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."

Bethany giggled and whispered so just the five of us could hear. "If you are as inventive in bed as you were in selection, I'll never have another headache. Maybe a pussyache, but that would be a good thing."

The other three laughed and I smiled. "I like that idea," I said as they giggled. "Just two more. Fourth, we work together to make our lives better as a group, that means we help teach Tina how to read and write, and we find activities that we can do as a group outside the bed. And finally, I do want to do a few changes to each of you, but I want you to have input, so we'll discuss that in a private room later. Hopefully that will also give us time to chat and get to know each other."

I could see the final volunteer push a naked woman away as he held his hand out to the other girl she had just spent several minutes licking to orgasm. The marines around the room were shifting to a more alert status and I stood up, waiting for the next command.

I felt a nudge in my back and the marine we had been standing next to whispered to me. "I'm going to want to hear how you do in the future. That was the strangest selection I've ever watched someone make, but somehow I think you might have chosen better than most. You seem to know quite a bit about how it will work 'up there'."

I shrugged and whispered back. "Work has been slow and I've had time to do a lot of research. The information isn't complete, but I'm willing to risk a lot for the chance to have a truly special family."

He nodded as Sergeant Chambers's voice boomed out. "All selections completed?"

There was a moment of silence and then the sergeant spoke again. "Okay, each sponsor and their selected concubines will step into the transport beam. Move lively folks."

Several marines stood in a row, creating a corridor between the stage and the audience that led to a flashing transport pad. Because of where my group was standing we were the last group other than the marines to enter the beam and disappear from the concert hall.

We arrived in a large open chamber that was filled with absolute bedlam. A large woman was standing over by a bulkhead door and boomed out. "Sponsors, gather your concubines in a group and get their CAP cards so they can be registered. Find out if they have eligible offspring to be picked up, and if they have any need for special medical attention. Once you have that information, the sponsor, and only the sponsor comes to me with the cards, is that clear?"

There was a bit of murmuring, but I gathered Meiko, Bethany, Janice and Tina and got them to sit in a group near one of the walls. Each of them handed over their cards with a smile.

"Tina, got any kids? Bethany said none earlier, and Meiko and Janice are virgins, so I know they don't have any," I asked as I took her card.

Tina shook her head. "The two times guys got me pregnant they dumped me and I was forced to have abortions. But I always thought the guys would like me more if I put out."

Bethany put her arm around the younger woman who appeared to be on the verge of tears. "And they'd dump you as soon as they got what they wanted. Don't worry James is a different quality of man."

I blushed and then laughed. "Hey, I wouldn't say that, I expect her to be naked and in bed with me tonight."

Tina gasped, but the other three laughed. "Yes, but you won't leave her after that," Janice said between laughs. "You basically married us already."

Tina's head snapped up and she looked right at me to see me give a very slight nod. Once again I found myself enveloped in a tear filled hug, as Tina cried against my shoulder I looked at the others.

"Medical prescriptions? They asked about that too," I mentioned.

Janice and Meiko shook their heads. Bethany reached into her purse and handed me a bottle of pills. "For my migraines," she said.

Tina cried herself out rather quickly and I was able to transfer her hug to Janice who held her quietly. I stood up to see that most of the sponsors were still trying to get their selections organized, so I stood and walked up to the woman who had made the announcement.

She looked over the CAP cards and then back at me. "No dependents, only one medical issue. Bethany has migraines and has been taking this," I said as I handed over the bottle of pills, which the lady immediately put into some kind of scanner.

"We can take her in the first wave for medical and we'll get that fixed," she said. "Anything else?"

"Well, I have a wild question, but can I claim some furry, non-human dependants?" I asked.

"Only combatant personnel and breeding humans are being evacuated," came a voice from the air.

"I understand, but I had a strange thought," I spoke in response to the voice. "Colonies are going to be crowded with breeding humans and children who won't have a whole lot to do. Some groups might benefit from having a pet to care for."

"Logical, but it would take away the time needed to raise human babies," I could hear the voice say.

"Not really. Young children don't help much with babies as they don't know how, but they could benefit from caring for a pet. A pet can be good practice for motherhood," I replied.

