by Leela Ash
“You know what? I must be dreaming,” Pria said, laughing. “That’s the only way this makes sense.”
“I wish we were all just sharing a collective nightmare,” Zander said, his large, full lips tugging downward in a frown. His otherworldly eyes were pensive and he looked away from her, out the window and into the vast array of stars. “I had a younger sister. She was the joy of our family, born after I was already a teenager. My older sister and I vowed to protect her, but she was the first one of my family to be taken by the virus. We vowed to avenge her, but my older sister also contracted it, though it was a less serious strain. She was offered relief by the Codans, who, sensing an opportunity, turned the odds in their favor by manufacturing a drug that eased the symptoms. But it is highly addictive and makes those who get their hands on it slaves to it. The Codans are the most scientifically advanced race known in the universe, and they are the only who have such a solution. They see the potential to herd the masses under their thumb and refuse to develop any technology that might get rid of the virus once and for all. So we have taken it upon ourselves.”
“The Codans?” Pria asked.
“They’re vicious, nasty creatures. They want to enslave us all. They’re hungry for power. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were the ones who had manufactured the virus themselves, just to thin out the population and consider the universe theirs for the taking.”
Pria frowned. Since when did she start dreaming in Sci-Fi?
“This is what the Codans look like,” Zander said, holding his wrist in front of her and pressing a button on a band he wore around it. A holographic screen shimmered in front of them and the ugly face of a Codan began circling in the air in front of them. Pria was impressed with the technology and repulsed by the face of the rival alien race Zander was talking about. They were ugly. Their faces looked like they were melting, and their skin was a woody brown color. The back of the Codan’s head rose up in a crown that was similar to that of a triceratops.
“If you see anybody who looks like this, run. Call for me. Call for anybody. Just stay away from them. If they learn who you are, and why you’re so valuable, they will either kill you or use you for far more evil. You wouldn’t want to live with yourself.”
“I…” Pria shook her head helplessly and frowned. If she was going to believe anything this man was saying, she would have to open her mind more than she ever had before.
“I know this is a lot to take in right now. Maybe you would like to sit down. I promised you answers, and I’m really sorry that they’re probably not answers that you would have liked to hear.”
Zander put his hand gently on Pria’s elbow, and she felt an involuntary surge of pleasure from his touch. His eyes were gentle and kind, and he led her carefully back to her bed.
“There’s one last thing I need to do tonight, but I need your permission to do it. I hope I can count on your compliance, but if not I understand.”
“What do you need from me?” Pria asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She fixed her striking blue eyes on Zander, and he shifted nervously.
He was silent until they arrived back to the bed, where he motioned for her to take a seat. She did, and gazed at him. This was all just getting weirder and weirder, but if it truly was a dream, then she would have to take it in stride and hope for it to be over soon.
“Well…it’s a little…unorthodox,” Zander said, pulling a chair up beside her bed and perching awkwardly. He looked embarrassed and flustered, and Pria did her best not to smile. He seemed reluctant to say what was on his mind.
“And…?” Pria prompted.
“Um…part of the plan to fight the Codans is to create hybrids,” Zander said, raising his hand awkwardly behind his head and looking away from her. She could swear that sweat was rising from his brow. She almost felt sorry for him, at least until her mind fully wrapped around what he was trying to say.
“Wait. What do you mean by that?” Pria asked, fixing a hard look on him. “If you think you’re going to sleep with me right now, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“No! No, nothing like that,” Zander cried, his face growing beet red.
“Then like what?” Pria asked, trying not to laugh at him. He was clearly miserable. She wondered how he had gotten the unfortunate job of breaking the news to her.
“It’s just…tests,” Zander said, his voice an exasperated whisper.
“What sorts of tests?” Pria asked, crossing her hands over her chest. Zander swallowed hard, shifting on his seat.
“Um…we need to understand your body’s rhythms…how it, uh… responds to stimuli…things like that.”
“You’re kidding me,” Pria said, her voice flat. Zander fixed his tortured, beautiful eyes on her and pursed his lips.
“I’m afraid not. You could be our only chance of saving our way of life. And we’re willing to do whatever it takes…but we need your permission to learn about your body. It’s an anomaly. But it’s one that could save us all. I’ll go now and give you some time to think things over.”
Zander stood and Pria watched him head toward the door.
“Feel free to treat this space as your own for now,” he said. “I would like to give you as much free will as possible. That’s something I can offer on my ship. But if you fall into the hands of the Codans, or even my captain, I’m not sure you will remain so lucky.”
And with that, Zander disappeared through the doors, leaving Pria staring behind him in disbelief.
Chapter Four
Zander retreated immediately back to his private chambers, his heart hammering in his chest. He was glad he had dismissed the scientists who were observing Pria. He hadn’t wanted to make a fool of himself like that in front of the crew. He had been instructed in his Human Relations classes to keep explanations as simple and direct as possible. If he was straight and to the point with humans, they were likely to assume he was the authority and submit. Their societal structure did half the work for him. They were eager to listen to authority figures and assume they were helpless in every situation.
