Swarm - Life Goes On

CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION...

STANDARD WARNING

This story is of an erotic nature.

I wouldn't dream of telling you what you can or can't read but if the law, in your part of the world, says you must not read this sort of fiction then please go read something that they'll let you.

Don't break the laws, change them.

CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION... CAUTION...

Life Goes On

A Story in The Swarm Cycle Universe

by Duke of Ramus

A Piece of my Imagination

The Swarm Cycle

The Swarm Cycle is a collection of stories manufactured around a concept introduced by the Thinking Horndog positing an alien invasion and Earth's reaction. The intent is for this to be a multi-author universe similar to the wildly popular Naked In School stories. If you're a budding author of erotica or sci-fi and see something here that strikes your fancy, pop over to the Author's Page for more info on what's going on here and how to submit a story for this collection. The rest of you are probably here to read, so...

---oOo---

Disclaimer

This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author�s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

� 2008 Duke of Ramus.

All rights reserved.

---oOo---
The Swarm Cycle Universe

Copyright � 2007 The Thinking Horndog

---oOo---

Editor

I'd like to thank Mulligan and Steve T for their assistance in turning this into a better story than my initial effort, any errors remaining are of course mine.

---oOo---

Benjamin Brittain parked his car on the drive and entered the semi-detached suburban house he'd worked so hard to keep up over the last five years. The three bedroom house had been his pride and joy when he'd finally taken possession and he'd tried diligently since to make into the perfect family home.

"Pam, I'm home," he called out as he pushed the front door closed behind him.

His bellowed greeting was met by an unusual silence. Unusual considering that even if his wife was out of the house for some reason their two children, William and Gail should both have been home from school by now and they could be relied upon to be making some sort of ruckus.

Benjamin dropped his briefcase beside the mahogany occasional table and tossed his car keys onto its surface as normal and called out again while he hung his crumpled jacket in its usual place on the coat rack next to the front door.

"Pam!"

This call was a little louder than his first and may even have carried a hint of irritation.

Still getting no response Ben headed for the kitchen that was his wife's normal hangout at this time of day.

For some reason Ben couldn't understand he started to feel a sense of dread - nothing he could put his finger on - but in the thirty seconds he'd been home he'd begun to feel a sense of loss. Almost unsurprisingly he found that the kitchen was deserted. Looking around he saw nothing amiss but that empty feeling started to grow. Nothing had been amiss but there was no sign of occupation either, no food being prepared or groceries to be unpacked.

Ben left the kitchen and crossed the hallway, looking around for some indication as to the whereabouts of his wife. He entered the living room nervously casting about as though looking for the unexpected.

It too was devoid of human occupation but there was a large grey envelope propped up on the mantelpiece. It was sufficiently large that it would have been almost impossible to miss it when you entered the room.

Swallowing nervously Ben crossed to the mantelpiece and picked up the letter, noting that his own name was typed on the front as he did so. Ripping the envelope open his worst fears were confirmed in simple black on a stark white piece of paper.

It was a standard letter, almost 'the' standard letter if you like confirming that his beloved wife was gone from his life.

'Pamela Alison Brittain, nee Cathcart has agreed to accompany John Frederick Williamson, a volunteer for service in the Marine branch of the Confederacy Armed Forces to the colony of Brakat. Pamela Alison Brittain will be a concubine to the aforementioned volunteer and as such will be unable to communicate with her former relations without the approval of said volunteer.

The above volunteer has agreed to act as a sponsor to the said concubine's dependent minors, William Mark Brittain (male - 11) and Gail Pamela Brittain (female - 9). As such they will be taken to the colony of Brak in the Brakat system and said volunteer will provide for their well being and education until they reach their majority.

In accordance with relevant local, national and planetary laws, all former relationships between Pamela Alison Brittain and others are hereby formally terminated. To see if you are entitled to financial compensation or support, you are advised to seek the advice of your local Confederacy liaison officer.'

Ben stared at the paper before him and wanted to scream, his wife; his children; gone! Just like that, and he knew deep down that there would be nothing he could do about it. It was his turn to live the nightmare that so many men had been put through by the all-powerful Confederacy that was supposed to be here to help the human race!

---oOo---

The microwave meal was almost untouched before the despondent man; a half-empty beer can sat on the table alongside the cold meal getting warm. Ben pushed the insipid peas around the dinner plate and tried not to think about what had happened but it was proving to be impossible.

His wife had effectively run off with another man taking his beloved children with her and he'd had absolutely no say in the matter or any chance to get her back. His feelings were already tending towards violence, which for him was a strange, almost unheard of occurrence.

The letter confirming his fears was spread open just across the table, mocking him in its brevity.

A single sheet of paper cancelled out the previous thirty-four years of his life and informed him that he was 'free' to start again.

'Well, fuck 'em,' thought Ben as he tossed his fork back onto the plate with a clatter.

Before his anger could take him any further there was a knock at his front door.

Ben glanced towards the door and then returned his attention to the table, intent on ignoring whoever it was.

The knock was repeated more firmly and again Ben ignored it. When it happened for the third time Ben stood up suddenly, his chair falling over behind him and he stormed towards the door.

Yanking the door open he yelled, "What!" without bothering to even look at who was stood there.

The woman in the dark blue police uniform took a step back and bumped into her collegue behind her. As he steadied her the man frowned at Ben and asked firmly, "Are you Mr. Benjamin Brittain?"

"What if I am," snarled Ben ignoring the fact that the two people stood before him were police officers.

The policeman's frown deepened, "I take it, Sir, from your attitude, that you're already aware that your wife has been sponsored to the colonies?"

Ben looked the man in the eye and growled, "Yes, I've received the letter, now what do you fucking want?" The use of profanity was so unlike Ben that it momentarily shocked him, but then the dark feelings of gloom washed his surprise away.

The policewoman had recovered from her initial shock and took a half-step forward. "Sir, we are here to explain what happens next."

"You mean there is a next?" asked Ben sarcastically.

"Let's step inside," said the man, "It'll be easier to explain this if we're all sitting down."

Ben glared at the pair for a moment and then turned away and walked back into his house. Not looking to see if they were following him he pushed the door to the living room open and slumped down on the nearest seat. After the two police officers had found a place to sit the woman began.

"I'm constable Heather Morgan and this is constable Steven Fowler. We, for our sins, are with the Confederacy liaison team for this area," she said by way of an introduction. "May I ask how you found out about your wife's extraction?"

"I found the 'letter' on my mantelpiece when I got home from work," said Ben.

Ben caught sight of the policeman identified as Steven throwing his eyes skywards and asked, "I take it that's not normal?"

"Normal isn't the right word," said Steven, "What's supposed to happen is that we," he indicated his partner, "are supposed to break the news and the official letter acts as a confirmation later."

"And?" prompted Ben.

"Recently the pick up teams have taken to transporting into the person's home and leaving the letter in a convenient spot." Steven scowled, "When you add in the delays that we are experiencing because of the numbers involved we are finding that the majority of people have got the news before we get there."

"Makes your life difficult, does it?" asked Ben, his voice still tinged with sarcasm.

"Yes," admitted Heather, rejoining the conversation. "As you've already found out it is hard for us to offer constructive advice when there is so little that can be done."

"Meaning?" said Ben.

"Well, for instance, if your wife was employed the Confederacy would give you a lump sum that is the equivalent of her annual salary before local taxes," explained Heather. "In addition all of her debts are automatically paid off. Things like credit cards are paid off, hire purchase agreements are completed and what have you."

"So they've bought the slave," said Ben, "lock, stock and barrel."

"It does seem that way to some people," agreed Steven, "but the Confederacy describes it as allowing life to continue with the minimum of disruption to those who remain behind."

"I take it the Confederacy is going to supply me with a maid and children to fill the space that's been left here?" asked Ben.

Heather looked at her shoes and Steven just stared at the angry man and shook his head negatively.

"I didn't think so," said Ben. "I take it there is nothing I can do to change things or get to see them?"

"You can't call them," said Steven, "If your former wife's sponsor allows it, she will be able to call you but that won't normally happen until they reach the colony they're going to."

"When's that likely to be?" asked Ben.

"At least a month," said Heather. "What you have to accept is that they are no longer yours. It is one of the hardest things to understand even though it is well known. If you had been divorced here on Earth, you would still retain some right of access to your children, with an extraction you have none. It's going to seem as though your wife and children had never existed."

"Just like that," said Ben, "and I have to 'accept' that the Confederacy is a good thing."

"Really, yes," said Steven, "anything else will destroy your life and, if you do anything really stupid, you'll end up dead."

"Dead!" gasped Ben wide-eyed.

"Dead," agreed Steven nodding. "The laws are such that any attack against the Confederacy, its people or facilities is considered a capital crime."

"So you're really just here to warn me off?" snarled Ben, his temper rising again.

Steven glanced at Heather before returning his attention to Ben, "Yes. It's not put that way in our training manuals or any of the public briefing but realistically it's what we're doing."

Ben looked from one officer to the other.

Heather spoke softly, "Your family is gone but your life has to go on, it's better in the long run if you let them go completely."

