by Elle Harper
“Are you kidding?” Laalia asked, laughing softly. “My stall would become the most popular one in the market. There is much fascination about your people, though most of my brothers and sisters try to be discreet about their interest. And your fellow crew members are…” she tilts her head, seeming to think of a way to put it, “less customer-friendly, shall we say.”
I could see her point. Isabella, a renowned biologist back on Earth (as far as such things go) was more likely to speak in the Latin names of flora and fauna than anything else. Leah, who was an archaeologist and Harper’s mentor and friend, was sarcastic and often impatient. Kat had literally begged, borrowed, and stolen her way onto the crew. She never stopped talking, and it was likely that she’d stand around photographing things all day for as long as she could and yet somehow, Kat felt like family to Harper, like the sister she never had. And Viv, their pilot and the mastermind of the whole mission? She’d as likely tell each of them to screw themselves, each other, and various other things than actually assist them. It was just her way.
“I’m just not sure,” Harper finally said. Laalia gave a small nod and reached across the table patting her hand.
“There is no rush. But should you find yourself looking for something to do, my stall is here. I pay well and you can meet people. It may take a while for you to find your footing here.”
Understatement of the goddamn year, right there, Harper thought to herself.
“Thank you. For the tea and the delicious food and the conversation and.. everything,” Harper said, rising from the cushion. “I should probably check on the rest of my crew.”
Laalia rose and nodded, smiling at Harper. “Ilen’sha,” she murmured, pressing her right hand to her chest.
Harper looked at her questioningly, and Laalia smiled.
“It means ‘until next time.’ Ilen’sha,” she repeated, both the word and the gesture.
“Ilen’sha,” Harper mimicked, placing her right hand to her chest.
Laalia smiled brightly. “Very good. Come back, even if you don’t want a job. I will teach you more.”
“I will. Thank you!” Harper said again, and Laalia nodded, turning to a customer that had just arrived at her stall. Harper stepped away, making her way back to the enormous building in which she’d awakened.
But she had more than a few things to think about now. What exactly WAS she supposed to do with her time now that she was stuck here? Studying wild plants and herbs of Earth was one thing. She sort of doubted all of her studies would be of any use on this planet of people who, by every stretch of the imagination, were much more technologically advanced than her own. They probably had all manner of analytical tools and gadgets to study the plants of their world and any others.
As she walked, she looked around, and it was hard not to feel as if she’d stepped through the looking glass. The market bustled with tall Izothians, towering above her, horned, tailed, with skin in shades from purple, to blue, to gray, to nearly white. They all seemed to have either black, white, or gray hair, and their horns were all slightly different. While the males were generally larger than the females, she’d been wrong to assume that Rassan was typical for his kind; in comparison, he was enormous.
Her first instinct was to duck away from the curious stares of the Izothians, to walk quickly and try to get back to relative solitude as quickly as possible, but she reminded herself that she was a guest here, that these people had saved her life and taken her in. They had a right to be curious about what Rassan and his team had brought into their midst.
Her own people of Earth would not have been nearly as accepting, she thought. Once upon a time, maybe they would have. Maybe they would have been curious, peaceful, sought understanding instead of war. The last century had nearly eradicated the need for anything beyond mere survival on Earth.
The thought depressed her more than she’d thought it would after all this time, yet she forced herself to smile at the Izothians she passed, grateful when she passed through the doors of the barracks she currently called home.
“There you are!”
That voice was unmistakable. The loudness of it, at the very least, even if she hadn’t seen the person it was attached to. Just under six feet tall, with a crazy mane of blond curls, Kat came hurtling at Harper.
“Is everything okay?” Harper asked as she hugged Kat back.
“Fine, other than we didn't know where the hell you were, only that you were awake.”
“I needed some air and I wanted to explore,” Harper said with a shrug. “It’s… kind of a lot to take in.”
Kat nodded, rolling her eyes. “You can say that again.”
Harper kept walking down the corridor, Kat falling into step beside her. “So, we’re here, and we don't seem to be leaving, right?”
Kat nodded. “We wanted an adventure, right? A new start. And here I thought we were all dead when we saw those lasers shooting back and forth.”
“Seriously. Okay, so everyone’s all right, right? Are any of them freaking out?”
Kat snorted. “Are you kidding? The nerds are having freaking science and archaeology orgasms by the minute.”
Harper shook her head. “I knew they’d probably be having a field day with this.”
“I just want to get out and take more photos. Of course once my memory chip is full, I have nowhere else to store the photos..”
“I have the feeling they probably have cameras,” Harper said wryly.
“That’s not the same as MY camera. My baby—”
“And probably lots of new toys for you to play with besides.”
Kat paused and tilted her head. “Do you think they’d let me play with them?”
Harper chuckled. “They seem pretty friendly, no?” she lowered her voice. “Though every fairy tale I’ve ever read makes me wonder if they’re just softening us up for something.”
