He entered the small cabin, settling into the worn pilot seat, and activated systems that hadn’t been activated in solars, then pulled up maps that hadn’t been updated, either.
Just as he’d known but had hoped he was wrong about, the cavern the humans were being directed to was the one where he’d had his Trials—the wrong one. There was another cavern close by, much shallower, where the nirza wouldn’t affect the humans as much.
He quickly ran through a checklist to make sure the old ship was still safe to fly, and when everything looked green, closed up the door.
But the Dirac would also know about the storm by now, and probably knew Mik’kal was headed to the island. If he didn’t see the flyer, he’d get suspicious. Mik’kal contemplated taking the new one, instead. But a small voice warned if someone was going to interfere, they’d interfere with the ship Mik'kal was usually on. Maybe it would be better not to be on it.
With a sigh at the delay, he switched ships to set up a connection between the two. Now both would be flying under the ID of his new one. He just had to keep them close enough that they registered as one object.
Contacting the humans, who had no encrypted communications, would be dangerous. He was going to have to wait an agonizing two periods. Since the safe cavern was on the far side of the one they were headed toward, they’d at least be walking in the right direction when he had to reroute them.
Settling back into the old ship, he lifted off, the new ship just a few meters in front and to the side. Now there was nothing to do but wait. With surprise, he saw the cup of hot cassia juice still sitting on the dashboard, and he said a word of thanks to the woman who’d cared enough to give it to him.
29
Mik'kal
The two periods speeding over the vast ocean were the longest of his life. He kept himself entertained by watching the activities back in his apartment on the feed from his datapad, chuckling and shaking his head at Mena, who was completely unaware she was being watched. At last he could see the edges of Kalnų Sala on the horizon. He’d be there in about twenty micros. He ran his eyes over the connection between the two ships and frowned. The newer ship was pulling to the side. He tried to correct it remotely, but the pulling became stronger, and now it was angling down, pulling the old flyer with it. Mik'kal uttered the loudest expletive of his life and cut the connection between them. The old ship shuddered and jerked back on course. Mik'kal sent an emergency remote landing signal to the new flyer, which should have eased it down to the waves, letting it float for a while. Instead, he watched in disbelief as his gleaming fancy new ship turned sharply to the side, angled straight down, and smashed into the ocean.
He’d known in theory his life had been at risk, but seeing the vehicle he was supposed to be in destroyed before his very eyes made him cold.
He had to make this ship invisible, fast. He decreased the power to everything, almost coasting, and went down to just a meter above the waves. Without power to the stabilizers, he had to fight to keep the ship level.
A few micros later he was over land, skimming the top of the settlement, then over streams of humans walking and machinery being driven over the rocks.
It was folly to land so close to the mouth of the cavern, but he didn’t have time to waste. He hovered over the ground while humans scattered out of the way beneath him, growling at the delay. Finally, the ground was clear enough, and he set the ship down hard. He opened the door and jumped out, fumbling with the translator in his ear.
Throngs of humans stood gaping at him.
“I’m Senator Isyll!” he shouted. “Where is your captain?”
A handful of people pointed toward the wide opening, and he took off. Just inside was chaos, with equipment dumped in piles and a wall of humans milling around. He shouted his query again, and more hands pointed toward the rear of the cavern.
To call it a cavern was a misnomer. The first room was bigger than the entire airfield outside Parthau Adal and would easily hold forty or fifty flyers. There were more rooms toward the rear.
He spotted a crew member in uniform. Identifying himself, he told her it was urgent he saw the captain now. Instead of gaping like the other humans, she nodded and spoke into a comm on her shoulder. A moment later, a small, wheeled vehicle arrived. She ordered the soldier out, and she and Mik'kal headed toward the captain’s location.
As they threaded their way through the throngs of humans, he began to pay closer attention to them. Groups of people were arguing with each other. Further back, a man was trying to grab a woman, and she was pummeling him back. He heard screams of anger, then a fight broke out in front of them. The crew member slowed down.
“Drive around them! This is only the beginning of the violence you’ll see unless I get to the captain!”
She nodded and swerved, barely missing the three combatants. Ahead, another altercation involving a group of humans was taking place. She headed right for them. Before he could tell her to ignore it, she pointed.
“He’s right there.”
Mik'kal took a look at the fighters and to his horror, the captain had a blaster pointed at a teenager. The young man had his hands up and was backing away. The captain was screaming something at him, and Mik'kal sensed he was moments away from firing.
Mik'kal was out and running before the vehicle stopped. He dove for the young man just as the sound of blaster fire filled the air and the ground exploded where they’d been standing. A second blast behind him kept him on top of the human for another moment.
He jumped to his feet, checking the boy and himself for injury. Both were fine. He turned the other way and to his astonishment, the first officer stood over the crumpled body of the captain, her blaster still in her hand.
The crowd was stunned for a moment before breaking into shouts of rage, some of it at the first officer. She backed away, her blaster still held up for protection.
Mik'kal ran over to her. “Get them out of this area! Tell them to move toward the front of the cavern!”
“What? Why?” Her eyes scanned the crowd, whose attention was now on them.
