Chapter 1

Aboard CSS Araby
Saturday, 5 AM
P-Day plus 1 (One day after the Pickup)

Hmm. Nipples taste nice in the morning. I wonder whose it is. Smallish. I think it’s young. Yeah, Kim was in bed with Maggie, Jo, Jan and me. Open your eyes, Fred. Yup. It’s Kim. Let’s see if I can slide out from under without waking her.

Fred Winthrop tried to get out from under the four women in bed with him, but they were stirring and holding on to him. Kim in particular, although asleep, had a near headlock on him and her breast was almost smothering him.

“Mphgg, err. Morning ladies. I’m afraid I have to get up to use the bathroom. And I need to go to work.”

Maggie was a little impertinent this morning. “What about our needs? You have to stay here and get us pregnant. You didn’t even do all of us last night.” Her grin belied the harsh words.

“Not satisfied, hmm? OK. Stay here. Daisy chain or ... something. No one leaves until you all get off. Then you can go molest Stephen. Leave Robert alone for a bit until we get his heart fixed. Now, I need a shower. Who’s on back scrubbing duty?”

From the volunteers, it appeared that his back would get scrubbed four times.

“Araby. As soon as you get a chance, double the width of that bed.”

<Acknowledged.>

Public park parking lot 100 Miles from Fort Benning, Georgia Saturday Morning, early P-Day plus 1

“Major Spencer, Sir. Mrs. Spencer, I’m glad to see you both. You remember my wife, Alicia. And this is my daughter, Graciella.” Tony Rodriguez, along with everyone else, was in civilian clothes and he was also, technically, a civilian, for just a bit longer at least, so he didn’t salute as he greeted the ex-officer in the wheelchair, but he was happy to give this man the respect that he deserved.

“Tony, glad to see you as well. You’ll excuse me if I don’t get out of this thing. It was hard enough getting into it already. Who are all of the rest of these people, Tony? I count about twenty.”

“Si, el Major. Hehe, these are all ours. There are seven for me, five for Alicia and three for Graciella and the other eight are under fourteen.”

“My God, and I thought our brood was bad. Aileen and I have five and three and we have eight kids also.”

“Well, Sir, you know how it is with us brutish, enlisted types. We only think of sex, 200% of the time.”

The major spun his wheelchair to face the park. “Sergeant Major, how many of us are actually meeting here, this morning?” the Major queried. “There were twenty-five vets on the initial list.” More cars were arriving and people were starting to congregate on the grassy areas.

“Those same twenty-five sponsors, Sir, plus two more that we contacted on short notice, once we got the OK along with the final notification. Also, thirteen of the wives, sons or daughters are sponsor status. There may be a brother or something in there as well. It made forty total. We should have one hundred seventy adult concubines and I’m guessing about eighty kids. We also have some 5.5+ CAP people in the garrison program. They should total one per original veteran with two concubines each. So, that’s another seventy-five adults and thirty or forty kids. Hmmm, it’s going to get crowded here, real fast. We’ll need to move these cars so we have room to unload.”

Even in pain and from his hated wheelchair, Major Spencer was quick and decisive. “Unload all the cars as they arrive, have the people sit over there on the park tables, benches and such, or even just on the grass. It’s dry enough, now. Grab the snacks, meds, diaper bags, and whatever from the cars. Take four or five vehicles at a time and go dump them someplace. Use one to bring the drivers back. Rinse and repeat. Drive carefully!” He slapped the armrest of his wheelchair for emphasis. “It would be seriously stupid to get hurt or killed in a traffic accident this close to getting out.”

“Yes, Sir. I hear that! Hmm, well looky there. Now who do we know that you think would be driving a big box van into an isolated park, before six thirty am, on a weekend?”

The van pulled in, turned and backed up with the doors facing the sidewalk near the grassy area that most of the Harem members were congregating in. Two huge men got out, walked to the back, lowered the ramp and rolled up the back door. Three more men were inside. The two larger ones bent down and started assembling a device in the van. The third man walked out and approached the five volunteers. “This better not be everyone, Sar’ Major.” The grin on his face and the hearty handshake made light of the gruff words.

