Smitty didn't look at her. His face had grown flush with emotion. "You take care of yourself, Meredith."
She was brought out of the tower to the landing area. The alien held her arm too tight. She did her best to keep up with him, but got yanked every five steps or so. Meredith glowered at him as they went. What the Hell is your problem?
He must have been angry at her, despite what seemed to be a neutral, somewhat bored expression. She wondered if the aliens took the existence of their colony personally. They'd managed to hide for seven long years. Maybe that hurt their conqueror's pride?
She had no doubt they'd still be hidden if they hadn't sent out the help beacon. Even that had been a tough decision. Should they starve, or should they surrender? Without any allies willing to defy the Dak-Hiliah by sending them food, and with barely enough fuel to make it to the nearest causeway, there wasn't a third option. This was their only chance now.
The handsome alien was met by a younger brown-haired one and followed him to an elevator bay. The second alien parted from them to bring Meredith onto the ship. They passed through a massive bay that held hundreds more of the tank robots. All the walls were black, like cast iron, and had wires and circuitry exposed. Steam puffed out of random pipes near the high ceiling. It struck Meredith as archaic and forbidding. When they exited the bay she entered a corridor as large as a train tunnel. The area was well-lit, though still clad in rough black walls.
The alien pulled her onto a sidewalk that moved so fast Meredith stumbled against him. Her flailing body didn't even nudge him. The alien made no attempt to help her--he didn't even look at her. She righted herself with new tears welling.
Things were happening too fast. She was overwhelmed, and this asshole was making her lose all hope for her future.
He stepped off the sidewalk while yanking her along. This time she fell outright. The alien kept dragging her. She had to scramble back to her feet using his grip on her to lift herself.
A door slid open in front of them. The room inside had white walls, massive equipment with delicate looking tools, and two slender bug-eyed androids with glistening red chassis. She gaped in confusion until her eyes fixed on an operating table.
Oh shit.
The alien shoved her toward one of the androids. He said a few things to them in his indecipherable language. Meredith shot him back a plaintive look.
"What are you...what are you going to--"
The android stabbed her neck with something. Then the floor started rising toward her face.
Meredith squinted against a bright light in her face. She heard weird electronic voices, and the hard cold surface beneath her was not her bed in the colony. Her brain was not able to put these clues to any use.
She sat up and her grogginess cleared. She was on that operating table. No. Worse than that. She was on the aliens' ship. Meredith's heart started to race. The two androids were standing a short distance away with their backs to her.
What the Hell did they do to me?
She looked over her body. Her sweater, tee shirt, and bloomers had been replaced by a weird black dress. Its collar buttoned directly below her chin, the sleeves were long, and the flowing skirt looked like it would go to her ankles.
"Oh my God."
The androids looked back at her. She didn't pay attention as they walked near. The spit had gone cold in her mouth. She focused for any aches that would tell her where they'd cut into her.
"You should now understand what I'm saying," an android said.
Meredith looked at its bug-eyes with anguish and disgust. "What the Hell did you do to me?"
"Speak in the Dak-Hiliah language. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
The words finally registered. Not just their meaning, but the actual words. It was speaking in the Dak-Hiliah language--not English.
Meredith blinked a few times. "Yes I...I understand you."
"Speak in the Dak-Hiliah language."
She swallowed. "I understand you," she said in Dak-Hiliah. The complicated words rolled off her tongue as though she'd spoken them all her life. She was more than dumbfounded. She couldn't begin to comprehend a society that was able to do such a thing.
The android turned and stepped away.
"Wait." She continued speaking in Dak-Hiliah. "Is that all you did to me? This...language surgery?"
The other android turned toward her. "You have been implanted with several languages you will find necessary in Dak-Hiliah society. Your reproductive organs were also altered to enable you to breed with Dak-Hiliah males."
Meredith put her hand on her belly. "So, on top of brain surgery you messed with my sex organs?"
"Yes."
