by Lace, Lisa
These disturbing thoughts stayed with him as he walked the dark corridors. He hated this place and these men.
Not only had they killed his brother, they had almost killed his mate.
His mate. He never thought such a thing was possible. Coming from a noble house, where service to the wider community was a higher calling, both he and his brother were devoted to the cause of the Enforcement Wing. No woman of any of the Aligned Worlds would put up with their extended absences or the danger of their work. There were just too many men with stable jobs on their homeworlds that could support a comfortable lifestyle.
The one relationship his brother had tried ended in failure. The woman would not marry him because she was afraid she'd end up a widow.
Rev didn't blame her. In his line of work, death was a constant companion.
Suddenly, against all odds, Rev had a mate. An illegal one to be sure, but they were still bonded. When he found her, he would have to find a way to keep them together. He wasn't sure how he would do it, but he would make it happen, no matter what.
But first things first, and that was getting Jaal and his men put away for good. The sooner he could rally the Enforcement Wing to arrest them, the better.
* * *
Rev didn't like the way Grenta leered at the newly fashioned Staukub as they took the women out of the stasis chambers. Grenta may have forgotten, but Rev couldn't stop thinking about the genetic manipulation that transformed the women from their original species into Staukub.
One of the new Staukub was Tracy's friend Carol, but she wouldn't remember who she was. Her implanted memories would make her think her name was Grubba.
Grenta worked the controls to deactivate stasis and revive the women. Each time a woman opened her slit-like eyes, he spoke the same speech.
"Hello, little one. You've had a long journey. We are bringing you to meet your prospective husband. You remember that, don't you? Listen to my assistant, and he'll get you ready."
Each woman, still hazy from slumber, mumbled words of agreement. Rev was tasked with cleaning them up and getting them dressed.
The naked blue Staukub did nothing to arouse Rev's interest. All he could do was unfavorably compare them to his mate, his Tracy. For the first time in a long time, he didn't need his interest piqued by anyone else.
The ache he felt from Tracy's absence was smoldering like the first smoke of a fire. If he was to believe the ancient texts, the ache would soon flare to a burning flame, driving him to find and possess his mate. The thought thrilled as well as frightened him. He had never dreamed he could want anyone as much as he wanted Tracy.
One at a time, he led the women to the sonic shower and gave them personal disposable towels, leaving them to clean themselves. Outside the showers was a small closet where dresses were packed in a box. The dresses were dark blue, short, and low-cut.
There was no underwear.
Of course there wasn't. The bastards couldn't even give them decent clothes.
Some of the women appeared confused, especially when dealing with their quills. They touched them experimentally, pulling their hands back quickly when their fingers touched the sharp ends.
"It's okay," Rev tried to reassure them. "You're just a little confused from stasis. That will wear off."
When the last of the women was in the shower, Rev went to tell Grenta. What he found made him want to smash the worm's face in.
Grenta was running his hands over Grubba. The woman was leaning backwards in his arms. His fingers moved to her nipples, pinching them, and the freshly created Staukub groaned. He whispered things in her ear as she whimpered.
"Grenta!" said Rev. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"
"I'm testing how effective the transformation was. Don't you remember the problems when we sold the last batch? The women were all over each other before we could deliver them and get our money!"
Rev turned his head away. To top it all off, these wivers genetically modified the women to incite their lust. They were truly vile people.
"Well, it looks like the mix is okay this time," said Rev. "Now leave her alone, we can't afford to lose any more cargo. Or do you want this Staukub to imprint on you?"
"That wouldn't be a bad thing. Sadly, I don't have the money to pay the captain for her. Take her with the others to the transport."
Grubba smiled at Rev and rubbed her blue, quilled head against his shoulder. "Are you going to—"
"No!" said Rev quickly. "Come along. We are going to meet your husband now. At this moment!"
"My husband is not you?"
"Definitely not me."
Grubba made a little noise of protest then looked around. "Where is my friend?"
"Friend?"
"My friend. You know her. She was here with me."
Rev was surprised. Implanted memories were supposed to quickly supplant natural ones. Was the procedure working properly? Did she have a memory of Tracy?
"Your friends are over here," said Rev, pointing to the other created Staukub. "Come on."
Bewildered, Grubba followed him to where the other Staukub stood. Everyone looked lost.
Grenta walked up behind them.
"Ladies, I know you are feeling a bit confused, but that will wear off in a little while when we reach the planet surface. Remember, you asked to come here to meet husbands. There is a whole group of men looking for beautiful creatures like you. Follow Cax to the transports, and we will take you to them."
Some of the blue women nodded their heads enthusiastically, while others merely gaped. Rev resisted the urge to shake his head.
"Time to go," said Rev.
* * *
Jaal and Bris met them in an old military personnel transport and helped secure the scantily clad women. Grenta announced he was giving everyone medication to help with motion sickness. None of the women complained when they were injected. By the end of the trip the women were making mewling noises, like animals in heat.
They landed towards the end of the day. The sun was just about to sink below the line of mountains to the west. A group of Staukub miners drove to the space transport in a large vehicle with plenty of seats.
