“Here we are—shuttle sweet shuttle.” He grinned at her. “Come on in.”
Mia climbed the steps behind him—there were only about five of them—and watched as Trey pressed his big hand to the sleek silver side. The ship shivered—like an animal with an insect on its back—and then the metal rippled and parted like water, making a doorway big enough for both of them to go through. She stepped inside and watched with amazement as the metal reformed into a solid wall behind them.
“That was incredible,” she breathed, looking up at Trey. “How did you do that? It was like magic!”
He smiled. “No magic—just touch tech. My ship recognizes my touch.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “If you want, I can give it the order to recognize your touch too. That way you can get in and out whenever you want.”
He wants me to know I’m not trapped in here, Mia thought. He wants me to feel safe with him.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling back. “That…that would be nice.”
“Okay—here, put your hand on the wall.” He took her hand and placed it on the place where the metal had melted and reformed. Mia half expected it would be too hot to touch but it was cool and smooth and very solid under her seeking fingertips.
Then Trey lifted his head and addressed the ship itself—at least, that was what Mia thought he was doing. He spoke in a harsh, guttural language she didn’t recognize. It sounded distinctly alien.
Then, to her surprise, the metal began to melt under her hand.
“Oh!” Gasping, she pulled her hand back and watched as the doorway formed.
“See? Now you can get out whenever you want to,” Trey told her. “Just touch the hatch there and the ship will recognize your touch signature and let you out. It will extend the steps for you automatically too/”
“But…how do I close it again?” Mia asked, eyeing the door in the ship which was letting in the chilly night air.
“Just wait a minute. If you don’t touch it again, it’ll close on it’s own,” Trey told her.
Sure enough, after another second, the metal melted closed again, leaving nothing but the blank silver wall.
“Wow,” Mia breathed. “Amazing!”
“I’m glad you like it.” He nodded at her. “Hopefully I can make you a dinner that’s even more amazing.”
Mia’s stomach growled when he talked about dinner and she realized she hadn’t really eaten all day. She put a hand to her midsection with embarrassment.
“Oh, that’s sounds really good,” she said. “Can I help? I’m a pretty good cook—my Neemah taught me.”
“I’d love to taste some of your cuisine,” Trey said. “But for tonight, I’d like you to be my guest. Come on—it won’t take long. I’ll have us eating in no time.”
“Do you have food that cooks in a few seconds the way your medical tech heals people in a few seconds?” Mia asked, half laughing because the idea seemed silly.
But to her surprise, the big Kindred nodded.
“Something like that. Come on and I’ll show you.”
He led her through the front of the shuttle—which was a kind of cockpit with a huge screen and a row of complicated looking alien instrument panels—and to the middle where there was a living area and a kitchen.
Mia looked around, but didn’t see any kind of a stove. There was a box-like contraption mounted under some cabinets, a cold storage box, and a sink set into a tiny counter top.
“But…where do you cook? Where are the stove coils?” she asked, looking around in bewilderment.
“Well, what I’m doing isn’t exactly cooking,” Trey admitted. “It’s more like re-hydrating but the results aren’t too bad. I don’t think, anyway—you can judge for yourself. Now, let’s see…” He turned and opened the cabinet, surveying the contents with a critical eye.
To Mia, it looked like the whole cabinet was filled with tiny white cubes.
“What are all those?” she asked curiously.
“Kindred meal cubes,” Trey said, still frowning at them. “All right—none of this food is going to be familiar to you since it’s from my home world. So tell me what kind of things you like to eat—do you avoid meat? Do you like spicy things? Sweet things?”
He ran through a list of questions and Mia answered as best she could. After a moment, Trey nodded decisively and chose a cube from the back of the cabinet.
“This should do, hopefully. But if you don’t like it, we can try something else.”
He opened the door to the boxy appliance mounted under the cabinets and placed the cube inside it. Then he shut it and pressed some buttons which lit up and beeped when he touched them. After a moment the machine dinged and he opened it again.
After seeing so many amazing things today, Mia knew she ought to stop being surprised. But she couldn’t help the little gasp that escaped her when she saw that somehow the tiny white cube had expanded into a large plate piled high with food.
How did he do that? She knew the Kindred had advanced technology but this was so much like a magic trick she couldn’t help but stare.
“Here we go—mondu grains and pink speckled legumes,” Trey announced. He went to the wall opposite the food prep area and touched it lightly in three places. At once, a small, oblong silver table and two sturdy silver seats grew out of the side of the ship. “Have a seat,” he told Mia and placed the plate on the table in front of her. “Go ahead and help yourself while I make a cube for me. I hope you like it.”
“Thank you.” Mia seated herself though the stool was too high for her—clearly built for a person more Trey’s size—and her legs dangled like a child’s in an adult’s chair. But the seating arrangements didn’t bother her—she was too focused on finally getting something to eat.
The steaming plate in front of her was piled with a mound of tiny, bright green grains dotted with slightly larger dark pink and black speckled beans. The food looked a little strange but when she bent her head and took a whiff of the steam rising off it, the scent was delicious—savory with a hint of sweet saltiness like nothing she had ever smelled before.
