Timeline: Year 14 or 15

Chapter Three

Dean had always suspected that those stories on the Internet about forty-year-old sex-mad MILFs who looked twenty-five were fantasies. Here in the moon, surrounded by other naked concubines, he could see that forty-year-old women looked forty years old. His other disappointment was that none of the women, whatever their age, wanted to hop into bed with any teenage boy they saw. In particular they didn't want to jump into bed with him. Most of them seemed too embarrassed at being naked, and hid themselves. His mother was the most embarrassed of all, at least when he was around. Here he was, surrounded by naked women and still a virgin! He wasn't bad looking: dark blond hair, blue eyes and a nice smile – well, he thought it was nice – but he was just one of the crowd. He didn't really stand out and all the women were intent on finding a sponsor, not another concubine like him. No different from the way things had been back in Canada. All the women were looking for their ticket to the stars, and he didn't have one.

He knew that getting himself a sponsor would be a long-shot. There were so few women sponsors and even fewer high-CAP men with huge harems who'd need a back-up guy. He was getting so desperate that he might even consider a gay man as a sponsor. If he was here for too long without getting selected then they'd send him back home. So far he hadn't had a single interview. Even one would be good, at least he'd lose his virginity. If he could do that, then this trip to the moon wouldn't have been a total washout.

Zeinab's new apartment was very like her old one except that it had a fifth small bedroom for Leila. The AI had again put Ishaq's cot in with Khuzama; he was too young for a room of his own.

The big difference was outside. Men. Some in uniform, some in those short grey shifts and some naked. Bushra seemed to handle their presence well. It was difficult to tell with Adeena. She seemed subdued, but she'd been subdued ever since Dhakir had divorced her. She didn't take too much notice of what was happening outside the apartment. Khuzama was shocked at first, but she soon adapted. She'd been married before, so naked men weren't completely new for her. Leila was the one most affected. Whenever there was an unattached man in sight, she was round-eyed in astonishment. She hid behind her mother, and peered round from her semi-concealment, not quite able to believe what she was seeing.

Bushra took Leila to her new school and Zeinab sent her other two concubines off for more training. When Bushra returned, she and Zeinab had a serious discussion about selecting a man and how they were going to test him – or rather, how Bushra was going to test him. They both agreed with the AI's suggestion that a young compliant unmarried man would be best. A more assertive man might want to take control. Once again the AI produced far too long a list, so they only bothered to look at the top few in any detail. Neither of them wanted to test a lot of men, given what 'testing' would involve. As long as the first candidate was satisfactory, they'd accept him. The AI assured them that there would be a surplus of young male concubines in the colonies, so if they made a mistake he could easily be replaced.

They both agreed that they couldn't force him to be a Muslim, that wouldn't be right. It would be enough for him to behave like a Muslim. All concubines had to behave the way that their sponsor told them to, so he would be expecting to have to do things the way Zeinab said.

Dean was playing a mindless video game, passing the time killing digital dickheads. He'd carefully turned slightly away from his mother, sitting next to him, to spare her embarrassment. Suddenly his collar spoke, "Unselected concubine Dean Hunter, a sponsor wishes to interview you. Do you accept?"

Hell yes he wanted to accept! Mom heard as well, put down her book and turned to look at him. "Yes, I accept. Where and when?"

"Interview Suite 6340, to start immediately. I will direct you."

As Dean stood, his mom leapt up and gave him a big hug. "Good luck dear," she told him.

Unfortunately the hug from his naked mother, and from her naked tits, produced the obvious reaction in the fifteen-year-old. No point in trying to make it go down, that never worked. He certainly didn't have time to jerk-off and clean up, he had to get to his interview.

"Turn right," the AI directed as he left the Unselected Concubines Lounge.

He'd need his hard-on for the test-drive anyway. At last! He'd lose his virginity .... Uh-oh, better check, "AI, is the sponsor a man or a woman?"

"The sponsor is female. Straight on at the next intersection."

A woman. Yes! Today was definitely looking up, just like his dick.

