by Tracy Lauren
This guy sure is in an easy mood--despite the situation and all. He talks endlessly as he leads us down the tight corridors, laughing occasionally. He talks even though we can’t understand him and it’s actually pretty comforting. I lead the humans behind him and my guy, Rennek, presses his way between everyone until he is walking near me… and in the tight corridors of the spaceship everyone notices. Reagan scoffs. I try to pretend I’m oblivious, but I feel the heat creeping up my cheeks.
Following the guys through the labyrinth of the ship gives me a chance to take in their appearances without getting caught staring this time. I notice Dax wears his hair in a long braid while Rennek’s is shaggier and unruly. It looks like the mane of a lion--only black. It starts on his head near his, gulp, horns and runs down the center of his back. It’s so full, it is very much like lion’s mane, I think. I notice their tails sticking out from under the loincloth things they wear. It’s not a loincloth like tarzan had. It’s belted with holsters and the fabric is heavy and well-tailored. It covers their asses and their junk, but leaves their muscular thighs exposed.
These guys certainly don’t wear much. I guess I should be happy they thought to bring us blankets at all--they’re walking around bare chested, in nothing more than holsters and loincloths. They’re even barefoot. Of course, it must be hard to find shoes that fit velociraptor feet. Rennek’s tail sways as he walks, catching my attention again. This part of him reminds me of a lion too, but then I remember how solid it must be because Rennek used it to impale frogger back there on the bad guys’ spaceship.
We round a final corner and come to a set of doors that swish open as we near them. This room is much smaller than the… I don’t know… cockpit? What do they call the part of the ship where you drive, I wonder? Do you ‘drive’ a spaceship, or would it be ‘steer?’ Probably ‘pilot.’
I shake myself from my thoughts and take in this new place, and silently curse myself for not paying more attention to the path we just took. I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs or something, we still don’t know if we can really trust these guys yet.
This new room is definitely more sterile than the limited part of the ship I’ve seen thus far. It’s got a high metal table in the center and it’s lined with cupboards and drawers. There’s a computer monitor thing and a light that can extend down over the table. This is likely a medical bay for the ship. The easy-going guy, Dax, is still talking as he rifles through drawers and cupboards. He locates what he is looking for. He pulls out something like a price tag scanner and sets it on the table then pulls out three small plastic containers, about the size of a golf ball. He turns to Rennek and motions toward the containers and then to us. Rennek looks troubled. They don’t have enough for all of us, I take it. Rennek points at me. Dax nods, rips open one of the containers and loads it into the back of the price scanner. He hesitates… then talks for another moment in a much more serious tone to Rennek. Gulp.
Rennek approaches me, bending so we are eye to eye. It really emphasizes how tall he is. He must be over seven feet. He’s got about a foot and a half on my 5’7. He starts talking slowly in this calm, purring voice. It reminds me of a cross between a cat and someone talking to a cat. He motions to his mouth and my mouth. I stare at his mouth. Fangs. Wow, he’s got fangs. They aren’t crazy though. Not like a saber-toothed tiger. It’s a little more than what you’d expect from a vampire, I guess. But all in all, not bad or too scary, I’m thinking... and then I hear snickers bringing me back to reality and I realize his fanged mouth is smiling at me. I guess I zoned out staring at his mouth.
“Yes, go on. I’m listening,” I say flushed, waving him along.
He smiles again, a cocky smile and I can’t help but reciprocate, he is motioning to our mouths and ears as he talks and points to the price scanner and the side of his head.
I turn to the other girls, “Do you think it’s a way for us to communicate?”
“What do you think, Sherlock?” Reagan says. She’s pushed her way to the front next to me.
“Yeah, and if we’re wrong are you still going to be such a smart ass?” I ask her.
“Until the day I die and that thing might kill us, so it might be your lucky day” she tells me smiling. I suddenly realize I like this girl. Her casual approach to all this craziness is somehow grounding. It makes me feel like I’m here with an old friend.
“Yeah, I’m little Miss Lucky today.”
“Well, go ahead. Looks like you’re the guinea pig,” she nudges me forward.
“Wait!” Comes a panicked voice. “It could be anything. It might render you unconscious, it could be poison, it could be a roofie, it might be a communication device that isn’t compatible with us and their good intentions could kill you…” the girl with short brown hair is saying, I can’t remember her name. April and Clark take a step back and are shaking their heads in the universal ‘fuck no’ gesture.
“Whoa, chill.” I hold my hands up to calm them down. I eye the gargoyles, they are waiting patiently. “Let’s try to be objective,” I say. “I agree with…
“Vivian,” she reminds me.
“I thought you said it was Victoria?” Reagan asks, lifting an eyebrow.
“No, it’s definitely Vivian,” she confirms.
