by Maia Starr
“Thank you again for your warm welcome,” I finally said. “It is good to be home.”
The crowd cheered again, and I turned my back to the noise.
There was something burning in my mind. A certain female who had been trapped in my private chambers for the better part of a rotation. And now that I was free of my duties as Second in Command, I could hardly keep myself from sprinting back to my ship and seeing to it personally that the female I had abducted from Earth made it to the camps safely.
Chapter 9
Dr. Lain Brousseau
I wiggled my fingers and felt a surge of relief. My body had been in hell sitting on the Thressl’n commander’s bed for the past half hour, but I was finally beginning to regain feeling in my limbs. It was nice to feel like myself again, and better, there was light in this room. I’d be able to preserve my hard-earned sanity.
I could hear a muffled speech through the heavy walls of the ship, and I could tell that it was being given by the voice that had somehow become my salvation in the darkness of the ship. The translation implant I’d received from my position as a researcher on the Orion Project was beginning to unscramble the idiosyncrasies of the language that the Thressl’n were speaking in, though I still hadn’t gotten a good look at any of them yet. The gas was obnoxiously strong, and no matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes open, I couldn’t make sense of anything I was seeing.
The voices had spoken in broken English over the microphone in the dark chambers where we had been stored during the flight, so it had been easy to understand. But the musical voice that I’d grown so fond of was now speaking in a language all his own as he addressed the crowds. I could gather bits and pieces, but my basic lack of understanding was unbelievably frustrating to me.
And yet somehow, I felt like I could understand this particular man. Not by listening with my ears though. It seemed as if there was a different part of my brain that processed his intent. Something I’d never even known existed before. It was almost as if we shared a deep connection. But that was impossible. It was probably some form of Stockholm syndrome. That or a region of the brain I was unfamiliar with. Emotions were purely manifestations of brain chemistry, after all. I would have to make a mental note to figure out what that meant. If I ever got back to Earth, I would have to ask Nora. She specialized in neurobiology.
Feedback from the microphone seemed to imply that the speech was done. I’d been able to understand a little bit about the females being led to live in a camp, but the reason for our stay was still unclear. Once I could hold my eyes open, I looked around the room, shocked now that I could finally see. All of the furniture was a color I had never seen on Earth; a beautiful pastel that had no name. And unlike the monochromatic rooms on Earth, everything seemed to have its own color in this room. I’d never been somewhere quite so cheerful.
I closed my eyes, trying hard to summon an image of the man who had brought me here, but unlike my attempt to picture the woman in the dark room, no image appeared. I wasn’t even sure it had been Commander Zerk’k Arkti who had brought me here. I could have been hallucinating and imposing my own strange desire to be near that man again.
Had it been a dream? Or was the person who rescued me from the gas truly the same man with the musical voice I’d heard on the rooftop?
There was no way I could be sure. The drugs in my system were probably strong enough to down a full-grown elephant. For all I knew, I had been kidnapped right on Earth and was hallucinating the entire ordeal. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility.
Fortunately, the team at Project Orion had been smart enough to see abduction as a high possibility for members of our team, and we had begun to take supplements that strengthened our resistance to chemicals of extraterrestrial origins. Otherwise, I would probably be passed out in the dark room with all the other women the second they turned on the gas, whether I held my breath or not.
Even then, sitting bolt upright on the alien man’s bed, it would have been easy to slip into a deep sleep, but I was determined to experience every second of this bizarre abduction. I had so many questions about life on planets outside of Earth. There was no way I was going to miss an opportunity like this. Every detail seemed crucial.
A sudden clamor outside the room made my heart pound hard in my chest. Somebody was outside. I was going to have my first personal experience with an extraterrestrial. It was something I had been waiting for my entire life. But I wasn’t sure if I was more excited, scared, or angry. What right did they have to kidnap me like this? And when was I going back to Earth? I had work to do.
Angry accusations were on the tip of my tongue, but as the door hissed open, my mind suddenly went blank. I wasn’t prepared for the doorway to open, or for the tall, muscular man who came strolling through. His skin was a bright teal, and reminded me of a clear ocean on a sunny day. I could feel the confidence rolling off of him in waves, and I had to do a double-take. He was gorgeous, despite his somewhat strange features, and he looked like the kind of man who wouldn’t be crossed.
He was taller than any man on Earth I had ever seen in person, probably close to seven feet. Perhaps most striking about him was his smooth, sea-colored skin. He had no eyebrow hair, but a brow ridge was definitely there. I was sure it played a similar role for the Thressl’n in expressing emotion. He almost looked like the drawings I had made of mermen when I was a child, only he had no gills or fins. He was simply a perfectly proportioned man. But he wasn’t a human man. In fact, I had no idea what kind of a man he was.
His hair was a deep black, and reached down to his broad shoulders. His eyes were fixed on me, and he seemed unable to conceal a grin. It was a relief to know that he was able to show emotions similar to the way humans did, but I couldn’t help but take note of all of his differences. They were the most profound. Four fingers on each hand? He seemed to be missing a thumb. Longer rib cage? Was that why the Thressl’n were so tall? And the color of his eyes. A striking metallic purple. I found myself unable to look away from them.
