Swarm - Sunday Stroll

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 read.

Don't break the laws, change them!

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

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Sunday Stroll

A Story in The Swarm Cycle Universe

by Duke of Ramus

A Piece of my Imagination

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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

� 2007 Duke of Ramus.

All rights reserved.

---oOo---

Credits

Editor

I'd like to thank Mulligan for his assistance in turning this into a better story than my initial effort, any errors remaining are of course mine.

---oOo---

David James moved up behind the skimpily clad, statuesque brunette and slid his arm around her waist. The girl, Emma Harris, flinched slightly and then appeared to relax as David whispered in her ear, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

David allowed his hand to drift upwards towards the girl's naked breast. In his opinion one of the few good things about the approaching Sa'arm invasion had been the sudden appearance of flesh amongst the female population. A fashion change that he'd gone out of his way to take advantage of.

Emma grabbed the wandering hand and hung on to it whilst twisting away, "Listen buster," she announced fiercely, "that's mine and I don't care how high your CAP score is, it's staying mine." She then giggled, destroying any pretence at anger. The two of them had been seeing each other for a year now and as both had the requisite CAP scores they hoped to be extracted together.

"Yea," drawled David, "but you know you like looking at mine."

"Looking, touching, feeling and a whole host of other things," Emma agreed, "but not here and not now, OK?"

"Sure," agreed David reluctantly. Schools may have increased their tolerance towards public displays of affection but not that much. Changing the subject he asked, "What are you doing Sunday?"

"Nothing much," she answered, "What do you have in mind?"

"Fancy going to the mall?" he asked, "We could do a little shopping, grab something to eat and then watch a movie."

She looked at him questioningly, "No church?"

"No, Mom and Dad have given up on the place," he said. "They didn't mind so much when the sermons just went on about the Sa'arm being an abomination but now that they've started out against CAP testing and people leaving Earth it got too much. I think my CAP score's what tipped the balance, they just couldn't reconcile keeping me here to be eaten when I had a chance to get away." David shrugged, "I just try to keep out of it."

Emma hugged her boyfriend closer, "I guess I'm lucky," she said, "my parents never got sucked in by all that religious crap and when Mom died Dad practically told the preacher to go take a running jump."

David squeezed the luscious body against him, " Yes, well, enough of this doom and gloom. What d'you say about Sunday, fancy seeing a movie?"

"Oh yes," said Emma. "Do you want to invite the rest of the gang?"

"Not this time," said David. "I'm sure they want some time alone," he concluded raising an eyebrow.

The gang in question consisted of Navtej Singh -- who was known as Nuvi -- and his girlfriend Jessica Fling along with Adam Simpson and his girlfriend Kim Sui. These four made up the pre-pak family that Emma and David hoped to take with them if they were extracted.

Emma smiled, "I take it Nuvi and Jessie are finally getting somewhere?"

"I think she's finally beaten down his resistance." A grinning David agreed.

"Good," said Emma, "It's about time he stopped acting all prim and proper and got with the program."

"Amen," said David.

---oOo---

"And God is the sole arbiter of life and death not some 'alien' monstrosity who's very being is an abomination against his word!"

"AMEN!"

The dark suited man at the lectern absorbed the yell and rose higher; he was nearly frothing at the mouth he was that worked up.

"HE protected the faithful from the plagues of ancient Egypt, HE protected the faithful from the famines that followed and through time HE has protected us all from the works of the Devil!" Trevor Rawlinson screamed out, his arms spread wide to embrace the congregation.

Spittle flew from his mouth as the impassioned pastor stormed, "HE WILL protect us against the works of this 'alien' creature!"

"AMEN!" the gathered masses responded in unison, breathing in the hatred and vitriol pouring from the pulpit. Teddy Bainbridge, who at nineteen, wouldn't normally have been expected to be in church was drinking in the sermon as though it was the very waters of life. That he'd been CAP tested was one of the most carefully guarded secrets he had and that his score had been a mere four point seven was another.

The preacher lowered his voice, "But brethren, should we not feel forgiveness, as the good Book tells us right, for those who have been taken in by this foul abomination from space?"

"NO, I say, thrice NO!" The preacher paused, his eyes cast to the heavens. "No, they have been led from the light by their own greed and the love of this Devil's toys!"

'Yes,' thought Teddy his mind skipping over the conflict between his own thoughts and the sermon, 'we should be the ones who are going not those geeks.'

Trevor cast his arms forward, "And YOU, yes you! The faithful have shown them the way, denying the 'alien' his prey. You the faithful will stand against this 'alien' monstrosity and show it the error of its ways." His voice dropped an octave, "and You the faithful will render the faithless bereft of life for their errors."

Teddy Bainbridge smiled viciously as he joined in the final "AMEN."

Outside the pristine white church that yell had sounded like the call of a wounded animal seeking revenge for its injuries and pain. Thomas Jefferson Shanklin shook his head in disbelief at what was emanating from his speakers as he sat in his vehicle. The investigative reporter had been watching this church for the last three months and the message had been becoming more and more belligerent each week. When he'd approached his editor about running an article he'd been shocked to find that their small church was a mere cog in a much bigger, as in national at least, machine that had the backing of several of the leading media tycoons, including his own paper's owner.

His editor had told him, in very direct terms, that if he wished to continue working for the paper he'd button his lip and go look for something that they could report on. So the story had remained untold but Tom had been unable to leave the problem alone, which is why, once again, he was outside the church with a directional mike peeping through the window.

Tom eyed his mobile phone, wondering for the umpteenth time about reporting what he knew to the local police department and, once again, deciding that nothing had actually happened yet and there was nothing the police could do.

---oOo---

David sat alongside Emma on the balcony of the food plaza slowly consuming a baguette and cola while indulging in one of his favourite pass-times, people watching. The change in dress code over the last couple of years had been nothing short of fantastic, as far as any normal hormone driven teenage boy was concerned. That it caused his own mother to wear next to nothing was a minor, though embarrassing, consequence which, when weighed against the visible benefits he found he could live with.

Beside him Emma was likewise looking at the crowds of nearly naked women and comparing them with what she saw in the mirror every morning. Whilst she was still self-conscious at appearing in public wearing so little -- which was a feeling familiar to a lot of small town girls -- she knew that to appear in anything less brief was to call attention to herself. An action that could have devastating consequences according to the latest rumours doing the rounds. That her figure and posture compared well with the majority of the competition made things easier for her to bear though she was shy enough to be worried that David was just being kind.

David nudged Emma with his elbow, being careful to avoid the naked breast, and indicated a middle-aged woman crossing the plaza beneath them, "Isn't that Fr�u Humboldt?" he asked.

Emma followed his directions and giggled despite her own misgivings, "It looks like her," she gasped identifying the head of the languages department for their school.

