The green-eyed alien put a hand on his chest. “I am Lorin,” he told her. “This is my brother, Krisen.”
Danitra glared at them. “I don’t want to be here. I demand that you release me to my plane and let me return to my base!”
The brothers looked at one another and hummed and clicked. Krisen turned to face her. “I’m afraid that’s most impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because we are no longer in Earth orbit.”
Her bravado faltered. “What?”
“We are Folding. We will be returning to our world in a few days.”
“Folding? What does that mean? What world?” She tried to sit up again, getting angry. “Where are you taking me?”
They looked at one another again, and Krisen said, “We are returning to our world.”
“I heard that. What damn world?”
“We call it Rissen.”
The name of the planet began with a click, and she was certain she’d never be able to repeat that sound. She didn’t think she cared.
“I don’t want to go to Rissen.”
Lorin smiled, amused by her pronunciation. Apparently the word without the click meant something funny, but Danitra didn’t feel like laughing. Her angry expression stilled his mirth, and he said, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but we have no choice. And neither have you.”
“Wait, what did you call me?”
“Your Majesty,” he said simply.
Danitra grabbed the tent and pulled it down, and Krisen jerked back in surprise at the sudden motion. The sound of gas escaping hissed around her, and she lurched off the table and almost fell, her balance utterly disrupted by whatever gas they had pumped into the tent with her. Lorin grabbed her by the upper arms and gently pushed her back to sit on the table. She struggled against him, but his grip was too strong to break.
“Let go of me!” She glared at him. “You’ve got the wrong girl.”
“You only say that because you don’t know who you are.”
“And I suppose you’re going to teach me?”
Krisen said, “If you will allow us to, Your Majesty.”
Danitra shoved Lorin’s hands away. “Don’t call me that.”
The green-eyed alien stepped back. “What would you prefer to be called?”
She looked in his face and spat her rank. “Captain.”
They looked at one another, and Krisen shrugged. “As you wish, Captain.”
The door opened, and a third alien entered the room. Like the others, he was dark-skinned, darker than the others, with hair that was cut close on the sides of his head but longer on top. He had golden eyes, and he, too, was dressed in the same black jumpsuit. It must have been their uniform.
“You’re awake,” he greeted, smiling. “I’m so happy to see that you’re unharmed.”
“Fuck you.”
His eyebrows rose, and he looked at his companions. They spoke to one another in their hum-click language, and then the newcomer nodded.
“Ah. I see.” He came closer and extended a hand. “I believe that handshakes are an appropriate greeting on Earth. Therefore, I offer you my hand. You may shake it if you wish.”
She eyed it. “I don’t wish.”
“They tell me that you wish us to call you ‘Captain.’ Is there no personal name that you’ve been given?”
Danitra raised her chin. “You haven’t earned my name yet.” The three looked at one another and grinned. “What’s so funny?”
“For someone who insists she isn’t royal, you’re behaving rather imperiously,” the newest arrival said, smirking. “Very well. I have a name, but you haven’t earned it, so you may call me Major. I believe that means I outrank you.”
“Not in the US fucking Air Force, you don’t.” She stood slowly, but she stood all the same. She felt stronger. “Take. Me. Home.”
The new alien nodded. “That, Captain, is exactly what we’re doing.” He stepped away and spoke to the others. They retreated with him. “I hope that you’ll be feeling more amiable the next time we speak.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
He laughed. “Amazing. You do realize that you have no power here, correct?”
“If I have no power, then why are you trying to hang a royal title on me?” she countered.
“Titles don’t always confer power.”
“No, but your buddies here are acting respectful, so apparently this one does, Skippy.”
The major laughed and spoke to his companions, and Lorin chuckled. Krisen looked back at her with sorrow in his expression, and she raised her chin pugnaciously in response. The brothers left sickbay, and the major followed them out. The door closed behind them.
It took some doing, and she wobbled the whole time, but Danitra managed to walk to the door. She stared at the featureless slab of… metal, maybe, but unlike any kind she’d seen before. She was unable to see a way to either lock it or open it. It stayed resolutely closed, even when she poked and prodded at a control panel set into the wall beside it.
She stepped back with her hands on her hips, trying to hold on to her anger. If she could say aggressive, she wouldn’t be afraid, but she could feel that unwanted emotion clawing at the back of her throat despite her efforts to stave it off.
They’re lying, she decided. They’re not taking me to any planet. They’re not even really aliens. None of this is real. This has to be some elaborate hoax.
She tried to believe what she was thinking, but she knew better. And she knew that she was in trouble.
Several hours later, she had thoroughly explored the sickbay. She had found many locked bins and cupboards, all of them appropriately sleek and UFO-worthy in style. She felt like she was on a Hollywood set, which furthered her chosen self-delusion that this was all a trick. Danitra got into everything she could, which wasn’t much. There was nothing that she could find to make into a weapon, and nothing she could figure out how to use to get free.
She was on her nine hundredth circuit of the room when the door opened, surprising her. She turned warily to face the newcomer. It was the alien named Krisen, and he had a covered tray in his hands.
