Candidate (Selected Book 4)

by Robin Roseau

  "They played it on the wall, like a movie," she said. "I don't know if anyone else saw."

  "I did," said someone, then a bunch of others were nodding.

  "My name is Andromeda Hayes," I said. "Like all of you, I am a mating candidate. I arrived here the same way all of you did. But I've been here for almost two weeks." I rattled the chain. "The aliens have something special in mind for me, but in the end, I will most likely leave the same way most of you will, mated to one of the aliens."

  I turned a circle. "This seems hopeless. Looking at these males here today, they are frightening."

  "I don't want to marry any of them!" said one woman to much agreement.

  "We're going to kick their asses!" said the one with the fierce gaze.

  I turned to her. "Perhaps as well as I did yesterday. But none of you will have to be carried from the arena. These aliens are fierce to their foes, but they are very gentle to their mates. They will not hurt you. Look at them. They could break us like a twig, but they will be gentle."

  "I don't believe that," said another.

  "I don't blame you," I said. "I don't blame you at all. I'm not sure I'd believe me." I turned around again. "All of you are here on these sands because first the aliens took you, but second, you chose to fight rather than accept a species that wishes a willing mate."

  "Damned right we're going to fight." That was echoed by several of the women, but a few were very quiet. I walked to one. "What's your name?"

  "Sylvie," she said.

  "Sylvie, you should call me Andie. Sylvie, you don't look like you want to fight."

  She looked down and shook her head. "But they can't make us marry them!"

  "They seem to feel differently, and they have all the power." Then I muttered, "Clover, bio."

  Sylvie appeared in my image immediately, and I skimmed quickly, then smiled.

  "Sylvie," I said. "Have you ever dreamed of seeing other planets?"

  She didn't say anything.

  "Maybe walking on the moon?"

  She looked up at that, then she lifted her eyes into the air, searching for it. And then we all looked, and it hung over us, a crescent, but it was there.

  "The moon?"

  "NASA doesn't have plans to go any time soon," I said. "But I wouldn't be too surprised to learn the aliens have a nice little hotel there."

  Jasmine stepped forward. "Nice is a relative term. Yes, we have a base on the moon."

  Sylvie's eyes snapped to Jasmine. "Really?"

  "Really."

  "Do... do humans ever go?"

  "I wouldn't say often, but yes, they do."

  "But the space station is out near Saturn," I said. "Oh, imagine the rings."

  "You can't see Saturn from the station," said Sylvie. "It's in the L4 position."

  "I have no idea what that means."

  "It's as far from Saturn as it is from the sun," she explained. "It's a stable orbit. It's dark and cold and dead."

  "I bet the stars are brilliant."

  "When bringing a mating candidate to the station," said Jasmine, "it is common to swing past Saturn on the way. It's not necessary for orbital dynamics, but who would want to skip a chance to see the rings up close? And we have a small base on Titan."

  "What!" said Sylvie. "Are you serious?"

  "Of course."

  "I-" She looked at me, then back at Jasmine. "I could stand on Titan?"

  "It would be up to your mate," she said. "You would not be the first mating candidate to do so."

  "I could stand on Titan and stare at the rings of Saturn."

  "Yes, if your mate agrees to take you." Then Jasmine smiled. "The space station is a double toroid five kilometers in diameter. And it is not dead. It is filled with life."

  "It rotates."

  "Yes," said Jasmine.

  Sylvie stared hard at Jasmine, then looked at me. Then she looked around the arena. She turned back to me. "I don't want to fight here today."

  "I didn't think so. There are options."

  Sylvie looked down, and then her gaze snapped up, and just as quickly she turned to Jasmine. "You're space aliens."

  "Yes," Jasmine said. "To you, we are space aliens."

  "With space alien technology."

  "Yes," she agreed. "Amazing technology." Then she smiled and leaned closer. "And once you accept your mate, you have access to all of it."

  "These challenges, not the one today, but the rest. I'm supposed to fight one of those men?" She gestured with her nose. "That other one, the one who talked to me, said the humans win some of the challenges, but there's no way I can beat someone like that."