Thirty feet below them a large, well-padded woman with long dark hair was crossing the floor wearing a grey wrap that was totally transparent making her lack of underwear extremely clear. It never occurred to the two teenagers that for a German, used to frequenting the nudist beaches of Europe, simply walking through a mall in such a wrap was a normal, everyday occurrence. That it put some of the younger girls, who thought being topless was brave, in the shade clearly increased the chances of the older woman being selected should an extraction happen.

Fr�u Humboldt sat at a bench with another woman who, following a careful appraisal by David, appeared to be a younger version of the languages teacher. "Who do you think that is with her?" he asked.

"I don't know," muttered Emma.

"They look similar, do you think it's her daughter?" David asked.

"I didn't even know she had a daughter," said Emma, "I mean she's not part of the school crowd is she?"

"True," responded David quietly, "Maybe she's just visiting," he glanced at his girlfriend. "You know, over from Europe to take in the culture."

Emma giggled, the one thing her town didn't have was any sort of historical significance, "Yes, that'll be it. She's here to view our wonderful town."

David sat back and drained the last of his cola. Looking at the table he figured that they'd nearly finished, he glanced at his watch and did a quick calculation. "Fancy doing anything before the film, we've got about twenty minutes before we have to go upstairs?"

Emma pondered a moment, "Let's have another drink, it's cheaper than up there and then we can go straight in," she glanced over the balcony, "besides, I'm enjoying watching people."

"OK," replied David with a grin getting to his feet, "Do you want the same again?"

"Yes, please."

---oOo---

Four hundred yards from the happy couple Teddy Bainbridge and a group of about a dozen young men had left the church and decided to grab something to eat at the mall. Their passions, already inflamed by the rhetoric sprouted by Trevor Rawlinson from the pulpit, had not subsided in the short time since. The group had already hurled abuse and scorn at various people going about their normal Sunday business, including one young woman who'd been, in their opinion, too scantily clad. Their abuse had led to the fourteen-year-old rushing away in tears.

The mob, because that was what it was turning into, continued wandering in the general direction of the shopping mall, now actively looking for victims on which to heap their ire. Ahead of them a lone police cruiser was parked alongside the main food plaza entrance. It's occupant, Sergeant Paul Burell, was watching the groups approach with a mixture of trepidation and disgust. Sighing, he picked up his radio mike, "Central, this is Mobile Two One," he called.

"Go ahead Two One," came the tinny answer.

Paul glanced out of his cruiser's windows again, "I'm parked up at the Mall and it looks like we may have a situation developing down here."

"What's the problem Two One?"

"Looks like Rawlinson has got his crowd all fired up and they're heading here," Paul said continuing to watch the young men as they milled about.

"Roger Two One, we'll despatch a couple of units to back you up, just in case. Keep us informed, Central out."

Paul shook his head, it was going to take a while to find a couple of units, manning was always low early on a Sunday. He clipped the radio mike back on it's dashboard mount and stepped out of the vehicle, checking his sidearm as he did so. Ahead of him the group, seeming oblivious to his presence continued forward, their angry exchanges preceding them through the calm morning air.

Behind the mob Tom Shanklin was watching with growing concern. When the congregation had dispersed from the church he'd watched as a sizeable group had stayed together, their behaviour a little different from the previous weeks he'd observed them. Following along he'd watched in alarm as they'd changed from a noisy crowd into a baying mob.

Tom had taken several shots with his camera including a few video clips, his journalistic nose smelling a breaking story that could go national. Glancing ahead of the mob he saw the police cruiser and the lone figure standing beside it.

Tom felt his brows wrinkling, 'surely he's not going to try stopping them on his own', he thought and then watched on in disbelief as that is exactly what happened. The young men making up the mob hesitated for a moment and then swept over the officer. From his position Tom watched the occasional arm rise and fall as the gang swirled around the officer and his vehicle before heading off towards the mall. Tom found his phone in his hand the number for emergency services already keyed in.

When it was answered he just said, "You've got an Officer down at the mall," he licked his suddenly dry lips, "You'd better send help," and then added in a much quieter voice, "a lot of help."

---oOo---

The mob's arrival in the food plaza was not something that could be ignored. The doors slammed open and the group came in shoulder to shoulder, pushing some unfortunate patrons to one side as they did so. The noise they created drowned out the normal clattering that accompanied the consumption of burgers and chicken wings.

A member of the mall's security staff stepped forward and before he could do or say anything more he was pushed to the floor and three or four of the thugs set about kicking him as he lay there. That attack started the screaming as women and children reacted to the unexpected violence being meted out.

On the balcony Emma dropped her drink, barely noticing as its contents splashed over her feet, "Oh God," she moaned softly, beside her David looked shocked

"What's going on?" he gasped, his brain having difficulty translating what his eyes where seeing.

What his eyes where trying to pass to his brain was a display of raw panic. As the crowd reacted and tried to get away from the mob who'd taken them by surprise. Fathers grabbed young children and rushed towards the main mall, dragging wives and older children in their wake. The inevitable happened as someone tripped and went down in the crowd near to the exits and a pile up ensued.

The couple on the balcony began to decipher some of the yells and found themselves beginning to worry about themselves.

"Fear God, You alien's whore!"

"Kill the unbelievers!"

"Harlots!"

David found his eyes tracking his languages teacher and her daughter as around the fleeing pair scantily clad women had their clothing stripped from their bodies, leaving them naked. The sound of flesh on flesh resounded from below as naked women found themselves being slapped around by the frenzied mob.

David hardly felt Emma grip on his arm he was that focused on what was happening below. Fr�u Humboldt came to a sudden halt and then grabbed her daughter's arm and pointed to one side. To David it was clear that she was telling the girl to go that way and the younger woman was objecting. He gasped as the teacher slapped her daughter across the face and then amidst the chaos held her head between her hands before kissing her gently on the forehead and pushing her in the direction she'd indicated.

The teacher then turned to face the mob and, unwrapping the flimsy gauze, stepped towards them. Emma sobbed and David, a huge lump in his throat stood. "Come on, lets go find the girl. She's gonna need some help."

Emma looked at David in disbelief, "Shouldn't we get out of here?" she asked.

David blinked and, for the first time actually thought about what he was planning to do. "You're right," he said, "there's no way I should take you down there." Glancing at the bedlam going on below he found his mind accelerating, creating and discarding options at a frightening rate. He blinked and then spoke quickly, "Emms, you know that little alcove we use at the back of the cinema?"

The little alcove in question was one of those wasted spaces that occur in any large building, a little corner that is too small to be useful and to out of the way to try to do anything constructive with. The couple had found it by chance when they'd been to engrossed in each other's company to pay any attention to the direction their feet took them. Since then they'd been back several times when they wanted a little peace and quiet.

"Yes," Emma said.

"Go there, now and hide." David glanced around, "I'll get the girl and join you as quickly as I can."

"David..." she moaned.

"Now Emma, before things get any worse."

David mimicked Fr�u Humboldt without even thinking about it, kissing Emma on the forehead and then giving her a gentle push in the direction of the exit. People clustered around the edge of the balcony watching what was going on below, like the citizens at the Coliseum. David almost growled at the image of all those people giving the thumbs down to the women below.