Ben looked from one to the other again and rose to his feet, "Well, thank you very much for your concern," he said from behind a forced smile. "I'll let you get on and give some other poor bastard the good news."

Without waiting for a response from the two police officers he turned and walked towards the front door. The two of them frowned but rose and followed the angry man to the door.

They turned as they left the building to bid Ben goodnight but he just slammed the door in their faces.

As the two of them slowly walked down the path towards the garden gate, Heather turned to Steven, "I hope he's not going to be another one," she said.

"I doubt it," replied her partner, "he's too angry at the moment to commit suicide and by the time he's calmed down he'll have got used to the idea that his family has gone. I just wish there was an easier way to break the news though."

---oOo---

Knock, knock.

Ben turned his head away from the television just long enough to glance in the direction of the front door but after a slight shake of the head, he returned his gaze to the screen. He had no real idea what the program he was watching was about and to be honest he didn't really care.

The knock was repeated twice more before Ben could be bothered to stir himself from the sofa. The man who rose to his feet looked totally different from the one who'd returned to an empty house only a week before. He was now dirty and unkempt, his hair hadn't seen shampoo or a comb for a week and a dark beard covered his face. His clothes if anything were in a worse state than he was and looked as though they'd been slept in, which they had.

Ben shuffled towards the front door as it was knocked yet again.

"All right," he muttered, "I'm coming.

"What?" he demanded without opening the door.

A female voice from the other side of the door demanded, "Open the door, Benjamin."

Ben closed his eyes in pain; the woman was Helen Cathcart and she'd been his mother-in-law, in some ways, she still was.

"Come on, Benjamin," she called, "It's cold out here."

Despondently, Ben released the safety chain and pulled the door open, hoping that he could keep her outside. As soon as the door started to move a hand pushed the door firmly and Helen swept past him, gracing the poor man with a grim smile as she did so.

The mature woman placed her handbag on the mahogany occasional table alongside Ben's car keys that hadn't moved for a week. Slowly she turned to face the younger man that she still considered her son-in-law. She looked him up and down and her nose wrinkled in displeasure.

Unbuttoning her coat she started in on him. "Go and have a shower and put on some clean clothes," she ordered, "I'll put the kettle on while you're doing that."

"Helen..." began Ben.

"No," said Helen firmly, "do as you're told and we'll talk when you come back down."

Ben didn't have it in him any more to fight; he felt his shoulders slump in defeat as he turned towards the stairs.

"Don't take too long," called Helen when he was halfway up the stairs, "or the tea will have stewed."

After his shower Ben had a quick shave and then pulled on a clean sweat suit and a pair of slippers. Coming downstairs some fifteen minutes after being sent for a shower Ben had to admit that he did feel better for it, though he wasn't looking forward to facing his mother-in-law.

Entering into the kitchen he froze; beguiled by the image Helen presented as she stretched to reach the new bag of sugar.

Helen, like her daughter was best described as short and soft, a little dumpy even, but ultimately the appearence of both invited you to give them a cuddle. They may not have had the figures of catwalk models but both of them had a beautiful face. Helen was perhaps a touch heavier than her daughter had been before her extraction, what Pam looked like now was anyone's guess. There was a definite hint of grey in Helen's flame red hair that had been absent in her daughter's but apart from that they could have been taken as sisters.

Helen had lost her husband before all the fuss about the Swarm had kicked off and had not been caught up in the ensuing circus. Whilst most of the women were doing their best to appear willing and alluring, Helen had stuck to her sensible business attire, her light grey suit comprised a short jacket and a knee length skirt. The lemon blouse was open at the neck but thick enough to preserve her modesty. On her feet she wore a heeled sandal, only two inches high but compared to the flip-flops that most women seemed to have adopted it clearly made her stand out. Whether this was a good thing or not only time would tell.

Stretching to retrieve the sugar had caused her skirt to tighten over her plump posterior and Ben found himself staring with interest at something for the first time in a week.

Turning with the sugar bag in hand Helen saw Ben and graced him with a full power smile, "That's an improvement," she said. "Now take a seat and I'll bring the tea over."

Ben shook his head slightly to clear it and crossed to the kitchen table and sat as he'd been ordered. There was a slight smile on his lips as he watched Helen fussing about the kitchen.

Helen topped off the sugar bowl before she carried the tray of tea things over to the table. Sliding the tray onto the table she stood there just long enough to release the single button that was holding her jacket closed before she sat down opposite Ben.

"Still taking two sugars?" she asked.

Ben shook his head, "No, just the one, I was trying to lose weight but..."

"No buts," said Helen dropping a single teaspoon of sugar into a teacup. "If you needed to lose weight last week you still need to lose weight now."

She poured two cups of tea and added a dash of milk to both of them before passing the cup with sugar across the table to Ben.

After taking a sip from her cup she hardened her look and asked Ben, "You do know it was for the best, don't you?"

Ben's shoulders slumped before he nodded in reply to Helen's question.

"It doesn't mean that your life is over, either!" said Helen crisply.

"It doesn't?" said Ben without a hint of enthusiasm.

"No it doesn't," stated Helen firmly. "Do you think you're the only man who's been treated like this?" She shook her head before continuing, "And what about the poor women who get involved in one of these extraction thingies and then get left behind, how do you think they feel?"

Ben shrugged, "Why should I care?"

"Maybe if you thought about them rather than wallowing in self pity, you'd find something worthwhile to do," said Helen.

"Like what?" asked Ben, "Throw my arms around them and tell them they're better off here than being a slave to some bastard who's just after their body?" Ben looked at his mother-in-law, "Even if it does get them away from the Swarm."

"I wouldn't go that far," responded Helen, "but the women I saw would have been glad to have been offered a cuddle by someone in the same boat as them."

"You saw that?" asked Ben incredulously.

Helen nodded her eyes wide as she stared at her son-in-law.

"Where?" asked Ben.

"I was out shopping with Phillipa and we'd stopped for a bite to eat," she explained softly. "Those Confederacy Marines staged one of their pick ups right there in the food court."

Helen got a far away look in her eye as she relived the moment. "It was like a comedy show and a horror film all rolled into one gigantic mess," she said. "I watched a young boy who could have only just reached his fourteenth birthday pick two women who were old enough to be his mother. All he wanted to do was hold them," Helen blinked away a couple of tears, "it was as though he wanted his mother to comfort him."

Helen glanced up and saw that she had Ben's undivided attention.

"Another man had five women lined up naked and was getting them to, you know, with their mouth," Helen shuddered as she described the scene. "When he'd finished he just pointed at two of them and said, 'the rest of you failed.' The three he'd rejected were left there, naked on their knees for all to see."

"Didn't you.." began Ben.

"No," snapped Helen sharply, "I don't see the point. I'm forty-eight years old and whilst I haven't gone through the menopause yet, I can't be far off it and I just can't see myself as a 'fuck bunny' for some soldier who's splitting his time amongst half-a-dozen women."

"You're good looking," responded Ben without thinking, "and most of the guys only get to take two women with them."

"So what," said Helen, "it's not what I want and as I found out, you're not forced to try."

"No?" queried Ben in surprise.

"Oh, no," said Helen displaying a tight smile. "As the nice man running the extraction pointed out, if you're not interested or too old please step back and give those who are interested some room to make their pitch."

"So Pam had to step forward?" asked Ben slowly.

"Yes," said Helen nodding to reinforce her answer.

"I wondered about that," said Ben, "I know they always say that it's volunteers only but I wasn't sure."

"That's how it was at the Mall," confirmed Helen, "and I'm pretty sure it was the same routine the Marines had always followed."

"You're sure?" asked Ben.

"It looked like it," said Helen. "The officer running the extraction seemed to be reciting a standard speech and looking at the Marines who were with him it looked like they'd heard it all before."

Ben looked down and after a moment picked up his teacup, time passed in silence as the two sipped their drinks and contemplated the recent past.

Helen was the first to break the silence, "Have you spoken to work since Pam left?"

"I left a voice mail message the night I found out," said Ben. "I'm not sure whether they got it." He shrugged, "they could have been one of the people who've tried to call since then but I've been ignoring the telephone."

"Maybe you should go back to work and see what's happening," said Helen, "after all, it's important work that you do."

"You think so?" asked Ben. "It may have been before the Confederacy turned up but I'm not so sure now."

"Come off it, Ben," said Helen, "you know that the defence of the country is important."

"Is it?" asked Ben, "with the Confederacy taking everyone away, is it still that important?"

"They say they're going to be able to take two hundred million people at the most," said Helen. "That means that there will still be roughly six billion people on this planet when the Swarm arrives, including you and me." She stared across the table at the younger man, "I'd say your job is still important."

Ben gave a small smile, "Saving you is important," he said softly.

"Why thank you, Sir," said Helen brightly, "now promise me that you'll at least try to go back to work."

Ben nodded.

"Good," said Helen, "and while you're there I'll come around and clean up this place."

---oOo---

Sweating lightly Ben climbed off the weight bench and looked around the well-lit gym, as he did so he felt a deep sense of satisfaction wash through him. He had joined the health club the week after Helen had pulled him out of his depression and after a couple of months he was feeling, and looking, better than he had done since he was eighteen.

