Chapter Eighteen: The Contract

As we began to finish our refueling, a tall, smoothly muscled man wearing gray Confederacy coveralls entered the room. A pair of similarly dressed, young looking, slender, Asian women stopped just inside the doors watching everything. A third woman entered, looked around and headed toward our servers.

He approached the table where I was sitting with my ladies and introduced himself as Centurion Sam Matthews.

"We've heard some interesting things about you," I said around my last bite of bagel. "Have a seat."

As he settled onto his seat, I realized that like me, he had a pistol holstered on the left side of his chest. A bulky looking Kriss Vector carbine dangled under his right arm from its single point tactical sling. It made my M-14 look like the piece of ancient history it was.

"That's the other guy, he's out of the Solar System right now. For my sins I'm covering the Office of Targeted Extractions now. About half my clan is currently on the moon covering my butt - including two of my co-sponsors, the ninja twins over there and my Aztec warrior, medic, and mother of our children, who is fetching my coffee.

"But listen," he said, "I have a proposition."

"Really?" I responded. "I learned in the Army to never volunteer. Are we being 'voluntold?'"

"Not at all," he replied. "I've been monitoring your progress. If I understand you at all, this should be right up your alley. As it happens, none of you specified a service branch when you got your CAPs. Our combat arms would drool to get you with your scores and on-the-ground experience. BUT, I want you all in Civil Service assigned to me in the Office of Targeted Extractions."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, leaning forward.

"Practically? After your adventure, I expect CAP scores will increase for each of you, but the number of individually authorized concubines probably won't matter much. As Civil Service officers, you will acquire and place far more. Again, if I understand you, your commitment to each other means your acquiring additional family isn't a priority. Saving others is."

"That's no longer entirely true," interjected Hannah. "We've acquired an entourage to whom we have made significant commitments. We plan to honor them to the letter and the intent."

Matthews waved his hand and continued. "I want to use you in a way that will directly benefit the Earth while serving Confederacy needs as well. I intend to assign you as a team for the foreseeable future - maybe forever." My ladies and I exchanged looks and asked him to explain.

His third escort walked next to him. She too was in the gray Civil Service uniform with a blue Star of Life patch on her left shoulder. She wore an electric blue collar around her neck and held a large travel mug in one hand. "Perdóname, Mi dueño. (Pardon me, my owner.) Here is your coffee, hawt, strong, blonde, and sweet, the way you like it.

"Gracias, Chica," He murmured with a smile as he accepted the mug. Chica stayed next to his chair.

"Once you've gone through medical screening, any modifications you want, and needed enhancements, I plan to drop you as an extraction team near, and maybe in, Swarm infested territory. Maybe in a few other special areas. Some of the extractions will be for the Confederacy, some will be rescues like you just accomplished. So, you will also continue on in a dual role as deputy US marshals-at-large. That's it in brief. So what do you think?" he grinned.

I looked at him hard and replied, "I learned some other lessons while in the army - like 'get it in writing' and 'watch out for loopholes.' I heard that the Confederacy and the Darjee are real sticklers on contract enforcement, and the AIs are the enforcers, right?"

He nodded and kept a poker face.

"So my ladies and I have a partnership and a contract that is binding on us, and we want them binding on the Confederacy. In essence, we are bound to go together and must refuse to go if one cannot go. My experience with implied promises and my natural skepticism prompts me to require that we must be assigned together. Anyone associated with us, especially concubines but including future sponsors who affiliate with us, must also be assigned with us as a unit.

"If you really want us, the Confederacy must supply needed resources to facilitate this, and its members or representatives may not use threats, coercion, or any pressure - directly or through omission - to force us to separate. Understand, we'll accept dangerous assignments, but we will NOT be bullied.

"Should we choose to accept temporary or permanent assignments with one or more of us apart, that will not in any way mitigate the Confederacy's obligation to restore us together as soon as possible. Interpretation of what is threat, coercion, pressure, or possible rests solely with me and my partners."

The Centurion held up his hand. "In Confederacy terms, if you form a joint household, with members of a single branch, CS in this case, the Confederacy will guarantee your duty assignments to always include the household as a whole. Keep going, and I'll think about the 'interpretation' part."

I continued, "One other, non-negotiable element, for which we are currently under contract. For our companions, concubines, slaves, whatever term the Confederacy uses. We have promised to protect them, and if we accept your offer, that contract remains in effect, without reservation, at the point of acceptance and throughout our service. The Confederacy says they will be our property, and we will be responsible for their behaviors." I looked him in the eye, and he nodded again.

"Well, I'm a Southern Boy," I elaborated, "and I've learned a lot about the history and nature of slavery, and I sure as heck know Cracker politics. I don't know much about Confederacy rules, but my experience says that I have to be very clear on our companions.

"We will expressly direct our property to protect themselves, each other, and if they deem necessary, their sponsors. For our property, we want an express guarantee that we are the sole arbiters of the right and wrong of their actions. Any actions, including those we deem justified to protect themselves or other of our property, are to be judged by us and us alone. We will assign punishments and rewards as we determine appropriate, and will stand in their stead if an outside agency judges otherwise."

The Centurion nodded. "If you trust them that much and are willing to completely stand in their stead, I will support that request."

"Should we die, these guarantees are to be extended to anyone to whom we will our property, and while being transferred our property will not be deprived of any benefits or privileges we have extended them." I paused for a response.

"While your concubines are in limbo - transfer status, if you will - the Confederacy can assure that your concubines retain those benefits and privileges, excepting, someone would need to accept responsibility for any self protective actions they may take," he thought a moment. "As long as you work for me, I would be willing to do that, unless in the interim I'm given reason not to. In that case, I would give you notice so you could make another provision."

"Finally, it is our expectation that AIs, other volunteers, and all others in the Confederacy will act on our behalf to protect our property, even if the perpetrator is another volunteer. As an aside, I give warning: Anyone who harms one of our charges will receive our full wrath and retribution. We have already killed to protect them. We will do so again if we decide the situation warrants." I finished and was silent.

Our potential concubines, who had been listening with ever growing shock, stood and clapped.

"Ladies and Jimmy, those are the terms we've already contracted with you," a happy Rachel shouted over the noise. "Remember our discussion about sex. Anyone wishing to accompany us under these terms, state your name and say 'I do'. If you wish to be released, keep silent and move to the far side of the room."

No one moved, and there was a babble of assent.

Matthews had been listening with an ever deepening sour expression that changed to a thoughtful introspection, then he broke into a grin after consulting with the AI. "I have NO problem those conditions as long as you work for me, and the AI says the Confederacy will honor the contract conditions if I accept them as its agent.

"I will, and then I'll work your butts off. With the talent you've assembled, you should be self sufficient. I warn you, some of the assignments are likely to be quite dangerous, so you'll earn your considerations. We don't use paper contracts - you'll need to accept the AI's acknowledgement and acceptance. So, again, what do you think?"

I huddled up with my ladies and repeated the question. "Well, what do we think?"

Pixie, my brilliant midget, grabbed my ears (again the ears!) and dragged my face down level with hers. "We can do this! We should do this!" and she planted a world class liplock.

Rachel turned, spit into her palm, and held out her hand to the centurion. "If the deal includes all present and Baby, done." It was after all a partnership, and she committed us. The centurion accepted her hand.

Nobody pointed out that we had two extra concubines, and the AI also remained silent.

Hannah waved to our companions and called, "Bring it all with you and follow us."

We turned as the team we were, and walked through the portal to the moon.

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