Jaal let the gangplank extend to the sandy soil and opened the hatch.
"You have our shipment?" grunted a male Staukub leaning out of the cab of the vehicle.
Bris muttered to Rev and Grenta, "Not the brightest lights, are they?"
As Bris spoke, he handed Rev a laser rifle, and Rev saw that Bris was similarly armed.
"Nope," Rev grunted, taking the rifle in hand. Staukub were good for physical labor, but none of them would win a prize for outstanding scientist. They were good in battle situations that required a massive number of ground troops to serve as cannon fodder.
Grunts.
The quills on these males were three-quarters erect, indicating they were worked up and possibly ready for a fight.
Jaal addressed the miners. "Yes, we have your cargo. We wouldn't be here otherwise."
"I'm Quam, these are Jenq and Faul. Let's see them."
Jaal took the arm of one of the females, who was pressing her body against his. He pulled her in front of him, where she was visible to all the miners.
"Here's one. What's your name?"
"Telli," said the woman. She draped an arm over Jaal's shoulders and licked his cheek. Jaal, in turn, grabbed her nipple through her thin dress and twisted it. She giggled loudly and rubbed herself against his side.
"Here we go. This is Telli. She's ready and willing, just like all your ladies here."
"Let's take a closer look," said the man. He jumped out of the truck along with two of his fellows and headed for the ship. The three men were dirty and had dark smudges on their skin and jumpsuits.
Jaal held out his hands. "Now, gentlemen, our business isn't concluded. Once payment is made, we'll be glad to leave them with you."
"Our money's not here," said Quam. "It's back at the camp."
The captain was clearly
unhappy with this announcement.
"That wasn't the agreement, gentlemen. Cash up front."
"Money not here," repeated Quam as if that offered enough explanation. "Come to the camp. We'll drink, look at the women, have some fun."
Jaal pursed his lips.
Grenta leaned in.
"Let's just get this over with. The women are drugged enough for a few hours. We should be able to get the money and go. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with twenty-three Staukub."
The captain grunted. "One of my men will go with you but only to get the money. Bris, you go. I'll stay with the ship."
"No," said Quam. "All of you."
"Then no sale, gentlemen." Jaal backed away from the hatch with Telli still clinging to him.
"Wait. Fine. One stay with ship. The others come."
With that declaration, Bris, Rev, and Grenta helped the women climb into the bed of the miners’ truck and then followed them in their own vehicle. Rev looked towards the mountain ridges to the south, wondering where Tracy was on this waste of a planet.
The need to find her and to be close to her thrummed through his body. Just his thoughts turned his ache for her into fire, and he knew he couldn't be away from her much longer.
Soon, he told himself. Witness the exchange of money, get the final evidence, and he could take off and search for his mate.
As the truck bounced along the uneven terrain, his mind was filled with thoughts of his woman.
Chapter Seventeen
Tracy hit the ground hard even though she’d followed the suit's instructions. When she started to regain consciousness, her face was hot from the alien sun, and she felt herself sliding backwards down a mountain of sand. The parachute was still attached, dragging her wherever the wind blew.
For some reason, all she could think of was the last time she saw Rev. The bastard was green.
Warning. Disengage parachute.
The suit repeated the instruction three times before Tracy could figure out how to trigger the release and free herself from the parachute. She stopped sliding, but the parachute kept traveling along the sand, its edges curling around like an octopus crawling over the bottom of the sea.
Advise retrieving parachute for use in survival situations.
Fuck. What was she going to do now? The breeze was carrying away the chute faster than she could get to it.
Standing up proved a painful affair. Her hip hurt from landing on it. She'd rolled just a little too soon when she crashed into the ground.
Even if she had not been injured, walking would have proved difficult. The sand slid away under her feet with every step. She scanned the horizon looking for the chute and found it flapping on top of a sand swell, held in place somehow.
Taking a deep breath, Tracy limped forward and climbed the mound, even as sand slipped under her feet. Just as she managed to reach the top of the swell, the chute curled and fluttered down into a small valley.
Cursing, Tracy ran towards the parachute, but the suit hampered her movements. She fell and tumbled down the dune, coming to a stop on top of the parachute.
Hah, she thought as she rolled to her feet and grabbed the parachute straps. A gust of wind filled the chute once more, and Tracy fell again as the parachute dragged her across the sand.
This is ridiculous, she thought. She was in a depression between two mountains of sand and barely holding on to the strap of the parachute. At last, the winds died down and instead of filling with air, the parachute fluttered against the sand. Determined to take advantage of this lull, she pulled hard on the straps since she didn’t know what else to do. Incredibly, the chute collapsed into a long tube. She inspected the cords connecting the parachute to the straps and found they were woven into the chute.
Tracy admired the alien design. She'd seen parachute landings on television at home and saw how the chutes had to be manually rolled to collect the billowing cloth. She tried tugging on the straps again, and the tube curled into a manageable ball.
Yeah! She picked up the ball and tucked it under her arm, feeling pretty pleased with herself.
