by Maia Starr
Chapter 3
DR. JADE ROBERTS
When I woke up I was in a large cage of blue steel that was shiny but strong. It was cold. There was a bench on one side of the cage and that was all. I was quick to analyze my situation, like a good scientist would. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and remembered that the last thing that I remember was that syringe that put me to sleep and my crew being shot. I held back tears at that thought. Had they really killed everyone? How would I ever know? There were ten other people on that ship made up of the crew and a few scientists. I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Keep it together Jade,” I said quietly to myself as I pushed the images of the people I was with on the ship aside. I had to concentrate on my situation and how to get out of it. I stood up. I held on to the cage steel for support. I checked my arm for the syringe marks wondering if there were any, but there was none. I wondered what they had put into me because I did not even dream. It was almost as if I was just in some sort of black abyss. I looked at my body up and down. Had I been violating? Had I been experimented on? How long had I been out on that unknown drug? I would never know. I wish that I could speak to someone, anyone of my crewmembers, but that was impossible. They were all gone and I was truly, truly alone on a foreign planet. It was unsettling and I had to push these thoughts out of my mind and there was only one way that I knew how to do that. I had to push other thoughts in place of the negative ones. I decided that I would start to analyze my situation because science and problem solving always helped me cope with any situation.
I stood quietly listening. There were all kinds of sounds that I could not identify. First I thought I heard a low rumble, like the rumble and creak of a ship, but then it grew into an all out roar. I stepped back for a second, shocked. Then there was another sound from the other side of the room that could only be described on Earth as the sounds of a large whale. It was very large. Where the hell was I?
The sounds of creatures were a low murmur and then would erupt suddenly into loud bursts, and my analysis turned to fright. What was going on here? I slowly walked to the front of the cage as though I was going to be snagged by some unknown creature at any second. I finally reached the front of the cage and wrapped my hands around the cold bars. I looked around. My mouth fell open in utter disbelief at what I saw.
I was in a large cavernous space that almost looked like a warehouse. All along the ceiling were holographic projections that seemed to be displaying readings of some sort. They reminded me of readings of vitals, like heart rate, temperature, and such but it was in a foreign language that I could not read. Each projection hovered over the individual cages. As my gaze moved down toward the cages I was scared and amazed simultaneously at what I saw.
Along side my cage were many other cages. Some cages were like mine but none of them held humans as far as I could see. Instead, they held various creatures; most of them were animal like alien beasts. I looked at the one furthest from me that resembled a cat like a tiger but was very low to the ground like a komodo dragon with a long tail. It was very ominous looking with green and white tiger like stripes. It hissed and a snake like tongue flickered out of its mouth. I was in shock at the sight but the scientist in me was very intrigued. Where did this creature come from? Was it from this planet that I was on, or was it too a captive of the Kalazaron? I wanted to know everything about it.
I looked further down to see large water tanks and an octopus like creature swimming about with smaller jelly fish like organisms floating here and there. It was this octopus like creature that let out a whale like groan. As soon as it did I saw the movement of the projection above it recording the sound. This was miraculous!
This was unbelievable! It was like a galactic zoo with creatures of different planets and galaxies. I was so excited as I continued to look around at all the creatures with a big scientist heart until I made full circle back to myself. Wait a minute!
I realized that I too was in this zoo catalogue, but why? I looked above my head to see the same projection hovering over my head. It was reading my vitals that was obvious even though I could not read it. These jerks were counting me as an animal?! Ugh! I stomped around my cage like an angry animal would, and felt my blood boiling.
Why was I here being captive when the rest of my ship was killed off? I wondered if I were on the Kalazaron space ship or if we had landed on the actual planet of the Kalazaron. There was no way for me to know. There were no windows in this building. There was hardly any real light except for the glow of the holographic projections on the ceilings. I moved back to the front of the cage to see if I could see a door or an elevator or anything that would be a clue as to what this space was.
As I moved I heard voices, deep male voices. I quickly moved to the corner of my cage and sat on the floor behind the bench. Maybe if I stayed quiet and unassuming they would just pass me without noticing my existence. I did not want to taken advantage of by a bunch of brutes having fun with these creatures.
Then I overheard words that chilled me to the bone, “Master Bresh learned of a new female captive from the race of humans of Earth. He wants this to be your gift. You will need a slave to keep your house, as you will be busy. He did not want to give you a standard Kalazaron slave, so he wanted you to have this.”
Could this be real? Had I really heard them say female slave? Was I a slave now? No, that could not be. I would not accept it. I was a scientist damn it. I would not be carted away to be some house slave for a Kalazaron brute. Two Kalazaron males stopped in front of my cage though I was hoping that there was another female human that they spoke of and that they would keep walking. I was surprised by what I saw when the light hit them. One was in a long robe of sorts, almost like a monk. The other one however was bare chested with leather like straps of sorts almost like a gun holster around his back and abdomen. There was long leather like black sleeves on his forearms from wrist to just below the elbow, the standard warrior wear of this warrior race of aliens. His hair was jet black and almost blue and longer than what I had seen on the military Kalazaron that had invaded our ship. His eyes were a light brown and he was actually an attractive specimen. But I could not think of such things at the moment, I could only think of hate.