Around him were people who were sweating hard as they attempted to revitalise bodies that had been abused and neglected for years. For the vast majority of people, the only way to escape the approaching swarm was to be picked by a volunteer during an extraction. Therefore looking good to the opposite sex, even if you were already married became essential to anyone who harboured the slightest hope that they would be picked. Along with the drastic changes to people's mode of dress had come a resurgence in gym memberships as old and young alike attempted to fulfil that need.

The Darjee medical stations may have been able to work what would once have been considered miracles, especially when combined with nano-technology but they were not readily available on Earth. That left people with only two options, stay as they were and hope, or start working their butts off to achieve the desired shape.

Ben often chuckled to himself as he watched a group of middle-aged mothers sweat their bodies as they desperately tried to get back into shape. It wasn't so much their efforts week-in week-out that amused him but the idea that their sponsor could change their appearance to whatever he wanted and all their efforts would come to nought if the volunteer wanted a dumpy little thing with huge tits.

Ben moved to the next piece of equipment in his routine and started to work hard on the cross trainer, as he did so a frown appeared on his brow. Helen had decided that she was moving in with him and he wasn't sure how he felt about that idea. He hadn't objected when she'd told him and in truth she'd been spending more time at his house than she had at her own. It seemed only sensible to make the move and so reduce their costs but Ben couldn't help worrying that there may have been an ulterior motive in her decision.

He couldn't think of one but it didn't stop him worrying about the matter.

"How do you make it look so easy?"

Ben looked around, "Excuse me?" he asked.

"How do you make it look so easy?" asked the woman sweating away on the machine next to him.

"Lots of hard work," Ben replied with a genuine grin. "And a determination to smile no matter how much it hurts," he added.

"Does that make it any easier?" asked the panting woman.

"Not easier," said Ben as his legs continued in their steady rhythm, "but it convinces everyone else who's looking," he raised his eyebrows at the woman, "that I'm doing fine."

"You convinced me," gasped the woman, "I just wish that you'd had a secret that you could have passed on to to make it easier for me."

"Sorry," responded Ben with a smile as he took the time to look the woman over. She had to be at least his age and at a guess at least fifteen kilos over-weight. Even with a sport-bra on her bust was bouncing all over the place and the skin-tight vest she had on over it did nothing to hide the roll of fat that gave her stomach a rounded appearance. The tight shorts did little to enhance her figure as they allowed the bottom of her ass cheeks to peek out for all to see.

She must have been on the cross trainer for a fair length of time as her brown hair was plastered to her head with sweat and there was a growing stain at the top of her tight shorts. She groaned as the machine beeped to indicate the end of her torture session. She slowed down and glanced back to Ben, "This really wouldn't be necessary if my CAP score had been high enough," she said.

"Don't I know it," agreed Ben though he wasn't doing the exercise to improve his chances of being taken along, it was just easier to conform to what other people thought were his reasons than to try explaining his own position.

"By the way," said the woman as she stepped down from the machine, "my name's Mary."

"I'm Ben," said Ben with a slight wave as he continued his exercise.

Mary sighed in what may have been disappointment as the conversation petered out; "I'll see you later."

"OK," said Ben as he flashed another brief smile at the woman. He watched as Mary turned and headed for the exit.

'Now what had that been all about?'

---oOo---

The first month back at work had been hard, initially because of all the sympathy he'd received. But later it had been the sense of despondency that seemed to permeate the entire company. It seemed that the futility that Ben felt about his work was commonplace and it was impacting on the performance of the workforce.

"All right, can I have your attention, please."

As the hubbub around him subsided Ben placed his coffee cup back on the cafeteria style table and turned his attention to the speaker.

Mike Mullwinney was the Chief Executive Officer of the defence firm that Ben worked for and had called all of the senior staff to this meeting. Unusually for Mullwinney he hadn't arranged for the meeting to be in some lavish hotel with all the bells and whistles but had decided on using the Executive Restaurant within the main building. Because of this decision things were a little cramped for all involved and Ben hoped that this meant that this was going to be a relatively short event.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," began the CEO, "the board has decided that for the good of the company we need to make several changes in our operation."

Not beating about the bush, Mullwinney continued, "This includes a major strategic change of direction for the organisation in that we intend to withdraw from the defence market over the next twelve months and move our business towards the needs of the Confederacy."

Ben like most of the people present sat in stunned silence as the CEO continued.

"To this end we are changing the status of various projects," he turned to the screen that had been erected for the presentation and a slide of an assault rifle appeared. "Work on the Simplified Assault Rifle will be suspended as no Government to date has shown any interest in the system."

Ben started to frown, the SAR wasn't his baby but it was a concept that he fully agreed with. Like the old Soviet AK47 the idea had been to develop a simple weapon that could be used by anyone and that was cheap to manufacture and just as easy to maintain. It was pitched to potential buyers as a means of arming their population for the coming war with the Swarm.

"In addition the development work on all versions of the TRIGAT will be curtailed as the board can see no market for this system in the coming years," continued Mullwinney into the silence.

The Trigat was the Third Generation Anti-Tank system the company had been developing that was supposed to replace the majority of anti-tank systems used by the infantry currently in service around the world. Things like the rocket propelled grenade and the Milan and Dragon missile systems. It featured a fire and forget missile and control system that was presently only available for vehicle-mounted systems

"It is hoped that we can persuade the powers that be to move development work on Glovepuppet off planet," said the CEO, "If this can be done, it means we will be moving key elements of the company to one of the colonies."

Ben sat there with his mouth hanging open like most of those around him. Glovepuppet was a control system that could be added to almost any weapons mount and allowed the operator to simply point at the target to engage it. It was considered by most of the engineers in the company as the plum project to be working on and had considerable long-term implications for the organisation as a whole.

And the CEO was looking to take it away!

Pandemonium broke out as people shouted questions; several stormed to their feet yelling in frustration and many more were stunned into silence. Ben sat there and after closing his mouth he started thinking how all of this was going to impact on him. All this did in the short term was generate a lot of questions and not much in the way of answers.

Some of the things that stuck out as far as he was concerned was the idea that the company could get the Confederacy to lift out an entire design team regardless of their CAP scores and the question of whether his own project, which hadn't been mentioned was safe?

As the noise continued Ben wondered if he should be supporting this move by the company or looking at it as a potential disaster?

As Mullwinney tried to regain control of the meeting Ben had a sudden, rather nasty thought, was the board just trying to save itself?

Sitting back Ben relaxed, nothing was going to be decided right here and now and until he knew how the Confederacy would react to the company's request there was no point in getting overly excited. If the Confederacy did accept the argument then it would be down to whether the company would try to get the rest of their projects moved.

At the back of his mind there was a small nagging voice that asked if he was prepared to abandon his home planet?

Rather than answer it Ben turned his attention to the people around him and bided his time.

---oOo---

A proper sit down Sunday dinner had become something of a treat for both Helen and Ben. It was an event that they each looked forward to all week.

Ben and the owner had arranged with a local restaurant to deliver a full meal, ready to serve to their home every week. He and Helen had got into the habit of dressing up for the meal as neither of them were required to work too hard to produce it.

The advantages of doing this at home rather than going to the actual restaurant were that it avoided the fuss of getting a taxi there and back and it also sheltered them from the strange looks they'd got the one time they did go out together. People considered them overdressed because they were covered up, something that just didn't seem to happen any more. The constant stares had put a dampner on the occasion and they'd been fortunate that the owner had offered them the alternative of home delivery.

This evening, Ben had decided that a suit was too formal and had picked a fitted short sleeve shirt that showed off his improved physique and a pair of comfortable slacks that, as Helen put it, allowed his buns to speak to her. Helen for her part was in a pale blue halter-neck dress that fell to mid-thigh and she'd matched that with a pair of pale blue pumps with only a moderate heel.

The restaurant had supplied a cream of tomato and basil soup that had been to die for and had set them up nicely for the rack of lamb with Greek style vegetables. Already they'd consumed the best part of a bottle of Ch�teau Neuf-du-Pape and were feeling pretty mellow.

Before collecting the dessert, which was described as sinful amaretto cheesecake, Helen put Ben on his guard, "You know," she said lightly, "this would be even more fun if there was another girl here."

Ben was still staring into the deep red of his wineglass when Helen placed the aromatic dessert in front of him.

"Helen..." began Ben.

"Eat your dessert, sweetness. We don't want to spoil the atmosphere yet," interrupted Helen as she tucked into her cheesecake.

Ben ate his dessert slowly but didn't get to taste it; he was too worried about what Helen had planned for him.

As he dropped his dessert fork onto the empty plate Helen rose and took the plates back to the kitchen. She returned and smiled at Ben as she took her seat. Ben raised his eyebrows in question and Helen sighed.

"Ben, you need to start dating again," she said bluntly.

"Why?" asked Ben.

"Because it's natural," said Helen, "and it would do you good."

"It would?" asked Ben.

"Yes, it would," declared Helen, pausing to take a sip of her wine. "Pam is gone," she continued, "and either she doesn't want to get in touch with you or her sponsor won't allow it and there is nothing you can do about it."

"I..." started Ben.

