Black Jaquar

by Vijaya Schartz

  “You did?” The girl had a short intake of breath then giggled. “How was it?”

  “Wonderful.” Talina smiled through her tears as she remembered his gentle touch, and the fire he ignited inside her. “No wonder he was so skilled in the art of love... He had done it hundreds of times with as many women.” The very words stung as she imagined all the young beauties who had laid with him.

  The dark girl frowned. “I've been told the first time is rarely enjoyable.”

  “Oh, but it was. I experienced pleasure beyond any expectation.” Talina mourned the loss of such bliss. Just this morning she overflowed with joy, she felt so light and liberated, smiling and laughing at the start of a radiant day. “Now, I am ruined. No Chosen will ever want me. And never again can I trust a foreigner.”

  “What happens to you now?” The girl glanced around. “Assuming we return to our villages.”

  Talina sighed heavily. She couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice. “After a new conquest, a libertine simply moves on to the next woman without a second thought.”

  “How horrible!” The girl covered her mouth. “But what are you going to do?”

  “I'll remain unattached, unloved and alone for the rest of my life.” Although she had long ago accepted a lonely fate, now that she'd tasted the pleasures of mating with Black Jaguar, an empty life seemed intolerable. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

  The girl patted her shoulder and nodded. “The Star People are foreigners, too, aren't they?”

  By then half the women had migrated away from Talina. Several still sat quietly, listening and reading directly from her mind. Others stood and watched a few feet away. Among them, the tall woman from Talina's village nodded.

  Talina clenched her jaw and wiped salty tears from her face and lips. “And the Star People just showed us they cannot be trusted either. They betrayed the Chosen. They are as vile as any foreigner.”

  “But what can we do?” The tall woman sounded sympathetic. “We are a peaceful people. We do not fight.”

  “We can resist. Let them know we do not want their children. If they believe we will hurt their offspring, maybe they will not force them into our bellies.” And since Talina now had nothing else to live for, she would make sure the Star People understood they were not welcome, and she would make them pay for their transgression, even if it cost her life. At least her death would have meaning.

  “But how can we resist them? We are prisoners...” Her new friend's voice trailed in wonder.

  “I suggest we send them hateful thoughts. That should make them rethink their plan.”

  “I certainly don't like them after what they did to us.” The tall woman's strong feelings flooded the space. “But I'm not sure they will give up so easily.”

  “We have to try something.” Talina rose to her feet slowly, careful to keep her precarious balance, and scanned the captives, many of whom she had known all her life. “Who is with me to let them know that we do not want their children?”

  The tall woman took a hesitant step back. “But they said they would kill those who refused.”

  “If all of us refuse, they can't kill us all. They need lots of women for their breeding project.” Talina hoped she wasn't making a costly mistake. She couldn't bear the loss of so many young lives. “Let me talk to them. I'll take all the responsibility.”

  “You are brave Talina.” The dark girl stood up. “I'm with you.”

  About half the women still around Talina had the courage to stand and come forward, including the tall one. Would it be enough? She could only hope it would work.

  Talina smiled her gratitude. “You know what to do.”

  The volunteers nodded and tightened the circle around Talina. Then they closed their eyes to intone the collective mind-talk chant.

  Talina remained standing in the center of the circle, feeling the power of their minds strengthen hers. She directed her thoughts visualizing the being who had entered their holding space earlier, as well as the other Star People who must dwell close by.

  “Shame on your kind, for taking advantage of a trusting people. You are an abomination as a race. We will never trust you or worship you again. You are the scum of the universe. We shall kill your children if you force them upon us.”

  As she felt a startled reaction from the Star People in her mind, Talina enjoyed venting her frustrations upon them.

  She opened her eyes at the soft sound of the sliding wall. The women stopped chanting. Those who hadn't dared chant cowered at the far end of the holding space.

  Talina stepped outside the circle of women and carefully walked toward the Star being with as much confidence as her unusually bouncy gait allowed. She had nothing to lose.

  When Talina pulled the long dagger out of her belt, the Star person straightened in surprise. Holding the weapon like Black Jaguar had shown her, Talina stepped forth and stabbed at the skinny frame. To her astonishment, the blade glanced off the tight blue suit with a metallic sound.

  The Star person stepped back lightly but Talina stumbled forward to the side.

  Recovering her precarious balance, she lounged at the unprotected neck and drew dark blood. The Star person fell, holding a bleeding neck. But before Talina could regain her balance, many other Star People came running through the triangular opening. One aimed a small instrument at her.

  A ray of sizzling blue light hit Talina's shoulder, eliciting excruciating agony. She cried out, blinded, and her legs collapsed. Barely aware of her surroundings, she felt someone lift her off the floor, then she floated away like on a cotton cloud. The blue holding space faded as she spiraled down into a bottomless black pit.

  Chapter Twelve

  In the blue pulsing glow of the incarceration antechamber, First General, First Captain, First Scientist, First Anthropologist, and the pretty First Meteorologist with aquamarine eyes, stared without blinking at Lord Straal, sovereign of the Estrell people.