“What?” he asked me, his voice deep and sensual. It sent shivers down my spine, and I had to keep myself from standing up to examine him fully. I didn’t know what he would do if I tried.
“Where am I?” I asked, my eyes still roaming him. He was unbelievably muscular. I could see the definition of his body through the tight black suit he was wearing. His clavicle and broad chest were peeking out from the V-neck of his shirt, and I noticed what could potentially be the nub of horns above his brow.
“You’re on the planet Jenal’k,” he answered stiffly, cutting himself off as if he were unsure just how much information to reveal to me. Or perhaps it was just as strange to him to be speaking with a human as it was for me to be speaking to him.
“What do you call yourself?” I asked, reaching behind me for the notebook I always kept in my back pocket. “Your race? Do you have a name? What are we doing here? Why did you abduct us?”
I flipped the notebook open, and suddenly, his cool hands were on mine and he was tugging the notebook away from me. Despite the lack of a thumb, the Thressl’n were very capable. I looked up at him in surprise, shocked to see the fear behind his purple eyes. He must have thought I had drawn a weapon.
It wasn’t until he had secured my notebook that he felt comfortable enough to speak.
“My name is Zerk’k Arkti. Commander Arkti. I’ve brought you all to Jenal’k because it is in the best interest of my species. The Thressl’n are suffering, and we have done some serious searching for beings that may be biologically compatible with our kind. Humans appear to be the most similar biologically, and so we brought you here.”
“Don’t you people know anything about consent?” I snapped, grabbing my notebook out of his hands. His handsome face looked surprised, and he seemed to be debating whether or not to fight with me over the notebook. When he saw me put it away, he visibly relaxed.
“The needs of my people are more important than consent. Who would consent to suc
h a mission? Besides, your kind is dangerous. If we were to make ourselves known, there is no telling what might happen.”
“The Vellreq have made themselves known to us, and we haven’t done anything to hurt them,” I pointed out. I didn’t like the way he was referring to humans as “my kind.” As if we were something dirty and unrefined.
“The Vellreq are interested in humans for their own undesirable goals. They are not your friends. In fact, they are contributing to the speedy destruction of your planet. You’re lucky we saved you; Earth will not last much longer.”
I was ready to argue with him about that, but the serious and disturbed look on his face silenced me. If it was true that the Vellreq were simply using humans, it would make sense why they were always withholding information from us. I had never been entirely sure whether or not to trust them. One thing was certain though: their voices were grating and terrifying compared to the soothing music coming from the man across from me. But something so physiological wasn’t a good enough reason to assign trust to one species over another.
“Please,” he said, reaching his large hand out to me. “Come with me. It’s time to relocate the females.”
“No way!” I exclaimed, flinching away from his touch. “You haven’t answered all of my questions yet. I’m not going anywhere.”
He sighed and made a facial expression comparable to an eye-roll on Earth. It irritated me.
“Look, I’m not the one who thought it was okay to kidnap someone from her home and tote her halfway across the universe for some shady business she has nothing to do with.”
“108 lightyears,” Zerk’k said.
“What?”
“You’re not halfway across the universe. You’re 108 lightyears away from Earth.”
I opened and closed my mouth, waiting for my brain to kick back into action and get back to interrogating him. But I was suddenly shocked by the reality of being so, so far from my home. Before I could stop myself, my eyes filled with tears.
“What the….” Zerk’k bent over to peer into my eyes, his face filling with dread. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Go to hell,” I growled, shoving his shoulder. I couldn’t stand the way he was looking at me. Like I was some kind of specimen. “I’m crying, okay? It’s what happens when humans are hurt.”
“Hmm,” Zerk’k said thoughtfully. He bent over again, his eyes looking up and down my body. I couldn’t remember ever being examined so closely and felt a deep flush creep across my cheeks. It was bizarrely intimate, and I didn’t like the way my body was responding, as if warming up to his attention.
“Cut it out,” I grumbled, backing away from him.
“Where are you hurt?” he asked. “I could help.”
“I’m not…ugh. My heart. My feelings. I want to go home.”
“Oh,” he said, straightening up. I looked into his handsome face, dismayed that he looked annoyed now. “I don’t understand. But I do understand that you miss Earth, and that because of your high water content, your body creates odd waste when you are distressed. Don’t worry though. We are actually doing you and the other females a favor.”
“A favor?” I asked incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Our scientists predict that Earth is headed for disaster. We’ve removed the choice females. Hopefully we will be able to preserve the positive aspects of humanity by integrating them with the superior qualities inherent in the Thressl’n. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, holding my hand up. The big picture was suddenly beginning to form in my head, and I didn’t like it one bit. “Are you trying to tell me that you brought us here to breed?”
Zerk’k smiled proudly. “Yes!”
Smack!
The smile faded from his face and he reached up to rub his cheek. I grimaced in pain. Slapping him had surely hurt me more than it hurt him. Worst of all, he didn’t seem to understand the custom at all, because he raised his hand and practiced aiming at my cheek.
“Is this how you do it?” he asked, his musical voice puzzled.