"No, Ben," interrupted Helen, "I know you've tried and the system has blocked you at every turn." She gave him a gentle smile, "I tried as well but I didn't expect to get anywhere so I wasn't as disappointed as you."

Ben allowed his shoulders to fall, "I can't do it Helen," he declared. "I know Pam's gone and our marriage is over but I still feel married." He looked up and tried to shift the emphasis of the discussion. "Anyway, how can you encourage me to replace your daughter?"

Helen chuckled, "because she's gone and you deserved more than her anyway." Helen held up her hand to stop Ben's reply. "Don't get me wrong, Pam was gorgeous but she didn't have two brain cells to rub together. Sooner or later that was going to start to be a problem between the two of you, just as it was between Bill and I."

Ben frowned, "I never knew you and..." he began.

"We did," responded Helen. "Bill was a big strong man who would do anything for you but he wasn't the brightest spark. He began to resent the lead I was taking in our lives and it led to some terrible arguments. If he hadn't been struck down by cancer, I'm convinced we would have separated."

It was Helen's turn to shrug, "Sooner or later Pam would have felt depressed at how stupid she felt around your friends and colleagues or you'd have given up making allowances for her. Once that started it would have only been a matter of time."

Ben lowered his eyes; deep down he realised the truth of what Helen was saying. If anything that sequence of events had already started as Pam had refused to go to the last two works functions and he'd retaliated by missing her friend's wedding reception. Silly but true.

He raised his eyes and was greeted by Helen's knowing smile.

"What you need now," said Helen, "is to find a friendly woman who will be happy with what she gets."

Ben looked shocked, was Helen suggesting he just picked up any old tramp?

"Don't look at me like that, Ben, the rules have changed," snapped Helen, wiping the look of shock off her son-in-law's face. "Contraception and disease control are almost one hundred percent thanks to the Darjee. Women are having sex in the hope that they can sleep their way onto a volunteers approved list. If the guy they're with isn't a volunteer then they're doing the dirty to improve their own repertoire. They are hoping that when the opportunity presents itself they will be so far ahead of the competition that they are 'saved' from a fate worse than death.

She sipped at her wine before continuing, "You need to get out there and help them achieve their goals."

"What makes you think I'm any good in bed?" asked Ben going for shock tactics of his own.

"Because Pam told me," replied Helen immediately from behind raised eyebrows.

Ben found he was blushing, which only made things worse. Helen laughed at him and then slapped her hand over her own mouth like a naughty schoolgirl.

"Oh, Ben, surely you knew that we talked?" she said.

Ben blinked, "I hadn't, uhmm, realised that you, errrr, went into that much detail," he replied.

He took a deep breath before he continued, "Anyway what has that got to do with it? I'm not ready for another relationship," he declared.

"It doesn't have to be a relationship," said Helen, "If anything it should be a series of casual flings."

Ben realised that his mouth was hanging open again and snapped it shut. "What do you mean?"

"Look Ben, I know you don't want another wife and I can't blame you for that," said Helen, "But it would be good for you to have a woman," she smiled calculatingly, "or two, around to relieve your frustrations."

Ben swallowed, "Are you volunteering?" he asked. Not really sure what he wanted the answer to be.

Helen looked sad, "No, Ben, for the same reason I'm not trying to get extracted and that has nothing to do with you."

The two of them paused for a moment, sipping their wine and going over what had been said. In the end it was Ben who broke the silence.

"So you think I should move a couple of women in here?" he asked.

"The more the merrier," responded Helen to his surprise. "If you find more than a couple we'll sell this house and mine and buy a bigger place."

Ben was stunned; "You want me to set up a harem?"

"That's a pretty good option," said Helen.

"You can't be serious?" responded Ben.

"Very," said Helen. "Look at the way things are going. Men are becoming isolated, most of them are unable to accept that they are stuck here until the swarm arrive and that their women are willing to do just about anything to get off this planet. Most of the women who do admit that are being thrown out on their ear and they aren't used to being single. The whole set-up is making for a lot of depressed men and women, just like you."

Helen took a deep breath and continued, "You could make a few of them happy whilst getting your oats, everyone wins."

"But what if they get picked up?"

"Then they are happy and you can move another woman in to replace the one who left," said Helen.

"Do you think that's ethical?" asked Ben.

"Ethics, morals, baloney," said Helen. "Until things settle down, nobody is going to be able to say what is acceptable. Just look at the way women are walking around these days, topless is commonplace and nude isn't exactly frowned upon. You and I, when we're dressed up, are stared at more than a naked woman is. As long as everyone is in agreement then you can stuff the ethical and moral principles where the sun don't shine."

"What about you, Helen, what do you get out of all this?" asked Ben, perplexed.

"I get to see you happy, which is the most important thing at the moment," said Helen.

Ben noticed a tear start to run down Helen's cheek and without thinking he was out of his chair and had an arm around her.

"Helen," he murmured gently running his hands over the soft, exposed skin of her shoulders.

Helen rested her head against his firm chest and allowed the tears to flow. She knew she loved Ben more than a mother-in-law should but she wasn't prepared to take it any further.

Not yet anyway!

Pushing Ben away gently she rose to her feet and sniffed, "Think about what I said, Ben. You need to find at least one woman to keep you company."

Ben nodded, whether in understanding or agreement he didn't really know.

"I'm going to bed," said Helen, "don't stay up too late."

With that she swept almost majestically from the room.

---oOo---

The Starburst Coffee Bar was Ben's favourite haunt at a lunch time. It was far enough away from work that he very rarely bumped into anyone he knew but was close enough that he could get there and enjoy his break before he headed back to the rat race.

To make things even more enjoyable, Helen had taken to meeting him about once a week for a coffee whilst she was out shopping.

As the two of them sat there having finished their toasted sandwiches, they took pleasure in observing the people around them.

"So what do you think of her?" asked Helen nodding towards the woman who'd just entered the coffee bar.

"She'd kill me," remarked Ben looking at the woman in question, "She's got to be six feet tall and has more muscle than two of me." The fact that she was wearing boots and trousers, in Ben's mind, also declared her affiliations and in that world he wouldn't really be welcome.

The coffee bar, being situated at the end of the Mall that contained the majority of the women's fashion shops was always well frequented by women and that made Helen's job very easy. For Ben to respond was not always easy, especially if he happened to be the only man present. Today he was lucky, there were two other men already there and he pointed at the best looking of the two.

"What about him," he asked; "Would he meet your selection standards?"

Helen blushed as she always did, "Ben, you know I'm not interested."

He raised an eyebrow and Helen's blush deepened, "I'm not," she insisted.

Ben smiled and then took a sip of his Americano; she'd point out another woman now, desperate to change the focus of their discussion away from her.

"That one there may not be perfect," said his mother-in-law, "but she'd be happy if you asked her out."

Ben shook his head at the predictability of their relationship before he looked at the woman Helen had mentioned. She was a skinny bottle blond in a transparent blouse that highlighted her lack of bust and a short skirt. She was wearing the latest fashionable glasses, which made her look like a cross between a librarian and a schoolgirl.

"Helen!" started Ben, "she's probably still at school."

"She's over fourteen," said Helen, "you can see her CAP card in her bag." That last was true, the CAP ID card had become the universal identification document, superseding passports and driver's licences as the standard acceptable declaration of age. That it was fourteen still upset many people whilst others, mainly the young, revelled in their new-found freedom.

"I wouldn't have been chasing fourteen-year-olds when I was twenty, let alone thirty odd," responded Ben.

Helen looked at her son-in-law and smiled sadly, "Ben, as I told you the other day, you've got to get a woman, it's the only sensible thing to do."

"Helen," began Ben crossly...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain seated and we'll get this over with quickly and allow you to get back to your meal."

Ben's head snapped up and sought out the speaker.

It was the big woman who Helen had pointed out as she walked in. Ben glanced towards the door and saw the shimmering grey on an interdiction field. Blinking he turned his attention back to Helen and watched her as she discovered that she was involved in another pickup.

"I'm Lieutenant Patricia Gomez and I'm here to extract four volunteers for the Confederacy armed forces," announced the woman. Her green vest and matching trousers now looked like a uniform rather than a declaration of her sexuality.

Ben tuned out what the woman was saying and looked inside at his own beliefs, did he want to do whatever was necessary go or was he happy to sit back and stay on Earth. He'd always believed he'd stay and now that the time to put his beliefs to the test was upon him he found his resolve was firm. Happy with his decision he returned to the present and spoke to Helen, "You really should try you know."

"No," said Helen shaking her head in denial. "I had my chance and decided it wasn't for me." She looked at Ben, "You?"

"No," he confirmed, "I'm staying here."

Helen reached across the table, "I suppose we'd better get out of the way then."

As they rose Ben could see three men and a woman clustered around Lieutenant Gomez. Already there were half-a-dozen women who were topless and more pressing forward to join them. A couple of young men were making the same journey, pulling off clothes as they moved forward.

As the two of them passed a big woman, Ben heard her male companion hiss, "Ethel, don't do it."

Ben slowed his pace out of curiosity, the couple's intensity dragging him into their world.

