by Unknown
As the sun set, the diner-orgy ritual began another phase. After the first round of eating, Buk and the other four chiefs made love with their new wives. Amy was surprised at how amorous she became, watching and listening to them rut. When they were finished, Amy took her position with the other women. However, the population of males did not line up.
Instead, the virgin males, including Tak and Sar, created a ring around the women. Amy realized the significance of Buk's selection of tribal members to join the Grap. He had brought one virgin female, two virgin males, and two non-virgin females. The numbers matched. As the chiefs had done the night before, the virgin males danced as they circled the women. The crowd chanted, "Ka-Ru-Grap, Ka-Ru-Grap…"
Amy waited. As best she knew, none of her previous sexual partners had been virgins.
She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch Tak and Sar circle behind her. Given the random way the crowd had aligned the chiefs with their new brides, she did not expect that either of them would be her partner.
New bride? Am I expected to stay with whoever selects me?
When the chanting stopped and the crowd cheered, a cool hand touched her derrière.
"Vik," the soft voice said.
Amy turned to look at his face with its scruffy beard and excited eyes. Her gaze drifted lower to his battering ram erection. "Amy."
In unison with the other virgin males, he began to spank her. Amy imagined that he had witnessed this ritual countless times, but that this was the first time he had ever spanked a woman. He was not particularly adept at sensual spanking. The crowd clapped in cadence with the spanking swats. She listened to the echoes. Amy closed her eyes and imagined Buk's skilled hand swatting her bottom. When the clapping stopped, the women shouted, "Uk," in unison. The virgin males all stopped their spanking of the women. Amy relaxed her loins and invited him inside her.
Try as he might, he was not any good at this, either. She heard other women erupt with vocal rapture, and when she felt Vik reach his climax, she faked an orgasm too.
After a long moment of panting, Vik withdrew. Again the crowd clapped and cheered. Then another cool hand touched her.
"Kar."
Amy looked over her shoulder at the familiar face and smiled. "Amy."
I'll sleep with him tonight.
Kar gave her a stimulating spanking and two orgasms before he relaxed into his own pleasure.
Stardate 3527.9.10 – The Journey to a New Home
Following the expected bathing and breakfast, the population began to pack up on the morning of the third day of the Grap. Following A-le's example, Amy filled her food pouch with some of the remains of the evening meal, and bundled up her sleeping fur.
But no one left the volcano. Amy joined the others as they sat with their respective tribes. They watched the chiefs gather and attempt a conversation. The five men then began somberly walking around the central fire pit. They circled it five times before ascending the slope of the caldera in Amy's direction. They encircled Kar. He stood and followed them back down to the fire pit. Together, the six men circled the pit six times.
They are making Kar a new chief!
Kar left the five original chiefs. Never taking his eyes away from Amy, he gathered his belongings. He moved to an open area and sat down. The five original chiefs walked from tribe to tribe and selected nine males and three females who, without argument, joined Kar.
They are splitting up the tribes to create a new village.
Then Kar walked to Amy. He stood over her.
"Kar."
"Amy."
He held out his hand. Amy took it and he helped her stand. Picking up her bundle, she followed him.
Am I his new wife?
She joined the others selected for the new village. Among them were Lar and Vik. She could not remember the names of the others.
Everyone in the caldera stood and began chanting as loudly as possible, "Ka-Ru-Grap, Ka-Ru-Grap…" The roar echoed from the caldera walls and was projected skyward. When they finished, they all picked up their bundles.
"Moe," Kar said, and pointed to the northwest. The members of the new tribe departed without a backward glance. They descended the exterior slope of the cinder cone and headed into the grassy plain.
Stardate 3527.9.18 – Another Morning with the New Family
Sunlight flooded the cavern and awoke Amy. Unwrapping Kar's arms and the sleeping furs from around her body, she stood and walked outside to relieve herself. Within a few minutes, the other members of the tribe joined her.
"Amy," she said to greet the woman behind her in line.
"Ya-la," the woman returned, and took her position on the rock.
Kar had selected the location for their new home. This was not a single large cavern as was Buk's. Rather, this was a collection of smaller indentations into a cliff tucked under an overhanging ledge. Their central fire pit was basically outdoors, but was protected from the rain by the overhead rock. Kar and Amy slept in their own depression in the rock wall, and the other tribal members shared the remaining spaces as they desired. One small cave was set aside for a nursery, though the tribal family had no children. Another space contained their storage of food. The collection of caves was several miles north along the mountain range from Buk's cave. If they wanted to, they could walk to the old cave. In the eight days since the Grap, they had not had a reason to.
Amy bathed in the pool created by the spring. While the spring was natural, the three pools were not. The men had hauled rocks up the hill to build dams that created the pools. She cut a piece of meat from the leftover roast and sat down. She watched the beauty of the sunlight as it spread over the valley below.
It's been two months.
Amy had taken care to count the days since her crash landing on Corvus-3. Sixty days had now passed.
Surely the captain can return now.
