by Maia Starr
Smack!
The smile faded from his face and he reached up to rub his cheek. I grimaced in pain. Slapping him had surely hurt me more than it hurt him. Worst of all, he didn’t seem to understand the custom at all, because he raised his hand and practiced aiming at my cheek.
“Is this how you do it?” he asked, his musical voice puzzled.
“Oh my god…” I groaned.
“Commander Arkti!”
Another voice I recognized spoke from a small speaker somewhere in the room. Zerk’k lifted his wrist to his ear. I noticed that his ear was significantly smaller than my own. It was tapered to a point on top, but I only had a brief chance to study it before his black hair fell over it again.
“What is it, Jerd?”
“We’re being told to move the females to the camps now,” Jerd answered.
“I see…there’s no way to put it off?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not, sir.”
“All right then. I’ll meet you outside the ship.”
“Yes, sir,” Jerd said. The line went quiet, and Zerk’k turned to me.
“You’re going to have to come with me,” he said quietly. “It’s going to be easier for me if you pretend that you’re asleep. Can you do that?”
I hesitated.
“Let me make this clear,” Zerk’k said, coming close to me. My body was electrified by his nearness, and I swallowed hard, feeling a little bit embarrassed to meet his eyes. And yet I couldn’t help myself. He was pure power, and it was the first time he’d displayed it to me. “This is my planet, and you have no choice but to do as I tell you to.”
I nodded. I was scared, but it was something more. It was as if I was in his thrall, unable to look away.
“It’s for your own good. If I tell you to do something, it’s because I know the best choice to make in this world. You do not. And if you want to defy me, you are going to suffer. Not because I want you to suffer, but because that is the way.”
It was infuriating to be spoken to as if I were an unruly child who needed to be controlled. How would he know what was for my good? When was the last time he was a human?
“There are rules in this place. And the role of the human female is to breed. Now follow me back to the chamber and pretend to be asleep, or be prepared to be knocked out by my own hand. I am being merciful to you, don’t you understand? Don’t make me regret it.”
I nodded reluctantly, and Zerk’k seemed to relax. His dark energy was immediately dispersed.
“Great,” he said cheerfully. “I’ll lead the way.”
***
The prospect of going back into the pitch black room made me unreasonably upset, and I looked behind myself at Zerk’k. He furrowed his brow.
“What?”
“I really don’t like the dark,” I whispered. I felt ridiculous to say it out loud, as if I were a little kid who didn’t want to sleep without a nightlight. But surprisingly, Zerk’k seemed to understand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, switching the lights on. “The Thressl’n have perfect vision, whether in light or dark. We use solar lights throughout the ship for energy, but we assumed since you receive energy through other means that the lights were not necessary.”
I was shocked as the rows and rows of women lying limply on their metallic beds appeared before me. There were one hundred of us on the ship, and the room was abysmally small. We had been cramped as close together as we could possibly be without touching.
“I really don’t want to go back in there,” I said, standing frozen in the doorway.
“The gas will wear off on the others in about a rotation. Then you won’t feel so alone.”
I was quiet for a moment as I mulled this over. First of all, I had no idea what he meant by a rotation. Secondly, was it really possible that he understood my reason for not wanting to go into the cramped little room? The crushing feeling of being so far away from my planet, and not even being able to share the experience of coming onto a new planet with the other human women who were with me was a new kind of desolation.
“What’s a rotation?” I asked, instead of bothering to get into my feelings with him. In my experience, men were hardly the type to care what I was feeling.
“A rotation roughly translates to about 48 minutes on Earth. The Thressl’n keep time in rotations of 10. It’s our sacred number. Rotations are a measurement of time. Daily. Revolutions are measurements of many days. Years, Earthlings would call them. So in about 48 minutes, you will be expected to wake up. Do not make a peep before then. Otherwise, you will have to answer to me.”
The look in Zerk’k’s dazzling purple eyes was serious, so I decided it would be best not to test him. Besides, it would be useful to have an opportunity to observe the Thressl’n when they didn’t think that they were being observed at all.
“Now go in and lie down. We will begin collecting the females now. Remember, do not move. Do not make a sound. Don’t make me regret this.”
I looked into his sincere purple eyes and felt a strange urge to prove to this strange man that he could trust me. It was a hard feeling to describe or understand. I didn’t want to deal with these ridiculous complexities. What I did want though, was to study and understand this mysterious race. And then, I fully intended to head back to Earth and share my findings. There was no way my career would ever be lackluster again with my own personal accounts of the Thressl’n.
Zerk’k led me into the room and waited as I climbed back onto the metal table where I’d been laying for the past day and a half. He stood over me, a tall, imposing figure whose serious eyes stayed locked on me. He didn’t seem sure about whether or not to trust me, and I felt a surge of fear pulse through me when he frowned and tightened the restraints around my legs and wrists.
“Remember,” he said, peering at me inches away from my face. It was oddly intimate. “Don’t move. No matter what they’re doing to prepare you for the camps. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Show me,” Zerk’k demanded. “I’m not going to take any chances.”