He moved off, looking for the most convenient way down.

---oOo---

Far above the AI responsible for monitoring all electronic communications on the planet's surface noticed a transmission between a mall security office and the local police force. Several keywords triggered a planned response and a copy of the traffic was flagged as urgent and directed to the G2 duty officer's desk in Task Force Earth Headquarters.

Major William Hebden was the duty G2 officer and was surfing the news channels trying to find something interesting to pass the time, the normal action of the weekend duty staff on the command ship for Task Force Earth. The arrival of the flagged message was actually a welcome break from the boredom that had already set in over the first six hours of his twenty-four-hour duty stint.

He read the traffic and then had the AI cross reference several names, gaining a picture of an anti-confederacy mob running riot. A request for a live feed could only find a cell phone link from a journalist, who was practically screaming about rape and pillage, to his editor. On his own initiative Major Hebden ordered the deployment of a drone to the location. In the eight minutes it took the drone to get on station the Major managed to put together a draft analysis of what he believed was happening, which he thought was obvious, and the possible outcomes. The possible outcomes came down to three things and all depended on the reactions of people. Firstly the local law would be slow to react and potential volunteers would end up dead, secondly the local law would react quickly and there would be a loss of life on the part of the rioters, the third option was somewhere between the two and there would be deaths on both sides.

Just to cover his ass he sent an advisory to the duty officer, Brigadier Rhodes, with a short note asking for options.

The Brigadier, who like the Major was bored, wandered over to the G2 desk, "Morning Bill, what have you got for me?"

"Good morning Sir, It looks like one of those clergymen has finally triggered a mob," he replied scanning the live feeds from the drone, then pointed at a map overlay. "It looks like a group came out of this church," his finger traced the route across the screen, "and then hit the shopping mall, here," he glanced around. "So far nothing drastic seems to have happened though it's hard to get an accurate assessment from outside and to date signals intercepts have only confirmed that something is happening."

The AI joined in at this stage, "There is an update on the situation," it reported. "A policeman has been reported as being seriously injured by the mob before they entered the building and the local police force has only token manning on Sundays. They are requesting support from the next higher formation whilst mobilising what assets they have."

The Brigadier raised an eyebrow, "What is the possible loss to the Confederacy?"

"Routine tracking indicates that there are of one hundred and three potential volunteers in the population of nine hundred and forty-two present in the shopping mall at this time." The AI added, "this includes all potential volunteers with a CAP score higher than eight currently resident in the metropolis."

Major Hebden was reading the transcripts of the police channel as he listened to the AI. "Sir," he announced, "it looks like mobs from the other churches in the area are converging on the mall as well as what may be, blocking positions being established on the roads into the town."

The Brigadier thought for a moment then, "What's your assessment Bill?"

Major Hebden glanced from one screen to another and then chewed his lip for a moment. "Sir, I believe that this is a concerted effort to kill a large percentage of potential volunteers to the Confederacy. The local law enforcement agents do not have the required assets at this time to prevent that from occurring." The Major looked up, "the only thing that can possibly save those people is us, Sir."

"That's what I feared," said the Brigadier. He shifted his attention to the AI, "Inform the Sir Ywain that she is to prepare to drop a minimum of a platoon into a combat situation immediately, attach an Intel summary but stress that speed is of the essence."

He returned his attention to the duty room, "Now I've got to go and disturb Admiral Hargreaves," he said, "and explain why we do not have a ready force allocated to this contingency," he added with a tight smile. "Continue monitoring the situation Bill and keep me up-to-date and feed the data over to the Sir Ywain, they're going to need it."

"Yes, Sir."

---oOo---

David dropped down to the lower floor with relative ease; no one seemed to be leaving the upper floor or, to his surprise, was trying to reach that level. Once he hit the lower concourse however things changed, he struggled to make headway against the panicking crowd and more than once found himself bouncing off walls, bumped there by people who seemed oblivious to anything in their way.

Crossing the flow of traffic was only made possible when a man tripped and the ensuing pile up created a break in the traffic flow. From there it was simply a case of heading in the opposite direction to the crowd.

Why was he doing this?

He really wasn't sure, it just seemed right.

How did he expect to find one girl in this crowd?

He had a vague idea, from the way Fr�u Humboldt had pointed, that he would find the girl in the rest rooms just beyond the food plaza entrance. If she wasn't there he really didn't know what he would do. As his mother always said, 'one problem at a time David, one problem at a time.'

The closer he got to the food plaza the smaller the crowd he was fighting against became, but the sounds grew worse. What had been the screams of panic became screams of torment and torture. Crossing the open area opposite one of the entrances allowed him a brief glimpse into the hell that was the food plaza and what had been distressing from above became much more fearsome from the same level.

Seeing a woman, naked and terrified, being dragged across the room by her hair was too distressing for David to contemplate. He'd already noticed, peripherally, a man's body sprawled across a cleaning machine, the blood and the angle of the neck indicating a brutal death. This image joined the one of the woman in being blanked from his active mind, though he knew they'd be back to haunt him later.

Finding the rest room was easy, entering it, even though he considered this a mission of mercy, was embarrassing. The usual zigzag arrangement led into a brightly lit tiled area with a row of cubicles along the right hand wall and sink units beneath a full length mirror on the left. The only sound was his feet, which seemed loud after all the noise he'd endured on his journey across the mall.

Most of the cubicle doors stood ajar and David, not wanting to call out, slowly worked his way down the row, pushing those doors that didn't allow him a view inside.

Two thirds of the way down the row he came to the first completely closed door, pushing it gently confirmed that it was locked.

'Now what?' he thought.

"Fr�ulein?" he called quietly and got no response. He glanced around and then, just as quietly as before, moved on down the row.

David was two doors from the end before he found another that refused to respond to his gentle push. A glance revealed that the last two doors stood open so if teacher's daughter was in this place it was here or the earlier door.

He tapped the door and called softly, " Fr�ulein?"

Behind the door he heard a sound, just cloth moving across a surface, so he tried again, straining his language skills to the limit, "Bitte, kann Ich die Fr�ulein helfen?" Which he hoped meant can I help?

This attempt was met with silence for a moment, then a flurry of activity before the bolt slid across and the door opened slowly.

The girl revealed was actually older than he was, and extremely frightened. David took a step back and asked, hopefully, "Do you speak English?"

The girl nodded, her dark hair rising and falling in sympathy.

David held out his hand, "Come on, we need to get out of here."

Hesitantly the girl pulled the cubicle door open and stepped forward, her hand reaching for his. Like her mother the girl was wrapped in a thin gauze-like material, which revealed her charms nicely, without being as blatant as total nudity.

David stepped off, grasping the small hand firmly, the girl trailed along behind him in silence. Just before he reached the first locked door it swung open and a woman of about forty stepped out, she looked at David out of a tear stained face. "Please, take me as well," she was practically begging, and David just nodded holding out his free hand.