  “So, this is the woman who almost killed our guard?” Straal paced in front of the force field separating him and his First Officers from the alcove cell where the criminal lay unconscious, bound on a floating table. “How could you let this happen? How irresponsible for the guard to enter the hold!”

  First General saluted. “He believed the Chosen were dedicated to the Estrell, My Lord... except for the one woman, of course.”

  Straal barely controlled his impatience. “Don't you know that Humans are physically ten times more powerful than we are? If hostile, at close range and in such numbers as we have in our hold, they could kill us all with their bare hands.” Straal searched the faces of his team. “Who is responsible for allowing a blade weapon through?”

  First General stared down at his feet, offering the sight of his polished scalp to his leader. “We were mistakenly told the Chosen never carried weapons, My Lord. So, we didn't check for blades.”

  “The Chosen failed to destroy the foreigners... then this happens?” Straal shook his head. It only confirmed the vulnerability of his race. Although highly intelligent and scientifically advanced, they lacked the physical strength from the aggressive survival gene so common in Humans. That very Human gene would allow their progeny to thrive in the future. “So, why did this particular Chosen carry a weapon?”

  First Scientist bowed slightly. “According to the Guardian snakes, she was banished from the clan and joined the foreigners, My Lord. She is the one who warned them and helped them overcome the reptile attack.”

  “A traitor among the Chosen?” Straal's smooth skin rippled with foreboding.

  “Such a dangerous element should be eliminated at once, My Lord.” First General punctuated his impatient mind-talk by drumming his foot on the soft black floor.

  “Not so fast.” Straal resented First General's haste. “We might be able to learn something from her. We could keep her as a hostage to control the others on the surface.”

  First Meteorologist gasped. “But, My Lord, she already has poisoned the minds of other w
omen in the hold. Who knows how much more damage she can do through mind-talk when she regains consciousness?”

  “First general is right to want her terminated, of course.” Straal struggled to shield his private thoughts and hide his true feelings. “We cannot risk another incident. Consider the disastrous consequences of what just transpired.” The soothing music emanating from the floating spheres usually calmed him down, but not today.

  If his team knew he didn't fully agree with the New Generation Project, the Conclave would have him deposed and replaced by a more progressive ruler. Many candidates waited for him to fail. Still. This setback might be a sign that the New Generation Project could still be stopped, or at least delayed.

  Straal dared to hope. “Any other suggestions?”

  First Scientist inclined his head to the side. “I suggest we still proceed as planned. We do not need the women's cooperation, My Lord.”

  “But what if they kill our children at birth as they threatened to do?” The very thought made Straal shudder. Despite their repulsive Human appearance, these children would still carry Estrell blood, Estrell hope, Estrell culture, Estrell knowledge. Such a slaughter was unthinkable.

  First Scientist, hands behind his back, faced his leader. “We could make sure they do not harm the offspring.”

  “How?” The idea went against the original plan of nurturing native love and cooperation. “Are you suggesting mind control?”

  “Why not?” First Scientist lifted his thin brow. “We have used it in other circumstances with success.”

  “Only on labor slaves, and in close proximity. This time we'll be far away, only checking up on them from time to time.” They'd taken much time and care to insure a loving environment. Straal wondered how children raised without genuine love would turn out. “If the mothers are unhappy, it could affect the children.”

  First Anthropologist scoffed. “With the multitude of eggs we'll implant in each of them, they are more incubators than mothers. But even before birth, our progeny could be given the ability to control their minds and bend them to their will for self-survival.”

  Straal marveled at the scientific prowess of his people. All the knowledge of his race embedded in thousands of Human-compatible eggs. And all through bulky bodies, like that of the woman bound on the floating table. “Then our seed, our culture, will survive.”

  Fist Scientist smiled thinly. “As the women of the Chosen keep having our babies by twos and threes every ten months, they will be under the spell of the embryos for the remainder of their child-bearing years.”

  First General nodded. “By the time the mothers die off, our children will already have mated among themselves. And within two generations, they will have propagated, conquered the whole planet, and dominated the entire population.”

  The ugly necessity flashed through Straal's mind. He couldn't stop it. It had to be done. He sighed. “You may proceed with the egg implantation at once.”

  First Scientist nodded. “Should we give mind control powers to the eggs as well?”

  “At the risk of creating a race of tyrants?” But Straal realized he had no other choice. “Go ahead with the mind control and erase the memory of this ship from the women's minds. To avoid any attempt against the newborns, let them think their future babies are really theirs.”

  “As you order, My Lord.”

  The cell guard who stood in the shadows straightened to attention. “What about this prisoner? Should we euthanize her?”

  “Not yet.” Straal hoped his curiosity would not alarm his people. “I want to interrogate her. I need to understand why she turned against us. Knowledge is power.”

  “She is sedated but still extremely dangerous, My Lord.” The reticence of the guard tinted his mind-talk. “We do not dare wake her completely.”

  “I understand.” Straal managed a reassuring smile. “Take all the necessary safety precautions, then wake her up. Don't worry. I will be fine.”

  “As you command, My Lord.”

  * * *

  Sitting on the mossy ground, Kahuel stuffed a small red clay pot with guano from a neighboring bat cave, and salt extracted from the sea. He left some room for a handful of dry grass and a cotton wick imbibed with oil.

