Chapter 5 – The Family Grows Again

I gave her a wink as the man's voice rang out. "Attention. We have a female sponsor here looking for a replacement concubine. She's made it clear that she is only interested in a female who will be enthusiastic. If you are interested you can immediately wander over by the interview room."

Theresa raised an eyebrow and we headed over to the door. Sophie had seen the beds I had pointed out and led Alex to one, sitting him on one next to Tanya's pram. She sniffed the air for a moment, frowned, and then glared at me. "Yuck. I guess it's my turn isn't it."

Amber giggled and ran over to help as Sophie carefully removed Tanya and looked over for a spot to change her diaper. As she did, I could see a number of women approaching the door. Theresa watched for a moment and then leaned into my shoulder.

"How should I decide who to interview?" she asked me.

I looked at the women approaching. Most had obviously been given makeovers at some point and obviously matched the ideal of beauty for their previous owners. The apparent age varied between sixteen and twenty-four for most of the ladies, and most had model quality figures. The one thing I noticed was that many seemed almost disinterested in the process, so I turned to Theresa.

"I think the biggest question is going to be finding a woman who isn't so beaten down that she can't become part of the family. I'd say look for a woman who appears to be eager to be here. Most of the women approaching seem to be almost resigned to the interview." I said.

Theresa looked over the crowd and nodded. "They look like the concubines from the Park Avenue. Well, all except Traci, and Martha's Jon."

"How so?" I asked as the women began to form a rough line just beyond the door.

Theresa nodded to the first lady. She looked like a blond supermodel, but her eyes were on the floor, and her stance was dejected. "Many of them looked like that," Theresa whispered. "There was a lack of spirit in them. It was clear that the men who had selected them did not really worry about their feelings much. I tried to talk to a few, as did Traci, but it was always hard."

I nodded and stepped over to the bed to check on Alex as Theresa approached the first woman. I could not hear what words she said, but after offering the woman a gentle hug, she sent her off to the barracks, while beckoning the next one forward.

At this time, some of the children in the barracks finally wandered over to see what was happening. Theresa was concentrating on the women in line. Sophie had returned Tanya to the pram, and she and Amber soon were trying to coax some of the children over. I watched this with a smile as slowly more and more children appeared.

The children seemed timid and finally I looked over at Amber and winked. As she giggled in response I pretended to pull something from my loincloth to look at it.

"Oh dear! Look at the time. So busy, so busy," I muttered. I looked over at Alex who was smiling and winked. "And you sir, what is your pleasure today?"

Alex giggled and shouted back. "Soccer!"

"Soccer?" I responded. "But we don't have a ball."

Alex giggled and pointed at the pram containing Tanya. I made a huge show of looking in there. I lifted Tanya out and slowly checked again. Finding nothing I looked back at Alex. "There's no ball in here."

Alex giggled again and pointed at my hands, causing some of the children nearby to titter nervously. I turned slowly to look at Tanya in my arms and gave an expression of shock.

"Alex!" I cried. "When I said you were to play soccer with your sister, I didn't say you could use her as the ball!"

There was a burst of laughter around me as I carefully put Tanya back in the pram and covered her up. Alex had fallen over laughing and Sophie rescued me by providing me with a great line.

"David! You are such a fool!" she shouted as she came over to sit by Alex.

"A fool you say?" I said. "You don't know the half of it."

Sophie looked at me and at my wink giggled and said. "How so?"

I paused and stood proudly, trying to remember the pose Danny Kaye used when he sang this song. I was not sure I could do it right, but smiled and sang out towards Sophie.

"My lady, I have a confession, my secret I must now betray. I was not a born fool, it took work to get this way. When I was a lad, I was gloomy and sad And I was from the day I was born." When other kids giggled," I paused to tickle Alex causing him to squirm and giggle. I noticed that the second empty bed now had a small crowd of children and others were gathering, attracted by the laughter. I smiled inwardly and continued.

"And gurgled and wiggled. I was proudly and loudly forlorn My friends and my family look at me clammily Thought there was something amiss When others found various antics hilarious All I could manage was this!"

I twisted my face into a huge frown and waited until the children started to giggle and then spoke. "Boo hoo." I then continued. "Or this!" This time I worked my face into an expression of complete boredom. "Hoo wah!"