The woman was a little over-weight and, prior to the Sa'arm threat, would never have appeared in public in so little. In her panic she'd lost one of her flip-flops, and her skirt which had originally been white, showed signs of impacting with a milkshake and a dollop of ketchup sometime in her journey. Her breasts had been covered in a blue body-paint, most of which had now disappeared leaving her looking tired and vulnerable.

"Come on, we need to get upstairs as quickly as we can." David took off, slowing his pace just enough for the two women to keep up.

---oOo---

"Gunny, how many people do we have?"

"Sir, about half the platoon are here, I'm grabbing whatever bodies I can find to make up the numbers," he looked the young Lieutenant in the eye, "We," he emphasised, "will be ready when they call, Sir."

Second Lieutenant Henry Froom took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Gunny McIntyre had a handle on getting his men together so he, as the older man had just indicated, had better deal with his own problems before it all turned to rats shit. The call by the AI to the wardroom had caused chaos, and he, as the only Marine officer actually on the ship, had drawn the short straw.

Prepare to drop a platoon into a combat situation had been the brief and going on the way everyone was reacting this wasn't some sort of impromptu training mission. His First platoon was spread out across various recreation barges and planet side leave and he didn't have time to get them all back, so his senior non-com was trawling the rest of the ship to find any Marines he could slot into his platoon to make up the numbers.

So far the armoury was open and everyone was collecting a basic, as in very light, load of ammunition and body armour.

The young Lieutenant slipped into the pressurised hanger deck and settled in to wait for his men to arrive. The Leopard dropship that towered over him was already crewed and coming on line as he stood there. It would be ready before he was that's for sure.

The Leopard, although going obsolescent now that the Panthers had become available, was still a good delivery system. About the same size, in the body as the old C130 Hercules transport aircraft she could deliver two platoons of Marines to any spot on a planet and give them a minimum of fire support and protection on the way in.

Henry Froom connected with the AI and started to absorb the situation reports coming across from the Task Force Headquarters and realised that this was a life-saving situation, not an out and out battle. He memorised the plans of the shopping complex and retained an overall impression of the town as a whole. As he studied he started to create a plan of action, splitting squads into sections and detailing them to clear obstacles or provide blocking forces.

A waving arm attracted his attention and he gathered his equipment, as it became clear that the shuttle crewchief was waving him forward.

"Sir," the First Sergeant greeted him, "the skipper is up front and would like a word."

Henry nodded his understanding and strode up the ramp and into the huge cargo bay

Captain Jane Hargreaves dropped down from the flight deck onto the cargo deck when she got word from Pete Dillon, the First Sergeant who was acting as crewchief that the ground commander had come aboard. She, like most people involved, was operating in the dark and she really wanted some answers before throwing her and her aircraft out into the wild blue yonder. She hoped, for his sake that the man approaching her had some answers.

"OK Lieutenant, what's going on?" she asked brusquely.

"Ma'am," he responded, "I've been told to get a platoon together for ground operations."

"That's it?" she said in disbelief.

"Ma'am, you haven't been monitoring the ground situation?" Henry asked, puzzled.

"What ground situation?" she asked getting exasperated.

Henry called up the AI and asked if the information could be made available to the dropship commander. That no one else had considered this necessary was an indication of just how thrown together this whole operation was.

Henry switched back to local mode and addressed the Captain. "Ma'am, if you check the AI the information should be available."

It only took a couple of minutes for Captain Hargreaves to grasp the situation, "What are you planning?" she asked.

Henry, working with the AI, said, "Break the blocking forces here and here with a couple of fire teams and then deploy a fire team at each of the four main entrances to seal the place." He looked up into the Captain's eyes, then I take my last squad and go inside and find out just how bad things are."

"How long till you're ready to go?" she asked.

After a quick check with Gunny McIntyre he answered, "Five minutes."

Captain Hargreaves nodded, "We'll be ready." She half turned then glanced back over her shoulder, "I've got no free-fall ordnance so the only support I can offer is the lasers, but they're there if you need them."

"Thanks Ma'am, I'll keep that in mind," said Henry before heading back to the loading ramp and the first of his arriving troops.

---oOo---

David was determined to get as far away as possible from the rest room and in his haste was practically dragging the two women behind him. That they were pulling back against him was what distracted him as he stepped out of the enclosed space and into the main concourse.

Teddy Bainbridge had enjoyed slapping around the coloured whore he'd caught and after she'd collapsed unconscious he'd gone looking for another victim. The sight of blood streaming from various bodies had shocked him a little but not enough to smoother his righteous indignation at the aliens and their collaborators.

The noise reverberating around the food plaza did cause him to step into the main mall looking for a little quiet. He stretched and looked around noting the toppled waste bins and abandoned bags strewn around the mall concourse, clear evidence of the panic he and his friends had caused.

That casual regard became much more pointed when a man, a student by the look of him, dragged two women out of the rest room. The way they pulled back from the man indicated a clear reluctance to Teddy that caused him to ignore a nagging doubt about the man's identity.

The women, one fairly old and the other much younger hadn't seen him yet so he had a chance to give them the once over. The older woman was a bit of a bag, made worse by the way her makeup was messed up but she'd got her tits out and, from the look on her face, knew what was coming. The younger woman was wrapped in some sort of diaphanous thing that hid nothing which if she hadn't been such a harlot would have been a good thing.

Teddy looked her over and decided that she was much more to his liking and he'd better get her before the kid did something stupid, like hand them over to the mob in the food plaza.

"Here," Teddy called, "let me give you a hand with those whores."

David took two more steps before the voice, and its words penetrated his frantic mind. Which was much slower than either of the women reacted. Both of them tried to stop as soon as they heard the sound of a man's voice.

The man stepped forward and as he reached for Fr�u Humboldt's daughter David recognised him as Teddy Bainbridge, one of last year's seniors. The simple act of reaching for the fr�ulein triggered David into action, pivoting lightly on the ball of one foot and kicking as hard and fast as he could with the other.

As his foot buried itself in the groin of the other teenager David's only wish was that he'd been wearing his soccer boots instead of his soft sports shoes.

Teddy curled up, totally incapable of anything other than feeling pain. He couldn't breath, scream, nothing. He lay there, his vision blurred as he vaguely watched the three people escape. Teddy was actually lucky that the two women had been holding David's arms, which stopped him from putting everything into the kick.

"Go," cried David, dragging the women in front of him and pushing them in the direction he wanted them to move. His own adrenaline levels had peaked and now he just wanted to get away before Teddy recovered or someone else discovered them.

Behind him Teddy began breathing again, each gasping breath a painful reminder of how much he hurt. It took several minutes before he was able to uncurl and begin thinking of anything other than his damaged balls but when he did revenge was at the top of his list.