With that task completed, Tracy’s mind turned to taking stock of her predicament. She licked her lips. She was fully clothed in the alien jumpsuit, she was sweating heavily, and she needed a drink of water. Tracy noticed a small tube sticking out on the inside of the helmet near her mouth. On a hunch, she put her lips around it. It was surprisingly soft. She sucked on the tube and was rewarded with the most putrid liquid she’d ever put in her mouth.
So that’s what Tracy tastes like.
She resisted the urge to cough and spit. She knew she needed to keep hydrated, and in this sun-bleached hell, this might be the only way to accomplish that.
Warning. External temperature rising to dangerous levels. Recommend finding shelter.
Of course. Tracy had had one slacker boyfriend, who loved survival shows. She had dutifully watched them with him until she found him cheating on her. But she had learned a thing or two. And one of those things was that in the desert, look for shelter during the day and travel during the night. Okay, Rory, she thought. you were good for something. If I ever make it back to Earth, I'll thank you in person.
Tracy climbed to the highest point around her and found some hills nearby with dark shadows. There had better be shelter there or she was going to be cooked.
* * *
Tracy placed one foot in front of the other as she crossed the scorching sand. Each crunch of her boots felt like a small victory against the intractable waste around her. Soon she began to feel light-headed from all the exertion.
As she approached the rocky formation she’d chosen as her shelter, she felt the ground solidify beneath her and more details of the structure revealed themselves. She saw a great face of red stone, etched by winds and age, exposing bands of pink, red, and reddish-brown. Nature had carved a giant arch, which provided entrance into a canyon.
She stepped through and saw a crevasse surrounded by a ring of stones. The ring consisted of great slabs of worn red rock that had tumbled over each other. It was quiet there, and the wind was kept at bay by the rock walls. Stone folded on itself, creating small open areas of undulating sandstone where the sun beat down. As Tracy moved and her perspective shifted, she noticed tiny sparkles in the rock faces.
If she weren’t in such a dire situation, this could have been an enjoyable outing.
At the far end of the canyon, the walls buckled to form a dark fissure. Tracy headed that way and hoped there would be enough room for her to squeeze through.
When she stepped inside the breach, she found it both wider and deeper than it had appeared from a distance. She could stand up, and the sun did not penetrate more than a couple feet.
Oxygen levels critical. Find an alternate source of oxygen.
Maybe it wasn't the exertion that was making her feel woozy after all. Dropping the parachute and putting her hands on the helmet, she felt around for a clasp or a latch, but she couldn't find a way to release it.
Great, she thought. I survived a high-altitude jump just to die of asphyxiation on a planet with breathable air. At least, she hoped the air was breathable. It would have been pointless for Rev to send her there if it wasn't.
To disengage helmet, twist it to the left.
Tracy giggled at the absurd thought that her head was covered by what amounted to a twist-off top. With a hard tug, she turned the helmet slightly and pulled it up. A loud pop released her head from the bubble, and
her face was immediately assaulted by scorching heat and waves of hot air that wicked off her sweat in a second.
Holy shit, it’s hot! And I’m in the shade! Tracy wanted to take off the jumpsuit right away but reasoned that as long as it provided water for her, it was better to keep it on.
It was time to explore her surroundings. She tucked her helmet under her arm and walked deeper into the cavern. In the darkness, her helmet began glowing, illuminating her way. Pleased and surprised, Tracy held it up in front
of her, and the helmet sent light into the shadows.
Expecting to see things like bats clinging to the walls, she was relieved to find the cavern bare and smooth with no signs of animal life. Still, she stayed alert. If she thought this cave looked like a safe place to stay in, wouldn't other creatures? If it wasn't populated with native animal life, there must be a reason.
Tracy didn't know how the helmet light was powered and didn’t want it to run out, so she moved back closer to the mouth of her temporary home where there was some light from the entrance.
She was getting hungry. She remembered Rev had said something about supplies, and when she patted down her pockets, she felt reassuring bulges here and there. She quickly figured out how to open the pockets. A sharp tug opened the seals, and she withdrew the contents of each pocket separately.
One pocket revealed a cache of foil-wrapped items. Others held a long tube with a lens at the end and similar foil-wrapped pouches with something that sloshed inside. When she touched the tube, the lens lit and scattered light throughout the cavern. Tracy was pleased she didn’t have to rely on her helmet for light.
She also found a long knife in a sheath. The knife was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was very thin and lightweight, but it was not made of metal. The sharp edge and the point made its function very clear.
These aliens were clever!
She picked up a pouch, hoping it was food. She squeezed it until it opened and drew out a long, thin bar of semi-hard, grainy brownish gel. The bar was separated into four sections. She broke off a piece and wrapped the rest back up in the foil. Tentatively, she pressed her tongue against the bar.
The taste wasn't awful, but it wouldn't win any awards. It had a sharp bite that reminded her of allspice, but there was little sweetness to it. As she chewed a mouthful, she compared it to drinking a spice tea without sugar. Tracy wasn't thrilled with the food on the alien planet, but she wasn't going to complain either. She took little nibbles of the bar then drank some water from the suit.