They turned their backs to her.
Meredith closed her eyes and drooped forward. She wasn't sad or angry. There was coldness inside her caused by an inability to process what had happened. Beyond the numbness was a tiny inkling...one that was telling her to get over it.
Okay. Okay. Tuck it away for now. You speak their language...that's huge. That's worth any bullshit surgery.
She drew a long breath. The feeling of ice inside her middle was slow to dissipate.
The door slid open. The homelier alien entered and went to her. Meredith sat with her legs over the side of the table and her arms huddled close to her chest. The disinterested eyes of the alien were no longer something mysterious. She scowled at him.
"I'm Pret-Dorno, manservant of Commander Jaximor."
His eyes were a third of the way closed. Meredith decided that he was either smug or bored.
"Meredith Evans," she said.
He tipped his head with a soft grunt. "You've been implanted with our languages so you can communicate with your people on our behalf. We prefer one of the colonists taking this role rather than Delexor's wife, Alyona."
Meredith swallowed. "Right. Sure. That's probably for the best."
"We will also need your assistance in tracking down the escaped colonists."
He said this in the same unenthusiastic tone. Meredith pursed her lips.
"Commander Jaximor will be remaining on Europa to see to this matter with you. His status in our empire has entitled him to choose a bride from your colony. Since you will be working with him he's decided he will take you."
A crackle of electricity coursed down Meredith's spine. Just like that, huh? Well...at least he's a hunk. She wet her lips.
"Understood."
Pret-Dorno looked away from her. Meredith now felt sure his expression was one of boredom.
"How do you feel about this?"
Her brow rose. "How do I feel?"
"About becoming the bride of Commander Jaximor?"
"My feelings don't really enter into it, do they? I have no choice."
"Are you going to give it a chance?"
Meredith blinked a few times. She loved this question. "Hell yeah, I'll give it a chance."
Pret-Dorno eyed her. "Is that so?"
"I mean, yeah. I don't know what his personality is like, but he's certainly nice to look at. If he's a decent man and treats me right, then hopefully there won't be any problems."
Pret-Dorno gave an approving grunt. He began to pace the open part of the room between her and the watching androids.
"My master is an exceedingly decent man. That's why he was assigned to this mission by our general. He performs his duties with efficiency, but also compassion. This is how he attained his high rank. He expresses the ideals the empire is seeking in our new age."
Meredith placed her bunched hands beneath her chin. The hope that had been dripping out of her earlier was being replenished.
Pret-Dorno lowered his head. "However--my master has...foibles. These are flaws of his character that will be particularly noticeable in his interactions with you."
Meredith's brow knit. "What kind of foibles?"
Pret-Dorno gave a nasal grunt. "They'll be revealed to you almost instantly, I'm sure." He looked at her. "I love my master. I want him to be happy."<
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"Oh." Meredith contemplated this. He must have meant it, because it was a pretty intimate thing to share with her. (Yet he still looked bored.)
"I'm afraid that his foibles could frighten or sicken you. I ask you to be patient. Remember that he will be your husband in a short while, where nothing between you will be profane. Tolerate his compulsions until then. He's a good man, Meredith. It's worth enduring his...foibles...to eventually come to an equitable marriage."
"Hmm." She looked around while she considered. "You're scaring me a little--but, it's like I said before, I don't really have a choice. And...at least he's not ugly."
Pret-Dorno grunted in approval once again. He touched a place on his shoulder armor.
"Master, the human is awake. I've explained matters to her."
Jaximor's voice came through his armor. "Good. Has she eaten?"
Pret-Dorno glanced at her. "Are you hungry?"
Meredith balked. Um, yeah, that was kind of the whole point of our surrendering.
"Of course you are," Pret-Dorno said. He turned back to his communicator. "No, Master."
"Bring her to my quarters and I'll get her fed."
Pret-Dorno's eyes narrowed. "We're already in kitchen 13, master. Would you join us here?"