“We’ve no need to soften you up. You’re all soft already,” an unmistakably grumpy voice said from behind her. Harper turned and glared at the hulking form of Rassan.
“Do you live to sneak up on me?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s my undying joy, to happen upon your inane conversations time and time again,” he told her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is this really something you fear? That we’re manipulating you? We are not Earthens,” he said with a sneer.
“Oh, right. You’re so much better,” Kat replied with a roll of her eyes.
“I did not say that, you did. And you all were the ones so eager to get away from your trash dump of a planet that you were willing to die doing it. What is that ship constructed with, anyway? Things you found in the trash heap?”
“Nice. You have an obsession with trash, yes?” Harper asked.
“I… why would I be obsessed with that?”
“My planet is tarsh, our ship is trash,” Harper said, ticking them off on her fingers.
“Two things!” he responded. “Two does not make an obsession, Earthen.”
Kat crossed her arms over her chest, watching them.
“I’m just saying. It’s a little weird.”
Rassan heaved a heavy sigh. “I am going now. Can you find your way back to your quarters?”
“I’m sure I can manage, with my addled little Earthen mind, somehow.”
“That’s not… Fine. Good luck then,” he muttered, lumbering away. After he passed, Kat raised her eyebrows at Harper.
“What in the hell was that all about?”
Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s had a bug up his ass since the first time I talked to him. Do they even work that way? I know nothing about these people.”
“I think they work pretty much the same as us. They eat, they go,” Kat said with a shrug of a shoulder. “They seem all right, for the most part.”
“Better than all right. They saved us and took us in.”
“True enough.”
“So what now?”
Kat shrugged. “We stay, obviously. And we see where
this takes us. I don’t really see any other choice. They have no desire to let us leave and possibly bring problems back on them,and I have no desire to go back. Do you?”
“Fuck no.”
Kat laughed. “I had the feeling you’d say that.”
“Where’s everyone else? Off having nerdgasms?”
“You know it. We get together usually for dinner. Come join us tonight in the dining hall, okay? Around seven chimes?”
Harper had heard the chimes sounding the hours throughout the building and even in the town itself. She nodded and Kat gave her a hug before wandering off to do whatever it was she was on her way to do. Probably drive people crazy with questions.
And Rassan thought she was bad!
She had nothing on Kat, who not only asked things, but demanded the answers.
She headed for the lift and pushed the button, waiting as it came to her floor. When it did and the doors opened, she got on and turned, looking for the button for her floor. Just as she hit it, Rassan got onto the lift with her and hit the button for the floor just above hers.
“Are you kidding me?” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She looked at the bright blue lights as they faded and got brighter as they passed floors.
“I live on the floor above yours.”
“Congratulations.”
“That is not something to congratulate me on. Your floor is nicer.”
She looked over at him. He was gazing at the lights, his glowing yellow eyes trained straight ahead.
“Was that a joke?”
“Don’t they have those where you are from? No wonder you Earthen are so cranky.”
“I am not cranky.”
“Honestly, you are the worst.”
“Laalia invited me to work for her.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course she did.”
“I’m worried I’ll scare her business off.” And why the hell was she even telling him any of this?
“You won’t. You’ll draw extra customers until everyone gets used to you, and then things will go back to normal. As I stated before, we are not afraid of your kind. You aren’t a threat in small groups.”
“Thanks.”
“Why… why are you thanking me?”
“It was sarcasm. Don’t they have that where you’re from?” she shot back tossing his words back at him.
He just heaved another deep sigh and shoved his enormous hands in the pockets of his uniform. When the doors opened on her floor, she stepped off wordlessly, glaring back at him when she realized he’d gotten off as well.
“Numbnuts, your floor is above this one.”
“My testicles are not numb. Why would you even say that?”
She looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head.
“I am partially sure you did injure your head in the accident and somehow our scanners missed it,” he continued, and she shook her head.
“What. Are. You. Doing?” she asked, turning around and glaring at him.
“Making sure you find your room and can get back in.”
“Of course I can—” she glanced along the corridor. Stupidly, she hadn’t thought to see if there was a number or symbol on it and all she knew was that it was roughly halfway down, on the right side.
She sighed, glancing at him. To his credit, he wasn’t even smirking. “Fine.”
“Fine, what?”
“Fine, I don’t know which one is mine or how to get in, or anything. Okay?”
“I am not trying to make your life more difficult. This is my fault. I should have explained this earlier and made sure you knew which one was yours. I was distracted.”
“By what?”
He shrugged. “No idea. Here, let me help you. There’s also a lock on your door. It wasn’t engaged before so the medical people could get to you, but I’ll show you how to do it.”
She watched him, then nodded. He walked forward a bit, stepping outside of a door. He pointed at a discreet figure etched into the metal of the door frame. She studied it, leaning in a little. “1212. That is your quarters number. Will this symbol be easy for you to remember, or should you write it down?”
