Haven 1: Ascend

by Sandra R Neeley

  Kol threw his hands up, “Stop. Just stop. You’ll pull her hair from her head. I’ll be back.”

  Kol stalked from the room, and Zha Quin looked to Jhan, “Perhaps I’m not well prepared to care for her.” He looked down at the sleeping female, “I never thought she’d be human. I know nothing of her species.”

  “Do not worry. Kol knows more than enough. He will return with everything you need, I have no doubt,” Jhan said.

  “Does he have a human that I am not aware of?” Zha Quin asked, wondering how he’d missed Kol’s knowledge of Earth and its people.

  “No, he doesn’t. But he is fascinated with the planet and all of her people’s customs. He buys up all the Earth curiosities he can find on the black market. Spends almost all of his credits each month on things that he doesn’t need and will likely never use. We need only wait a moment, and I’m sure he’ll help you with whatever you need.”

  “How did I miss his preoccupation with these things,” Zha Quin asked.

  “You are busy, your time isn’t yours, it belongs to this ship and all who are assigned to her. Besides, he tries to keep it to himself — the black market is not an approved marketplace. It’s best if you are left unaware of such things, lest you have to take a stand against it. Only myself and Ba Re’ are aware. If we didn’t share quarters, we probably wouldn’t know either.”

  Minutes later Kol entered Zha Quin’s residence with his arms filled. He carried a large box and went straight to the bedroom. He set it down on the foot of the bed and started handing things to Zha Quin. “This is a hairbrush. You use it to brush her hair, but use it gently. You can pull her hair out if you yank the knots from her hair. Work them out gently with your fingers, then run the brush through it.”

  Kol handed him a toothbrush, “Here, this is to clean her teeth.” He handed him a tube filled with a heavy cream and said, “This is to put on the toothbrush, it polishes her teeth clean and keeps them from decay. This is a razor, it is used to remove hair from her body.”

  Zha Quin’s eyes crinkled up, his brow slamming down over his eyes, “Do not remove her hair! I like her hair!”

  “Not that hair, other hair. Any other that she may want removed,” Kol answered irritatedly. Then he continued on with item after item. He had bottles of shampoo, face creams, odd pieces of jewelry. He had forks, knives, a small ceramic bowl that he’d bought from an antique shop. He even had a blow dryer and clasps for her hair and a brassiere for her breasts, though the size looked off. She was a slight, small female and the brassiere he offered was very large. He had so many things that Zha Quin waved the other things away and said, “Show me how to tend her hair. I do not need the rest.”

  “You may. If you do, they’ll be here. But I’ll show you how to brush her hair.” Kol took the brush from Zha Quin’s hand and approached Vivian where she lay. Zha Quin let out a warning growl.

  “I’ll only touch her hair. Look, do it like this,” he reached out and stroked through her hair with the soft bristles of the brush. When he came to a tangle that wouldn’t give, he put the brush down and separated the knot with his fingertips, then picked up the brush and stroked through that section of hair again.

  “Give it to me, I will do it,” Zha Quin said, holding his hand out for the hairbrush.

  Kol handed it to him, “Here. And there are some books in the box, too. They have glossy pages, and you can learn much by thumbing through them. Do not depend on holovids. The books are directly from Earth — they are not interpretations loaded into a computer by another species and will be completely accurate.”

  “I will read them. Thank you, Kol,” he answered.

  Zha Quin lost himself in taking care of his Ehlealah. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t realize that his friends had retreated to his living room until he turned to get their approval of his hair brushing technique, and they were gone. Didn’t matter… he’d done a good job. He didn’t need them to tell him that. He smiled down at Vivian. Her blue-black hair shining beautifully as it spread out on the pillow around her.

