Chapter 1: Pickup

For me life on Earth ended at a small country music concert. My friends had suggested that I might enjoy a night out to forget for a short time the terror everyone was feeling now that the dangers of the Sa'arm were well known.

To be honest the concert was more than a bit dull. The musicians clearly did not have the same passion as the bands that were played on the radio, and about halfway through the first set I found myself spending my time by looking over the crowd.

The sight of several heavily muscled figures who were over six feet tall immediately got my attention. I had heard about pickups and immediately wondered if this might be one. I noticed some of the men carefully scanning the crowd and waiting for some kind of signal. I was trying to figure out what that might be as the vocalists finished their first set and the gray wall of an interdiction field blanketed all the doors in the hall.

The crowd immediately noticed the change and several people started to jump from their seats only to be immediately dropped back into their chairs by well-placed stinger shots.

"Okay! For right now everyone sit down and shut the fuck up!" boomed one of the figures. "As you have guessed this is a pickup, but anyone standing before I tell you that its okay to stand, gets stunned. I have no time to deal with a stampede, and no inclination to do so. I'll make it simple. If you have a weapon, any weapon, you have one minute to throw it into the aisle or up on stage. After that, we start using stingers as you are identified."

There was an immediate mass of movement and a surprisingly high number of pistols and revolvers were thrown out of the mass of people. The marines stood quietly and impassively until the time limit had ended. Suddenly the members burst into motion, sending fire into sections of the crowd.

"I said all weapons," the lead marine bellowed over the screams of the scared audience. There was another moment of silence and then the various marines relaxed slightly as a few additional weapons such as pocket knives and mace containers were thrown into the aisle by people, especially those people sitting next to those just hit by stingers.

"Very good," the lead marine said. "I am Sergeant Major Chambers. As you have realized this is a pickup of volunteers for the Confederation. But with the recent incidents occurring at pickups we are taking no chances. If you have the CAP score to volunteer, stay in your seat for now. My marines will be coming around and pulling you out. No violence will be allowed."

I noticed that some of the grim faced marines were gathering up the weapons thrown down by the crowd as others began walking up and down the aisles. One stopped at my row and looked at me. "James Rabb?"

"Yes?" I replied looking at the imposing figure.

"CAP Score of seven point two and it says you've volunteered, but there is no listing of what kind of duty," the man said.

I shrugged. "Not sure what I'd be good at, but if what I've heard about the AIs is accurate, they'll find a job for me once I'm picked up."

The marine nodded and then waved me to stand and join him in the aisle. He took my CAP card and checked it with a scanner before passing it and the scanner back to me. He then pointed to the front of the stage where several other volunteers were now gathering near the sergeant.

We waited quietly until the marines finished their survey, and fifteen of us were standing in a group near the stage. "Only fifteen?" I heard one of the marines mutter. "We had bad luck."

"Not a big venue, only about three hundred, but that is a bit low," said one of the other marines as Sergeant Chambers looked up.

"Anyone else have a CAP over six point five that we missed?" he boomed.

There was a long moment of little movement so he turned to look at his group of volunteers. I decided to look over my compatriots and found that the group was eight women, and seven men scattered in age from our early twenties to late forties.

Sergeant Chambers paused to check the crowd and then shrugged. "They all checked in?" he asked the marines flanking us.

"Yes," one of the marines replied. "Martha Addison, and Thomas Daniels can select six. James Rabb, Yvette Mimeux and Lindsey Ventura get four. Everyone else gets two."

The sergeant nodded and shouted. "Very well, I'm sure everyone here has seen reports or video from the Average Joe special, and if they haven't they have heard about pickups and how they work. We have fifteen volunteers here and they are going to be selecting a total of forty-four concubines. Let's have those interested in being selected head to my left, and those not interested go back near the exit doors where you are unlikely be bothered. Move quickly as we don't have a lot of time."

There was a quick rush as about three-quarters of the gathered audience rushed towards the first area that Sergeant Chambers had indicated. Most of my fellow volunteers were already heading that way, and I could hear several of the men calling for the women to start disrobing.

I paused to look over the crowd and think. My longtime roommate and sometime girlfriend Brenda had remained home with a headache and was going to be rather upset about my leaving. I had kept my CAP score secret, but I knew she suspected that I had a high enough score to volunteer.