"I've got to," hissed back the woman, "don't you see that?"

"No," snapped the man dropping the woman's hand. "But if you even try, you'd better hope that you're picked because you won't be coming back to me."

Helen tugged Ben and he stepped beyond the couple but his initial intention to get as far from the proceedings as possible wavered.

"Hold it here, Helen," he said softly, "I want to watch what's happening."

"Ben!" exclaimed Helen.

"You're the one who wanted me to pick up the pieces," he said by way of explanation. "To do that I need to be near when they start to fall."

"Are you sure you don't just want to see the free show?" asked Helen steering Ben towards a convenient empty table.

Ben blinked a couple of times and then gasped out, "Helen, how could you suggest such a thing?" Then he giggled which sort of gave the game away.

Lieutenant Gomez was an old hand at pickups that became obvious very quickly. She smoothly separated those who were willing to go from those who wanted nothing to do with events. She delivered the speech concerning rights and the effects of being picked without a pause and then let the volunteers get on with the task in hand.

Ben realised that everything Helen had said was true. Only volunteers to be concubines were at the front of the room and there was no coercion being used at all. The sponsor would ask for something and it was up to the volunteer to decide whether to obey or not.

As he watched several of the women refused to do something and were quietly moved to one side. The only time force was used was when a husband took a swing at a sponsor for something he said to his wife. Then the Marine stunned the husband and dragged him to one side, other than that he was ignored.

Ben found his eyes being drawn to Ethel, the woman who'd gone forward despite her husband's protestations. She'd already stripped completely and had given one of the male sponsors a blowjob. Looking at the other women in her group Ben didn't think much of her chances. She was the biggest by far and probably the oldest but she was definitely doing her best.

After the oral phase the sponsor had his four potential concubines bend over and reach back, opening themselves up for his inspection. He said a few words and the youngest woman; a raven-haired beauty stood up and took a swing for him. He ducked back and a Marine stepped between the two of them, gently forcing the woman away from the group.

"What do you think that was all about?" asked Helen.

Ben thought for a moment and then said, "Anal."

"You mean he was going to..." began Helen before she stumbled to a halt.

"That's my guess," said Ben, "He's just told them he's going to stick it up their ass."

He glanced at his mother-in-law and was amused to see just how red she'd gone.

Across the room the remaining women were resting over the back of one of the benches and the man was fiddling around behind them. Ben heard the hiss from the cute redhead as the man's hand went forward and he guessed that the guy had just forced a finger into the girl's tight anal ring.

The man rocked his arm backwards and forwards a couple of times and then he pulled his finger out and held it up like a loaded gun. He tapped the redhead on the shoulder and said something quietly. She stood up and as she turned around he offered up the finger to her lips. Ben wasn't sure if it was the same finger but the woman believed that it was, he could see that by her reaction. As the man moved the finger slowly forward the woman closed her eyes and opened her mouth, clamping her lips down softly on the tainted finger.

Ben shuddered for her.

The man seemed happy enough and moved to the second woman and repeated the procedure. Again the finger was cleaned when it was offered.

Finally the man moved in behind Ethel and slipped a finger into her ass. As he did so there was a yell from the gathered crowd.

"You bitch!" was all that was said but Ben had no doubts that it was from her male companion. The couple ignored the shout, Ben doubted they'd even heard it as they continued with the test. Ben watched as the finger was offered to her lips and Ethel twice tried to take it into her mouth, each time pulling away at the last second.

That was all it took. The sponsor shook his head sadly and then waved at the two who'd done as he'd asked. Ethel was left there naked and shocked as the successful concubines moved towards the transporter terminus.

Ben had a sudden thought something he'd read in reports concerning the aftermath of an extraction. "Helen, was there any trouble at that extraction you were at?" he asked.

Helen snapped her head around at the sound of his voice, "Pardon?"

"The extraction you were at, was there any trouble when it finished?"

Helen became a little unfocused and then replied, "Sort of," she said. "There was a lot of pushing and shoving around the entrances as people tried to get in and out."

"Come on," said Ben taking hold of her arm and moving towards Ethel.

One of the Marines saw his movement and looked a little alarmed but relaxed when Ben pointed at himself, then to Ethel and off to one side away from where everyone was gathering. The Marine nodded in understanding and returned to watching the rest of the crowd.

Without asking Ben took hold of Ethel's upper arm and half-dragged, half-led her in the direction he'd indicated to the Marine. Helen grabbed the skirt and blouse that Ethel had been wearing as she passed them and followed Ben to the booth.

"Sit," Ben ordered Ethel, who did as she was told without comment.

"These are yours, dear," said Helen pushing the lemon coloured skirt and blouse across the table.

"Get up against the wall Helen," said Ben indicating the opposite side of the booth. "I'm hoping there won't be any trouble but it's better to be prepared."

The two women stared across the table at each other and after a couple of glances at Ben began to look worried. As Ben watched the last of the Marines depart through the transporter terminus and the grey interdiction field, that had been holding everyone inside, went with them.

As the field dropped the door crashed open, shattering the glass and a wave of people forced their way into the Coffee Bar. Several fell, landing on the broken glass and suddenly there was fighting as the incoming people ran into those trying to get out.

Ben watched carefully but he and the two women were far enough from the door to avoid the skirmishing. He only had to push away one man who came staggering towards them.

Five minutes after the riot started it was all over.

As the last sign of trouble disappeared Ben sighed, and dropped down onto the bench seat alongside Helen and looked across the table at the still naked Ethel.

Smiling he made the introductions, "Hi, I'm Ben, and this lovely lady is Helen."

---oOo---

Ethel looked from one to the other of the people sat opposite her and tried to say something, her mouth moved but nothing came out. Her body shuddered and tears continued to run down her face as she tried to communicate. Failing miserably she sobbed and Helen pushed Ben out of the way to get to Ethel's side.

On his feet after Helen's passage Ben was at a loose end. He stared around the coffee bar and was surprised at how few people were still here. The staff or the couple that remained were doing their best to clean up the mess the short riot had created and the few customers remaining just sat around staring into space.

Ben shook off his own stupor and headed for the counter, buying a coffee would give him something to do until Helen had the woman settled down.

The young girl there looked up as he approached and tried to smile, it wasn't very successful.

"What can I get you, Sir?" she asked politely.

"Three regular Americano's please," replied Ben, "and three of the blueberry muffins."

The girl stepped away from the counter without saying a word and set about preparing the drinks Ben had ordered. Ben turned and watched the older waitress who was wielding a broom against the glass on the floor. He'd been watching her for nearly a minute before it dawned on him that her top had been ripped open and she'd tied it shut.

She must have felt his eyes upon her because she glanced across at him and blushed, seeing her face Ben remembered that she'd been one of the women who'd gone forward for selection. He smiled back gently and the woman returned to her cleaning.

Unconsciously Ben scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure out how many women had been taken. Four volunteers had been named and one of them was a woman. The guy who'd rejected Ethel had taken two, which was probably the average. If the woman only took one man then worst case there were seven women saved, if any of the volunteers had been high rollers then the number taken would have been higher.

How many women had tried for selection?

There had been at least a dozen out front when he'd headed for the back of the room and more were heading for the front. Where were they now? How did they feel about failing to get selected?

Ben glanced across to the booth he'd taken over. Had he decided to do as Helen wanted? Pick up stray women and keep them for his pleasure. If he hadn't, why had he collected Ethel after she'd been rejected by the sponsor?

"Sir," called the young girl.

"Sorry," muttered Ben as he turned back to the counter. "Got a little distracted there."

The girl nodded in understanding, "It has been a bit extreme today, hasn't it?"

Ben nodded, "Did you try?"

She shook her head, "I'm not ready yet," she said, "maybe next year."

Ben handed over his debit card and, as the transaction was completed he couldn't help wondering if the girl would get another chance. Helen had been at two extractions now but she had to be pushing the curve to have been involved in that many. Most people were lucky to get the one chance, which was why there was so much pressure to succeed when the opportunity arose.

He collected his tray and headed back to the booth and the two women. Approaching the booth he was surprised that Ethel was still naked, he'd have thought she'd have wanted to be dressed as soon as possible. He slid into the seat opposite the two women and placed the tray on the table, knocking Helen's cell-phone to one side.

"Help yourselves," he said gesturing towards the tray.

Neither of the women moved to take a coffee though Helen turned her head towards the naked woman.

"Go on," she prompted.

Ben looked at Helen for a clue but she was concentrating on Ethel.

Ben switched his attention to Ethel who he found was staring at him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Sir," she began and then she looked at Helen, who nodded.

"Sir," she began again and stopped, lowering her eyes to the table.

"Helen," prompted Ben.

"Ethel has a problem," said Helen, "the man she's been living with has thrown her out and she needs a place to stay. I suggested that she asks you."

"Is that right, Ethel?" asked Ben.

Ethel nodded but didn't say anything.

"Look at me," said Ben firmly and when Ethel raised her eyes he continued, "Is that right, your husband has thrown you out?"

"He's not my husband," said Ethel, "but he has thrown me out."

"Why?" asked Ben.

"He didn't want me to try," she waved a hand towards the main part of the coffee bar. "He said if I tried, he was finished with me."