Teddy started to mutter as he recovered, "I'm going to kill that bastard, I am, just as soon as I've finished fucking his women." With each promise Teddy recovered a little until he managed to stagger to his feet and go looking for help with his revenge.

---oOo---

On the command ship Brigadier Rhodes looked across at the G2 desk, "Bill, are our people ready to go?"

Major Hebden checked his displays and saw that the Sir Ywain was reporting that one assault craft was ready to deploy. "Sir Ywain is reporting ready to drop, Sir."

Bill listened in to the Brigadier's conversation, "Yes Admiral, we have a Marine unit ready to go. It's just a matter of authorisation for the drop."

The Brigadier paused, "That's right, Sir, the scenario has been discussed several times but no formal orders have been laid down regarding our reaction and no changes have been made to the Standard Operating Procedure."

The Brigadier cast his eyes towards the ceiling, clearly disbelieving what he was hearing.

"No Sir, I'm unaware of any memoranda of understanding between Task Force Earth and the United Nations concerning anti-Confederacy actions on the planet."

The Brigadier was waving at two officers at workstations who began a search, it didn't take long and the grimace on the face of the first operator clear showed that the Admiral appeared to be correct.

"Yes Sir, I'll get someone on it straight away."

A pause, then, "Yes Sir, immediately."

Brigadier Rhodes let out a huge sigh, "Bill, tell Sir Ywain the mission is go."

"Yes Sir," said Major Hebden before relaying the instructions to the troop ship.

Inside the Leopard dropship a siren rang out and a voice, repeated inside each Marine's head by the AI, sang out, "Prepare to drop, prepare to drop!"

The Marines, nearly all of whom had dropped into combat before, braced themselves as the little craft twitched and then headed for the hanger barrier.

Captain Hargreaves guided the shuttle along its designated track, through the force field and out into space then dropped the nose and engaged the tracking program. The shuttle shuddered as power was applied and the craft dived into the thick soup that made up the Earth's atmosphere.

"Seven minutes to target, Lieutenant, we'll hit the main vehicle park first then do a run round for your perimeter forces. The last out should be the troops for the blocking positions." She glanced across her instrument panel, "We'll take up station one thousand metres up and be on call if you need us."

Henry Froom acknowledged the pilot's comments and then tried to look relaxed. Around him Marines muttered and cursed, rather than prayed. This was a cluster fuck and all of them knew that once it started things would only get worse.

Gunny McIntyre had managed to get four Staff Sergeants to run the sections but only two of them actually belonged to him. With the number of things that had to be done, the load was going to fall squarely on the shoulders of the various Sergeants he'd press-ganged into service to look after his fireteams.

On the non-com's chat channel he was giving out some fatherly advice, "Remember, keep it simple and if in doubt bug out and yell for help. The aim is to save lives, not get ourselves killed." He waited a moment before adding, "This is probably not going to be pleasant, we will end up killing fellow humans, the whys and wherefores of this are not our problem so don't get bogged down in any arguments. Ask them politely to disperse and if they don't, start dropping them with the stingers. If anyone shoots back switch to the rifles and kill the fuckers."

"Do You Understand?" he asked.

"Yes, Gunny," came the reply, a little muted as people took time to digest 'Happy Jack' McIntyre's comments.

"Louder!" he bellowed.

"YES, GUNNY."

"Good," he said calmly, "and don't you forget it." With that, Gunny McIntyre closed his eyes and projected a completely false sense of well-being.

---oOo---

David led the two women up the wide staircase onto the balcony above the food court. He was careful to keep to the rear wall to avoid being seen from below. He edged around until he could move to the upper level that housed the cinema multiplex.

At that point he stopped and released the hands that he'd been using to guide the women throughout the journey. He smiled, trying to project a calmness that he didn't really feel.

"My name's David," he said, "what should I call you?"

The younger woman glanced around and then, in a very quiet voice, answered, "Sylvia, my name is Sylvia." Her Germanic accent should have given her voice a hard feel but she spoke so softly it just tickled the hairs on the back of his neck.

Shaking off the sudden feeling of lust he turned to the older woman. "And your name?" he asked.

"I'm Honey," she said, "and I want to thank you for saving me..."

David held up his hand to stop her, "You're not really safe yet, you know," he said. "And all I did was point you up here, which I hope will be a slightly better hiding place."

David glanced around, trying to decide what to do next. The screams and other sounds coming up from the food plaza caused a distraction as well as a temptation, a sick feeling that wanted him to look over the edge and learn what was really happening below.

"Come on," he said, deciding to keep both women with him. He led the way and did his best to explain about the hiding space he was taking them to and that, with luck, they'd find that his girlfriend was already there.

"Why don't we just get out of here?" asked Honey, who, now that the initial shock was wearing off was starting to think.

"How?" replied David. "We've left it too late to get out of the main entrances," he waved at the large plate glass windows that made up the front fascia of the mall.

Beyond them the three fugitives could see the large crowd that had formed around the mall and a couple of minutes watching them proved that they had become part of the riot. Cars had been attacked and in some cases set on fire. Mobs could be seen taunting several naked women who'd been tied to street-lamps and scattered here and there they could make out heaps of deformed bodies.

David added, "Trying to sneak out through the food hall," he waved back the way they'd just come from, "is just a quick way to die."

"Our best bet is to hide until help gets here," he didn't add, 'if it gets here' even though he'd started to worry himself. The lack of sirens approaching the mall had bought home to him just how isolated he'd really become.

It took another couple of minutes for the three of them to get to the little nook and another surprise. Cowering in the space besides Emma, holding her tight, David found two more girls. Casting his eyes upwards David guided his pair in alongside them and glanced at Emma.

"I couldn't leave them," she said.

"I never said you should have," said David, though his look had clearly said the opposite.

"Who are they?" he asked, treating them as though they didn't exist.

"Mylene and Clarissa Clear," said Emma. "They're visiting their Aunt and got separated when the, uhmm, trouble started."

David bit his tongue, he'd been about to add a sarcastic comment and stopped himself just in time. After all, he really should have run when he had the chance rather than going looking for a stray German, even if she was cute.

"OK," he said hoping that Emma would let him off the hook. "You keep everyone here and quiet and I'll try and find a way of getting in touch with the outside world."

The five females sank back into the available space and did their best to appear invisible. David smiled encouragingly and then went looking for a phone, cursing in his mind that he'd left his mobile at home to avoid his parents.

---oOo---

"Thirty seconds," called the crew chief as he lowered the rear ramp, around him Marines started to fidget.

Ten seconds later he confirmed a fact that they'd all been dreading, "The Dee Zed is HOT."

Henry Froom watched as the men under his command settled their weapons, tugged at bits of equipment and generally steeled themselves for the most dangerous part of the operation. Insertion, especially a hot insertion, was a bitch and no one looked forward to the event.

On the ground below, the dark green shape, dropping from the sky was spotted and people pointed inquisitively, not sure what it was they could see approaching. Then the realisation spread through the crowd that it was going to land, which caused momentary panic as people scrambled to give it room.

