by Aaron Pery
"Makes sense. Oh, here he comes so let's go talk to him."
David looked exhausted when they reached him, dropping to his haunches in the corner and smiled when they sat down across from him. "Well, Generals, how goes it with you?"
"Excellent, Dave. In fact, Ben just informed me that the smart thing to do is recruit more kids to help with the cleanup, and I agree with him that it'll expedite things if we did. So get the strongest of them regardless of age to help you out."
"That was my idea as well. In fact, I came from the compound just now, where Sue has been making a list of everyone. We have over three-thousand six-months olds and up, of which two-thousand are of various ages who look big and sturdy so I put them to work already. They are all begging to join our disposal work and aren't too squeamish to pick up the dead bodies."
"They know what was going on?"
"It wasn't too hard to figure out, you know, when groups of them were taken away never to return and then see a few Gogians with lower bodies like their own. So they're pissed as hell to've become body donors for these monsters."
"Okay, Dave, but spread them among your crews rather than in groups of their own."
"Good idea. This way they'll learn from them and will be able to join our new society that much easier. What about the real young ones?"
"Send them over to the farm after lunch so that by then everyone there will know of what's happened, and we'll be able to arrange for quick adoptions."
"Great. How about sending them over in two hours?"
"That'll be perfect. Okay, I better get going and let you do your jobs."
They all stood up, and David accompanied Marty to the car. "Oh, shit," She exclaimed. "It really stinks out here."
"It's like perfume to all of us who had been abused by these animals for so long. And it'll get worse, you know, as the piles grow."
"I see. How easy is it to burn them?"
"Very, because the fuckers were fat as pigs, which will help the fire grow in intensity the more bodies we drop into the bit. And this way by the time we add more bodies, the previous ones will be consumed almost completely."
"Great. Then I better get going. And Dave, use your car to move around because you must preserve your strength."
"Yes, Ma'am. I will."
Marty was impressed with the power and capabilities of her car, and began to push it until she reached speeds in excess of what she was sure was at least one-hundred miles. She enjoyed the drive greatly, and was disappointed to reach the farm much too quickly. Once on the property, she slowed down considerably as she drove to the headquarters building, delighted by the startled looks she received from everyone.
Apparently her approach to the building was reported because when she stopped by the entrance she saw Nick coming down the wide stairs. He hugged her tightly, then chuckled.
"I was scared to death about you going into such a daring battle, but I guess I should've been more concerned about you finding a vehicle so you'd be able to drive like the devil was chasing after you. Heck, you left such a dust cloud behind you that people were scared about it but I instantly knew it must be you driving like a maniac the way you'd always done."
"Well, this car is an engineering marvel so I had to give it a try. Besides, being where we are we don't have any speed limits to worry about."
"Which we'll have to remedy soon to protect the population from you."
"Asshole." Marty mumbled as she took Nick's hand and walked to Jenny's office.
Jenny rushed over when she saw her and sobbed as she hugged her. "God, Marty, you really did it."
"With the help of a very brave bunch of our people, Jenny."
"Yes, I guess you all are."
Marty reached into her pouch and took out a fancy looking gold watch and put it on Jenny's wrist. "I thought the president of whatever nation we have just become should know the time of day and date at all times, so I brought you all some of the spoils of war."
Jenny looked at it admiringly, then said. "That was a great gesture, Marty, but I'll probably forget to wind it up before I go to sleep."
"No need to do that because it's has what we called a perpetual movement, which winds itself every time you move your arm." She gave everyone in the room a watch as well but none as fancy, which they put on reverently.
"Makes me suddenly feel quite civilized." Arvin said.
"Funny that you say that because Sue said the same thing about knowing that it was August 15th yesterday. In any case, there's plenty of watches for everyone, which we'll distribute in the coming days."
"Come, Marty, sit down and tell us all that transpired in town."
Everyone's faces beamed with the great news, particularly about the soon to be arriving children, Elwood mostly. "I'd really like watching them grow to become beloved members of our people. I never had children of my own who had survived and none that I know of in this place, so this will be a great experience for me."
"You'll have to get married to adopt a child, you know."
Elwood blushed noticeably. "Which I hope to do once I talk it over with Wilma, with whom I've had a certain relationship for a long while now."
"I congratulate you, then. Anyway, everyone, I think we should decide what to call our little colony now that we're an independent nation."
"How about Minos, which was an ancient name given to Crete. And don't you think that Minotaurs will be quite a fitting name for a people who in essence are a half-man half-stallion." Nick suggested.
"You've always been a bit of a poet, Nikki." Marty chuckled. "But this is going a bit too far, don't you all agree?"
"Not really, Marty." Jenny said, smiling. "We're just a step away from being the kind of creatures that mythology claimed had lived here. So I for one, like Nikki's inspiration. How about the rest of you?" When no one objected, she continued. "We'll put it to a vote by everyone as soon as we have the time. And thanks, Nikki, for having a poetic soul and a whole bunch of other great ideas. Okay, it's almost noon now so we best go to the dining hall and let's stay together at one table to let everyone know openly that there's something important brewing."
