This work is fiction. The work has no relationship with any person existing at any time anywhere whether real or imaginary or copywritten. Everything in this work is mea culpa.
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You should not read this work if you are under the age of legal consent wherever you reside. This work may or may not contain any and/or all of the following: death, dismemberment, violent acts, implied sex, explicit sex, violent sex, rape, cannibalism, blasphemy (depending on your religion), BDSM, torture, mimes, and just about anything unwholesome that you could consider.
The pokegirl universe was first documented by Metroanime and to him all of us who reside or visit there owe a debt of thanks.
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Chapter 17
(4/17/06 1500 Marco Island)
Kerrik, Cesare and Jamie stood silently and watched as the earthly remains of Private Hank Timmons were placed in their final resting place by the members of the Marco Island militia. Timmons had been the sentry on duty when the dark lady had attacked. She’d chopped him to bits, so the coffin they were loading into the grave was mostly empty, although they’d gathered what they could find.
Raven and Ginevra stood next to their respective tamers while the honor guard fired the three volleys of seven. Madison was busy scouting the island with her constructs while Emily was in the clinic, treating three people who’d managed to get run down by the boat they’d fallen out of.
It was only the Havens and the militia. Timmons didn’t have any surviving family and had joined the militia after the Indigos had forced him out of the home his family had died in. He hadn’t been around long enough to make any friends among the civilians.
Kerrik glanced at Jamie. “His death was a waste. Think they’ll adopt your idea of interlocking sentry points now?”
Jamie looked mildly disgusted. “I’m not sure. It’s only been a proven method for over a thousand years; they may want to consider it for a while longer. The militia is all for it, but the civilian government isn’t sure they can justify the diversion of manpower for the construction.”
Kerrik’s ears stilled. “A lot of the people here are wandering around and doing the bare minimum to get by. It’s become a habit. If I were in charge, I’d bring that to a screeching halt.” He shrugged. “I am, however, not in charge and I wouldn’t want to be.”
“What can we do?”
“We work with what they decide to do. This is not our home. If they don’t want to protect their front door, then we see what other options are available.”
Raven spoke without ceasing her constant scanning of their surroundings. “I think what they need to learn next is how to hunt and capture feral pokegirls. That will increase the number of tamers and pokegirls they have to respond with, and it should increase their mobility.”
Cesare cleared his throat quietly. “Highness, if the Indigos are like the Tropic tamers, they will respond violently to the loss of one of their own.” The dead man had been carrying a badge claiming he was an Indigo League authorized tamer. “What happened to Private Timmons was dreadful, but sometimes the leagues do dreadful things.”
“What has Tropic done?”
“They kill three for every one of theirs that dies, sir.” He looked puzzled for a second. “Sir, may I ask a question?”
Kerrik chuckled. “Go ahead.”
“Why aren’t you a prince? Every other Wolf is.”
“Shikarou tried to make me one and I told him where he could shove that idea. I have enough responsibilities elsewhere.”
Cesare’s eyes got very big. “You told His Majesty that?”
“He is my son and he cuts me a lot of slack. If he has a problem with it, I can always relocate somewhere else to do my research.”
“I like the mountain where we met. We could build a home there.”
Kerrik turned to Raven. “If you like it that much, we will; no matter whether Shikarou throws me out or not.”
“I would like that.”
“Someone else might own it,” Jamie pointed out quietly.
Kerrik just gave him a look of vast amusement. “If that is the case, I’m sure we can work something out. There aren’t that many people left and, if it comes down to it, they can find somewhere else just as good to live. I’ll even help.”
“You wouldn’t hurt anyone, would you?”
“I doubt that would be necessary. People usually become reasonable long before that point is reached.”
Cesare was still looking a little wild eyed. “Doesn’t it bother you that Prince Jamie outranks you, sir, and can give you orders?”
Kerrik gave Jamie a bland look. “So, Your Highness, are you going to order me around?”
“I think I’d be safer fighting that dark lady without a pokegirl.”
“Good answer.”
Ginevra chuckled. “My master has wisdom. Today, he has proven it by using it for a change.”
Raven laughed quietly.
There was a rattle as dirt started being shoveled onto Timmons’ coffin. The funeral guests started to disperse when someone produced a bottle. The group started drifting together again and more bottles appeared.
Jamie glanced at Kerrik, who nodded. “We should go.”
They were headed for the gate to the cemetery when there was a pounding of feet and Annette came running up in a blur. She skidded to a halt and snapped to attention. “Major, Colonel, Lieutenant Carver requests your company. She says the men would like you to stay since you stopped the dark lady before she could cause any other damage. You’re welcome too, master Cesare.”
Cesare shook his head. “I’m not a soldier or a tamer and I need to get back to the clinic to help Emily.”
He headed off as the foxymaiden looked from Jamie to Kerrik. “Sirs, they do want your company.” Her ears flicked. “And, on a personal note, I’m going to miss Paige. I didn’t know her for long, but she was quick to make friends and we got along well.” She dropped her gaze. “I hope I’m not being too forward, sirs.”
She yelped when Jamie hugged her fiercely. “Thank you. We’ll be along in a moment.”
Her face flamed scarlet as she bowed. “You are welcome sir.” She raced off to rejoin her tamer.
Jamie watched her go, his face unreadable. Ginevra nudged him, hard. “You will never be able to replace her. When the time comes, I do not recommend getting another foxymaiden.”