  "And yet, I wonder how it is human women win against an Ardent, for instance," Jasmine said. She gestured. "That's the really big one there."

  "He'd chew me up and spit me out."

  "They're pussy cats," I said. "I like them."

  She turned her gaze back to Jasmine. "I bet you use advanced technology in these challenges."

  "In some."

  "Light sabers?"

  "Those don't exist," she said.

  "I saw one with lasers though," I said. "And force fields. It was pretty cool. It looked like fun, actually."

  "But today is low tech," said Sylvie. "Sticks and nets and stuff. Gladiator shit."

  "Yeah," I said. "Gladiator shit. You won't get hurt, Sylvie."

  '"Yeah, not interested," she said. "But I'd do the laser battle." She turned to Jasmine. "I want one that will take me to Titan."

  "That is between you and your challenger," Jasmine said.

  "Fine. Which one will agree? I can give him my ribbon, right?" She gestured with her nose. "Which one?"

  "Administrator Brighteyes, will all of these males treat their mates with gentleness and love?"

  "They will," she said.

  "Sylvie, I have to talk to these other women. But then we're going to let you all go, and you get time to go talk to them. Everyone heard this conversation, and they hear me now. So you will walk in a slow circle, and some will tell you, Sylvie, I will take you to Titan. And you should talk to them, but don't stop at the first one. Talk to them, decide which you like, and give him your ribbon."

  She smiled and nodded. "All right. But he better not think I'm going to be a cake walk in the other challenges."

  "Oh, I have no doubt," I said.

  I stepped away. I turned to the woman who looked the most vulnerable. Her head was down, but I was sure she'd heard every word. I walked straight to her. Jasmine stayed behind, and I think she talked longer to Sylvie, but I focused on the next girl.

  "I don't want to go into space," she said quietly. "I want to go home."

  "I know," I said. "What's your name?"

  And before she could answer, her bio appeared in my vision. I sighed. They'd taken her out of college.

  "I'm Becky," she said.

  "I'm Andie," I said. I skimmed the rest of her bio. And then I smiled. "Were you in college?"

  "A junior. I'm a biology major."

  "Biology. That's a tough major."

  "I like it. I was going to get my doctorate and go into research."

  "It's a shame you can't go to an alien school," I said. "The things they could teach you."

  She looked up at that but didn't say anything.

  "The aliens are all so different," I said. "I think they're fascinating, especially all the differences."

  "You're trying to manipulate me."

  "Yes, I am," I said. "But am I wrong?"

  She didn't say anything. Instead, she lowered her eyes. "I just want to go back to school."

  "Did you have a boyfriend?"

  "No. I did, in high school. He was kind of a jerk. You know what boyfriends are like."

  "I'm afraid I don't," I said. "But I could talk about girlfriends if you like."

  She looked up at that. "You're gay."

  "Yep." I leaned closer. "I'm breathing gay germs at you."

  She laughed. "You do know there are no such things."

>   "Yeah, but I wasn't sure if you did." I paused. "Becky, did you want to go to school for, well, the parties and the boys and living in a dorm?"

  "Dorms suck."

  "You wanted to go so you could learn."

  "Yeah. I love lab work."

  Jasmine moved closer, and I turned to her. "Did you hear all that?"

  "I did. Becky, there are no males standing around you that are biologists."

  She looked around and lowered her eyes.

  "There are several biologists in the stands from amongst those species who take willing mates."

  "I don't need to marry a biologist," she said. "But I'd want someone smart who would support me and let me have a career. I bet these guys just want a baby machine. How can I even have a baby for them? We don't share any DNA. I'm closer to a fungus than I am to any of these guys."

  "And yet, here we are," Jasmine said. "But don't ask me. I'm not a biologist. So you don't need a biologist, but maybe you wouldn't mind a scientist."

  "As long as he leaves work at work. When we're home, he pays attention to me, and not the damned football game. Or computer games. That's what my boyfriend did in high school. I'd come over, and all he wanted to do was play his games."