Chapter 17
And indeed, their entrance to the hall started everyone speculating about why they were together, particularly the recently arrived Nick and Marty, and that she was seen driving to headquarters in a Gogian vehicle. It prompted loud conversations throughout the meal, which only stopped when Jenny finally stepped onto a small stage that the kitchen staff had brought in a moment earlier.
The hall quieted down just before she started telling them about Marty's and Nick's observations and conclusions ever since their arrival. Which, she explained, were based upon their past professions and experiences during their life in twentieth-century Earth.
"But how can that be, Jenny?" Angie exclaimed. "When they were both wild-caught. Oh, I knew right off that they were a bit strange, but nothing like what you are telling us."
"You must accept that they are who they claim to be because they proved it to us after they explained their unique manner of arrival. And then, being who they are, they were able to uncover some horrible things that the Gogians were doing to us." She told them about the war with the aliens in which all females, including most animals, became infertile.
"That was terrible, what the aliens did to our world." A young female stated.
"It was their revenge on the Gogians for destroying their planet and population during the war so we can't really blame them for it. Anyway, so here's everything the Gogians did to us since then." She went through all the facts and factors that Marty and Nick had discovered in great detail. "So you see, we were literal slaves designated to not just grow the Gogian's food, but to supply them with our children as replacement for their own bodies."
The silence in the hall lasted for a long time before Philip, a veteran, said. "That's a horrible story, Jenny, were you able to verify any of it?"
"Irrefutably so, Phil, after Marty unlocked the Gogian comput
er system. And if you still doubt the veracity of the information, Paula and myself were present at the time when these facts were uncovered from their records."
"I knew that they were monsters from the moment I found myself living in the body of a horse. Which you told us is a fusion of centaur and a human, which makes sense now that I think about it."
"Fucking cannibals were eating their own descendents." Exclaimed a young women.
"And forcing a fornicating culture on us by feeding us drugs that turned our bodies into embryo producing factories to use as donors for their survival." Charlene, another veteran burst out. "Makes me burn with hatred, Jenny, but I'm frustrated that I can't do anything about punishing them for it."
Arvin, who had joined Jenny a moment earlier, chuckled. "I'm afraid that's no longer possible, Charley."
"Why? I'd be willing to sacrifice my life to accomplish that."
"What Jenny didn't tell you yet is that Marty, despite her evident youth, used to be a famous Marine general in her own time on Earth. And for those of you don't what that means, Marines even in our time were famous for being brave and bloodthirsty types, and Marty seems to be a perfect representative of the breed."
"How did she and Nick get here, and in the bodies of wild-caught youths?"
"Never mind how for right now. The point is that since there were too few of us for a frontal attack on well-armed fifty-thousand Gogians, Marty came up with a plan to kill them all in one fell swoop in a very short time." He told them about Nick's poisoned milk idea and how David had mixed the potion that was sent to them last night, and that Marty and a squad of rifle-bearing military veterans went to Heraklion to kill all surviving Gogians.
"Are you saying that the Gogians are all dead?"
"As dead as can be. In fact, David and many of the farm workers are there right now removing the dead from the city and burning them in an abandoned quarry. And they're being helped by all of the able-bodied kids from the compound."
"Jesus. Then we're free people?"
"We sure are. Which was why the Executive Board had voted Marty to serve as our military commander."
"Which is well deserved. But what of the remaining kids in the compound, what will happen to them, particularly the tiny ones?"
Jenny answered. "They're on their way over here as we speak. What we also voted on was that since they're not yet capable of fending for themselves and since all young children need to grow in a loving, caring family environment, we need to give them each a home. So we'd like those of you who are willing to do so to adopt one of them, but that means that you'll have to pair up permanently if you agree to do it."
Marty was amazed to see when Jenny finished talking, that all the females in the room started to move around to their chosen males after they looked at each other.
"That's very good." Jenny said, smiling when she saw it. "I'm proud of you all. As to how you young ones will handle the kids as parents, please ask the oldsters for advice if and when you need it. And another thing is that since we will no longer be using the identification numbers that the Gogians had gave us you'll need to come up with your own surnames. Which I suggest you use your mother's, as soon as you can because you'll be using it for the adopted children. So pick one even if it isn't your true mother's because you just like it and, of course, a first name for the baby."
"What's your last name, Mom, so I can take it on?" Angie yelled.
"Thank you, Angela, I'm honored. It's Thompson."
"Then that's who I will be from now on."
"Me, too." George, holding hands with Angela, said.
"You do me great honor too, George. So as soon as you decide on a name go over to the administration building and make it official with Paula. Oh, I just heard vehicles arriving so we all better go to greet them and come back here together to announce all the adoptions formally."
