by Abigail Myst
There was another ship approaching. It had the sleek looks of a newer Suhlik ship. He hit the alarm and cursed as he pulled his ship up short. This carrier had the equivalent armament of throwing rocks at laser armored scales. Their full volley wouldn’t pierce even the first Suhlik shield. If the Suhlik ship decided to blow them out space, his father, in his stubbornness, would lose another son.
Leif poked his head into the cockpit and saw the gleaming golden ship on the viewscreen. He muttered an oath and then voiced the same question Athen had been silently asking himself. “Why aren’t we dead yet?”
“They are hailing us,” Athen announced, a bit of wonder in his voice. He waved Leif back out of sight and then concentrated, his entire focus on the sickly yellow hue of the captain. With a tight enough shot, he might just be able to pass for Noonian. Athen scrunched his neck down and checked his reflection in the gleam of one of the terminals. It would have to do.
He opened the channel, getting very close to the viewscreen. A Suhlik appeared on the other side.
“Information and cargo. You have what was promised?” the Suhlik hissed.
“Yes,” Athen replied.
“Prepare to be boarded.”
The Suhlik disappeared as fast as he had appeared. Athen bound out of his seat, the yellow fading from his skin. Leif had already raised the alarm and his men were arming themselves, though their best weapons were the knives that they always carried.
“Spread out. Can’t be more than a dozen of them.”
After running maintenance on the craft for a solid ten days, the warriors were well acquainted with the hidden areas of the ship. Surprise would be their main tool, and it was what they excelled at. After a reassuring nod to his men, Athen sealed himself back in the cockpit. If they failed, he would blow the ship up, taking the Suhlik craft with it. It was the Mahdfel way. If you were to die, die well and take as many lizards with you as possible.
He turned on all the monitors and watched the Suhlik board. Despite there being no one to greet them at the hatch, they brazenly stepped onto the ship.
Three entered the corridor and branched to the left toward the cargo bay. They also knew the layout of the ship. Athen suddenly felt better about removing the captain from the ship. They weren’t just neutral - they were Suhlik spies.
Leif and Goru took the first two Suhlik easily, dropping down from the ceiling and sliding their knives in between the the scales atop the lizards’ necks. They slid the bodies into the adjacent hall and waited.
The Mahdfel warriors had to work without the benefit of coms. The Suhlik had them hardwired behind a set of scales. Anything done to remove the com device triggered a mini charge, blowing the unlucky recipient’s head right off. It was a rather effective yet ruthless tool, since captured Suhlik were often executed remotely once their bosses realized that they had the gall to be taken alive.
The third Suhlik met a similar fate to his companions, quickly gutted and stashed, but Athen knew they would soon catch on. The dilemma for the remaining Suhlik: Athen had set the secondary docking clamps, and the only way to separate the two ships without tearing them apart was to hit the switch which was located in the cargo ship’s cockpit.
To do that, they’d have to get past Athen. The warrior in him despised the wait, knowing that his men were in danger while he maintained a relatively safe position. They’d all have to be dead for Athen to blow the hatch and the two ships up with it.
The next set of Suhlik out of the ship was much better prepared. Five of them, with laser rifles. They didn’t need to carry knives. Their claws were sharper than any Mahdfel weapons. Sticking together in a pack, they slowly made their way down the corridor toward the cockpit. About midway down, Athen turned off the lights and his men attacked. Two Mahdfel swung out from atop the hatch and cut down two of the Suhlik before they even knew what was happening. One of the lizards began firing rapidly at the air, lighting the corridor for a short time before winking it back into darkness.
A short dash of the com told Athen to put the lights back on. Claro and Ruebil stood grinning amongst a gory mess. Eight dead Suhlik and no dead Mahdfel. So good so far.
The ship opposite them revved its engines, testing the strength of the docking clamps. Athen was sure they would hold, also sure that the last remaining Suhlik was not in the mood to come and fight. He had probably locked himself in the cockpit as well, guarding against an attack.
The monitor flickered with an incoming message. Athen answered.
The Suhlik hissed across the channel, “Mahdfel. You will surrender.”
“All Suhlik that have boarded my craft have been eliminated. I believe you are the one to surrender.”
“Suhlik do not surrender to Mahdfel.”
“No, Suhlik die under Mahdfel.” It was pointless to argue so Athen secretly signaled for his men to board. The Suhlik would not be making such threats if there were any hope of his survival.
The lizard just hissed at him some more, trying to puff up and frighten him. If the Suhlik were so willing to die, he would have blown the clamps by now.
“You will not survive the warship coming for you,” he threatened.
“I welcome a warship. I have not killed enough Suhlik today. Your teeth will look very pretty as a wind chime for my mate. She likes glittery things.” Athen was pretty sure the gruesome mementos crafted from the dead would not be a proper wedding gift for Odette, but he enjoyed the second round of hissing he got in response from the lizard.
“Open your mouth again for me. I’d like to get a better view of your teeth. I might make one for my mother as well.” This, of course, led to a tirade disparaging Athen’s mother, father and all previous generations of his kind. “A bit wider there. And show me the claws.”
