“What’s your name, sunshine?” the man asked, his voice low and oddly comforting. Daz straightened as best she could and tried to take a pose befitting a sister.
“Dazea Gwel,” she said proudly. The man nodded.
“Okay, Dazea, can you walk?”
“Of course I can. I almost outran you all,” Daz replied, annoyed at the question. Who was this man and how dare he ask her questions of this sort? Didn’t he know his place?
“Get her up. Untie her hands and ankles. Let’s get moving.”
Daz felt herself being lifted to her feet and the rope that bound her hands and ankles being untied. She wondered if she should try to run again now. But her legs were still burning with exhaustion from the sprint in the forest. Probably best to save some energy. There would surely be an opportunity later. It seemed like these… men weren’t going to hurt her. For now.
* * *
Zaer Gwel stared out the window overlooking the sparkling lights of the city far below, the two massive crystal spires on the horizon framing her view. In moments like this, moments of great chaos, it was always her way to look out over the land and steady her breathing, calm her thoughts, and remind herself why she was there. For her people.
“Ma’am?” the scared voice said again from behind her. Zaer breathed deeply again, reminding herself not to lose her temper with the messenger.
“Yes, young one,” she said, turning around slowly to face the young woman.
“Ma’am, do you have any orders? About the ship?”
“How long until the rescue ship docks?” Zaer asked as calmly as she could.
“One hour and twenty-seven minutes,” the girl replied, not looking Zaer straight in the eye. This one seemed unusually scared of her. Perhaps it was good that she had that kind of reputation. Made it easier to maintain order.
“Send for me again when they are on their approach. I will meet them at the dock. Until then, I will be below decks.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the woman said, curtsied, then turned to leave the room.
“Tell the nurse she may enter,” Zaer called after the young woman.
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied, turning to do so. Zaer watched her pause, then turn back to face her. “Ma’am?” the girl asked.
“What is it, girl?” Zaer said, scowling at her for all the questions.
“I’m sorry about your daughter.”
Zaer’s expression didn’t change. “She’s not dead yet,” she said, eyeing the girl with an even stare.
The young woman blushed, bowed slightly, then hurried out the door.
Zaer turned once again to face the window. She would go below decks and see how the preparations were going for the next round of breeding. No sense sitting about and moping until the Tranquility arrived with the survivors. A pang of guilty adrenaline shot through Zaer and she closed her eyes and stilled herself, letting it run its course then releasing it into the room. How on earth had that ship suffered so much damage? The reports that they’d been shot had to be fiction. The men didn’t have anything close to capable of wreaking that kind of havoc on the craft. Did they?
“Ma’am?”
Zaer turned at the sound of the voice behind her, wondering how long she’d been lost in her thoughts.
“Yes. Of course. I’m sorry.”
“Not at all, ma’am. Are you still ready to go? I mean, we could put it off if you prefer. Given the circumstances…”
“Nonsense,” Zaer said with a scowl. “There’s no sense sitting and moping about it. I’ll meet the ship at the dock when they arrive. Until then, let’s begin the errands.”
The woman nodded and stepped aside so Zaer could pass.
“Ma’am?” the nurse asked quietly.
“What is it?” Zaer responded, starting to get annoyed.
“Who… who made it off?”
News traveled fast, it seemed.
“Everyone but Ashea. Daz was in midair. They had to abort the retrieval. They saw her crash suit deploy. She’ll be fine.” Zaer knew she should show some more compassion at a time like this, more emotion to make the other women feel better, but somehow she didn’t have the patience for it. The nurse covered her mouth with one hand and shook her head, unable to believe what she’d heard.
“What will she do?” the nurse asked quietly when she’d recovered from the shock of the news.
“She’ll do what she’s trained for. If anyone’s going to survive something like this, it’s Daz. Now come along. Let’s get below and stop wasting time.”
With that, Zaer opened the door and stepped out, with the nurse following her quick stride.
* * *
The descent into below decks was one of Zaer’s secret pleasures. Of course it wasn’t a ship they were on, so it shouldn’t really have been called below decks. Zaer didn’t even remember how the name came to be. It was just a euphemism for the unmentionable things that happened there.
The thick, wet smell of females in heat that hit her when the lift doors opened was something she found particularly arousing. Though she could never admit it to anyone, of course, whenever she inspected below decks, she would have a man brought up that evening—so intoxicating was the odor.
She had a ritual she followed whenever she went there too. She would always walk past the cages first, making sure that the men were being well tended to. Though they were there for one purpose and one purpose alone, Zaer was not of the opinion that they should be mistreated. Far from it. She, unlike some of her predecessors, believed strongly that the men deserved an existence that was just as comfortable as the underclass of women who bore the planet’s children. There were some who ridiculed her for her opinions, called her too liberal, too soft. But there was little they could do. Zaer had been elected for life and only an edict from the council of twelve could unseat her as commander.