“I agree with Vivian, it does seem like these guys have good intentions,” I emphasize this small point from her mini-tirade, both to calm everyone down and because I’m starting to believe it. “We won’t know what that is, or more importantly, what’s going on if we don’t have a little faith in these guys. Plus, look around,” I wave my hands around at the ship surrounding us, “this is all pretty advanced… they must know what they’re doing, right?” All the girls nod at this. “If anyone else has a better suggestion, I’m all ears?” I’m met with silence. “So, I’ll be the guinea pig and if something goes wrong, intentionally or not--you’ll all know.”
“Yeah, but there won’t be shit we can do about it,” Reagan says.
“That’s right.” We eye the guys and all scoot a little closer to each other. “They’re giving us a choice right now. Let’s just trust them until they give us a reason not to, because the alternative does us no good.”
“Oh… this is a bad idea,” Vivian says and she wrings her hands.
“It’ll be fine, I’m sure,” April reassures me and gives a tight smile. I smile back and nod. I really do appreciate the encouragement, because I’m actually pretty terrified.
“You got this Red,” Reagan tells me, slapping my back.
I turn around and step toward the gargoyles, “Okay, I’m ready.” Rennek nods to Dax.
Then Rennek picks me up and sets me on the table. I sit perched in the edge. Everyone is staring at me, waiting, like I’m supposed to do something.
“Seh saghuli,” he says and nods his head. I stare.
“Lay down, stupid.” Reagan says.
“Oh,” I laugh. “Okay, okay, okay…” but I’m talking mainly to myself. I’m super freaked out. Just a few short hours ago I was nearly raped and now I’m putting myself in this vulnerable position. Deep breaths, I think to myself.
Dax, takes a cap off the end of the price scanner. Now, with the lid off, I can see the end is a pyramid shaped blade. “Oh! No, no, no, no!” I pop up. Reagan and Rennek rush to my side. Rennek is murmuring things in a soothing voice. Reagan grabs my hand and puts on her casual face.
“It’s cool,” she smiles “it just looks strange, but all this stuff looks strange. Like you said, check these guys out. They’re crazy advanced. You’ll be fine.” She says it casually, but her grip on my hand is tight. I nod and try not to cry, because for some reason, I want to be strong for the others. I lay back down. Rennek says a few more soothing words and I look into his black eyes. Dax finds a position on the side of my head, near my ear. He is still for the briefest moment, then I hear a loud crack and feel a pain so deep and intense I have nothing to compare it to. It’s like a wave of fire. Or lava. This is what lava feels like and I f
eel it in every cell in my body. Then everything goes black.
Chapter 9
Rennek
Kate’s body seizes and then goes limp. Her friend starts shaking her, giving her little slaps on the cheek.
“Stop that,” I tell her. “Your queen is sensitive now, she will need rest.” I move to scoop up my Kate so Reagan may have her turn receiving the translator chip.
“Wha-ooh buhdee, ghit yeer hanns awf er!” She comes around the table and starts trying to pull Kate from my arms. The other females seem alarmed.
“Whut thugh fuk deed ew dew to er?” she yells at us with accusing eyes.
“You misunderstand. It is the language implant. It is painful to receive, but she will be fine soon. You may get yours next,” I try to usher her towards Dax.
Dax pops the cell out of the med-gun and loads it with the next cartridge. We have enough for half the females. The rest can get a neural upload when we get them to the Mother Planet. Dax smiles and offers to place Reagan on the table. She cannot understand what we say, but I hope she understands our intentions and how helpful this will be in communicating.
“Yeer jokeen? Eye ham naut dewing thaht schit!” she recoils towards the other women.
Just then, Kate starts to come to. I set her back on the table. She moans, then rolls her head and vomits off the side of the table. Reagan is beside her again, pulling her hair back. I am filled with jealousy.
“I will do this task,” I say and push my way in front of her, taking Kate’s smooth red hair into my hands.
“Jeezus, fuhking dikh!”
“Oh my god, my head!” Kate sobs in my language. “It’s so bright in here, too bright!” she moans.
“Computer, dim lights,” I command.
She pops her head up, only to cringe and rub her temples. “Wait, I think I can…
“Sush, my queen. You must rest until you are feeling well again. There will be plenty of time to speak.”
***
Kate
“Well, looks like it worked,” Reagan says, “You speak alien now.”
“Agh!” I roll back onto the table. “I don’t know if it’s worth it.” I say in English. It’s a smooth transition between the two languages.
“Ask them to take us home,” Vivian’s eager voice is piercing in my current state, but the sentiment clears the fog a bit for me.
“Rennek, we need to get home. Can your ship take us there? Please, we aren’t meant to be here. Our planet...” another wave of nausea hits and I gag a little. I feel like I’ve done nothing but throw up all day. “Our planet,” I continue, “we don’t even have space travel--nothing like this. We need to get home.”
He stares at me; his eyes are jet black. His nostrils flare a bit and then he finally speaks. “Yes, Kate. Anything you wish. We will take you home. What sector of the galaxy is your planet in? We will set course immediately.”