Meredith became confused.
"Bring her to my quarters."
"I'm not bringing her to your quarters, Master. Please meet us in kitchen 13."
"Fine," Jaximor said.
Pret-Dorno touched a button to end communications. He went to Meredith and gripped her arm.
"Come."
He began dragging her to the door.
"Hey--wait a minute! You're hurting me."
Pret-Dorno halted and released her. He had a twinge of confusion in his regular bored expression. "I'm hurting you?"
"Yeah. You squeeze my arm too tight, and then you yank me along. I'm surprised I don't have bruises on my arm from the last time."
One of the two androids turned around to face them. "You did have bruises. We erased them."
Pret-Dorno's lips parted. He met her eyes. "I apologize."
Meredith grew flustered. "Apology...apology accepted."
"I have difficulty with certain cognitive matters...mostly physical. Poor motor skills, a lack of peripheral vision, decreased response to touch, difficulty with facial expression."
Meredith gasped. "Oh...I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't realize."
Pret-Dorno fixed his dull eyes on her. "'Sweetie?'"
She covered her mouth.
He turned from her. "These are side-effects from an experimental compassion brain surgery."
She mouthed 'compassion brain surgery' while following him into the corridor.
"My race, the Etiken, have a noted lack of compassion. It's considered a detriment to the empire."
He took her hand (still harder than he should have) and helped her onto the moving sidewalk.
"I wished to escape the Etiken ghetto and work for a Dak-Hiliah of status, such as my master. In the past an Etiken made a grotesque sacrifice to prove himself worthy of joining the greater Dak-Hiliah society. This sacrifice was outlawed two years ago due to a human woman named Lisette who married an Etiken." He tipped his nose at her. "She was from the slave colony on Earth."
"Really?" Meredith blinked a few times. "Did she marry that guy willingly?"
"More than willingly. The marriage was illegal. She defied our laws to be with him, and then stood beside him to prevent his execution. They were very much in love."
She smiled. A warm feeling coursed through her middle. "That's keenetic."
"She got our laws changed and outlawed the grotesque sacrifice I mentioned. This was a triumph for my race, but also a problem. There was no way for an Etiken to prove his worth and dedication enough to escape the ghetto. Then this surgery came about. I was one of the first subjects. It's still undergoing trials. I feel it was a success, because my capacity for compassion grew a tremendous degree. However, the side effects must still be addressed. I have little doubt I will eventually have all my failings corrected. For now I ask that you be patient with me."
"Of course, Pret. Thank you for telling me this. I mean, honestly. I appreciate it."
He eyed her again. "'Pret?'"
She pursed her lips.
Jaximor was standing in the kitchen with his finely chiseled arms crossed. He leaned against a black counter with storage above and below it. In the center of the room was an angular metal table with enough room to seat eight. Several steaming dishes of food were laid out, along with a decanter of liquid. Meredith was hit with mouth-watering scents as they entered.
"You told me she was already here," Jaximor said.
Pret-Dorno pulled out a hard metal chair from the table and gestured for Meredith to sit in it. "I'm sorry, Master. I lied."
Meredith peeked at Jaximor once she sat. He had that same icy cruel look from before, this time focused on Pret-Dorno. When eyes moved to her they took on a soft glimmer. One side of his mouth moved up toward a smile.
"Go ahead and eat. I know you're ravenous."
Meredith picked up the only utensil on the table (a crescent shaped spoon/knife thing) and stabbed it into the nearest dish. It was grey meat of some kind in brown sauce. She didn't know what it was, and didn't care. She shoved a heaping bite into her mouth.
Oh my God--this is delicious!
She washed it down with a cup of the liquid, which tasted like peanut butter milk, then continued stuffing her face. She felt as if the nutrition was being absorbed into her veins. Some energy that wasn't generated by adrenaline began to course through her.
"Have the other colonists gotten something to eat?"