Dean didn't get anything like the reaction he expected when he entered suite 6340. There were two women sitting there. The older was a dark-haired concubine in the usual short grey shift, the younger in a black Navy uniform with a headscarf. A headscarf. Olive skin, like the concubine, so they might be Muslims. Whatever she was, the sponsor had this look of absolute shock on her face. Why? Hadn't she seen a naked man with a hard-on before? If she'd been testing men then she must have. He knew his dick looked average; he'd seen plenty of others to compare it with over the last few days.

The older woman was smiling. She rotated a finger, "Turn slow." She had an accent, so English obviously wasn't her first language.

Dean turned slowly on the spot. "Stop," she said when he was half-way round, facing away from the two women. Behind him, the two women talked in some language he didn't recognise. Urdu perhaps? Maybe they were Pakistani? Did that matter? No, not if he got selected. He'd just have to learn Urdu or whatever, instead of Chinese. He stared at the wall while they talked. Their conversation stopped and he heard one of them moving behind him.

"Come," the concubine said, and led him to the bedroom off the interview room. Yes! He was finally going to get laid! The sponsor stayed sitting in her chair, still looking shocked.

Zeinab couldn't believe it. She'd seen erections in the films she'd been shown. That wasn't like seeing a real one for the very first time. She'd seen naked men yesterday, and that was bad enough. None of them had erections though. Her heart began to settle from her throat back into its normal place. Bushra's suggestion to do the sex testing first might help. The man, Dean, should go limp for a while. That would make it easier for her, more like yesterday. Perhaps if he could wear one of those grey smocks? "AI, can Dean wear a smock while we talk?"

"No he may not. He is an unselected concubine, and is required to be naked at all times."

She thought for a moment. "Could I accept him temporarily, just for this interview?"

"Yes. You may reject any of your concubines for any reason at any time. You would be free to return him to the unselected concubine pool at the end of the interview if you found him unsatisfactory."

It was a disappointed Dean who returned to the interview room. He'd licked the woman, Bushra, but he'd done that with his girlfriends before. She'd given him one of the best blow-jobs he'd ever had, but that wasn't new either – just better. He was still a virgin! Not losing it was a real downer after all his hopes earlier. Bushra seemed to like his performance, so she should give a good report. Maybe the sponsor wanted to fully test him herself? There was still hope.

"Dean, my name is Zeinab Filali," the sponsor told him, once he'd seated himself again. "My English is not so good as I want. I will use the AI to translate the next part. It is important you understand right."

Dean nodded, ready to listen. She got that 'sponsor contacting an AI' look in her eyes, and he heard the translation through his collar.

"I find male nudity very uncomfortable. I am not used to it at all. For that reason, I want you to wear a shift for the rest of this interview. That means I will have to temporarily accept you as my concubine. Please understand that this may only be temporary. If you are not suitable, then I will release you at the end of the interview and you will be no worse off. I do not want to give you false hopes."

Dean nodded. That explained her shock at seeing him. If a shift made her happier, then he wasn't going to object. "That's OK," he told her. "I understand that it may only be for this interview." Unfortunately, putting on the shift meant that he wasn't going to lose his virginity here. Damn! At least she might sponsor him; that was the most important thing. If he got a sponsor then his virginity wouldn't last much longer. If Bushra was as good at sex as she was at blowjobs this could be a good berth for him.

Bushra went to the replicator to fetch a shift and Dean accepted Zeinab's offer of, hopefully permanent, sponsorship. As she'd said, if she rejected him after this interview, then he wouldn't really have lost anything.

Zeinab relaxed once he put the shift on. She even managed a tentative smile.

Dean was torn. This was a sponsor who was obviously interested in accepting him, and Bushra gave really good blowjobs. And Zeinab had two more women concubines he hadn't met yet. He'd have four women! But .... Zeinab and her other concubines were Muslims, as he'd suspected. Most of their discussion was about that. No, he wouldn't have to convert. Yes, he'd have to give up pork and alcohol. Yes, he would have to fast for Ramadan. He'd even get to marry all four of them! Could he live with that? He'd miss eating bacon, but getting a sponsor was a lot more important. Alcohol? At fifteen he'd not ever drunk much beyond a single glass with a meal, and everybody said replicator beer tasted like gnat's piss anyway. Ramadan sounded like a big thing, but not enough to break the deal. If the rest of Zeinab's family could do it, then so could he. He was already circumcised so that wasn't an issue – both women had already seen the answer to that question.