I noticed that the woman was dealing with the next sponsor as I argued with this voice in the air. There was a pause and then another reply. "Dogs and cats take too much space for transport; it is not possible to bring enough to make a difference on any planet without devoting a trip to them."

"What if we could bring more than one hundred animals that could be easily bred and fed which would only take up one pod for the trip?" I asked with a smile

There was another pause and the voice returned. "No breed of dog or cat could thrive in that small a space in sufficient numbers to avoid inbreeding."

I clenched a fist and went with my final argument. "What about dwarf rabbits? They can be in small cages that stack up for the trip. Fertile at six months, with three to five babies per litter, and they are easy to care for, they just need hay for food, water, and a cage with bedding, the cages can be as small as two feet by two feet by two feet cubes."

"What about the smell?" argued the voice.

"In the wild a smelly rabbit is a dead rabbit. They are a favored prey species and have adapted to be hard to find when they don't want to be. Smell is not a problem," I replied.

"It would be difficult to obtain the stock you say you will need." The voice contradicted.

"Two cell phone calls, two or three pickups and we can have enough. Might only get fifty but rabbits breed quickly. We would just need to replicate cages," I replied.

The voice went away for a moment and then spoke. "Captain Nelson, is this the last pickup for this cycle of the earth for you?"

"We have one more in San Francisco which should be returning in about five minutes in the forward hold," the woman I had handed my cards to replied. "After that we have a down period until lunchtime in Europe, although our plan was one more pass over the United States during their next day cycle."

"Cage replication is a problem, I have no design," the voice said.

"The first pickup can be of my sixteen rabbits and their cages, you could scan the cages and replicate from that I expect." I waited quietly as conversations died around me.

Finally the voice spoke again. "Captain Nelson, James here has an unusual idea and considering the mission for the sponsors on this ship, his idea has merit. Allow him the calls and give him two marines to do the pickups as long as they are not attacked; should they encounter trouble, he is to be executed immediately."

I walked back to my new family with a smile. As I sat down with them a marine I didn't recognize came over and looked at me. "What's this about pickups of rabbits?"

"It's a crazy idea, but someone accepted it," I replied.

"And just when I thought the AI couldn't be talked into anything," the marine muttered. "Here's how it's going to work. We need to clear this room after the briefing, but after everyone heads off to their pods it will be used for the pick up of dependent children. During that time you'll come back with Corporal Mattingly and me and we'll get these rabbits, but I want it to be fast. If I'm not here ask one of the others for me, I'm Sergeant Simon Powell. I can't believe you are being allowed to do this, you're taking away from my rack time."

I nodded. "Can my friends be here as well to help move the rabbits to wherever they will be for the ride to wherever we are going?"

"After briefing, find your pod and get back here fast. Remember the route, cause these rabbits you want will be in the pod next to yours," the marine said with a growl and then stalked off.

My ladies looked at me and obviously had some questions, but just then Captain Nelson's voice boomed out. "Quick briefing and then we'll get you to your pods and work on food and medical for the first wave. I'll start out with a simple one for all of you," Captain Nelson's picked one of the naked male volunteers belonging to a sponsor near her and blatantly grabbed his cock.

"On Earth, this would not happen. Most likely someone would be screaming rape or sexual harassment. Here, it's different. We have two groups of people in the Confederacy. For the people on Earth we use sponsors and concubines, but the reality here is much simpler. If you are a sponsor you are the master, concubines are basically slaves. Concubines, accept this now, your sponsor owns you. There is no inalienable right to life or liberty for you anymore; that is the decision of your sponsor. Your sponsor's word is your law. The sponsors are under military discipline, but you have only the protection that your sponsor decides to grant you, and they do have the power of life and death over you."

I could see a number of the concubines in other groups looking very uncomfortable with this announcement. I turned to my quartet to see how they were taking this announcement only to have all four ladies pounce on me and kiss me in unison. "We will be keeping our sponsor very happy," they giggled.