  Diablo played with similar filled pots.

  “Stop it!” Kahuel took the pot away from Diablo and sighed. “Do you want to blow yourself up?”

  Diablo grunted and walked away.

  Why hadn't Kahuel paid more attention to his private tutor during those boring chemistry lessons? At the time he considered explosives a cowardly way to wage war. Zerkers preferred to fight face-to-face, with a sharp blade, a prancing horse, and a feline at their side. Against a highly advanced enemy, however, Kahuel now discovered that sneaky ways worked best.

  From time to time, he stole a glance through the thick green ferns at the rock slab where white Guardian snakes basked in the sun. They had stopped watching him, and he hoped their alien masters, whatever they were, had lost interest in his small cooking enterprise. At least that's what it must look like from afar.

  “How is it going?” Esperana's white boots appeared across from him on the moss that served as his work surface.

  He glanced up at the Mutant Princess. “Slow, but I think it will work.”

  “Are you sure?” Esperana frowned at his low-tech explosive devices. “We'll need at least ten of those. I hope it will be enough to destroy the relics.”

  Kahuel carefully wiped the black powder from the edge of a pot. “If it works, how much time before the dampening field collapses?”

  “It should be instantaneous,” Esperana stated, matter of fact.

  Kahuel placed the pot carefully next to the other ones on the moss. “Then phasers and transmitters will work again?”

  Esperana smiled. “Yes. And once the Mutants of Kassouk learn of the Star People, they'll force them to surrender and release their prisoners.”

  “Then we can all go home in flyers?” Kahuel certainly didn't want to go through another sea voyage.

  “Then we can do whatever we want.” Esperana's non-committal tone lacked conviction. “I kind of like it here.”

  Kahuel understood her reluctance. He wasn't in any hurry to get back to Yalta either. This land had given him much to think about. Civilization as he knew it at home never made him happy, and he felt reluctant to reconnect with his past.

  A brouhaha of indistinct voices swelled nearby.

  “The women are back!” The delighted cries resounded through the clearing like a chorus of bells on a festival day.

  “Talina!” Kahuel's heart skipped a beat. He stood up, unsettling crockery and spilling black powder on the ground. Full of hope, he scanned the clearing above the top of the fern thicket. “The hateful thoughts from the Chosen must have scared the Star People after all.”

  “Somehow, I doubt that.” Esperana squinted as she watched the radiant women coming out of the woods into the clearing.

  Abandoning his explosives, Kahuel ran toward the joyous group, searching for Talina's face among them.

  Over a hundred women filed in, reuniting with mates and families, laughing and smiling while others cried with joy. The Grays and the warriors instinctively retreated to the edges of the clearing to give them space.

  Kahuel stopped one of the last women. “Where is Talina?”

  “I haven't seen her.” The tall woman smiled at someone behind Kahuel.

  But Kahuel wanted answers. “What happened up there?”

  “Where?” The woman stared at him, confused.

  Kahuel looked straight into her eyes. “You were with the Star People.”

  Another woman turned at the words. “We were? No wonder it was so wonderful.”

  “Wonderful? You were prisoners. Talina told Vanaru about it. Don't you remember?” A dark cloud of foreboding oppressed Kahuel's chest.

  “All I remember is a bright flash of light, and a place where I felt safe and loved.” The beatific expression on the w
oman's face mystified Kahuel.

  “That's all you remember? You were gone for many hours.” Kahuel couldn't stand the happy noise all around.

  Another woman shook her head. “I only remember the flash of light and the love.”

  Kahuel's chest clenched. He could barely breathe. “What happened to Talina?”

  Vanaru's smiling golden face appeared among the crowd of women. He looked obviously relieved that they were unharmed.

  Kahuel walked straight to him. “Talina is missing.”

  Vanaru's pained expression told Kahuel how much he loved his sister. “Talina always acts rashly. She could never abide by any rule. She probably provoked the Star People by contacting me.”

  “Why didn't they release her? Do you think they punished her?” The very words burned Kahuel's tongue like a red-hot firebrand.

  “Possibly, but she is alive.” Vanaru didn't seem reassured by his own words. “I would have felt it if my sister had died, no matter how far she is.”

  “Don't worry,” one of the women said in a reassuring voice. “The Star People only have love for the Chosen. Trust in them and they'll spread their bounty on you, too.”

  Somehow, Kahuel didn't believe that. Cold tendrils of fear snaked along his spine. Great Engineer of the universe, I implore you, protect the woman I love.

  Chapter Thirteen

  In the blue glow of the small holding cell, Straal paced around the floating table where the rebellious Human female had been revived and struggled against the metal braces holding her wrists. Straal flinched at the rattling sound. Neither the musical spheres, nor the soft chime of the shimmering energy field isolating them from the guard outside the alcove, could soothe his anxiety. He was taking a great risk with his life, alone with such a savage monster.

  At his unspoken command, the table rose to an almost vertical plane, so he could face his enemy. He hardened his voice to hide his fear. “I am Lord Straal of the Estrell people.”