I sit bolt upright. I look to the other women. I must be doing a great impression of a fish right now.
“What?” The girls ask, “What is it? Will they take us home?”
“He wants to know what sector in the galaxy our planet is in…”
They look back and forth to one another. Realization dawns on one or two.
“Fuck!” Reagan cries out and starts to bang her fist against the metal wall until she collapses in tears on the floor. Still woozy, I jump down from the table and hug her. Surly as she is, she lets me. I’m pretty sure we just became best friends.
“What? I don’t get it...” April says.
“What the fuck is there not to get,” Allison says to her, “Do you know what sector in the galaxy you are from? Or Earth’s address for that matter?” She turns away from us.
“Tell them Earth,” Vivian says.
“Earth. We are from a planet called Earth. Do you know where that is?” I ask, looking up at Rennek.
“Is it a member of the United Planets?” He asks.
“No… are there any scientists… or astronomers that might be able to help?” Dax and Rennek exchange looks.
Rennek comes to me and kneels. I take in his legs and feet. He has long feet like a cat or dog--the kind with an ankle high up on the leg and he walks on the balls of his feet. He has three toes with long… talons. Exactly like a raptor from Jurassic Park. I’m talking to a real-life alien, I think to myself as he stares at me like he’s choosing his words carefully.
“My Kate… you say your people have not yet traveled space?”
“Yes, that’s right… well just outside our planet. To our moon and back, but not our whole solar system or anything.”
He and Dax look at each other again. They look troubled. “You see, Kate each star in the sky is actually a sun, and each sun has many, many planets surrounding it, and many of those planets have moons.”
“Yeah. I got that. Thank you for mansplaining it to me, can we get to the point?” I say, annoyed at how simple he assumed I was.
“Have you ever looked up at the night sky?” he asks with pity in his eyes.
“Yes.” I sob, closing my eyes. I get it. We are talking about a whole fucking galaxy worth of planets. Even if we aren’t that far away, which direction is it in? And if it is far, and I mean far in comparison to the amount of space these guys can trek, the same question remains: which direction?
Then other questions start to pop in my head. How long was I asleep? How long have we been gone? Isn’t there something about time and space travel? Like if you go and then come back more time has passed on Earth than for you traveling in space? Is that real or did I hear it in a movie? What movie was that? Who was in it? Was it Helen Hunt? Jodi Foster? Now I’ll never know, because as advanced as these guys are they don’t have fucking Google. I hang my head in defeat.
“Show me a picture of the galaxy,” Allison says in a way that makes me feel like we might have hope.
“She wants to see a picture of the galaxy; can you do that?” I ask.
“Of course,” Rennek says. He stands and offers me his hand, helping me to my feet. His hand lingers on mine and he searches my face.
“I got it, don’t worry about me,” Reagan says as she gets up.
He can’t understand her, but catches his faux pas. “Do you need assistance Rah-chin?”
She catches her butchered name, “REY-GIN!” she shouts and I put my arm around her, partially to comfort her and partially to steady myself. My head is still pounding.
“Follow me,” Rennek leads us all back to the bridge. I remembered. It’s called a bridge. We move to stand close to the window. Looking out, vertigo makes me weak in the knees. We are in space. Like deep in space. It goes on forever in all directions. It gives me this gut wrenching sense of fragility.
“Bossan, can you bring up an image of the galaxy?” The window clouds and an image of the Milky Way is before us. All of us humans step forward to examine it.
“Ask him to point out our current location,” Allison says.
“Can we see where we are now?” I ask and the one named Bossan flicks something so there’s a flashing blue light indicating where we’re at.
“And the location of the planet we woke up on?” I ask.
“That is too close. On this image, our current location would overlap the Mangan moon,” he tells me.
“Oh…”
“I could zoom in?” He offers.
“Just a moment,” I look to Allison, she is studying the image. “Anything?” I ask her. She stares for a few more seconds.
“Yeah, I have no idea at all. I just thought if I saw it maybe I’d recognize something,” she says.
“Could have warned us not to get our hopes up,” Reagan says.
“Whatever,” she responds, barely giving her notice.
I sigh. Rennek steps nearer. He’s been watching me closely this whole time. It’s like he wants to put his arms around me to comfort me, but doesn’t know if he should. And he shouldn’t, right? That’d be weird. Right?
Some of the girls are stil
l looking at the image, as if still holding onto the hope they’ll recognize a landmark or something.
“Can you show us your planet?” I ask.
“The Mother Planet?” he asks.
“Is that where you’re from?”
“No… the Mother Planet was an origin world where space travel in the region began long ago. Currently, it is houses the United Planet’s Governing Core, but the majority of the planet is allocated to botanical gardens, history museums, wildlife refuges. I lived there for a short time as a fledgling. It used to be the home to many, many beings, but centuries ago the Governing Core decided to preserve the beauty and history of Mother Planet by turning it into what it is today. Bossan, zoom in on the Mother Planet.”