"Now, we need some people to follow Ensign Bates here to medical. The rest of you sponsors have been assigned pods. As you pass these doors you'll be handed a PDA that will lead you to the door of your new home. When we reach our destination the pod will stay with you, so don't be afraid to talk to the AI to make some adjustments. One thing, unless you tell the AI otherwise, only the sponsor will control the door. Your concubines do not get in-and-out privileges unless you grant it. The pods have replicators and can produce food for tonight. Tomorrow morning there will be a communal breakfast and briefing for sponsors although concubines are welcome, the same PDAs that will lead you to your pod will show you the way in the morning. If you have children to be picked up, come back here after settling in.'

Ensign Bates started calling out names, which included Bethany. She appeared upset, but when I whispered that they were going to see about her migraines she left with a smile and a promise to see us later.

The PDA led us to a door, which was labeled with a green six. We entered and found a surprisingly comfortable two-story chamber. "It's bigger than my apartment," Tina said with a gasp.

The other girls gave a nervous giggle as we looked around the entry room. I remembered the comment about making adjustments. "How can I make changes if I want to?" I asked.

A disembodied voice similar to the one from the transport room rang out. "You can give me instructions as to the changes you desire. The pod is made of a malleable material and can change shape to meet your requirements."

"Good," I said. "Now, we have to return to the transporter room to get bunnies. So I have two quick questions. First, what should my ladies wear, and second, are there any pallet movers or dollies available to make moving the cages a bit easier?"

The AI responded. "Concubines usually wear the gray shifts available from the closet or go naked. In the pod you can dress them as you wish, but for now the shift is probably recommended to avoid confusion. We have analyzed the concept of a 'pallet mover' and can have a grav sled which should meet your needs available in the transport room in about ten minutes."

"Perfect," I responded and looked around for the closet. I found it rather quickly and opened it, pulling out three of the shapeless gray shifts and tossing them to my ladies. Tina and Janice quickly changed, but Meiko stood there blushing. I noticed her distress and went over to her.

"Do you want to stay here right now? You don't have to go out if you aren't ready," I said quietly.

Meiko gave a small sob and started removing her clothing. "No, I'll go with my family."

She took a moment to take a deep breath once the shift was on and then smiled. We then rushed back to the transport room to find a number of marines there waiting. Simon was waiting near the nexus and waved us over.

"Where are we going?" he asked,

"My place first, to get my sixteen rabbits, and a few rabbit related items, and from there I can call my two breeder friends and see about setting up pickups right after the first one," I replied.

I had to give a bit of information and then the marine indicated that they had confirmed my apartment's location and could set up a transport nexus on the balcony. He opened the port and I moved through with the two marines.

The loud scream as the marines opened the screen door to enter the room told me that we had surprised Brenda. I jumped between her and the marines and quickly got everything calmed down. Brenda was extremely surprised to hear that I had permission to take the rabbits, but immediately started smiling and offering to help. She assisted the marines in gathering up empty travel cages and boxes of rabbit accessories.

Brenda was being rather congenial, and I was about to call my friends when Simon asked me. "Do you want to swap out one of your concubines for her?"

"No," I said as Brenda started bringing the rabbit cages over and loading them onto the teleport pad. "She and I have a very good friendship, but she's too combative and contrary for me. I'd end up wanting to kill her after a while and if she was my concubine, I just might do it. She's great with rabbits though."

The marine paused as I placed calls to my breeder friends. Both were a bit surprised when I explained the situation, but both had cull rabbits which were likely going to end up at pet stores and they were willing to let me make a pickup tonight. I did have to make it clear that these pickups would be for rabbits only. I had just finished with the second call when Simon walked over to me.

'We have located your other two spots, and have drones checking them already. We have finished off transferring the rabbits from here," he said.

I noticed that Brenda was not in the room. "No Brenda?" I asked.

Simon shrugged. "We occasionally pick up a spare or two, in case someone else has trouble, and the AI liked the idea of someone specifically for the rabbits for the trip out. She'll be attached to the Civil Service until someone decides to claim her. We should get going."

I paused to look around the apartment that had been my home for the last three years. There were a lot of things I would love to take with me, but I knew that such sentimentality was discouraged. Simon seemed to see my pause and disappeared into the transport beam to return with Janice and Tina.

"You've got five minutes, and bring a blanket or something to cover any boxes you bring out," he growled.

I grabbed a bunch of boxes from the closet and had Tina and Janice help me grab books and games, which we pushed through the teleport beam. We only got the five minutes to grab and box and then a firm order from Simon had us dashing into the beam.