Zeinab made it clear that Bushra was her lead concubine and would be in charge when she was away on deployment. Dean could live with that. At only fifteen he hadn't expected to be made head concubine. Bushra was obviously much more suited to the job; she certainly had a lot more experience than he did. She would know more about the Muslim thing as well; he would be the only non-Muslim in the family. That was another good thing, Zeinab was obviously thinking of her concubines as a family, not as slaves.

It was the answer to a casual question that startled him the most. "What language were you speaking? I expect you'll want me to learn it."

"Arabic."

Arabic! He'd heard that the Confederacy didn't extract anyone from the Arab League. How had these two got here? There was obviously a story there, but that wasn't important right now.

Zeinab looked at Bushra, who nodded. Yes, this young man was acceptable. Once she'd recovered from her initial surprise, Zeinab had warmed to Dean. He seemed content to follow orders and not try to assert himself. At fifteen he was a bit young, but that also meant he would not have as many bad habits to unlearn. Was there any point in trying out a second candidate? Probably not. There might be some minor differences, but likely not worth the effort of going through a second test and interview. So far the AI had come up with good advice, and she definitely did not want to repeat the shock she'd had when Dean came through the door.

"Thank you, Dean. Welcome to my family."

Dean could hardly believe it. He'd beaten the odds and found a sponsor! It took him a second to recover, "Erm ... thanks." He couldn't think of anything else to say. He really wanted to rush over and kiss Zeinab, but she probably wouldn't want that. She didn't seem to have much experience with men. Probably she was a virgin as well? He'd have to ask Bushra when he got a chance. Bushra obviously had a lot more experience than either Zeinab or himself. That blowjob .... There was something he really did need to do, "Could we stop off and tell my mom? I'd like to give her the good news personally."

"Yes, of course."

Gabby saw Dean come in through the door of the concubines' lounge. She barely noticed the two women with him. He was wearing a shift! She could feel her eyes tearing up as she rushed towards him. He was saying something about being accepted, but she wasn't listening. Her little boy would be safe! It took her a minute to calm down enough for Dean to introduce the two women. In her rush she hadn't noticed that his sponsor, Zeinab, was wearing a headscarf. It was too late to worry about that now, Dean had already been accepted. She determined to stay happy and not worry. This was Dean's big day, and she should be happy for him.

In her apartment, Zeinab introduced Dean to the others. Khuzama smiled shyly, Adeena didn't and Leila half-hid behind her mother, clutching her hand. Dean didn't let it worry him. With three other women in the family, Adeena could keep her distance if she wanted to. She was older than the others anyway, even older than Bushra. At least Khuzama and Zeinab were closer to his age and they both smiled at him. No doubt Leila would get used to him in time. Maybe she was just nervous with strangers?

No sheer harem pants and no skimpy boleros; yet another fantasy went 'pop'. Still, that one was obviously straight out of the Arabian Nights and never real. Zeinab was in her uniform while the others were in blouses and jeans, except for Adeena who was in a long skirt. Bushra quickly changed out of her smock into a blouse and pants. Dean got a nod from Zeinab and was soon dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Much better than that embarrassing grey thing.

It was a strange evening for Dean. Zeinab spent a lot of the time in her office, arranging the wedding ceremony for tomorrow. Conversation was definitely limited by the language barrier. Dean spoke no Arabic, and apart from Zeinab, only Bushra had barely passable English. All of them were learning it, but they hadn't progressed very far. He spent most of his time watching TV in his room. He did emerge to eat with the others. The meal was very good and at least he could have a little conversation with Zeinab. She seemed glad that his mother was here so she could attend tomorrow's wedding.

Of course, with their wedding set for tomorrow, Zeinab made it clear that sex was strictly off the menu tonight. With just himself, and no alcohol, it was a very tame Stag Party indeed.

Dean lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was now a married man, and his wife – make that one of his wives – was sleeping next to him. And he was still a virgin! The entire world, himself included, was conspiring to stop him getting laid.