But he had forgotten all of his training with Pria. She was such a direct person herself that he almost felt as if she was leading the conversation. And he was still so insecure with all of his authority. He knew why they were doing what they were doing, but he couldn’t help but treat her like an equal. Why should he treat her like she was just some sort of lab rat? The way she spoke was natural and inquisitive. Who was he to lie and pretend he had the ultimate authority over her body? But it wasn’t so simple. They couldn’t simply release her and let her go. She would have to make the right choice, or things might get ugly. One way or another, she might find herself being used in this cosmic fight for liberation.
As soon as the Codans knew what the Driads were up to, they would unleash a torrent of attacks unlike any other. It was almost fortunate that their planet had already been destroyed, because that meant that he couldn’t fear a concentrated attack on his people. However, if the Codans waged war against the Driads, it would mean that no Driad ship would be safe. That was something they were already worried about after Kane defeated one of the most lethal groups of Codans in the galaxy. It might only get worse from there.
But he couldn’t worry about that. Not right now. What he needed to do was focus on the task at hand. He needed to try convincing Pria that it would be worthwhile to volunteer her body to science. If they were able to create genetic hybrids, part-Driad and part-human with the ability to carry the virus rather than suffer from it, they may be able to create a new race of people who could survive whatever form of warfare the Codans might be planning. There would still be hope for the people of the universe to keep going. That was something he would risk his life to do.
***
Pria got up from her bed and paced around the large room after Zander left. She couldn’t believe her situation. Zander seemed so sweet and kind, and he was so unbelievably handsome. But he was asking the impossible of her. And even if he wa
sn’t requesting her to stay in space and somehow contribute her body to creating a new alien race, how was she supposed to believe that she was anything special?
She studied the machines that surrounded her bed. They were flashing different colors and strange symbols were engraved in the metal. She traced one of them with her finger and shuddered before turning away and heading toward the giant window of the room.
She gazed out at the billions of stars as the ship soared silently through the empty space. It was beautiful; she had to admit that. Peaceful in a way. She had always loved the feeling of surrendering control, and knowing that she had no way of helping the fact that she couldn’t go to work or deal with her crappy relationship problems was pretty gratifying. Although she knew she should be stressed out about losing her job, it didn’t feel that important anymore. Not when the Dryads were telling her that everyone on Earth could be wiped out by an evil race bent on universal domination. Small beans.
And what about her strange attraction to the alien leader? He looked so different from other men. He was vaguely humanoid, sure, but wasn’t it a little bit odd that she found herself holding her breath every time he entered the room and doing everything she could not to let her eyes wander just below his belt, to where the forbidden and generous curve of his groin was?
What was she supposed to do? Something in her felt impossibly drawn to Zander in a way she had never felt for another being before. But was that because she had been drugged up and vulnerable? Had they somehow manipulated her mind? It was impossible to say.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that her attraction to him was real and Zander was being sincere. He didn’t want to hold her against her will. But apparently his people had been compromised and they didn’t appear to have much of a choice. Should she help them? Or should she demand to go back home to Earth? More to the point, if she didn’t help, how much longer would Earth even exist?
Chapter Five
Zander paced around his small quarters. The captain of the ship was lucky enough to have private accommodations, but because theirs was a stealth mission, it wasn’t much to brag about. That was all right though. Zander had always been a modest man. He didn’t need a hundred billion people from every alien race in the universe knowing who he was or how he was going to help them, or a giant bedroom on his ship to make him feel better about being the boss. It was an intimidating thought, really.
His mother had always called him sensitive, and his soulful eyes had gripped many a female in their clutches. But Zander wanted more than just the gratification of copulation. He wanted something deeper, that would transcend time and space. He wasn’t really concerned about it anyway. There was no time for love when you were busy trying to save the universe. It seemed selfish.
But he couldn’t deny his animalistic temptations. It was just the way that his body would react. And right now it had been reacting in a raw, physical way to Pria. He had even entered the realm of dreams and found her there, as eager for his body as he was for hers. He had woken up with the hard-on from hell as he thought about her exotic, human body entwined around his. It took all of his self-control to avoid going into her room right that moment and seeing if his dream had led him astray. Or if, perhaps, she might be willing to push the boundaries with him.
Zander sighed. He’d only had a few sexual encounters before, and found women of his own species baffling, let alone a woman from another planet. He didn’t consider himself to be very close-minded, but he did feel concerned that maybe he wouldn’t live up to the expectations of an Earth woman. They all had a different idea of what was good in a man of their own species, and if he was lacking any of those qualities, didn’t that mean that Pria would reject him?
Truth be told, he was terrified about the way she might react to his body, even if she did turn out to be attracted to him. They were so different. He had seen human anatomy before. There were some marked differences, especially in the reproduction department.