  He looked down at himself as he knelt beside the bed, smoothing her hair across her pillow. He was still dressed in his wet undergarment, and fatigue was beginning to set in as a result of his time in the healing chamber. He rose from her bedside and addressed the ship’s computer, “Computer!”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  “Monitor my Ehlealah’s heart rate and her respiration. Alarm me at once if any changes are sensed.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  He went through the living room and into his own cleansing chamber. He shucked the undergarment onto the floor, stepped into his cleansing unit and pressed the button. He was bathed in a cool, formulated spray that was immediately followed by a blast of heated air. In moments he’d been cleansed and dried. He stepped out of his cleansing chamber and walked nude through his quarters, completely ignoring his friends where they sat in his living room, watching holovids and snacking on his food. Food — that reminded him. He stopped before entering his bedroom, “I will need food for my Ehlealah.”

  Zha Quin looked to Jhan, “Please have the commissary deliver all my favorites. I know not which she’ll like,” he said.

  “She won’t like your favorites, I can promise you that,” Kol snarked.

  “Why not?” Zha Quin demanded.

  “She is not of our people, Zha Quin. She is of Earth. They eat things called bargurs and paste. You must have these things for her if you wish to please her,” Kol explained.

  “What are bargurs and paste?” Zha Quin asked. They didn’t sound very appetizing to him.

  “I will search for more information on how to prepare these things. I will turn them over to the commissary,” Kol said, rising to leave.

  “And I will meet with the cook while you look through your collection for information, perhaps he knows of human food already and can get started,” Jhan said to Kol, also rising to leave.

  Zha Quin truly appreciated his friends. Without their input he’d be completely lost trying to provide for his Ehlealah. They were his family, always had been. The only time that changed was when they were on duty. Then they each knew their places, protocol demanded it, and none would have it any other way. “Very well. Thank you both for your help. I will return to my female.”

  He didn’t see them out. He knew they’d secure the door, and Vivian’s guard was still in place outside that door.

  He went straight back to where his female slept. He paused in the middle of his room, watching her sleep. It was hard to believe that he’d only taken her out of medical little more than two hours before. It seemed she’d always been a part of him. She belonged here.

  He said quietly, “Begin sleep cycle,” as he walked toward the bed. The lights dimmed, and the temperature dropped slightly. Zha Quin climbed into bed beside his Ehlealah. When he curled up against her side, she turned to him. He smiled, draped an arm across her waist and lay there, quietly reflecting on his good luck.

  Chapter 6

  Zha Quin stomped through the front door of his quarters and into the hallway where General Lo’ San waited for him, with a steady snarl in his throat.

  “My apologies, Sire. I kept them at bay as long as possible. I only came for you when they threatened to send an emissary aboard,” General Lo’ San explained.

  “I will handle it, Lo’ San. I know you would not disturb me without reason,” Zha Quin answered.

  “Shall I call for someone to stay with your Ehlealah? A healer perhaps? Another of the females aboard?” Lo’ San offered.

  “No, she is simply sleeping now. The Healing Master left here not an hour ago, she is resting peacefully — out of danger.”

  “Good news,” Lo’ San commented.

  “Yes, now, let us hurry to deal with the Consortium so that I might return before she wakes.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Vivian slowly came awake, stretching her body comfortably in the warm bed she laid in. Her nose was a bit chilled and he
r foot too, where it stuck out from beneath the soft quilts she was blanketed in. She smiled, she loved to sleep in a cool room with lots of covers. She opened her eyes, looked around the room as best she could in the dim light, and realized that she wasn’t home. Her heart rate sped up, and fear invaded her very soul as she remembered exactly where she was. Abducted and held captive by aliens. She looked around herself again, the soft bed and covers confused her. Gently, she moved her foot, expecting the bite of the metal cuff to cut into her skin, but it didn’t. She touched her ankle where the wound was with her other foot, but there was no wound. She lay in the dark, blinking her eyes, trying to allow them time to acclimate to the darkness. After she could see, she slipped silently from the bed and to the floor where she crawled away from the bed on all fours. She saw a brighter light coming from the next room and cautiously went toward it. She peeked around the doorjamb — the room was empty. Hesitantly she entered the room, standing and pressing herself against the wall. She looked back and forth, assuring herself she was alone. There was another door on the far left wall; she had to make sure nothing was in there. These creatures loved to torment her, tease her, torture her. They were amused at her responses to their torment. Perhaps that was all this was, just another way to torment her. Lure her into thinking she was alone, then rush her from a side room and attack her while their friends looked on, waiting their own turn.

