking as quickly as before. “Can I have Masika as my concubine, sir?” Julius asked.

“Masika?” Frank looked at her.

“Oh, yes please, Frank.”

“Very well, Private. She’s yours.”

“Concubine transfer noted,” came the voice of the AI.

The two of them turned to each other, smiling tenderly, and kissed.

Frank used the opportunity to silently tell the AI to update the pending message to whoever sponsored Masika’s mother to include the latest change in her daughter’s status. Not wanting to lose any more time, he had to play the spoilsport. Interrupting their kiss he made Julius send Masika away to her room. “I need to give you your briefing as a new sponsor and with Masika in the room you won’t be concentrating on what I’m saying.”

Julius nodded. He wasn’t happy at being temporarily separated from his new concubine, but he could see the signifer’s point; Masika was a huge distraction for him.

As he was explaining things to Julius it struck Frank that underneath the surface details, part of the briefing was similar to the one he gave to new concubines. Julius would have to follow orders from his superiors in the same way that concubines had to follow orders from their sponsors.

The last element of the briefing was something that he hadn’t done before, advice on picking concubines; what to look for and how to pick a harem that would fit together well.

“Have you looked at Masika’s CAP scores?” Frank asked.

“No, sir. We get on so well together, I didn’t think I needed to.”

Frank got the AI to display her scores on one of the room’s walls. “You’ll need to pick a second concubine, so I’ll talk you through looking at someone’s CAP score.” He showed the new Marine where to look for details, what sub-scores were important, where her scores matched well with his and where her experience was lacking. “Masika will be a good mother, her scores show that. Her problem is that she doesn’t have enough experience yet and that shows in her scores as well. Her other issue is that she isn’t a leader, she’s a follower.” He had the AI highlight the relevant sub-scores for Julius to see. “That means your second concubine will need to have a good leadership score so she’s capable of being in charge of the family when you’re away on deployment.”

“Yes, I can see that,” Julius said. “Masika did say that Afiya was good at taking charge and that she liked her.”

“She is,” Frank replied, “but there’s a problem.” He had the AI display Afiya’s CAP figures next to Masika’s. Julius quickly picked up on her obvious intelligence and capacity for leadership. “What do you think the problem with Afiya is?” he asked.

Julius took a little time to dig through Afiya’s scores. “She’s not a good mother and she doesn’t have any experience either. That’s not what we need, sir.”

“Well spotted, Private. You need a lead concubine, but one who also knows how to raise children. Neither you nor Masika are parents yet, so you should have an experienced mother in your new family. You want a second concubine who can handle both Masika and motherhood.”

“Someone like one of the pod leaders then?” Julius quickly appreciated what he needed to do.

“Good thinking, Private. One of them would probably be what you need. I suggest that you and Masika get together with the AI and look through the choices it suggests.”

“Can I use your suite on the upper level here please, sir. It might be embarrassing looking at prospects in my current pod since it doesn’t have any privacy for test drives.”

“Certainly,” Frank assured the new sponsor, “that’s what those suites are there for. I’ll assign Suite Two for your use.”

Sonia was both excited and nervous; a sponsor wanted her for a test drive! She had agreed of course, but now she was having second thoughts. Her weight had gone up during her time with the Confederacy. She had expected to find a sponsor after they arrived, not during the journey, so she wasn’t looking her best. Julius was young, only fourteen the AI had said. Would he want an older woman like her? Would he take Kwanza? Actually, that wasn’t a problem. If he didn’t take her son then she wouldn’t accept his sponsorship, so that one solved itself. It would be nice if he would take Siti as well because that would give Kwanza someone of his own age to play with until more babies arrived.

The Confederacy simplified her choice of what to wear: a grey shift or nothing. She chose the shift, but she knew she probably wouldn’t be keeping it on for long. At fourteen he would probably be eager – over eager – to get to the sex. The AI had allowed her a little make-up from the replicator, together with some small earrings. She wanted to show that she had made an effort to look good for her potential sponsor.

Sonia hadn’t gone entirely without sex since her divorce. Fucking Andwele to keep her place on the flights to the Confederacy camp was for work, not for pleasure, so it didn’t really count. A few casual boyfriends, none of them serious either from her side or from theirs, had filled the gap. There hadn’t been anything for her at the camp. Would her test drive be work or pleasure? Better to look on it as pleasure she decided.

The door to Blue One slid open, revealing Julius standing there. Even at fourteen he was already taller than Sonia. He hadn’t been enhanced yet, so he wasn’t two metres and his build was much too slim for a Marine. That would probably change quickly.

He smiled and greeted her politely, “Come in please, Sonia.”

Behind his polite exterior, she could detect a little nervousness. He was likely as new to this as she was, just less practised at concealing his feelings. “Thank you, Julius.”

Stepping into the Blue One, Sonia could immediately see the differences from her own pod. There was a lot more free space and no sign of any other people. “You have a lot of room here,” she commented.

