Miriam hugged the distraught, nude, black woman. Around them stood the woman's four children. The nine-year-old boy cried while holding his younger sister, who sobbed. The two younger children played behind them. The final page spat out from the printer.

The pickup at the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee, was winding down. The food court became the only center of attention. A group of Desert Storm Vets had been holding their yearly reunion. Half the men were already on the ship. Miriam knew that she and Alec would be heading home soon.

A soft grunting caught Miriam's attention. Turning, she saw an Asian concubine prospect worshiping the cock of a middle-aged white man. "I'll pop your eighteen-year-old cherry later," he stated confidently. He held the sides of her head. "You'll learn to like Dave's taste," he grunted. "Swallow." He reached for a large drink on the table beside him. "That's very good, little puta." He handed the drink to the girl. She drank deeply. He then pulled her up to kiss her. She wriggled a bit. "Up on the table," he patted where the drink had been.

Her voice protested sheepishly, "It's cold."

The man pulled her legs apart and slipped his finger along her slit. She shivered. "But, little puta is warm and wet." He pulled his finger away, licking it. He turned to Alec. "Let me know when the papers are ready." The man winked. "The little puta here needs some attention." He leaned in. The girl bucked twice, and then mewed.

Alec responded, "About seven more minutes."

The man raised up. "OK," he turned away and spit to clear his tongue, making a string of 'ththput-ththput' sounds. Then he looked up at the girl. "Little puta needs to be hairless." He dove back into her crotch.

The woman holding onto Miriam clutched her tighter. She whispered to Miriam. "If I knew what I did, back then ... would cost me my kids."

"Jenny, we all have our secrets." Miriam whispered into her ear. "Alec and I were even once charged with subversion against the United States." The black woman turned to look into her eyes. "Alec was charged and held for a bombing at a recruiting center." Jenny pulled away a bit to better focus. "It was Vietnam, and the center was closed for Thanksgiving." Miriam adjusted the tubes stemming from her oxygen concentrator. "Alec was in pre-law. He never had the ability to build such a device. Besides, your children are more important."

Jenny sat up. She reached out to her oldest children. They embraced. "My babies, I want you to go with Mr. Dave." She pointed at the man with the teenager writhing under his tongue. Your cousin, Nicole will be with you."

"Mama no," the boy started.

Jenny placed a finger to his lips. Too many times in his life, her past had caused her to be 'brought in' for questioning. "Daniel, you need to grow up to be a warrior to save Earth. Mr. Dave will help."

"He said he would take you." Daniel countered.

"Daniel, he tried. Your mama did bad things before you were born." She hugged him and her daughter close. "I was responsible for some people dying. I went to jail. I can't go to the stars."

Dave wiped his face on his 'little puta, ' specifically on her thighs. He wanted a bed to break her in completely; that would be later. He thought back to a half an hour earlier.

Jenny, the woman crying, had sexually attacked him, trying to get him to take her cousin. Before he knew Jenny was CAP ineligible, Dave had decided she would be his extra momma. Once she explained her situation, he tried out the shy cousin. Then the marine would not let him take Jenny's children.

An elderly couple then approached them. A retired lawyer and his wife had a proposal for Dave and the other veterans. He could create Guardianship Instruments to save the additional children. Dave's second choice luckily had been a notary.

The Marine in charge had called up to somebody. The old lawyer, Alec, had argued for twenty minutes with somebody over the radio.

"If you are interested in being guardians for children unable to be extracted," the marine's voice boomed from the overhead speakers, "or want your children extracted without you; please report to the food court."

The families with kids to save lined up, stringing from the food court towards Macy's. The sponsors' who wanted kids, mingled and matched with those families in the line.

Alec asked for some help. He requested a typist, a printer, computer, and Internet access. The Computer Place manager brought up a laptop and a printer. A college coed sponsor volunteered to type. A second marine appeared from the transporter pad with a small box with a network cable.

She attached the box to the laptop. Leaning in she clicked a few keys. "One gigabyte speed available," she walked away.

"My name is Alec." He shook hands with his typist.

She responded, "I'm Lucy."

The old man smiled. "We need to get to the online law library at Vanderbilt." He looked over her shoulder. "On the left should be a place for faculty login."

"Is this it?"

"Yes, all capitals, SKYLER, underscore, 65, hyphen, lower case ret. The password is lowercase method, underscore, 92."

"We're in." She hopped in her chair.

"Under the Pro Bono Section, let's look up Guardianship."

The coed's two new additions were hugging their mother and father goodbye. Dave's notary concubine was affixing her seal.

Alec was verifying the legal names of Jenny's four children. He verified the driver's license number on the form with the physical license.

"Miriam, bring her over."

Jenny shuffled her kids over to her cousin. They hugged. Miriam placed a hand on her arm. Together they moved over to Alec.

He was helping Dave. "Sign here and here." He lifted the document having Dave sign two more duplicates. "Dave, go over by the kids please." As Dave moved away, he stopped to hug Jenny.

Jenny sat down. "This is a transfer of guardianship. It gives Dave custody of your children. The wording also binds him to provide the best environment he can." Jenny looked at the man over by her kids. "This contract is valid and will be enforceable off world. Once they pass to the ship in orbit, Tennessee Law will no longer be preeminent.

Jenny signed on all three pages. The notary finished the process. Jenny put her head on the table. Someone touched her back.

"Smile and wave," Miriam's voice called to her. "Jenny, let your children know you love them."

Looking up, Jenny waved. She caught the kisses thrown to her. In a flash, they were gone.

The next morning, stories of the collective sacrifice popped up on every station. Depending on the direction of the network, the acts were either demonized or held up as triumphs of loving parents.

Once the guardianship instruments were delivered to the Madison County Courthouse in Jackson, the real scope of the effort came to light. Alec Skyler, Attorney at Law, was listed as the party responsible for the creation of these documents. Two days later a subpoena delivered by the sheriff ordered Alec to appear before the Circuit Court.

Thirty-two-year-old Desmond Miller represented interested parties ranging from parents-rights groups to the Earth First Defense Fund. The Reverend Jacob Bartle sat boldly behind Miller.

Bartle served as the face of the slowly evolving movement in west Tennessee. Clutching his bible he would raise his hands in silent prayer. The women of the Faithful Auxiliary from his Church of the Divine Body of Christ surrounded him. Jacob had never forgiven Alec for marrying his baby sister, Miriam.

Miller stood; taking a deep breath, he undid the buttons on his black jacket. He wore a tie designed to project power and authority. "We are here today to undo the injustice that has ripped children from the loving arms of their parents and cast them adrift in a sea of pedophiles." He walked over to a set of easels that had pictures of the children now in space. An enlargement of a signed Guardian Instrument stood among the faces. "Through malfeasance or incompetence of Alec Skyler, has enabled sixty plus children, the most precious of Tennessee's resources, to be illegally taken." He tapped the enlargement. "Nothing on this document is legally executed."