Author: Thinking Horndog
Title: The Academy
Part: 5 of 88
Universe: The Swarm Cycle
Summary: The Governor of the colony of Nuevo Angelino recognizes that the ad-
hoc educational system in use in his colony isn't producing sponsors -- so he
sends a team to Earth to collect some professional educators with a
Confederacy perspective.  This results in a new and unusual kind of pickup...

Keywords: MF MFF FF M+F mf mF exhib humil inc ir group oral anal toys Mdom
Fdom

The Academy

Chapter 5

Frieda:

To know Beth is to love her like a sister  --  yeah, well, okay, we've done a
couple of things sisters aren't supposed to do a couple of times, but that's
another story...  I'm a little manic, but Beth is kind of a doofus and her
speech problem makes her kind of shy and retiring, so I push her and she puts
the brakes on me and between us we make, like, one decent chick  --  except
for looks, I guess.  I met her when she applied for the job at the grocery
store and when I realized that she wasn't retarded or anything we hit it off
and have been going strong ever since.

Anyway, so, where was I?  We'd been on shift since before noon and it was
getting close to time to get off when this guy comes through my station with
a bunch of stuff that wasn't real food.  Decent-looking guy -- short brown
hair, nice teeth, strong jaw, nice build, twenty-something...  Prime stuff,
actually.  So Beth comes over to bag him and the next thing I notice is that
he's, like, ogling her hooters and drooling  --  which is kind of weird,
since Beth has a kind of saggy-looking bust.  I mean, I don't have much, but
what I DO have doesn't sag too much.  Beth's hooters look kind of, well,
under-inflated.  I must have telegraphed the whole thing because Beth looked
up at me, flicked a look at him and turned away, all embarrassed; I remember
thinking, 'Jeez, Hon!  If the guy wants to look...' but of course I couldn't
say anything.  She finished bagging him and asked me if she could shut down
her station  --  and again, the guy acts like he's all fascinated  --  not in
a negative way, either, which is odd in itself, since Beth has that lisp...
She goes after the cleaning stuff in the shelves under my station and her
shirt rides up and the guy circles around and starts ogling her bare back and
the strip of her panties that showed up because she was bent over.

If he had been an old guy, it would have been really creepy, but even as it
was it was unusual, to say the least!  I popped a grin, thinking about how I
was gonna rag Beth about it later, when she straightened up and caught him
then glanced at me  --  then out of nowhere, the dude goes, "Hey, uh, you
wouldn't want to go out or anything...?"

I was FLOORED  --  but Beth wasn't EVEN prepared for THAT shit!  She got that
'deer in the headlights' look and stammers, "I don't think so..."

Now, up to then, the guy could have been any one of a dozen kinds of weirdo,
hot-looking or not  --  but he took 'no' REAL hard, tucked his tail between
his legs and slinked off.  Shit, I'd have told him 'yes' in a heartbeat!
Beth, on the other hand, froze up...  I lit into her, hissing, "Beth!  When
is the last time a hot guy asked you out?  I don't know what it was exactly,
but he was INTO you -- and you just blew him off..."

So Beth whines about how she'd freaked -- which made sense, since it probably
the first time ever!  Thinking fast, I snagged a handful of register coupons
and handed them to her, then pushed her off to chase the guy down, crossing
my fingers and hoping that she would remember to talk...

She did.  They went back and forth for a moment, then he looked over at me.
I just looked back; it was too late to pretend I wasn't interested in the
outcome.  The next thing I know, Beth does this little hop and flounces back
to me with this HUGE grin on her face.  I took her in hand and we headed for
the break room so I could make her halfway presentable.

The next morning, Beth comes waddling in with a hickey on her neck!  First
she tried to bullshit me, then she opened up -- and lighting had struck!  The
guy had wined her and dined her, then the little idiot had gone back to his
hotel with him, and BANG!  Cherry-picking time!  It was fast, but then Beth
had a LOT of catching up to do, you know?  Prince Charming probably didn't
have to apply a hammerlock...  Then she tells me that she invited him to her
house! Jeez, what a fuck-up!  Even Beth knew the guy was gone, given a
moment's sober reflection...