  Slowly she approached the door, pausing on the way to take a heavy weapon from the wall. Yes, this was surely another of their twisted games — they’d even left her a weapon to fight with. The weapon looked like a sword, but where its tip should have been, it curved backward into a half moon shape. She struggled to lift it, but fear of what awaited her in that room kicked her adrenalin into high gear, feeding her strength. She lifted it, resting it on her naked shoulder and continued to the door. She peeked around that doorjamb as well — nothing. That room was also empty. She was very confused. She walked into the room and realized that it was a bathroom of some sort. She jumped as her own reflection caught her peripheral vision in the mirror. She raised the curvy sword thingy and stepped back before she realized it was her own reflection. She lowered the sword to her side and let it clatter to the ground as she took in her reflection. She walked toward the full-length mirror, watching herself, touching her face and her hair. A tear escaped her eye, and her mouth hung open in shock. She was clean, and her hair had been washed and brushed. She looked at her ankle in the mirror, where the shackle and the infection it caused once were. There were slight white scars on her ankle, but they were faint, and the infection was completely gone. She looked away from the mirror and down to her own thighs. The bruises, hand prints and jagged scars from bites from all manner of creature were no more. They’d all been healed, leaving behind only a slight silvery scar here and there.

  She looked up at herself in the mirror, tears filling her large, dark eyes. Someone had cleaned her, healed her, and placed her in a soft bed to recover. Her bottom lip quivered a bit, hoping, maybe she’d been returned home. She was in a bed, and the place she found herself in had a living room — or so it seemed, and a bathroom. She hurried to where the shower would be and pulled open the glass door. Her heart dropped, no. She was not home. There was not a shower where she expected it. There was a strange metallic and glass enclosure, with a series of lighted squares mounted on one of the walls. There was no nozzle for water. She turned around, looking for the toilet and found none. Just smooth silver walls and floors, even the mirror was a highly polished piece of silver now that she looked closer. A noise from the doorway drew her attention, and she lunged for the weapon. Only she was too late, it was no longer on the floor, it was in the hands of the huge red alien — the same alien that had broken her chain and given her food.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Zha Quin stepped onto the Command Deck, and all hands came to attention at once. “At ease,” he barely managed to get out somewhat civilly as he stalked to his place overseeing all the deck — a huge square seat equipped with controls, buttons, and switches of all types on the arms of the seat. Though when he sat in it, it appeared quite small. “Update,” he barked, still irritated that he’d had to leave his Ehlealah before she woke to address the demands of the Consortium.

  “Sire, they demand that we return all females to them at once,” his Public Relations officer advised.

  “Have we not returned any of the females?” Zha Quin asked.

  “Only a few, Sire. Of those remaining, some don’t wish to be returned to their home worlds. Others don’t even remember where their home worlds are. We are working to identify them and find them all sanctuary wherever we can.”

  “Is there a reason they are not returned to the Consortium to be sorted out through their efforts?” Zha Quin asked. He knew war, he knew battle. He did not know, nor did he care to know the politics of the Consortium and the whys of the way they did things. But he was smart enough to surround himself with those who understood and cared about the things he did not. His Public Relations officer, Xallen, was one of those. He would have appeared human had it not been for the slight bluish hue to his skin and the slightly darker tone to his hair. He was not Cruestaci, but had sworn his allegiance to them years before when his home planet and people were liberated from occupation by a brutal race bent on enslaving and plundering their entire world. They were a gentle people, empaths known for soothing and calming as opposed to aggression. Zha Quin had personally freed him and his family. He’d been at Zha Quin’s side ever since.