Jamie gave her a bitter look. “She just died. Can we not talk about replacing her for a while yet?”
“I said she can’t be replaced. However, the harem must grow.”
“Kerrik?”
His grandfather gave him a sympathetic look. “This is something you’ll have to decide for yourself, Jamie.”
He blinked. “You agree with her.”
“So what if I do? I can’t, and won’t, force you to add to your harem; neither will Ginevra or anyone else.”
Kerrik gave the demoness a hard look and she slowly nodded. “The old one is right, I will not add to the harem without your knowledge.” She raised her head defiantly. “You are a soldier and soldiers fight. You will be using Madison for recon more and more; yesterday proved that I cannot protect you from everyone. You need a larger harem and you need it now.”
Jamie stared at her before sighing. “Let’s go join them before the bottles are empty.”
Raven touched Kerrik’s arm as Jamie marched determinedly in the direction of the drinking. “Those arguments are also valid for you, Colonel. You will be in the thick of the fighting, if I am correct.”
His ears went back. “I was hoping to use you as an excuse to forego adding more pokegirls to my life.”
“I am not fully conversant with what a tamer is or how a harem operates; but I already know that you will need more pokegirls. There are those who cannot, for one reason or another, have other tamers and, as I said before, I know that you will not let them languish without aid.” She smiled. “They tend to be more powerful than the average pokegirl, too, so they will be of great use to you.”
“You’ve been talking to Ginevra, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have. She is the only experienced harem leader here and the only one I can turn to for guidance. I am not sure I want to be called by the conventional nomenclature. The term is alpha, but that sounds ridiculous. I am not a pet or an animal.”
“What title do you think you should have instead?”
“I am not sure. Queen would be perfect, but too many pokegirl species use that word in their name and it would be confusing. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Nothing comes to mind.” His ears canted sideways. “Maharani might work.”
She slid her hand into his. “I will think about this. In the meantime, why do they want you to drink with them?”
“Humans are social creatures. These have formed a social group defined by the fact that all of them are in the militia. We are outsiders, but Jamie has worked with them; and he and I fought the dark lady that killed one of their own. Sometimes, that makes a group accept you as a member and apparently that has happened here.”
Raven cocked her head. “Pokegirls are social creatures, too. It might be wrong or possibly even harmful for me to be alone in your harem.”
Kerrik’s eyebrows shot up. “You have someone in mind.”
“She’s a powerful fighter, knows some magic, and Alice cannot stand her because she reminds Alice of things she wants to ignore.” She smiled. “These things should appeal to you.”
He grinned. “I must admit, she sounds interesting. Wait; aren’t you concerned about losing Alice’s friendship if this pokegirl joins our harem?”
Amethyst eyes warmed suddenly. “Our harem. That is well done. Including me will help to bond me to you and might help to keep me from wanting to share you. To answer your question, Alice and I have been friends since she brought this pokegirl to me to help.”
“Really? Please, tell me more.”
They headed back towards Timmons’ grave and Kerrik listened closely as Raven quietly spoke.
***
(4/18/06 0845 Marco Island)
“Normally, we’d head out at dawn to catch the night pokegirls while they’re tired and headed to bed along with the day pokegirls who would be starting to wake up. However, most pokegirls are diurnal in nature. Of the ones that aren’t, you are not ready to face the nocturnal ones such as umbrea. While nocturnal pokegirls are few and far between, the ones that are can be pretty nasty, especially since you’re human and not geared towards night combat. At this point, it’s better if you seek them out in their lairs.” Jamie perched cross-legged on a rock while Carver, Weinstein and Wilkes were scattered around the clearing, trying to listen through their pounding hangovers.
Ginevra stood near her tamer while Madison was in a tree, scouting the area with her binoculars while a couple of constructs extended her viewing range. Kerrik was around somewhere with Raven.
They’d left town right after dawn and headed southeast. Now they were on the outskirts of the series of national parks that led to the everglades, in an area where satellite recon had suggested several ferals made their homes. In front of them, a series of water filled canals led to some abandoned houses in a subdivision. Behind the houses were more canals.
“Now, when a pokegirl goes feral, she tends to lose what makes her human. The amount she loses varies from species to species and sometimes from pokegirl to pokegirl. It does not, however make her stupid.”
“What about Hamtits.” Kerrik stepped out of some bushes with Raven.
Jamie shook his head. “They’re stupid whether or not they’re feral.”
Carver gave Kerrik an amused smile. “Off for a quickie?”
The archmage’s eyes narrowed, but she remained silent while Kerrik chuckled. “Hardly, I had to take a pee and Raven won’t let me out of her sight.”
“What’s a hamtits?”
Jamie gave his grandfather a glance. “You brought it up, you take it.”
“Hamtits, which, by the bye, is both the singular and the plural, are some of the dumbest pokegirls to walk and breathe at the same time. They’re pet material, not combat pokegirls, and if we run across any of them I’d suggest killing them and moving on.”
Jamie shook his head. “We will do no such thing. Pets help people get used to the idea of pokegirls and sometimes they do useful things. Granted, you could be waiting for a while with a hamtits, but, if nothing else, she can keep a man or woman from being sexually frustrated and raping someone.”
Carver got an interested look. “What’s a pet?”
“There are several informal roles that pokegirls can fill, some of which are based on what they were reportedly doing during the war and some of which come from the roles they appear to fill in society.” Jamie paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “The most important breakdowns involve whether or not a pokegirl is suited for combat.”
