by T. S. Ryder
"Shall I give you a damage assessment?" the computer asked.
"Nah, not right now. What's around here? I want to make sure I haven't dropped into Munchkin land and squashed their mayor. Or the Wicked Witch of the West. I'm in no mood for quests..."
There was a brief pause. "There appears to be a temporary encampment with vessels faster than the speed of light nearby. Would you like a map?"
Sara shook her head. "They'll find me. I'd like to stay safe inside here until I know whether they're friendly or not."
The computer didn't respond to that. Not that that was surprising. These older models were programmed to be functional, not friendly. The new Soundbolts had a computer that would congratulate you on your singing skills, but this rust bucket interacted at the bare minimum. It made for a very arduous journey between the stars.
It was all she could afford on her salary, though, and there was no way in Satan's menstrual cramps that she was staying on the Corps base she was assigned to. The space station orbited a backwater moon and she needed some excitement. That was why she had taken off to the aptly-named Planet Adventure, which was basically Disneyland, only a gazillion times bigger. Sara had blown all her savings on the two-week stay. She had thought it was worth it until her engine cut out over this planet.
"Hey, where are we, anyway?"
"Rozaist, Hockorn system."
Rozaist? Sara shook her head. This was a planet where the religious crazies went. Not that she had anything against believers, but mass hordes of rioters demanding opposite-species relationships be made illegal set her teeth on edge. Rozaist wasn't part of the United Species, though, and as such was fair game to anybody who wanted a piece of it. The Corps was occasionally called to settle squabbles here, but they didn't technically have any jurisdiction. More often than not, it was one warlord or another who offered the planet 'protection' and implemented their own sort of justice. Hopefully, her position in the Corps would give her some protection against the locals.
That thought flew out the window when the lights went out. The displays shut down and Sara found herself in utter silence. Even the usual hum of air circulation had stopped. She sat, bewildered, for a moment, but the answer came to her quickly.
Pirates.
With a curse, she drew her issued blaster gun and turned on the built-in light that she insisted on adding, despite her colleagues' scoffs. It was an old habit, leftover from her days back on Earth, before she ended up out here.
Don't think about that, Sara told herself harshly. Earth is gone.
She found herself a defensible position and hunkered down, adjusting her bionic eyes to register heat signatures. Five of them lurked just outside the ship. There was a wheezing noise, the sound of air being released. Too late Sara realized that the air vents were active again, pumping in a gas of some sort. Her head swam, bright lights flashing across her vision, and she slumped to the floor.
Don't let them find out I'm human.
***
Light stabbed into her eyes when she woke, but the bionics adjusted so quickly that Sara only had a brief moment of discomfort. The first thing she noticed was that she was still wearing her uniform. Good. Then she hadn't been taken by slavers to be auctioned off at the market. If she had been, they would have either stripped her bare or put her in provocative clothing.
Her curvy, muscular build and thick waist were considered beautiful for women out here, despite the ideal for men being stick-thin. If she wanted to, she could have been a model or actress – any number of things. But she was a military girl. It was all she knew in her life before coming to the stars and all she wanted now.
The lieutenant glanced around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a cage with bars made of flickering blue energy, separating her from an office of sorts. Shelves filled with trinkets that ranged from glowing stones to taxidermy animals ringed the space. The walls were covered in a chevron pattern.
There was a huge purple desk to one side of the room, behind which sat an alien. His skin was the sickly color of foam at the bottom of a polluted waterfall. When she stirred, he looked up. His extra-wide mouth smiled, all three of his eyes crinkling at the sides. A Trioeil. Yuck. These slimy creatures considered themselves sentient beings and every other species in the galaxy as their rightful slaves.
"Ah, good," the Trioeil said, the translation chip embedded behind Sara's ear twinging as it adjusted to his language. "Our Goddess is awake."
