His words were just a statement of fact, but I couldn’t miss the hint of regret in his eyes. I knew enough about Rakesh to know that he would never lie to me. There was no need for a master to lie to a slave. Even if I didn’t like what he told me, I had no choice but to accept it if I wanted to live.
“You have no standing or status among our people. You have no idea what kind of treatment you would be subjected to,” he added.
“So I am still a slave,” I fought back tears.
“Not a slave. Slaves are even lower than you. You are my…my companion. You are-”
“An object,” I countered.
His nostrils flared and he shook his head once. He didn’t like the sound of the truth either.
“You have a strong spirit within you. You have made it this far when then other humans we procured died almost immediately. You are worthy of your name, child of Kearney. You have survived and you have won my respect. I extend my protection to you out of respect for you, not out of disdain. However, I cannot make things different for you. If you want to live you must remain under my protection. And if you want the respect of others you must earn it. That is our way,” he said sternly.
I felt my shoulders slump as I absorbed his words. I was still thinking like Eliza Kearney, hoping to go back to her life and her world. I had to admit to myself that that life was over for me. Even if I could save Earth, I would never be able to go back to that life. I was Diem. Child of Kearney. Companion of Rakesh. Alien Attachment from Earth. And I had a lot of work to do.
NINE
Rakesh accompanied me to the lab, walking two steps ahead of me at all times. His strides were twice as long as mine, and I found myself power walking behind him just to keep up. He didn’t look back, nor did he slow down for my benefit. Not that I needed him to, the route to the lab was familiar to me by now.
What was new was the way others looked at me. The day before I was ignored, like a stray dog in the street. If anybody were to spare me a look it would be one of disdain or annoyance. Today I was visible. The looks I got ranged from curiosity to mild amusement. What had I, the weakling human, done to deserve such an honor? I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflective surface and was startled by how healthy and strong I looked in my new uniform. I looked like I belonged in somebody’s Navy. I’d opted to tie my hair in one long, French braid and the royal blue of the uniform made my blonde hair and blue eyes stand out. I couldn’t take any credit for the healthy glow in my skin. That had to be the nanites. The cut of uniform made me look official, like somebody worthy of respect. The heavy metal buttons and tailored waist was feminine without being girly. I was impressed. I’d always loved the look of a man in uniform, it never occurred to me that it was the uniform that I loved.
When we arrived at the lab, P’tah looked ragged.
“Greetings, Commander,” she said, her voice weary.
“Are you unwell?”
“No, I am quite well,” she replied. Her reply was a little too fast for my liking. It seemed that she was hiding something. I started to open my mouth to ask when he eyes darted towards me for a second, warning me to let the issue die...at least for now.
“If you are not well, take some rest. In the meantime. Be prepared, I expect orders to leave this sector will arrive shortly,” he said.
“So soon?”
He didn’t reply to her unintended question.
“Today I think it is best if you began training Diem in traditional battle forms. They may prove useful in the future,” he instructed.
She nodded softly and he turned and left.
“Battle?” I sat down in the chair heavily.
P’tah did the same, exhaling as she reached for a cup and took a sip of the contents.
“You will need it now that you are officially part of the crew. You may be challenged,” she replied.
I twisted the thoughts over in my head. In my lessons, Oda taught me that ritual combat was a rather common and serious thing among the Troitek. Both genders participated and it was one of the few ways to move up or down in the social hierarchy. One’s lineage and connections protected you from most challenges, but there would always be one ambitious fool who would test their luck. No matter who won, it was bloody. I shuddered at the thought.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“You may ask,” P’tah turned to face me fully.
“It’s about the implant. Can we turn it off, or down, or something?”
P’tah looked alarmed and her tail slashed through the air quickly.
“It is disturbing?”
I put my hands up to prevent her from spriniging out of her seat and probing me with one of the tools in her medical kit. There would be enough of that later on.
“No. It’s just that I am supposed to be learning your language and it’s very hard to do when this voice in my head keeps telling me all of the answers,” I said.
“You would like for me to decrease its accuracy?”
“Or give it an off switch,” I said.
She looked up at the ceiling as she pondered the request.
“I can allow you to disable translation, but it would take at least a day for that kind of modification.”
“Can we do it?”
She nodded again and I nearly threw myself at her feet.
“I will advise you that your new status will not sit well with Oda,” she said calmly.
“Probably not, but what can we do?” I shrugged. “What is this about orders to leave the sector?”
“Our mission was to test the human defenses and observe their reactions from afar.”
“How far away from Earth are we?”
“Just outside of the solar system.”
“Oh,” I replied.
“Once the High Council has seen what they wanted to see, they will send a real invasion fleet to finish the job.”
I could feel the blood draining from my head. I was too late. There was nothing I could do after all. If I hadn’t been so focused on my own misery I might have been able to convince Rakesh to help me a little sooner. I might have been able to stall for time. Now, it was all going to end before it began.
“Are you unwell?”
“I’m okay. W-what would it take to get them to delay a little bit?”