"It was probably just a heat of the moment thing," said Ben. "If you go home he'll be waiting for you with open arms."

Ethel shook her head. "He won't," she said before pointing at Helen's cell-phone, "We tried to call him and he said he never wanted to see me again."

Ben glanced at Helen for confirmation.

"What he actually said," said Helen, "was that he never wanted to see the 'fucking tramp' again," Helen shrugged, "amidst all the other abuse he sprouted he said all her things would be thrown out of the house and if she wanted them she could pick them up there."

Ethel started to sniffle as Helen repeated her former partner's pronouncement.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" asked Ben.

Ethel shot a glance to Helen and then back to Ben, "I hoped you'd let me stay with you for a few days, just till I'm sorted out." She shot another look at Helen and added, "We could, you know, uhmm, sleep together if you like."

It was Ben's turn to shoot Helen a look; he was treated to a knowing smile from his mother-in-law. "We were discussing this only the other day," she added as a pointed reminder.

"We were," admitted Ben, "but does Ethel know the full details of what it was we were discussing?"

"Oh, yes," said Helen. "She knows that you are looking for a bed partner who is free to leave at any time. I've even told her that there may be more women joining her."

Ben looked to the heavens, how had he got himself into this situation?

Re-gathering his thoughts he turned his attention back to Ethel, "And you agreed to this?"

Ethel nodded once and dropped her eyes to the table again.

"Unbelievable," muttered Ben as he reached for a coffee. He tried to relax and think things through, which was hard as his eyes kept getting drawn to Ethel's tits. He came to the conclusion that he had decided to go along with Helen's ideas subconsciously and collecting Ethel had been the first step. The only question now was just how far was he willing to take things?

Ben put his coffee mug down and smiled, "Ethel," he said softly and waited until she raised her eyes. "How far are you prepared to go?"

Ethel glanced towards Helen.

"No," snapped Ben, "Look at me and answer the question. You were prepared to do a lot to get extracted but you had limits. What are your limits for me?"

Ethel looked at Ben and blinked, "I, err, I don't know," she stuttered.

"Let's try a question and answer session then," said Ben. "You offered to sleep with me, does that include having sex?"

"It depends..." began Ethel.

"Just answer yes or no, Ethel. If I want particulars I will ask for them," interrupted Ben.

"Yes," said Ethel.

"So sex is OK, missionary, doggy, cowgirl?" he asked.

Ethel looked confused for a moment as she tried to picture what Ben was asking; she nodded, "Yes."

Ben nodded in turn, "How about anal?"

Ethel blushed all the way down to her tits but nodded affirmatively, "Yes," she said softly.

Ben glanced at Helen and had a wicked thought, "How about threesomes," he asked Ethel and was rewarded when Helen blushed.

Ethel raised a finger. "You have a question?" asked Ben.

"You and another man or..." She glanced at Helen and her own blush deepened.

"Whichever I decide," replied Ben.

Ethel swallowed, "Yes," she said, almost in a whisper.

"What about perversions," said Ben, "I know you give blowjobs but what about something dirtier?"

Ethel went wide-eyed, "Like?"

"Flashing, bondage, water sports," reeled off Ben as he tried to think of all the dirty things he'd ever seen or heard of. He wasn't really sure what sort of response he wanted, or expected. He was just throwing out terms and waiting to see what happened.

Ethel sat there with her mouth hanging open. Slowly she gathered her thoughts and after blinking a couple of times she looked around. Turning back to Ben she frowned and her demeanour changed, gone was the little lost lamb and in is place was a determined mature woman.

"You know, until this morning I'd have described myself as a prim and proper legal secretary." She glanced down at her exposed body, "Now I've seen a side to myself that I didn't know existed." She smiled at Ben, "I just lost one opportunity because I refused to do something that other people were willing to do," her eyes flicked across to Helen and then back to Ben. "I'll do anything you want, no matter what I'd have thought about it yesterday. I may not be very good at it and I may even be sick after the event if it's something like," she waved towards the main part of the room, "he wanted, but I'll make sure to do it first."

She stared Ben right in the eye; "Does that answer your questions?"

It was Ben's turn to be robbed of the power of speech and he simply nodded in understanding and agreement. He looked down at his cold coffee and pushed it away, the other two coffees on the tray had a skin on the top and didn't look appetising, and even the muffins had no particular interest anymore.

It was time to leave.

"Put your skirt on," he ordered Ethel and picked up her discarded blouse. He fingered it for a moment and then passed it to Helen with a grin; "You can carry this for her."

Helen looked shocked for a moment and then launched a verbal prod at her son-in-law. "Don't you want me to take my top off as well?" she asked from behind fluttered eyelashes.

Ben didn't even hesitate, "Yes," he replied and paused momentarily, "But you don't have to, if you don't want too."

Helen blushed as deeply as Ethel had done earlier and looked away. Only Ethel heard her mutter, "One day I will..."

---oOo---

Ben shut the front door firmly after the two women had entered the house. Walking was difficult due to the erection he'd sprouted as soon as the three of them had left the coffee bar. He hadn't imagined just how thrilling it would be to be walking through a shopping mall with a topless woman.

When they'd first left the coffee bar, Ethel had wrapped her arms around her body to cover her exposed tits but he'd told her to walk tall and let the world view her bountiful boobs. She'd given him a strange look and then dropped her arms to her sides, squared her shoulders and walked tall alongside him.

Helen had looked on and slowly her own shoulders had gone back and her spine had straightened. She may have been on the short side physically but she managed to project a wonderful image as she walked beside Ben and Ethel.

The only blot on the landscape had been when Ben got back to his car and looked at the clock. He'd been at lunch for nearly three hours; shaking his head in bemusement he'd phoned work and excused himself, citing the extraction as the cause.

The journey home had been entertaining as Helen and Ethel, sat in the back seat, had spent most of the journey giggling like a couple of schoolgirls. At one intersection a small hatchback had pulled up alongside them and Ethel had pushed her naked tits against the side window. He'd heard Helen screaming encouragement and had glanced across at the car and seen the woman passenger lampooning the driver for looking.

When he'd tried to calm things down, Helen had told him to concentrate on his driving. Shaking his head he'd done as he was told.

But that was then. Now they were back in his house and it was time to take charge again, at least in Ethel's case. He dropped his car keys on the mahogany occasional table and remembered that he'd left his briefcase at work.

"Helen," he called down the hall, "why don't you go and put the kettle on. I'll take Ethel and show her around."

"OK," replied Helen, "I'll see you in a minute."

Ben waited until Helen turned into the kitchen and smiled at Ethel and beckoned her closer to him. He looked her up and down, which started her blush going again and then wrapped his arms around her.

"We'll begin as I mean to go on," he said into her ear and dropped his hands to the waistband of her skirt. It was a bit of a fiddle but he managed to unfasten the top button and slide the zip downwards. He bent his knees and pushed her skirt downwards getting a close up look at the dark hair that covered her pussy. He also got a strong whiff of aroused woman and that did nothing for the state of his prick.

Letting the skirt pool around her ankles he rose and stepped back and took a long lingering look at the woman.

She was shorter than his five feet eleven but taller than Helen was, her dark hair had been pulled back in a plait before the extraction started but now it was somewhat bedraggled. She was plump without being excessively fat, her breasts were probably a C cup but they flopped a little because of their weight and her age. Talking of age, the wrinkles around her hazel eyes indicated that she was older than he was, but again probably younger than Helen's forty-eight.

His scan didn't take long and Ethel spent most of it with her eyes lowered. He held out his hand, "Come on," he said, "I said I'd show you around."

He started with the upstairs and enjoyed following Ethel up the stairs. Even more entertaining was the look Ethel had thrown him when he showed her the large bed in his bedroom.

"You'll enjoy that," said Ben waving his hand towards the super-king sized bed, "It's a fun place to be."

Ethel was crimson down to her stiff nipples and when he smacked her plump posterior to get her moving again she let out a little squeal.

"Keep moving," prompted Ben, "Helen is waiting for us downstairs." After he'd taken a couple of steps he added, "and I want to put on a bit of a show for her."

Ethel stopped dead in her tracks and Ben, half expecting her reaction, swung his hand firmly against her ass, leaving a nice red handprint.

Helen had taken a tray containing the tea things through into the living room and was sitting waiting for Ben to finish showing Ethel around. She had been surprised at Ben's mixed reactions to Ethel since he'd picked her up; one minute he was treating her like a slave; the next he was ignoring her.

His reactions were very confusing, probably even more so to Ethel.

Helen closed her eyes in contemplation as she heard the two of them descending the staircase. She'd surprised herself with her reaction to Ben's suggestion that she should remove her top for the journey home. Having seen the fun that Ethel had in the car she now wished she'd had the nerve to do it. Deep down she realised that she was treading very dangerous ground with this sort of thinking for two reasons.

Would Ben now want her to leave so that he could be alone with Ethel and, if he did, would she go quietly?

And even more troubling was the thought that she might succumb and join Ethel with her son-in-law.