Sara drew herself up as best as she could in the minimal space and glared at the Trioeil. "I am Lieutenant Sara O'Neill of the United Species Corps. What you are doing—"
"The Corps has no jurisdiction here, m'lady," the alien said, waddling around his desk on flat feet. He was oddly bulky for a Trioeil. Usually, they resembled bobble-heads: oversized heads on a broomstick bottle. This one, though, looked like he could hold his own in an arm-wrestling match. "But forgive me, m'lady, as I'm sure we are most fortunate to meet you. I can see by your beautiful blue skin and golden eyes that you are Aphrosian. A beautiful specimen to be the Goddess for the Fifth Cycle Festival."
Sara's stomach dropped. Since she had woken up in a ship hundreds of thousands of years after her abduction from Earth, she had learned that the galaxy was a brutal place. Technological development did not guarantee social development.
"The Goddess," she whispered, feeling like she was about to be sick.
The Fifth Cycle Festival was an ancient tradition among several cultures. In it, a woman was chosen to play the Goddess, bound to fleshy form, and men would hold a competition, killing each other until only one remained. He became the God and the Goddess was his to do with what he wanted. The Festival had been banned by the United Species years ago, as it was common practice for the 'Goddess' to be killed and eaten by the 'God'.
Bile rose up the back of her throat, but Sara refused to panic. She was a trained soldier. She knew how to defend herself from one man if it came to that. Besides, she had more immediate concerns.
If the Trioeil ran any deep scans on her, he would learn very quickly that she wasn't Aphrosian at all. The full-skin, deep blue tattoo she had and the golden shade of her bionic eyes was enough to fool most people, but the truth was in her DNA. She was human, a rare and pricy commodity.
All the species that Sara knew about were the distant descendants of humans. For the past forty-five standard years–or thirty years, according to Earth time–humans had been popping up all over the place in light-speed ships, preserved by stasis pods and the temporal distortion that happened when a ship travelled at light speed. Most of these humans were now in private collections or being dissected by research companies. Few found a peaceful welcome.
"We have a good crop of men wishing to be the God this year," the Trioeil told her gleefully. "It will be good sport to watch."
"I'm not of that faith," Sara said, trying to keep her voice calm. "But I am a member of the Corps. If you don't let me go, you’ll have to deal with the whole force of the United Species."
The Trioeil made a motion with his hands equivalent to a shrug. "I'll be gone before they get here. I'm just here to collect the donations for the Church and officiate the Festival. Now, do try to smile. The Goddess should be happy."
There had to be a way out of this. Sara sucked in a deep breath, trying to quell the panic beating at her chest. It would be useless to try to break out of the cage. It would only hurt her so much that she couldn't fight even if she did manage to free herself.
Fight.
Sara rubbed her arms, thinking over everything she knew about the Fifth Cycle. The man who won was supposedly favored by the Goddess, and that's why he won. But if the female chosen to be the Goddess didn't approve of the man, then she could challenge him herself.
So that was it. Sara let out her breath. It was a desperate, last-ditch plan, but it was at least a plan. She needed to find a way out of here before the Festival started. But if worst came to worst, she would challenge the winner to a duel. No doubt he would
be a huge, muscle-bound brute that she wouldn't stand a chance against. But if he were exhausted from fighting…
It was worth the chance, wasn't it?
"Is there anything I can get for you, m'lady?" the Trioeil asked. "The Festivals are about to start."
"Already?" Sara's heart dropped.
"Yes. We are most fortunate, indeed… Until you fell from the sky there was no woman fit to be the Goddess." His wide smile widened further. "It must be divine intervention."
Sara closed her eyes. Great. Just great. Well, fighting it would be.
Chapter Two: Tom
One of the benefits of being a T'shav was that everybody assumed that you were waiting for the tiniest excuse to disembowel them. Thus, they tended to bend over backward trying to please you.