“You’re early, General Sir. Trust an officer to get the time wrong and think everyone else has screwed up. I had better go talk to the working men before things get too messed up.” The retired NCO ambled off to check with the Marines in the van, collecting some people to start moving cars in the process. “Perkins, I need you and four more volunteers. You, you, you and you. Front and center.”

General Fred Winthrop turned to the Major and the wives. “Major Spencer, we’ll have you out of that contraption within a couple of days, however just for future reference, your SUV may have had Right of Way, but a Semi ALWAYS has Right of Weight.” He grinned wolfishly. “Yes, it’s an old joke, but I’m the General, therefore it’s still funny. Aileen, it’s always a pleasure. Alicia, when are you going to dump that enlisted Neanderthal of yours and move in with me? Sarah and I have saved a position for you.”

“On my back, I am sure,” Alicia responded sardonically. “You remember our daughter, Gracie? Three of those over there are hers.”

“Congratulations, Gracie. Hmmm, I just can’t see you as a six foot seven inch Marine.”

“Papa got me LASH! That new Leopard Assault SHuttle add-on for my Flight Simulator program. And I have been taking ground school classes for planes and helicopters and some uhh, borrowed, military flight simulator time at the Fort. I think I want to be an assault shuttle pilot. I just wish they had better guns.”

“So do we all, Hon. Later, I’ll let you try an official Panther sim. OK, your dad’s coming back, so go and get your people organized. Major, I am taking you out of here first, because of that wheelchair. If you could have your wife watch both of your Harems for a bit, we’ll go up into the truck where they can see us. Tony, join us.” The general addressed Tony just as he got back to their group.

Tony turned and headed back towards the van, automatically dropping one step back and to the left side of the two officers. Fred pushed the wheelchair up the ramp and turned it around so that Major Spencer could see the rapidly growing crowd. The General gestured out to the growing crowd. “This is the start of what you are going to be working with, Ted. You’re going to be the battalion commander of Vulcan’s Forge Training Battalion. That’s the name of the base, as well. We will start with three companies in training and hopefully work up to four or five at a time. Most of these Cadre people here will be your trainers. You have three Captains and a Sergeant Major somewhere in this mess. Not Tony though, he’s mine.

“Hmm. No, actually, I’m wrong. The Captains won’t be Captains any more. With that new rank structure it’s Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel. That’s for both the Marines and the Navy. Captain is a position now and is reserved for a ship’s skipper. So, you actually have three Commanders. Anyway, you also have three First Sergeants, ten Sergeants First Class, err; I guess they should be Gunnery Sergeants since we’re to be Marines. Also, we have eight other Staff Sergeants or Sergeants. All have had training backgrounds, some extensive, most have seen combat and/or special ops tours. We are picking up people at other locations, some of whom will fill out your command and some will be the more Cadre for the regiment. The rest of this I’ll wait to explain to everyone.” General Winthrop finished his little mini briefing and observed the proceedings for a few moments.

By now there were over four hundred people standing around and the parking lot was packed. There were ten drivers moving cars out of the way. One sergeant was telling each new vehicle driver to unload and leave the keys in the car.

Fred looked over his shoulder. “Sergeant Major, have you got a clue as to how we are doing?”

“Sir, if you will notice, I have the First Sergeants and Sergeant Major Michaels organizing things. The vets are in those first ranks, with their families bunched up behind them. The dependents who are actually volunteers are formed up over to the right side with their families behind them. And the veteran militia people are formed up over to the left. We got a couple of anomalies over there; one couple where both are qualified as militia vets and one militia vet has a wife that is a new volunteer. I wasn’t totally sure how you wanted to deal with those. But to answer your question, it looks like we have all of the veteran volunteers already and most or all of the militia. I don’t know all of those by sight.” Tony’s eyes continued scanning, looking for problems, as he briefed the General. It wasn’t quite the correct etiquette, but he and the General knew each other well. Being on top of everything was his job.