Athen’s taunts had the right effect. The raving Suhlik did not hear the code breaker at work on the panel outside the bridge. He was surprised when the door slid open and Leif and Claro attacked. Claro reached around and held him still while his fellow Mahdfel dug under his scales and slid a knife into his heart. Athen smiled and waved as the Suhlik began to gurgle up blood.
“Going to be a bit bloody,” Claro said.
“You really want his teeth?” Leif examined his knife.
“No. Secure the craft. I think we have enough of a prize for Etlon without teeth.”
A few minutes later and Athen was relieved at the helm to inspect his new claim. The idiot Suhlik hadn’t even secured it properly. Once the Mahdfel ran their simple code breaker on the main computer, the entire ship was at their disposal. It was faster and sleeker than the cargo vessel but both ships would come in handy, especially if they ran into that destroyer the Suhlik had threatened. This ship was no match for a larger vessel but it at least had a full complement of weaponry.
They were on their way in less than an hour. They still had another few sols before reaching Etlon, and Athen planned to use the time mining the core for information. The more bargaining chips he had, the better.
He didn’t expect getting his mate back would be too much of a problem. His father wouldn’t dare stand in the way. Inconvenience him? Yes. But denying him would result in a challenge. No, his father would probably use her as a bargaining chip, keeping her on Etlon to get him to stay.
Proof that they’d taken the ship without losing a single warrior would be more evidence that Athen was too valuable to keep planetside and out of the fight. The more he mined from the computer, the more self-assured he became. The Suhlik had been on a mission to meet with the Noonian captain who had offered information regarding Mahdfel installations and any other useful things he could gather in return for safe passage. There was more too. The Suhlik were to meet with three other captains. All three were traitors to the cause.
Three traitors. The thought made him furious. It would be dereliction of duty to not chase them down, even if it meant delaying his arrival.
“Who is in the mood to kill more traitors?” he announced.
“The wa
rriors at home will be quite sad they missed it,” Leif remarked.
“Don’t worry. We’ll let them have the slug,” Athen said, referring to the captain they’d left behind.
“Slugs aren’t any fun.”
“It’s the best they are going to get.”
Odette
It was nearly two months before the flaw in the plan became readily apparent.
“That is a child,” Odette stated.
“He is a warrior.”
“Okay. Warrior child. Either way, seriously, on my planet, that would be illegal.”
Odette stared down at the little green dude in his skin tight black uniform. All of the Etlonians wore the same black long version aboard the ship and back on the home planet. It looked rather like a wet suit for a race of people that didn’t like the water too well. But this one, Bendon, was not just short - he was still in the proverbial short pants. He looked like he was no more than twelve or thirteen. This was the other brother that she’d heard so much about.
“No one is suggesting a match right now,” his mother told her. Marlin was as green skinned as her husband and son, but her colors changed to a more vibrant hue as she pleased. In her short time here, Odette had realized that Marlin wasn’t wearing makeup to match her many outfits. She was changing her skin tone.
“It’ll take at least five years before he’s old enough.”
“Two,” Marlin said.
“This is not a negotiation,” Odette objected.
“There is plenty of time to sort the matter.”
Odette had learned this was Marlin’s method of getting her way. Why take ‘no’ for an answer when you can wait a while and wear someone down until you get a ‘yes’? Also, doing without asking was more favorable than asking and getting a no. Rinse, wash, repeat.
True, there was plenty of time. Two years would give her a grand start at becoming the premier botanist on the planet. That wasn’t saying much, considering there seemed to be only about ten on the entire globe. When she’d asked to be productive and work in her lab, Odette had thought it would be just her. What she didn’t expect was for half the botanists on the planet to be assigned to her. Apparently, being future daughter-in-law to the Etlon was enough to land her such a premium gig.
Odette had immediately worked out a deal with the former chief, a blue horned Mahdfel by the name of Wardoo, that basically allowed her to rule in name only, while she worked through her Noven 90 samples. Scientist or not, the warrior was happy to receive this deal. Apparently, having a female in charge did not sit well with many of the warriors, especially one who had been rejected.
Odette had a scarlet A on her chest, it felt like. There were whispers, some of sympathy, and again, Odette couldn’t imagine how she would have felt if she hadn’t been protected by Etlon and the respect people had for him.
She had been here on Etlon for nearly two months, and she had the idea that Marlin had been hiding her son. Odette, of course, assumed it was because he was ugly or perhaps mean spirited. Or that Marlin had held out hopes that Athen would return and claim his mate in a romantic fashion. Odette knew better. He’d sampled the goods already, and they were apparently not good enough to keep on a permanent basis.
But she was over Athen. Absolutely didn’t think of him at all. But now that she’d met his infant brother, who had given her a preemptive sniff and shrugged, Odette was now worried that her position here would be tentative.
“Oh, don’t worry. He won’t be interested in females for a few months yet,” Marlin assured her.
“Months?” Odette hoped it was years because she planned to be long gone when that sulky boy came of age.
“A year at most.” Marlin smiled at her son, and he bowed before scampering off to play. The whole interaction had taken less than five minutes but the bizarre nature of it was beginning to seem normal.
