by Leslie Chase
I didn't know the girl, but she didn't look as though she were prepared for a life like that. No one could be. And that's why I can't accept her, or any of the others. I gestured at the comm and the hologram vanished.
No. I was better off alone, and the females were better off without me.
"Corvax Rohar," a loud, familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. With a snarl I turned back to face my elders. The clan council looked at me and I could feel the disappointment in their expressions.
The Eldest spoke again, his voice quavering slightly. "Corvax, you know why we're here. You've been avoiding this conversation for months now, and it cannot go on."
He was right, of course. I knew this day would come, but I'd never felt the need to hurry it along. That the clan elders felt differently was no great surprise. They wanted to see me mated before they passed on.
"I have told you, Eldest, I can find no one suitable." I might not have looked as hard as they liked, but it was still true. "I am our clan's Protector, and when I take a mate it will be someone who brings honor to the Rohar."
He sighed and shook his head, leaning against the parapet beside me. The rest of the council waited a respectful distance away, close enough to lend him their numbers but not so close that they intruded on the conversation.
"Corvax, you know that this must be," the Eldest said quietly. "We need new blood in the clan, and we will grow weak if you do not bring it in."
"But there is no one!" I looked out to sea again, eyes settling on the furthest point of the horizon where I could barely make out the spires of the Temmar clan's island home. "No one who isn't looking for the prestige and wealth of our clan, rather than a match of love."
I bared my teeth at that thought. The predators had been circling our clan for years, ever since the collapse of our farms. Every one of them trying to pin me into a mating that would give them access to our power. It felt like every social interaction was a minefield, and one I was ill-prepared to deal with. Even worse, the clans that hunted me weren't above frightening off their competition. Any female I found a genuine connection with would find her clan had made very dangerous enemies.
The Elders looked at me, and I could see that they weren't sympathetic. Of course they wanted what was best for the clan, that was the point of having a council to guide the Protector. That didn't mean that they didn't see the difficulty I was in. It made me wonder what brought them out here to address me.
"Eldest," I said, looking their spokesman in the eye and speaking firmly. "I know that you haven't come out here just to have this argument again. What is it? Have the Perhar been back in touch?"
Clan Perhar were our closest rivals, and the most dangerous. Their large, fertile island provided much of the food that we needed so badly now, and that gave them power over us — power they only wanted to consolidate. I'd rather be mated to a sea serpent than to Alishan Perhar, but her brother the Protector was insistent. Far too insistent.
The Eldest chuckled, looking out to sea in the direction of the Perhar's island. It lay over the horizon but it was always there, a brooding presence in every conversation. "Of course they have, Corvax, but that's not why I'm here. Ashir Perhar is not a man to trust, and his sister even less so. If you and she were mated they would absorb our clan, and not one of us wants that."
I sighed with relief. Though the Elders couldn't push me into a match I didn't want, it was still good to know they didn't intend to try. "What then?"
"There is only one way to end the intrigue around you, Protector," he said, tapping his claws on the stone wall idly. "The Perhar, the Alzer, all the other clans will keep pestering you, keep trying to force you to accept one of them. You must choose a mate, or the intrigue will never die."
"Then let them plot and scheme," I snarled. Of course, it wasn't that simple. As long as the other clans thought they could get my alliance they would push and push. That meant that the bargains I needed to make to rebuild the island would be challenging.
That didn't change my mind, though.
"I know you have good reason for your reluctance, Corvax. That's why we have taken this step for you," the Eldest said, smiling. I felt my whole body tense, wondering what he could be up to. "The clan elders have put together an advert for you on the Celestial Mates agency."
For a moment I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had expected another attempt to reconcile me to one political match or another. Any of them would weaken our clan, perhaps fatally: we might be wealthy but we were few in number. But the Elders had found another solution, and to my surprise they'd managed to make things even worse.
"You cannot be serious," I said, outrage making my voice rise. "You're setting me up with an offworlder I've never even met? Do you even know what species she is?"
The Eldest's eyes sparkled with humor, which did nothing to calm my anger. My lips drew back from my fangs and I growled a challenge, leaning towards him. He held his ground and smiled, knowing that he was safe. We both knew that I wasn't about to attack one of my clan elders.
Still, he was careful not to show his own fangs — provoking a warrior too much would always be dangerous, no matter how much he trusted me.
After a moment I got control of myself and sat back. "You'll just have to cancel the contract," I told him. "I will not be matched with some stranger from another world, someone who knows nothing of our ways."
"Not possible," the Eldest said without a hint of apology. "Do you think I'd have told you about this before I had to? She's arriving tomorrow."
"What?!" I stared at him, too shocked to be angry right away. It took seconds before I felt my rage rising, my blood heating. It must have shown on my face, and this time he couldn't keep his laughter in.
I waited for him to run down, feeling my claws slide in and out. It would be dishonorable to tear his throat out, I reminded myself firmly. No matter how hard he laughs at my expense.
"You and the other Elders arranged for someone to come here to be my mate," I said, trying to make sure I understood the situation. "You sent for her across the stars, and let her travel the boundless lightyears of space, and only when she's about to arrive do you tell me? What would have happened if I'd found someone in the meantime?"
