Transmission Lost

by Stefan Mazzara

  -You won't, father,- Aria insisted, heat coming into her voice now. She set her face in a brave expression. She had to have one for him. -I'll find a way to beat this.-

  Her father seemed relieved to hear the conviction in her voice. -Good.- He stepped away from her, going back to his chair. -For now, your room has already been prepared. I made sure the servants kept it ready for you, even when we thought you were lost. I think there's enough time for you to wash up and get into some decent clothes before dinner. I'll have Ana call you when it's ready.-

  ******

  Jack had just finished washing up and had dressed himself when Sami came and knocked on his door. He checked himself over to make sure he was properly dressed. The clothes he had been provided were pretty similar to what he would have worn on Earth, though they had a distinctly Ailian twist. He now wore a pair of tan, loose-fitting pants that tied at the waist with a drawstring, and a similarly loose-fitting shirt of the same color as the pants. None of the shoes that he had found in the room had fit him, so he just wore his boots without socks. They would be uncomfortable in the desert heat, but better than going around in his bare feet. He fingered the collar around his neck, wishing that he could take it off, but there was sadly nothing he could do about that.

  Satisfied that he was reasonably presentable, Jack went to the door and opened it. As he'd thought, Sami was standing there. She looked at him, seeming pleased that her selection of clothing had been appropriate.

  “Dinner,” she said. “Follow.” She led him from the guest quarters and back through the gardens to the main house. Once inside, they went through a hall that Jack had not yet been in, and came into a large dining room furnished with a long table. Instantly, the human could smell the scent of cooked food, and his stomach growled as he recalled that he hadn't had anything except military rations and prison food for the past month. A proper cooked meal was something he had sorely missed, and he didn't much care what it was as long as it didn't come out of a package.

  Eight Ailians, not including Sami, were seated around the table. All of them turned their heads to look when Jack came into the room, and he was rooted to the floor like a deer in headlights. They were all staring at him as though they hadn't seen a human before, and he'd wager that at least some of them hadn't. Seated at the head of the table was Aria's father. Jack counted five females and two other males seated around the table as well, who must have been Aria's siblings. They all looked younger than Aria, and he recalled her saying once that she was the eldest of nine children. He felt considerably uncomfortable now, being the only human in the room.

  Sami showed him to a seat at the table. The chair was much too big for him, but a couple of cushions had thoughtfully been placed on it so that he was seated at the proper height, though his feet dangled a few inches off of the floor. He felt absurdly like the little kid invited to sit at the grown-ups' table even though he knew Aria was his age, making him older than everyone apart from her father. Sami took her own seat, across the table from Jack. The only remaining empty seat was next to Jack, separating him from one of the younger males. He avoided everyone's curious gaze, and instead looked at the decoration in the room. Like the rest of the home, it was decorated simply, with floor plants placed at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room. About the only extravagance Jack could see was a massive portrait mounted high on the wall behind where Aria's father sat. The portrait seemed to have been painted, and depicted an Ailian female in profile, though her head was turned slightly towards the viewer. She had deep green eyes, and her fur was pure white with black stripes. The placement of the portrait, situated in a position of prominence and framed in gold, gave him the impression that the person depicted was of great importance.

  “Where's Aria?” he asked Sami, feeling strangely like he had to whisper. The room was so quiet.

  “Ah...Coming,” Sami replied.

  Not a minute after she'd said it, Jack heard the door open behind him. He looked over his shoulder, then turned around fully in his seat. Aria had entered the room, and she was a sight to see. Up until now, he'd only ever seen her dressed in her red flight uniform, and she'd been in rough shape most of the time. Now, though, she was wearing an elegant outfit similar to the clothes her sister wore. Around her waist she had on a black skirt consisting of a shimmery, silky material formed into broad strips which wrapped around her body down to her ankles and was fastened in place with a silver brooch. She also wore a loose green silk top of the same style, wrapped around her torso from her shoulders down to just below her breast. The outfit left her arms and much of her creamy furred belly bare. She'd evidently had a bath, and her fur was immaculately brushed to a shiny gloss, her tail fluffed. When she saw Jack looking at her, she offered a small smile, then took the empty seat to his right.