The marriage, (or was it marriages?) had been ... different. He didn't get to say, "I do," instead his mother said it for him. Zeinab had some Fleet Auxiliary Corporal to give her away. Neither of them actually had to say anything, they 'consented by their silence' the corporal explained. Zeinab did get to speak later since she gave away Bushra, Adeena and Khuzama. That made sense, she was their sponsor so she was the nearest thing they had to a parent up here. No Imam either, just three of the corporal's friends as witnesses.

One familiar thing about the wedding was the new outfit that his mom was wearing. Zeinab had taken her on as a temporary supernumerary concubine for the ceremony, so she could wear clothes. She'd gone all-out with a big green hat and matching full-length dress with a long-sleeved top. She'd had to take it all off afterwards of course, and Dean had stored her outfit in his room. She said she'd want to have it back when she found her own sponsor. She'd cried during the ceremony, naturally. There were some wedding traditions that couldn't be skipped over.

He was with Zeinab for the first night. Her bed was enormous, big enough for all five of them together, so the two of them were lost in it. She'd told him that he would have all his wives in order, one a night for the first four nights. After that, he and Bushra could arrange things between themselves, with Zeinab having a veto.

It quickly became clear that this was not the kind of wedding night that Dean expected. This was Zeinab's very first ever date with a man. She'd never in her life been alone in her bedroom with any man outside her family. Dean went along with her wishes and started very slowly, as if on a first date. A pre-Confederacy first date at that, some kissing and touching above the waist only.

Zeinab was beginning to relax a little when he managed to put his foot right in it. She had confirmed that she was a virgin, so Dean tried to reassure her by telling her that he was as well. Zeinab was completely surprised. She'd thought that all Western men got mobbed by a crowd of eager women as soon as they emerged from the CAP testing station. Dean had to explain that only the lucky ones with a good enough CAP score got the attention. For low scoring men like himself, things were very different.

Zeinab instantly switched from nervous new bride to sponsor-in-charge. She didn't want her first time to be with an inexperienced man. She would wait until Dean had been with his other three wives and had gotten some experience. He could see her point; since they were both virgins, it would be better for him to have more experience before they went that far together. By the time he'd been with his other three wives – he still couldn't get his head round that – he'd have a better idea of what to do. Hopefully it would be enough to make Zeinab's first time a good one. The downside of course was that he stayed a virgin. If only he hadn't told Zeinab ....

For the rest of the night Dean had to restrain himself. It made sense to take things carefully when she could dump him back into the concubine pool at a moment's notice. She seemed to enjoy what they did, as far as things went, and reassured him that she would go further in a few days.

Dean was useless for much of the next day. About every thirty seconds he thought, 'tonight!' He couldn't concentrate on anything at all. Even his Arabic lesson in the sleep-learner didn't seem to do him much good. Bushra didn't help either. She knew exactly what he was thinking and wiggled and jiggled various interesting parts of her anatomy at him, grinning all the time. Strangely, her being fully dressed made it sexier for Dean. After all the minimally clothed women on Earth, and the naked women in the moon, fully dressed was a novelty for him. When she noticed what Bushra was doing, Khuzama got in on the act as well. It was definitely 'Tease Dean Day', all day. At least Adeena didn't join in as well. Two of his wives teasing him was bad enough, but if there had been three ....

Bushra had three goals that night: to get pregnant, to enjoy herself and to teach Dean. She wasn't sure if she managed the first, but she achieved the second and third. Three times. Dean was very willing both to learn and to help with her other goals. She could tell she would enjoy her new husband a lot. His attitude was very different from Ahmad, who had been rather dour and distant, especially when it became clear that she couldn't have any more children. Sex with Dean was fun, if over a little too quickly, but it was having more children that she was really looking forward to. Little Ishaq was lovely, but he wasn't enough, not when he was split between his three mothers.

Dean had three goals as well: to get laid, to get laid and to get laid. Like Bushra, he met all three. She was very patient with his over-eagerness and managed to calm him down, the second and third times anyway. He could see the wisdom in Zeinab waiting. He could tell that his performance improved with Bushra's help. It should get even better after Adeena and Khuzama. Finally, he'd shed his unwanted virginity!

The next night Dean found Adeena very different. She hadn't wanted to leave her first husband, and he had divorced her only a week ago. She did her duty of course, but Dean could easily tell the difference – her heart wasn't in it. He suspected that she would be in his bed a lot less than Bushra. That wasn't a problem. He had four wives, so she could take a back seat if she wanted.

