Chapter 4

Someone knocking on the bedroom door woke me in the morning. “Is it safe to enter?” Charli asked teasingly after cracking the door open a bit.

“Come on in,” I yawned after making sure the three of us were covered at least to our waists.

“You need to get up soon. You have to report to the parade grounds in two hours,” Charli reminded me.

“Thanks,” I replied, climbing out of bed as soon as she left. Despite protests from Amelia and Peggy, my shower was quick with no messing around because I could smell food cooking. When I exited the bedroom. I was surprised to find Mom in the kitchen cooking, along with Amelia and Peggy’s mother. From the look on her face, she didn’t get her ashes hauled last night, but she didn’t appear to be upset. The other two girls who had clung to me at the prison compound were also there, along with their mother. I wondered how five females could work together in that tiny kitchen as I ducked out before they corralled me into helping with something. I still heard Mom explaining to them about my special diet.

Gramps and Grams were sitting together on a sofa in the small living room.

“Why are those here?” I asked, seeing the duffel bags I had given to MilIntel last night now piled just inside the front door.

“They went through them to see if there was anything significant to MilIntel and returned the rest to you,” Gramps replied.

“At least he brought back slaves to go with the loot,” Grams teasingly chided Gramps. That surprised me. I thought everyone in the family would be upset about the slaves.

“You guys aren’t upset about the slaves?” I asked.

“No, and it’s not like they’re going to be abused,” Grams replied, although it sounded more like a command than a comment. “With so much extra help, we’ll finally be able to expand the orchards. After you choose the girls you want to keep, the rest of the family will choose. We’ll build housing for any who aren’t chosen.”

“You can let the adults choose from among the adult women. I have a plan for the girls, so it may take a few days to decide about any of them,” I warned.

“Plan?” Grams asked.

“I want to try something,” I replied.

“The girls aren’t toys for your amusement,” she warned.

“I’m sure at least two of them will enjoy my idea, and I’m pretty sure several more will, too. I’ll send any that don’t like the idea to you,” I promised.

I finally noticed that Gramps’ uniform now sported a Captain’s insignia. “That’s quite a jump from Staff Sergeant,” I commented.

“They actually bumped me up to second lieutenant right before I was discharged. They offered me the rank of first lieutenant when they asked me to help MilIntel by showing them better ways to secure cities, bases, and the borders against the type of infiltration strikes I used. I just received the Captain’s bars because you took out the supply depot, guided the bombers to both the factory we hit and to the convoy leaving there, and then destroyed their Trex-Gel factory. We estimate that the explosion took out almost half of their production capacity for Trex-Gel.”

He also motioned to a new uniform for me hanging nearby. “Joyce and Tessa ironed it for you and made sure the boots were shined,” Gramps said with a knowing grin and a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“The two girls helping with breakfast,” Grams explained when they saw my confused look. Both laughed at my sigh. Then I learned that Mom’s parents and siblings were moving to the ranch. Fortunately, Grandmother L preferred to be called Granny and Grandfather L liked to be called Grampa so it would be easy to differentiate between sets of grandparents.

“How exactly did the girls end up here, assigned to me?” I asked.

“MilIntel reviewed the recordings on your handheld. You made a lengthy recording at the prison compound while one of the women talked to each of the others explaining your offer. Right before the transports arrived, you told them that you’d claim all of them,” Gramps explained.

“I just said that to shut them up,” I protested.

“Too late now, it’s been documented,” Grams laughed.

“Fine, you’re in charge of them,” I replied to her.

“Even better,” she replied.

“Breakfast is ready,” Mom called out from the kitchen.

When we got to the table, Amelia and Peggy had swelled the number of females in the kitchen to seven. Amelia and Peggy sat on either side of me. Joyce sat next to Amelia and Tessa next to Peggy. Their mothers sat across the table next to Mom.

“I hope all of you were treated well last night,” I said, looking at the six new women.

“They were,” Mom replied, “However, with all the questioning, they didn’t get a full night’s sleep.”

“We’ll be heading home this afternoon for a week’s R&R after Charlie Company is dismissed. They can catch up on sleep then,” Gramps said.