At this point the gathered children were rolling on the floor and I just smiled. I was about to continue when Amber turned and started leading the older children in some crazy camp song. I was trying to follow the words when a woman brushed past me and tapped Sophie on the shoulder.

Sophie jumped up and stepped away from the bed. She stood so the lady was facing me and not the still singing children as the woman hissed. "What's this about you and that.... That thing having a say!"

Sophie appeared to gasp. She had her back to me and I could not hear her over the singing. I took a moment to look over the woman and felt myself frown.

The woman was not unattractive, at least not physically, but as I had already noted to Theresa, none of the woman in the barracks would look out of place in a beauty contest. However, she had a pinched face and there was bitterness in her expression that bothered me.

The children's singing was loud enough to drown out the conversation, but it was clear the woman expected to be able to bully Sophie into agreeing with her. Sophie tolerated it for a while before walking over to me and pulling my head down to whisper into my ear. "Theresa better not select that woman. She'll make us all miserable."

I nodded, and waved toward the door. "Go and let Theresa know."

Sophie headed toward the door. As she did the woman stalked up to me and glared at me. "You're going to ruin my chances aren't you? You're just another man, afraid women will figure out we don't need you. A turkey-baster could do your job."

I quietly looked at this woman and then looked at the children who were still following Amber's lead and singing. "I am sorry you feel that way," I said. "But I am not making the decision. My lady Theresa will decide as she sees best."

The woman lifted her hand as if to slap me, but then looked over my shoulder towards the door to the interview room. I could see her eyes widen for a moment and then she spun around and stormed off. I sighed as I watched her go, but then walked over to the bed, and started telling knock-knock jokes to the children.

I had worked my way through about six jokes when I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I glanced back to see a woman who appeared to be about twenty looking at me. I stumbled over the next joke, but Sophie jumped in front of me and smoothly started another song.

With the children distracted I turned to the lady and stepped away from the beds. She smiled at me. "I can't believe you really enjoy entertaining the kids. And where did that silly song come from?" she asked.

I blushed for a moment. Now that I was looking right at the woman, I placed her look as blond college co-ed instantly. She was tall and slender with long pale blond hair and just enough curves to look sexy. She saw my gaze and giggled. "And my sponsor didn't have to do a thing."

I whistled but then looked her in the eye. "Sorry, and to answer your questions, I love children, and entertaining them has always been part of my duties in the household. I'm the best with children out of the adults. As for the song, there is an old movie staring Danny Kaye where he sings that to a king. I actually sang less than a quarter of it, but it was enough to bring laughter to this place."

The lady nodded. "Yes, it's damn depressing here. Especially right now, since so many ships were lost recently, and all the concubines collected here until new homes can be found."

"So you lost your sponsor on one of those ships?" I asked.

We had ended up turned so I was facing the interview room as the woman faced me. Theresa noticed the conversation and quietly walked up behind the woman, holding a finger to her lips to indicate that I should not mention her presence. The girl just sighed for a moment and looked down.

"No," she began. "My sponsor dumped me here. Only a week after we arrived, he brought me here and took a different concubine instead."

I stood there and looked at the woman. Unlike most of the women in the area, she seemed to still have a lot of spirit and I was surprised to hear her admit that she had been abandoned. I noticed Theresa also looking puzzled and spoke. "Why would that happen? Do you feel you can tell me?"

The girl looked me in the eyes. "What about you? Why are you here?"

I laughed. "A question for a question. Well, I'm not too proud to tell my tale. My lady picked me when there was a pickup at a movie theater on Earth. Honestly, she and her senior concubine were long-time lesbian lovers, but they knew a man would be required, and decided to take a chance on a heart-broken wretch of a man caring for two children who weren't his. There are days I still wonder how it happened, but it did, and I'm very happy to be Theresa's junior concubine."

The girl's eyes widened. "You mean you don't have sex with her constantly?"

I shrugged. "Well, I think that's something she should talk about if you interview with her, but when I was picked up, I told her that sex was not required to get me to come. And for a long time, we did not have sex. She preferred Traci, and I understood. I'll admit that I am invited to her bed now, but for me, that's always been a pleasure and an honor. The fact that she trusts me enough to want me means a lot to me."