  "Becky," I said, "You don't want to fight, do you?"

  "No."

  "Your other choice, if you won't fight, is to accept your role as a willing mating candidate. You would go home with a male, but he still has to woo you. But you agree to let him."

  She looked at me, then at Jasmine. "I want one who is smart."

  "I think we can arrange that."

  "I don't care what he does, but he has to let me have a career."

  "And will you give him children?" Jasmine asked.

  "How many?"

  "That is between you and him," she said.

  "I want kids," she said. "Will they be human?"

  "They will have some human DNA, but they will be more of him than of you."

  "I don't even know how that works," she said.

  "Well," Jasmine replied. "I know how you could learn. You must say the words. Tell me you will be a willing mating candidate."

  She nodded. "You promise. He'll be nice."

  "He'll be nice. And smart. And let you have a career."

  "I will be a willing mating candidate."

  I didn't see them approaching, but Piper and Dilly stepped up to her. The pillar released her arms, and Piper and Dilly began to pull her away. But she turned to face me. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," I said. "If they allow it, I want to meet your future mate."

  "I'll arrange it," Jasmine said.

  And then they led her from the arena. I turned to the next woman.

  I went in a circle after that. As I arrived at a woman, Clover fed me her bio. The very next one I stepped to said, "Don't even try it. I'm fighting."

  "Ribbon?"

  "Hell no."

  "You know you're going to lose."

  "And you knew you were going to lose yesterday."

  "I'm not the one who tossed her cookies."

  She smiled at that. "She pissed her pants, too."

  "Who would have thought of it?" I said. "Implac females have this thing about heights."

  "Are you suggesting you didn't know that ahead of time?"

  "It may have been mentioned to me," I said. "I'm not sure I recall." We grinned at each other. "You look fierce." But I looked around and turned back to her.

  "Yeah, I know. But I'll go down fighting."

  "Ah, my words. Got a weapon picked?"

  "I wanted a sword, but I don't see any."

  Jasmine stepped up. "There are a few. Not enough for everyone. The challengers like to face a variety of weapons."

  "Are they sharp?"

  "Try not to slice your hand off," Jasmine said. "We can't grow one back for you."

  "Good luck," I told her.

  The next two weren't interested in talking to me, but then I met one of the Japanese women. "Are they translating for you?"

  "Yeah, but they can stop," she said. "I went to school at Stanford. The extra voice is annoying."

  I smiled.

  "You can skip your talk. I'm fighting."

  "You're small," I said. "You aren't any bigger than I am."

  "Smaller," she said. "I am a stereotype."

  "Hot Asian chick?"

  "That, too," she said. "I am a small Japanese woman who studies taekwondo and jujutsu."

  "Well, well," I said. I skimmed her bio. Martial arts weren't listed. "Are you good?"

  "Second dan black belt in taekwondo. My jujutsu school does not award belts, but I win tournaments. Small tournaments, and my weight class is not difficult."

  I reached over and turned her head. "You're not in that weight class, Haruki." She didn't say anything. "Did you see my fight with the Implac?"

  "Yeah."

  "I didn't know they were showing it to all of you. Did you see me the night before, at the party?"

  "Party?"

  "There was a little get together for the lesbians," I said. "No one thought you were interested."

  "Yeah, probably not," she said.

  "At the end of the party, I confronted the Implac. I challenged her. And then I delivered a roundhouse kick. I caught her in the ear hard and sent her flying."

  "Good for you!"

  "And broke my foot in the process."

  She looked down. "You heal fast."

  "Alien technology," I said. "Yesterday it was a broken cheek and two broken ribs. That won't happen today to anyone. Well, it might when the aliens fight themselves, but they'll be gentle with you."

  "I'm not going to hold back." But she looked around. "They're huge."

  "You have choices," I said.

  "I'm fighting."

  "You could offer yourself willingly."

  "I'm fighting.

  "Most who take a willing mate are smaller than these. Some are smaller than we are."