“I hear that you actually gained a little weight and added muscle mass this last month,” Mom commented as the six new females watched me eat. Dad, Gramps, and I each use a serving platter as a plate.

“Striker brought me small game, and I gathered vegetation each day as I traveled. You’d have been proud of my diet,” I replied, making her grin.

“Pardon me for asking, but how did you train an eagle?” Amelia and Peggy’s mother asked, so I explained that I wasn’t really sure that I had trained him. I noticed what he did when I made certain gestures. If I wanted him to do it again, I made the same gesture and rewarded him. Most of what he learned was from me reinforcing his natural habits.

“How did you know what plants you could eat?” Peggy asked, and I explained how Gramps and I spent a lot of time hunting and camping in the jungle, and that Mom had made sure I knew which common jungle plants were edible, as well as the nutrients each provided.

While the women talked after breakfast, I dressed in my new uniform. Then, Gramps drove me to the barracks where the rest of Charlie Company was staying. Everyone wanted to hear about what I’d done for the last two and a half weeks.

By the time I finished telling them, it was time to leave for the parade grounds. Since I hadn’t been to boot camp, it was fortunate that we’d marched at our base several times before I was separated from the rest of my platoon. I was surprised to find the entire Vanguard Battalion there. I was also surprised to see Gramps among the officers on the slightly raised dais in front of us.

A Colonel stepped up to the microphone. “Recruit Powell, front and center,” he barked.

“Yes, Sir,” I replied, saluting. Then I stepped out of my file and made my way forward.

“Recruit Powell reporting, Sir,” I said, saluting again, although the Colonel was still at the microphone.

“New enlistees aren’t promoted to Private for at least thirty days. Recruit Powell was on an infiltration mission before reaching the thirty-day-mark and hasn’t yet been promoted. Given his success, he is being promoted to Private First Class,” the Colonel explained.

Captain Jenkins, the Commander for Charlie Company, stepped forward and affixed my PFC stripe on each shoulder. “Good Job,” he said proudly as he shook my hand.

“Thank you, Sir,” I replied, saluting.

Then the Colonel continued. “In addition, during his engagement with enemy forces while covering the withdrawal of his platoon, Recruit Powell was wounded. For that, he is being awarded the blood drop medal.”

Captain Jenkins pinned the medal on the chest of my uniform and we again exchanged salutes.

“Aside from covering the withdrawal of the rest of his platoon so they could be safely evacuated, Recruit Powell noted enemy forces trying to flank his platoon. At great risk to himself, he purposely continued firing to draw those forces towards himself instead of his platoon, allowing the platoon to be safely evacuated.

“Despite being surrounded, Recruit Powell managed to escape by heading deeper into enemy territory, even completing his platoon’s assigned mission of destroying a supply depot.

“After traveling many kilometers deeper into enemy territory, he guided bombers to a hidden target missed in an earlier missile strike. From there, he continued afoot for a week to a target our bombers couldn’t attack because it was located amidst too many civilians.

“He managed to destroy the factory and evacuate more than five thousand civilians to safety.

“For his actions, PFC Powell is being awarded the Silver Merit Cluster,” the Colonel concluded. This time, Gramps came down from the platform and attached the medal. After we saluted each other, he hugged me.

“Battalion dismissed,” the Colonel barked. Members of the platoon immediately surrounded me, congratulating me. When we finally returned to Charlie Company’s temporary barracks nearly an hour later, someone had attached a banner above the doorway. It said, “Can Do Company.”

“First Platoon, report back to base by seventeen hundred hours one week from today,” Lt. Harris told everyone, getting a huge cheer in return.

There were several vehicles waiting outside the barracks when we exited. Gramps was next to one and motioned to me. “We got your gear from the guest quarters,” he said as our driver headed for the base’s airfield. I gawked when he drove up to a civilian transport big enough to carry an entire company.

“We rented it,” he laughed.

My sister Valerie was waiting for us next to the transport. She gave me a big hug and kiss. “I’m so proud of you,” she said emotionally and then stepped back while Gramps and I boarded the transport.

“She’s still on duty,” Gramps explained about why she wasn’t joining us.

