Chapter 4: Tuesday - Sub-Decurion Anthony Chan

Sub-Decurion Chan sat in the office of Public Defender Alicia Sweetwater, reviewing the file in front of him. The chairs beside him were occupied by District Attorney Roger Allenby and FBI Agent Pam Watkins. The office's air conditioning was struggling to keep the Florida Panhandle heat at bay.

"Yes, I think I can help your client, but with his CAP score, that's going to prove somewhat challenging. We can discuss the option with him, but I'm not certain he'll want to take it."

"I don't know what his CAP score is," the Public Defender confessed.

"I have access to that data through our AI," he assured her. "Let's just say he's not a sponsor. Still, Mr. Becker has skills we need and doesn't have a criminal mentality, so we can spirit him away for you into the ultimate witness protection program."

"We'll need him to return to testify," worried Allenby.

"Your courts are able to accept testimony through remote feeds. We can make Mr. Becker available to testify at your convenience - in fact, we can make Mr. Becker testify at your convenience. There may be a time lag between question and answer, but none greater than a few minutes, and the answers we can guarantee will be complete and truthful."

Watkins sat there and kept her mouth shut. If Whitefeather's people could help the FBI by getting their witnesses the hell out of Dodge, she did not want to upset the applecart. The importance her bosses placed on this meeting was amply demonstrated by the fact she'd been flown down on an Air Force C-32A. Modified for VIP flight from the basic model Boeing 757, the fleet of six C-32 aircraft were usually used by the Vice President, First Lady and members of Congress. Right now, the aircraft Pam had been unceremoniously dumped into as sole passenger back in Washington was sitting with its 16 crew members at the runway at nearby Eglin Air Force Base, awaiting her return from the Public Defender's office. Someone had pulled some serious strings.

"I think that's acceptable," came a voice from the phone - Judge John Newton from the Court of Appeals, who was teleconferenced in.

"If the courts are amenable to Mr. Becker's extraction and his family, and the Federal Justice Department's representative for the Witness Protection Program has no objections, then let's start the ball rolling. Let me see how soon we can extract them. Just a second, please." Sub-Decurion Chan's visage became blank, recognizable by any who had seen its like before as sub-vocal communications with an AI.

"We'll need to confirm with Mr. Becker that he is amenable to being extracted as a concubine, along with his 'significant other'. We'll do a CAP retest to confirm he needs to be extracted as concubine rather than as a volunteer, and then get him and Ms. Clay to agree to our recommended sponsor."

"Can you tell us what colony you'll be sending them to?" Alicia queried anxiously.

"No, Ma'am. It's not good for security. Good security requires both clearance to that level of classification, and a 'need to know'. You really don't need to know where he went, just that you can ask us to produce him when the trial comes. Let's talk to him and his lady, shall we?"

Interrogation Room Three was as sterile as any interrogation room in any police precinct throughout the civilized world: solid metal chairs and table bolted to the floor, no windows except the one-way mirror to the observation room next door. Interrogation Room Seven was the same as this one, except as it held three rambunctious rug rats all under the age of six: five-year-old Rob, four-year-old Roy and two-year-old Rick. Sub-Decurion Chan directed the accompanying Fleet Auxiliary rating to set up the transporter nexus in Interrogation Room Seven and guard it with her life. He, the public defender, the DA and the FBI agent then proceeded to meet with Randolph Becker and Francine Clay.

Both Randy and Fran's eyes went wide when they saw the Sub-Decurion enter the room. The grey colour and black Sam Browne belt did remind them of the Pennsylvania State Troopers, except for the Prussian collar. It definitely bore no resemblence whatsoever to local police uniforms nor to the open neck shirts of light tan with dark epaulets that the Florida Highway Patrol wore. They had no idea what he represented.

Sub-Decurion Chan fished two electronic devices from his uniform pocket. "Mr. Becker, Ms. Clay, my card." He winked at them in a friendly manner. "We like to go for the high-tech style." As the devices planted instructions on their minds and inserted nanites into their bodies to reinforce those instructions, Chan made 'keep quiet' gestures at his compatriots. As the instructions were implanted, Chan considered the two potential concubines. Both were in their early 30's, but looked older, careworn and troubled. Fran Clay was tending toward stout, to be kind, in fact she was borderline morbidly obese, with straw-like hair that was badly in need of a higher quality conditioner than human technology on Earth currently possessed. Her common-law husband wore his hair short, and was a tall drink of water that a gentle breeze could snap in two. Both wore the same kind of guarded look as a mouse trapped between a cat's paws.

"I understand that the DA would like you to turn State's Evidence, but you've got some concerns."

"Well," Randy gulped, looking at his wife. He continued in a low voice, "I want them to get Fran and the kids extracted. I've made mistakes, but they shouldn't pay for them. And I definitely don't want my kids here when the Swarm arrives."

"I think we can help. Let me introduce myself. I'm Sub-Decurion Anthony Chan of the Confederacy Civil Service. We're the part of the Confederacy that deals with sponsors' dependants and concubines."

"Concubines?" Fran asked, a touch of trepidation in her voice.

"Yes, those adults with a CAP score of less than six point five. I understand you both have CAP scores less than that."