“There is—” He struggled to find a word that conveyed the urgency. “—something in the deep rocks that inspires violence. The deeper you go, the worse it gets. It’s infectious. Your people are already starting to react, and it will only get worse until the violence leaves almost everyone dead.”
Her eyes flicked to his for a moment before she spoke into the comm on her shoulder. When she was done, she turned back to him.
“You told us to come here.”
“My maps had been altered. This is not the safe cavern; the other one is.”
“And you know this because…”
“I spent time here as a child and had a very violent encounter with the… the thing in here. Once I realized why the instructions I gave the captain didn’t seem right, I knew I had to get here. I also knew my communications were being monitored, so I couldn’t contact you to tell you.”
“Why would the map have been altered?”
He tamped down the irritation at her questioning. She was now responsible for all these people, and wouldn’t risk their safety without understanding why. “Because Dirac Ortan hopes most of you will die from the storm and the violence, and he will be able to enslave the rest. He tried to have me killed on the way here so I wouldn’t warn you. The remains of my flyer are washing up on the shoreline right now.”
She stared into his eyes for a long moment, then nodded.
“Two of my crew on the beach saw the crash, and the second ship that was almost pulled down with it.”
Officers began to show up, taking in the body of the captain on the ground and the first officer with her blaster trained on the crowd.
“We need to get everyone out of here, now!” Mik'kal’s teeth were grinding together.
Enough soldiers had arrived that she put away her blaster and turned to her shoulder again.
“This is First Officer Adisa.” Her voice boomed across the cavern, and ever
yone stopped in shock to listen. “The captain has been injured, and I am temporarily in charge. I’ve just been informed water levels are rising rapidly in the back of this cavern and will fill everything below the entrance level. There is another, higher cavern several hundred yards to the north. I need everyone to turn around and leave here. Leave the equipment; it will have enough room up front to be safe. This is a Level One emergency.”
She turned to Mik'kal. “They will take it seriously, but even so, convincing five thousand individuals who are already growing angry from this...something... to walk outside into worsening weather will take hours.”
“You have two periods before the storm hits.” He tried to remember how long that was in human time.
“Three hours.” She nodded and yelled instructions to a nearby crew to cover and carry the captain’s body to the vehicle. She and Mik'kal climbed into another and headed back toward the mouth of the cave.
30
Mena
Mena was alone in the apartment,without restraints and restrictions, for the first time since she’d arrived. She tried to go back to sleep but surrendered to wakefulness as soon as the sun came up.
She didn’t get out of bed, though. She laid on her back, staring up at the cables hanging from the ceiling. Fuck, that was not helping her relax. She rolled to her side.
Now she was facing the small entryway just inside the door.
The door.
He’d said it was locked and she shouldn’t let anyone in. That meant she could let someone in if she wanted. She slipped out of bed and walked across the soft carpet to the door. It had no handle, but the one time she’d left here, he’d simply waved his hand over the stone wall to the side.
Should she try it? Holding her breath, she raised her hand and swept it up and down, not sure where the sensor was. The door popped open and she jumped back in surprise.
She wondered if Mik'kal realized he’d given her the ability to leave. Was this a test?
Should she step into the hall?
Should she walk right out of the building? Into the sunshine and the fresh air? Somewhere she could see green. Somewhere she could talk to another human! The longing to see someone she knew was overwhelming.
But he’d promised she could go see her people. And he never made a promise he didn’t keep.
Besides, if she walked out, she’d be easy to find. A human with nothing on except a collar would stand out.
So, leaving wasn’t an option. She had to stay here.
But… was that so awful?
She shut the door. Just knowing she could walk out, if she wanted to, released an incredible amount of stress. Even if it would be a bad decision, it would still be her decision.
She laid back down on the bed, sorting through her thoughts, examining both the good and the bad without judgment. She wasn’t sure if the conversation she’d had with him about domination and submission had made an impression on him, but later, when she’d flown at him with anger, he hadn’t spanked her in anger, as much as it hurt. Then he’d given her an orgasm, for the first time. When he’d taken her into his arms after, she had frozen at first, not believing he was comforting her. Maybe he didn’t even realize what he was doing, then. But the gesture of comfort in the Dirac’s office and his assurance she’d go see her people were the actions of a master who—maybe—cared about her happiness.
He had kissed her. That was a complete surprise. How could she believe he didn’t feel something for her after that?
It still made her incredibly sad to not be building the new life with everyone else she’d dreamed of for ten years. That was going to take a long time to get over. But just like the unlocked door, knowing she would eventually see them took a little more weight off her shoulders, though visiting them and leaving would probably be painful. If she was going to be here with Mik'kal forever, maybe she should wait for a while before she went.
Eventually she forced herself out of bed again to take a long bath in the amazing tub with the water that turned slippery upon command. As she stood, the branches of the tree overhead caught her attention, and she smiled as she reached up to grab them. It had become his favorite place to spank her in the morning, and she felt an ache between her legs, despite remembering the many times she begged and pleaded for him not to spank her here—or anywhere, for that matter. Always after he inflicted agony on her, he’d soothe the tortured flesh with his cool hand, often dipping into her sopping wet folds and fingering her to an agonizing edge. She’d be so delirious from the sensations, she would hardly notice when he brought her into the main room and pushed her to her knees, only to send his long thick cock deep into the back of her throat, making her gag.