“It’s also true that these designations are vague at best, as well as somewhat arbitrary,” Kerrik mentioned. “Individuals can vary widely in their abilities and drives. Some traditionally non-combat pokegirls like to fight and are pretty good at it; while a lazy combat type is not only useless in a harem, she’s likely to endanger her tamer and the rest of her harem. In addition, several pokegirls that might be more suited as pets can evolve into some pretty powerful combat types.”
Jamie nodded. “He’s right. Anyway, some pokegirls are, for one reason or another, not suited to combat: for example, the hamtit or many bunnygirls. But, they’re still out there. If ignored, they will breed and can become troublesome. If they get in your crops, they’ll ruin them. By placing them with a pet owner, they can learn to do some basic domestic stuff and their breeding can be controlled.”
“Oh, and not all pokegirls that aren’t suited for the rigors of combat are only useful as pets. Ingénues are as smart as humans and can hold jobs for their owners. It means shopkeepers can have assistance while not tying down a human in a menial job, freeing them to rise to their potential.” Kerrik flashed a smile. “Should the militia go back to uniforms, you could have a militia pokegirl or two who does the laundry and shines your boots. All she needs in return is the occasional taming and fed. In addition, pets and working pokegirls help accustom humans, and especially children, to the idea of pokegirls and might interest them in becoming tamers when they’re old enough.”
“Which means we should capture any pet pokegirls we find and give them away?” Wilkes shook his head. “This is confusing.”
“Welcome to our world.” Jamie glanced at Kerrik. “Anything else I should cover, right now?”
Ginevra cocked her head. “They might need to know about how to hunt. If they live, someday they will be the teachers.”
Jamie chuckled ruefully. “You could be right. Like I said, feral pokegirls can often have a level of cunning that makes them just as dangerous as they are when aware. It’s also possible to run across a pokegirl who isn’t feral, so be doubly careful since she could be a deserter from what’s left of Sukebe’s armies. In any case, every encounter is different. Sometimes they attack, sometimes they run, and sometimes they want to be tamed more than anything else.”
He looked around the clearing. “Even if she’s on the ground with her legs spread and begging for you, I suggest you unleash your pokegirls and catch her before trying anything else. Until she’s bonded, she’s dangerous and, considering that pokegirls can come with poisonous skin, enhanced strength, hidden spines and other abilities that can kill you by accident even if all she wants is a wild taming, extreme caution is recommended if you want to live. Once bonded, in most cases, a pokegirl can be taught to control her abilities so you two can be together safely.”
Kerrik nodded. “And in the case of vampires or aupair, among others, they can infect you with a transformational virus that turns you into a pokegirl, with all that entails. I suggest you capture whatever you encounter and you don’t tame her until she’s been positively identified and you have an idea of how to deal with her.” He gestured at Carver. “She’s got the pokedex we gave you and that will help a lot, but you’ve only got the one. It’s perfectly fine to wait until you get back to base to have her identity verified.”
Weinstein shifted slightly. “Can we get more?”
“We’ll be selling them to anyone who wants to purchase one; so, yes. We’re hoping to interest the leagues in buying them for their tamers, but that’s for the future.” Jamie grinned. “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“”What can we trade for them?”
“We accept pokegirls and valuables for trade and we’ll give you fair prices for what you offer. Right now, a lot of houses are empty and looting them of their valuables is a good way to work towards that. If you don’t have enough for a purchase, we’ll pay you in Haven’s money.”
“Not in dollars or these SLC?”
Kerrik shook his head. “We don’t like the idea of money not backed by anything. It’s too easy to just print more or add zeros to your budget. We use real money.” He dug into a pocket and held out a collection of coins. He picked one out and held it up. It was about the size of a US half dollar. “This is a royal and it’s made of silver, alloyed just enough to make it wear well. It’s the standard coin of the realm.” He swapped it out for a yellow coin the size of a US nickel. “This is a crown, and it’s made of gold. It’s more valuable than the royal, but the royal is the standard, so there are more of them in circulation.”
Wilkes’ eyes went wide as Raven moved to where she could see the money. “Real gold?”
“99.999 fine.” He switched it with a copper coin roughly the size of a US dollar coin. “And this is a penny. There are half crowns and half royals and a coin called a ten penny. These make up the coinage of the kingdom.”
“What’s the exchange rate?”
“Well, the leagues don’t recognize us yet, so there isn’t an official one; but Shikarou has decided that the coins will exchange for the cost of the base metal. That makes a royal worth 205 SLC or a little over two American dollars. A crown is worth 6742.5 SLC and a penny is worth 2 SLC.”
“How many royals are in a crown?”
“There are thirty two royals in a crown and thirty two hundred pennies. I know it’s an odd number, but that’s because of the metal values. We hope that our money will be used everywhere and we don’t want to get robbed because the coins are less valuable on their face than their metal is worth. There are a hundred pennies in a royal, so that’s easier to track.”
Jamie snatched for the crown and grinned when Kerrik avoided the grab. “You won’t see a lot of crowns unless you do much better than we expect. We’ll give fair value for just about anything you can bring us and I’m pretty sure that a merchant will be coming through on a regular basis to trade.”