“Ugh, fine,” I grumbled. “I’ll play dead for you.”
Zerk’k looked puzzled for a moment and I closed my eyes, blocking his image from my sight. I couldn’t stand him, no matter how handsome and mysterious he was. He really seemed to think he knew what was best for everybody. The power he had on his planet had probably gotten to his head long ago. It was aggravating.
I could feel his body hovering over me, and had to hold my breath to keep from betraying how uncomfortable it made me. He began poking and prodding at my body, sending odd, mixed messages to my brain. I had to fight hard to prevent the unexpected touches from sending arousal signals to my neural pathways. I sighed inwardly. It was all physiological, I reminded myself. It didn’t mean anything.
“All right,” Zerk’k finally said, as if satisfied by my performance. “Do what you’re doing now, and you’ll be fine. I’m going to take the first females out now. There are going to be some strange noises and probably some strange feelings you will experience. Remember, if you are discovered, you will regret it.”
I said nothing in response, which seemed to please him, and I could hear his heavy footfalls descend toward the doorway. I heard a hissing sound and opened my eyes as subtly as possible to watch what he was doing. Each little metal bed could rise individually, levitating in front of Commander Zerk’k. All he had to do was nudge them with his hand and they would move where he led them. It was impressive. If humans had that kind of technology, there was no telling what kind of advances we’d be able to make on Earth.
The process was somewhat tedious, and soon, other Thressl’n joined Zerk’k to help him roll us out of the ship. I was grateful that I had been such a nosy child, and had mastered the art of fake sleeping to eavesdrop on the adults in my life, who always seemed to have such interesting things going on that weren’t for the ears of children.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from gasping out loud when I was
finally steered off the ship. The air in my lungs was somehow sweeter than the air on Earth; pure, almost like the fresh mountain air most humans had to travel far to find. The sky was a swirl of colors; mostly gold and light blue, with little wisps of pink here and there. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
The crew working to wheel us out of the ship were speaking candidly in Thressl’n, which was good news to me. It gave my translation implant a good opportunity to learn more about their speech patterns. Sooner or later, I’d be able to understand everything they said in their native tongue. That would give me an advantage in this strange new world.
Before long, however, my excitement turned to dread. The metal tables with sleeping females were left in a line, presumably to be processed inside an oppressive looking structure with a high cloth roof. There were ten rows of these tent-like buildings, and outside the one I was destined to end up in was a proud looking Thressl’n woman. The first I had ever seen.
Her skin was much paler than the brilliant teal of the Thressl’n men, and her rust-colored hair was tied behind her head and braided. She had a stern looking face and looked down at all the human females in front of her as if they were diseased. Her expression was one of pure contempt, and she handled the limp women roughly; scrubbing them immediately with a soapy substance that was quick to lather. When she was done, we were injected with a clear substance I couldn’t identify and then carted inside the imposing tent. I was not looking forward to my turn.
I had to fight hard not to show my consciousness as her surprisingly strong hands gripped me tightly and lathered me up. The whole process was humiliating, and they didn’t bother to remove our clothing. We all went inside a sopping mess, and I couldn’t help but worry about what could possibly be in the injection that was now coursing through my body.
“Attention!”
My heart pounded hard in my chest as Zerk’k’s musical voice wafted over the loudspeakers in the tent. All activity ceased for a moment as it seemed the whole world stopped to listen to him speak. Apparently he was a big deal here.
“All human females are to immediately be given water. The flight was long, and research indicates it is paramount to their survival. Go now!”
A flurry of activity began as all the women around me were hooked up to IVs and our bodies were given hydration. I really hoped that the Thressl’n knew what they were doing. So far, I wasn’t very confident.
Soon, the four-fingered hands of the Thressl’n were all over our bodies, testing us and taking our vitals. We were being studied closely, and everything about us was recorded. I felt like I was on the other end of a cosmic joke, where the roles were reversed, and now I was the extraterrestrial.
Still, the experience was exciting, and I took note of all I could. And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would take before I could see Commander Zerk’k Arkti again. I had to shake the thought away. I was stuck here because of him. If I ever saw him again, he was going to pay for this.
Chapter 10
Commander Zerk’k Arkti
I watched until the golden-haired human was out of sight, worried about the untold horrors she may experience at the hands of the bitter Thressl’n females who had been charged the task of looking after the humans. Times were hard, indeed, and there were many purists out there, particularly the Thressl’n women, who believed that we would be better off keeping our genetic pool pure.
But that was no longer an option. There was no way that our race would survive if we did. Although I agreed in theory, there was nothing to be done about it.
“Commander, Camp #2 is asking for your assistance. The human females are being subdued, but there is trouble.”
“Of course,” I said, pushing the thoughts of my female out of my head and following Jerd down the path. We stepped inside the tent and I was immediately shocked by the wild-eyed females. The Thressl’n women could hold their own, and the females were mostly subdued, but there was one woman, of ideal physiological stock, who was giving them hell. It would have been impressive had she not been breaking very expensive equipment.