P’tah cocked her head to the side and observed me with those glittering cat-like eyes.
“If we could say that there was a scientific reason that we needed to continue our observation and research and we might buy more time,” she replied. “But not much. It will be difficult to maintain discipline on the ship if there are too many delays.”
“Is there anything like that?”
P’tah leaned across the table and said caught my hand in her strong grasp.
“I’m way ahead of you,” she said in flawless English, no translation needed.
We moved through all of my normal examinations without discussing much of anything. At the end, she handed me a large blade. It was similar to the blade Rakesh wore on his tail when we fought.
“I’ve modified it to fit with your physiology and used a different alloy. It should be lighter without losing much on strength,” she said.
“When?”
“While you slept,” she said.
“Did he ask you to do this?”
P’tah looked me in the eye and smiled.
“He didn’t have to,” she said.
She took me through the basic stances and forms used for fighting. It was like superhero karate, pushing my muscles in ways I was not used to. I felt my muscles scream as I activated small muscle groups that I’d rarely used. By the time she stopped, I was lying on the ground, panting from the exertion.
“You must practice every day until it becomes natural,” she said. I nodded and closed my eyes, praying that the nanites would work their magic before Oda arrived.
I went through my mental checklist over and over again as I waited to be escorted to my lessons. I remember when Gordy tried to explain to m
e how his training made him mentally strong. I hadn’t paid much attention to him them. I brushed it off as just another one of those jar-head things that boys in uniforms say. Now I understood. I needed to be strong.
I pulled myself off of the floor and freshened up in the observation cell. I couldn’t let Oda see me looking distressed or dishevelled. Any sign of weakness would only encourage her to strike out at me. I wasn’t a warrior by any stretch of the imagination, but I was learning fast. What I couldn’t accomplish with brute force, I could accomplish by manipulation. It was then that I realized that Rakesh hadn’t just made me a part of the crew. He’d armed me with the most fundamental weapon among his people. He’d recognized me and given me status. By the time Oda showed up I was ready for her. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to be my ally. She just wouldn’t know it. I would use her knowledge against her. All I had to do was endure.
When she caught sight of my new uniform and my pleasant demeanor I thought she would hiss and spit in anger. Instead, she swallowed her rage and escorted me out of the lab.
“You see, he is making fools of all of us with this human whore,” she muttered to the guards. I could feel them bristle at her words but neither said anything. “She reeks of his scent and now she is wearing a uniform. How long did we have to work before we were allowed to wear our uniforms? What could she have done to earn such an honor I wonder?”
The guards on either side of me shifted nervously from foot to foot. I could see their muscles jumping under their clothes as they restrained the urge to smash the source of their humiliation. Me.
My first instinct was to scratch her damned eyes out, but I bit my tongue and swallowed my pride. I couldn’t win a fight against her but I couldn’t let her disrespect go unchallenged either. I was pondering what I should do when Rakesh’s flaming red hair and deep red eyes came into view. He was standing outside of the room where Oda administered her lessons. His body language was calm and collected, but I could tell he was here for a reason. His eyes settled on me for just a second before turning to Oda and her men.
“I am here to observe Diem’s progress,” he said.
Using my name set a precedent. If the Commander called me Diem then everybody else was obliged to do the same. Perhaps he wasn’t as brash and foolish as P’tah thought he was.
“Of course, Commander,” she said. Again, the way she said Commander grated on my ears. Surprisingly, I felt protective and personally offended by her ire. I wasn’t ready to examine that feeling too deeply. One of the guards decided at that moment to pick up the gauntlet that she’d just thrown down.
“The human has –”
Rakesh growled low in his throat, a sound that seemed too loud to be coming from his body alone.
“Commander, we cannot be expected to call it by such an exalted name?” The other guard chimed in. Oda remained silent and still, waiting to see how this would play out.
“I have named it Diem. It is an exalted name because all of those in my house have exalted names.”
The second guard, whose name I never bothered to learn even if he had bothered to tell me, shifted his stance. It was slight and barely recognizable, but I’d just spent the last few hours practicing Troitek fighting stances.
“You insult us by doing this,” he growled.
Rakesh didn’t say another word. He simply slashed the guard’s throat with his tail. The move was so fast that I didn’t actually see it. I only saw the aftermath as thick, sticky, purple liquid oozed from the gaping wound. The other guard made a move in defense of his comrade and caught Rakesh’s fist in his jaw. The two males tumbled, Rakesh slamming his fists into the other male’s face repeatedly, making a mess of him. I tried not to get distracted by the carnage and kept my eyes on Oda who looked shaken for a moment. As the challenger lost consciousness a sick smile spread across Oda’s face.
This had been her plan all along. She was going to use the dead and the wounded to harm him and I was the cause. I felt my heart sink as Rakesh regained his feet and straightened his uniform. He didn’t look in my direction at all, though I knew he was painfully aware of my presence because I was painfully aware of him.