He frowned and got back on topic. “When you’ve only got one pokegirl, your options are a bit limited when you come across a feral. If you come across more than one, I’d recommend beating a retreat and finding a single pokegirl to attack. The problem with having only one pokegirl is that, if you send her off to do battle, you’re screwed if another one shows up. Pokegirls do sometimes travel in groups and you never know where one may be hiding. So when you have a single pokegirl, it is easier, and usually safer, to pick on one feral at a time and do it at fairly close range so your pokegirl can protect you if she needs to.”
“When you have two or more pokegirls, hunting becomes a lot easier, since you can use one for recon and fighting while the other stands by to protect you or help your battler. In any case, your job is to weaken your target enough that she can’t escape from a pokeball. A pokeball is a single use item in an initial capture and if it fails, it’s useless. You can recharge them, but the cost is roughly that of a new pokeball. Still, you don’t have many spares, so recover any that you can to recharge.”
“If she’s unconscious, it’s pretty easy to capture one. If she’s dying, or you think she’s dead, try anyway. A pokeball will capture or recover a pokegirl up to the absolute brink of death, and what you think is beyond recovery may not be. If it recovers her, then she’s alive enough to salvage, just don’t let her out until she’s been healed or she’ll drop dead on you.”
“What we’re going to do is hunt down some ferals and let you have a go at them. If they escape, Ginevra and Madison will finish the capture, but I’d rather you do it.”
He glanced at Kerrik. “Will Raven help?”
Kerrik shrugged and looked at his pokegirl, who shook her head vehemently in a swirl of glittering purple hair. “I think that’s a no.” Both of them were wearing jeans, t-shirts that said “I’m with the genius!” and boots. He turned back to Raven. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and pulled her staff from her pocket before moving next to him and grounding it firmly. “Yes.”
Wilkes frowned. “Aren’t pokegirls supposed to be obedient? Just order her to help.” Raven’s head swiveled to stare evenly at him and he went slightly pale at the look in her amethyst eyes. “Nevermind.”
“She’s one of those pokegirls not for beginning tamers,” Kerrik said calmly as he moved between Raven and Wilkes. She glared at his back for a moment before relaxing and returning to watching the surroundings. “Some of them are pretty aggressive and hard to control. Personally, I like it, but then I’d not be happy with normal pokegirls, not being normal myself.”
Raven glanced at his back. “You need protected and, until you have more than one pokegirl, I’m it. If we’re attacked by a feral, I’ll deal with her, but I’m not trained to do anything but kill and you want to capture.”
Kerrik raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “You heard the lady. Apparently I’m part of the reserve.”
Ginevra snickered.
Contact. Jamie stiffened at his twee’s warning. Madison is reporting contact with ferals.
He exchanged a glance with Ginevra. Tell her to get down here and report. “We’ve got contact. We’ll evaluate the situation and move from there.”
Madison jumped to the ground as Ginevra moved to catch her. She giggled and hopped out of the demoness’ arms. “Sir, there are some ferals in a yard about fifteen hundred meters that way,” she pointed, “and it looks like they’re squabbling. We should be able to get close before they notice.”
“Give details,” growled Ginevra.
“I saw a couple of ladyba and they were zooming at the ground and trying to scare off another pokegirl. She appears to be an amazon of some type and she’s gorging on some fruit.”
Jamie nodded. “We’ll get close enough to eyeball them and see. If they’re fighting each other, we might get to try for a clean sweep.” He looked at Kerrik. “What do you think, colonel?”
Kerrik shrugged. “I’ve never caught a feral, so you’re the expert. I defer to your experience.”
“Then we’ll do it my way. Gin, you’ve got point. Madison, you’re with me. Paige,” he broke off suddenly and took a deep breath. “Weinstein, you and Wilkes have the rearguard. Wilkes, don’t let Chosovi overflight the area. If the ladyba see a flying type, they’re likely to run just as fast as they can.” He glanced around. “Kerrik, Carver, you two are on the flanks. Kerrik, keep Raven on the ground, too. Move folks.”
***
(4/18/06 1010 Marco Island)
Weinstein bit back a curse as he slipped and fell waist deep in a pool of mud. Kerrik took him by the collar and effortlessly pulled him out. “Careful, pup.”
They were about a hundred meters from the house in question. A privacy fence surrounded a huge back yard and, above it, hovered three ladyba. Their shrill cries of rage echoed thinly and they dove from time at something inside the back yard.
Wilkes was starting at them in shock while Chosovi was watching them eagerly. “What the hell are those?”
“Ladyba. They’re bug types and very useful. They have photographic memories and are excellent negotiators. Their evolved form, ladyien, is the same way and is known as tough battlers and excellent sex fighters.”
“They’re bugs.”
“Actually, they’re humans with insect genetics. They’re pretty soft and cuddly, too, and they love sex.”
Weinstein had been trying to brush some of the mud off. He looked up. “That sounds interesting.” He looked at Yonit. “What do you think?”
The tigress ginned. “I was in a harem with a ladyien, sir. She was fun for everyone.”
Carver was watching the flying pokegirls. “I’ll try one, too. I think Annette will like one in the harem.” She glanced at the foxymaiden, who was watching her tamer curiously. “Wanna help me with one?”
Annette nodded enthusiastically. “I would, mistress.”
Wilkes shook his head. “Count me out.”
“Don’t give up yet, sergeant.” Kerrik had hopped up on the wreckage of a car. “There’s still the amazon type that they’re pissed at. All amazon types are fighters, not bug types. Besides, your rack has the type advantage on her.”