Once inside, I saw that my entire family, including Mom’s parents, her brother, sister, and their families were aboard, as well as everyone I had rescued from the prison compound. Charli had Striker perched on the vambrace on her forearm.

Gramps and I took the empty seats on each side of the open hatch. Someone outside closed it and the transport lifted off almost immediately. “We saw the whole ceremony on the vid screens,” Mom said excitedly, pointing to the nearest vid screen.

Half an hour later, we reached our ranch. Rather than use the airfield, the transport settled neatly in the open area near the barn.

“You go on home. We’ll get your gear and get everyone situated,” Gramps told me as everyone streamed off the transport. I noted my uncles and male cousins removing the duffel bags, so I headed for home, noticing a new modular unit near my parents’ home. I also noted several other modular homes had been dropped off and crews were busy setting them up. Gramps headed for those work crews. Striker took off, probably to check on Momma and the eaglets.

Mom went with me, followed by Amelia, Peggy, Joyce, Tessa, and four other teenage girls. “That’s your new home until we build you a permanent one,” Mom explained as we passed the new modular home. She continued to our family’s home and we all followed her inside.

“Have a seat. I’ll get snacks and drinks,” she said.

“We’ll help,” Amelia insisted, pulling her sister up to go with her.

Hannah, Kristen, Zoe, and Cheryl were four girls I hadn’t met yet and I could see that they were very nervous. “Girls, please relax. Nobody will hurt you. Hopefully, Amelia and Peggy talked with you today. For now, each of you is with me. If it turns out that we don’t get along well, I have a several male cousins you can get to know before a final decision is made. Grams is the one to talk to about that. She’s the wife of the other guy wearing a uniform.

“Obviously, I haven’t had much time to discuss your situation with my family, but I’m sure they will expect you to finish high school if you haven’t already. All of you will be assigned chores, the same chores the other girls and women in the family do every day. As far as sleeping arrangements, I haven’t a clue right now. Offhand, I’m guessing that one or two of you will sleep with me each night. Beyond that, I’m not really sure what will happen.”

“What about our mother?” Joyce asked nervously.

“And my mother and younger brother?” Zoe asked.

Mom, Amelia, and Peggy returned just then and began handing out sandwiches and drinks.

“You probably noticed several new modular homes in varying stages of completion as we landed,” Mom interjected. “You girls will each start with Lucas. If you don’t match up well, you’ll be assigned to one of his cousins to see if that match is better. The other families will choose your mothers. Any of your mothers with younger children will keep them with her. Any mothers who aren’t chosen will stay in the new modular homes and be treated as hired workers instead of family.

“We’re almost finished assembling one large building right in the center that will be a community kitchen and dining room. Our families already eat most meals together, and we plan to continue doing so. That will now include all of you. We already share the responsibility for preparing each meal with two or more women working together.

“Lucas was correct in saying that those of you who haven’t finished high school will continue. We have a transport shuttle we use to get everyone to school since it’s too far to drive each day.

“This is a working farm and ranch. We grow and raise most of our own food. In addition, we raise cattle and have large orchards of bananas, citrus, and other tropical fruit to sell. Unless you grew up on a farm or ranch, you’ll start by learning the chores we usually assign to the younger children. Once you’ve learned those, we’ll move you on to more challenging chores,” she explained.

Looking at me, she continued. “Grams and I both agree that Amelia and Joyce are mature enough and know enough to run your household. They have both finished high school. These girls were the first eight to volunteer. There are six others, but we felt eight was probably pushing the limit of how many you could get to know well enough to decide. There is one other girl, Tara, but she’s only fourteen. Even though our laws say she’s old enough for sex, our family thinks she should be fifteen, so she won’t join you for a few more months.”

“Not a problem,” I replied since I currently had eight girls to choose from, and six more to replace any whose personalities didn’t mesh well with mine. By then, I would probably be down to two or three. I also had to see if what I hoped to do worked.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to run into town to talk to someone,” I told Mom and the girls. “Kate,” I told Mom when she looked at me quizzically. I saw when she realized what I had in mind and she grinned.