Beth was dumped out -- and I was dumped out for her.  We waited, hoping
against hope for him to show up, but the end of the shift came and no call
from Prince Charming -- or Jack, as that's what Beth said his name was.  I
decided to take her out and get her blasted to ease the pain and we were out
in the parking lot deciding where to go when Beth's phone rings.

	I could tell by the look on her face that it was him -- and I
couldn't decide whether calling her to beg off was better than just
disappearing.  Beth gives a couple of listless answers, then goes, "What?
Uuuhhh...  You mean, like, dress-up?  Fancy dinner out?  With other people?"
Then she, like, goes into shock...

	So she hangs up, and I ask, "What did he say, Hon?"

	And in this stunned voice, she says, "He asked me if I had anything
to wear to Antoine's..."

	At that point, Beth totally lost it -- but there was no time to lose,
so I drove her home.  And I managed to get her momma moving in the proper
direction, too, which was NO mean feat!

	Beth got her looks -- most of them, anyway -- from her momma -- but
they're nothing alike, temperamentally.  Beth's momma, Vera, has to be in
charge of just about everything in sight -- and she takes no prisoners.  Beth
takes after her dad -- who probably never was in control of her family, even
at the start.  Vera freaked from the word 'go,' having a fit over Beth's
hickey and ranting about her being 'suddenly boy crazy,' but I managed to
convince her that dinner at Antoine's with a group of people wasn't exactly a
sordid assignation.  Of course, they'd already HAD their sordid assignation,
but Vera didn't need to know that...  We got Beth dressed in something
halfway decent -- it wasn't exactly a little black cocktail dress, but it was
as close as we could whip up on short notice -- and no sooner did I pronounce
her makeup presentable than Jack showed up at the door!

	Vera lit into him right away about the hickey, and would have carried
it farther, but Beth surfaced some uncharacteristic gumption and drew some of
her momma's fire.  While Vera was rounding on Beth, Jack punched in again,
trading off, telling her they needed to leave and sort of hanging out the
idea that she could bring out the rack and thumbscrews at a later date.  I
tossed a shawl over Beth's shoulders and they got out of there -- leaving ME
with Momma Vera, unfortunately...

	I was a single target; when Vera set her sights on me, there was no
diversion.  "So what do YOU know about this?" Vera asked, hands on her hips.

	'Nothing' would have been an obvious lie and that easy penetration
would have made a hole in my defenses for her to work with, so I said, "They
met last night."

	"Last night?"

	"Yeah..."

	"You know she didn't come home last night..."

	'Uh oh...'  "Really?"

	"Frieda..."  Vera crossed her arms over her hooters.  "Obviously, she
wasn't with you..."

	Yeah, this wasn't going well... time to switch tactics.  "Jeez, Mrs.
H!  Beth FINALLY meets a guy who is into her and you have to treat it as
ugly!"  (Yeah, I know her name -- but I can't use it!)

	"What if he's only there to take her innocence?" Vera demanded.

	"Mrs. H!  Why on Earth would a hot guy hunt down BETH just to take
her cherry!"

	Vera wrinkled her nose at the whole 'cherry' thing.  "They're out
there!"

	"So are guys who would genuinely want to date Beth!" I retorted.
"They're few and far between, OBVIOUSLY -- but that just means that YOU have
to be a little more careful about not running them off!"  While I was making
a point, I decided to throw a serious punch, "You want her to be picked up,
don't you?"

	"Well, yes..."

	"Okay, Mrs. H -- what is Beth gonna have to do to get picked up?"
Vera looked mulish, so I knew I had her.  "I'll tell you!  She's gonna have
to get naked and offer to blow a guy -- at least!  More likely, she's gonna
have to do more than that!  Now, which would you prefer -- Jack, or some four
hundred pound black guy with a couple of gold teeth and a bad attitude who's
ONLY interested in taking her innocence -- and maybe won't take her afterward
because she has NO IDEA what she's doing?"

	Mr. H, who had been in the background the whole time, wrinkled his
face in disgust.  "Frieda!  Please!"

	"We need to deal with reality, Mr. H!" I protested.  "If Beth gets
picked up, you have to hope that whoever does it is a nice guy -- and it's
the luck of the draw!  When it happens, there isn't gonna be any tender
romance -- she's gonna have to put her stuff out there and HOPE someone is
vaguely interested, and she'll be going in BLIND!  Jack, on the other hand,
is into her -- I KNOW, I was THERE when they met!  Even if you're right and
he's a total scumbag, he's doing her a favor if he teaches her a few things!"