“I still don’t completely understand strengths and weaknesses and how they work, colonel. I’ve been looking at sheet you gave me, but it’s slow going.”
“Type advantage means that specific types of attacks do more damage against others or less if the defending pokegirl has a type defense against it. Some, like dark types against psychic techniques, are completely immune.” He shrugged. “The ladyba are weak to flying and to fire, so Chosovi and Annette are strong against them. The amazon will be weak to flying, but not fire.”
“What about Yonit?”
“She’s a fighter, too, and is strong against dark, ice, and several others. She’s weak against flying and psychic types, just like the amazon is.”
Jamie blinked. “You know that pretty well.”
“I’ve got a good memory.”
The major nodded. “That means that Annette and Yonit will take the ladyba while Chosovi will neutralize the amazon. I don’t know what the league policies are as far as pokegirls carrying pokeballs, but the kingdom allows it.”
Currently all leagues forbid pokegirls to carry pokeballs, since pokeballs are still rare as all they currently possess are scavenged from Sukebe’s ruins or came with a pokegirl that was turned.
Jamie nodded unconsciously to his twee’s report. “Ginevra will catch any leakers while Madison protects me and keeps an eye on the big picture. Kerrik will be free to roam.” He broke off as a ladyba dropped, dust starting to drift from her body. A rock whipped out of the garden and knocked her spinning. She cried out in pain and rejoined her sisters. “It looks like the amazon is getting tired of being harassed.” Jamie was still curious as to the archmage’s abilities and went for the long shot. “Kerrik, have Raven take down the wall so we can see what’s going on.”
“Raven?”
She lifted her staff and it burned with purple flame as she slashed it at the privacy fence a hundred meters away. A cut appeared in line with the staff and the fence peeled away to drop to the ground, revealing an orange tree that had apparently been cut down by the expedient of punching the trunk until it shattered. A busty, very near human pokegirl with bright teal hair and wearing what looked like rags, was holding an orange above her head and sucking the juice from it as she crushed it in her hand. Her free hand held another rock. Her head came down and she looked at the fallen fence quizzically as the orange continued to drip onto the top of her head.
Kerrik slipped his arm around Raven and muttered in her ear. They vanished.
That is an amazonchan.
Jamie grinned. “Wilkes, take her. Use your radio and trust your alpha. Carver, Weinstein, get the ladyba and also trust your alphas. Good hunting.” Madison, get your patrols out. Ginevra, you know what to do.
Madison settled down nearby and released her cyber falcon and fairy dragon. She also pulled a third card out and activated it. It released a formless white figure. The duelist pointed at Ginevra. “Her.” The copycat changed and became a demoness, identical to Madison’s alpha.
Ginevra turned to look at it and then at Madison, who gave her a cheerful wave. “This one is nicer than you.” The demoness’ tail lashed violently and she turned back to her duties without a word. Madison giggled and Ginevra’s tail slashed the air again.
Wilkes turned to Chosovi. “Be careful, but let’s catch you a harem mate.”
“I’m on it, sir.” The rack spread her wings and vaulted into the air, climbing quickly and turning to head for the garden.
Carver and Weinstein spoke simultaneously. “Yonit, gust punch at the injured one!” “Annette, fireblast one of the others!”
The gust punch knocked the injured ladyba sideways and she bellowed in anger as she looked around for her assailant. Spotting the tamers, she moved smoothly in their direction just as the fireblast hit one of the others. She crumpled and dropped while the third spun and charged at the attackers.
Chosovi dropped in a dive at the amazonchan and her wings glowed as she snapped them forward. Chi energy pounded the ground around the amazonchan and two of the feather shuriken bolts hit her squarely. She squalled and nailed the rack with the rock, sending Chosovi tumbling.
The third ladyba covered the hundred meters in a heartbeat and slammed into Annette in a spray of crimson dust. A line of flame erupted from the foxymaiden’s hand and she ripped the flame sword up the ladyba’s torso. The ladyba spun away and lay, moving slightly, as she tried to get her bearings.
“Carver, now!” Teresa gave Jamie a puzzled look. “Pokeball her!” Carver fumbled at her belt and hurled the pokeball at the downed ladyba. It hit in front of the pokegirl and bounced in before catching an outflung arm as it started to clear her. She disappeared into the containment beam.
Annette whined in the back of her throat and jumped her astonished mistress as the lust dust took effect. Weinstein was locked in on the last ladyba and didn’t notice.
Ginevra snickered as clothes started flying.
The amazonchan whirled to face Chosovi and went into a ready position, as the rack recovered in midair and spun to renew the attack. Chosovi whipped up into a stall and slammed her wings forward as she dropped to the ground. Dirt, leaves and other debris exploded in a line towards the amazonchan and she was picked up off her feet and slammed into the fallen orange tree by the force of the gust attack. Still game, the amazonchan’s hands glowed and she expertly hammered the rack with a one-two combination of chi blasts which sent Chosovi staggering.
“Yonit, roar!” The tigress responded instantly, and the sonic attack stopped the oncoming ladyba in midair less than two meters from her target. “Slash her!” Yonit ran forward and began raking the ladyba with rapid strikes from her claws, knocking the ladyba to the ground and then jumping on her back to prevent her from taking off. Blood began to fleck the ground as she kept striking. Jamie was about to call her off when Joshua nailed the ladyba in the head with a pokeball and she vanished. “Great job, Yonit, but be ready in case she gets out.”