I could see that some of the male volunteers had already gotten several women to disrobe and were feeling and prodding their supplicants. The blatant sexuality of the impending orgy disgusted me a little and I paused until one of the marines whispered. "Are you going to choose?"

"Yes," I sighed. "But I'm thinking about what I want first."

"Well, don't think too hard, the good ones will be all gone," the marine said and pushed me towards the growing chaos.

I stumbled, but caught myself and looked at the portions of the audience who had not moved yet. I noticed a pair of young ladies sitting a few rows back on the right aisle and something made me walk over too them. One was clearly Asian and the other had dirty blond hair. As I approached the blond was whispering urgently to her friend.

"Come on Meiko, we need to go up there if we want a chance to save ourselves from the Swarm," the blond said, and I could see her tugging on the arm of her friend.

Her friend looked very uncomfortable and sat with her eyes closed. I walked up to the duo and spoke. "Not comfortable with that disaster?" I said.

The blond looked up at me. "We both want to go, but Meiko is scared. Some of those sponsors aren't gentle, and we heard that it's basically sex slavery once you accept."

"It could be more with the right sponsor," I said quietly.

Meiko opened her eyes and looked at me. "Like you'd know."

I knelt down in the aisle next to the two girls. "You're right I don't, but I'm sure that there are some sponsors who care deeply for those they take with them." I smiled at the blond. "By the way, do you have a CAP card?"

Both girls looked confused and the blond held out her CAP card blindly. I could hear a sudden intake of air from the Asian girl as I took the card and examined it under the scanner.

It was the card for a Janice Parker. She had managed a five point six in her testing. The scores for maternal instincts were not the best, but her intelligence and compassion were high, and a moderately high libido was suggested. I found myself smiling as I handed it back to her and looked at Meiko who was staring at me open-mouthed.

"What about yours?" I asked as Janice put her card away.

Meiko blinked for a moment and then fumbled through her purse before pulling out her CAP card. Once again I put it under the scanner and was impressed by the scores. Meiko Miwa had a five point four overall. Her material instincts were much higher than Janice's as was her intelligence; however, her scores showed that she was extremely timid, which meant that she needed to be part of a group to function well.

I handed the card back to Meiko and smiled. "So, I have to ask a few questions I guess. How old are you? What skills do you have? And do you come as a package deal?"

"Wha-?" Janice said, staring at me for a moment.

I waited and could see hope begin to dawn in Meiko's eyes. Suddenly she gasped. "You are one of the volunteers!" she whispered with intensity. "I'm eighteen, Janice is nineteen. I guess we don't have any real skills, although I studied some karate as a child. Sensei said I didn't have the right personality to excel." She paused and looked at me. "Um, package deal?"

Janice was hugging Meiko as my comment sank in. She seemed to be bouncing in her chair.

"I don't think the confederacy will let me take two for the price of one, but I was asking if you wanted to stay together," I said holding out my hand.

Meiko paused, but Janice grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Yes, we both want to go."

I smiled and held up my free hand as Meiko timidly put her hand on top of Janice's. "There are a few more questions, not disqualifying, but I do want to know."

Janice laughed and spoke. "I can guess. Yes, we are both virgins. Yes, I'll have sex anyway you want, and that includes with Meiko. I've never done it that way, but I am not against it."

I looked over at Meiko who nodded quietly. I stood up and pulled the two girls to their feet and then into the aisle for a hug. "From what I hear the marines are going to consider me a fool for not getting a test drive, but I don't like how impersonal that orgy looks," I whispered to them as I held them. "Trust me, believe in me and respect me, and I'll always be there for you as well. Now, any ideas for more partners?"

"More?" Meiko said as she pushed me away.

"Yes," I said and showed her my card and its seven point two score. "I get two more. I'm thinking we need one mother or teacher type, and one, well, more experienced girl who wants to be part of a family."

Janice laughed and gave me another squeeze hug. "You are a funny sponsor. Shall we help?"

"Let's look around," I said as I scanned the crowd. It was becoming clear that most of the male volunteers were still taking their time, although I could see a couple of the female sponsors standing with the marines near the stage. They each had a pair of people sitting at their feet and it was clear they had made their choices. The rest of the scene over there disgusted me. I went back to scanning the crowd when movement near the back of the aisle I was standing in caught my attention.