	"Frieda!  That's DISGUSTING!" Vera ranted.

	"Maybe," I retorted, "but if you screw this up for Beth, she'll NEVER
forgive you!  Besides, you missed the IMPORTANT things when you started
crawling all over Jack!"

	"Oh?" Vera snarled.  "Like what?"

	"Did you ASK about his CAP score?"

                       ----------------------------------

Beth:

	Momma was all over Jack as soon as the door opened, ranting and
raving about the hickey, for God's sake!  She was vague about it, and Jack
just kind of stood there; I could tell he was worried that my less-than-
virginal state was the subject under discussion.  "What did I do?" he asked
cautiously.

	Momma was so busy ranting and raving that she totally missed the fact
that Jack RELAXED when she revealed that it was the muffler burn she was
worried about!  He even apologized -- but then Momma moved on to more general
questions and I realized that if things went very far at all, Momma would
sniff out something important, so I stepped in, "Momma!"

	Of course, once I did, the inquisition moved to me...  "Well?"  Momma
turned to me and put her hands on her hips.

	"We were making out, okay?" I replied, realizing that I couldn't
carry this whole thing any better than Jack...

	"Making out...  When did all this start?" Momma demanded.

	Fortunately, Jack jumped in, reminding Momma that we had places to be
-- right after which, he shifted the focus to me...  "You look beautiful!  Do
you need a wrap?"  I probably grinned like a fool; I KNOW I got all gooey
inside!

	Momma fell back on ranting about the hickey and tied a scarf around
my neck, and Frieda draped a shawl over my shoulders and Jack got me out of
there -- too fast, almost, since when he hauled me toward the door he got me
going at a rate that made balance on my heels a bit precarious!  I managed
not to fall, though -- somehow -- and he got me to the car, all the while
fending off Momma's crap over the hickey; I knew we were BOTH happy that
Momma hadn't scented the fact that Jack had marked me a lot more deeply than
THAT!

	"Whew!"Jack said as he got in the car.  "Think she would feel better
if I gave you a matching mark on the other side?"

	I giggled and declared, "I'm NOT wearing this scarf!" then reached up
and got rid of the thing.

	"Good," Jack replied.  "If I like to mark my women, it's MY business
-- and if you like being marked, it's YOURS!"

	'His women!'  "Am I your woman?"  Butterflies fluttered in my
stomach.

	"Yes," he replied, in a tone that said, 'of course...'  "Do you like
being marked?"

	"Yes!"  'Mark me!' I thought, 'PLEASE!'  I figured that I needed to
explain myself a little, so I said, "I thought I scared you away this morning
when I mentioned going to my house.  Then you called late..."

	Jack cocked his head.  "Sooo..."

	"I thought you were calling to beg off," I explained.  "I was happy
you'd even done that; I wasn't expecting it."

	"So THAT'S why you were acting so weird!" he exclaimed.

	"Yes."  I sat there, picking my fingers.  "Most guys..."

	He gave out a grunt and was quiet for a bit, then replied, "I guess
I'm not most guys..."

	I couldn't believe it; I'd spent all day stewing over something that
apparently hadn't even occurred to him!  Of course, that STILL didn't explain
why he even bothered with me.  I gave voice to the thought, "I don't know
why..."

	"I don't either," he replied, cutting me off.  "Let's not over-
analyze it."

	It was Antoine's all right; Momma probably thought he was gonna take
me to Burger King, but we pulled up at the portico and a valet reached for my
door...  When Jack came around to take my arm I begged him not to drag me
inside as rapidly as he'd gotten me out of the house.  "We were escaping your
mother," he replied, chuckling.  "They do wonderful things for your calves,
though."  TWO compliments in fifteen minutes!  Buoyed by the attention, I
probably glowed.  Then he came out with, "How are you barefoot?"  From the
teasing look on his face, he might as well have added, 'and pregnant!'
Suddenly, I was wet, looking at him...  I stumbled along between him and a
waiter, wondering if he knew how deftly he was pushing my buttons...

