by S. E. Smith
“Get away from her,” Carmen said roughly pushing the man Trisha had been threatening to one side. “Breathe deep, sweetheart, and try to relax as much as you can.”
Ariel moved down to Trisha’s leg and began massaging it. “I should never have let you take on those men,” Ariel said with remorse. “You need to tell us when you are in pain before it gets too bad. You know what happens if you push too hard,” Ariel rebuked gently as she worked on massaging Trisha’s calf and thigh muscles like the physical therapist taught her.
“What is wrong with her?” Kelan asked desperately looking down at Trisha’s white face. “What is wrong with her?” He demanded again looking up briefly at Ariel.
Ariel looked at the huge warrior who was tenderly running his hands over Trisha. Biting her lip, she looked down at Trisha’s pale face and closed eyes. As much as she would like to tell him, it was not her place. Ariel knew she needed to focus on helping Trisha as much as she could. Whenever she had an attack like this it would drain her, sometimes for days afterwards and would often leave her feeling depressed. She would need all the support she could get. Ariel’s eyes moved back to the warrior leaning desperately over Trisha’s still figure and wondered if Trisha was aware her life was about to change, whether she wanted it to or not. Because, if the way the man and his gold friend were all over Trisha was any indication of his strong feelings for her, things were about to get very interesting for her friend.
Chapter 5
Early the next morning, Ariel sucked in a deep breath as she squeezed through the opening of the air shaft. It was a tight fit. My butt and boobs are getting bigger, she thought in despair. She would need to work out a little more or start eating a little less. It wasn’t like she ate a lot. She was a vegetarian. Ariel suppressed a shudder as she remembered the first meal brought to her. She had demanded it be taken away immediately. Carmen grumbled she was not a vegetarian when the huge male warrior guarding them looked confused at Ariel and started to grab both dishes. How was she supposed to know they had never heard of a vegetarian before? After several tries, they finally brought her a huge selection of fruits. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to satisfy her hunger for long. That was one of the reasons why she agreed to Carmen’s crazy plans to sneak out of their living quarters.
Carmen was slim as ever and didn’t have any problems fitting through the hole. She had always been slimmer than Ariel; especially since Scott passed away. It was like she wasn’t interested in food except to keep her alive long enough to kill the man who was responsible for his death.
She, on the other hand, loved food. Ariel realized a long time ago she had been born with her mom’s figure where Carmen took more after their dad. She was a nice size fourteen on a good day. She would always be bigger and plumper than her little sister no matter how much she tried to slim down. She wiggled one more time before she was finally free. With a sigh of relief, she dropped down onto the floor next to Carmen.
“Are you sure you can fly one of those shuttle things?” Carmen asked in a husky voice.
“We’ll find out,” Ariel whispered back. “I feel pretty confident if I can get in one I can figure it out. It would help if Trisha was with us,” Ariel added softly.
“Next time, maybe. This is just a reconnaissance,” Carmen muttered under her breath as she peeked around the corner. “Let’s go.”
Ariel followed Carmen as she moved down the corridor. They didn’t really have a clue as to where they were going, they were just winging it. Both of them were going stir-crazy being locked up in such a tiny room. The doc had stopped by late last night to let them know Trisha was fine, just resting. He assured them she had made a complete recovery. Both of them were skeptical until a note was delivered early this morning from Trisha telling them she was fine and would meet up with them later. In the meantime, they were having fun listening to all the alarms going off every few hours. It was their only way of knowing that Cara was still on the loose. That was one of the things that gave them the idea of sneaking out. Carmen informed the guards that they were not to be disturbed under any conditions if the men valued their lives. Two of the men looked like they were tempted to test her but the other warned them Jarak could not afford to lose any more men at this time to injuries.
Once they figured out how to get out of their room by pulling the covering off the vent over the bed, it was a matter of deciding what to do with their new found freedom. Ariel suggested finding a spaceship to take them home. After all, if the guys on the warship weren’t willing to take them, they would figure it out themselves. The plan was simple. They would split up once they got to an access panel that would let them move without being seen. One would take the upper levels and one the lower. Ariel drew the upper levels. They would draw out a map when they got back and plan how to find Cara and Trisha and get off the ship as soon as possible. She didn’t tell Carmen the whole thing was probably a suicide mission. Even if she could figure out how to fly one of the damn things she had no idea where they were. Ariel was concerned with how far they had traveled but since she didn’t really think they would get as far as open space she decided not to worry about it yet and just have some fun.
Ariel figured their ‘plan’ was more of a way to relieve the boredom. Neither one of them were used to being cooped up. Besides, who could blame them! It wasn’t everyday a human girl got to explore a huge warship with a bunch of sexy-ass aliens on board. Not that she wanted any but it never hurt to look.
That is how she found herself moving quietly behind Carmen down the corridor almost a half hour later. Ariel touched sister's arm and nodded with her head. There was a marking that sure looked like it could be a maintenance access. Carmen nodded. It took both of them to figure out how to open the damn thing but luckily it was what Ariel suspected. A set of rings moved up and down through a narrow tunnel.