She gave herself a shake as the living room door was pushed open and a naked woman with downcast eyes led the man she was thinking about into the room. She rose to her feet and crossed over to the table where she'd placed the tray; she was serving her son-in-law without consciously thinking about her actions.

Ben smiled as Helen rose and gently steered Ethel towards his favourite chair. Without saying anything he positioned her in front of the chair, facing into the room and then sat down behind her. As quietly as possible he unfastened his trousers and extracted his erection from its confinement.

"Do you want milk and sugar, Ethel?" asked Helen.

"Just milk, please," replied Ethel without looking up.

Ben watched as Helen finished pouring the tea into the teacups and before she could pick them up he said, "Leave them there Helen, Ethel can collect them after they've cooled a little."

Helen nodded and returned to her chair with her own cup and Ben reached forward and took a gentle hold of Ethel's hips and pulled her towards him. She shuffled backwards until her legs touched the front of the chair and stopped.

Ben reached up slightly with his right hand and took Ethel's wrist in his grasp and manoeuvred her hand until it touched his exposed prick. Her gasp let him know that she knew what she was touching.

Smiling to himself he said quietly but firmly, "Sit on my lap, Ethel."

He was still smiling when Ethel glanced behind her and opened her eyes wide; he just nodded in reply.

Ethel looked back into the centre of the room and shuffled her legs open and then slowly lowered her body towards Ben's lap. She grasped his prick when he released her wrist and positioned it at the entrance to her moist pussy. Still slowly she lowered herself the rest of the way into his lap.

Ben wasn't huge by any stretch of the imagination but he wasn't small either and Ethel sighed as he filled her nicely. She rotated her hips a couple of times to get things settled and looked up, straight into the eyes of Helen who was watching proceedings open mouthed.

Ethel lowered her eyes and her upper body flushed crimson. Behind her Ben noted her reaction and grinned in delight, he leant to the side and looked across the room at his mother-in-law and couldn't help but laugh at her expression.

"This is what you wanted me to do, isn't it?" he called to her. In his lap Ethel twitched at his words, which had a very nice effect on his embedded manhood.

Helen tore her eyes from the juncture between Ben and Ethel's bodies and stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a beached fish. She finally clamped her mouth shut and nodded, "I didn't expect to be a ringside spectator though," she said when she regained control of her vocal apparatus.

"I didn't want you to think I was misleading you," said Ben, "or bragging," he added as he gently undulated under Ethel.

"How often will I have to watch this sort of thing?" asked Helen, her eyes still riveted to the action in front of her.

"You don't have to watch," said Ben stating the obvious. "But if you do want to, I don't mind in the slightest."

"But you're going to carry on doing it whether I'm there or not, aren't you?" asked Helen.

"Oh, yes," replied Ben as he began fondling Ethel's tits.

Across the room Helen clamped her knees together. "What does Ethel think of this?"

Ignoring the fact that the woman in question was sat in his lap Ben said, "Ethel said she'd do anything I wanted and at the moment, this is what I want so she'd do it." He pinched Ethel's nipples and was rewarded with a murmur of pleasure.

"Isn't that right?" he asked.

Ethel had started to bounce in excitement, she'd had a strange sort of day and it had left her aroused and frustrated. Ben telling her that he was going to do something like this before he'd even touched her had been like lighting the blue touch paper. As soon as his prick had entered her she'd been on a very short road to an orgasm and having to listen to him and Helen talking about her had pushed her to the very brink.

She raised her head and gasped, "Yes," in answer to the question. That was enough, she dropped down hard onto Ben's lap and gasped, "yes... yes... yessssssss." Her eyes shut and she fell back against him and he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight.

Across the room Helen looked away and let out a soft moan of her own.

No one spoke for several minutes as Ethel recovered with Ben still inside her. Finally she sat upright and looked back over her shoulder. "Again?" she asked quietly.

Ben grinned, "In a minute," he said. "Why don't you go and collect our teas and bring them over here."

Her eyes opened wide at his comment and Ben was sure that if she hadn't been so flushed from her recent orgasm she'd have looked like a beetroot but she didn't say anything to him. She placed her hands on the arms of the chair and gently rose to her feet. Ben's erection waved as it popped out of her pussy, when he looked down he saw it glistening with her juices.

Cautiously, Ethel walked across the room, not quite trusting her legs to walk where she wanted to go. From under hooded eyes Ben watched Helen's reaction to his exposure. He was pleased to see her stare and then flush before looking away.

That was enough for one day he decided. As soon as he and Ethel had finished their drinks he took her to his bedroom and set about taking his pleasure from the willing woman.

Ever practical Helen called after them as they were leaving, "Don't forget, we've got to go and collect Ethel's things before they're stolen or get damaged."

"We won't," responded Ben and promptly forgot about the matter. If Ethel needed new clothes he knew just where to buy them from.

---oOo---

"Ben, can I see you for a minute?" called Don Maguire.

Ben looked up and nodded, "Sure, Don," he replied.

Don Maguire was the senior project engineer in Ben's department and his own team leader. As Ben entered his office Don waved towards the coffee pot, "Shut the door and pour yourself a mug," he said.

Ben had known Don ever since he'd joined the company and had always found the older man helpful, in fact he actually looked up to him. He poured his coffee and then took the seat in front of Don's desk.

Don got straight to the point, "We're starting to get answers from the Confederacy concerning Mullwinney's proposal to move us all to the colonies."

"And?" prompted Ben. It had been six months since the original announcement by Mike Mullwinney and as far as he knew there had been no feedback.

"Good news, bad news," replied Don rocking his hand for emphasis.

"What's the bad news?" asked Ben.

"They've agreed that it would be a good idea, in principle, but they're not going to take everyone," said Don.

Ben frowned, "So who decides who gets left behind?"

"They do," said Don waving his arm towards the ceiling. "So far the conditions they've proposed apply to engineers."

"Conditions?"

"Yeah," said Don, "Whoever we propose has to have a CAP score of five point five or better." He started counting points off on his fingers, "For that they get to work here for six months, then they are extracted and can take two concubines with them. They all go to one of the colonies and the guy gets to work there for another six months. After that God only knows what happens."

"That's supposed to be a good deal?" asked Ben.

"Look at it this way, it beats staying here," said Don, "and you don't have to work for Mullwinney and his crew, they're not on the list." finished Don leaning back in his chair.

"I take it from that that I'm on the list?" asked Ben.

"You're there," said Don as he picked up a sheet of paper. "Benjamin Brittain, thirty-four years old with a CAP score of five point nine," he read. He dropped the paper back onto his desk, "Any idea who you're going to take with you?"

"Take with me?" said Ben a little puzzled. "I'm not even sure I'm going."

Don rocked forward in his seat, his hands thumping onto his desk. "Don't be stupid, Ben, you've got to go," he declared.

"Why?" snapped Ben his temper rising, "Just because the Confederacy says so. I don't think so?" He pushed his coffee cup onto Don's desk and stood up. "All the Confederacy has done for me is taken my wife to be a slave and announced that I'm not up to their standards. Now all of a sudden they have a need for my skills and they condescend to accept me, provided I'm willing to work for them for a year."

He stared across the desk at Don and carried on, "And then, as you put it, God only knows. I could be dumped, shot or turned into cannon fodder and have no say in the matter." Ben dropped back down into his chair, "I don't think so Don, I really don't."

Don sat there in a state of shock, he'd assumed that anyone offered the opportunity to get away would take it and Ben's response had stunned him.

"Isn't there anyone you'd want to save?" he asked softly.

Ben shrugged, "My kids were taken when they took Pam," he said. "Of the other people I care about, one of them has already refused to go." He looked at Don, "I've thought about it a lot, Don, and I really don't want to go."

Don was shaking his head, "You know, I never took you as one of the Earth First types."

"I'm not," replied Ben. "If people want to go, I'm all in favour of them going. I wouldn't do anything to stop that happening. I just don't want to go myself."

Don muttered, "Fuck." Then he took a deep breath, "That's going to present problems, Ben," he said. "I'll pass your decision upwards but I don't think the powers that be are going to like it."

Ben shrugged, "That's their problem."

"It could be yours," warned Don, "They could terminate your contract."

It was Ben's turn to be shocked, "On what grounds?"

"I don't know," admitted Don, "that'll be up to the lawyers but I'm willing to bet it would be something to do with the relocation clause in your contract."

"That covers a move within a reasonable distance and includes compensation," said Ben.

"They'll say that this is reasonable given the circumstances and I'll bet the bastards even claim that your life is compensation enough," said Don.

"Let them try," said Ben, "I've had enough of being pushed around."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," replied Don as he waved Ben towards the door.

---oOo---

Ben slammed the door behind him and called out, "Helen!"

Ethel stuck her head out of the kitchen; "We're in here."

Ben dropped his briefcase beside the mahogany occasional table and tossed his car keys on top.

He ambled into the kitchen and announced, "Well, it's finally happened," he said, "I'm officially unemployed."

"Oh, Ben," groaned Helen.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said. "The Company rolled over after all the legal precedents you two dug up for me and I've a lump sum separation payment and full pension contributions to go with it. We've got enough to live on for at least a year."

Ethel forced a smile, "And that's without my wages," she said.

"Or my savings," added Helen.