	The next thing I knew some woman my mother's age was greeting me,
showing a lot of teeth and apparently blaming me for dinner or something.  I
stammered out something and she detected my lisp and said it was 'sweet'; I
probably turned purple from embarrassment.  After a minute or two, though, I
decided she was trying to be nice and put me at my ease instead of being
catty -- which was good, because some guy who had been eyeing me like I was
not fit to grind into hamburger dragged Jack off, leaving me with the group
of strangers.

	There were eight or ten people at the table; it was clearly a
business meeting -- not that I'd ever been to one -- even though everyone
kept the discussion away from business while we ate.  Jack and the guy who
disapproved of me -- Mark something? -- and some guy they called Major Harold
were comfortable with one another, but they apparently didn't know the toothy
woman, whose name was Nadine something, or the head guy on the other side of
the table -- a Dr. Atkinson -- very well.  There were several others,
including a well-maintained redhead a few years older than me who was getting
some attention from that Mark guy, but she was doing a lot more keeping her
head down than strutting her stuff.

	Somebody was a bigwig, obviously, because the owner of Antoine's
showed up for dessert; I figure THAT doesn't happen much.  I was sitting
there playing with my tiramisu and wondering if I was going to gain five
pounds from eating it when Dr. Atkinson put his napkin down and started
jabbering about an evacuation -- and could the staff at Antoine's go?

	Jack freaked, visibly!  "Doctor!  There are people at this table who
are not vetted for this line of discussion!"

	"Jean-Baptiste has two students at Seifort," Dean Atkinson replied
mildly, "he would be privy to it soon enough.  Oh, you said 'people'."  His
head swiveled to me -- along with about a dozen others.  "I'd assumed that
Miss Hopkins was a candidate."

	Jack got REAL unhappy.  "She is, but for security reasons, I've not
discussed the fact with her."

	The Major turned to him and said, "I guess you'd better do that
now..."

	Jack nodded, took a moment to get his shit together, and waved me and
the restaurant owner over to a corner.  He took care of the guy first, which
was a little irritating, but that was the least of the shocks...

	"Several of us at the table represent a Confederacy colony world,"
Jack announced.

  	I must have said something, because Jack gave me a look.  Frankly, I
was FLOORED!  What did this mean?  "We are negotiating with the academy to
evacuate the school -- staff, students, and families -- in the very near
future," Jack went on.

	I just sat there, blinking.  Holy Shit!  He was talking about a
pickup!  A HUGE pickup!

	The restaurant guy -- Jean-Baptiste something -- blinked.  "Student's
families?"

	Jack nodded.  "That's on the table."  He went on to explain that if
Jean-Baptiste didn't want to know, he could fix it that way -- or he could
fix it so he could be in on things, but not tell anyone.  It sounded
complicated.

	Jean-Baptiste asked a question about what the benefits were...

	"You would be in a position to assist more than just your family,
perhaps," Jack replied, "not to mention the fact that you would be in a
position to ensure that nothing untoward happened that might cause your
family to be dispersed at a critical moment."

	"Is either course dangerous?" Jean-Baptiste asked.

	"Physically or mentally?" Jack replied, "Not particularly.  As a co-
conspirator, you will be able to discuss the project freely with others in
the know, but will be inhibited against revealing it to the uninitiated.  The
inhibitions have a sliding scale to them -- the harder you try to reveal the
secret, the more uncomfortable you will become.  The memory injection takes
moments to work, has no untoward side-effects, and flushes out of your system
in minutes."

	Jean-Baptiste nodded.  "I think I would like to participate."

	"Fine," Jack nodded.  "Please examine the screen of this device..."
Jack handed him something that looked like a Game-Boy, watched him a few
seconds, and turned to me.

	I wasn't happy.  I didn't know THIS Jack.  What was I -- a little
overnight fun for a traveling salesman?  "I think you lied to me,
somewhere..."

	"I withheld the truth," Jack replied, looking apologetic, "not
because I wanted to, but because other people's lives depend upon it."

	"You don't plan to live here,"  I accused.

	"No."

	"You were going to leave..."

	"The plan was to offer to take you at pickup time," Jack offered up
as an excuse.

	'Yeah, right!'  SURE he was!  "Can I believe you?"