“Stand up,” the bare chested alien warrior said to me.
“No,” I said letting him know that I would be no slave and no one would order me around, not even a simple command like stand up.
“What are you doing?!” a loud voice echoed in the long hall and it was very familiar to me. I knew instantly that it was the commander that had taken my ship. I was frightened as I remembered his menacing grin as he had looked at me on the ship.
“That one is mine. I am taking her now,” the voice continued to shout as the commander came into my view and stood beside the other two. What he said echoed in my ears, “that one is mine.” My heart went cold and I filled with fright. I belonged to no one, only myself, but that thought of belonging to that beast was unbearable. I would die first.
Over the next few seconds I watched as the two warriors talked about my fate.
I was pleasantly surprised at the humor of the attractive warrior. He was taking a shot at the commander by poking fun. I sort of liked that. The commander was my enemy too, and this warrior seemed to dislike him.
But when the Commander got face to face with the other warrior I thought the commander was going to kill this warrior. He had no problem killing at whim. He was a dangerous Kalazaron. I knew that my fate would be an awful one if the Commander killed this Kalazaron warrior. I held my breath as I watched them.
I quietly exhaled when I heard that the attractive male had more power than the terrifying commander. The commander dropped to his knee and said, “Consulate.” I quietly smiled at the sudden obedience. I knew that the Consulate had power here and I was glad for it. However, I was boiling with anger. How dare they all decide on my life and my future as though I was a piece of meat to be traded and given as a gift?! I wanted to s
tand up and get in their faces and demand my release, but I knew that would be foolish.
I hoped that Commander Nankor Yun did not have a rightful claim on me. Was this because he was the one that captured me? I quickly looked to the Consulate for his words to rescue me. After much tension between them the Consulate convinced the Commander to leave us be and I was glad for it, for now.
I did not want to be in the Commander’s presence any longer. I wanted to be far from him and to be forgotten.
Then the Consulate did some strange scanning of me and I wanted to slap him away from me too, but then he reminded me of something very important as he said,
“Do your duties in my house to keep it kept and that is all that I will ask of you, nothing more. Now, what will it be female human?”
I didn’t have to think about it. With those two choices in front of me I knew exactly which one was the lesser of the two evils. I had also longed to see the city of Konthos. It would be a dream come true, only I did not imagine I would be a captive slave when I saw it. I had read about the Buildings of Order in my study, but I did not believe that such a place could actually exist. I sighed as I looked up into the eyes of the tall Kalazaron as he squatted down but still towered over me as I said, “Jade.”
“Jade?” he asked.
“That is my name, Jade,” I said as I placed my hand in his accepting his offer. As I did so he sucked in a sharp breath of air that almost startled me. He was quiet as he stared down at my hand. Then he looked back at me and said, “Jade. I am Consulate Dalik Moscurn, but Dalik you may call me.”
Then he pulled up on my hand and lifted me to my feet as though there was magic in his hands. I followed him out of the cage into the long hall of the galaxy zoo. I was sad to see all these magnificent creatures in cages and felt guilt that I was suddenly free and not them. Though being a house slave was not exactly free. Soon we were in an elevator of sorts that went up, down, and sideways. It was more like a personal compartment on a high speed train. It was so fast that I could not see anything outside the glass than a blur. I was disappointed. I longed to see the city. Finally we stepped out of the compartment into a grand lobby of sorts. There were heavy guards.
“Consulate Moscurn,” the guard bowed to my new master.
“This is my new human slave. Tag her,” he said.
“Tag? Whaa?” but Dalik gave me an angry look that made me quiet. The guard grabbed my arm and in a flash held a pen like instrument against it and pushed a button. I felt no pain, but I knew. They had put a tracking chip inside of me.
“Done,” the guard said.
“Let’s see it then,” Dalik said.
The guard rubbed his hand over my forearm. I gasped as words suddenly appeared on my skin as though it was invisible ink activated by the warmth of their hands. The words read, “Property of Consulate Dalik Moscurn.”
I looked up at my new owner and narrowed my eyes at him. He just grinned.
“Come human, time you see your new home,” he said leading toward the clear glass tubes that seemed to stretch toward the heavens.
“Consulate,” the guard said as he did some sort of salute that I had not seen until that moment. He pressed one hand against the middle of chest. It was very interesting and it wasn’t something that had been mentioned in my studies. As we stepped to the glass tube I realized that it was a very tall and fast elevator. The doors slid up and down vertically and met in the middle. They opened and Dalik stepped into the car and I followed. The doors closed and he pressed an object on the holographic screen.