I could see Theresa with a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. It was fairly clear she thought I was not fully aware of her presence and my words definitely moved her. To my surprise, the woman in front of me smiled.

"Wow, I wish I had been so lucky. I guess you can hear my tale, although I still hope your mistress will listen," she said.

She looked off into the distance and sighed. I wanted to reach out to her, but waited as a brief moment of pained memory crossed her eyes. Finally she looked back at me. "My name is Nadia. I know it sounds funny on a girl with a midwestern accent, but my parents were originally from the Ukraine. I grew up as a bit of an all-American farm girl, in a loving family. My father had the CAP to volunteer, but I still wanted to go to college, and ended up attending UC Berkeley. I've heard he was picked up and selected my mother and some barmaid as his concubines. However, that's not my story."

She sniffled. "I was shy in high school. I had grown up fast and was taller than most boys my age all through my youth, and they teased me for it. I relaxed a bit my senior year, and enjoyed the dates, but it was always a bit awkward. I figured it was because I knew all the boys and that things would be easier once I left town to go to UC Berkeley."

I held up a hand. "Wait, you had the grades to get into UC Berkeley, but your CAP wasn't high enough for you to volunteer?"

Nadia blushed. "I'm passive and shy. I couldn't give an order to another to save my life, and I'm slow to respond to forceful people. I froze during many of the test sequences and scored poorly. You know the famous one where the woman is outside a burning house worrying about her dog. I just stood there. It wasn't even a conscious decision not to help; I just couldn't make a decision. I'm great in a classroom because I can relax, but make the decision about something that matters and I freeze."

I nodded. Theresa was looking more interested, and I tried to hide a smile as Nadia continued.

"Well, my choice of place to live on campus was Stern Hall, it's an all-girl dorm on the northeast side of the campus. My roommate was this incredible girl who grew up only three hundred miles from my home, and we quickly became fast friends…." Nadia paused blushing and I smiled.

"Do you mean friends, friends, or was it, you slept-in-the-same-bed type of friends." I asked.

Nadia blushed more. "We pushed our beds together after our first week of classes. But we invited guys in occasionally. Prudence and I were just so comfortable together. We were both so homesick, and sleeping together helped us forget."

I nodded. "Understandable, but that doesn't get you here."

Nadia giggled. "Well, you need to know that for the rest. Prudence convinced me to become a volunteer for a number of local high school events. It helped both of us stay busy. Well, at one job and college fair where we were passing out information about Cal, there was a pickup. Pru and I did not have the CAP to volunteer, but in the end we both were asked to be concubines. A boy who was a high school senior and champion of the debate team took her. I hope she is happy."

I could see the tragedy in her eyes and sighed. Theresa was nodding at me, but I stood silently as Nadia brushed a tear away and continued. "I was selected by this high school freshman who had never been on a date. He was sweet and charming and extremely smart, but naïve. His CAP was just under nine, and instead of finding a good balance, he choose six women, without asking how they would work together. Worse, I found out on the trip that beautiful women intimidated him. Once we were in the pod and on our way here, he started hiding from me. He had no problem with the other girls, who were all high school freshmen or sophomores, and none were great beauties, but he just refused to allow me close."

I frowned. "But didn't he go through medical and get enhancements? What about making the other girls look nicer? Or toning down your looks?"

Nadia nodded. "He did get enhancements, but he's Navy, and on some kind of a strategic planning track. He only did minimal changes to his looks. The other girls he had grown up with, and he got to know them before sending them for the cosmetic changes, so they didn't scare him. He couldn't do that with me, and since he was hiding from me, I couldn't try to improve it."

Nadia began to cry and this time I reached out and put my arms around her. "It got worse once the other girls were all pregnant. George revealed that he had made a mistake in his selection. None of the girls had any experience with children, and obviously I had none either, so he was going to trade me in for a woman who had been a mother before. He had given me hope and then he ripped it away!"

Nadia collapsed into my arms and Theresa dashed up to help me hold her up. Theresa looked at me for a moment, and I nodded without saying anything. I could see Theresa glance over at Sophie who had organized a strange game of tag among the children. Sophie saw Nadia in my arms and raised her thumb in the air.