Khuzama was much more enthusiastic than Adeena. She didn't actually do much teaching, she just enjoyed herself. Dean even got to confirm one cliché. During her first climax she screamed, "Na'am, na'am, na'am!", "Yes, yes, yes!" Dean's Arabic was good enough by now to recognise that. That cliché was a lot older than the Internet, back to James Joyce and earlier. Perhaps that was why it was real?

Despite her enjoying sex, it was clear that Ishaq came first for Khuzama. The AI had set up a one-way soundproof field round his cot, so he couldn't hear them, but they could hear him. As soon as he started crying, Khuzama was up instantly, seeing to him and settling him down again. Dean had to wait until everything was fine with her baby before his wife would return to him.

Zeinab had to psych herself up all over again. Four days ago she'd had a lot of distractions: arrangements for Dean's mother Gabby; the wedding itself; a quick visit to medical to weaken her hymen. Then the big delay when she found out that Dean was a virgin as well! Yet another myth about the Confederacy exploded. She knew that she didn't know a lot about sex, and she wanted a reasonably experienced man for her first time. Both Bushra and Khuzama gave good reports of Dean's performance: young, enthusiastic and eager to learn. While Dean was getting his experience, she was getting nervous. She'd learned some things from her first night with Dean, and he'd obviously been holding back for her sake. He might have been a virgin, but he obviously knew a lot more than she did about the preliminaries. He'd actually been out with girls while she'd never ever been out with a boy.

How many times could a man do it? Zeinab had no idea of course. Dean had taken her four times so far tonight, and was resting on top of her, half asleep. He felt comfortable there, like a soft cuddly blanket with interesting lumps in it. One lump was gradually shrinking inside her after their fourth time. The first time had stung slightly, but she didn't mind that. It showed that she had kept herself pure for her husband, and the slight pain had only been a momentary interruption in her pleasure. Dean certainly knew a lot more than she did, including how to make her feel good. And he was still learning, so he would get even better in time! Something to look forward to; she'd certainly enjoy being a married woman if every night was like this. That wouldn't be fair on the others though, they deserved their turns too. Well, she did need to get some sleep along with enjoying herself. She had more Naval training to do tomorrow and for many days to come.

Some of her fellow Naval trainees thought Zeinab might be lesbian since she didn't talk to men much, but mostly mixed with the other women. She wasn't of course, she just found it easier and more familiar to socialise with her own sex. She was getting better, but mixing socially with men was new to her and she was still working on it.

At lunch she joined Charlotte and Nick, sitting with Charlotte between herself and Nick. She'd deliberately picked a table with a man, albeit one with a woman as well. With so few woman sponsors, there were a lot more men-only tables. She didn't feel confident enough for too much of that yet, not unless she had no choice.

As she sat down, Nick was explaining something to Charlotte, "I fu... messed up picking my two concubines."

Zeinab laughed and interjected, "Charlotte, have you noticed what a magical effect wearing a hijab has on the language of male naval recruits? They seem to think that wearing one makes a woman forget what words like 'fuck' mean."

Nick had the grace to look a bit embarrassed.

"How did you fuck it up?" Zeinab asked him, making sure to use the expletive. OK, she was innocent in some ways, but she was learning, and she was nowhere near as fragile as some of these men seemed to think she was.

"I picked two teen fuck-bunnies," he explained. "One was my current girlfriend, the other was in the bar when the extraction team arrived. Neither has any mothering experience."

"I suppose you were more interested in their tits than in their CAP scores," Charlotte said with a grin.

Nick nodded ruefully. "I'll probably ditch Justine and look for an experienced mother."

"Why don't you ask the AI for help?" Charlotte suggested.

"I don't trust computer dating," Nick told her. "I had a couple of disasters back on Earth."

Zeinab quickly asked the AI, «Is Dean's mother still unselected and would she be a good match for Nick and his remaining concubine?»

«Yes she is available. Yes she would be a good match, though there are seven better matches with experienced mothers currently available in the unselected concubine pool.»

Only seven better in a pool of how many hundreds? Zeinab thought it was worth mentioning Gabby to Nick, it couldn't do any harm and might bear fruit, insha'Allah. Nick thanked her for her suggestion and promised to give Gabby an interview. At least she'd done her best for her mother-in-law.

