It will be fine, he told himself as he walked to his work station and logged in. He seated himself and began to work at the hand-board. Above it hovered the 3-D monitor cube which showed his research notes and findings from every angle. To his right, growing in a little pot beside the hand-board, was a small, green bush—a bonding fruit plant.
Calden still didn’t know why he had planted the seed and grown it in the first place. Maybe to remind him of his home world and the Kindred Brothers he had left behind. Though he found his work here fulfilling, he still missed Ren and Bram and the rest of his friends aboard the Jor’gen Kindred Mother Ship. He wondered if they had ever found a new race of females to bond with. Had they also planted bonding fruit seeds in the hope of finding new mates?
“Well if they did, I hope their seeds worked better than mine,” Calden muttered to himself as he studied the holo-cube of the 3-D monitor which glowed softly in the air in front of him. The seed he had planted had resulted in a sickly, stunted piece of vegetation which had never borne a single piece of fruit. It was almost as though the plant knew it wasn’t needed, so why bother to grow properly?
Which was a silly thought, Calden told himself. You couldn’t go around anthropomorphizing plants or getting attached to specimens like the tiny, fluffy branthas with their big eyes and their affectionate way of rubbing their heads against your hand as though begging to be petted and stroked. His heart fisted in his chest as he remembered the way the last of the little specimens—his favorite if he was being honest—had collapsed in his hands as he held it and stroked its lithe body, waiting for the inevitable end. His throat got tight at the memory and his eyes seemed to burn.
But that was emotion he was feeling—unnecessary emotion. He tried to push it away and concentrate on the task at hand.
Calling up the controls to the nutrient tank where he had already planted the DNA for his new specimen, he gave it the command to start the growth sequence. Luckily, the subject’s brain had been preserved, though the body had been frozen solid and mangled by some heavy machinery aboard the ship. She must have died of shock and been instantly frozen the moment her ship was torn in two and the vacuum of space found her.
Not a pleasant way to die but it was lucky for Calden. Her body was of no use since he intended to grow a new one anyway. But an undamaged brain meant that the clone he would grow in the nutrient tanks would have all of the original owner’s knowledge and the personality should be intact. It might take a little while for the memories to come back but that was just as well—it wouldn’t do to have her wake up in the tanks remembering the moment of her death. Such traumatic recollections could be emotionally scarring and were best left for later in the acclimation process.
She’s going to be perfect, Calden thought as he entered the command to begin accelerated clone growth. Perfect inside and out and I’m going to learn so much from her…
He had no idea how right he was…or how painful that knowledge would be.
Two
Madeline Harris woke up covered in warm green goo.
It was everywhere—coating her arms and legs, sliding between her fingers and toes, under her breasts, in her long, auburn hair—even inside her. As she sat up with a gasp, she could feel a cold finger of slime sliding into her sex. Ugh, what was this stuff and how could she get it off—and out—of her?
“Ah, you have awakened,” a strange, burbling voice said in her ear.
Madeline looked up for the source of the voice—and shrieked aloud when she saw it. A strangely elongated face with wide black eyes that held no white at all was staring at her. There were slits for nostrils and a thin, lipless mouth. Worse if all, when the creature reached for her, it did so with four, strangely-jointed arms, all of which had seven fingers and two thumbs apiece. Its skin was grayish-green and pebbled like a lizard’s hide. In short, there was nothing remotely human about it.
“Oh my God, what are you? Don’t—don’t touch me!”
She scrambled upright in the strange glass tank she found herself in and nearly slipped in the green slime. Crowding to the far end of the tank, she tried to cover herself and stay away from the weird, alien-looking creature at the same time. What was happening here? How had she gotten into this tank and why was she naked?
Old memories flashed through her head suddenly.
“Can’t believe you’re going to go off beyond the stars and leave Earth behind forever,” her little sister, Tabby had said, hugging her. “Oh Maddy, I’m going to miss you so much!”
“I’ll miss you too.” Madeline had hugged her back, fiercely. “But we have to go. The Scourge are threatening the entire planet and the government is pushing up the launch date. I just wish I could take you with me!”
“Maybe if I’d studied as hard as you but I’m no scientist or doctor or anything like that,” Tabby reminded her.
“I’m only a veterinarian,” Madeline said. “They want me to help with the animals once we find someplace to settle—if we ever do. It’s Pierce they really want. I’m just part of the package.”
Pierce…Pierce… Madeline frowned at the memory as an image of a tall man with thinning black hair on his shiny scalp and thick spectacles perched on his nose surfaced in her brain. Pierce had been her husband, right? Yes, that was right—she was sure of it. But the word “husband” didn’t exactly engender any tender emotions inside her. Why not?
Suddenly she remembered—Pierce was married to his work. They had needed him on the expedition because he was the leading ecologist and if they found a new planet that needed terraforming, he was the only one who could do it. Maddy had come along with him because only fertile couples who were capable of having children were welcome aboard the expedition. She had hoped that the excitement of searching for a new world together would rekindle the spark between them…
“You have woken too early. You must go back beneath the slime,” the strange creature with four arms said.