“Oh my god…” I groaned.
“Commander Arkti!”
Another voice I recognized spoke from a small speaker somewhere in the room. Zerk’k lifted his wrist to his ear. I noticed that his ear was significantly smaller than my own. It was tapered to a point on top, but I only had a brief chance to study it before his black hair fell over it again.
“What is it, Jerd?”
“We’re being told to move the females to the camps now,” Jerd answered.
“I see…there’s no way to put it off?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not, sir.”
“All right then. I’ll meet you outside the ship.”
“Yes, sir,” Jerd said. The line went quiet, and Zerk’k turned to me.
“You’re going to have to come with me,” he said quietly. “It’s going to be easier for me if you pretend that you’re asleep. Can you do that?”
I hesitated.
“Let me make this clear,” Zerk’k said, coming close to me. My body was electrified by his nearness, and I swallowed hard, feeling a little bit embarrassed to meet his eyes. And yet I couldn’t help myself. He was pure power, and it was the first time he’d displayed it to me. “This is my planet, and you have no choice but to do as I tell you to.”
I nodded. I was scared, but it was something more. It was as if I was in his thrall, unable to look away.
“It’s for your own good. If I tell you to do something, it’s because I know the best choice to make in this world. You do not. And if you want to defy me, you are going to suffer. Not because I want you to suffer, but because that is the way.”
It was infuriating to be spoken to as if I were an unruly child who needed to be controlled. How would he know what was for my good? When was the last time he was a human?
“There are rules in this place. And the role of the human female is to breed. Now follow me back to the chamber and pretend to be asleep, or be prepared to be knocked out by my own hand. I am being merciful to you, don’t you understand? Don’t make me regret it.”
I nodded reluctantly, and Zerk’k seemed to relax. His dark energy was immediately dispersed.
“Great,” he said cheerfully. “I’ll lead the way.”
***
The prospect of going back into the pitch black room made me unreasonably upset, and I looked behind myself at Zerk’k. He furrowed his brow.
“What?”
“I really don’t like the dark,” I whispered. I felt ridiculous to say it out loud, as if I were a little kid who didn’t want to sleep without a nightlight. But surprisingly, Zerk’k seemed to understand.
“I’m sorry,” he said, switching the lights on. “The Thressl’n have perfect vision, whether in light or dark. We use solar lights throughout the ship for energy, but we assumed since you receive energy through other means that the lights were not necessary.”
I was shocked as the rows and rows of women lying limply on their metallic beds appeared before me. There were one hundred of us on the ship, and the room was abysmally small. We had been cramped as close together as we could possibly be without touching.
“I really don’t want to go back in there,” I said, standing frozen in the doorway.
“The gas will wear off on the others in about a rotation. Then you won’t feel so alone.”
I was quiet for a moment as I mulled this over. First of all, I had no idea what he meant by a rotation. Secondly, was it really possible that he understood my reason for not wanting to go into the cramped little room? The crushing feeling of being so far away from my planet, and not even being able to share the experience of coming onto a new planet with the other human women who were with me was a new kind of desolation.
“What’s a rotation?” I asked, instead of bothering to get into my feelings with him. In my experience, men were hardly the type to care what I was feeling.
“A rotation roughl
y translates to about 48 minutes on Earth. The Thressl’n keep time in rotations of 10. It’s our sacred number. Rotations are a measurement of time. Daily. Revolutions are measurements of many days. Years, Earthlings would call them. So in about 48 minutes, you will be expected to wake up. Do not make a peep before then. Otherwise, you will have to answer to me.”
The look in Zerk’k’s dazzling purple eyes was serious, so I decided it would be best not to test him. Besides, it would be useful to have an opportunity to observe the Thressl’n when they didn’t think that they were being observed at all.
“Now go in and lie down. We will begin collecting the females now. Remember, do not move. Do not make a sound. Don’t make me regret this.”
I looked into his sincere purple eyes and felt a strange urge to prove to this strange man that he could trust me. It was a hard feeling to describe or understand. I didn’t want to deal with these ridiculous complexities. What I did want though, was to study and understand this mysterious race. And then, I fully intended to head back to Earth and share my findings. There was no way my career would ever be lackluster again with my own personal accounts of the Thressl’n.
Zerk’k led me into the room and waited as I climbed back onto the metal table where I’d been laying for the past day and a half. He stood over me, a tall, imposing figure whose serious eyes stayed locked on me. He didn’t seem sure about whether or not to trust me, and I felt a surge of fear pulse through me when he frowned and tightened the restraints around my legs and wrists.
“Remember,” he said, peering at me inches away from my face. It was oddly intimate. “Don’t move. No matter what they’re doing to prepare you for the camps. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Show me,” Zerk’k demanded. “I’m not going to take any chances.”
“Ugh, fine,” I grumbled. “I’ll play dead for you.”
Zerk’k looked puzzled for a moment and I closed my eyes, blocking his image from my sight. I couldn’t stand him, no matter how handsome and mysterious he was. He really seemed to think he knew what was best for everybody. The power he had on his planet had probably gotten to his head long ago. It was aggravating.