She walked the dark corridor slowly, glancing into each cell to see each man for herself. The ones who’d been there some time always recognized her. They always nodded. They knew their life could be much worse, and Zaer liked to think that they appreciated her generosity and compassion. Sometimes the new ones would cause a ruckus. Flail against the bars of the cell or yell and scream obscenities at her. They would soon learn that such behavior was unacceptable. In all her time below decks, Zaer had had every kind of insult thrown at her and it only caused her to pause and smile.
“Where are the newest ones?” she asked, turning to look at the nurse behind her.
“Still in holding, ma’am. Would you like to see them?”
“I think I would,” Zaer replied and began walking toward the holding cells in the back.
“I’ll fetch a baton,” the nurse said, hurrying toward the office where they kept the correctional implements. The guards all carried them. It was easy to shock even the largest specimens into submission.
“That won’t be necessary,” Zaer called after the woman and continued walking toward the cells in the back. The nurse finally caught up with her.
“But ma’am, I have to tell you, some of the new ones are… well, they’re quite rugged,” the nurse said, somewhat out of breath from running back and forth.
Zaer couldn’t help but smile. The women always got more than a little nervous when she would enter the cages herself, unarmed and unescorted. If they only knew what she did when she came down alone at night.
“That’s not your concern. You’ll be perfectly safe, I assure you,” Zaer comforted, arriving at the first cell. As Zaer peered inside, she couldn’t help but smile. The nurse had not been telling stories. ‘Rugged’ was something of an understatement. The eyes that looked back at her almost glowed with fury. Though he was sitting down, the man was easily almost seven feet in height. His massive, broad chest was covered in hair, as were his arms and legs—thick, curly black hair that made his olive skin seem even darker than it was.
Zaer felt a swell of something start in her middle and move between her
legs. If the others were anything like this one, she would be kept more than suitably amused until the next crop arrived. “Open the cell.”
The nurse gasped at the request.
“Ma’am, I must insist…” the nurse spluttered. But Zaer turned to look at her immediately, stopping her in midsentence with a scowl. Concern was one thing but to question a direct order? She couldn’t have that.
“Young woman,” Zaer shot, tired of all the mollycoddling she’d been doing all day, “you’ll do as you’re told or you’ll be suspended without pay. Now if you want you can lock the door to the gatekeeper’s room and stay in there while I go inside but you will open this door and you will do so at once.”
The look on the young woman’s face made Zaer immediately regret the tone she’d taken. She didn’t like speaking to anyone that way and she knew the girls were all just scared and worried for her more than anything. But their helplessness was so tiresome sometimes. Zaer looked after her as the woman scuttled away and made a note to apologize to her later. As the door to the gatekeeper’s room closed and locked, Zaer turned back just in time to hear the familiar click of the cell door opening. She watched it swing open slightly.
As Zaer entered the space, the man inside eyed her closely, but didn’t move. Zaer moved slowly, keeping her eyes on him at all times and making sure she had a gentle smile on her face. Not showing any fear was most of the trick. Not actually fearing anything made this much easier.
“I am Zaer Gwel,” Zaer said, speaking softly to the man. Her eyes raked up and down his strong body, pausing at the member between his legs. The thing was eight inches easily, without being erect. The sight made her wet. “You must know that we mean you no harm,” Zaer went on, meeting the man’s gaze. “I know there are stories told by your people of the things we do here. You can rest assured they aren’t true. You will be made very comfortable, I can assure you. As long as you cooperate, you will be relieved of your duties when your time is up. We have no intention of keeping you forever.”
The man didn’t move. He simply held Zaer’s gaze with those burning eyes. His look made her moisten even more. If there was time later tonight, she resolved to have him for herself.
The two stayed there for some time, staring at each other. Zaer admired his resolve, but continued to hold his gaze. The only thing worse than showing fear, was backing down. She was glad that the nurse wasn’t watching when the massive man made his move because she knew the woman would have screamed and caused chaos and panic on the whole below decks.
He was fast. Surprisingly fast for his size and if Zaer hadn’t been in the same situation dozens, perhaps hundreds of times before, he may even have been fast enough to wrap his hands around her neck. But right before he could do so he seemed to slam into an invisible wall, his face writhing in pain.
Zaer squeezed the meaty sack of his balls in her hands. This one would produce excellent seed. She was sure of it. Looking up into the man’s red face, she held the same smile she’d had as they’d stared each other down.
“Oh, you will make a fine specimen for our purposes,” she whispered at the giant, giving his balls another squeeze. He groaned and his face grew redder from holding his breath. “Now remember,” Zaer went on, “if you can play nice, I will too.” She leaned in and took a whiff of the man’s scent. She closed her eyes and reveled in the smell. Sheer power. Made for one thing and one thing only. The wetness between her legs thickened. When she released the man, he fell to his knees, clutching at his now swollen sack.