Inwardly, she didn't really care. She was happy with her new family. She was marking time, not in anticipation of rescue, but rather to decide when she would break the Interplanetary Council rules and begin teaching her tribe. She would spread the English language and her skills to all of the people of Corvus-3. She was marking time to the month when her anti-conception implant would expire. When she had a child, she wanted him—or her—to be born into a more civilized world than now existed. She would wait until she was pregnant, then she would teach these people before her child was born.
She, of course, was not entirely certain that hers and Kar's chromosomes were compatible, but these people were so human in every respect imaginable. Amy considered that somehow they must be related to the people aboard those ten lost starships from Earth. However, she had not been able to formulate a theory that answered all of the differences between them and the people of Eden. But if she became pregnant, she would conclude that they were human. Therefore, the Council's mandate had no bearing. They were not a native alien population. She could freely interfere with their development.
The captain of the Carpenter had a short time to intervene.
If he waits too long to return, he will find a surprise—the aliens will be speaking English.
"O-la."
"Amy," she answered with a smile. Amy had always been tickled at the sound of her sister wife's name.
She gestured for the woman to join her, and they sat eating their breakfast in silence. O-la was obviously pregnant. The father of her child was not among Kar's tribe, but the exact parentage of a child did not seem to matter to these people. Only the chief was monogamous and could know which child was his. And thus, only Amy would know who fathered her child. Kar could push her out as his exclusive wife. However, with such a small tribe, she didn't think that would happen any time soon. The people of Corvus-3 considered the entire tribe to be a single family. Each male was an equivalent father of all the children as each woman was an equivalent mother. The women, of course, did know exactly which children were theirs, but it simply didn't matter to them.
Their love was not for
each other as individuals. Their love was for the family tribe. Amy felt the same feeling blooming inside her. She liked Kar. She liked him a lot, just as she had been very happy with Buk. However, she didn't love either of them as she loved Mario. She did find love growing in her heart for her tribe, and for all of the people of Corvus-3.
Finished eating, the men gathered their spears and set off in three groups to find meat. Amy stood and picked up her leather pouch. "Moe lak," she said to the other three women, and pointed down the mountain toward the river. As they had no children to care for, all four of them would walk along the river bank to collect fruit and vegetables.
"Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work we go," Amy sang as she led her troupe down the slope to the river. The others giggled and tried to join in with her song.
*****
Through the morning, O-la and Amy walked in the soft dirt while A-ma and Ya-la walked beside them banging their sticks. As E-en had taught her, Amy examined the green, leafy tops of the plants to determine which were mature and ready to pick. However, she added some intelligence to this process. Amy and O-la marked the locations of immature plants to simplify their harvest at a later date.
The four women were walking north along the river, upstream. This far north in the valley, the river was not as wide or deep as it was beside Buk's cave. Amy imagined that they could easily wade across and harvest the opposite bank.
But not today.
This might be something she should discuss with Kar first. And that discussion might have to wait until she had taught him more language. Soon Amy would introduce the notion of transplanting the immature plants to a specific garden patch closer to the caves. Additionally, she would transplant the other vegetable producing plants to their garden. She would introduce farming to her family.
With the sun directly overhead, the four women sat in the shade of a large tree and ate fruit for their lunch.
"EEK!" O-la shouted and pointed into the forest.
Following her gesture, Amy spotted the mangy black animal staring at them. Its eyes seemed to glow emerald green. It was twenty yards into the forest and hunched, ready to lunge. Noticing that it had been observed, its mouth morphed into a grin as it bared its fangs. Drool dripped from its jowls. Amy and A-ma reached for the sticks, and began banging them together. The beast was substantially smaller than the rak that had attacked them in the grassland. The two women calmly advanced upon the animal. Banging their sticks, they expected it to run away.
However, it snarled hungrily and began pawing the ground.
It's not going to be satisfied with eating fruit.
Another beast appeared a few yards away. Amy knew that one might be spooked into running away, but a hungry pack would not be afraid of anything.
"MOE!" Amy shouted at the other women and pointed at the river. They might be safe in the water. Even if the beasts could swim, they would not be able to attack and swim at the same time. She wished she knew a word for river. The frightened women sat, transfixed. Amy couldn't lead them into the river. If she turned to run, the predators would leap and run her down in a second. "MOE!" she shouted again. Finally, the women stood and began backing away, along the bank.
Amy and A-ma stood their ground, banging their sticks. When O-la and Ya-la were out of sight, Amy began slowly backing towards the river. "A-ma," she said. The other woman glanced toward her and also began backing toward the water.
The beasts eyed them, advancing slightly. They glanced south, along the bank where O-la and Ya-la had gone. Amy realized that if they went into the water where they could not be reached, the animals would turn to chase the others. "Moe," she said to A-ma, and pointed along the river where the other two women had gone. As A-ma began backing in that direction, Amy advanced on the beasts; striving to distract the animals as her sister wives made their escape.