Madeline blinked, wiping the slime that ran into her eyes away and fresh terror filled her. How could she have gotten lost in the past that way? How had her memories taken center stage when she was naked in a tank of green slime and a terrifying alien creature was trying to grab her? Focus, Maddy!
“Get away from me,” she said in a low, shaky voice. “Don’t touch me or I’ll…I’ll…” She looked around for a weapon—any weapon at all. She was standing up in the high glass tank which was half-filled with the green slime. The tank came up to her waist and there didn’t seem to be any weapons around.
Since there was nothing else she could fight with, she leaned down and tried to cup a handful of the green goo. Her hands didn’t want to make cups though—her fingers felt strangely numb and useless which was something else to be scared about. Still, one fear at a time. The slime was fairly viscous so Maddy simply dragged her useless hand through the slime and flung it in a karate-chop motion at the alien.
Her aim was good. A generous glop of the green goo landed right in the alien’s big, black eyes. It snorted through its thin, slit-like nostrils and raised a seven-fingered hand to wipe the muck away.
“You are agitated,” it said, its lipless mouth turning down into a frown.
“You’re damn right, I’m agitated,” Maddy exclaimed. “Get away from me right now or I’ll throw some more of this weird stuff at you. I mean it!”
The alien—because what else could it be—began backing away.
“I told Calden it was a mistake to grow a sentient species—especially a female,” it said, sounding disdainful. “I told him it would be much more trouble than it was worth.”
“Just leave me alone!” Maddy shouted.
She was glad when it seemed like her shouts and threats were working. The alien turned and went out of a sliding metal door, leaving her alone in the slime tank.
“Thank goodness!” She nearly drooped in relief but the next minute she realized she couldn’t afford to relax. Wherever she was, she had to find her way out of here and get back to the
ship—back to the Kennedy. Had they been boarded somehow? Had aliens taken over and made them all prisoners? Was it possible that Pierce and the rest of the crew were even now occupying their own slime tanks in different parts of this complex—if it was a complex—she now found herself in?
Maddy had to find out. But first, she had to get out of the slime tank.
That was going to be a tall order, she saw, as she looked over the side. The tank was mounted on some kind of machine-type base which hummed quietly to itself. The base was at least six feet high and the sides of the tank rose another three feet above that. That was a sizable jump when you were naked and covered in slime and your hands didn’t seem to work right. Still, she had to try.
Taking a deep breath, Maddy threw a leg over the side of the tank. She winced as the sharp edge scraped against her inner thigh. Ouch—that hurt! Why was her skin so sensitive? Maybe soaking in the warm green slime had made it softer than normal.
Why had they put her in the slime anyway? Were they cooking her in some way? Using the slime to pre-digest her body for easier eating? Was that why her hands didn’t work?
They really didn’t work, either. Maddy couldn’t make her fingers grip the sides of the tank. Instead, she was forced to hold on with her forearms—at least the big muscles in her body seemed willing to obey her—and dangle from the side of the tank.
But when she looked down, the floor seemed awfully far away. She shivered as the green slime, which had been body temperature while she was submerged in it, now cooled on her skin. What if she twisted an ankle when she landed? Or what if she slipped, since she was still all slippery with the slime, and broke some bones? What then?
I have to risk it, she told herself grimly. There’s no other way. I have to find the others. I have to—
Just then her arms gave way and she found herself falling. A scream rose in her throat and she braced for impact with the hard, cold white floor beneath her.
But the painful jolting thud she expected never happened. Instead, someone caught her.
At first Maddy was certain it was the weird four-armed alien. He must have come back into the room while she was dangling from the edge of the tank with her back turned to the sliding metal door.
“No!” she shouted, struggling in the stranger’s grip. “No—let me go! Don’t touch me!”
“I’ve had specimens wake early before but I’ve never had one try to crawl out of the nutrient bath,” a deep, rumbling voice remarked and the grip on her body tightened.
Maddy looked up and saw another alien face staring down into her own. But at least this one wasn’t as alien—as frightening—as the first.
This new person had grayish skin but there were pink undertones to it. His eyes were like glowing gems in his face—like brilliant, sparkling topaz, Maddy thought—but there was no malice in them, only curiosity. He wore his thick black hair in long braids, pulled back from his high forehead and he had sharp, hawk-like features with a knife-blade nose and thin but sensual lips.In fact, except for the gray skin and the glowing bronze eyes, he looked almost human—or he would have if he hadn’t been so enormous.
He’s bigger than a basketball player, Maddy thought, feeling dazed. Bigger than a professional wrestler! He’s huge!
And he was currently holding her cradled naked against his broad chest, getting his white coat all smeared with the green slime which still covered her.
“Too-lug said you were agitated,” he rumbled, looking at her. “Can you understand me? I put translation bacteria into the nutrient bath so we didn’t have to bother with learning each other’s languages before we could communicate.”
“Who…who are you?” Maddy stared at him wide-eyed.
“I am Calden of the Jor’gen Kindred,” he replied in a deep, rumbling voice that seemed to vibrate her bones when he spoke.“And may I know what to call you?”