Zeinab relaxed in the pod after her day's training. She was having to learn a lot of new things to prepare herself for the Navy. At least all the others on her course were in the same boat. Socially she was playing catch-up a lot of the time, but in classes she was starting from the same level of ignorance as most of her Western classmates.

Leila was squealing and playing a pat-a-cake game with her mother. The distraction amused Zeinab, and reminded her of Rasha. Her sisters! She'd been so busy these last few days, she'd forgotten all about her sisters. Had they been accepted for Escardis with Sayyid? The AI should know, «AI, was Sayyid al-Hashemi accepted for Escardis, along with my sisters Maysam and Rasha?»

«Yes. He was accepted together with his family, including his wife Maysam and his dependent Rasha. Their ship departed the Earthat system bound for Escardis two days ago.»

That was a relief. Zeinab felt happy for her sisters, and it looked like her idea for Rasha had worked as well.

Sayyid relaxed in his pod. This was a great improvement over those primitive huts back in the refugee camp, and the food here was so much better than rice and lentils. Better not get too used to it though. There was a lot of Confederacy technology here on board that wouldn't be available after they arrived on Escardis. Life there would probably be more like things were on Earth before the Confederacy announced themselves and all their new technology appeared. For all its likely faults, Escardis was a far better prospect than anywhere the Sa'arm had established themselves. He was lucky to have made his escape from Earth.

The AI interrupted his thoughts, announcing that there was a Marine outside wanting to talk.

"Let him in, AI."

After a couple of days on board, Sayyid was no longer surprised by the size of Confederacy Marines. "as-Salaamu 'alaykum. Are you well Private? How may I be of assistance?" Sayyid spoke in Arabic of course, his English was practically non-existent.

The Marine paused, listening to his internal translator, and the voice of the AI replied for him, "Wa 'alaykum as-salaam. I am well, thank you, Mr. al-Hashemi. Sub-Decurion Berouty wishes to talk to you. He also needs to see your wife Maysam and your dependent Rasha. I am here to escort the three of you to his pod."

Sayyid's was immediately worried. He managed not to show his thoughts, but he had an uneasy certainty what the Sub-Decurion would have to say. How had the Civil Service officer discovered what was going on?

In contrast to the Marine, Sub-Decurion Michael Berouty spoke excellent Arabic, with a Lebanese accent. It was a lot more convenient than having to talk through an AI. He showed the three of them into his office, where his concubine served everyone with coffee. Contrary to Sayyid's expectations, the concubine was decently dressed in a grey coverall and headscarf. Rumours back on Earth had Confederacy concubines kept permanently naked as sex-slaves. Obviously an exaggeration.

With the formalities satisfied, the Sub-Decurion began the serious business of the meeting, "According to our documentation, Maysam is your wife and Rasha your adopted daughter."

"That is correct." Sayyid glanced to the side where the two women were sitting quietly, both looking as nervous as he felt.

"It appears to be correct, at least in public." The Sub-Decurion gestured at a blank wall which displayed a recording of last night's meal in the ship's mess. On the sound track, Rasha clearly referred to Sayyid as her father and he called Maysam 'wife'.

"That confirms what I said," Sayyid pointed out. Inside he was wondering where that recording had come from. He hadn't been aware of any cameras around the mess.

"In public, yes," Michael said. "However ..." The screen switched to show the family at breakfast in their pod this morning.

Sayyid's heart sank. He now knew what was coming. How had the Confederacy got a recording from inside his own pod?

"... in private, things are different." The Sub-Decurion was frowning slightly as the second video reversed Maysam and Rasha's roles. Inside the family's pod, Rasha was the wife and Maysam the daughter.

Not knowing what to say, Sayyid remained silent. The two women were also silent of course, though both looked worried.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Michael spoke. "Perhaps it would be easier if I say what I think the situation is, and you can correct me?"

Sayyid nodded. He was still frantically trying to think of a possible way out of this, and not coming up with anything.

"Arab law and Confederacy law are different," Michael pointed out. "Arab law applies in the Arab League and on Escardis. Confederacy law applies in between, while you are on this ship."