	"I had to walk a line," Jack explained.  "I'm responsible for the
lives of a LOT of people.  In the normal course of events, I'd have filled my
concubine allotment at pickup, just like everyone else -- but I met you -- at
the wrong time -- and that complicated things."

	"You're already in the Confederacy..." I waited for him to fill in a
service.

	"Navy."

	"Then you have concubines," I accused.

	"Yes."

	"Then you can't take me."  I'm not stupid -- everybody knows that you
only get so many...

	"I have an additional allotment," Jack replied.  "Technically, the
rules for concubine selection only apply at initial pickup.  I'm allowed more
now."

	"How many do you have?" I asked, wondering if I believed that.

	"Two."

	"They're probably hot-looking."  It was lies -- all lies!  The whole
thing was just about him getting a little on the side in a foreign port; he
WAS a sailor, after all...  "You were toying with me!  You never..."

	"You are WRONG, young lady!"  Suddenly, that guy Mark was there,
horning in over Jack's shoulder.  "He told me different, right after you got
here!  And he has NO reason to lie to ME!"

	What?  THAT didn't make sense...  "But... why?"  Could I believe this
guy?  I mean, he was with Jack, right?

	"You'll forgive me if I tell you that I have NO idea!" Mark replied,
"and I don't think Jack does, either.  But he says you have good scores for
child rearing..."

	"Well, yeah..." I admitted.  I do, after all...

	"That's a valid excuse, at least," Mark muttered.  "It's not the
reason; the reason seems to be that he's hung up on you, somehow.  But it's
an excuse."

	"That's pretty weird," I muttered.  This Mark didn't think much of
me, obviously -- so why should he bother, unless he was telling the truth?
All he had to do was leave things alone...

	"Any weirder than what we did last night?" Jack pressed.  "Any
weirder than you being here with me?"

	"No..."  I started feeling better.  'That Mark guy said... ' "You're
hung up on me?"

	"You first," Jack grunted, making it clear that he knew he was at a
disadvantage.  "Don't get any ideas; if you accept, I'll have the power of
life and death over you -- you won't be wrapping me around your little
finger!"

	Mark rolled his eyes.  "That's a done deal already!"

	I couldn't help it; I grinned.  I knew a winning poker hand when I
saw one -- and Jack does NOT have a poker face!  "Okay."

	"Okay, what?"

	"I'll go with you."

	"Fine."  Jack snatched the Game Boy from the restaurant guy and
handed it to me, "Get a load of this!"

	It looked like a screen saver to me -- but it WAS fascinating...
Something poked my finger, I think...

	The next thing I remember was Jack pulling me in for a kiss.  "Go eat
your dessert."  He patted me on the butt and I staggered back to the table,
tottering on my heels.

	Jack put a couple of devices on the table and Jean-Baptiste, the
restaurant guy, went out for a couple of minutes and closed the door when he
came back -- and the conversation turned into something AMAZING!  They were
planning on taking half the town, it seemed like!  Everybody was worried that
they would get criminals and nutcases and God knew what -- and it made sense,
I guess.  Seifort Academy was a private school -- and that meant money -- and
it was a good guess that SOME of it would be dirty...  The trick was that
they had been somewhat selective with the student body in the first place, so
very few parents would be a problem -- but other relatives could turn out to
be unpredictable.  There was also an issue with people being bigwigs but
having low CAP scores -- which was gonna be a come-down for them.  Basically,
the pickup day -- Saturday, during the big Family Day celebration -- was
going to be major zoo time...

	Finally, we packed it in and Jack took me to the front and we got in
his car.  There were some open questions, obviously, starting with "Where
to?"  I asked that one...

	"We have... options," Jack said slowly.  "Technically, as far as the
Confederacy is concerned, you are mine -- to do with as I please..."

	"What?" I asked, "Don't I have to sign something or something?"

	"Nope," Jack replied.  "The Confederacy doesn't do it that way.  I
asked, and you said yes.  Technically, that's the last decision you get to
make; I own you now.  You're mine -- in ways you probably never planned on."

	"So..."

	"So I don't have to ask your parents.  I don't even have to ask YOU!"
Jack replied.  "I can take you back to my hotel room -- or even to the ship
in orbit -- wherever I want, basically."