“You must be starving,” he said, his voice soft.
“I don’t want your food.”
“You can’t go hungry.”
“Watch me.”
He put the tray down on the bed where she’d woken up, then stepped back with a sigh. “Suit yourself, but realize that if you don’t eat, you will weaken, and your ability to fight will be compromised.”
Danitra glared at him, and she had to grudgingly admit that he was right. She walked closer, still watching him. “What is it?”
“Ah! We studied Earth cuisine, and I confess, I think it’s delightful. I made this for you. I hope you enjoy it.”
He lifted the cover of the tray, exposing a plate with steak, potatoes and roasted asparagus. A bottle of water with a familiar label lay beside it.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Krisen’s face fell. “You don’t care for meat? I apologize… I had thought this was a preferred meal.”
“The meal is fine. I just… I never expected to be kidnapped onto a UFO, where space brothers feed me a steak dinner.”
He grinned happily. “Yes! We are brothers. I’m the youngest, and Lorin is oldest.”
“And what about the other guy?” She hated to admit it, but the aroma of the food was making her mouth water. It had been hours since she’d eaten, and it smelled like something out of the best restaurant in Taos. “Isn’t he your brother, too?”
“Oh, no. Ordel is a friend.”
“Ah. Ordel. Not Major.”
Kirsen’s forehead creased as he realized he’d just given up some information. “Uh… no. That is his rank, not his name.”
She grabbed the tray away from him and took it to another of the hard-topped beds. He watched her carefully as she took her first bite.
“Do you like it?”
Danitra was amazed. �
��This is honestly the best steak I’ve ever had.”
“I’m so glad! I added garlic butter.”
He was behaving like a home cook who was trying to impress. She thought it was kind of cute, but she’d never tell him that.
“So what’s your rank, Krisen?”
When she said his name, a flutter of blue light sprinkled across his face like glitter, then disappeared. He grinned. “I am a Lieutenant.”
“And Lorin? What’s he?”
“Commander.”
She didn’t know these aliens’ exact rank structure, but if it was at all similar to what she was familiar with, then that meant Lorin was in charge, followed by Ordel. Krisen was the junior officer and therefore the step and fetch it boy for the other two.
She watched him watching her, and she continued to eat. She was ravenous and finished everything on her plate. She almost expected him to give her a gold star for being such a good girl, but instead he just collected the tray and left her with her water bottle.
“Why do you call me ‘Your Majesty?’” she asked, just before Krisen made it to the door.
He stopped and turned around to face her. “Because you are destined to be our queen.”
Danitra scoffed. “Your queen? Please. If that’s a line…”
“Lorin and Ordel can explain.”
Krisen stepped back and almost bowed. She wanted to throw something at him, and he must have seen the look in her eye, because he hurried back out the door. She ran to try to slip out with him, but the door shut before she could get through. Annoyed, she kicked the door with her boot. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door, her fury cracking at the edges and threatening to turn into panic.
After an eternity of boredom, the door opened again, and all three of the aliens came back into the room. She slid off the table where she had been sitting and stood with her arms crossed.
“So who’s driving?”
Ordel chuckled. “The ship navigates on its own during Folding.”
“Folding what? Laundry?”
They looked at one another, smiling, and Krisen shook his head. Ordel answered, “Folding space. It’s an application of quantum physics that your people have not yet mastered. It helps us to cover vast distances of space in a short amount of time. Whereas your Mars Rover took seven months just to reach your neighboring planet, it will take us only one week to get to Rissen, which is on the opposite side of the Milky Way.”
“One week?” She nodded. “And then what?”
“And then... that depends on you.”
“I’ll save you the anticipation. I’m going home.”
“Yes,” Lorin agreed. “Rissen is your home.”
“The hell it is.”
Ordel sighed and rubbed his fingertips over his forehead.
“Aw, am I giving you a headache?” she cooed sarcastically. She was glad, because her head was still hurting, too. “Suck it up. That’s the least of the trouble I’m going to give you if you don’t turn this boat around and take me back.”
Krisen told Lorin, “She sounds just like him.”
“Blood will tell.”
Danitra was losing what little patience she had left. She was out of her element and completely at their mercy, and it frightened the hell out of her. She responded the way she always did: with aggression.
“Blood will tell what? Why did you take me? What do you intend to do with me? You’d better start talking.”
Ordel stalked toward her. “If you’d like us to share our information, you can start being a little less confrontational.”
She stood her ground and lifted her chin. “Make me.”
“This is impossible,” he grumbled, turning back toward the others. “She’s not going to cooperate.”
“You haven’t told her anything.”
She wondered why they were talking about her in English instead of in their own tongue, but she assumed they wanted her to hear what they were saying.
“Told me what?” she demanded. “Hasn’t anybody ever told you it’s rude to talk about somebody when they’re standing right in front of you?”
All of them turned and gaped at her, their glowing eyes wide in surprise. Krisen was the first to find his voice.
“She understands.”