“The couple gets two concubines of their choice, each. They can combine them in one family or keep it split into two. Militia members get half a pod, like a duplex. The couple can have one full pod together if they want to. It’s their mutual choice. The vet with the volunteer wife gets two concubines and the wife gets her picks, plus the extra mother figure. She gets a pod for herself; he has to share a pod with another garrison type. Of course, if she lets him move in with her ... Normally, for now at least, two militia vet families will share a pod, divided like a duplex. OK, time for the announcements. Get their attention, Sar’ Major!”

The practiced bellow reached the entire lot. “Unit, Atten-shun!” All of the vets immediately stopped what they were doing, faced front, and snapped erect. Many of the recruit volunteers did the same and even a lot of the Harem members and children tried to do it properly. These were military families and all at least knew what was meant. “At Ease!”

“I am Major General Winthrop. I have worked with or met several of you. The rest are either recommended by people I trust, or are the family of those people. I believe that most of you know what is happening here, but first, for all of you sponsors who are Army veterans, I have terrible, even tragic, news. I am afraid you are all joining the Marines.” The laughter was real, even though there were a few scowls from several of the men. “Seriously, folks, the way things are set up, only the Marines are actively going after the bad guys. The Army is to be primarily a defensive establishment of planetary militias and garrison troops. We are actually recruiting some militia members today who will be in the Vulcan army. However the rest of us are going to have to learn to call the floor a deck and our hats and helmets are now officially covers. At least we don’t have to use that Latin motto.

“OK, I don’t want any yelling or screaming or clothes flying through the air, but just to make it official, this is a pick up; an extraction by the Confederacy. If everyone has done as requested, you have all been approached in advance. Is there anyone over the age of thirteen that has not?” No one moved or spoke up. “OK, next question. Does EVERYONE have his or her CAP Card? If you are fourteen or older, you can’t go without it. Did anyone screw up? No one?

“Excellent! We can go straight to the warnings and disclaimers. You non-volunteers out there have been chosen by a family member or a friend to join their Harem. As such, when you step onto this portal and then onto the ship, you will have NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER. You will be the chattel property of your Sponsor. That means that you will be their slave, almost always their sex slave. You will do whatever he or she asks you to do, with him or with anyone else he feels like bringing into your bedroom. If he wants you to entertain his squad mates, you had better do it. If you are asked to put on a girl-on-girl show with another one of his Harem, or the next-door neighbor’s Harem for that matter, you do it. If he is your brother, your son, or your father and he wants to have sex with you, you do it. If he invites you, his wife, into bed and says, ‘get in bed in a sixty-nine with our daughter and warm her up for me, I am taking her virginity in fifteen minutes,’ well, you had better get her nicely warmed up.

“Your Sponsor may have said no changes, or he laid out certain limits that he will observe. Fine, but with a few exceptions, he does NOT have to keep his word. He also may not have understood all of the rules. Everyone’s job is to ensure the survival of the human race. Your job is to do that by having a lot of babies, preferably with more than one partner if possible and with higher CAP score people as much as possible. Therefore he should be having sex with EVERY female in his Harem aged fourteen or over.

“Now, by joining this colony in particular, you get a guaranteed departure, right now. Also you get to go with the people you know while the Sponsor gets one extra choice for his Harem as long as she is a mother. After we transport up, your Sponsor may decide to trade you off. For example, he decides that he does not really want to do it with his daughter, or his sister, or maybe he even decides that he no longer wants his wife. Whatever. If he finds someone to make a trade, he can do that. You have NO veto power. Kids will stay with a parent, generally their mother.

“Lady Volunteers. I suggest that you double-check your choices. You should probably have a guy for the obvious reasons, but you can probably borrow a stud from the neighbor, or you can probably even borrow the neighbor. You should have a mother, to help with children, including your own. And you should probably have one or more other ladies. Bi-sexual or straight is up to you. Just have them cranking out kids. Don’t worry about ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ All we want are babies and healthy, non-traumatized kids.”