Mmmm—smells amazing even if it does look weird! Her stomach growled and she decided to try some.
The plate that the tiny cube had expanded into included a small, shovel-like implement which she assumed was a Kindred utensil. Picking it up, she took a careful bite of the alien food.
It tasted as good as it smelled. Mia made a hungry little sound in the back of her throat and dug in. It was so delicious and she was so starved she could have polished off the plate in no time. But after the first few bites, she made herself slow down and enjoy the chewy, slightly crunchy texture and the savory-sweet flavors.
“It appears I chose well,” Trey slid into the seat opposite hers, smiling as he placed his own plate on the table. It was piled high with multicolored chunks which also looked strange but smelled good.
“It’s delicious,” Mia said, smiling gratefully. “Thank you so much! I…” She ducked her head shyly. “I’ve never had anyone but my Neemah cook for me before.”
“Well, as I said, I wouldn’t call it exactly cooking but I’m glad you like the result.” Trey smiled warmly and dug into his own food. He offered some to Mia and she bravely took a nibble of one bright blue chunk. It was meaty and rich, a little like the chundra stew meat Neemah bought once a year for the Winter Solstice feast—if they could afford it.
“Tell me about yourself,” Mia heard herself saying as they ate—not because she was supposed to spy on the big Kindred—she had almost forgotten about that. But because she was genuinely interested to learn about him. “All I know about you is what I saw in my dreams—which was just you in the city,” she told him. “But where do you come from?”
“Well, it’s kind of a long story—I don’t want to bore you,” Trey said.
“You listened to my long story,” Mia reminded him quietly. “I’d like to hear yours.”
“All right. Well…” He spoke as they ate, telling of a planet where his pe
ople were already too few. Then a plague that killed only females swept over their world, taking all the beauty and light with it when it went.
Mia could tell by the way he spoke that the event had devastated him.
“You lost someone, didn’t you?” she asked softly. “Someone dear to you was taken by the sickness.”
“Yes.” He nodded, a little reluctantly, she thought. “The female I thought I would mate with.”
Mia was surprised at the little stab of jealousy that entered her heart. She pushed it away, feeling ashamed. The poor girl was dead! And anyway, why should she be jealous of Trey’s lost love? It wasn’t like she was going to have any kind of real relationship with the big Kindred.
The thought made her unaccountably sad, but she tried not to think about it.
“You loved her dearly,” she said. “You must carry her still in your heart.”
“An echo of her might be more accurate.” He sighed deeply. “We were Dream Sharing but…we never got a chance to meet in person. Still, losing her was what made me want to study medicine and become a healer. I thought—the next time a female I care for is in trouble, I’ll be ready—I’ll be able to help her.”
“I think that’s wonderful.” Mia smiled at him. “And so your people decided to come here because you had no more females of your own?”
He nodded. “We came here looking for brides—hoping to make a genetic exchange. Luckily the Omyulians have been very welcome. Well…” He cleared his throat. “The ones from Bountiful have been, anyway. The citizens of the People’s Republic don’t seem to want to have anything to do with us. Apparently they have no interest.”
Mia bit her lip, wondering what he would think if he knew exactly how very interested the Republic actually was in him and his people.
“We have a…closed society,” she said, trying to keep her face and voice neutral.
“No, what you have is a police state,” Trey growled and she was surprised at the anger in his deep voice. “I knew it must be bad but until you told me the story of your parents being taken, I didn’t understand how bad.” His green eyes flashed gold for a moment. “You must have to live in fear of the government—of this EYE organization—all the time! That’s fucking horrible, Mia.”
Mia felt cold inside. Once more she was grateful that the device which recorded audio had been stolen. If the Commandant heard any of this, he would be so angry.
You know who else would feel angry—angry and betrayed if he found out you were working for “this EYE organization?” whispered a little voice in her head. Trey, that’s who. You better be careful, Mia and pray he never finds out about you and what you’re really here for.
The thought seemed to steal her appetite and she pushed her mostly empty plate away.
“I…I think I’ve had enough,” she said in a low voice.
“I’m sorry.” Trey seemed to pick up on her moods. “You must have very…complicated emotions about the Republic. Forgive me if I hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t,” Mia assured him quickly. “I’m just getting so tired—it’s been kind of a crazy day for me.”
“It certainly has.” Trey rose and began clearing the plates. “Would you like a hot bath to relax? My shuttle is equipped with a bathing pool.”
“A bathing pool?” That sounded lovely to Mia but then she had a thought. “Um, how deep is it? I can’t…I never learned to swim.”
“Oh.” Trey frowned. “Well, I hate to say it, but in that case, maybe you’d better just use the shower. The pool gets pretty deep in the middle—up to my neck which would be way over your head, I’m afraid.”
“Oh…” Mia couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. A long soak in a hot tub would have been such a luxury. She usually took lukewarm showers back home in the flat she shared with Neemah but once a week she allowed herself a long, hot bath in the old-fashioned bathtub. She could have used a soak like that now.