The tigress flashed a grin at her tamer without ever taking her eyes from the wildly jumping pokeball. Finally, the capture tone sounded and it was still.
Jamie glanced to the side. “Gin, take out Annette.” The demoness grinned and grabbed the foxymaiden by the sides of her head. Energy swirled out of Annette and into Ginevra as she drained the foxymaiden’s life energy until Annette collapsed. The demoness dragged her off of Carver, who was panting and nude. She yipped and started wrapping clothing around herself.
“Yonit, help Chosovi!”
The tigress loped forward but screeched to a halt when Jamie bellowed. “BELAY THAT! Normally, that would be a good call, but let Chosovi do this or fail first.”
Wilkes was muttering into his radio and the rack straightened up and whipped her wings forward in another feather shuriken attack that smashed into the amazonchan like a thunderbolt and knocked her over the fallen tree in a spray of leaves and broken branches.
“Doug?” Wilkes looked up at Jamie’s quiet call. “If she gets weakened enough to capture, can you throw a pokeball that far?”
Wilkes’ jaw dropped and he ran towards the battle as the amazonchan clambered to her feet and shook her head muzzily.
“I didn’t think so either.”
Chosovit cocked her head and hit the amazonchan with a solid gust attack before launching herself back into the air and whirling around to unleash another feather shuriken. Her opponent was blown through the privacy fence and dropped into a water filled slough to disappear with a splash.
“Whoops,” murmured Ginevra.
They watched Chosovi dance furiously on the bank of the slough until Wilkes joined her. They spoke briefly and then they waded into the water.
“We should go assist.” Ginevra didn’t look pleased at the concept she was offering. “There could be a water feral waiting for them.”
“You can teleport and the screams will warn us. I want them to do this on their own, if they can.”
Joshua was determinedly not looking at Carver as she struggled back into her clothing. “Is that why you didn’t want Yonit to get involved?”
“That’s right. I wanted each of you to make a capture if you could. So far, Wilkes is the only one who hasn’t.”
“What the hell happened to Annette?” A now dressed Carver rolled the unconscious foxymaiden over and carefully opened an eye.
“She was affected by the lust dust and needed a taming. Fortunately, she chose you instead of one of us. Ginevra knocked her out and you need to pokeball her until we can get her healed.”
Carver shot the demoness a hard look which abruptly softened. “Thank you, sergeant.”
Ginevra nodded. “I would expect no less from you, lieutenant, if I attacked the major.”
Teresa grinned suddenly. “I’m not so sure I’d rush to stop that. That show might be worth watching.” She gave Jamie a bold look and didn’t notice when Ginevra slashed her tail, spines upright.
“Gin, let’s go check on Wilkes. Corporal Weinstein, you have security for the lieutenant since her pokegirls are unable to function.”
Joshua snapped a salute at Jamie’s suddenly crisp tone. “Yes, major.”
He slipped his arm through Ginevra’s and felt her relax. “Yes, sir.” They came out next to the fallen tree. “I want to kill her.”
“She’s not that exciting.” Jamie squeezed her arm against him. “I’ve got the prettiest demoness in the world with me. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you what color her hair is.”
“Ugly. When I am master, will you be angry at men who look at me the way she looked at you?”
Jamie chuckled. “I most certainly will. I may not show your self restraint, either.” He looked at her as they started picking their way around the tree. “That does not mean you can have less.”
He got a ghost of a smile in return. “I understand. No killing the humans since we need them for the time being. Can I maim them instead?”
“I don’t think you can stop before they die, so, no.”
“Yes, my master.”
Wilkes and Chosovi were feeling the bottom with their feet and the sergeant looked up when he noticed Jamie. “Major, I can’t find her.”
“Gin?”
She pointed to the left of where they’d been searching. “She’s in the weeds there and isn’t conscious.”
Wilkes moved that way and yelped when he stepped on her. “Here she is. Do I have to pull her out of the water to capture?”
“No. Be quick so she doesn’t die.” Jamie nodded his approval when Wilkes ducked under the water.
Chosovi waded to shore, grimacing. “My feathers will never be the same again.”
“Stop whining.” Ginevra gave her an unfriendly look. “A healing cycle will put you right in short order. Sir, I recommend using the PPHU for the injured non-feral pokegirls. That will fix Chosovi and bring Annette back, so that Corporal Weinstein can be released from guard duty. He’s showing to be the best battle thinker of the three and he shouldn’t be tied down babysitting the lieutenant.”
“Sounds reasonable. Take care of it after we regroup.”
Wilkes popped back to the surface and waded to shore. “Got her.” He frowned slightly. “You did say that a pokeball won’t capture dead bodies, right?”
“If she went in the ball, she was alive.”
A grin flashed. “Great, then I’ve caught my first feral!”
Ginevra snorted. “There will be no true ferals such as we know them,” she said so quietly that only Jamie could hear her. “These will be from Sukebe’s armies and at least partially civilized.”
He nodded and patted her on the arm. “That’s absolutely correct.” Raising his voice, he continued. “Let’s get back to the house and we’ll regroup there.” Tell Madison to let the others know to meet us at the house.
Along with the others, Kerrik and Raven were waiting when they got back to the house. “I found booze.” He held up several bottles filled to varying degrees with liquid. “This house was abandoned when the occupants died in the Red Plague and it’s never been bothered. They even stored their wine properly, so we’ve got some bottles of it, too.”