"Oh, Corvax, we knew perfectly well that wasn't going to happen," the Eldest answered. "You've made it quite clear that you don't intend to entertain any of the offers of our neighbors. That's why we had to turn to the Celestial Mates agency for help in the first place."
I threw up my hands and turned away, looking out to sea. The rain was starting, a gray curtain pounding the ocean and hiding the sun. It felt appropriate.
"Fine," I said. "You know I can't leave a stranger stranded at the spaceport, it's too dangerous. I'll go up and meet her, make sure she's safe. After you dragged her from her homeworld, I have to show her that someone in our clan is interested in her wellbeing."
The Eldest smiled and drew a breath to speak. I held up my hand to stop him. "And then I'm putting her straight back on the first ship to wherever she came from. My life isn't something for you and the rest of the Elders to play with."
My voice rose as I spoke, and with the rain falling around me I turned and stalked away fuming. Behind me, I heard the Elders chuckle to each other. Let them think what they want, I'm not going to mate with a stranger from another world.
3
Gemma
The Cordillan Wanderer shuddered as it docked with the orbital high above Crosos, the planet that might be my new home. I still wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of me just wanted to stay aboard ship and see how long it would take me to get back to Earth that way.
That wasn't an option, though. I hadn't learned much about the ship in the two weeks I'd been aboard, but I did know this much — it wasn't headed back to Earth. Its long circuit through the stars wouldn't come back that way for years, if ever, so even if I wanted to chicken out and go home I'd need to disembark here. With a sigh, I picked up my bag and the small box that C
elestial Mates had given me.
It held the picture of my 'mate' and a brief introduction, one that didn't make much sense to me. That wasn't much of a surprise, he was an alien after all. Hopefully he'd be able to explain what exactly being Protector of Clan Rohar meant, and it might even make for a conversation starter. More important to me right now, though, was the earpiece and necklace set that were supposed to translate for me. I looked at them dubiously, then shrugged and put them on. Either they'd work or not: no one here was likely to speak English.
Come on, Gemma, this is your only chance to see an alien world, I told myself as I made my way through the worn and stained corridors of the ship. One thing I hadn't expected was for everything to look so old. When I thought of spaceships they were new, shiny things, but the Cordillan Wanderer had been plying the spaceways for centuries and it showed. Even the air tasted funny, and the weeks of being cooped up inside my cabin had been no fun at all.
I was alone in the corridor. It seemed that I was the only passenger getting off on Crosos, and none of the crew were around to see me off either. Leaving the ship felt strangely empty, as though there should have been a ceremony or an event to mark my entry onto another world. Instead, I just stepped through the massive cargo airlock and out onto the space station's dock.
Immediately the noise hit me, stopping me in my tracks. The dock stretched away to either side, crowded with aliens of all descriptions moving this way and that. Airlocks like the one I'd just come through opened at regular intervals, aliens thronging through them. It was chaos, far busier than the spaceport on Earth had been, and far less controlled too. There didn't seem to be any kind of organization, and no one in charge either.
Before I could get my bearings, someone snapped at me in a language I didn't understand. He (She? It?) was half robot, half slug, and guided a floating cargo container towards the Cordillan Wanderer's airlock. That was when I realized I was blocking the cargo bay entrance. Here I was, gawping like a tourist, and people were trying to work.
"Sorry," I mumbled, fully aware that the alien would have no idea what I was saying. I stumbled out of the way, feeling too light in the unfamiliar gravity of this place. The slug-thing gave me a disgusted look and got on with his work.
I couldn't stay here, I realized. The dock was too busy, too full of people working, and I was getting in the way. All around me cargo containers were whizzing through the air, and one nearly hit me as I dodged aside. Plus the crowds were too much for me. Each of the aliens I could see looked fascinating, but there were too many of them, moving too fast. It was overwhelming, and I felt sick as I tried to find something to focus on.
Making my way carefully to the side, I tried to stay out of everyone's way and keep my eyes open for my mate. Shouldn't he have been there to meet me? This wasn't exactly getting us off on the best foot. Hugging my bag to my chest, I wished I knew who to ask for directions. Maybe there was somewhere I was supposed to go? It could have been anywhere, though. There were signs, of course, but the helpful translation device in my necklace did nothing to help with written words.
It was the most confusing place I'd ever been, and I felt horribly vulnerable just standing there. And I was attracting attention. Not the good kind, either. A lone woman looking scared would be seen as prey on any world, especially in a place like this where I couldn't see any security.
If I stay here, something awful will happen. But what else can I do? Panic threatened to overwhelm my thoughts and I felt my muscles tightening, legs trembling. I wanted to run, and I might have done if I had the slightest clue which direction to choose.
"You lost?" The sudden voice startled me, and I bit back a shriek as I whirled to look at the speaker. Big dark eyes looked up at me, and I tried to smile at the alien. He was one of a group, and I backed away a little, ready to run if I had to. To my relief he didn't follow, letting me keep my distance. That was a good sign, I hoped, and I had to talk to someone. At least these aliens looked friendly, like bipedal dogs with green feathers instead of fur. There was a lean hungry energy to them, though, and I noticed that they all wore long knives on their belts.