“I told you her nature would assert itself,” Lorin said, nodding in satisfaction.
“Hasn’t anybody ever told you it’s rude to talk about somebody when they’re standing right in front of you?”
Krisen spoke in evident amazement. “You understand us, and you don’t have a translator.”
“You’re speaking clearly. Of course I understand you.”
“No. It’s not about diction. We’re speaking in our language.”
Her mind rejected the idea outright. “No way. I don’t believe that.”
“It’s the truth. Don’t be obstinate, Captain,” Ordel scolded. “We have things to tell you that you need to hear, and if you’re determined to reject everything we say, then we’ll get nowhere.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to get anywhere. Ever think of that?”
He sighed. “Please, Captain. Countless lives depend upon this.”
Perhaps it was the frustration in his tone, or possibly the desperate tightness around his eyes, but Danitra began to regret her pugnacious approach. She softened against her better judgment.
“Tell me what you want to say.”
“Please… sit,” Lorin told her. “This is a long story.”
She hesitated, then sat back down on the examination bed. “I’m listening.”
The aliens turned toward Ordel, who began to speak.
“Rissen is a world in turmoil. We have just emerged from a bloody civil war between the Royalists and the rebels of the Red Mask. Queen Imara, our ruler, was concerned about the safety of the royal house, so her son was sent into hiding. Prince Adule was only a child when the war broke out, and she wanted to protect him.”
Danitra felt her heart stop. The name was familiar to her. It was signed on love letters she’d found in her mother’s effects after her funeral. She wanted more than anything to retreat back into the comfort of denial, but she was confused. She struggled not to show it.
“Who won the war?” she asked.
The brothers looked at one another. “This is the part where it gets long,” Ordel sighed.
“Go on, then.”
She was glad she was sitting down. She could feel a seismic shift coming, and she knew that everything she had ever known was about to be dismantled.
“Adule was hidden with a mortal family in a rural place. In order to conceal his nature, his… well…” They looked at one another, and Ordel continued reluctantly, “Those who left him put out his eyes to conceal their glow.”
All three aliens touched their thumbs to their foreheads in the same gesture. It reminded her of how Catholics made the Sign of the Cross. The gravity with which they made the motion was the same.
“That’s brutal,” she commented. “And he was just a baby?”
“Eight years old.”
“So… what does that compare to in human years?”
Krisen smiled. “Eight years old.”
She felt like he was laughing at her, and it annoyed her. She bit back on a surly comment. The anger she’d been clinging to was only going to get in her way now, and she needed to hear this story. She took a deep breath and nodded.
“Okay. Go on.”
Lorin took up the story. “We - my brother and I - were sent to find him. We came to Earth and scanned the world for Rissen DNA, and we found it… in two locations. One was a grave. The other…”
She knew where this was going, and she hated that it felt right. “The other was me.”
“Yes. You are Adule’s daughter. And our future queen.”
Danitra shook her head. “No. You don’t… I’m not that kind of queen. I mean, we talk about black women being queens, but actually sitting on a throne with a crown on my head? No way.” She
pointed to herself. “I am a fighter pilot. I’m an officer in the United States Air Force. And I need to go back.”
“We need you,” Krisen said, his expression plaintive. “The queen has died, assassinated by Lord Rieve, her cousin. He stands to inherit if the prince’s progeny is not returned.”
“He’s a collaborator with the Red Mask,” Ordel said darkly, glowering at the thought. “He’s a traitor of the worst kind, literally in bed with the leader of the rebels, Aemel.”
“He must not be too keen on you guys coming out here to get me,” she commented.
They looked at one another again, and Ordel said, “He doesn’t know.”
Danitra raised an eyebrow.
Krisen explained, “When we returned from our patrol with the news that the prince was dead but that his daughter lived and was an adult, we were silenced. Lord Rieven’s men took us to a black site prison on the third moon of Rissen, a moon called Irede. Ordel came and helped us escape.”
“I had to get them to tell us what they knew.”
“Us?” she asked. “Are you, like, a Fifth Column or something?”
They looked at one another, and Krisen nodded. “Ordel is one of the leaders of the resistance. We stand against Lord Rieven and Aemel.”
“So which side are you on? Royalists?”
“Of course.”
“And the Red Mask won the war.”
“Well…sort of. By subverting Lord Rieven.”
She nodded. “And you want me to come back and help you overthrow this Lord Rieven person and stop the Red Mask from taking over the planet. Am I right?”
Ordel nodded, his golden eyes glowing more intensely. “Yes. Precisely.”
Danitra considered her options and realized that there were none. She was trapped on an alien ship hurtling through space, outnumbered and probably outgunned. Even if she did manage to overpower these three, she’d have nowhere to go. She crossed her arms again and paced, head down, while they watched her. Finally, she turned back toward them.
“If I agree to fight on your side, can I fly?”
Krisen broke into one of his dazzling grins. “Oh, yes. You can.”
They looked hopeful, and in the back of her mind, something was spurring her forward. She yielded to the prodding in her brain.
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