“Next. All Volunteers. You and you alone, are responsible for your Concubines’ behavior. I am specifically talking about the fourteen and older ones now. You are the disciplinarian. You have the power of life and death over them. I am totally serious! IF THEY SCREW UP BIG TIME, YOU MAY BE THE ONE THAT HAS TO PUT THEM DOWN! If they just don’t work out for you, you can turn them over to the colony’s Civil Service officer. If you want to trade with a neighbor, you can. What I want is a minimum of disruption of the colony and of the kid’s lives and psyches. Now, we have handpicked many of you, so I don’t think we will have any serious problems along those lines, but if things start going bad, talk to our CS officer early. Later, as officers and NCOs you will be helping your troops with the same issues, so learn these rules fast and well. OK, are there any questions before we go on?” There was some fidgeting from some of the potential concubines, a few looks, hugs or even kisses between spouses, but no hands were raised.

“Very well, now is there anyone out there that does not want to continue? This is your last chance to back out. No one? Great. Now, you people over there are our veteran militia recruits. You will have to show your CAP cards to the Marines as we move you up the ramp. You are each allowed two concubines and any kids under the age of fourteen. You will be trained at the same base as the Marines, and you will get a physical rebuild, but you won’t be super-sized unless you want to be. You will be working at a colony job and won’t actually be let off of the colony for some years. Militarily, think of it as un-federalized National Guard. For now, you will share a pod that will be divided like a duplex. Your families should be smaller than the families of the volunteers at the start, so there should be plenty of room. Feel free to find a partner you can live with if you would rather have one combined full sized pod. Later, we’ll let you spread out. OK, let’s get going. Walk up to the ramp when your name is called. Concubines stay with your sponsors. Keep the children with you as well. We are keeping family groups together and going with rank first. Sergeant Major, call the roll.”

“Major Theodore Spencer, with five concubines. Aileen Spencer, with three concubines. Captain ... pardon me, Commander, Charlene Grayson...”

Five minutes later...

“Sir, we have visitors.” There were several people jogging up the path as a group. They were now slowing to watch the proceedings.

“Of course we do. No plan survives contact with the enemy.” Most of the jogger’s group stopped and hung back, but one couple approached. “May I help you?”

“We hope so,” tentatively said the middle-aged, but fit, man. “This is obviously non-standard, but it appears that those are Marines, that the van has a transporter and that this appears to be an extraction. If that is the case, my wife and I would like to come along. I have a 6.6 CAP score. We have three little kids at home with her mother. Our fourteen-year-old daughter is in the group behind us with the neighbors. May over there has a 6.5 and she has her husband with her. She has two little ones at our home as well. The others in our jogging group are all good people as well, but I don’t think that we have any more with CAP scores that get anyone out.”

“Well, call them over here and show me your cards. Tony, get those Marines over here. OK, how old is the mother-in-law and do you want her?” Fred looked at the two cards with a reader that he had started carrying just this morning.

“Can you do that? I mean she isn’t here. She’s fifty. Oh, but we need to get our daughter out. I ... I can only take two. Sorry, Hon.” This last was spoken to his wife with a consoling hug.

“Has she been through menopause?”

“Not yet,” the wife answered as the others joined them. “She has had a couple of flashes, but, uhh, she still has her periods.”

“OK. Special situation, you can take one extra person who is a mother. Your wife qualifies according to her card data, so she is essentially free. But you have to understand two things. One, you WILL be having sex with the mother-in-law and cranking out babies. We can reset her biological clock a bit to give her another five, ten or even more years of kids. Two, you need to either swap your daughter with someone else or you will be sleeping with her as well. Same thing, sex and babies. I need a decision on that right now.”

“Uhh, Kelly, darling. Did you hear that? We need to decide if you stay with us, or someone else. And staying with us means, well, sleeping with me.”

“Silly Daddy.” The young girl reached out and started pulled down his running shorts. “Mom, can you show me the right way to do this?” She bent over at the waist, poking her rear end into the General’s approving view.