Carmen climbed in and started down. Ariel watched her for a moment before she climbed in and pulled the panel shut behind her. She looked up…and up…and up. Ariel gave a mental groan.
Well, she thought in resignation, I was thinking I needed to get some exercise.
She spent the next several hours moving from one access area to another. She peeked in different rooms, hid in others when she heard someone coming, and drooled when she accidently came across the shower area near what had to be a training room.
Wow! She thought as her eyes widened in appreciation. Every one of the guys could have been a male model for any girly magazine or erotic book cover. They had muscles on muscles. And, oh baby, could they flex them!
Ariel didn't even bother feeling in the least bit embarrassed about being a Peeking Jane. She didn't ask to be kidnapped! Besides, she would have to be dead or blind not to appreciate the art of the male form. She finally released a sigh of regret when she realized she had been watching the eye candy for far longer than she should have. Crawling backwards, she reluctantly made her way to another level.
She was just about ready to start the return trip to the cabin when she heard a light sound of distress floating up through the access tunnel. Moving along it, she peered up into what looked like some type of storage room lined with small cages. Her eyes widened when she saw a tiny paw peeking out from one. Her heart immediately melted. Those huge barbarians had cages full of the tiny creatures.
Ariel pulled the cover off the opening and crawled through. Luckily, this opening was aligned with the floor and wider than most of the others. She stood up looking around. The room was long and narrow but held several dozen cages. In them were a variety of creatures. Some were small and furry reminding Ariel of fuzzy little bunny rabbits with tiny ears while others were a little larger with sleek hair covering them and numerous arms. Ariel walked over to a cage and murmured softly.
“Oh, you poor little baby,” Ariel whispered talking gently to one of the little rabbit looking creatures.
Ariel's heart broke as the little creature scurried to the back of the cage where it sat shivering in fear. “It's okay
, honey. I won't hurt you,” Ariel whispered softly letting her fingers lay against the front of the cage. “You're such a beautiful little baby, yes you are.”
The creature moved forward slowly as she continued to whisper softly to it. After a few minutes, she was able to gently stroke its small head with one of her fingers. She wondered what they were doing with all the little creatures. Were they taking them home to their planet? Did they find them like they did her, Carmen and the others? Ariel started when she heard some voices coming closer.
“I’ll be back,” she whispered before moving quickly back to the opening in the wall. She scooted in backwards and pulled the covering over it.
Ariel watched as two huge men came into the room. One of them was talking quietly while the other man walked to one of the cages and opened it. She bit her lip when she heard the small creature squeal in fear as the man wrapped his large hand around its neck.
“Cozar, you owe me for this one. I want a case of that Sarafin wine you got,” the man said quietly.
Cozar chuckled. “I’ll give you two bottles! I am only eating one of these, not a dozen!” Cozar said reaching out and taking the struggling creature from the man.
“Just don’t let the others know I have them. They will be in here raiding my supplies. I plan on getting a lot of credits for these when we get back home. I heard there is a Curizan family looking for a mate for their daughter. I plan on having enough credits in case she is worth it. These little snacks are a rare delicacy and were damn hard to sneak on board but they should bring me enough I won’t have to worry,” the man laughed. “It is only because I owe you for helping me get them on the warship that I am giving you such a good price.”
Ariel’s eyes darkened in anger as she listened to them talk about what was going to happen to the poor little creatures. She winced when she heard the sound of snapping bones and the silence of the creature that moments ago had been squealing in fear. She had to do something. She couldn’t let those - those animals eat those precious little creatures. Ariel’s eyes gleamed with determination as she listened to the door close behind the men as they left.
..*
“Are you nuts?” Carmen asked looking around the tiny living quarters they had been given.
“I couldn’t leave them, Carmen! They killed one and the man was going to eat it! The other man was going to sell the rest of them for food, kind-of like caviar for dragons,” Ariel said holding two of the small creatures gently in her arms while one of the other creatures with six legs clung to her shoulder.
Carmen shook her head looking around. There were dozens of creatures everywhere. On the table, under the table, on the bed, in the bathroom, on Ariel! Carmen had made it back after Ariel and discovered their room filled with all kinds of tiny creatures. Only her sister would be able to find an animal in need on a huge-ass alien warship in the middle of space. And, only her sister would feel the need to rescue them all.
“What are we going to do when the guards come in to bring us our food? Don’t you think they might notice we aren’t alone anymore? What are you going to feed them? And how are you going to keep everything clean?” Carmen asked looking down and wiggling her nose as one of the six-legged creatures started to climb her leg.
“I have it all planned out. I can hide some under the bed and the rest in the bathroom. Or better yet, not let the men in the room! They like the fruit the men have been bringing me and I can litter train them to use the bathroom shower area,” Ariel said looking at her younger sister with pleading eyes. “Please, Carmen. You should have heard how scared that one little creature was before that horrible man killed it,” Ariel said, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Carmen shook her head. “How is it you can kick the ass of any guy you meet but can’t stand to see an animal harmed?” Carmen asked as she pulled the creature into her arms sighing as it snuggled against her.