Joshua moaned softly as Ginevra opened up her pack and pulled out the PPHU. “God, not more liquor; please, anything but that.”
Wilkes grinned. “Don’t worry, son. I’ll drink your share. There’s no better cure for a hangover than more drinking.”
Kerrik smiled slightly. “Actually, Annette knows heal, which cures a hangover in an instant, including the headache and sour stomach.”
Carver blinked from where she was loading her foxymaiden’s pokeball into the PPHU. “Really?”
Madison grinned. “Yup, lieutenant.”
“Can we get a PPHU? Even with the battery limitation, they’re pretty useful.”
“Teresa, the mayor decided you could get by without one. On the other hand, like we discussed earlier, we’re always willing to trade, and Raven and I didn’t loot that house of its jewelry.”
“You two are pretty informal,” Wilkes observed. “What with the first names and all.”
“Technically, it’s always been a perk of the officer corps to use the first names of lower ranking personnel,” Kerrik shrugged. “However, you aren’t part of the HRA and we’re not even mercenaries. We’re just volunteering to help train you to use pokegirls effectively.”
“So I can call you Kerrik?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“What if we were HRA?” Joshua looked curiously at them.
“You’d follow proper military protocol at all times; but then, that’s not really that bad, is it? Off duty, my first name is fine. Calling me Kerrik isn’t going to undermine society, at least not in a pub.”
“What’s a pub?”
“It’s a public house. It’s like a bar, but you can usually get food there, too.” Kerrik got a thoughtful look. “It’s more like the old idea of a tavern, a place where travelers could get a drink and a meal before pressing on to an inn.”
“Do you have those on Haven?”
“Not yet, but we’re building all of the comforts of home there.”
“Where’s home,” Carver asked.
Jamie grinned. “You know better than that.”
She shrugged unapologetically.
“Our home is Haven now.” Kerrik’s voice was firm. “Anything else, you don’t need to know.”
“What’s the policy on immigrants?” Wilkes was peeling mud from his clothing.
“Sergeant!”
“Lieutenant, the US is dead and the Indigo’s aren’t really all that nice. I just want to know if there are any other options. Haven sounds like they’ve got their shit together. Face it, if we fight the league, they’ll make us regulars in their own military or whatever they call it. Otherwise, they’ll just send in strong enough forces to kick our butts. If that happens, I’ll lose Chosovi and I don’t want to do that.”
His rack gave him a stunned look and then flushed crimson.
Kerrik shrugged. “Your highness?”
“Our current policy to immigrants is the more the merrier. If you want to join the HRA, we’ll have to vet you, but I doubt that would be too much trouble for you.”
“What happens if I join and then want to go somewhere else?”
Jamie smiled. “Nobody will force you to stay.”
“It sounds too good to be true.” Weinstein looked troubled. “What’s the catch?”
“It sounds too good to be true.” Weinstein looked troubled. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch, but we’re building from the ground up and it’s a lot of hard work. There are a lot of pokegirls looking for tamers, too, and they’ll be trying to join your harem. You don’t have to let them, but we’d appreciate if you helped out with keeping them from going feral. We’re a little low on tamers still.” Jamie’s eyes hardened. “I can tell you that, because the ones that are there are veterans and their harems are powerhouses like you haven’t seen since the war; and maybe not even then.”
Kerrik nodded. “Anyone who tries to horn in on Haven is going to be lucky if they manage to pull back a stump.”
Carver snorted. “They’ll just dust off a nuke and pop you.”
The kami gave her a solemn look. “They might try. They’ll regret it, too. Nukes are obsolete, although they don’t know it, yet. If they’re dumb enough to try and use one on the kingdom, I’ll see that they don’t regret it for long.”
Raven touched him on the shoulder and shook her head when he looked at her. He grinned. “Fine. We’ve got three ladyba and an amazonchan, all captured by the militia troops. How are you going to divide them up?”
Carver gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”
“You caught them, so you should get to keep them. The question becomes do you want to add to your harems, give other members of the militia a chance to become tamers, or both?” He gave each of them a direct look, his ears flicking. “There are three of you and four pokegirls. On top of that, you are, well, still pretty green as tamers and, on top of that, you’ve only had your pokegirls for a couple of days and that can become an issue as your harem grows.”
Wilkes frowned. “What’s a good harem size?”
Kerrik looked at Jamie. “I think you should field that one.”
Jamie looked thoughtful for a moment. “We’ll be helping you by providing stamina and other aids to taming, but if you head off into the wilderness on a mission or for any other reason, you may run out. The trick is to remember that your pokegirls can tame each other so that you can share your attention amongst them. Another thing to keep in mind is your pokegirl’s libido. Pokegirls have low, average and high libidos, with a couple who are very low or very high. The libido that a pokegirl has defines how often she has to be tamed to keep her from going feral. This has little or nothing to do in regards to how often a pokegirl might want to be tamed, although no pokegirl will want to be tamed less than she needs to be tamed. It’s a survival process that’s coded into each pokegirl.”