Is that a bad sign, or a good one? It could be for self-defense, or they could be a gang. I liked dogs, always had, but that didn't mean that dog-like aliens were my friends. I tried to keep that in mind as their leader spoke again.
"You lost?" he repeated. "Not good, alone in port. Danger. Need friend to take care of you."
I shook my head as I answered, the necklace vibrating at my throat and translating my words. "I'm meeting someone. He's meant to be here."
And I'm going to have words with him when he catches up with me, I told myself. My hands shook, my breathing was too fast and my heart was racing. It felt as though I was about to panic. And who would blame me, stranded like this on an alien space station? When I met Corvax, he was going to hear all about that.
The dog alien nodded quickly. "You here to meet Corvax, yes? He friend. We take you to him. Not safe to wait here. Accidents happen. Bad people. Come, we take you to viewing platform. Good place to wait for friend."
I couldn't tell if he didn't speak the language well or if that was the best the translator could do. Hopefully the former, because I didn't fancy trying to have conversations with everyone if that was the limit of its ability. But if this alien knew I was here to meet Corvax, then at least I could relax a little. Had he sent them to meet me? That would be better than nothing.
Part of me thought that going off alone with these aliens wasn't a great idea, and maybe I was being stupid trusting them. Some instinct told me not to trust them, not to go with them. But... well, what could I do? Staying here wasn't an option, and they knew his name. That had to mean he'd sent them, didn't it?
"Okay," I said dubiously. "If you can take me to Corvax, lead on. I'm Gemma."
"Hark," the speaker replied, nodding quickly again. Was that his name?
The doglike aliens spoke amongst themselves quickly, and whatever language they used the translator didn't know it. It sounded like dogs barking at each other, quick and snappy, almost angry. I tried not to read too much into it — who knew what English sounded like to them? — but it made me a little warier as they fell in around me to lead me away.
Were they escorting me to my mate, or were they cutting their prey out of the crowd? I hoped for the former, but my nerves wouldn't let me forget the latter possibility and I kept my eyes on the crowd looking for Corvax.
No sign, of course. Just an endless stream of aliens of all descriptions, all of them in a hurry to be somewhere else. A few times I saw big, blue-skinned aliens that might have been him. Every time I got my hopes up, though, they were dashed as they passed me, uncaring. Everyone here was in a hurry and I seemed to be the only person on the station who didn't know where they were going.
The crowds thinned as the dog-aliens led me into quieter passageways, away from the bustle of the dock. Finally, I had enough space to breathe and look around. The station wasn't in much better shape than the Cordillan Wanderer had been, but it was definitely bigger and roomier, and there was something about it that felt solid where the spaceship had seemed almost flimsy.
But it wasn't until we reached the viewing room that I could really appreciate the scale of the station.
The room itself was empty as we entered, the first truly quiet place I'd seen aboard the station. Perhaps everyone else was simply too used to the wonders of space travel to care about the view, but I was just a simple girl from Earth and it blew me away.
Transparent walls looked out onto the vast blackness of space, stars burning bright in the distance. That wasn't the wonder, though. I looked down through the transparent floor at the blue planet hanging far below. Crosos looked like it was almost entirely water, though maybe there were continents on the far side of the globe. Unlike Earth, this planet had no ice caps, and I wondered where the people lived. I'd expected something more Earthlike, somehow.
Connecting the blue sphere with th
e space station on which I stood was a line. It started too thin to really focus on and it took a while before I understood the scale of it. A giant tower that stretched all the way up from the surface of Crosos to the space station on which I stood. The thought made me dizzy. How many hundreds of miles tall did that have to be? The engineering needed to build something like that was harder to grasp than the spaceship.
And when it reached the space station, it looked like it was hundreds of feet across. My mind was spinning just trying to grasp how big it had to be. I'd read about things like this, they'd even talked about building a space elevator on Earth. Nothing had come of it, though. Humans had never developed the materials needed. Just how advanced were these Crosans?
Behind me I heard a noise. Quiet, but somehow it cut through my feeling of wonder. I turned quickly to see the aliens shutting the door and grinning at me. Hark's smile spread wide, baring fangs, and suddenly there was none of the doglike friendliness about him or his people. Now they reminded me more of hyenas circling a kill.
"Corvax not coming," he said. "No one coming. We have some fun until ship arrives, yes? Then you start new life as ship slave."
I backed away as he advanced, his friends spreading out around me and laughing amongst themselves. Dammit, I knew I shouldn't go with them, I thought, wishing that my bag was heavier. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was all I had and I was determined to go down swinging.
It wouldn't make a difference but at least I could salvage my pride.
4
Corvax
I spent the journey up the skystalk in meditation, trying to draw on the strength of my ancestors for calm. It was only partly successful, and whatever benefits I got from it faded quickly once I arrived. The space station was as crowded as I remembered it, and in worse shape. In theory, all the clans of Crosos pooled their resources to maintain our shared spaceport. In practice though, the rest left it to the Rohar, which had worked out fine until recently. Now that we needed our resources to rebuild, though, the station was suffering and no one else was picking up the slack.