Shalia's Diary #3

by Tracy St. John

  I met with him in his office, which is situated just outside the Earther Matara area of the ship. I guess that makes keeping an eye on us gals easy, having him so close. I sat down in his little ‘conversation area’, across the small room from his work desk. This conversation area is a low table surrounded by huge pillows he refers to as seating cushions. They were nice and soft. I wouldn’t mind sleeping on one ... they’re about big enough to do so.

  After I sat down, there was nothing to do but look across the table at Betra and insist to myself he was not that damned cute. Stupid libido. Thank God that just because a girl likes to look doesn’t mean she has to touch.

  Betra cured me of any impending crush pretty quick. His smile was friendly enough and he was very polite as he asked me how I was doing. Yet he was kind of weird, too. He fixed me with a searching look that made me feel like a bug on a pin. He kept inhaling really deeply. During our conversation, he kept asking me how I was feeling. Not just a couple of times, but over and over. It kind of went like this:

  How are you feeling, Shalia? (To which I responded, fine) Are you settling in okay? (Yes) Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me? (Not really) Be sure you contact me at any time if you do have questions. Are you feeling all right? (For the second time I tell him yes) I’m here to help you with anything at all, at any time, day or night hours. If I’m not in my office, com me. (Okay) So, you’ve been feeling okay? (That was three) Is there anything you need, anything at all? (At this point I remembered I was low on teeth-cleansing tabs, but that’s something I can order from my room. I told Betra I didn’t need anything and made a mental note to get the tabs) Your father Nayun commed me. He wants you to stop in Medical and get checked over. (Okay) And you’re feeling good these days? (What the fuck? How many times do I have to tell you I’m perfectly fine? But I answered yes. I wasn’t a bitch about it.)

  I thought Dad was a mother hen. Now I think I know why Betra hasn’t been clanned. Imagine living with someone who asks you the same damned question all day long. He takes being a caregiver into the OCD realm.

  Betra made me paranoid with all that sniffing he did. It is very disconcerting to carry on a conversation while the other person’s nostrils keep flaring wide. As soon as I could get away from him, I went to my quarters and took my second shower of the day. Maybe I missed a pit the first time around.

  Boredom and overly solicitous men who sniff a lot. This is my life. Fun, fun, fun. Then again, I could be at the Academy, in mortal danger every second of the day. With Nang nearby.

  Sometimes, you can’t win.

  December 7

  Katrina kills me. That woman is not well in the head, which means I want to spend all the time I can around her. Hey, I gotta do something on this ship to keep me from going into a coma, right?

  Candy and I sat with her for lunch today. The Matara dining hall, separate from the ship’s crew’s dining hall, is huge. It’s bigger than needed for the paltry five or six hundred Earther gals Kalquor managed to convince to come to their home world this time around. Someone said this vessel is supposed to be a troop transport that is used to cart around foot soldiers. Since most of those guys have been dumped off on Earth for now, we’re its main cargo. Katrina has named the ship, christening it the Pussy ‘Porter. “Or should it be the Vagina Vessel?” she asked us as we choked on herbed rizpah fillets.

  I told you she’s not right.

  It wasn’t just her crazy, in-your-face comments that had me alternating between hysterics and astonishment. The way Katrina carried on with the Kalquorians who brought us our meals and checked on us from time to time was beyond scandalous. Katrina is not shy in any way, shape, or form. She touches the men. Blatantly. Intimately. Not one masculine rump passed by that she didn’t rub, squeeze, or pat. And the guys loved her for it. I noticed several went out of their way to guide meal carts past Katrina, walking slowly just so she could give them some attention.

  “When is your next party?” one young Imdiko asked, pausing next to her. I thought he could have been her grandson, he was so sweet and fresh-faced.

  Katrina grinned saucily up at him. “I’m still recovering from the last one. I haven’t made plans for tonight. Were you the one I discussed private consultations with?”

  The Imdiko grinned from ear to ear. “If I say yes, will you trust me?”

  “Hmm,” Katrina said, looking that muscled body up and down. “It seems you might be trying to be a little dishonest with me. I think you need to be taken in hand, young man. An hour after evening shift starts?”

  “Yes, Matara.” The Imdiko walked away with a swagger in his step.

  Candy’s face was beet red. “Did you just arrange to – are you going to have – is he going to spend the night in your quarters?”

  Katrina looked at her with surprise. “Well, you heard how he was trying to be deceptive. That naughty boy needs a guidance.” She sighed, as if bearing the weight of the world. “I will do my part in putting him on a more honest path. It’s the least I can do for the Empire that has rescued me.”

  “You have parties?” I asked, having caught that part of the Imdiko’s conversation.

  “Little get togethers,” Katrina said offhandedly. “Sort of like a salon, where we have a few drinks, I inform them on the ways to make Earther girls happy, entertain questions, and gather intelligence on what makes them feel good. You two should join us at the next one. I’ll let you know when as soon as I figure out a good time to have another.”

  “Is that all that happens at your parties?” Candy wanted to know. She had a suspicious look on her face. “You just talk and drink?”