I was almost afraid to look, but glanced over at the line of women still waiting for a possible interview. Most seemed to recognize what had just occurred and the line was breaking up. Theresa glanced back and shrugged before shouting towards the entrance. "How do I make my decision official?"

I could feel Theresa stiffen in my arms as an emotionless voice responded. "Name the person you wish to add as a concubine, and if they accept, they will be added."

Theresa put her hand on Nadia's shoulder. "I need your last name, if you want to join us," she told Nadia who was still crying quietly.

"Prutkova," Nadia said quietly. "My name is Nadia Prutkova."

The AI must have been paying attention to the conversation because before Theresa could say more a voice quietly called out. "Nadia Prutkova, do you agree to become the concubine of Theresa Johnston?"

I tried to stifle a laugh as Theresa glared upwards. "I didn't get to ask," she muttered with a smile.

Nadia stiffened in my arms and then slowly turned to face Theresa. I could feel a bit of tension in her shoulders as she meekly chirped. "Me?"

Theresa nodded. "I happened to hear you talk to David, so I know your story. I know the type of person we need, and you appear to be perfect."

Nadia looked over at the bed where the children still played, and then back at Theresa. "But what about sex?"

Theresa laughed. "Doesn't often, hot and very loving work for you? David told you that I approached him with a weird package deal, but he didn't tell the whole story. In high school I was raped three times by guys I dated. By the time I graduated and enrolled at the university, I distrusted all men. Traci was my roommate, and we kind of fell into a relationship like you did with Prudence, only I had the CAP to volunteer. But when the pickup came, even though Traci had less trust of men than I did, she thought we should select a man."

Nadia noticed my arms still encircled her and put her hands over mine. "And you selected this man?"

Theresa laughed. "We almost didn't. His CAP score looks like some serial killers. It was Amber and Alex that confused us. Traci could tell that they weren't his children, but he was at a movie theater with just them, and was acting like a devoted and caring parent. His CAP score showed a man who had no interest in parenting at all."

Nadia turned to look at me, but I just smiled silently. I had never asked to look at the sub-scores on my card and this was a revelation to me. My main thing at that moment was to think about how happy Missy would be that Amber and Alex were still happy and healthy.

"I find that hard to believe," Nadia said quietly. "Especially after watching him try to entertain all the kids."

Theresa laughed. "When Traci finally managed to explain what we were offering, but told him that she and I were longtime lovers, David told us that if he had to become a eunuch to get those two children off Earth, he'd hold the knife while they performed the surgery." Theresa blushed for a moment. "I have to admit; I'm very glad Traci and I ignored that offer. He's been a loving and caring man, and he makes the pod we live in a true home. I just wish I didn't have to leave on tours."

Nadia thought for a moment. "Will you be leaving on a tour soon?"

Theresa looked down. "No, I just returned from my second, and the navy has approved a pregnancy leave for me to have my first child. But during that last tour Traci died, so I came here to find a new concubine."

"To be the senior concubine," I quipped. "I'm content to be the chief diaper changer and bottle washer."

Sophie had wandered over and I noticed the rest of the children had begun to drift back into the barracks. Sophie glared at me and sighed. "And yet you keep making me change the diapers. It's teenager abuse I tell you."

Theresa giggled and I just waved at Sophie. "Pay no attention to the brunette in the corner. She loves her niece."

Sophie blushed for a moment and then winked at Nadia. "He's right I do."

Nadia looked over at Theresa, I could feel much of the tension leave her body. "So I'm joining the six of you? But what is this girl?"

Sophie blushed. "I'm a thirteen year old pre-concubine. I'll test when I'm fourteen and David there is trying to teach me all he can, but I won't score enough to be a citizen."

Nadia pushed against me and then knelt in front of Sophie. "How can you say that?"

Sophie smiled sadly. "I'm too timid. And…" she looked up at Theresa and me before looking Nadia in the eyes. "I don't want to pass. I want to be Theresa's concubine. She and David have made me happy, and I could never leave them."

Nadia turned back to look at us. Theresa was waiting patiently and to our surprise Nadia nodded. "I, Nadia Prutkova, accept and wish to become the concubine of Theresa Johnston."