She hated the feeling and always pulled and twisted, but her mouth was impaled upon his cock and his hand twined deep into her hair. She was no match for his strength as he thrust over and over, taking his pleasure in her. No, not in her—from her.
He was merciless about her swallowing his cum—one drop on the carpet would result in her licking it up while he spanked her harshly.
And she liked it, sort of. ‘Like’ was such a complicated emotion. At the moment, she hated it, and her struggle to get away was real. But she had to admit, if he’d let her go, she’d be, well, a little disappointed.
God, she wished she could talk to Addy. She often wondered where her best friend had ended up, and thinking about never seeing her again was more than Mena could bear.
She was hungry, and if he wasn’t here, she was going to eat anything she wanted. All she knew to ask for was what she’d heard him say, but it had smelled good. As she pulled the food from the wall, it occurred to her there was no reason she couldn’t also sit at the table and eat. Feeling guilty, but not guilty enough to stop, she tucked herself into his large chair. The food was weird, but not bad. As she finished, she spotted his smaller datapad pushed to the back of his desk and wondered if she could find something entertaining. Alas, it resisted every attempt to wake it up. Probably for the best; she didn’t know if he’d be able to tell if she had accessed it or not.
Breakfast over, she wandered around the apartment, looking at everything she’d wanted to see but hadn’t been given the freedom of movement to examine until now. She paused at the invisible panel where his clothes were kept, and wondering if it would work for her, swept her hand over the sensor. To her surprise, it slid open. Her hand shook as she reached in and touched a tunic, and before she could think about the wisdom of her action, she pulled it out and slipped it on.
This was the most she’d had on since she woke up in the medical unit. It was long enough to be a proper dress, and she reveled in the feeling of fabric covering her from neck to knees. Plus, it smelled like him—pleasantly musky with a heaviness that seemed just right, though it wasn’t what she’d pick for a human male. She smiled, more content than she’d been in a long time.
She didn’t know if she would stay with him if she had a free choice to leave, but she hadn’t been given that choice, so she was going to make the best of it here that she could.
She yawned. The short night was catching up to her, and a nap sounded nice. She’d do the cleaning and chores when she woke up. She stretched out again on the bed. The tunic rode up, and she tugged it down, then froze.
She was horny as hell, and he wasn’t here. He’d never know.
She couldn’t think too long or she’d chicken out. She slipped her right hand between her legs, and when her finger brushed her clit a sense of euphoria rolled across the rest of her body in a wave. She was almost instantly at the edge. But she wanted to savor the sensations, not just accomplish an orgasm, so she forced herself to slow down and lighten the touch. Closing her eyes, her breath came in gasps and pants. In her mind, she saw him standing over her. She saw his anger at her disobedience. She heard him say she had just earned a caning so severe, she wouldn’t sit for a week.
That sent her over the edge. She screamed and bucked with one of the most intense orgasms she’d eve
r had, then collapsed back on the bed, trying to remember how to breathe.
She raised her hand up and stared in fascinated horror at the stickiness that dripped down her fingers. Suddenly her hand was too heavy to hold in the air. She let it fall. Drifting off to sleep, she dreamed of her master and smiled...
31
Mena
The sound of the door opening pulled her up from a heavy sleep. She rolled over, expecting to see Mik'kal standing there.
Two men in identical red and black uniforms observed her silently. She screeched and backed away, pulling Mik'kal’s tunic down from her waist.
“Be quiet. We are to escort you to Dirac Ortan’s office.”
“What? My master told me to stay here!”
Together they advanced on her. She scrambled off the bed and stumbled over to the wall, where she grabbed the sword that hung above the cane. It was heavier than it looked, but she clung to it with both hands.
As they drew closer, she pulled the sword back, and when she judged them close enough, started to swing. Without warning, her body began to buzz like she was being electrocuted. She froze in place, the sword dropping from her hand mid-swing to land on the carpet. The buzzing ended, and the guards were on top of her. She fought hard, landing at least one good kick to the guard on her left, who let out a huff of pain, but he took hold of her arm and yanked her forward onto her face, her arms over her head. He held her wrists, and though she twisted wildly, it did no good. When her head was yanked up by the other guard, her jaw fell open, and a large round gag was shoved in deep. He let her head drop, and despite trying to push it out of her mouth with her tongue, she felt the straps pulled tight around the back of her head.
“Up.” The taller one grabbed one arm, hauling her off the bed. He held it straight out and the other one snapped a binding around her wrist.
Her other arm was quickly cuffed and both arms were yanked behind her back and connected. The tall one grabbed her again and pushed her out the door. Emerging into the open, she had only a moment to notice the sky was dark and filled with purple-black clouds before she was pushed into a waiting car, where she was shoved to the floor.
Tribute: Captives of Kazir Page 17