Chapter 4: The Kitten Shows her Claws

Vivie stood at parade rest with Sergeant Johns and watched the stream of humanity exit the portal. She decided she needed practice to switch between family, Melody mode, and duty, Sergeant Johns mode. If she was to live up to her volunteer status, she couldn’t slip, not even once.

The process of acquiring and assimilating new volunteers, their concubines, and their dependents was both exciting and heart breaking. Relationships and families were both newly starting and suddenly sundered. It was early enough in the colonization process that routines had not yet been perfected. Children were especially stressed and virtually ignored when sponsors and concubines sorted themselves out as instructions flew.

Vivie couldn’t stand it; she had to help. Her brass knuckle-resembling stinger snug in her left hand, she began to make rounds to groups with children. She hugged youngsters while mothers changed diapers, and fetched diapers from the replicator if a mother had none. When she found an agitated group of four preteens her age and a little younger, she reassured them that everything would work out fine.

Ah, but when she saw a new volunteer backhand a diminutive, crying tween, Vivie walked up behind him and kicked hard between his legs. He collapsed to the floor, holding his family jewels, and she nudged him with her foot. Showing him her open Barlow knife she told him, “Regulations or no regulations, if I find you abusing another child, I’ll cut your equipment into so many pieces you’ll need to pee through your nose and fuck with your toes! Understand?!”

“Yes ma’am,” the writhing man whined.

“I’m not a ma’am, I’m a cadet,” she told him. “If one of my Marines saw that, your balls would be mush.” She turned, hugged the tween, and told her. “My name is Vivie. If you get hit again, have the AI call me. It’s gonna be alright.”

<Your action was not authorized, > came the peevish voice in her head.

<Heck if I care, > she sub-vocalized, catching on at last. <I told you from the start that I don’t march very well. I learned a long time ago how to handle bullies. You need to learn too if your rules don’t cover it.>

The AI was silent. This wasn’t working out like it had projected.

Naturally, there were consequences.

The first came at the evening meal. Melody preceded Gunny, sat with her, and said, “Volunteers are allowed to combine households, and we, Sam and me, have decided that we want to combine ours. You own him until you are fourteen, maybe longer. That means you’d be stuck with me as well, and we want your permission, your blessing.”

Then she added, “You do a wonderful job of running with the boys, and we are very proud of you.”

Tears leaking, Vivie hugged her and said, “Welcome to my family!”

The second consequence was wider reaching and just as permanent.

The final two extractions were underway. Vivie was with Gunny, and they picked up six volunteers, sixteen concubines, and seven dependent children having lunch at an Applebee’s. No static, no glitches. Vivie even helped bring aboard a sponsor’s concubine with a baby and two toddlers.

Sergeant Johns had a completely different experience. A new organization calling itself ‘Earth First’ had planted a bomb in one of the restaurant’s ceiling fixtures to be set off remotely by a member who worked in the kitchen. Corporal Stuart had just selected a lovely blonde as his new concubine. He was escorting her and her twins to the portal when the bomb exploded downwards. Stuart’s head was filled with shrapnel and his concubine died with him. The twins were unhurt and hustled aboard the ship. No one was willing to leave them behind.

Stuart and his new concubine were rushed to med-tubes, but the mess that was Stuart’s brains was beyond reassembly. His new concubine apparently lacked the will to live; the med-tube’s AI was unable to explain her lack of recovery.

Unaware that both Stuart and his new concubine had just been declared dead, Gunny and Sergeant Johns were sitting on a sofa with a highly depressed Vivie snuggled between them. She should have been happy, but she was tired and missed Nate. The pod’s door chimed, and the AI announced <Private Mei-Lin Chin seeks admittance. She is escorting Cadet Genevieve Arthur’s new dependents, Petra and Lucas, formerly Stuart, formerly Kelly.>

<Fine way to tell us Stuart’s dead, > Gunny groused. Then <Admit them!>

Chin entered with her arms around two weeping, platinum blonde youngsters. The boy stiffened when he saw Gunny and asked, “Are you our new sponsor?”

“No, son. I would be pleased if I were, but apparently, that would be Cadet Vivie, here.”

“But she’s just another kid!” wailed his twin.

Vivie rose and gathered the pair away from Chin and wrapped them in a tight hug, saying, “I never met your mom, but your sponsor was my friend. Mei-Lin, what’s the deal here?” Then she led the pair to another sofa and seated them beside her to listen.

Mei-Lin turned to the siblings and told them, “There’s nothing ‘just’ about this young woman. I’m so sorry about your mom, but you’re going to be the envy of every kid on the ship.”

Turning to her sergeants still sitting on the sofa, Mei-Lin explained, “Gunny, last night, the detachment was sitting in the dayroom after chow, and I was telling them about Cadet Vivie’s nut bustin’ of that jerk during intake. So we asked the AI to run it in glorious 3D. Watched four or five times, we did.”

The kids were looking confused, so she said, “Gunny, I think they need to see. AI, show us!”

The room darkened and there appeared a recording of the entire Marine detachment, minus their sergeants, attention focused on the scenario playing out in the intake bay. When Vivie pulled her Barlow knife, there was an appreciative intake of breath, but when the AI played its reprimand and Vivie’s response, the room erupted with Oorahs. The image of Corporal Stuart leapt to its feet and shouted, “God, I’m in love. I’m willing all my concubines; well, future concubines to her. I’m going hunting tomorrow, and I know they’d be safe.”

Around the room was a chorus of “me toos” followed by “acknowledged.”

“AI, let’s see it again.”

Gunny stared at Chin. “Are you telling me that last night, the whole fuckin’ detachment willed their conks to Vivie?”