  “Well, it is often necessary to indulge in practical exercises. Just to demonstrate key points,” the older woman said with an unrepentant grin.

  Candy looked at her as if she didn’t know whether to condemn or worship Katrina for her flagrant sexuality. For my part, I could only laugh.

  Yes, the Kalquorians love Katrina. As we neared finishing our meal and the dining hall began to empty out, the guys started to congregate at our table. They flirted with our elder stateswoman with delight, and she flirted back with abandon. She was definitely the belle of the ball.

  At first, Candy and I might as well have not been there. Katrina possesses so much personality that even my chatty and flirtatious friend was quiet and observing. I could almost see Candy taking mental notes on what made the men respond. I’m not sure Candy will ever manage the uninhibited joy that delighted the men paying Katrina court. I’m not sure anyone but Katrina can manage it.

  But as more men gathered, I found myself amongst the crowd. A funny thing happened then. The ones closest to me abruptly turned away from the laughter and teasing going on around Katrina. They zeroed in on me.

  “You are quite lovely, Matara,” said one. I think he was a Dramok. “What is your name?”

  “Shalia,” I said, a bit uncomfortably. The guy’s eyes had gone really dark, the pupils widening the way I’ve noticed Kalquorians’ do when they’re getting ready to fight or have sex.

  “Matara Shalia,” said an Imdiko standing at my shoulder. “You are beautiful. Do you enjoy parties like Matara Katrina does?”

  He was no less avid than the Dramok. I felt like a mouse caught between two hungry and playful cats. “I’ve never been to Katrina’s parties, so I couldn’t say,” I answered. I tried to catch Candy’s eye, hoping for some help escaping the immediate vicinity. However, she was enthralled with the talk and laughter going on around Katrina.

  The Dramok’s fingers stroked through my hair. I jerked, trying to move away from the unwelcome touch. He smiled apologetically.

  “I’m sorry. I have not even introduced myself, Matara Shalia.” A crease appeared between his brows. “But first – you have not been claimed by a clan?”

  I was getting confused and worried by the situation, which the Imdiko on my other side wasn’t helping. He stood close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body. He sounded a little impatien
t with the Dramok. “Of course she isn’t clanned. She’s going into the lottery or she wouldn’t be here.”

  “I was concerned about the yadbis.”

  “Apparently, he was unable to claim her or she didn’t want him. She’s available.”

  “I’m not clanned,” I said, though something in me warned I might do better to allege I was taken. These two were just so damned intense. It was beginning to scare me.

  Suddenly, Imdiko Betra was at our table. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the pair standing over me. Then he did his weird sniffing thing. Suddenly, he barked something in Kalquorian at the other two. His tone was low and threatening, and he looked every bit as feral as I’d ever seen Esak. I didn’t know an Imdiko could look that frightening, but Betra was.

  Whatever he said got the attention of all the Kalquorians surrounding our table. Every purple eye was on me in an instant. More nostrils flared. Betra snarled something else, and every man, including my too-friendly pair, stepped back. Even the Dramoks in the group were listening to whatever he was telling them with attitudes of compliance.

  Except for Betra, the men all bowed, turned around, and left us. Just like that. Katrina, Candy, and I stared at our liaison.

  “What the hell?” Katrina asked. “You sent them all away? Why?”

  “It was necessary,” the Imdiko said. “I apologize for interrupting, Mataras.”

  With no more explanation than that, Betra also turned and walked off. While I’m glad he got the Amorous Twins off me, I was left as lost and irritated as my companions.

  That is one strange Kalquorian.

  December 8

  I just had the craziest conversation with Dad. He commed me first thing this morning. I haven’t even had a chance to rub the crud out of my eyes.

  I was happy to see his big, broad self nonetheless. His hair was a big, coarse cloud around his head, kind of like he’d just gotten up himself. There were circles under his eyes. He looked like he’d passed a sleepless night. I was on alert right away.

  “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” I burst out after his smiling ‘hello’.

  “I’m perfectly fine, my daughter,” he answered, his sweet face softening at my concern. “I can’t com and say hello?”

  “Of course you can,” I answered. “You just seem a little ... I don’t know. You look tired.”

  “Bitev snores.”

  A distant voice called. “Serves you right. You steal all the covers. ”

  A second voice added, “And he hogs the sleeping mat. I nearly fall out of bed every night.”

  I laughed as Dad rolled his eyes at the clanmates I couldn’t see. It must have been early in the day all right if all three were still in their quarters. I called, “Good morning, Dad’s clan.”

  “Good morning, clanmate’s daughter,” came the chorus. Then Dramok Bitev shoved into the transmission, pushing a chuckling Dad off to the side. His lined but handsome face beamed at me. “Shalia, you do realize that one clanmate’s child is claimed by the entire clan, don’t you? I know you barely know Rak and me, but if you belong to Nayun, we should get to be fathers as well. At least that’s Kalquorian custom.”