I could see a woman, probably late twenties and wearing the short black skirt the female ushers wore leaning against a pillar and running her hands over her body while looking over at the orgy. I stifled a laugh at her actions, and then released Janice to walk up to her.

"You seem interested in the fun, why don't you join?" I asked the lady once I was next to her.

She gasped and turned to look at me. Her hands immediately appeared from under her skirt and dropped in front of her. As I watched, her mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out.

"I see a cat definitely has your tongue," I said, and heard a giggle behind me as Janice put her hand against my back. "I was wondering why you didn't join."

"Its ... well ... I..." The girl stammered.

I just waited patiently as Meiko threaded her arm underneath my left arm and tugged on my shirt. I bent down while still watching the usher stammer as Meiko whispered. "I think I found a schoolteacher."

"Can you get her attention and see if she'll come over here?" I whispered back as the girl in front of me turned bright red. She finally paused to take a deep breath and looked at me.

"Sorry! You scared me," she said. "I like the thought of an orgy, but don't want to be part of that."

"Why not? It could be your ticket off the planet," I asked as Meiko let go of me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her waving to someone sitting several seats away on one of the nearby rows. Meiko's actions were uncertain, but Janice stood next to her and added her own wave to get the attention of the woman Meiko had found.

The girl in front of me looked almost ashamed. "I have bad scores, they won't take me."

"Oh," I replied. "They can't be that bad." I held out my hand. "Can I see?"

The girl seemed even more confused but pulled the card out of a jacket pocket and handed it to me. I put the card under the scanner and nearly laughed. Tina Waylend had only managed a four point two, but I could immediately see the reasons. She had a very low maternal instinct, and her scores regarding intelligence indicated that she was lacking in education and experience. She did have very high libido scores, and I smiled as I handed the card back to her.

Janice had turned back and was reading over my shoulder. "Our experienced girl?" she asked me as Tina took the card back.

Tina looked at Janice in confusion and then back at me as Meiko returned to my left with a woman following her. "What?" Tina said as she saw what was happening.

"Perhaps," I replied to Janice. I turned to Meiko and she shyly handed me a CAP card and smiled. I reached out to give her a hug and put the card under the scanner.

The card was for a Bethany Olesson. She had a six point two score. The maternal and intelligence scores were very high, but she missed eligibility to volunteer due to a clear pacifistic streak that had brought down her scores. I looked over at her to find that Bethany was an attractive if slightly overweight woman of about forty-three with her light brown hair in a proper teacher's bun. I smiled and held the card out to her.

"Your friend was a bit insistent that I come, although she said little," Bethany said as she took the card back. "I'm guessing that you are filling out your quota?"

I smiled and held my hand out. "Still waiting to see if everyone wants to go and understands the implications. But, I think I've found four ladies who would work well together."

"Four?" Tina said, still trying to figure out what was going on.

Janice giggled as I turned to look back at Tina. "Sure, I get four and look what I have here. Meiko and Janice are young, caring and intelligent. Bethany has great maternal instincts and from her look I'm guessing she is a school teacher, and then there's you."

Bethany snorted. "You got me figured. Twenty years of teaching science and history to bored high school students."

"Any kids of your own?" I asked.

I could see a moment of pain in Bethany's eyes. "No. My husband got a vasectomy without telling me before we were married. I only found out after he left me for a younger girl. Since then I haven't been able to afford having a child."

"If you are enthusiastic about the mechanics of making them, I'm sure you'll get to have a few, and to care for even more," I said with a wink. I could see Meiko blush as Tina continued to look back and forth.

"Someone explain this to me," she whimpered.

Janice put an arm out and pulled Tina into a hug. "James here is about to leave earth and he gets four..." She looked at me.

"Companions," I replied. "Let's use the term companion."

Bethany reached out to hug me as Janice nodded. "I like that," Janice continued. "James gets four companions. He's offering to let you be one of the four."

"Why?" Tina said and looked at me. "I'm not pretty, and you didn't make me undress or anything."

I laughed. "The confederacy lets sponsors put their companions through a nanotech rebuild. If I wanted four blond amazons with big tits, I could take the four ugliest girls here and after a month into the voyage to our new home, I could have exactly what I wanted. I'm looking for women who will be more than just sex slaves."