Zaer stood for a while watching him, then slowly turned and walked out of the cell, closing the bars gently behind her until she heard the soft click of the latch. She nodded at the nurse, who was still holed up in the gatekeeper’s room, then stole one last glance at the man as he began to recover. Evening couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter Three
Zaer Gwel stood behind the large glass door of the docking pod and watched the wind howl as the Tranquility carrying the rescuers and survivors touched down lightly on the tarmac. The sound of the engines spinning down was drowned by the massive outer doors closing. As soon as the echo of the slam had dissipated through the chamber, the light above the door went from red, to yellow, and finally to green and the inner doors opened quietly.
Zaer watched the women descend the staircase that had sprung up from the ground at the Tranquility’s main hatch. Jasmine seemed the least shaken of all of them and she helped some of the others step down the stairs. A tiny bubble of irritation rose in Zaer’s throat at the fact that she would have to spend the next hour or so consoling the hapless group. The women began to walk toward her, but only once they got close did they recognize the figure standing in the shadows. As soon as they realized who it was, each of them knelt down on one knee and bowed their heads in greeting.
“Alright,” Zaer said dryly, “enough of that nonsense. Get up so I can look at you.”
The women glanced at each other. Despite the fact that Zaer had been commander for more than a year now, some still hadn’t become used to her brusque manner. Zaer glanced at all of the women, looking them over for any obvious signs of trauma. Once she was satisfied that none of them needed to be looked at by a medic immediately, she felt some relief. “I’ve a room waiting where we can talk. Follow me.”
The room Zaer had arranged was just a few doors down from where the Tranquility ship had docked. The women seemed somewhat taken aback by the interior: couches and beds in stark whites with bright lights, an almost antiseptic smell, and baths filled with warm water. They looked at each other, obviously puzzled by what it meant. Zaer turned around to face their confusion.
“Remove your clothes. I’d like to speak with each of you about what happened. But we must get you examined and bathed quickly. Rumors have already spread about your… incident. It’s important we control our message.”
The women began to slowly peel away their uniforms, though the confusion remained on their faces. Zaer walked slowly toward Jasmine, who’d already taken off her entire uniform and was standing in her underwear. “I’d like to speak with you first,” Zaer said dryly and motioned for Jasmine to follow her.
The two moved to a door off to one side of the room and it opened to allow them inside. The small room beyond was just as Spartan as the one they’d come from and contained nothing more than a table and two chairs. Zaer motioned for Jasmine to sit and took a seat herself. The door closed silently.
“What in the name of Hadrens Gates happened out there?” Zaer spoke quickly, her usual steely calm replaced with an urgency.
“Ma’am, I…” Jasmine began, but was interrupted.
“Oh, stop with the ceremony, Jas. What happened to my daughter?”
Jasmine swallowed and nodded.
“I… I mean, we didn’t really know what was happening. The captain, the pilot, she did her best and Daz… Daz, she helped as she could. The others wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.” Jasmine’s words began bubbling, her breathing quickened, and Zaer realized she’d probably made the girl hysterical for no reason. She took a deep breath to calm herself. Of course she would have to be strong, to make sure she got the best information possible out of each of the women. Jasmine was probably just as upset as she was about what had happened. She might even be in shock. Zaer reached a hand across the table and took one of Jasmine’s.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”
“No, I mean, of course I understand. She’s your daughter.”
“It doesn’t matter. She’s your friend. We’re both allowed to be upset,” Zaer consoled. “Now take your time and tell me what happened.”
Jasmine looked down at the table and took a few deep breaths to control her breathing. She took a moment before going on.
“We were on the approach. As we did in the simulators. The doors had just opened and the wind was blowing inside, just like in the simulators.”
“You’d spotted a group already?” Zaer as
ked.
“Yes,” Jasmine replied, nodding. “Yes, there were ten or twelve of them and they were in a clearing. The pilot, Ashea, she called out as soon as she spotted them and we began to get the nets ready.”
“Yes, then what?” Zaer urged, feeling her impatience beginning to rise again.
“Yes. Then, then I remember Ashea saying something. Something like we might have to hold because they had moved toward the forest and we couldn’t fly low over forest. Then a bang.”
“A bang?”
“A bang. The loudest thing I’d ever heard,” Jasmine said, looking with scared eyes at Zaer. “It sounded like… like… it sounded like two ships crashing.”
Zaer furrowed her brow. She had no reason to distrust the girl. But she had no idea what could make such a noise.
“Go on,” she said, trying to sound calm.
“Then—then the engine, the one that started smoking, it started… screaming, roaring. It was so scary…”
Zaer shook her head and squeezed the girl’s hand, trying to be empathetic. But her mind was racing. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Nothing like this could happen. The Tranquilities were the most well maintained ships in the entire fleet precisely for this reason. The very foundation of their society was built on the hunt. No mother would agree to send her daughter to a strange planet if she knew there was a risk of something like this happening.
“When you heard the bang,” Zaer asked, “did you hear anything else? Did you feel anything?”
Jasmine nodded in response.
“Yes. Yes. I felt the ship shake. It shook so much it almost knocked me from my seat.”
Zaer let go of Jasmine’s hand and straightened her back.
“Was there anything else? Did the pilot, did Ashea say anything?”
His Captive Mate Page 2