"Yes," Jaximor said. "They ate it all as greedily as you are now."
She wiped her mouth on a napkin with indignation. "I'm not greedy. We were starving."
Jaximor stared at her. She continued eating while ignoring him.
Pret-Dorno stepped over to push a bowl in front of her. "You shouldn't overstuff yourself. Your stomach has shrunken and you'll end up vomiting. Have some of the soup."
"Thank you." She flashed a smile at him.
"Did he tell you you're going to be my bride?"
She kept focused on the soup. "Yep."
"I'm looking forward to having you."
She froze and looked at him.
"...as my wife."
He smiled without showing teeth. The sparkle in his eyes was clear now. He looked mischievous.
Meredith swallowed her mouthful of the delicious fishy soup. Then she cleared her throat.
"Well...it's like I told Pret, I mean Pret-Dorno. I know this is part of the deal. I'm not going to pitch a fit over it. I just hope we can be civilized to each other." She paused to stir her soup. "I get that I'm a prisoner, or whatever. The bar on your end is low. I'm still hoping for...some reasonable treatment."
Jaximor brought a hand to his chin while still smiling. "I like how you ramble on. It's as if humans aren't accustomed to hiding anything. You've just set everything out there in the open for me. It's kind of charming--how nervous you are."
She clanged down the spoon-thing. "Don't be a jerk."
Jaximor's eyes widened and glittered like a cat's. His smile grew larger also. "You're so spirited."
Meredith pushed her chair away from the table.
"No, that's good." He continued smiling. "You're an excellent match for me."
She fumed, but then met his eyes and allowed her expression to soften. "Thank you for the food."
He gave her a shallow bow.
"If you're finished eating we would like for you to address the slaves now," Pret-Dorno said.
"The slaves?"
"The people from your underground colony," Jaximor said. "They're in our holding bay."
Meredith frowned. "Oh."
Another ride on the moving sidewalk brought them to the holding bay, which was not unlike the large area where she saw the tank robots. She came out onto the top of a
metal grate platform that had steps leading down to where they were held. The 340 people were seated on the floor or leaning against the walls. There were boxy robots rolling around on casters to collect dirty plates and cups from them. Meredith saw Smitty toward the front. She gave him a weak smile. The rest started gathering themselves up to group around her platform.
Jaximor moved to stand at her side. The hard muscle of his forearm pressed against her.
"Tell them they are now slaves of the Dak-Hiliah empire."
Her face soured. "That's what you want to start with? These people are petrified right now."
His glare became sharp. "It will get better. Do as I've asked."
Meredith drew a deep breath. "So," she said in English, and with enough volume for everyone to hear her. "It looks like we're all slaves of the Dak-Hiliah Empire now."
None of the colonists said anything. A few exchanged forlorn looks.
"Tell them that our gracious General Hern has decreed that they will have many of the same protections afforded the Earth humans in the original Surrender Agreement."
Meredith translated this without questioning him.
This time a low murmur went through the group. Meredith knew that most of them didn't know what that meant.
"All of the men will be going to the slave colony on Earth," Jaximor said.
Meredith felt a sudden sting of emotion. "Are you going to castrate them?"
Jaximor looked caught off guard. "Are we going to--I beg your pardon?"
Pret-Dorno stepped forward. "That's old propaganda from their government on Earth. The people in this colony probably still believe it."
Jaximor scoffed. "No, we're not going to castrate them. The women in the slave colony outnumber the men four to one. We need more male slaves there for them to breed with." He glowered at her. "Tell them we don't castrate our slaves. We're noble conquerors."
Meredith took a deep enough breath to cause her shoulders to shrug. "Okay." She relayed all the information he'd given her, including the situation at the slave colony.
"How are you able to understand them?" Smitty yelled.
"They gave me some weird surgery that put their language in my head. I don't know how."
"Are you alright?"
She forced another smile. "Yeah, Smitty. I'm fine."
The Complete Alien's Bride Page 51