"But why me? I'm nothing special; I have a terrible CAP score," Tina said, looking down.

"You never finished junior high did you Tina," I guessed. She gasped as the other three ladies looked at me. I could see Tina's eyes rise up from the floor to look me in the eye.

I nodded ever so slightly. "I thought so."

"But? How did you know?" Tina asked.

"Your scores show that you are rather intelligent, but lack understanding of how to use what you know. Looking at your age and where you work, it was easy to guess that somehow you didn't get much education, which resulted in your score. The CAP scores are greatly influenced by education."

"My father pulled me out of school and forced me to work on the farm all the time," she whispered. "When they started testing three years ago, I got a bad score and thought that there was nothing I could do."

"Can you read and write?" Bethany asked Tina.

"Not really," Tina said with a blush.

I could feel three hands on my back as I put my hand out to Tina. "Well, how about we fix that during our ride to a new home?"

Tina screamed with joy and threw her arms around me. I could feel tears on my back as she sobbed uncontrollably for a moment.

"I think we have an affirmative answer," Janice murmured.

I noticed that several of the other people nearby were not looking too kindly on our little gathering and broke the embrace for a moment. "Come, let's get back to the stage, up close to the marines and talk until its time to go," I said as I put my hands out to grab Meiko and Janice. We all ran back over to the marines to see that only five other volunteers were standing waiting and the rest were still conducting auditions.

"No test drives?" one marine murmured when he saw me come back with all of my ladies still clothed.

I smiled at him and then turned to the four ladies who had arrayed themselves in front of me. "Well, I'm sure this isn't what you expected, and I'm not going from a script, but I should remind you of a few little rules."

"Rules?" Meiko asked, appearing nervous.

Bethany was smiling at me and laughed. "Oh, you'll love these rules I bet."

I smiled back at Bethany. "I hope so. Fortunately, we might even have time for a few questions."

"Now, the confederacy does this pickup thing with concubines to spread the human race, which means it expects me to keep all of you mostly barefoot and pregnant. By Confed law once we step into that beam, you are my property to do with, as I want. That's why the marine suggested a test drive. He's saying I should fuck you right here to see if we are compatible."

I could see Tina reaching to unbutton her jacket and blouse, but I held a hand up. "Not here. The scanner I used reads the subcodes on the CAP card. And from that I'm guessing that none of you is going to be a cold fish in bed. I do hope that you think of it the way Heinlein once suggested that all women act when he wrote. "A true lady takes off her dignity with her clothes and does her whorish best." I want to have sex with you all, but not in a public orgy."

Tina finally seemed to grasp the situation. "You just want a private orgy in a room with all of us."

Meiko blushed as I smiled at everyone. I looked over at Bethany. "I hope you don't have a problem with that."

Bethany smiled and shrugged. "I've never been with a woman before, but right now the idea doesn't sound half bad. My panties have been wet since you handed back my card and smiled at me."

Tina got a wicked look in her eye and I could see her wiggle around for a moment. She bent down for a moment and then picked up from the carpet a lacey pair of black panties and held them up. "Mine are soaked. I just hope James here doesn't make me wait too long." She held the panties under my nose and I could smell the strong aroma of aroused female. I could hear her giggle as she slid the panties under my shirt.

I opened my eyes after the contact to see Meiko blushing furiously. I worried for a moment, but she looked me in the eyes and then unfastened her jeans and slid them down to her knees. She leaned back to show that her panties had a huge wet spot as well before pulling the jeans back up. Once they were fastened Meiko looked down at the floor blushing.

After that we all looked at Janice who shook her head. "Trust me, they are soaked." She replied while waving her hands.

Everyone laughed at that, and I looked back over at the orgy to see that all but three of the other volunteers had now completed their selections. The remaining two men and one woman were having some of the ladies lick each other and chatting about which ones would be good to take.

I turned back to my quartet. "Very well, the rules. First, I will respect you and honor you. Yes, I'm going to own you per the rules, but don't ever let me take you for granted; if I do, please slap me, just not too hard. Second, we settle fights quickly. You are all intelligent and caring women, and I think we can work together to form a great unit. Third, I won't force you, but I will want sex. I'll try to keep it romantic, and fun, and do tell me what you like, but please, no refusals or headaches."