“Stop!” I demanded. She paused for a moment, her wide brown eyes staring into mine. She was attractive, but nowhere near as glamorous as my female.
“Screw you!” she exclaimed.
“Please, calm down. Tell me, what is it you need? We want to make you comfortable here.”
“What I need is to go home!” she exclaimed.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But right now, that isn’t possible.”
“When will it be possible?!” she exclaimed.
I thought about what Supreme Leader Aloitus had said about an overpopulation of humans on our planet and sighed. Perhaps I could come up with a solution that was good for everybody.
“I will work on it. For now, however, if you do not calm down, you are going to spend the majority of your time on this planet unconscious. Is that what you want?”
Her eyes flashed defiantly. “You have no right to do this.”
“Actually, I have every right. And I am giving you an option. Either you cooperate, or you will face the consequences for insubordination.”
Her chin jutted out, but she seemed to be calming down a bit.
“I am Second in Command,” I told her. “If you cooperate, it is possible I can send some women back to Earth. But if you refuse and continue destroying valuable property, you will remain here indefinitely.”
Her complexion paled, and I walked away from her knowing that my words would be enough to keep her calm.
“How did it go, Commander?” Jerd asked once I ducked out of the tent.
“The situation has been subdued,” I replied.
“That is good news,” Jerd replied.
I nodded, walking away from the tent with a stretch, and my stomach rumbled. This whole trip had been nothing but stressful. Now that I was home, it was time to enjoy a real meal and relax for the first time in far too long.
***
“Welcome back, Commander,” Trillis said, smiling sweetly at me.
“Hello, Trillis,” I said, sitting down at last in my own home.
Trillis had been in my life ever since I was a small boy. She had been appointed to serve me, much like a nanny or a maid. Instead of resenting it, though, she felt honored by the privilege of working for the Second in Command. And it took pressure off of my parents to care for me. They had been doing their part in the effort to repopulate Jenal’k, and were plagued by several other children who were not blessed with the same privileges I had received upon their birth. My siblings required most of their time and energy, and, even now, most of my paycheck.
“How was your mission?” she asked, placing a steaming hot bowl of my favorite Thressl’n stew in front of me.
“Successful,” I said. “For the most part.”
“Trouble with Aloitus?” Trillis asked, sighing and sitting down across from me.
“Always,” I sighed. “He had me stand up in front of everyone and tell them it was my fault if something bad happened because of the humans.”
“What?” Trillis asked, anger leaking into her aged voice. “He approved the proposal revolutions ago!”
I shrugged. “That’s Aloitus for you.”
“Well, I think you would make a much better Supreme Leader than Aloitus. Rumor is quickly spreading about the last scandal.”
“Oh?”
This made me perk up. If the community at large decided together that Aloitus was too corrupt to maintain his hold on power, then I would be promoted. That meant no more flying.
“Yes, word has gotten out. Someone in a high position at the palace was scorned one too many times, I think, and threatened to come clean about everything. Aloitus wanted to put him in the holding chamber, but a group of rebels helped him go into hiding before Aloitus’ henchmen got to him.”
“Wow, a lot happened while I was gone,” I said, mulling over this new information. It was no wonder Aloitus was being so aggressive about t
he females. He knew anything that went wrong would look bad and potentially turn the populace against him. Did he really think he wouldn’t deserve that if it happened?
“It was a long time to be out in space,” Trillis said, looking at me knowingly. She was the only person who seemed to understand just how much I despised being out in space for such long stretches of time. I had never told her, but she had been with me since I was a small child. She knew me better than I knew myself in ways.
“Yes,” I said, still feeling embarrassed to speak out loud about my detest for leaving home. “I’m glad to be back.”
“What is Earth like?” she asked, changing the subject.
“It’s dismal,” I said with a short laugh. “But…”
“But?” Trillis asked, raising an eyebrow at me. It wasn’t often that I withheld anything from her. In a way, this kindly older female was my best friend and confidant.
“I met a human female,” I eventually said.
Trillis brightened.
“That’s only natural,” she said, trying to play it cool. “That’s what you went there for.”
But from the way her eyes were sparkling, I knew that she was already guessing what was going on.
“I’ve never seen anybody like her before,” I said. The powerful surge of longing I’d felt simply laying eyes on her the first time had been overwhelming. And now, I couldn’t go five minutes without fighting thoughts of her out of my head. And I still didn’t really know her name. Doctor was only a title. I hadn’t thought to ask while she was coherent. Things had just moved so quickly.
“What is she like?” Trillis asked, pouring me a cup of hot flek.
“She’s…beautiful,” was all I could say.
“You know, you have the right to claim whichever female you like,” Trillis said. “You never use your status the way you should. You could claim her right now, and nobody would be able to stop you. Even Aloitus would shrug it off.”
It was true. I hadn’t thought of that before. Trillis’ eyes sparkled as I scarfed my meal down as quickly as I could and rose from the table.
“Thanks, Trillis,” I said, bowing deeply to her. She gave me a shorter, graceful bow in return, and I could hear her tinkling laughter as I left.