When Amy was alone, the two carnivores gained ground on her. Slowly, hoping that they would not realize what she was doing, Amy gave way as she backed toward the water. However, they were surprisingly intelligent. Realizing her stall tactic, they glanced at each other and abandoned Amy. They trotted along the river, following O-la, Ya-la, and A-ma. Amy changed tactics as well. Banging her sticks ever louder, she chased them.
The two animals outran her in the forest, and they were quickly out of sight. Amy did not give up. She ran as fast as she could, weaving around the trees.
Seconds later, there was an odd noise in the forest. A pop-sizzle sound that she found oddly familiar, but couldn't remember where she had heard it before. The sound was immediately followed by the sharp yelp of a frightened animal.
When Amy caught up with O-la and Ya-la she asked, "A-ma?" and waved her arms around. The two women, white as sheets, shrugged their shoulders.
"EEWOW," a shrill scream erupted from deeper in the forest, toward the mountain to the west.
"Moe hop Kar," Amy exclaimed, and pointed south along the river. She hoped that O-la and Ya-la would understand her idea. She hoped that they would race to the caves and bring back Kar and the men. As they ran south, she remembered that Kar was not home, he was off hunting.
Turning her gaze to the dark forest, Amy ran into the trees, following A-ma's scream.
Pausing, Amy stilled her breath and listened. While there were no more screams, she did hear indistinct sounds ahead. Fearing the worst, she advanced more cautiously. After twenty more yards, she found the body.
It wasn't A-ma. It wasn't even human.
Amy stared down at the black fur of the carcass of one of the predators. Cautiously, she walked toward the animal.
It looks dead.
But she couldn't see any obvious wound.
Did it break its neck somehow?
New sounds startled her, and she strained to hear them—to determine which direction she needed to go. A-ma still needed her help. There was a second beast.
With greater caution, Amy tried to mimic the way Kar moved soundlessly through the trees. She wanted to hurry and save A-ma, but she didn't want the remaining animal to notice her coming.
"Uk—uk!" Amy heard A-ma's squeal ahead.
She's still alive!
Climbing over some rocks, Amy looked down into a small depression. Ten feet away, she could see A-ma, but it was not the beast that had her.
Barbas!
A-ma was on her hands and knees between two men—two fully human men. They were not wearing the jumpsuits of Eden's Space Service; they were wearing khaki-colored pants and dark blue shirts, the uniform of the Barbas. They each had been carrying black backpacks, but these had been tossed aside. The first man had his back to Amy. While the second one was facing in her direction, he did not see her. He was focused on restraining A-ma. He was crouched with his hands on her shoulders, holding her down on her hands and knees. A-ma was not resisting; she knew what the men wanted.
"Uk—uk!" A-ma cried, signaling her submission to them. The men of Corvus-3 rarely had sex outside of the nightly orgies. Buk and Kar had both awoken and made love with Amy during their nights together. And she imagined that the women slept with specific men anticipating more lovemaking, but this was uncommon. More significantly, they never had sex during daylight hours. A-ma was obviously confused by the strange men's actions, yet she was not going to resist them.
The two men ignored her pleas, not understanding her willingness to serve them.
The first man, with his back to Amy, said, "Don't let her get away again, Corporal."
Amy was startled to hear English. It was oddly accented, but the man clearly spoke English.
I guess it's to be expected.
She didn't remember anyone specifically telling her that the Barbas spoke English, but it was reasonable. They had been able to communicate with the people of Eden when they first arrived, and both of the populations had originated on Earth.
The man released his belt and dropped it to the side.
That's what the strange sound was!
Amy focused on the blaster attac
hed to the belt. It was not styled exactly like the blasters used by the Space Service, but it was unmistakably the same weapon. Amy had been trained in their use. In her mind, she once again heard the familiar popping sound of the energy burst, followed by the sizzle as the beam passed through the air.
The man lowered his pants and dropped to his knees. His white butt turned directly toward Amy. He patted A-ma's suntanned bottom with one hand and stroked his erection with the other.
"Hold still, sweetheart, you are in for a treat."
And so are you!
The adrenaline pulsed through Amy's veins. In a silent, fluid motion she swung over the rock and picked up the blaster. Neither man had seen her. She glanced at the weapon; it fit familiarly into her hand. Her thumb pressed the safety switch and she pointed it between the man's shoulder blades. Amy squeezed the firing stud.
At the pop-sizzle, the man arched his back. For a split-second, he froze in the air. Then he twisted and dropped to the ground. The second man released A-ma and stood.
Amy shot him in the chest.
The electro-magnetic energy beam fired by the weapon did not damage the skin. Rather, the energy disrupted the nerve tissue deep in the body. In the case of the first man, this had halted the action of his spinal cord. Paralyzed, he had collapsed. As for the second man, he had been hit directly in the heart. He was dead.
Amy stood over the first man and glanced into his bulging eyes. Unmoving, he appeared startled by her nude form standing over him with the blaster. She fired into his chest. Within seconds, he was also dead.
Gasping for breath, she helped A-ma to her feet. "Run on home," she said to the terrified woman. Realizing that she had switched to English and would not be understood, she looked into A-ma's eyes. "Amy," she spoke sternly.