“Identify,” a voice said.
“Dalik Moscurn,” he said out loud.
“Voice recognition accepted,” the voice said and the elevator shot up. I was surprised by all of it. Dalik just looked at me as he cocked his head to the side, analyzing me. I felt like I had been standing there naked as he buried his stare into me.
“Where are we?” I asked trying to make some sort of conversation out of my awkward and unusual situation.
“The Buildings of Order, Building Bresh. It is named after our current leader Master Bresh,” he responded as he continued to look at me.
“This is where you live?” I asked.
“You ask a lot of inquiry for a human. Why?” he asked.
“What? What do you mean?” I said putting my hand on my hip.
“I have spoke to a few human males and females before from time to time and they do not inquire so much. They are quiet,” he said.
“And are they slaves as well?” I said in my sassy tone.
“Yes.”
“Then that is why. They are probably full of fear to say anything except the least amount of speak possible.”
“And you? You are not in fear then?”
“No.”
“Good,” he said as the doors opened. I followed him as he stepped out of the elevator into a long hall. I was confused as I looked at the long white hall. There were no doors or gates. It was simply a smooth wall.
“We are on the very top of the building. This is where my living quarters are and now your living quarters.”
“Where? This hall?” I said confused.
“No, female human,” he laughed. He placed his hand on the wall and a light scanned his skin. “Access granted, Dalik Moscurn,” the voice said.
Then the wall slid to the side revealing a door that quickly spiraled open. It was very advanced. It was more advanced than anything I had seen on Earth. Though it made sense for a warrior race of alien to have the best security.
I followed him inside the door and it quickly shut behind me. I could hear the wall moving back into place. The light that filled the living quarters was unexpected to me. I don’t know what I expected. I guess a dark cave like place, but this was the exact opposite. It was all glass and high in the sky.
“I don’t believe it,” I whispered as I stepped forward in amazement at what was before me. There it was. It was the vision that I had longed to see for so long…the city of Konthos. It was beautiful and almost unbelievable. I moved all the way to the tall glass window and pressed my palms against it. The city stretched as far as my eye could see into the distant cold blue of the land. Below the city looked like an ant farm in layers. The top layer was composed of flying vehicles along orderly lines. Then under that layer were buildings, some tall and some short. Then finally the bottom level was the street level filled with the Kalazaron going about their daily business. It was a thriving and lively place.
“What is it?” Dalik asked.
“It is just…breathtaking…” I said.
“You cannot breath?” he said in a panic.
“No, it is just an expression,” I said looking at him and seeing the panic on his face. I was suddenly flooded with warmth at his concern over me. However, he still looked at me confused.
“I do not understand this…” he said.
“It means, that you see something so beautiful that it feels like you cannot breath, but you still can breath,” I said as he locked eyes with me. He actually seemed touched by my words as he moved toward me, his blue body towering over me.
“Then it can be said that Konthos pleases you,” Dalik asked.
“Yes, very much,” I said as I looked out at the large city when something caught the corner of my eye. I moved to the edge of the living quarters and looked out toward the east. “What is that?” I looked down at massive blue blocks, but as I looked closer I realized what it was.
“That is the shield of Kalazaron,” he said as he moved next to me. The massive blue blocks that I saw were actually battalions of Kalazaron warriors marching. It was an impressive sight but also very frightening. I realized that on Earth, they had greatly misinterpreted the great size of this great warrior nation. No wonder they kept surprising us. We knew that they were great warriors but we thought they were small tribes spread out on Kaethon. This now proved that they were so much more organized than that and a great warrior army. I shivered.
“You must be cold
. I have remembered that humans are not adapted to this cold planet as we are. Earth is hot,” Dalik said as he put his hand on my shoulder. Suddenly I was no longer thinking about the warrior army and the amazing view. I was only thinking about his cool hand on my warm skin. He smiled and as he did so his gaze shifted to his hand. As he lowered his head a piece of his thick blue black hair fell over his eyes. I restrained myself to not reach up and push it back into place. His light brown eyes seemed to change color and lighten to a gold as he looked at me. Then he quickly pulled his hand from me and said, “Come human. Let me show you the living quarters and your assignments.”
“Jade,” I said. “Please call me Jade.”
“Yes, of course. Apology,” he said as he moved toward the center of the room.
“This is the basic,” he said.
I looked around the vast room and asked, “The basic?”
“Yes, the basics of the living space. The large table for meals and working is here. There is the seatings for guests and leisure,” he said as he pointed out what I would call a dining area and a living room but I said nothing, only smiled.
“In the back here is meal preparation and water,” he said filling a cup of water and handing it to me. I was thirsty and hungry. Sensing this he pressed a button. A prepared meal on a dish appeared in the box. Then he moved to the back of the room to an empty wall and said, “This is my sleeping quarters behind this wall.”