The buses, led by Susan in a small jeep-like vehicle, stopped at the entrance to the dining hall and about three-hundred children stepped off looking a confused and scared. Sue stood them all in a line in front of the building and waited as the prospective parents paraded by the line, smiling and touching them before extending arms to their choice. Though the children seemed quite shy, whenever a female exhibited an interest in any of them they willingly accepted. Before very long, all the children had been selected, with the youngest hugging their first ever mother tightly around the neck. Many, apparently hungry, quickly found a nipple to suckle on even though they had never done it before. Even the older ones, quite shy at first, bent down to their new mothers' udders to draw milk.
"Warms my heart to see this marvelous welcome given to all our children." Susan said as they watched couples take their adopted child to their apartment after waiting in line at registration.
"Same here." Jenny chimed in.
"I think everyone feels the same, even those who didn't choose to adopt any child." Marty said once everyone left and they remained standing outside the cafeteria. "How is it going in town, Sue?"
"Everyone is working like a fiend to get Heraklion suitable for our occupation, which will take at least a week to complete."
"The place must stink like hell from the burning bodies so I'd guess you're right. And even if we get a strong wind or serious rain, it'll still take a while before we can move our people over there because all homes need to be thoroughly cleaned up first."
"That's for sure. So I figure it'll take at least thirty days before we can start moving all the people over."
"Good, because Paula has assigned a clerk to run a lottery on the available houses and apartments based on a detailed map of Heraklion that I got from the town records." Nick said "Which will be easier to do once everyone chooses a surname and declares the name of their mate."
"You think of everything, don't you Nikki?"
"I try to be of service, Sue."
Just as Susan was about to respond they all felt the ground shake violently and a second later heard a tremendous explosion from the direction of Heraklion. Then the sky over the city, even at a distance of twenty miles, was filled with a cloud of brown dust. Everyone was stunned for a moment but before they could move or speak, Marty sprung into action.
"That was an explosion rather than an earthquake. So you all stay right here and I'll rush into town to inspect the damage." She commanded.
"But...."
Before Jenny could protest, they felt the air around them vibrate as suddenly Marty vanished with a whooshing sound that stunned them all except Nick, who put his arm on Jenny's shoulder to calm her.
"What had just happened was that Marty teleported herself to Heraklion to inspect all the damage and determine what needs to be done."
"She can actually do that? Oh, that's silly of me because we just saw her do it. Can you do such a thing as well?"
"I'm sure I can, and Marty just realized this ability because of the emergency, and instantly jumped into action, which is her style."
"I think I better hop in the car and rush over there." Susan burst out.
"And kill yourself on the road? No, Sue, don't even think of it because Marty will be back here before you can reach the city, after she takes care of what needs to be done."
Susan's shoulders sagged when she realized that he was right. "I guess it was dumb of me to try it after being told to stay here, but I'm worried sick about everyone over there."
"Particularly Dave? I understand, but the way Marty operates she expects her orders to be followed to the letter."
"She's a tough one, isn't she?"
"The toughest you'd ever meet. Now, I suggest that we go inside and have coffee to calm ourselves until she returns."
"Excellent idea." Arvin, whose hands shook almost uncontrollably as he tried to light a cigarette, said and began moving toward the door with all of them following.
Marty materialized at their table twenty minutes later, with the same whoosh as she had left. She was covered by a layer of dust and her face was quite dirty, but she gave t
hem a reassuring smile as they looked at her.
"First, everyone, I want you to know that other than a few superficial scrapes and bruises none of our people were hurt by the explosion. Which, I discovered quickly, was created by detonated powerful bomb under the medical facility by an apparent failsafe setup."
"What does that mean, Marty?"
"It's an expression denoting a fear by one group that the other side might invade and conquered them, and their wish to destroy their most prized possession so the enemy will be prevented from taking it. Which in this case was the medical center, that's been wired to explode if the required code hadn't been entered into the security system."
"So the sick bastards reached over from their hell to destroy our embryos?"
"I'm afraid they did, which no one could have foreseen that they would, Jenny."
"But how could they kill all these poor babies?" Jenny asked as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Because they were arrogant, heartless creatures who killed their own just as easily without any compunctions." Arvin answered.
"In a way, though, I think it was a blessing in disguise that the embryos are gone." Susan Said.
"Why? They were our children and now they're all dead."
"No, Jenny, they weren't. All they were, were undeveloped little lumps of flesh that had been cruelly extracted from our bodies and the way I see it, since they had never taken their first breath of air, they were none-entities when they were destroyed. And as much as I hate to say it, though, they can be easily replaced the natural way. Also, this way we'll be able to concentrate on living a normal life without constantly worrying about reviving so many unborn children."
"I see your point, Sue," Arvin said. "And tend to agree with you that it'll make our life much better without having to grieve for every embryo that doesn't make it through the defrosting process."