Sayyid nodded his confirmation. Those facts were obvious.

"The relevant differences here, I think, are that in Confederacy law, wives must be at least fourteen years old and that dependent children cannot be older than thirteen. Both of those points are different under Arab law, where wives can be younger and dependents older." The Sub-Decurion paused. He didn't get any immediate reaction, but it was obvious that the two women were nervous. Sayyid probably was as well, but he was hiding it better.

"Back in the Arab League, I suspect that you are married to Rasha, and that you have adopted Maysam as your daughter. That is perfectly legal both there and on Escardis. Obviously you want to have your wife and daughter with you on Escardis, so you have brought them both with you on this journey. In order to get around the inconvenient Confederacy rules, you were 'economical with the truth' in the information you supplied to us, and switched Maysam and Rasha's roles as wife and daughter."

Sayyid and the two women stayed silent, though Maysam looked worried and Rasha was very close to tears.

Michael smiled at Rasha, trying to reassure the thirteen-year-old. "Rasha, would you marry Sayyid here, if our law allowed it?" He carefully phrased his question so she didn't have to lie about her status on Earth or Escardis.

Rasha didn't trust herself to speak, but she did nod vigorously. Of course she wanted to marry Sayyid. She had already married him! It was just the stupid Confederacy rules that were the problem.

The AI silently assured Michael that Rasha's answer was true. She wasn't being forced into her marriage. Michael relaxed a bit, he would be able to solve this problem with the minimum fuss. He explained, "Confederacy rules do not allow thirteen-year-old wives. And, in the way of all bureaucracies, there are also rules about what to do if what is not allowed to happen, happens anyway. We have a few women-only pods on this ship for unmarried women and those that we need to temporarily separate from their families. Sayyid, I will remove Rasha from your pod and put her in one of the women-only pods for the rest of the journey. She can rejoin your family shortly before you disembark at Escardis. This is for your own safety."

"For my own safety?" Sayyid asked.

"If you have marital relations with a woman as young as Rasha, we will execute you. Be sure that we will know. As you saw, our AIs are monitoring all the pods all the time."

"That video of us having breakfast?"

"Correct," the Sub-Decurion confirmed. The overnight videos showed that both women had slept in their own beds, not with Sayyid. Apart from the misinformation, all three of them had stayed within the rules while on board ship.

"But ..." Rasha began.

"Do you want your husband to die?" Michael asked her.

"No! Of course not."

"Then it is better if you do what I say," he told her. She had indirectly admitted that Sayyid was her husband, but there was no need for him to press the point.

Rasha didn't look happy. She looked even less happy when Sayyid agreed to the Sub-Decurion's proposal.

Maysam spoke for the first time, "Could I go with Rasha to the new pod? That way I can keep her company."

Michael looked at Sayyid, who nodded. Maysam was his adopted daughter, not his wife, and she would be a friend for Rasha during the rest of the journey. He would miss Rasha's ebullience, but he would still have three wives and his other children with him.

"Good," Michael confirmed. "Rasha and Maysam will finish their voyage in a women's pod."

The three of them went back to Sayyid's pod for the two women to collect any of their things that they wanted with them. Escardis did not have replicators, so the passengers had more belongings with them than if they were transferring to a Confederacy colony.

While they were getting ready, Michael arranged for a female Marine to escort the two women to their new pod. It was in the other half of the ship so they would need to go through areas that were normally off-limits to passengers.

The Marine spoke limited Arabic, badly and with a horrible accent. She led the two women back to the transporter room where they'd arrived on the ship and out through a plain unmarked hatch. "This are crew area. Not like passenger area," she explained in her execrable accent. The two Arab women certainly noticed the difference. There were female Marines and crew without hijabs in the presence of men. Even a topless concubine, showing her breasts to anyone who wanted to see, and wearing such short shorts that most of her legs could be seen as well! Both Rasha and Maysam felt sorry for their mother and sister in the Confederacy. Were they forced to dress like that? Thankfully they soon reached the passenger area at the other end of the ship. The Marine led them to their new pod. "Nawar is boss this pod. Do what she say."