Moments before the tail ramp hit the ground the crew chief started yelling, "GO, GO, GO!"

Gunny McIntyre led the way, closely followed by the first and second squads. Henry Froom and his small group jumped out last. As soon as the Marines had departed Captain Hargreaves fed in the power and headed for the next drop zone, barely clearing the decorative trees that surrounded the mall.

On the ground Gunny McIntyre got his two Staff Sergeants moving. One fire team provided cover as the remaining Marines of the two squads fanned out and headed for the food plaza entrance. The crowd, suddenly quiet, watched on as these strangers, all of whom towered over the un-augmented mob, moved quickly and efficiently into the food mall.

A strange buzzing sound suddenly emanated from the food plaza and then came a series of screams, screams that were intermingled with that buzzing noise. The crowd grew restless and a couple of the bigger men, stepped forward.

Henry Froom stepped forward to meet them, behind him the small contingent of Marines spread out to cover their commander, their rifles may have still been strapped to their backs, but their stingers were up and ready.

"You!" screamed one of the men, taking Henry for the leader, "what are your animals doing in there?"

"My Marines," said Henry Froom, going from gangly novice to full blooded warrior in three strides, "are saving lives and stunning scum!" He glanced around at the crowd that was now listening intently, "So far we're just stunning the fools but if you gentlemen," he paused pointedly, "do anything stupid then the gloves will come off." He grinned viciously, "and I really don't think you'd like that."

The second man looked shocked, then bellowed, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Go ahead," said Henry, "try me, I'd really enjoy that."

A rock came sailing past the two men and just missed the Marine Lieutenant. Corporal Steven Rogers, who'd been press ganged into the fourth squad, bought up his arm and carefully dropped the rock thrower. The buzz that had been heard from inside was suddenly demonstrated in the parking lot.

"That idiot," said Henry, "has just been stunned. If you take him away, he'll come round in about an hour with nothing worse than a headache." He looked pointedly at the two men, "Why don't you take everyone home, it'll make things so much easier for everyone."

"What're you going to do if we don't?" snarled the first man.

Lieutenant Froom looked at the pair with a calm, almost blank expression, "What ever it takes to succeed," he said glancing at the prone figure. "It's your call."

He turned back to his men, ignoring the pair, who took that calm indifference for the threat it really was. They started calming the crowd, urging them to move away, before the alien lovers did even more harm.

At the other mall entrances things followed a similar pattern, one or two stunnings and the crowd, the majority of whom had been along for the ride, began to disperse.

---oOo---

Teddy Bainbridge kicked the grey material over the battered body of the woman, surprised that he was able to move his leg so freely. Around him the group from his church had nearly vented their rage on the victims they'd caught. As a result eight men had been killed in the group's frenzied attack and fourteen women had been tortured in one form or another, including rape. Six of those women had died, so far, as a result of their injuries.

The three other church congregations, already whipped into a frenzy by their preachers, had arrived in the food plaza and carried out atrocities at least the equal of those Teddy and his compatriots had managed. In all the rioters had accounted for forty-seven deaths, though only one of them had had a high enough CAP score to actually volunteer to serve with Confederacy Armed Forces.

Teddy wasn't interested in that any more, he wanted revenge against the bastard that had kicked him in the nuts. He rounded up a couple of his buddies and was trying to convince them that it was worth chasing the bastard down when all Hell let loose over by the entrance.

Huge uniform clad men came bustling through the outer doors, waving their arms around. Whenever they pointed at a man there was a buzzing noise and the man fell to the floor without a sound. More screaming broke out, this time amongst the rioters as half of them tried to attack the intruders and the remainder looked for an escape route.

Teddy simply grabbed Jason and Liam, the two he'd been talking to and hightailed it out of there as fast as he could go. Seconds after he got through the door it was blocked by two of the biggest men he'd ever seen, not that he hung around to study them.

"Come on, that bastard went upstairs," he said leading the way. "We'll get him and then just become part of the crowd."

"I don't know," said Liam, "why don't we just join the crowd now?"

"Because I said we'd get that bastard first," snarled Teddy, quelling any further protest from the pair.

Teddy looked around the balcony, the only realistic exits led back down to the mall or up to the cinema complex. "He's up there," Teddy pointed, "come on."

David had found the manager's office and the phone but no matter what he did to it he couldn't get it to function. What he wasn't aware of was that all of the phones in the mall ran through a switchboard in the security office, an office that the rioters had thoroughly trashed in the opening minutes of the battle.

Dropping down into the manager's chair David took a moment to consider his options and in doing so was out of sight to Teddy and his cohorts as they swept past the open office door with barely a glance. The background noise and the hall carpet combining to conceal their passage from David.

A couple of minutes later and David hadn't been struck by inspiration so he decided to rejoin the women. Rising from the chair he spotted a letter opener on the desk and on impulse picked it up. As a weapon it wasn't that impressive but it was better than nothing.

---oOo---

"Well, what do we have here?"

Emma spun round and was confronted by three men. Behind her Clarissa screamed loud enough to wake the dead and more than enough to make the ears ring of everyone in the alcove.

Teddy forgot his reason for being up there when he was confronted by so much naked flesh, "If it isn't a bunch of alien-loving scum."

Emma swallowed, "Go away, we've done nothing to you."

"No you haven't," sneered Teddy, "but we're going to do something to you and then we're going to put any thoughts of running off out of your tiny little minds forever."

Teddy made a grab for Emma who flinched backwards, colliding with Clarissa, who promptly screamed again. That scream triggered a general melee as Honey and Sylvia went for the gap Teddy's movement had created and crashed into Jason, knocking him off his feet. Mylene tried to run around the opposite side of Teddy and thus ran into Liam, who flung out an arm and caught her by the hair. Her inertia spun him round carrying him past a fast approaching David who, with no real thought, drove the letter opener into his side before knocking him to the floor.

Teddy, who'd taken a pace forward in pursuit of Emma, heard Liam grunt and glanced around in time to see David knock the wounded man to the floor. Teddy forgot Emma as soon as he recognised David, bellowing as he turned to give chase.

Jason was in serious trouble, Honey and Sylvia, who'd been given no chance to escape were kicking and gouging the prone man, naturally going for all the vulnerable areas, like his throat, eyes and most painfully, his balls.

Liam, his hand still wrapped in Mylene's hair was dying. The letter opener had just nicked the aorta, but with that much pressure involved he was bleeding to death internally, his futile attempts to get to the knife simply adding more damage to the punctured artery.

"What was that?" asked Corporal Frodsham, the point man of the first squad's second section.

"Sounded like a woman's scream," answered his partner, Pfc Ellesmere.

Sergeant Harrison, the section leader moved forward, "What's up?"

"Sounded like a scream from up there," replied the Corporal, indicating the stairs upwards.

"OK, we'll check it out," said the Sergeant after a moments thought, "Dougie, take the lead."