Theresa smiled as Nadia stood up to wrap her up in a big hug. Before anyone could speak Nadia attached her lips to Theresa's and initiated a passionate kiss. I watched and smiled for a moment and then had to jump forward and hold both women up before they collapsed to the floor.

They stopped the kiss and Theresa sighed. "Wow, that was a kiss."

Nadia giggled. "It just felt right. You all just feel right."

Theresa smiled. "It does. I guess we are ready to go then. Do you have anything?"

Nadia sighed and looked down at the shift she was wearing. "No, George left me with nothing, although all concubines in the barracks wear shifts."

Sophie ran over to grab Tanya's pram, and to get the other two children ready to leave. Theresa offered her arm to Nadia who accepted it with a smile and as a group we started heading towards the exit. I noticed a few ladies standing nearby looking upset, but none interfered with our progress. We had reached the door when the one man in the room, dressed in a gray uniform, spoke to us.

"You appear to have made a choice. I just hope we get a few more in here to make choices soon. The fiasco at Ursus-twelve left a lot of concubines without sponsors. You could take another if you wanted."

Theresa shook her head. "Perhaps I can return, but it would be best if Nadia has time to adjust and become part of the family first."

The man seemed content with that answer. "Sounds fair. Oh, before you leave I have a question. You have a well-behaved family. How is that?"

Sophie giggled as Theresa pointed at me. I was listening to Alex tell me something about one of the children he had met and did not realize what had happened until I noticed we had stopped walking. "What?" I asked as I looked up.

The man seemed puzzled. "That is my question I think. I asked Theresa here why the family is so well-behaved and she points to you."

I shrugged. "I just do what I can to make sure the pod is clean, quiet and the children entertained so my mistress can relax when she is there. If my mistress is happy, I know I have done my duty to her."

The man coughed in surprise. "Is that all? Do you know how many times I hear a citizen come here to complain that his concubines aren't working to make him happy? Too many concubines are chosen based on looks or on how good a blowjob the girl can give. I should set you up as an instructor to help some of the other households. It might reduce the number of returns we get."

I shrugged and looked at Theresa. "That's up to my mistress. If that did happen, I hope I would not have to travel to the capital when providing this instruction. I'm needed at home still."

The man looked at me and then glanced over at Theresa who smiled slightly. "I do think he should stay close to home, but that training can't be in my pod. I like my private space."

The man in the gray uniform nodded. He seemed about to say more when Theresa giggled. "And I want a small payment for it."

"A payment?" the man hissed.

Theresa giggled. "Nothing bad. It's just that David has the kids enjoying running around with a soccer ball but they really have no place to play. Behind my pod is a large open space in the township. I know there are forms of artificial turf that feel like grass. I want a soccer field for the kids. With some space on the sidelines and then fencing to keep the balls from rolling forever."

The man just stared for a moment. "You want a field…"

Sophie was jumping up and down. "I love that idea. It would be nice to play on that. We could try some of the other games David talks about."

The man seemed to be muttering something and listening to a response. He did not seem too happy at first, but finally smiled. "It might take a while to get the field in place. We need one of the planet's industrial replicators to produce some equipment so we can prepare the ground. And that equipment will need to be ferried to the township. But I believe we can scrounge up a few concubines who won't mind doing a bit of work. I know staying in the barracks frustrates them. But, in exchange we'll be setting up a classroom in the administration pod of the township, and we expect David to host at least five hours of classes every seven days."

I looked at Theresa who smiled at me. "I think I can spare him for that much time. But how will he know who is a student? And how will people find out about the classes?"

The man laughed. "Leave it to me. Tribune Octavian Walesca has never failed to get the word out when it's required."

With that we left the building and wandered back to the teleport center to return home. During the walk Nadia tried to spend time talking with Sophie, Amber and Alex. She seemed much more relaxed and content now that we were outside the barracks.

She furthered that impression once we had teleported to the township and she looked around. "Wow, this is a nice place. I'm even more sure I'll be happy."

I laughed. "Isn't your mission to make Theresa happy?"

Nadia stuck her tongue out at me. "Hey! If I'm happy it's a lot easier to make sure that my mistress is happy. Its funny though, I never realized just how much that barracks depressed me."