  Damn, Jack thought, still staring at her, but she's...gorgeous. He felt her hand touch his leg underneath the table, and she squeezed his knee.

  Now that the table was fully seated, Aria's father rang a small bell that was on the table beside him. Several Ailians dressed in what looked like formal wear entered the room from a door leading off, carrying trays and dishes laden with steaming food. Jack noticed that none of them had collars about their necks; clearly these were paid servants and not slaves. They set about placing the food on the table, and began serving it to everyone.

  With the family's attention now served with a suitable distraction, Aria began telling Jack the names of her siblings. Seated next to Sami were two girls who looked virtually identical, whom Aria identified as twins named Ana and Sana, both twenty, two years junior to Sami. Next to the twins was a male of eighteen named Jin. Finishing off that side of the table was a girl of seventeen, Mari. Aria introduced the male seated to her own right as Lem'a, fifteen years old. Then there was her sister Raya, fourteen, and finally her youngest sister, Li'ara, who was thirteen. Even the youngest of them was as tall as Jack, who was no slouch at six feet.

  When everyone's plate was full, Aria's father said a few words, and his children repeated them in unison, in what sounded like a mealtime prayer. Then the meal began. Jack looked at his plate, which contained food that looked and smelled absolutely delicious. Though composed of unfamiliar ingredients, Jack could identify some kind of meat drenched in a fragrant red sauce, a clump of an orange, mushy substance that looked remarkably like mashed sweet potatoes, and various other cooked vegetables of green, purple, and white. He picked up his utensils and began to eat, and discovered that everything was just as tasty as it had appeared at first glance.

  “Sami do most of the cooking,” Aria explained as Jack devoured his meal. She seemed amused at his enthusiasm, watching him eat with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “We have servants to help, but she enjoy it. You like?”

  “Oh yeah,” Jack said emphatically. “It's one of the best meals I've ever had. I can't remember the last time I had an actual home-cooked meal, to tell you the truth.”

  “Ah, jack le se tre'a'lai han'la re, sami,” Aria said to her sister, who looked very pleased and bowed her head to Jack. He reddened a little, and concentrated on his meal. As they all ate, the servants attended to the table, dishing out second helpings upon request, or third and fourth helpings in Jack's case.

  At one point in the meal, Jack paused to look at the portrait hanging in the room again. He noticed that she bore a very striking resemblance to Aria, and indeed to all of her sisters as well. He mentioned this to Aria.

  “That woman in the picture,” he said to her, inclining his head towards it. “Who is she?”

  “Ah...” Aria looked at the portrait as well, and Jack saw her expression change. Sorrow crossed her face, and added to it was something that seemed akin to longing. But more than that, it was an expression of loss and pain. “That is mother. Her name Ara'lana.”

  “Oh...” Jack remembered Aria telling him about her mother some time ago. “Your mother's dead, isn't she?” He immediately winced. He hadn't meant to say it quite
so bluntly, but Aria seemed unaffected.

  “Yes,” she said, turning her attention back to her meal. “Mother die three years ago. She was admiral in Ascendancy fleet. Very high honor.”

  Jack hadn't known that part. “Your mother was an admiral?”

  “Yes. Chief Admiral. Is top position in fleet, yes? Three years ago, she lead fleet in battle against human military. Very large battle, many ships. Her ship get attacked, destroyed.” Aria gripped her utensils tightly, bending one of them. “Many people killed, many missing. Mother's body never found.” She sighed, looking towards the head of the table, where her father was conversing pleasantly with one of her sisters. “Father hope for many weeks after that she still alive. Say that can't be certain she dead without her body...But eventually we have to accept truth.”

  “I'm sorry, Aria,” Jack said.

  She waved his apology away. “You not know. I never tell you that much of story.” Aria looked back at the portrait, a wistful smile on her face now.