"Aye Aye," replied the Corporal and bounded up the stairs, closely followed by Pete Ellesmere. The rest of the section, working in pairs followed along a little more cautiously.

Teddy hit David from behind driving him to the floor then set about gloating, "Oh I'm going to enjoy this you little shit," he ranted. "Did you think you'd get away with kicking me in the balls?" David tried to move but Teddy stamped down hard on the prone boy's outstretched hand, breaking several fingers.

"Don't fucking move you shit, if you do I'll just make it last longer," screamed Teddy, freezing David where he lay.

Emma threw herself at Teddy but he just swatted her off, splitting her lip and leaving her on the floor alongside Clarissa. Mylenne managed to get free from the unconscious Liam and crawled to the opposite side of the room, as far as she could possibly get from the violence.

Fifty yards away Dougie Frodsham and Pete Ellesmere rounded the corner and got their first clear view of the scene and stopped in their tracks.

"Oh shit," muttered the Corporal, "It's too far for the stinger." He dropped to one knee and dragged his rifle forward, his fingers automatically selecting single shot and ensuring that the safety was off. Without energising the sighting system he bought the weapon to his shoulder and using the old fashioned iron sights lined up on Teddy and stroked the trigger.

His pulsed laser rifle dumped the contents of it's power capsule into the focusing crystal and the immensely powerful monochromatic beam sliced into the soft, water based flesh that was Teddy Bainbridge. The rifle recycled but another shot wasn't needed as Teddy, a fair proportion of his body vaporised by the first strike, collapsed to the ground.

Clarissa, true to form, screamed again and got a slap from Emma for her troubles. David, half pinned by what was left of Teddy's body struggled to break free and then froze as the yelling Marines moved forward. Honey and Sylvia, sobbing, held their hands up and stepped back from a thoroughly cowed Jason, who remained curled up in the foetal position.

"Nobody move, that's it - just stay exactly where you are," called Dougie Frodsham. Alongside him Pete Ellesmere moved forward until he was within the limited range of the stinger. Seeing this Dougie breathed a sigh of relief and returned his laser rifle to his back. Before he could take any further action Sergeant Harrison and the rest of the section reached the end of the corridor and things rapidly settled down.

The only question the Sergeant asked was "Was it necessary?" and when the Corporal and the AI confirmed that it was that was the end of the matter.

Checking the bodies confirmed that the only one that needed to be 'escorted' to the food plaza was Jason. Corporal Frodsham was designated as the man and, along with the prisoner he slowly led the boy and the five women back to the food plaza and safety.

---oOo---

"You know Gunny, it's Darwinian," said Henry, "the true idiots," he waved at the former rioters his platoon had collected together, "like them, just don't listen and then they do something stupid like this. We come along and cull them." He smiled grimly, "Surely the human race has got to be better for all this, in the long run?"

"I'm sure it has to, Sir, but what are we going to do with this lot?"

"Oh that's easy," replied the Lieutenant, remembering one of the rushed briefings he'd been given before the drop. "Anyone who committed any sort of physical sexual assault in the pursuance of an Anti-Confederacy action is automatically sentenced to death. Also anyone who caused death, or allowed death to occur, whilst in the pursuance of an Anti-Confederacy action is sentenced to death."

Lieutenant Froom looked around the room and the various dead bodies and shrugged, "If they're one of the rioters then they die. We do the best we can for the victims and then we extract all Confederacy volunteers."

As the two Marines talked another couple of Marines had been setting up a transporter nexus at the edge of the room and, as if to confirm that it now functioned, two medics stepped out carrying plastic cases.

Spotting Henry Froom the new arrivals approached. "Lieutenant, we're here to carry out the necessary inoculations," said the first Medic, a Captain.

"Yes Sir, those are the people," Henry indicated the collection of rioters, "you need to see. Will you need any help, Sir?"

"If you could have a few of your men standing by, just in case."

"No problem, Sir," He turned slightly, "Gunny, if you'd lend a hand?"

"Yes, Sir."

A small group of Marines congregated around the medical staff and looked on as they set up the high-pressure inoculation guns that literally shot the fluid through the skin as a mist. As they left no puncture wound and, as physical contact with the skin was avoided, there was no need to sterilise the equipment between patients.

The two medics started at opposite ends of the line of rioters, dealing with those that had been stunned first and then moving on to those still standing. It wasn't until the seventh in line was reached that a 'patient' made any sort of objection.

"Hey," he said, "what if I don't want that stuff?"

"It's up to you," replied the medic, "I'm immune so I really don't give a shit." He looked around the room, "your choice, I can leave you out if you want?"

The man swallowed and then offered up his bared arm. The medic pointed the gun and squeezed the trigger, sending the fluid directly into the blood stream. "Thank you," he said with a smile before moving on to the next rioter.

When they'd finished the two medics rejoined Lieutenant Froom, "Do you mind if I explain what's just happened?" asked the Captain.

"No Sir," replied Henry, relieved that he wasn't going to be the one to explain.

"Gentlemen," called out the Captain, "if I could have your attention for a moment."

The steady hum of quiet conversation died away.

"I regret to inform you that you have all been found guilty of crimes against the Confederacy," he said clearly. "These include, but are not limited to, causing death or through inaction allowing death to occur. Sexual assault, up to and including rape and general assault against citizens of the Confederacy."

He looked across the group and watched as the first of the standing men slumped to the floor. "The sentence is death by lethal injection and, I'm pleased to announce, that I, and my partner, have just administered that punishment. You have each been given a shot of a paralytic agent which will render you immobile shortly," he grinned. "In fifteen minutes time all of you will have stopped breathing."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to deal with the victims in this case." The Captain turned and crossed the room to the aid centre the Marines had established.

The rioters, stunned by the Captain's words started to move, or to try to anyway. Several fell to the ground amidst curses and muffled grunts. For the next ten minutes the Marines looked on, most of them dispassionately, as the rioters died.

---oOo---

As it turned out there were only five volunteers in the food plaza when everything calmed down. Emma and David had been brought there as the nearest place of sanctuary. A man and a woman had survived, in his case barely, the trials and tribulations inflicted on them in the food plaza and the fifth was the one volunteer the rioters had killed.

The four surviving volunteers had been separated from the crowd of others who'd been in the food plaza and after the man had received treatment, Lieutenant Froom crossed over to them. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention for a moment," he asked.

"I'm sure you didn't expect anything like this to happen but as we're here it's been decided to take you upstairs with us now." He held up his hand to stop them from interrupting, "I'm sure you all had different plans but to be honest, after this, we probably won't come back to this town, ever. So if you decline this offer you'd better be prepared to fight the dickheads because that's what's going to happen."

He looked the four of them over and saw understanding, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to choose your concubines from the people available we'll get out of here." He turned and called out, "Gunny, can we provide these volunteers with an escort whilst they pick out their concubines."