I nodded at that, but Sophie spoke up. "What about when you lived with your original…."

Nadia winked. "Owner? God, maybe its better now, but he had all six of his girls at each other's throats. Well, the other five were. He's a brilliant man, but the way he handled people made the pod a very unhappy place. And he ended up in some kind of egghead's enclave. It was mostly high CAP people who were going to handle policy and strategy work, so they would rarely leave the planet. The whole place was just stuffy."

I coughed. "Just so you know, this township has it's own quirks."

Sophie giggled. "Yeah, ninety-nine occupied pods and only sixty or so men, all concubines."

Nadia stopped and looked up in shock. Theresa just shrugged. "I did not ask for it, but they put me in a township with only female sponsors. We're all based on ships, so other than Martha who was on the Park Avenue with me, I don't know anyone. Traci knew a few because she liked to walk the township at night, but she knew them only by name."

I nodded and smiled as Nadia started walking again. "Don't worry," I said. "Its actually a nice place to live."

Nadia seemed thoughtful and then stopped again just outside our pod. "Wait, you were on the Park Avenue?" she asked Theresa. "Is that how Traci died?"

Theresa nodded sadly. "Yes, did you know about that?"

Nadia nodded. "Most of the barracks did. A sudden influx of four hundred concubines is noticed, and they started arriving six days ago."

"Six days?" Theresa asked. "But the Park Avenue and the William Pitt only entered the system four days ago, and we had lost all communications. How did naval command know?"

Nadia seemed lost in thought. "It was a corvette. One of the corvettes showed up somewhere and got a message out."

Theresa turned to look at Nadia. "One of the others made it out? I know it can't be the Hearst Castle, her death occurred just as we received the order to turn and run. The others were cut off though. Do you know which one it was?"

Nadia paused to think. "I wasn't paying too much attention, since I was fairly new there. But some of the concubines in there have been stuck there for months, and other than serving in the bar and brothel they have little to do but gossip. I know the first influx was concubines who had belonged to men on the cruisers, but I remember there were a few from a corvette. The Nassau I think. The others started arriving three days ago, that's when we first saw concubines from Hearst Castle, Medina and Monte Sano."

Theresa looked at me, shock written on her face. "I can't believe the Nassau made it out. They were cut off so quickly."

Nadia silently nodded. "And none of the concubines knew much. Only that ships were reported destroyed. I guess the Nassau was able to report the cruisers destroyed, but could not name the destroyed corvettes until you reappeared. Was it really bad?"

Theresa sighed. "I love being on a ship, although I miss my family so much when we are out. Even having Traci with me on our last mission didn't fully ease the absence of the others. I was even thrilled during the fight. I'm a weapons officer, and once you start issuing orders you forget to be afraid. But losing Traci hurts! I'm going to miss her forever."

I reached out to hug Theresa only to find that Sophie and Nadia had the same thought. We surrounded Theresa and wrapped her in our arms, holding her close until she gave a chirp that was a mix of sob and giggle. "That's enough!" she cried. "Let's get home, so David can show off his grill talents."

"Grill?" Nadia asked. "Don't you just ask the replicator to produce food?"

I smiled at her. "That's no fun. Instead, I'll have it produce some nice juicy steaks for us and grill them up outdoors, while we watch the kids play with a soccer ball. It will be just like a nice family barbeque back home."

Theresa nodded. "I think that's part of why we have a family, instead of just a pod of people. David likes to do a lot of little things, and those little things help bring us together."

In a moment, I screwed up my face to look thoughtful. "Sugar cookies. That's what we need to do. We should make some decorated sugar cookies. I'm sure Amber would love to play with frosting."

Amber and Alex gave a small cheer as Nadia looked at me in shock. I just smiled as we reached the pod, and entered. Theresa paused to update the instructions to the AI as to who had access rights, as I went to the replicator and started getting what I needed for a family cookout. Moments later I was outside watching the grill sear some steaks as the children enjoyed a game of soccer with a still-shocked Nadia.

I had wanted to allow Nadia and Theresa to have a night alone, but it was Nadia who dragged me into the room for an exhausting and passionate night of lovemaking. The night ended with Theresa and Nadia in a close embrace as I spooned Theresa from behind.