“If you’d like, I can teach you to swim later,” Trey offered. “It’s really not that hard once you get the hang of it.”
Mia smiled at him shyly.
“That would be nice. We have a public pool in the city where I live—uh, lived—but it’s for males only. And just in the summer—which only lasts about a month.”
Trey frowned. “That isn’t fair—why only males?”
Mia shrugged. “I don’t know—that’s the way a lot of things are in the Republic. Like…there are restaurants and clubs that only males can go into. But…” She cleared her throat. “I think that’s because those are, uh, clubs where males can find, uh, female companionship to meet their needs. If you know what I mean.” She thought of how the Commandant had tried to meet his needs with her and shivered.
Trey frowned.
“No, I don’t. What special needs do the males of your country have?”
“Oh, you know…” Mia could feel her cheeks getting hot. “The same needs all men have. The needs a woman is responsible for meeting if she is put together with him for the purpose of reproduction.”
Trey’s frowned deepened.
“Is that how they do things in the PR? What about the female’s needs?”
Mia felt shocked. “Oh, women don’t have those needs,” she said quickly.
“You don’t?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “How do you know that?”
“Well…because the school mistress told us so,” Mia said, feeling embarrassed and confused at the same time. “She said only men have those kinds of needs and we would have to meet them if the Republic called upon us to join with a man for reproduction. But until then, we had to take The Oath and swear to remain pure in body, mind, and spirit.”
Trey shook his head. “They really controlled every aspect of your life, didn’t they? Even your sex drive. Unbelievable.” He looked at Mia. “I suppose you weren’t allowed to bring yourself pleasure either?”
“Bring…bring myself pleasure?” Suddenly she understood what he was saying and felt her face go hot with a blush. “Oh no!” she said quickly. “I would never. I’ve never broken The Oath.”
“I see. I suppose you were afraid if you did the people from that EYE organization would see you.”
“I mean, it’s not like I would want to break The Oath…but even if I did, I couldn’t. I…” Mia looked down at her hands. “Everyone is being watched all the time. And you can never tell which…which of your neighbors or coworkers might be informants.”
The words seemed to stick in her throat and the minute they were out, she wished she had never said them.
“That’s terrible!” Trey exclaimed. “So you can’t trust anyone?”
Mia shook her head miserably, not trusting herself to speak. How had they started talking about this in the first place? Trying desperately to change the subject, she said,
“Do you have anything I can borrow to sleep in? I don’t have any clothes but these and this dress is pretty dirty.”
She nodded down at the ripped and smudged red-flowered dress with distaste. She wished she could get rid of it and never see it again but what else could she wear?
Trey frowned and seemed about to say something more about the Republic or the EYE but at last he shook his head and went with the new topic she had introduced.
“You know, I wish I would have gotten you some operating togs to wear while we were at the Care Center—I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. We can get you something else tomorrow but for tonight would you like one of my uniform shirts to wear?”
He motioned to the silky, dark teal shirt he had had on. It had long sleeves and buttoned up the front and would no doubt be way too big on her. But Mia liked the idea of sliding into that smooth, satiny material. She’d never worn anything but the rough fabrics the Republic-run factories produced—it would be nice to feel something soft against her skin.
“Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you.” She smiled at him and Trey smiled back.
“All right—then let’s get you set up with a sho
wer and a change. Come on.”
He led the way through the living area and kitchen and dining area to the back of the shuttle.
“This is the bathing area,” he said, pointing at one door. “And this is the sleeping chamber.”
He opened a door opposite the bathing room and showed her a small bedroom dominated by a huge bed—clearly it was built for someone his size. It had a dark blue spread on it with a teal pattern on the silky fabric.
“Oh…” Mia bit her lip. Only one bedroom? “So…will we share?” she asked, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt.
That’s a good thing—you’re supposed to be seducing him, remember? whispered a snarky little voice in her head. Supposed to be meeting his needs.
Yes, Mia was well aware of that, but he was so big and she’d never done anything like this—or anything even remotely sexual—before. The awful encounter with the Commandant didn’t count, she told herself, because she had wanted no part of it when he started to meet his needs with her.
But Trey was already shaking his head.
“No, of course not,” he said, frowning. “I’ll take the couch in the living area. You can have the sleeping chamber.”
“Oh, but I don’t want to kick you out of your own bedroom!” Mia protested.
“It’s fine,” Trey said firmly. “The couch transforms into a sleeping platform so I’ll be perfectly comfortable. Just let me get a shirt for you to wear and show you how to work the shower.”
He did exactly that and then left, closing the bathing chamber door behind him considerately to give her privacy.
Mia watched him go with a mixture of relief and regret. He was such a gentleman—so determined not to take advantage of her. If she wasn’t here under false pretenses, she would feel so happy and comfortable. Unfortunately, she had to somehow find a way of seducing him. How could she do that when he was being so nice and trying to give her space?
First things first—I can’t seduce anyone in this nasty dress.
She looked down at herself in distaste. Not only was the dress grimy, she felt dirty too. Too much had happened that day—too many narrow escapes and stressful situations that no doubt made her sweat. She had never wanted to get clean so badly in her life.
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