Conveniently, if you believe in that sort of thing, four Marines, two male and two female just happened to be standing with Gunny McIntyre when the request was made. The four of them crossed to their boss and he paired them off with the volunteers.

"OK love, I'm Jane Sandford, what's you're CAP score?"

Emma looked at the woman who was a good foot taller than she was and replied, "It's six point six."

"Right that means you're entitled to two concubines," the Marine glanced back at David, "Yours?" she asked.

"Hopefully," smiled Emma, blushing under the Marines gaze.

"Then you can get by with a couple of women to look after your kids and keep the home running while you're away." She looked over at the crowd and asked, "Do you have any preferences?"

"Not now," Emma replied, "we had some friends who we'd hoped would be joining us but they're not here."

"That's tough, especially for them. So shall we go and take a look?"

"Sure," replied Emma, allowing the Marine to lead the way. Just behind them Pfc Aileen Clark and Private Fred Dibner led the other two volunteers who'd been in the food plaza off towards the same crowd.

David, who'd been held back by the medic for treatment to his hand, was standing with Lance Corporal John Peters.

"So what do you fancy?" the Marine asked from his lofty height.

"I suppose I'll start with the two I dragged through this place," said David, "if they're interested." He pointed out Honey who was visible from their position and led the way across the room.

"So," David asked, "fancy getting out of here?"

"What do I have to do?" Honey asked.

"Why, could that be a problem?" asked David.

"No, I just wondered if you wanted me to start now," the mature woman replied, almost looking hopeful.

Beside the pair John Peters snorted, "Well, she's got the right attitude, if nothing else," he said.

"Good," said David ignoring John's comment, "Now where did Sylvia get too?"

Honey pointed to a girl on her knees over by the injured, "She's over there, I think."

"Come on then," said David, practically dragging Honey behind him in his hurry to find the younger woman.

The two survivors, John Beresfield and Jane Moorland, didn't give much thought to their choices, they just pointed, asked if the person wanted to be a concubine and after getting a positive response turned and walked away. The two Marines with them made no effort to hide their disgust at the volunteer's actions.

Next to Emma, Jane Sandford muttered, "Don't do it that way, darling." When Emma looked puzzled the Marine explained, "A month from now they'll have split up, which isn't to much of a hardship for the volunteers, but it could leave the concubines dead if no one else picks them up." She looked around before continuing, "the concubines are, at best, slaves and most of the guys treat them with a fair bit of consideration but they don't have too. Simply put they're there to breed and as long as they're spitting out babies or doing a good job of looking after the kids in the family then they should be safe." The Marine looked Emma in the eyes, "If they don't, they're dumped. On a good day they end up with someone else or in the hands of the Civil Service."

Emma looked even more confused at that reference. Jane tried to explain, "The Civil Service is a combination of brothel keepers, slave marketers and general dog wardens where concubines are concerned. Some of them are good, most of them are over-worked and all of them grow armoured hearts very quickly. At best they will care for a stray concubine for a short while but they have no compunction about killing them if they're surplus to requirements."

Jane indicated the volunteers who were walking off, "Their concubines are probably heading that way. If you don't at least feel responsible for the slaves you choose, they'll end up in the same boat."

Emma looked at the crowd before her and swallowed, theory only went so far, now she was faced with reality and she wasn't sure that she was up to it. Jane squeezed her shoulder, "pick the sort of person you'd want as a friend or as a mother, that usually works."

David realised who the prone woman was before he spoke to Sylvia. It was her mother. He knelt alongside the young girl and looked over the older woman. She was alive but appeared in a bad way, her naked body covered in cuts, bruises and other marks that he couldn't easily identify. One of the medics had a machine strapped to her and appeared to be muttering to himself.

David, not sure if now was the right time, but feeling sure he had to try, gently placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Sylvia, I need to ask you a question. Could you listen to me for a minute?"

The young girl slowly allowed her eyes to move from her mother to the young man beside her.

"Will you come with me?" he asked.

The young woman blinked, then blinked again. "My mother..."

Tears started to flow, "I need to stay with my mother," she said. "She," the young woman waved at her mother's body, "this, it was all for me, I can't leave her like this." She looked back at David, "I'm sorry."

David didn't know what to do so he just knelt there and tried to think. Behind him the Marine started to murmur and the medic treating Fr�u Humboldt looked up, he gave a quick glance at the pair and nodded to the Marine.

John Peters placed a hand on each of them, "Fr�u Humboldt needs urgent medical attention, so the medic is taking her up to our ship. If you go along with this young man I'm sure he will endeavour to keep you appraised of how your mother is doing."

David glanced up and caught a wink from the Marine, he wasn't sure what it meant but when Sylvia wrapped her arms around him he really didn't care.

Across the room Emma was getting close to just walking away without any concubines. She just couldn't get it into her head that these people needed to be treated as slaves. She was intimidated by the older women and scared that the younger ones would steal David. Jane was doing her best to support the young woman but she was starting to get heat for the amount of time it was taking.

"Listen love, you need to make a decision," she said, "or we'll be forced to go without."

The Marine pointed at a group who'd congregated in one corner, "Now go in there and pick a woman and a girl," she bent to Emma's ear, "remember, you can make them as ugly as you like once we're up to the ship."

Emma blinked at that and found herself heading for the indicated group. There were only five women in that group, two of whom were old enough to be her grandmother. One of the women, though showing signs of having been molested by the rioters, stood there disdainfully, almost challenging Emma. Her naked breasts were firm and high on her chest, her hair though ruffled still showed how it had been carefully sculpted, even her makeup looked superior.

The other woman had her arms wrapped protectively around a young boy, she was plump and dressed in a sweat suit, which made her stand out in the current flash it all society. She was eyeing Emma as though she was a dangerous predator.

The third female was a coloured girl who, though topless, had no chest to speak of and had legs that were skinny in the extreme. She looked about twelve but she was clutching an ID card so must have been at least fourteen.

Emma simply pointed at the woman with the child, "Do you want to come with me?"

Behind her Jane looked at the ceiling.

"Can I take my baby?" the woman asked, clutching the child even tighter.

"Yes, but you'll have to look after my kids as well," said Emma.

The woman actually smiled, "That's no problem, I like looking after kids."

The disdainful woman spoke up, "I'll go with you as well."

Emma squared her shoulders, surprising Jane Sandford, "Wrong," she stated firmly, "I'm taking her," she pointed at the coloured girl, "if she wants to go."

"Yes, yes, I'll go with you!" exclaimed the young girl, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"Don't be stupid," snarled the woman, which was as far as she got. The familiar buzzing noise was heard and she slumped to the floor.

Behind her, Emma heard the Marine mutter, "Stupid cow."

Emma gestured to the two women to follow her and turned to the Marine, "What now?"

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said, heading for the transporter terminus.

As the last of the Marines climbed aboard the dropship, Lieutenant Froom turned to his senior non-com, "Well Gunny, all things considered, that was an interesting Sunday Stroll, wasn't it."

---oOo---

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