It was basically the same, but his race had larger sex organs and he knew that might be intimidating for someone as slight as she was. She was a fighter, and a survivor, he could tell it from the way she carried herself, but she was still a human. Her physical limitations were just that. What if he hurt her? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, and he couldn’t risk damaging one of the most important women in the universe just to fulfill his base and carnal needs.
That wasn’t why Kane had assigned him to be captain of the Legend. He had been promoted because he was sensitive and highly attuned to his environment. He was the ideal candidate for stealth missions and supposedly an expert on humans. He didn’t feel that way though, not anymore. Meeting an actual human was a great reminder of just how much he didn’t know. But what he was good at was moving sneakily through space in a ship so small that nobody would ever suspect he was carrying the most precious cargo in the universe on board, tucked safely away.
***
Pria’s heart thudded when the door to her room opened. She thought it would be Zander, but she was disappointed to find that it was a Driad she had never seen before. He approached her cautiously, hunched over as if he were afraid she might attack at any moment.
“What’s wrong?” Pria asked, a small grin creasing her face.
“I – nothing. It’s just that I’ve read that humans are one of the more, uh, aggressive races on the planet…”
“Aggressive?” Pria laughed. “More aggressive than a guy who wants to wipe out the universe for domination?”
“I…”
“It’s all right,” she said, softening her voice as much as she could. He seemed older and it made her feel kind of bad to see him cowering like that. “I won’t hurt anybody. In fact, the opposite might be true.”
“Might it?” he asked, shakily pushing a tray of food toward her.
“I don’t know. This whole thing is so confusing. Like how am I even talking to you right now when there are a billion different languages on Earth that have all come to be in different ways? None of this is making sense to me. You shouldn’t make sense to me. I feel like I’m trapped in a really weird dream that’s been going on too long.”
“Um. Well I don’t think it’s a dream, but I can’t really be sure. The nature of the universe is very mysterious. But I can answer your question about language. We have implanted a device in your body that allows you to understand and translate everything that we say. And not just the Driads. All the peoples of the universe whose languages and dialects are known. We sometimes have glitches when we encounter a new race, but after a while the technology adapts. Everybody who has one contributes to the pool of known language, and eventually it figures itself out.”
“You implanted something in me? Does that mean I can go back home and understand French overnight?”
“Oh yes, we have had many scholars stationed on Earth for a long time, studying the evolution of language and the different dialects. Everything they know goes straight to these devices.”
“Does everybody have them?”
“No, many races are not very bright and haven’t developed much of their own technology. If they’re not interested in a trade, they can’t access it. But there is a downside to that. Often times we will allow them access to the technology if they allow one of our linguists to study their language and add it to the device. It tends to be mutually beneficial, but there will always be those who refuse to have anything to do with races that are not of their kind.”
“Did people on Earth agree to this trade?” Pria asked, surprised at the thought that anyone on Earth would know of the alien races and their agendas.
“Oh, absolutely. We’ve gathered many types of intelligence. Your government is highly aware of our existence. They don’t always agree with our methods but they are terrified of all unknown races.”
“You can say that again,” Pria laughed. “They’re even afraid of other humans with different skin colors.”
“Yes,” he said with a small exhale of a
laugh. “This is odd. But collectively, your world has agreed to have its languages studied.”
“Does that mean our leaders have these devices?”
“Oh no, they can’t be trusted with them…as I mentioned, they are far too violent. Instead, we offered peace.”
“Peace or what?” Pria said, raising her eyebrows. “Did you threaten them?”
“Erm. Only because they want to believe the worst in everybody. If they assume we have the upper hand, being a fearsome race with superior technology, it is easier to play into these expectations. We don’t need to leave our technology in the hands of an inferior race that could ultimately turn into another batch of Codans.”
“I see,” Pria said, her mind spinning.
“Anyway, please enjoy your breakfast. Captain Zander insists on giving you the widest selection available on the ship.”
And with that, the little man bowed and backed away slowly, not turning his back on Pria. He reached behind himself, patting the wall in an attempt to find the switch for the door.
“What’s your name?” Pria asked him, keeping her eyes on his. He was watching her fretfully, and she hoped that maybe she would be able to ease his mind and help him stop feeling so fearful about her.
“My name is Shef,” he said, glancing nervously to the ground. He finally found the button and visibly relaxed as the door whirred open. “Captain Zander will be in to see you later. He is hoping for an answer. We can’t make you do something against your will, but there will be further tests done either way, if you agree, to help our kind fight an evil you can only imagine.”
And with that, Shef found his way out the door and scrambled away as quickly as he could, leaving Pria alone as the doors hissed closed behind him.
Chapter Six
Zander quietly entered Pria’s room that night, half hoping that she was asleep. He was battling complex feelings toward her, and wasn’t sure she would be able to accept him. He wasn’t the same as human men, and he knew that the tests he had been asked to administer to her would put him to the test if she allowed him to perform them.