  I was delighted. The last few days on Earth I had eaten many meals with Nayun’s clan and I had liked his Dramok and Nobek enough to wish I had time to know them better. “Am I adopted, then?”

  “If it meets with your approval.” Bitev’s lean face, so much the opposite of Dad’s broad features, stretched in a grin.

  I grinned back. “In that case, hi Dramok Dad.”

  Hands shoved Nayun right out of the picture and Nobek Rak put in a rough-and-ready appearance. “Don’t forget me, my daughter.”

  “Good morning, Nobek Dad.”

  My first Kalquorian father tried to yank him out of the transmission. “She already said good morning to you. Now go away. I’m running late and I need to talk to her!”

  Rak rolled his eyes at me, obviously unimpressed with his Imdiko’s argument. “Can you believe this man, denying a father the joy of speaking to his new daughter?”

  I could only laugh at the way they carried on. After much good-humored jostling with Imdiko Dad and kind words aimed at me, Bitev and Rak left for their duties.

  “Sometimes I envy you Earthers having only one mate,” Dad told me with pretend grumpiness.

  “You don’t mean that,” I told him. “You love those two.”

  Eyes twinkling, Nayun put a finger to his lips, as if to forestall me from giving away any secrets. “Now then. How are you, Shalia?”

  “Bored,” I sighed. “You’d think I’d be grateful for how quiet it is here after all that happened on Earth. Hey, your quarters don’t look right.” I peered behind his bulk at the little bit I could see of the room.

  “New quarters. We’re in Atlanta. We transferred.”

  I got all excited. “Really? Have you seen Dusa, Esak, and Weln?”

  Dad looked a little grumpy. “No, we’ve been too busy settling in and assuming our duties. This place is huge compared to the Academy, and the work is constant. Speaking of Clan Dusa, did you ever finish the vid of their clanning ceremony? I’d like to have a copy, if it’s ready.”

  I smacked my forehead. “Holy smokes! I completely forgot about it. I can’t even remember the last time I worked on it, but it was nearly done. Thanks for mentioning it.”

  Dad chuckled at me. “I can’t imagine what might have distracted you. Let’s see, building blown up, Earther attack, getting shot at—”

  “— locked in a burning building, rescuing my mother and father from said burning building and nearly dying in the process,” I finished for him.

  “Ah yes, the reason for my com. I’d like you to report to the transport’s medical department and have them check you over for any residual issues.”

  I stared at him, my brows drawing together. “Residual issues? Like what?”

  Dad gestured vaguely. “Well, you took considerable lung damage. Oxygen deprivation might have had some other effects as well, things that didn’t show up in the short term.”

  I frowned. “You said everything looked good before I left. Tissue regeneration, blood oxygen levels all normal, heart functioning well, everything.”

  “I know, I know.” He smiled with what looked like an attempt at reassurance. I wasn’t convinced. “I have no reason to doubt you’re doing perfectly fine. Still, you could humor your worrywart of a dad and get a checkup.”

  I snorted. “Did you just say ‘worrywart’? Who have you been around that talks like that?”

  Dad reddened. My mouth dropped open and I made an indignant sound.

  “What’s her name? When did you meet her? She’s there in Atlanta? Is the whole clan in on this or just you?”

  Dad refused to look me in the eye. “We’ve had a couple of dinners with the young lady, that’s all. Look, I really need to get to my patients, my daughter—”

  “Oh no you don’t!” I yelled at him. “I need to know how serious this is. How young is this young lady? She’d better not be younger than me! I want to meet her before this goes too far!”

  “Shalia, I really have to go now.” Dad was beet red. “I’ll com you later when I have more time to talk. I’ll tell you everything then. In the meantime, get over to Medical and let them check you over. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Before I could stop him, he cut the transmission.

  Well! That man has some explaining to do. A couple of dinners, indeed. After that lame excuse that Bitev snores and that’s why Nayun looked so tired, I’m betting those men have been up to a lot more than dinner dates. As bad as Dad was blushing, there’s DEFINITELY a lot more to it than that. He is in for it when I catch up with him next time.

  December 9

  You know, I just don’t get it. I mean, what is it about me that men are so fascinated with? I wish I could figure it out, because I’d bottle that shit and sell it for a fortune.

  I suppose I’m attractive enough, but I’m not the prettiest girl eve
r. I don’t have a perfect body. I’m intelligent, but not the most scintillating speaker I’ve ever heard. There are other women for the Kalquorians to prowl after. I mean, look at Candy! She’s definitely too cute and bubbly ... man bait if I ever saw such. And Katrina, while older, is quite attractive too. She’s got personality to spare. Plus she is happy to have sex. What more could they want?

  Yet I have another beau falling to my questionable charms. My liaison Imdiko Betra, of all people. Yes, he of the flaring nostrils and obsession with asking me how I feel. The weird guy.

  I didn’t realize at first that this was what was happening. When he stopped by this morning with a container full of goodies, I thought it was just another Kalquorian thing. You know, ‘welcome to our culture and please like us enough to have our babies.’ That sort of thing.