“Like I said before, your harem can tame each other to extend the time between tamings that you have to provide. It’s not as effective as if you do it, and if a pokegirl goes feral, only taming by a human can bring her back. This means that the best harem size will vary from tamer to tamer, depending on both how much he or she wants to tame, as well as how his harem works together to tame each other.” He opened a bottle and took a sip. “The other thing is that you have to balance this against the strengths and weakness in your harem. A harem for an explorer needs to be larger than a harem for a soldier because the explorer is on his own, while a soldier should be able to balance his harem’s weaknesses against the strengths of the harems of his fellows.”
“All three of you are soldiers and all of you are just getting started as tamers. I’d suggest that you limit your harem size to three at the most, especially until you get comfortable with having a harem. I’d also recommend that you not add more than one girl at a time.” He smiled slightly. “I wouldn’t do that and I’m far more familiar with pokegirls than you are now. I think Carver and Weinstein were interested in two of the ladyba while Wilkes wanted the amazonchan. If you divide them up that way, then that leaves one ladyba for you to find a tamer for. Since she can be trained to combat and she’s good at scouting, I’d suggest finding a militia member who wants to become a tamer.”
Carver looked thoughtful. “I think we should offer her to Captain Hernandez. He is the militia commander and having a pokegirl of his own would help him to understand what tamers do, as well as what they can’t.”
Kerrik nodded. “That sounds like an excellent idea, Teresa. If nothing else, he won’t feel slighted if you offer her to him and he doesn’t want her.”
Ginevra looked up. “All of the militia pokegirls have been healed and are ready for release.” She tossed the pokeballs back to their respective owners.
Carver immediately released Annette. The foxymaiden bowed her head. “I am sorry, mistress.”
Teresa patted the ground next to her. “Sit.” Annette hastily complied and Carver wrapped an arm around her. “It wasn’t your fault, and there’s nothing to forgive.” She leaned over and whispered into the foxymaiden’s ear. Annette giggled and blushed.
Wilkes let his rack out. “What next?”
“As militia personnel, you probably shouldn’t loot, but as tamers it’s traditional.” Jamie nodded towards the house behind the sergeant. “If you want to be able to pay for the extras that you want, a little constructive gleaning is a good way to go about it.”
“Didn’t Kerrik already clean the place out?”
The kami shook his head. “No, I only looked for booze and music CDs. By the bye, that sort of thing does have value and we will look at anything you find and want to offer, including clothing, weapons, games and objets d’art. Value is, of course, often subjective, but we will work hard not to cheat you too badly. If anyone does, let Jamie know, and he’ll take care of it. We want to have a reputation for being hard but fair, not one of being bastards who rip people off.”
Weinstein released Yonit and got up. “Then let’s get started. I want a PPHU and some other things.”
Carver shrugged and slid to her feet. “Weinstein, you take this house, Wilkes, do you want to do this?”
The sergeant nodded. “I do.”
“Then you take that house,” she pointed to the leftmost home, “and Annette and I will take that house.” She looked at Jamie and Kerrik. “What about you two?”
“Someone needs to stand watch. If there are any other aggressive ferals around, the fight might draw them.”
Carver nodded. “That sounds good. Men, get started.” She checked her watch. “Two hours should give you a good start.”
Raven watched them head into the house. “Kerrik, when you do you want to meet the pokegirl I was talking about? The sooner you have a larger harem, the sooner I will be willing to fight.”
He moved to examine the fallen tree. “I think it’ll wait until we return to Marco.”
“I know of a pokegirl that would be good for Jamie. She wants a tamer but has been unable to find one.”
Jamie whipped around. “What makes you think I need your help?”
Raven glanced at him and turned back to Kerrik. “She’s a friend of mine and I think he might be a good choice for her.”
“Hey, I was talking to you.”
She glanced at the young man again. “Were you? It sounded like a rhetorical question and those do not need to be answered. You have stated that you are unwilling to seek another pokegirl for your harem and I have a friend who would be willing to seek you, thereby not violating the wishes you have expressed. I suggest you for her, not her for you.”
Madison started giggling and Ginevra laughed loudly. “She has a point, sir,” the duelist chortled.
Ginevra was more direct. “You need to add to the harem and this is as good a way as any, and perhaps better than most. Is she powerful?”
“All of my friends are powerful. She is not as powerful as some, but yes, she is.” She cocked her head and eyed him curiously with those bright purple eyes. “Will you consider her?”
Jamie sighed and nodded slowly. “She’s not a fox type, is she?”
“No, I thought that would be wrong for you right now, because of the pain of losing Paige. She looks almost human. I believe that the term I have heard said was very near human.”
Kerrik looked at Jamie. “It’s your decision.”
The young man looked around carefully and sighed. “I’m scared, Kerrik. Paige’s loss hurts so much, but Ginevra is right and I don’t want to die.” His voice dropped. “Again.”
He looked up when his grandfather hugged him. “I’ve lived a lot longer than you and I’m not in any hurry to experience death, either.”
Raven watched the two of them through curious eyes. “I must talk to her and convince her to come and see you. I do not want Kerrik out of my sight. By taking him, he can meet her and see if she would be suitable without hurting you more while I work to bring her here.”
“I’d like that. Will you do it, grandfather?”
“No need to sweet talk me, Jamie. I will.”
***
Name: Wolf, Jamie Harris
Age: 17
Residence: Kingdom of Haven
Status: Active
Rank: NA
Security Clearance: Theta
Licenses
Tamer Y
Master Tamer Y
Researcher N
Watcher N
Breeder Y
Active Harem
Species Name
Demoness Ginevra
Duelist Madison
Alpha: Ginevra
Beta: None