She didn’t think he was being snide this time. She shook her head, memorizing the squiggles and lines. “I think I can remember.”
He nodded, pointing to a small pad she hadn’t noticed before at the side of the door, near where the number was etched. “Place your finger to that. It’s keyed to your biometrics, as well as a few others, but again, they will not be able to enter your quarters if you engage the locks.”
Harper nodded, placing her finger to the small pad. After a moment, there was an almost indistinct whirring, and her door slid open. She stepped in and turned around, glancing up at Rassan’s stern face.
He looked around. “Do you need anything? You have enough clothing? Do you need reading materials or other supplies?”
“Are you like, the supplies manager or something?”
“The what?”
“You know… like making sure the people who live here have sheets and shampoo and things like that.”
“No! Why would you think that’s my job? I’m a soldier,” he said gruffly.
“You were just asking me—”
“I am TRYING to be nice,” he said with gritted teeth. And they were a little pointy. Harper took a small step back, and he sighed. “I’m asking you. I don’t do that for everyone.”
“Why then?”
He huffed out a breath. “If you don’t need anything, just say so! Why are you asking so many ridiculous questions?”
“Because it’s what I do?”
“Even THAT was a question!”
Harper glared up at him. “No, I do not need anything.”
“Nothing? Something to read? A portscreen? You must need something besides this.”
“What’s a portscreen?”
He looked at her as if he wasn’t sure she was joking.
“You read on it. You can use it to record your thoughts, or images. You can draw on them if one likes to do that. They can analyze different life forms to allow you to—”
“Yes.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Yes, what?”
“Yes I want one of those.”
“Was that so difficult? I’ll get you one. Come here.” It wasn’t a request, or polite, yet Harper found herself immediately going over to where he was. “To lock it, you just slide your finger across this, until the light turns from blue to green. To unlock, do the opposite.”
“And when it’s locked, people won’t just be able to wander into my room.”
“That is the idea, yes. Do your people not have locks?”
She looked up at him in exasperation. “Are you being a smartass right now?”
“That is another way of saying sarcastic yes?”
“Mhm.”
“Then yes. Very good. Now lock your door. Let me make sure the lock is calibrated correctly to your biometrics. It won’t lock for just anyone.”
She nodded and swiped her index finger across the small inset, watching the light turn green, then looked up at him.
“Good. Now you’ll have all the privacy you want.”
For a fraction of a second, her mind went to an image of him in all of his huge, hulking, grumpy glory, bending her over the foot of the bed, taking her, making her beg and scream and—
“Earthen.”
She shook her head, feeling a deep blush suffuse her face. “My name is Harper.”
“I know that. Are you all right? Are you feeling ill?” he asked. Not concern in his voice as much as curiosity.
“I’m fine.”
“If you say so. I will be back with your portscreen as soon as possible. I have a few other things to do as well.”
“You can just tell me where to get one.”
He quirked his eyebrow at her. “It is simpler to just get one for you. And then you will need to be shown how to use it. I’ll be back later.”
<
br /> With that, he unlocked the door and stepped out. “Don’t forget to lock this,” he said before lumbering away.
Harper went to the door and swiped the lock then flopped down on her ridiculously soft bed, trying to ignore the sudden needy ache between her thighs.
Chapter Three
Rassan stormed through the barracks, barking orders as he went, watching underlings scurry in his wake. They would grow to respect and trust him. Right now they hated and feared him. But he had learned that firmness, brutality, even, worked. It earned obedience and loyalty, as long as it was never used maliciously. That was key. Brutality for mere brutaliy’s sake was for the weak and the mindless.
The fact that it kept crossing his mind, probably too often, that a certain tiny Earthen might be fun to train in an entirely different way someday only made him snarl more at the scurrying soldiers. He did not partake in such time wasting nonsense. He’d only taken the time to do that once, and it had ended with him being gutted.
Besides, the tiny Earthen was unlikely to be able to handle the things he envisioned doing to her.
From the second he’d laid eyes on her pulling her from the wreckage of her destroyed ship, she’d been on his mind far more often than he’d like. Even in that first instant, he’d cradled her almost gently as he’d taken her back to their ship. And then he’d carried her broken, bleeding, cold body to the infirmary himself, roaring like a fool for them to save her.
She’d aroused every protective instinct he had, and he didn’t understand why.
Either way, it put him in a bad mood.
He took care of a few things, finished submitting his report about the battle and the ensuing rescue of the Earthens, checked the ships that had just been repaired from the last battle against the Sa’tar. Izothian power and technology held up well to their more war-like neighbors, but while the Izothian military had superior equipment and the best-trained soldiers, the Sa’tar had sheer numbers on their side.
The conflict had been going on for most of Rassan’s adult life. He’d joined the military the moment he was of age, given himself completely to the defense of his people. And for the most part it was enough.