Both adults fished out their CAP cards. Chan put them into the reader, more to confirm that these were valid CAP cards in the hands of the legal holder than to confirm the CAP score. Randy had only hit a 4.1, dragged down mostly by insecurity and a non-aggressive nature, only partially offset by intelligence and loyalty. Fran managed 5.1, mostly due to nurturing skills and personal loyalty, with her lack of inventiveness and her sheep-like nature keeping her from being a sponsor.

"You are both candidates for becoming concubines. To extract you, I'd need to find a sponsor." Their spirits dropped as they feared this to be an insurmountable obstacle. "You are in luck, however." Hope rose, not far lest they be injured by shrapnel when it next dropped to shatter on the concrete floor.

"I represent the Office of Targeted Extractions. We try to fill in those niggling little skill shortages that affect our colonies by finding those who can take up those roles and finding some way to get them to those specific colonies. And I am here to make you an offer you can't refuse."

They blinked, catching the movie reference.

"We need someone skilled in the art of hydroponic gardening. The local DA needs someone with intimate knowledge of organized crime's local grow-op network who is willing to testify against them, and you need to protect your kids, have a very intimate knowledge of both how to run a hydroponic garden and how the local gangsters were running their grow-op network. See anything in common here?"

"So, you're going to extract Fran and the kids?"

"And you. We want you, as Uncle Sam used to say. Here's the deal: you agree to become concubines, both of you, to a sponsor sight-unseen. He's already got two concubines and we're permitting him to take you as a couple as supernumerary. He ran a gardening centre but never touched hydroponics. When the time comes for the trial, you'll be brought back here into orbit, testify from the comfort and security of a Confederacy ship, and return to the destination colony, never to worry your head again about the gangsters who were threatening your kids. Nobody except the Confederacy will know where you went."

"What's the downside?" Fran had been the victim of scams before, and was understandably nervous.

"The usual, for a concubine. Your marriage, even though it was common law, will be instantly over. You become livestock, the property of your sponsor, who can do whatever he wants to you. I won't say 'within limits', there are damned few of those, he can even hand you over to the Civil Service or have you recycled. You, Fran, will be expected to produce lots more babies, and not all by Randy. Randy might also be expected to father more babies, and not all by Fran, but that's up to your sponsor. When your children reach the age of fourteen, unless they get a CAP score of greater than 6.4, they become his property as well."

Both Randy and Fran looked a trifle sick at that.

"Now, specifically about YOUR situation, the reports I'm getting back are that your particular sponsor is quite willing to share fatherhood with you, and is a kind and gentle soul. We've analyzed his CAP scores and personality, and we are firmly of the belief you'll be able to get along fine as long as you realize that you aren't exclusive to each other any more. The planet you'll be going to needs hydroponic gardeners, so that will be your primary task, well primary after breeding of course. You'll definitely be doing hands-on training of others and probably assisting the scientists there with some research and development to improve techniques and improve plants. Still interested?"

"And our kids?"

"Definitely going with you, and definitely wanted, and not only by the sponsor. I understand he has three dependants already under the age of 14, and they're excited about the prospect of getting little brothers or sisters. All are older than your three, so you'll have a trio of built-in babysitters."

They looked at each other nervously. Finally, Randy said to Fran, "Well, I'm OK with it, including the testifying, but only if you are. Either we both agree, or we stay."

"Stay and become Swarm Snacks," remarked the DA. Chan frantically gestured to him to shut up, but it turned out to be the remark that finally persuaded Fran to accept the Confederacy's offer.

"We're going." She looked up at the Public Defender. "Where are our kids?"

"In the interrogation room next door."

"When do we leave?" asked Randy.

"As soon as I find out which ship. Just a second." His look grew far-away for a moment. "Right. First a hospital ship for medical checks, then over to the ship that will actually take you to the colony. Let's go, shall we?"

In a matter of moments, there was a joyful family reunion in the somewhat Spartan comfort of Interrogation Room 7. The Fleet Auxiliary rating fired up the transporter nexus, and within moments Randy and Fran had escorted their three offspring aboard the hospital ship Clara Barton, closely followed by both Sub-Decurion Chan and the representative of the Witness Relocation Program, FBI Agent Pam Watkins.

As a child, Pam had dreamt of going into space, and now here she was. Mounted on the wall facing the transporter nexus was the sign:

Two women dressed in white versions of the standard concubine shift with a caduceus over the breast pocket, with epaulets with red rank badges indicating lieutenant rank, fussed over the three young boys. The eldest, 5-year-old Rob, ran excitedly up to his father. "Are we really in space?" he demanded.

Sub-Decurion Chan answered for Randy. "Yes, you are right now in space. This hospital ship is currently orbiting Earth. Everyone, this man is the senior surgeon aboard the Barton, Doctor Immanuel Salvatore. He'll see to getting you into a medical pod and fixing whatever needs fixing."

The tall, dark-haired Hispanic doctor asked the children, "Would you like to see something REALLY amazing?" The two oldest nodded enthusiastically - the youngest was too young yet to quite understand what was happening. "Come this way then." He led them to a lounge next door to the transporter nexus, and ordered the AI to open the shutters. Earth was revealed in all her shining glory. Florida was almost directly underneath the ship's bow. "That's where you were just a second ago," he advised them in a calming voice, "and now you're up here. Come with us, we'll have you lie down for a second, and when we're finished, we'll send you to that ship over there."

'Over there' was the K'treel Explorer Ship Vasco Balboa, AGS010.