“I…I’m Maddy. Madeline Harris, I mean,” she said, still feeling dazed.
He frowned. “Which of those names would you like me to call you? Madeline? Maddy? Or Harris?”
“Madeline is my first name—that’s what most people call me although friends call me Maddy.” She couldn’t believe she was making introductions with a gray-skinned giant with glowing bronze eyes while he held her naked and covered in green slime against his broad chest as though she was a baby. It was too surreal. Was this some kind of a dream?
“Then I will call you Madeline,” Calden said formally. “Since we have not known each other long enough to be friends and it is not wise to make friends with one’s specimens anyway.”
“I’m not a specimen—I’m a person!” Maddy protested. “And why do you look so much different from the first, er, guy who came in here anyway?”
“That was Too-Lug—he is a Mentat, as are all who live and work on this station except for me. We are dedicated to the pursuit of new information. All knowledge is valuable.”
He said it as though it was some kind of slogan, Maddy thought—a mantra that he lived and worked by. Not that she cared—she had more important things on her mind at the moment.
“What am I doing here?” she demanded. “Where’s my ship? Where are the rest of the crew? My husband, Pierce?”
The huge scientist—if that was what he was—shifted uneasily.
“I hadn’t thought I would have to have this conversation with you so soon,” he said, frowning. “You really did awaken early.”
“Tell me!” Maddy insisted. “And…and put me down. I’m naked—I need to get this slime off me and then I need some clothes.”
“Forgive me. I was not respectful of your privacy because my past specimens have not required such consideration.”
He talked like Spock from the old Star Trek show her dad had loved, Maddy thought distractedly. But he still hadn’t put her down or answered her questions.
“The rest of my crew,” she said again. “Where are they?”
Calden sighed. “I do not know an easy way to say this so I must be blunt. From what we can gather, your ship went through a wormhole and came out the other side into an asteroid field. We surmise that it must have collided with one or more of the asteroids because it was ripped in two. We found only the back half of it—you were the only specimen collected by the droids, other than the frozen animal embryos and plants.”
“Stop calling me a specimen!” Maddy exclaimed. “And are you really saying that I’m the only survivor…that no one else is left? That they’re all…all…dead?”
The word would scarcely pass her lips. She felt sick saying it. So many people! Pierce, of course—they had grown apart but she’d been trying like hell to put them back together. And there was also Ana, the head biologist, who was becoming a good friend. She had the kindest way about her and she often asked Maddy to come have a cup of tea with her, even though she didn’t have much in her personal stores. Laurence, the engineering officer, had been funny and could always make her laugh and of course Captain Judith had been wonderful—so strong and sure of herself—she always inspired confidence. And so many, many more. Gone. Just…gone.
Maddy began to shiver, as much from shock as from the cold slime that was drying to a sticky glue on her skin. She had left Earth and most of the people she loved behind hoping to start a new life. And now that life had been ripped from her, along with everyone she knew. It was too much—just too much.
“G-gone,” she whispered, her teeth chattering. “Th-they’re all g-gone. I’m the only one l-left.”
Calden’s topaz eyes widened as he regarded her, still cradled in his arms. “You’re shivering—you’re going to start going into hypothermia. I must put you back in the nutrient bath to warm up.”
He started to lift her back into the tank but Maddy clung to him, pressing herself to his broad chest.
“No!” she gasped, blinking back tears. “Please, not back in there! I can’t.”
“But you’re really not ready to be out,” he protested. Still, he stopped trying to put her back in th
e tank and carried her out of the sliding door instead. They came out into another room, this one equipped with what looked like a shower stall at the far end. At least, it was a large rectangular space that was covered in strange blue-green tiles that looked like scales and there was a drain in the middle of the floor. It, like everything else in the room, seemed to be built for someone Calden’s size which reinforced her feeling of being a child in an adult-sized house. It was very disorientating.
When they got to the shower area, Calden put her down gently and began fiddling with some knobs and buttons located on the wall.
“Where…what…what are you going to do to me?” Maddy wrapped her arms around herself, feeling smaller than ever now that he had put her down. He was just so huge—nine feet tall at least, she estimated. The size difference made her feel like a kid being confronted by an adult—her head only came up to his elbow and she wasn’t short. In fact, at five-ten, she’d always felt like she was too tall. Now she wished she was a little taller so she wouldn’t feel so little and defenseless.Not that a few inches more in height would have made any difference. Not when Calden was a freaking giant.
“Relax,” he rumbled. “I’m just going to rinse the nutrient bath off of you and warm you up some.”
He detached a wide silver nozzle at the end of a long, snaky silver hose and pressed a button on the blue and green tiles of the wall.
At once a powerful jet of warm water spurted out, nearly knocking Maddy over.
“Whoa!” she gasped, feeling like she’d been hit with a fire hose. She staggered backwards under the intense water pressure, her feet, still slick with slime, slipping and skidding all over the place.
“Oh, forgive me!” Calden quickly made some adjustments and the water pressure lessened considerably. “I am not used to having such delicate…” He hesitated. “Such small, delicate people, as yourself to look after,” he finished at last.
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