  “...You loved your mother a lot, didn't you?”

  Aria nodded. “Very much. She reason I join the military...Always wanted to be like mother...”

  Jack and Aria didn't talk for the rest of the meal. He had the feeling that she wanted to be alone with her thoughts, and he was content with that since he had the desire to be alone with his food. When everyone had as much as to eat as they wanted, the servants cleared away the meal. One by one, the family began to leave the table, until only Aria, Sami, and Jack were left behind. Jack felt completely full for the first time in a long time, and now that his stomach had been taken care of he realized how extremely tired he was.

  At a yawn from Jack, Sami stopped her conversation with Aria and said something to her in Ailian. “Oh...Jack. You like child, yes? Not know when to go to bed without being told?” Aria asked him. She jabbed him in the ribs with one finger, teasing him.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jack said, yawning widely again. “I just haven't had a decent night's sleep in a week, is all.” He got up from his chair. “Ah...If you girls don't mind, I'm going to go turn in.”

  “Yes,” Aria agreed. She took his hand, holding it for a warm moment. “Ha'lani. Have good dreams.” She squeezed his hand, and then Jack pulled away from her. He walked out of the dining room, making his way through the halls, heading for his guest quarters.

  ******

  When Jack had arrived back at his room, he'd immediately disrobed and crawled into the massive bed. Designed with an Ailian in mind, the bed was easily large enough for two or three humans, and it was soft as feathers. Laying his head on the pillow, he'd been asleep in minutes, his belly full of hot food and his mind dulled by days of little to no rest.

  Some hours after he'd first dropped off, he drifted awake again. Squinting through the darkness of his room, Jack lifted his head off the pillow, trying to figure out what might have woken him. He noticed a crack of light at the door, slowly growing larger. Sitting up in bed, he stared at the doorway, still slightly groggy. Then a tall figure slipped inside. The door snapped shut, and as the person moved closer to the bed Jack's eyes started to adjust to the dark, and he was able to make out who it was: Aria, dressed in a flowing, satiny nightgown.

  “Aria?” Jack murmured, rubbing his eyes. “Is something wrong?”

  “Nothing wrong,” she said. She walked towards him, her hands clasped behind her back. “I sneak out of my room. Wanted to see you.” Her tail was waving back and forth quickly.

  “You did...,” Jack said. His eyes widened in the dark as she slipped the nightgown from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She wore nothing underneath. Aria reached the side of the bed, and she slid underneath the covers. In a moment her furred body was curled up next to Jack's, and she took him into her arms, hugging him to herself.

  “Missed this,” Aria whispered, nuzzling his cheek. Jack could hear her purring, the low, slow rumble vibrating through him. Her tail curled around his waist. For a long while she just cuddled him, and Jack relaxed with her, resting his head on her pillowy breasts.

  “Me too,” he said. The human draped an arm over her, running his hand up and down along her side, stroking her downy soft fur.

  Aria made a quiet sound of contentment. “I mean to ask you something...” She paused for a second or two, hesitant. Jack waited for her to continue, curious about what she wanted to ask about. “When we rescued...you...say something. Before they take me.” Aria bit her lip. “You say you...love me. You mean that?”

  Leaning back from her slightly, Jack blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to ask something like that. Didn't she know that he'd meant it? And it wasn't at all the sort of thing he would have expected someone like Aria to be concerned about in the first place.

  Seeming to have read his mind, Aria made a huffing noise, as though reproaching herself for her moment of weakness. “I sorry,” she hissed. “Acting like a baby...Forget I-” Her words were cut off as Jack pushed himself up and captured her lips in a deep kiss, his hand cupping her cheek. The Ailian melted into him, wrapping her arms fiercely about him.

  “I absolutely meant it,” Jack said, parting lips with her. “I think it's the only thing I've ever been sure about in my entire life, Aria.”

  Aria nuzzled his face again, her purr starting up once more. “Se le ch'aa ara...,” she sighed, a note of serene pleasure in her voice.