“Are you ready?” Oda said to me, ushering me into the training room. Rakesh followed us in and sat in a corner until my lesson was complete. It was the only time that my lessons didn’t include a beating. It was the only day that Oda called me Diem. It was the day that I learned that Troitek considered life and death less consequential than honor and respect. It was also the worst day.
TEN
“She is going to use that guard’s death to swing people to her side,” I growled, flopping down in the sleeping pod.
“I am aware.”
“And you don’t care?”
“Life is a challenge,” he said. I watched him walk out of the room and back into the antechamber where he slept. That was his way of ending our time together, but I wasn’t ready to accept his silence. I jumped up and followed him, marching into the room as he was in the process of disrobing.
The figurine that sat on the altar was glowing brightly, casting strange shadows across his body. The optical illusion made it seem, for a moment, as if he were something other than himself. His skin seemed to shine, like the soft sheen of scales rather than the warm, fuzz-covered skin I was accustomed to. His eyes too, for a moment, seemed more reptilian than I remembered them. We stood silently staring at each other for a moment, neither of us really sure what to say. I had crossed a line by walking into his private area uninvited and unannounced. Even by human standards, I was way out of line.
“Listen, I know you think that was really deep philosophy you just said before leaving me out there but I am begging you not to do that anymore.” Begging seemed like the right choice of words.
“You-”
“I know I have no status here, but I am being used. If something bad happens to you I will be both the murder weapon and the victim. Do you understand that? If you are defeated, I am lost, and my people, my planet, everything is all gone,” I explained, trying to keep my emotions in check.
“You do not want to see me harmed?”
I nodded.
“Even though I stole you from your planet?”
I nodded again.
“Even though I am here to bring the last days of your people?”
I looked him in the eyes and swallowed hard.
“Even though you knocked me out and scared me to death. I don’t want you to die. I don’t want anybody to die, but especially not you.”
He moved towards me, eying me suspiciously. I stood perfectly still, trying to recall all of my training under Oda. While the information about Troitek society was useful, her reactions to my human responses were the most telling. Fidgeting and looking away would only provoke his distrust or make him angry. If I wanted to be believed, I needed to stand perfectly still without looking away, no matter how nervous his gaze made me.
“The god behind you is Thorni. She is the mother of our people and the manifestation of our highest form. Those of us who have mastered ourselves as adults may be able to shed our humanoid form and become one with her a few times in a lifetime. But for some, that ability is something that only grows stronger with time.”
“Like a superpower?”
He stood up and pondered the question for a moment before he smiled and nodded.
“Yes, like a superpower. In that form, we are more powerful than even an army of Troitek warriors.”
I nodded, not sure why he was telling me any of this.
“I know that Oda seeks to use you against me. I know that the death of the male who challenged me will be seen as proof of my preference for humans over our own kind. I know all of this. But I could not allow the disrespect to stand. She will gather her supporters and they will come for me. But, and you must remember this at all times, Diem. They were going to come for me anyway,” he said softly. I became aware that he was standing very close to me, though I couldn’t recall seeing hi
m walk toward me. His nearness was having a strange effect on my body
“E-even if,” I licked my lips, trying to regain my focus. “Even if that’s true, I have to help you.”
“Help me?” he snorted with amusement.
“Only you can protect me,” I said, feeling breathless.
I was also becoming extremely aroused. My nipples tightened under my shirt and I was fairly sure that he could see them as well. Still, I couldn’t look away or flinch. That would be more humiliating.
“Are you being affected because you have bonded with me?” he seemed genuinely curious about my arousal.
“I, ah, I don’t know.”
He walked over to a small shelf on the wall and opened a box, pulling out my small bottle of perfume.
“Should I service you?” he held the bottle out to me like an offering.
“Service me?” I nearly choked on the words. That wasn’t how this worked. I serviced him. I was supposed to be the one to use his cravings and desires to manipulate him. That was the plan. Why was he offering to please me sexually when I was simply a companion?
“You seem unwell. I am not aroused but those chemicals have a very potent effect on my physiology. If this bonding ritual must be repeated periodically, I give you permission to use this, but only in private and you must wash it off before you leave my quarters.”
He finished disrobing, not bothering to hide his nakedness from me the way a human would have. Then he disappeared behind a small curtain. I knew that if I went through the curtain there would be no coming back for me. As much as I hated to admit it, I actually liked Rakesh. I knew that this was the most extreme version of Stockholm Syndrome in the history of humanity, but it didn’t make my feelings any easier to drown out.
I wanted him and I wanted him to want me back.
Rather than make a complete fool of myself, I left the perfume on the shelf and left the room, my body on fire and my heart in knots. I bathed slowly and dressed, all the while reassuring my raging hormones that I’d done the right thing. I laid on my “bed” and waited for sleep to take me.
After an hour of staring at the ceiling, Rakesh came out of his room and left his quarters without saying a word. The grim look on his face sent chills up and down my spine but I didn’t bother to speak on it. I had no place to ask him and if he wanted me to understand his way he would make the effort
A Pet For The Commander: The Complete Series Page 6