Tom enjoyed the way that the other customers at the power station simply melted out of his way as he strode towards the pay counter. It was a good thing, too, because he had no patience for long waits today. He was two days behind on his mission due to a micro asteroid splitting through his shields. Damn thing had torn a hole through his reserve power tank.
"Two helixes of power for Bond," he ordered, using the fake name he always employed when he was out on secret missions.
The Dibat standing at the power bar, yellow-skinned with warts all over his ugly face, nodded and tapped a few commands into the holographic bar. These days most civilized locations also had food, drink, and entertainment available when repowering a ship, but this little place had a few holographic ads to look at and nothing else. But, then, what else could be expected from the backend of the galaxy like Rozait?
"It'll just be five beats of the drum," the Dibat squeaked.
Tom sent the alien an annoyed glance. "And what is that in standard time?"
"Three hours."
Tom grunted. Slower than what he was used to. The hadron particles were probably not as pure, either, but what could he do about it? Beating the Dibat wasn't going to do any good except, perhaps, give him some brief sense of satisfaction. He stepped aside, letting the other customers approach the bar. Idly, he glanced over the ads as he headed outside.
The image of a blue-skinned woman that suddenly flashed over the wall made him freeze. On first glance, she appeared to be Aphrosian, but she was far too curvy to be of that species. He admired her build for a moment. She wore a USC uniform, but even the layers of bulk couldn't hide the fact she was all curves and muscle. Her shoulders were almost as broad as his own.
When Tom made his way to her face, his heart skipped a beat. It would have been embarrassing, except that everything besides that face had melted away. Her eyes were determined and angry, her full, kissable mouth set, her chin raised defiantly. He wanted to throw her onto a table, tear off her clothes, and explore her body until he found the spots that made her arch her back to him. He wanted to seat himself inside her, to find where he belonged–where he had always belonged, where he would forever belong. With her. His Starmate. He always knew he would find her, and now he had.
Tom's heart pounded shallowly as he managed to look at what the advertisement said about this beautiful, proud woman that housed the other half of his soul. A growl rose up in his chest as he read that she would be the Goddess for the Fifth Cycle Festival. The Goddess, to be fought over, and then used for whatever purpose the winner had planned for her.
Never.
Turning on his heel, Tom pushed his way through the customers, too impatient to wait for them to step out of his way this time. He slammed his hands down on the bar, making the Dibat jump, and glowered down at the little alien. His blood pumped, and he knew the red of his skin would look even redder. Good. The T'shav were often associated with demonic figures in other cultures, and that was certainly something he would use to his advantage here.
"How do I get in on the Festival Fight?"
The Dibat's jaw dropped. Tom didn't care what was going through the tiny creature's mind. When no answers were forthcoming, he leaned forward, growling as he narrowed his eyes. Still nothing, so he grasped the handle of the broadsword strapped to his back.
"You'll have to register! In the square. The Festival is about to start—"
Tom ignored the rest of the Dibat's squeals. He dashed from the power station, his heart pounding with both fear and excitement. He had found her. At long last, he had found his Starmate. He had been looking for her ever since he was a young boy. His parents had told him how souls were born in the stars but sometimes were separated into two parts when born into mortal bodies.
Now all he had to do was kill a bunch of men to get her. And if he lost? The thought made him smirk. I'm the son of a T'shav warlord who trained me to be a warrior. The only question is whether I sprain myself laughing as I cleave their heads from their shoulders.
He reached the square quickly. Dozens of men, from lean-figured Loeas to hulking, green-skin Faners, were streaming into an area that had been marked off by small silver disks. So it was to be a caged fight. Good. It would make disposing of his competition easier. He quickly paid the two helix quarks that were required to participate and strode in, the last of the competitors.
The men who caught sight of him inched away and Tom had to resist the urge to pity them. The battle was already half over, and they would be dead soon.