Thankfully Nawar's native Arabic was a lot better than the Marine's and she soon had the two new arrivals settled in. This pod had a different set-up, with twenty-four bunks on the upper level, shared between seventeen women and three young babies who hadn't been weaned yet. It was an imposition not having their own rooms, but it was only temporary and not as bad as the refugee hut. They could put up with it until they arrived at Escardis and rejoined Sayyid.

Boys. Leila wasn't quite sure how to deal with boys. Her old school had been all girls of course. Here there were boys in the same classes with the girls. Mostly she tried to ignore them, which wasn't that difficult. A lot of her lessons were in the tube-thing in their apartment, so she was only with boys part of the time. She made very sure she always sat next to other girls in the classroom. As well as having boys, the lessons were different as well. She'd never had anything like the "sex education" classes before. She'd never ever do that sort of thing with boys. Boys were silly and stupid. Whoever would want to do stuff like that with boys? Yuck!

Dean was too old to be a boy, but he wasn't really grown up either. Not grown up like her father was. Leila wasn't sure whether she should like him or not. He seemed very friendly, and both Zeinab and her mother liked him. On the surface he was nice, but in her old school the teachers had said that Crusader men all wanted to do depraved and disgusting things to innocent young Muslim girls like herself. So far the only disgusting thing he'd done was to make her eat her greens, but her mother made her do that as well, so did it really count? The teachers back on Earth had never been very clear about exactly what depraved things would be in store for her, but she didn't think that having to eat her greens was what they meant.

Leila's other problem was Ishaq. Was he her brother or her son? Probably her brother, but she really enjoyed mothering him so she did that as much as she could. Sometimes it was difficult to get time to mother him, with all the other women in the pod doing the same thing. They needed more babies. Adeena was pregnant, and her mother had just announced that she was going to have another baby as well. That made everybody smile, especially her mother and Dean. Even Dean did some work with baby Ishaq! She hadn't expected that. Things were all mixed up here, with men sometimes doing women's work and the other way around. One thing that hadn't changed was that she'd need to be found a husband and have babies of her own. It wouldn't be Dean who chose her husband, but Zeinab! Another thing that was mixed up. One man and four women was normal, but it was strange that Zeinab was in charge instead of Dean. That was the wrong way round, the man should be in charge.

Dean had an idea for a special project of his own. He wanted his mother's help with this one, so he asked the AI to connect him to her. It was a big surprise when the AI refused. "Concubine Gabby Sutton, formerly Hunter, belongs to sponsor Nicholas Sutton. It is necessary for you to obtain his permission before talking to her." What! Mom had gotten herself a sponsor! Well done mom!

"Can you let me talk to her sponsor, please?"

"Is this an emergency?"

"Not really. Why do you need to know?"

"Sponsor Nicholas Sutton is currently engaged in sexual intercourse with his concubine Gabby. I have observed that humans may become irate if interrupted during such activities for non-emergency reasons. Do you wish to proceed?"

"No, I can wait." So, mom was getting laid. Go mom! Dean wondered why she hadn't told him she'd been selected. The AI explained, "She has been Nicholas Sutton's concubine for nine minutes and twenty-three seconds. They are currently in an interview suite having completed the initial interview and test drive followed by his offer of sponsorship and her acceptance."

Dean waited until mom called to announce her good news. He spent so much time congratulating her, and making arrangements to return her wedding outfit, that he almost forgot to get her advice on his new project. He did remember though, and she was able to offer some help. When he mentioned the good news to Zeinab later that day she smiled and looked smug, "Yes. Nick told me."

Once he had gotten his mother's advice he roped in Adeena, who was a very good cook, and asked her to prepare a batch of chicken gravy, not too thick. The fries were easy of course. It was the cheese curds that was the problem. Some curds just weren't right, and he could only use a halal version. After some experimentation he managed to come up with something very acceptable. Not the best he'd ever eaten, but better than many he'd had the misfortune to have tasted back home in Canada. With Adeena's help he proudly presented his creation to the others one evening: Poutine. They all liked it. Especially Leila, who didn't so much like it as love it. Bushra replaced Dean in her bad books by forbidding her a third helping. "Two portions are quite enough," her mother told her.

Leila decided that Poutine was so good that, as a reward, she might even let Dean do some depraved and disgusting things to her. Nothing involving spiders though. She didn't like spiders at all. Spiders really were disgusting.