“Kelly? What are you... ? Well ... don’t try and bend over like that. Your back will get sore and you’ll end up biting him. Drop to your knees, Honey,” she said as she dropped down beside her daughter.

“OK, that seems to be settled. Take your cell phone, call the mother-in-law and have her get your kids ready. We’ll drive you over there. Hmm, after these two are finished, and you can talk coherently, that is.

“OK, next group. Who has the 6.5? You? You get three, yes, three, as long as one of them is a qualified mother. Has a kid, raised it for five years, we check for certain minimum scores on her card. Who do you want?”

“My husband, Tad here. My kids. They’re over with Jeff’s mother-in-law. You can get the address when, hmm, when Kelly is done with him.” May turned to the other women in the jogging group. “Debra, will you and Becky come with us? And bring the rest of your kids, too. You will be sleeping with Tad of course, but, well, I like girls, also.” May was pulling her dark hair out of a bun and shaking it free. She pointed at Tad’s shorts and said one word. “Off!”

“Girls? You mean you and me? I don’t think I could do that and I won’t let Becky even think about it.” Debra was blonde, thirty-eight, slim above the waist and she had what she thought of as ‘way too much ass’; thus the jogging.

“Mom, I can speak for myself! I’ve done it, Mrs. Phillips, at a sleepover with some girl friends, on a dare. I liked it well enough. And your husband is pretty cute.” Becky looked like a younger version of her mother without the ass. She had a perky smile and she was currently leering at May’s husband as he got his running shorts off. She seemed to be paying a lot of attention to what he was uncovering, both front and back.

“Becky, you’ve done that with a girl? And you want to go and do it again? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Mom. Try it, before you decide against it. It was really fun. And this is a once in a lifetime chance to get out of here. Think of the kids; we need to get Crystal and Micah safe. Besides, Mr. Phillips is a lot nicer than your last two boyfriends. And you once told me you’d do anything to get us off planet”

“Well, but that was anything with a man! Ok. Ok. I can try it once, I guess. May, what would I have to do?”

May slipped her clothes off and lay on her back. “Quick test. Both of you, strip. Becky, come here and show your Mom what to do. Go straight to the main attraction. No foreplay. Then you can switch with her and start sucking on my breasts. Tad, you do Debra from behind. Hurry it up, these people are waiting.”

Meanwhile the Marines were sizing up the three teenage girls, one boy and one thirty-something lady.

“Corporal, are any of your lady Marines up on the ship looking for a guy? And are any of the rest of you interested in these others?” Fred was still scanning the pathways to see if more early joggers were out and about. This was supposedly an isolated location, but...

There was the momentary look, up and slightly to one side, which Fred was beginning to recognize as a check through the commo network or to the AI. “Several of our women need guys, Sir. Three will transport down in a minute or two to check him out. Most of the rest can only get a mother. Johnson, Keyes, you have a slot for a mother only, so why don’t you see if that brunette qualifies. If you aren’t interested we’ve got a bunch more on board that are. Pickering, Go ahead and check out the young ladies while I take the watch for a couple.”

Keyes whispered something to Johnson, who nodded and they started talking to Katey, who was thirty-five and indeed qualified as a mother. “Katey, besides your kids, is anyone at home waiting for you?”

“No, my husband is supposedly on another sales trip. Truthfully, there isn’t much left to that relationship.”

“OK, we aren’t going to do the whole test drive thing, but we need to know a few things. Have you had multiple partners in your past? Simultaneously I mean. Have you done it with girls? Have you done it orally, anally?”

“Uhh, no, no, yes and no, but to answer your next questions, yes, yes, yes and I guess so.”

“Next questions?”

“Sure. You were going to ask if I would in the future. Right?” A nervous giggle escaped.

“I guess I was. Umm, let’s see, reservations about anal, but not girls?”

Johnson spoke up. “All yours, bro. I never liked gigglers. No offense, Ma’am. Hey, Corp! Let me take over the watch for you.” He headed off to assist in the security watch.