“Oh, it’s not my pod. This all belongs to Signifer Taylor. I have a small apartment on the upper level.”

Signifer Taylor! That only increased Sonia’s nervousness. She didn’t know him at all; he had always been distant when she’d seen him across the mess. What was he like at home? Would Julius invite him to join in their test drive? She followed Julius across the room, trying not to hurry. It was a relief to step onto the grav-lift and be whisked to the upper level away from the unseen Signifer and the uncertainty he represented.

Ever the gentleman, Julius ushered her through his door into a small living room, with a kitchen replicator in one corner. “I’m afraid it’s much smaller than the lower level,” Julius apologised, “but it’s a lot more private than my old pod.”

“That’s true,” Sonia agreed. “You can’t get much privacy with all those kids scurrying around.”

They sat next to each other on the small sofa and Julius asked Sonia to tell him about herself.

As Sonia described her life: work, marriage, a child, divorce, occasional boyfriends and extraction, she was sizing up Julius. Could she live with this boy, and he was still really a boy, as her sponsor? He was polite and seemed well brought up. He would want sex of course, but she was in the mood for sex as well. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man and she was starting to get the urge.

“Do you have a second concubine?” she asked him.

“Yes. She’s called Masika. You’ll meet her after...” He paused, embarrassed. This woman was almost as old as his mother. He felt uncomfortable talking about sex with her.

Sonia guessed the cause of his confusion. At least he wouldn’t be a virgin. “Shall we move to the bedroom?” She phrased it politely since that seemed the way he would prefer it.

Julius agreed and they moved to the small bedroom, barely large enough for the big bed.

As she’d expected, Julius was nervous at first, but once he had started he forgot his initial hesitation and was enthusiastic, quick and ready for more in no time at all. Very different from her previous lovers, all of whom had been her own age or a little older. He was willing to learn as well – he knew that he lacked experience and that Sonia could supply it. That was a good sign, since he would lack experience in other areas, such as childcare. As long as he was ready to learn, they should be able to avoid big problems in future.

Afterwards, Sonia felt satisfied. Even if he didn’t accept her as his concubine she’d had her itch scratched. Twice.

“Sonia, I’d like you to meet Masika,” Julius explained. “I want to be sure that you two will get on together.” Masika had been waiting in her room on the lower level so he used his new internal AI link to tell her to come up to his suite.

When she first saw Sonia, Masika was uncertain. However, with Julius in the room she was immediately distracted.

Sonia smiled to see the two teenage lovebirds gazing adoringly at each other. At least Masika wasn’t a slim beautiful girl, her figure was a lot more like Sonia’s than the models in the fashion magazines. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to lose too much of the extra weight she’d added in the Kindertransport camp? Julius could always reshape the pair of them the way he wanted thanks to Confederacy medicine. She had to suggest to her potential sponsor that he leave her alone with Masika so the young woman wouldn’t be distracted by his presence.

Sonia soon saw that she would get on well with Masika. The inexperienced young concubine would happily follow her advice. As long as Masika had plenty of access to Julius then she would be content. Sonia could easily allow Masika to have first place in his bed while she herself took the lead everywhere else. In many ways Masika was like a younger version of Patience, her fellow concubine from the camp: quiet, patient and willing to follow.

They called Julius back in. “We get on well,” Sonia told him, while Masika nodded her agreement. As usual his presence had reduced her powers of speech. “Will you take my son Kwanza as well as me?”

“Yes, of course,” he confirmed. The AI had made it clear that as part of the agreement with Kindertransport concubines they would stay with their dependants. If he took a mother then he had to take her children too.

“I think we should take on a second child as well,” Sonia advised. “Siti is the same age as Kwanza and will give him someone to play with. That saves one of us having to play with him all the time. They already know each other from the Kindertransport camp and are happy playing together.”

“That would be good,” Masika agreed. “It will be nice for him to have someone of his own age around the pod, like a sister.”

“All right,” Julius agreed. “I’ll take Siti as well.” Sonia came with very good scores for motherhood and it made sense for him to take her advice. “Do you agree to be my concubine then, Sonia?”

“Yes Julius.” Sonia wasn’t completely sure of the future, but she could see that there were many worse possibilities than living with Julius and Masika. He was a Marine, which was good as she definitely wanted to avoid being concubine to a Navy sponsor. With a Marine she could be sure that she wouldn’t have to join her sponsor on board ship and get into danger herself.

The voice of the AI broke in, “Sonia Chibueze is now registered as concubine to Marine Recruit Julius Mkapa. Kwanza Chibueze and Siti Kayuni are both registered as his dependants.”

Sonia could tell that the small suite Julius had here wasn’t big enough for three adults and two five-year-old children. “I suppose it would be easier if you and Masika lived here, Julius, while I stayed with the children in my pod. You can always tell me when you want me to come over for a visit. It will only be until we finish our journey. After that I suppose we will get somewhere large enough for all of us.” Doing that would also mean she had less chance of meeting Signifer Taylor. She didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.