We returned to the teleport room to find a number of marines talking to sponsors and their concubines obviously setting up dependent pickups. Meiko was there and had covered the boxes of books and games with a couple of the blankets we had thrown through the beam. Brenda, and most of the rabbit cages were not in the room, although the empty travel cages were sitting next to the platform. We were ready to go, but Corporal Mattingly waved us off. "One of the dependent pickups needs to go now, and neither of your breeder friends is ready yet, but one will be in a moment."

The concubine that approached the platform was a dumpy woman of about thirty. She seemed a bit distressed, and the two marines with her had grim faces. We watched her leave as Brenda returned with a large grav sled and smiled. "The little ones are all in their new home, but they aren't too happy. I think the transport scared them a bit," She said. I noticed that she was in one of the gray shifts like my concubines; most of the others in the room were naked and cowering near their sponsors.

We loaded the grav sled with the boxes from my apartment and I suggested to Janice that she run it back to our room. She nodded and I called out to the AI to allow Meiko and Janice to run to the pod and drop off the items and return. They laughed as they dashed off to deliver the boxes to the room and return quickly. Corporal Mattingly laughed to see them run off giggling as Tina draped herself on my back. "You are not the normal volunteer. What are you going for?"

The waiting concubine had disappeared into the transport beam and I shrugged while waiting for her return. "Not sure. Officially I'm volunteered for the marines, but I'd make a lousy line fighter. I'm too much of a maverick. I'm hoping to get something that uses my skills well."

"This is the military," Corporal Mattingly said with a laugh. "They'll find a way to misuse your talents."

"So, it's all Situation Normal then?" I asked with a laugh. I could feel Tina shift in her hug trying to figure out the reference when Mattingly laughed.

"Yes, its All Fucked Up," he replied as the dumpy concubine returned with two frightened children clinging to her legs. Her face had a vivid red handprint covering the right side of her face, and I suspected that she had run into a family member who was not happy with her new position in life. I shook my head at the picture as the teleport pad flickered.

"We're up," Corporal Mattingly said and stepped into the beam. I grabbed a pair of the travel cages, and jumped into the beam.

I arrived just outside a battered shed and looked over at my old lady friend. She seemed a bit taken aback by the presence of the two marines, but smiled as she saw me hold up the two cages. She quickly opened the shed and we went inside together to transfer a number of rabbits into the travel cages. We worked fast and thanks to Tina bringing an additional cage when she arrived, had the operation completed in five minutes.

My friend gave me a final hug before I stepped into the beam. I knew she wanted to come, but she was too old to have children and was caring for an aging son with some serious mental disabilities. She did hope that the bunnies found new homes and brought happiness to others on the colonies.

The other pickup was even more bittersweet. We were able to quickly pick up the rabbits, but this friend was a young woman with three children. I was unwilling to sacrifice any of my current concubines and could only offer her faint hope that she might be chosen if there was a pickup at one of the many rabbit shows she attended.

The marines made sure she stayed behind as I disappeared into the beam with a wave. I turned to find Janice and Meiko waiting for me and accepted their hugs as I cried silently for my friend left behind.

Brenda was just finishing loading the last cages onto the platform of the grav sled and told me that the final count was sixty-four rabbits of various ages and colors. Most were under one year old, and there was enough diversity to guarantee that inbreeding would not be a problem in the near future. She said she was going to make sure the bunny room was set up and all the rabbits had water and food before collapsing. I remember hearing Corporal Mattingly remind her about the morning briefing as she walked away.

"The corporal likes your friend," Janice said with a giggle. "And he's recently lost a concubine so he just might claim her permanently."

"Where is Tina?" I asked as I watched another concubine approach the transporter and prepare to collect his children.

Once again I found myself wrapped up in a tight hug. "Right behind you," Tina whispered in my ears as she snuggled into me. I looked up to see Janice wink at me as Meiko giggled.

"Feisty concubines. I'm surrounded by feisty concubines," I muttered as I pulled everyone into another group hug. We stayed that way for a moment, and then with a nod to the marines who were still assisting in gathering up dependents hurried back to our new home.