  She paused. "I'm fighting."

  "Well then. When your hands are free, you have a choice. You can take your chances. Or you can turn around and walk to one of the two aliens directly behind you. They're not quite so big. You can hand one of them your ribbon, and then you can kick his ass in the subsequent challenges."

  She craned her head, found the two I was talking about, then turned back to me and nodded. "We'll see."

  "Good luck, Haruki."

  I worked the rest of the circle. One more woman let me talk her into accepting willingly. The rest wanted to fight.

  I turned to Jasmine and nodded. She stepped to my pillar, released the chain, then reeled me in, moving the hoop up to my wrists again. Then she held me there while she spoke for a few minutes.

  She led me from the arena. Behind us, some of the aliens, including a Loris, stepped onto the sands and walked to the women. Then I couldn't see anymore until we reached the stands. I looked out, and one more woman was being led away, the Loris holding her arm.

  "Good for him," I said.

  "Her," Jasmine said. "That's a female."

  "She wasn't there two nights ago."

  "She just arrived. The girl was in the middle. We weren't sure of her orientation. Evidently she likes the looks of the Loris."

  "They are pretty cute," I said. "The Kitsune is gorgeous."

  "Sugilite is a particularly vivid Kitsune. They come in vast colors, though."

  "All right. I need my cameras, Clover."

  "Dark Skies is on it," Clover replied.

  "Access is from your visor," Dark Skies said.

  "Help me out," I said.

  A moment later, the visor overlaid. I was presented with what appeared to be several computer screens, in a way, but all together at the same time. Everything I needed was there. But it was an overlay with what I was otherwise seeing.

  "Can you move my normal vision to just one of the screens, like it's a camera over my shoulder?"

  "Just a moment." Then everything changed. "There."

&nb
sp; "Thanks." I reviewed what I had. "Give me a minute before you release them, Jasmine."

  "We're all set," Dark Skies said.

  "Only twelve cameras?" I said. "Give me more. Warm 'em up for me, Dark Skies."

  "Twelve is plenty," said Clover.

  "How many do you want?" Dark Skies asked.

  "How many are there?"

  "128."

  "Okay, I don't need all of them. Give me another twenty-six. Help me put two on each candidate. I'll use the rest for wider action."

  I actually let Dark Skies do that part while I arranged the rest. But I moved a couple near the two small aliens I'd tried to pick for Haruki. If she took my advice, I wanted to catch it.

  "Who is controlling the livestream?"

  "I am."

  "Who is that?"

  "Danny."

  "Okay, Danny," I said. "If anyone gives away a ribbon, that's what goes out live. I'll try to tell you which camera, if I can."

  "Good. We watch for that, but you just gave me a lot more work."

  "Pshaw. You can handle it. Clover, shut me off from anyone who doesn't need to hear me, or if I don't need to hear them."

  "Me, Danny, and Dark Skies," she said.

  "Turn down my ears," I said, "but add Jasmine to that mix."

  "On it," Dark Skies said.

  I arranged cameras, and then said, "Ready."

  Jasmine stood up. "Mating candidates, you have fifteen minutes to explore the arena. You may select weapons. You may talk to the challengers. However, do not approach a challenger with a weapon, or he is free to move, and you will be captured. At the end of fifteen minutes, return to the center, but you may bring weapons with you, if you like. Begin."

  "Danny, A-14-D." I had it zoomed in on Sylvie's hands. As soon as they were free, she picked up her ribbon, holding it for just a moment. Then I zoomed out and let her cameras go back to auto.

  Haruki had her ribbon and was walking towards the two small aliens. I kept an eye on her. A few other women had ribbons, but I didn't think they were going to use them.

  I checked on Sylvie.

  "You're being too obvious with the cameras," Jasmine said. "Only some of them are wearing visors."

  "Dark Skies, next time I want some smaller drones."

  "Next time," she agreed.

  But I pulled some of my cameras further away, lamenting the need.

  Haruki walked to the two smaller aliens. She looked between them. They were both watching her.