When Odette had seen the metropolitan city for the first time, she had thought to get an apartment, make new friends, and get back to some semblance of what was normal life. Even though Terrans were still rare on Etlon, they did exist and surely there would be some Earth girls who’d love to get to know someone from her neck of the universe.
What she hadn’t expected was to be given quarters in what she’d overheard nicknamed as ‘The Harem’. Etlon didn’t exactly have a palace, but the residence was palatial and she was expected to live there in a circular wing inhabited by all the other wives of Etlon’s dead sons. There were five in all, only one of which was from Earth. Three had children, whom they paraded around in front of the other two like prizes they’d won.
Halo and Ingret were both of the same species. They had bright white skin and purple eyes. Halo had a mane of purple hair that stuck out in all directions while Ingret kept hers short and near to a buzz cut of crinkly dark purple hair. Both of them had managed to produce sons, eight and ten. The boys were most often off at their warrior training boarding school so Odette had only met them once.
Liloa was yellow and had spiraling horns that weren’t quite even at the top. She also had a tail that she often used as a third hand to reach and grab things, or hold back her two year old that kept trying to get into things.
Nona was a mouse, thin and gangly. She was also from a green species, but was more avocado and lacked the ability to change the color of her skin the way the Etlonians could.
Priscilla was human, and she was the oldest and the meanest. Judging by her age, she must have been from one of the very first rounds of the lottery, before women knew what to expect. Priscilla seemed to make it her place in life to run everyone else’s life. When Marlin was in the room, she was all smiles and sweetness but the moment she left, the bitter childless widow wanted everyone to be as miserable as she.
Odette had discovered this at her first meeting of The Widows Club. She had been torn when Marlin suggested that she attend. She’d tried to decline, but somehow, their little impromptu walk had ended with her sitting on the couch facing the other five wives, who were all telling her how welcome she was to join their meeting.
The minute Marlin had disappeared, Priscilla opened her mouth.
“Of course, she shouldn’t get a vote, considering she isn’t a widow. She isn’t even married.”
Halo and Ingret disagreed, practically finishing each other’s sentences. Liloa sided with Priscilla and Nona said nothing until a vote was called, and then she swayed the vote in Odette’s favor.
“Now who will decide if there’s a tie? Six is such a horrid number,” Priscilla snarked as she folded her hands over her chest. Looking at her with her big boobs and small waist, Odette mused that she had probably been a small town prom queen with delusions of grandeur.
“I’m sure we can call Marlin in on those rare occasions,” Liloa said in a conciliatory tone.
Priscilla just rolled her eyes.
The meeting had been full of charity projects and chatter regarding some big harvest festival that was coming up. Most of it reminded Odette of the things her mother did. Rich privileged wives who had no idea how the poor actually lived. Though Odette wondered what kind of poor existed on this planet?
“So Odette will take over that committee.”
“Pardon?”
“You must take a committee,” Priscilla stated. An hour ago, she didn’t want Odette to have a vote.
“I’ll be busy with work,” Odette said. Another roll of the eyes from the complainer-in-chief.
“Everyone knows that’s just temporary.”
“You don’t have to work,” Liloa said, smiling. “It’s not expected.”
“I want to work. My father’s research.”
“Barely scratches the surface of what the Mahdfel already know.”
“Actually, he was working with-”
“I know! Flowers!” Ingret shouted out and clapped her hands. “You will take over the flowers. You work with plants.”
“Not a florist,” Odette muttered.
“Then it’s settled,” Halo said as she
pushed a couple of buttons on the tablet. “Flowers to Odette.”
Odette knew there were times when decision by committee was just easier to accept than to fight. Her mother had taught her that by dragging her to her Ladies Club more than once. There were worse things one could end up doing than picking out flowers.
***
Why Odette did not think of coming to the flower market earlier was beyond her. She had meant for it to be a quick trip, picking out a few pretty things in the right color scheme to fancy up the party.
Palig had insisted on accompanying her to the market, which in reality was row upon row of greenhouses filled with plants from all over the universe. Palig was second under Wardoo and if Odette were not mistaken, he had a bit of a crush on her. Odette knew though, that he would not consider touching her while under the protection of Etlon. He was here to supervise, and apparently, take some samples from some new species just arrived from a recently colonized planet.
Like her, Palig was sure that the secret to defeating the Suhlik was locked somewhere in one of the plants they had yet to study fully. Unlike Wardoo, he didn’t treat Odette as an obstacle. He was always trying to teach her new things, whether it was because he liked her, or liked the smell of her, Odette had stopped caring. He was the closest thing she had to a friend on this new planet.
Being sniffed like a dog was becoming normal too. Most of the Mahdfel managed to do it discreetly, but the moment they found out she was technically unattached, they breathed in deeply, like she was some sort of exotic flower, deciding if they wanted to pluck her blossom.
The botanist in Odette wanted to move her entire lab to the greenhouses, but the thought wasn't practical, since most of these plants had already been categorizes and studied by Mahdfel like Palig. Every row was a wonder, though she was given a pair of gloves, because apparently some of these pretty creatures were deadly to the touch.