Fifteen minutes after calling Kate, I landed one of our family’s shuttles in front of her parents’ home. I wasn’t even halfway to the front door when it flew open and she ran out to meet me, crushing me in a hug and kissing me. “We saw you on the news last night,” she squealed excitedly. Her mother was smiling indulgently from the front door.

“So, what’s with all of the secrecy about wanting to talk to me?” she asked.

-----.-----

Kate and I have been friends since grade school. One or the other of us always held the top marks in our class since first grade. Kate edged me out for valedictorian of our high school class. When we were in 9th grade, I asked her to the first school dance. “Lucas, you’re my best friend and I don’t want to lead you on. As nice as you are, I prefer girls,” she said emotionally, blushing deeply.

That surprise admission shot down my dream of one day marrying her.

I’ll admit that I was surprised. Nothing she had ever said before made me even remotely suspect that she was only interested in girls, not that it was uncommon for females to get together. “Kate, I’m just asking you to a dance. I can’t dance for shit and know you won’t laugh at me too much. I’m not asking you to have sex with me afterwards,” I told her.

She went to the dance with me and we had a good time, but that was as far as it went. Last year, while I was between girlfriends, she even asked to have sex with me. I was surprised until she explained that she wanted to see what sex with a guy was like. Afterwards, she said that while she had enjoyed it, she still preferred sex with women.

There were only 1183 students at our high school. By the beginning of my senior year, the only female student in our school that I was interested in long-term was Kate, and she preferred female sex partners. I figured that I’d have to wait until college to find a wife.

-----.-----

“I want you to come to dinner with my family. We have a lot of new people joining us,” I told her.

“By the way, why are you back? I thought basic training took three months,” she queried, changing the subject.

“It seems that Gramps had already taught me almost everything they cover in basic. I was assigned to his old unit on my second day. We deployed a week after I enlisted and I just got back from two and a half weeks in Giloh,” I explained.

“I didn’t know we had troops in Giloh, yet, except maybe some Vanguard units that might have snuck in,” she said.

“First Vanguard Battalion, Charlie Company, First Platoon, Second Squad, Fire Team Alpha,” I replied proudly.

“You’re in a Vanguard unit?” she asked excitedly. I grinned and nodded.

“Not that I mind having dinner with your family, but you still haven’t told me what’s going on,” she replied.

So, I explained about the messenger on the fusion cycle and rescuing the family members of the Trindian. “Wait,” she said when I finished. “If you brought them back, that means you captured 137 Trindian civilians, so they’re probably classified as slaves.”

“See how smart you are,” I said. “Some idiot told them he’d file a claim for all of them just to calm them down. Unfortunately, it was recorded.”

“Hmmmmm,” she said while pretending to be studying me. “Who do we know that’s dumb enough to do something like that?” I gave her my best innocent smile, causing her to laugh.

“Why do you want me to meet them?” she asked.

“You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you have a wicked sense of humor, and you’re my best friend. To be blunt, I’ve loved you for years,” I said, surprising her. “You also made it clear that you prefer other women, so I never pressed the issue. Now, I have fourteen attractive girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen to choose from to keep as my slaves. I hoped they would be enough to convince you to marry me,” I said, causing her jaw to drop.

“You’re serious,” she finally said, scrutinizing my face.

“You know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t tease you about something like this,” I protested.

Grabbing both of my shoulders, she asked, “You’re saying that you want to marry me, and you have fourteen more girls in the house?”

“No, I’m saying that I want to marry you. There are fourteen girls available to me. You can choose as many or as few as you want to join us,” I replied.

“C’mon, let’s go talk to my mom,” she said after deliberating for what seemed like an eternity.

Fortunately, I knew that her mom adored me. She knew that Kate had told me about preferring other girls and that I had still remained Kate’s best friend. She also knew that Kate trusted me enough to have sex with me a year ago.

After greeting me enthusiastically, she motioned for me to join them in the living room where Kate’s explanation of my proposal was eminently better than mine had been.

“How many of the girls do you want to keep?” her mother asked me.

“If Kate marries me, only enough to make her happy. If she decides not to keep any of them, that’s fine with me. I would like to keep the number low enough that I’m not intimidated when I come into the house,” I replied, making both ladies laugh.