  “A counselor has been assigned to the women. Well, those of them who care to use his services. He is to be sent aboard shortly. Before we allowed him to come aboard, or even responded to the demand that he be given access to our ship and the females, we called for you.”

  “Have they been advised of all the females?” Zha Quin asked.

  Xallen, knowing exactly what Zha Quin wasn’t saying, shook his head, “They have not been advised of whether she was confirmed on board or not. Your response on that is completely up to you.”

  Zha Quin smiled, all of his teeth on full display.

  “Though I suggest you tread lightly, Sire,” Xallen offered gently.

  His Communications Master, the same green Venasian whose pool he’d used, called out, “Coming online now, Commander.”

  The viewing podium flickered as a holographic image appeared — a long, U-shaped table, both left and right sides of the table lined with people of different races, different species, and at the head of the table sat three males. The one in the center, regarding Zha Quin with disgust, was the Chairman of the Unified Consortium Defense.

  “Commander Tel Mo’ Kok, what news have you of the human female?” he immediately pressured.

  Zha Quin’s chest rumbled as he barely withheld a snarl. “All females have been rescued; the only deaths incurred were those of the slavers. Each female has been assessed by our healers, tended to, given food and shelter and now rest easy in their quarters. They are perfectly safe and well.”

  “And what of the human?” he pressed.

  “Is she not female? She has been treated and now rests in her quarters,” Zha Quin answered, his voice rising with his answer.

  “When will she be returned to us for repatriation to her planet?” the Chairman pressed again.

  Zha Quin slammed his feet to the Command Deck as he stood. “All females who care to return to their home worlds will be returned. Those who don’t will be allowed to choose their point of exit. If they have none, they will be offered sanctuary on Cruestace.”

  “You have no right to determine their outcome!”

  “No, Malm, I do not. But they certainly do. And some have chosen not to return to their home planets. We will honor their wishes!” Zha Quin snapped.

  Chairman Malm, realizing that his position did nothing to intimidate Commander Tel Mo’ Kok, tried another tactic. “With some of the females, that may be the best approach, however, the human must be returned to me, post ha
ste.”

  “Why?” Zha Quin demanded, head cocked to the side, stalking slowly toward the holograph on his viewing platform.

  “Well, because that’s what must happen! Her government demands her return. She must be turned over to us without pause,” Malm answered, obviously flustered.

  “You just said she must be returned to you. Which is it? You or the Consortium for return to her planet? Perhaps I’ll just take her directly back to Earth, return her to her own bed,” Zha Quin baited him.

  “No! You must turn her over to us immediately. We will take care of repatriating her.”

  Zha Quin paced back and forth in front of the holograph, considering the tone and words of a very flustered politician as he demanded the return of a human female, to himself, as opposed to Earth. Something wasn’t right. He felt it. Zha Quin looked up, away from the holovid at his back and met the eyes of each male where they waited at their stations on the command bridge for his next orders. Each of them reflected his own emotions. Distrust, they all sensed deception. Except for the Communications Master, who never displayed emotion at all. He just watched the monitors responsible for transmitting the holovids of the meeting.

  Zha Quin turned back to the live vidcom and smiled at the room full of the governing members of the Consortium, then he said, “You can’t have her back. She will not be returning to Earth.”

  “She must be returned! This moment! We will send a counselor for the other females, but she must come to us, now!” Malm sputtered.

  “Impossible,” Zha Quin countered calmly.

  “Why is it impossible?” one of the males sitting along the left side of the table asked. Zha Quin took in his appearance. He wasn’t sure, but he appeared human, and it was clear that he was somewhat more reasonable than Malm was.

  “Malm has no right to demand anything,” Zha Quin started.