The loud, reverberating noise of a gong brought all their attention to a stout Trioeil standing on a platform overlooking the makeshift arena. Tom's breath caught in his throat. She was standing beside the Trioeil, golden chains around her wrists and ankles. The picture had done her no justice. They had edited out the subtle scar that marred her lower lip, making it dimple in half, as well as the scar above her left eye and the one showing just above her collarbone. She was all the more beautiful for these marks, showing that she had faced and survived at least one violent encounter.
A warrior, like him.
The Trioeil beside her raised its arms. "For the Goddess!"
"The Goddess!" the gathered men replied.
The blue-skinned woman's face twisted and she spat at the square. "If you're so concerned about the Goddess, who apparently I am, you'll all go home and rethink your life choices!" she shouted.
Tom laughed aloud, the only one to do so. Yes, she was his Starmate indeed!
"Fight for your Goddess and be brave," the Trioeil shouted. "Now! Fight! Fight!"
Tom rolled his eyes and stepped back as an energy cage sprang to life around them. At once, all the other men lunged, using knives and bare fists to tear at each other. There were even a few that had brought in swords. The quarters were too tight to wield them properly, though, so Tom left his sheathed. Instead, he drew the daggers bound to his thighs and watched.
Three of his competitors tried to rush him at once. With one easy motion, he sliced through their throats and threw the leftmost man into his brawling companions. Tom stepped over them, leaving them gasping on the ground as blood poured from their throats. He cut down two more that had been coming to join them and a sixth that turned and tried to run.
"Coward."
He prowled around the edges of the cage, picking off the weak ones so they couldn't come back and stab him in the back when he was dealing with the more powerful opponents. A man on the other side of the cage caught his eye. His skin was devil-red, footsteps agile, eyes keen and darting. Another T'shav. This one was older, more powerfully built.
The older T'shav nodded briefly as acknowledgment before turning his attention back to the other fighting males. Tom withdrew from the battle, now only taking care of individuals that came at him first. He would need his strength against that big brute.
Bodies littered the ground, the dirt becoming a stinking pit of red mud. It splattered on the trousers that Tom wore. He wrinkled his nose, wishing he had chosen to wear more traditional garb. But he hadn't known he was going to end up soaked in blood, had he? Two Faners came at him. He ducked a wild swing, stabbing into one of their kidneys while kicking out the knees of the others and jabbing his
free dagger through the spine. Both dropped and Tom moved onto the next opponent.
Soon, it was only the two T'shav left. They faced each other, neither of them moving. Tom drew his broadsword, planting his feet firmly on a rare patch of solid ground. His chest heaved and his heart hammered, adrenaline flooding his system in higher concentrations.
"Surrender, boy," the older T'shav said, his stance relaxed, though he was panting from the effort of his previous battles. "I have been watching you fight. It would be a shame to destroy your talent when you are so young."
"Then you surrender," Tom replied swiftly. "The woman that these men chose as their Goddess is my Starmate, and I would put an entire planet in its grave before I surrendered her."
The old T'shav backed up a step. He glanced up at the woman on the platform. Tom spared a glance that way as well. The Trioeil was rubbing his hands eagerly, but his mate was still standing, looking disgusted. Did she feel the same draw to him that he felt for her? Her fists shook. When their eyes met, he saw nothing but anger. Well, given the situation, that was understandable.
Tom turned his attention back to his opponent, who smiled wryly. "I was unfortunate enough to meet my Starmate the day she died. I really shouldn't… The Ruizers Corporation hired me to claim her. They'll continue to be after her, boy. Stay vigilant."
Ruziers. It was the corporation that had hired him to track down the ship he was after. Tom swallowed but nodded his thanks at the older T'shav. The man returned the nod and tossed down his weapons. "The spirits have spoken to me," he shouted. "This boy is the God, and it is my duty to serve him."
The crowd gasped, but the older T'shav ignored them. He turned his back on Tom and strode away. The energy cage died, leaving the younger T’shay alone. He turned to his Starmate and smiled, climbing over the piles of bodies to take her hand and lead her away from this place.