  “You've said that a few times now,” Jack mumbled, resting his head against her breasts again, “but I don't know what it means.”

  “Mmmm...Is difficult to translate.” Aria thought about it for a moment, tracing a hand up and down Jack's chest thoughtfully. “Like I say, is difficult, but close to...'one who travel through my dreams'.” Her hand was drifting lower, flirting just above his groin now. Jack shifted a little against her. He knew what Aria wanted right now, and he was intensely tempted.

  Jack lowered one hand, catching her wandering fingers with his own and bringing them back up. He kissed her hand. “This is the craziest thing I've ever said, and I really hate to say it,” the human said, half-regretting it even as he knew it was for the best. “But I'm completely wiped out right now, and I really need to sleep. I don't want to be a disappointment to you.”

  Aria blinked, then smiled at him. “I understand,” she assured him, even though he could hear the disappointment in her voice. She very much wanted him right now, but she also knew he'd been through a lot for a human. The Ailian kissed him, and then held him close. “Sleep now.” She injected a little command into her next words. “But you make up for it later, yes?”

  “Oh yes...,” Jack agreed, starting to drift off to sleep again. “Definitely...”

  - 5 -

  Jack woke up the next morning before Aria did. When he opened his eyes, he was astounded at how good he felt. For the first time in a long while, he was waking up in a warm home, in a soft, real bed. He wasn't sure how long he had slept, but he could see what looked like early morning light filtering in through the window, and he felt like a million bucks. Yawning a little, he rubbed his eyes and sat up on his elbows, the covers sliding a little down his chest. Right now, it didn't even matter to him what planet he was waking up on; he'd had a full night of sleep, and that was more valuable than anything.

  He looked to the side. Aria was still asleep next to him, looking rather peaceful as she breathed regularly, her chest rising and falling slowly. Her long, fluffed tail was still curled around his waist and she had an arm over him. Every so often her fingers would flex slightly in her sleep, as though she was subconsciously assuring herself that he was still there. Jack smiled. The Ailian looked almost adorable, which was saying something since she usually looked quite dangerous and deadly. Still beautiful, though.

  As he watched her sleep, Jack began to recall the events of the previous night. Specifically, what had happened when he'd gone to bed, and Aria had joined him. She'd seemed quite disappointed when he'd been too tired to do much of anything other than go to sleep, but she hadn't
pressed the issue. But now he was rested, and he remembered that she'd challenged him to make up for lost time. And she had the audacity to be asleep when he was ready to do just that!

  Well, I'll show her a thing or two...

  Carefully, so that he wouldn't wake her up too soon, Jack extracted himself from underneath her arm. He put one hand underneath her and another on top of her, and he slowly rolled her from her side to her back. Aria made a quiet noise in her sleep, but she didn't wake. He ran a hand down her belly, feeling her taut abdominal muscles underneath his palm and the thin, ragged trail of the long battle scar that ran down her torso. Smiling to himself, he shuffled underneath the bed sheets.

  ******

  Aria shifted in her sleep, her eyes fluttering as she became aware of her surroundings. She'd been in the middle of a terrible dream, one that she'd been having almost every night since her rescue. In the dream, she was locked in a glass cage that wasn't even large enough for her to sit down, so she had to remain in a half-crouched position. No matter how hard she pounded on the walls of her cage, she couldn't break out. Through the walls, she could see all of the members of her family, standing in the room outside and looking in at her. She was terrified because she knew she was about to die, and her father, brothers, and sisters were going to have watch it.

  What happened next in the dream was always the same, but it was always a horrible surprise. A bell sounded inside the cage, and then hatches opened in the walls of the outer room. Green smoke began to pour in through the hatches. Aria watched in horror as her family began grasping their throats, shuddering and collapsing to the floor outside, their bodies twitching in the final moments of their lives. She was forced to stare at their corpses for an eternity as the gas cleared from room. Then one of the walls of her glass cage swung open, letting her out.