"You know," said Ben, "I could enjoy being a kept man."

"Don't even think about it buster," bristled Helen. "You're out there first thing in the morning looking for another job."

Ben shook his head, "Not tomorrow," he said, "It's the weekend and I'm going to have a couple of weeks off after that before I start looking for a job."

Helen frowned at him.

"No, Helen, I'm due a holiday and I'm going to take it," he smiled and slipped his arm around Ethel's ample waist, "and I need to have a little fun." Ethel blushed when Ben wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Helen laughed at Ben's antics, "OK," she said, "but you will let me know if we start to run out of money?"

Ben smiled, "It's not going to happen," he said confidently.

"Well, before you get carried away," said Helen; "I need to tell you something."

Ben felt Ethel tense against his arm and frowned.

"We were in Starburst's this afternoon and had an interesting conversation," began Helen.

"Do I need to sit down for this?" asked Ben.

"Probably," admitted Helen and Ethel nodded in agreement.

Taking Ethel with him Ben sat at the kitchen table and plonked Ethel down on his knee.

Helen thought back to how Ben had been when she'd forced her way into his house after her daughter had been extracted and smiled. He'd come a long way and now it was time to take it a stage further.

"You remember the waitress who works in Starburst's, the older one who tried to snag a sponsor at the same time as Eth?" asked Helen.

"Yes." replied Ben remembering the woman with her blouse tied together sweeping up the glass.

"Well we got to chatting," said Helen, "and a couple of things came up."

"Oh, yes?" said Ben and Ethel chuckled and squirmed a little on his lap.

"Yes," said Helen. "It seems she'd been having a hard time at home. Just because she tried to get picked up when the chance was there."

Ethel nodded at Helen's words and Ben felt a frown appear on his face, this was beginning to sound familiar.

"Her husband?" he asked knowing he was opening a can of worms.

"No, her kids," replied Helen. "She's a widow and lives in a granny flat with her eldest son."

"And?" said Ben.

"Well it seems that her son thinks that everyone should go, or no one," said Helen. "He's really dumping on Dawn because she even tried to escape and Dawn is stuck there because she's got no savings and nowhere else to go."

"What prompted this conversation?" asked Ben suspiciously.

"She remembered Ethel from the extraction and came over to ask how she was doing," replied Helen.

"And you told her about us?" said Ben a little loudly.

"Yes," said Helen, "and she didn't believe me until Ethel confirmed what I'd said," explained Helen.

"And?" said Ben again.

"Well, I've invited Dawn around for dinner on Sunday," finished Helen softly.

The Sunday dinner tradition had continued after Ethel had joined the two of them but it had become a little more titillating. Both Ethel and Helen had taken to teasing Ben every chance they got. Dress for the meal often ended up being a shimmering piece of silk or translucent gauze that barely covered the sort of underwear that featured in a Victoria's Secret's catalogue.

Ben loved it and usually ended up taking out his frustrations on Ethel's more than willing body.

"I see," said Ben. He thought for a moment and then grinned, "Does she know she's got to dress up."

Both women nodded in response.

"Then let's make things a little more interesting, shall we," he said and Helen frowned.

"You can all wear net tops and no bras," he said and smiled wickedly at his mother-in-law. "Especially you," he added as Helen blushed.

"That won't be a problem will it?" he asked.

Ethel kissed Ben on the cheek, "Not for me," she said and then turned to look at Helen.

"Helen?" prompted Ben.

"I'll let her know," prevaricated Helen but Ben wasn't accepting that as an answer.

"Will you have a problem with dressing in that manner?" he pushed.

Helen swallowed and slowly nodded in agreement.

Ben hugged Ethel and smiled, "What do you want to happen, Helen, do you want her to move in here or just visit occasionally?"

Helen shook her head.

"Helen," said Ben firmly, "I know that you've got something planned, so why don't you let us all in on the plan and we can help you achieve your ends."

"I haven't got a plan," said Helen, "It's more an idea than a plan." She shrugged and glanced at Ethel, "You two are enjoying yourselves so much I just thought it would be a good idea to introduce someone else."

"Why?" asked Ethel.

"Just in case either of you... oh, I don't know," she said, "Gets killed or leaves or something. If there was another person involved it wouldn't hurt as much."

Helen looked at Ben and her eyes filled with tears, "I don't want you to suffer again," she sobbed.

Ben looked at Ethel, who returned his shocked look.

He urged Ethel to stand and then crossed the room to Helen and drew her into his arms. Helen, love," he said softly. "I have you."

He reached out a hand and clasped Ethel's before pulling her into the hug. "We have you," he said firmly.

Helen lifted her tear filled eyes to his face, "You do?" she asked.

"We do," he confirmed, "Even if you bring in someone else we will always be together."

He glanced to Ethel and saw that she too was crying.

"I love you both," he said softly and pulled them both into his arms, "I love you both..."

---oOo---

Ben was sat in the front room idly watching television when there was a knock at the front door. Before he could get out of his seat Helen called out, "I'll get it."

He'd had his holiday from work and was planning to start looking for a job after the weekend. The Sunday dinner with Dawn had been very exciting and she'd been keen to take it further. He wasn't so sure himself, especially as he didn't have a job.

A couple of minutes passed before Helen held the door to living room open and ushered in a distinguished looking gentleman in a smart suit. Ben looked at Helen in surprise, had she been expecting someone?

"Benjamin," said Helen softly, "This is Colonel Roberts and he's here to see you."

Before Ben could respond Helen had pulled the door shut leaving the two of them alone. There was a short silence as the two of them listened to Helen retire to the kitchen to join Ethel, almost guaranteeing them their privacy.

Ben looked the Colonel up and down before he stood up, "What can I do for you, Colonel?" he asked offering his hand.

The Colonel shook it firmly before he began speaking.

"It's simple, Mr. Brittain, you're an expert in the sort of military hardware I, and many others believe we will need when the Sa'arm finally arrive on this planet. What we are offering is a chance for you to put that expertise to use in a way that will be beneficial to all of us," said the Colonel.

"Unfortunately, I was laid off a fortnight ago Colonel. I'm no longer employed in the defence industry," said Ben. "Shouldn't you be talking to the company rather than to individuals like me?" he asked.

"We're aware of your status, sir, which is why we are speaking to you rather than your old company," said the Colonel. "What we are proposing is that you join our own experts in weapons development and see how your ideas can be married to theirs."

"Join the Army?" asked Ben in surprise.

"Not the Army as such," said the Colonel, "although there is likely to be a general call up when the Sa'arm arrive. What we are doing at this time is forming a Militia to prepare the way for when the Sa'arm actually arrive. The team we would like you to join is part of that Militia and is responsible for coming up with weapons that can be used effectively against the invaders."

"A Militia," responded Ben, his tone informing the Colonel clearly that he didn't think much of his suggestion.

"This is a national Militia," replied the Colonel calmly. "It has full governmental approval and backing. In the ideal world it would be a fully fledged part of the armed forces but because of constraints put on local forces by the Confederacy it can't be, so we are having to improvise to get what we want."

"What will this Militia be doing then?" asked Ben, his interest in the idea rising as its importance became apparent.

"At the moment it is going to comprise three components, a training team, a defence force and a research team," explained the Colonel. "The training team will be used to ensure that all of the militias that are springing up will receive uniform training, equipment and command structures. Their key role is to ensure that everyone bearing arms can work together. The defence team is to protect our own bases from terrorists and opportunists who try to take advantage of the current situation."

The Colonel smiled at Ben, "The research team will consist of people like yourself and will be working on ways to inflict the maximum harm on the Sa'arm with the minimum of human casualties. At the moment our key objectives are weapons, armour and a way of fighting underground that doesn't end up getting us killed."

That was Ben's area of expertise and he was becoming more interested by the second, "Where does the Confederacy fit in all this?"

"Mr. Brittain they don't," said the Colonel. "No doubt they will be happy if we are successful but the only help we are getting from them is thriugh the things we've stolen. Various technologies have been made available and we are looking at them for their military value; we have also acquired as many of their replicators as we can and will be using these to manufacture anything that can be used against the Sa'arm."

"I take it then that you don't believe that the Confederacy will be fighting for the planet, then?" asked Ben.

"All of the plans we've been made privy to state that the Confederacy Navy will fight the Sa'arm in the solar system as long as the Earth is fighting," said the Colonel. "There is a possibility that we will be supplied with arms, ammunition and intelligence data but there are no plans to land a fighting force on the surface to support us."

Ben was nodding as the Colonel confirmed what he'd believed, "What are the chances of us being extracted before that happens?"

"Practically nil," said the Colonel, "People with CAP scores below six point five will only go if they get picked by a volunteer and all of the people involved in this project with high enough CAP scores have already sworn that they are staying here."

"All for one and one for all," muttered Ben.

"Something like that," grinned the Colonel.

"What's your score, Colonel?" asked Ben.

"Seven point three," said the man calmly.

"And you're staying here?"

"Oh, yes," said the Colonel, "this is my planet and no three legged dickhead is taking it away from me."

"Amen," said Ben as he held out hand to the Colonel. "You can count me in."

---oOo---

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