	"So where are we going?" I asked.

	"I'm taking you home," Jack replied, shrugging.  He put the car in
gear.

	It was funny; I knew the answer before he gave it.  "Why?"

	"You can have a few more days," he said, then glanced over at me.
"They can go..."

	"They won't," I replied.  "Momma says we'll win.  We're too ornery."

	Jack pursed his lips.  "We are, and we will -- but it might not be
here."

	We rode in silence for a bit, while I absorbed this.  "It won't
matter," I said, finally.  Having put that thought aside, I moved on,
though...  "What about Frieda?"

                       ----------------------------------

Jack:

	"Who is Frieda?" I exclaimed.  "Do I know her?"

	"No," Beth replied, then looked slightly furtive.  "Well, yes and no.
You met her -- at the checkout.  She was at the house, too."  Beth eyed me
sidelong.  "We're not related -- but she's my big sister, you know?"

	"Oh."  I considered this.  No doubt Beth was referring to the girl I
had labeled in my personal catalog as 'Checkout Chickie.'  Funny, I hadn't
even looked at her...  "Is she the one who does your makeup?"

	Beth grinned crookedly.  "Yeah, I know -- too much eyeliner.  It's
her thing.  She does good, otherwise."

	"I'll meet her," I told Beth.  "No promises."

	"Okay."  Beth seemed satisfied with that.  "How many slots do you
have?"

	I eyed her.  "I don't know -- do you have a list or something?'

	"No," Beth replied, smiling crookedly.  "I'm just wondering how hard
I'm going to have to twist your arm.  How many supermodels are on YOUR list?"

	I snorted.  "Zero.  I have no interest in the uselessly decorative."

	"Well, you have me..."  Beth's eyes danced.

	"See?" I retorted.  "Now I have to find a couple of galley slaves to
make up for you!"

	That got a giggle -- and a laugh from me, because Beth snorts when
she giggles!  It was hilarious!

	I pulled into the driveway, then thought better of it and moved the
rental car back onto the street.  "I'm not going to take a lot of crap," I
announced.  It was brave noises; I was wondering if I was going to end up
sleeping alone.

	Beth didn't argue; she tucked herself against me and said, "Okay."

	There was a light on, but the door was locked.  Beth produced a key
and let us in.

	'Momma' was in the living room, reclining in front of the TV.  She
was awake; I waited for her to say something while Beth removed her shawl and
her shoes.  'Momma' pushed the recliner to the vertical and sat up.  "Jack,
is it?"

	"Yes, Ma'am."

	"What's your CAP score, Jack?"

	"Six point seven."

	"Is that a fact," she mused.  "I don't suppose..."

	I grimaced; she was calling my bluff -- which wouldn't be a problem
-- except I was holding five aces.  I didn't HAVE a CAP card; I had a
Confederacy Armed Forces Identification Card that contained my CAP score,
among other things.  She raised an eyebrow; I thought, 'To Hell with it,' and
drew out my ID wallet.

	'Momma' wasn't stupid, by any means.  "This says you're already in
the Confederacy military," she declared, eyeing me as she returned it

	"Yes."

	"What does that mean, exactly?"  'Momma' flashed a look at Beth.

	"It means Beth is leaving with me," I replied quietly.

	"That isn't 'Maybe, someday,' either, is it?"

	I shook my head.  "No, 'Soon,' is more like it."

	Momma's face worked.  "You didn't even have to bring her back."

	"No, I didn't."

	"We're going upstairs," Beth said quietly.  Her eyes challenged her
mother's.

	Momma's eyes slid from Beth's to mine.  "Good night, then."  She got
up and walked out.

	Beth stood there for a moment, then rubbed her face.  "Wow!"

	"I gather you didn't expect that," I murmured.

	"Not EVEN!"

	"Let's be grateful for small favors," I murmured.  "Lead on."  Beth
took my hand and led me up the stairs to her bedroom.

	It was predictably frilly, complete with stuffed animals and a canopy
bed.  As long as it held us, I didn't care...  It was after one in the
morning and I had a busy day in front of me, so the plan from my perspective
was to cuddle up to my new concubine and get a good night's sleep.

	Beth, on the other hand, had different ideas...