“They can protect themselves. These poor creatures can’t,” Ariel whispered knowing her sister would help her by the way she was rocking the creature in her arms. “They need me, Carmen.”
“You are such a sucker. You know that, don’t you?” Carmen said softly with a small smile at the familiar words. “That is what I love about you.”
Ariel’s eyes lit up with amusement. “I know but you wouldn’t want me any other way.”
Both of them laughed suddenly as alarms started going off again in the distance. “Hopefully Cara will keep them so busy the man you rescued all these creatures from won’t come looking for them,” Carmen said tilting her head to the side.
..*
The next several days were busy ones for Ariel. Carmen made regular trips around the ship exploring while Ariel spent her time working with the dozens of creatures she had rescued. It was a full-time job taking care of them. She had to bathe them, clean up after them, feed them, and train them. Ariel discovered both species were very intelligent and amazingly affectionate. What surprised her even more was when two of the rabbit creatures had babies. Each one had six tiny versions of themselves. Ariel made a small bed for them in one of the hidden storage panels in the wall. Carmen didn’t say much. She just shook her head and muttered they would soon be sleeping standing up if any more of the creatures started reproducing.
Ariel was just putting the last little one in its new bed when one of the guards tried to enter the room unexpectedly. She screamed and started throwing dishes at him the minute the door opened forcing him back out into the corridor before he could enter. The man flushed and looked at her like she had lost her mind while the other three guards just laughed. This was a new one and he hadn’t learned yet that the ‘strange’ females were suddenly very protective of their tiny living quarters.
“What do you want?” Ariel snarled out tiredly. She had been up all night with one of the little babies who hadn’t been doing well and was exhausted and in a bad mood.
“I…I was told to inform you that we have arrived in orbit around Valdier and you are to be escorted to the transporter room immediately,” the man stuttered out backing away from the hostility in Ariel’s eyes.
Turek looked warily at the human female. Unlike some of the other warriors on board the V’ager who vied for guard duty he had no wish to be given the dubious honor. This was his first time on the V’ager and he had been working in medical when the females beat up three of the warriors. On top of that, at least once a day one of the guards would have to be changed out for some injury or another from the short haired female. All the warriors were placing bets as to which one of them could tame her but so far she was ahead. She did not fight fair – or at least in a way their warriors understood. She struck without warning and used moves none of them had seen before. Turek valued his manhood and other parts of his body too much to chance losing them to such a vicious creature.
“Well, I can’t go. I’m busy,” Ariel snarled out before closing the door in Turek’s stunned face.
Turek stood still outside the closed door wondering what to do. Jarak had ordered him to have the females escorted down to the transporter room. He looked at the other three men standing around the door. They looked at him and shrugged.
“What does she mean, she can’t go? What is she busy doing?” Turek asked puzzled.
One of the guards shrugged his shoulders. “I do not know. They have not let us in the room in almost a week. The only time we see them is when the short hair female comes to fight with us,” the man said looking at the closed door.
“I think they are working on a way to destroy the V’ager,” another guard said. “I have been hearing strange sounds coming from the room since the day they started making us leave their food outside the door.”
“I think they can change into something other than what they look like,” the third guard said in a hushed tone. “Have you seen how much fruit they are eating now? There is no way they can eat that much and be so small.”
“Have any of you informed Jarak of the changes in them or about your suspicions?” T
urek asked looking at each guard.
All three shook their heads. “Except for the noises, not letting us in, the increase in food, and the short haired one sending at least one guard a day to medical, we didn’t notice anything unusual,” the first guard said suddenly looking uncomfortable.
The other two flushed. “Maybe we should have said something,” the third guard muttered looking warily at the door as if it suddenly contained something other than two small females.
Turek shook his head in disbelief. Was he the only one who thought it was suspicious? What were these guards even thinking? How could they not be suspicious of what the females could be doing?
“I’ll call for Jarak to come,” Turek said backing up and looking one last time at the door as a series of strange noises filter through it. “I think you might be right. I don’t think the females are what they seem,” he whispered.
..*
Almost an hour later, Jarak stood outside the door to Ariel and Carmen’s living quarters with almost half a dozen armed men. He was furious he had not been told of the females’ strange behaviors sooner. He tried to talk with Kelan, Trelon, and Zoran but all three were distracted with the other females. Perhaps the royal family knew something about the human females that that they didn’t want to share. He knew something was different from the first time he met them. He put down his trepidations to the fact that they were an unknown species. He wondered vaguely if the females had some type of hold over the brothers. He couldn’t imagine it could be bad since both their symbiots and their dragons accepted them but until their scientists had a chance to examine the species they might not know for sure. He would need to talk to Zoltin to see if he saw anything unusual about them.
In the meantime, he needed to get the two females who had caused him almost as many headaches as the tiny one off the V’ager and down onto the planet. He almost dreaded seeing what type of damage they could do down on the surface after seeing what they had done to his warship.