by Renee Rose
I know he is right, but… Our brethren will not be pleased.
After we Monrok discovered the Zapex’s data on Earth, the land of our origin, we studied the findings on humans. As powerful beings, we Monrok have always chafed at our servitude, but the seeds of discord rose amongst the Monrok when we saw what was truly taken from us. We are not just creations of the Zapex. We were born human, stolen and away and denied our rightful existence on Earth.
Campaigns for an uprising were put on hold when we discovered the Zapex plans for harvesting the humans. The guard stations around Earth are Zapex manned. We saw the harvest as the efficient means to acquire females. There were many who wanted to take Earth for our own and strike down all Zapex. Those Monrok’s have a thirst for vengeance surpassing the rational. Our numbers are too spread out. The barriers the Zapex have set around the distant planet too great.
As it is, a rebellion may result in all of our deaths. Open defiance will not be overlooked. The Zapex believe we exist to serve them or we do not exist at all. The Zapex will hunt us. There will be war.
An agreement amongst the Monrok was finally reached that we would wait until the harvest, after the Zapex had collected many human females. Females we could take for our own. Only then would we carry out any plans for an uprising.
They may be swayed by the presence of other females, Kein points out. It’s easy to say as he pets his own female. There are a few females on board. Not enough to appease all the Monrok, even if they double up and mate in pairs.
My brother and I had suspected other females were in medical bay. We knew if there was one female, there were likely others. Hacking into the ship’s mainframe had been a simple task. We identified extra life forms in the cells down the corridor from where our female was being kept. Unsure of how the news will be received, and selfishly wanting to secure our own female, we have yet to tell the others. It makes it difficult to share my brother’s optimism.
If we do not garner the support of the others, our chances for survival are limited, I argue. Kein would gladly die protecting the female, but I am more concerned with protecting him. If all does not go as planned, we may all end up scattered out over the universe, running for the rest of our lives.
Would you rather die with our children in fields working under threat of whip because we hesitated? Even through the link, his tone is chiding, the fucking hadir. Or perhaps our young will be remade in labs. Do you think they will survive it the way we did? Do you think the female would rather die fighting for her freedom or begging for death after her infant is taken from her?
There are those who will try to take your female, I point out.
Our female, you mean? She is not just mine.
I ignore this. There will be anarchy with so few females to go around.
She carries our young.
Safeguarding the female from envious brethren will not be a simple feat whether she carries our young or not. I know this as surely as I am Monrok.
So you are against me in this?
Curse him to the Ko’sars. He knows I would never forsake him. What is the plan? I ask, resigned.
The medical emergency shuttle is stocked and ready at the gate of bay one, he tells me, rolling to his back and closing his eyes. He is the image of a man reposed after a vigorous bout of mating, even though I know he fairly hums with excitement. We learned long ago the Zapex keep electronic ears and eyes on us at all times. To let our guard down would be unwise.
That is the craft we will take,” he continues. “We must disable the locator, but we cannot risk doing it until we are ready to leave.
We are scheduled to make a jump at the end of this cycle, I tell him, already taking inventory of everything we will need and every eventuality that could befall us.
Due to its immense size, this vessel’s sensors go down when it makes a jump. If timed perfectly, our exit will not be directly indicated until we are far away.
There are many planets in the outer regions going through replenishment, he says, and I know what he is suggesting.
When we discussed an uprising, it was proposed we take a planet for our own. Any planet outside of the Jun’pn galaxy is often claimed and stripped of its natural resources and then left unoccupied for at least a thousand years to replenish. Most of these planets are uninhabitable. But a few we could disappear to. If there were enough of us, we could fight off any who came into our airspace.
Without the aid of the others, we will have to hide, possibly hopping planets, ever on the alert.
Using our internal database, he sends me the status of the Monrok chosen planet. There will still be dangers for a human, but the planet is huge, with millions of possible hiding spots. It has compatible air quality for our female. It has only been in replenishment for five hundred years and is close enough to Ko’sar’s territory to dissuade the Zapex from making overlong searches.
I bring up and search through alternative planets in my mind, scanning through and discarding those a human could not exist on, sending him the coordinates for those that could serve as backups.
“You should tend to the human. I do not think she will care to awaken covered in essence,” Kein says rolling to a stand and stepping into his pants.
“Why do you not tend to her?”
“I am on duty.” Besides, I will use this opportunity to inform our brethren on board about the females. Garner support. Transmit messages to all Monrok throughout the galaxy. Set our plans into motion. This is happening.
“Now?” I cannot be left alone with the human. “But we are to be mating.” All our duties were to be cleared.
“I suppose they took into account there are two of us yet she has only one maternal orifice.”
“She is your human,” I say.
“You say with your cock stuffed inside her.”
I disengage from her. Easing her to the mat, I ignore her whimper as she clings to me, and stand. “You should stay. I will take your duties.” And rally support from the others. It is not as though anyone can tell us apart anyway.
Afraid you will grow attached? he taunts.
Damn him, he knows that is exactly why. One of us must keep a rational head.
She is our mate. You might as well get used to her presence. The door slides open, and he steps through. I will keep you informed. If you do not hear from me, “I will return in a few shifts. Try to have her clean and ready for me then,” the cocky aheh says over his shoulder on his way out.
Have her ready for him?
He will find her so thoroughly exhausted she will not awaken again until it is time for us to depart. Covered in my essence. I find the scent of my essence on her pleasing. If she wants it removed, she can do it herself.
The female rumbles in her slumber, drawing my attention to her sprawled form. A snore. How human. Why must we be stuck with the human with defective nasal tissue? I wonder if she is not getting sufficient air. I easily roll her to her side with my foot. Her silky moonbeam hair trails out behind her. She snuffles before her breathing evens.
That was simple enough.
She stirs in her sleep, blinking up at me with her brilliant blue eyes, her nose wrinkled in confusion. Kein is correct. She is as adorable as a zepka.
She sits up and yawns, wincing a little. Looking around, she places her slender arm over her breasts as if that could shield her nakedness.
The stench of shame rolls off her.
I do not understand this. Our human has a strange compulsion for modesty.
“Cal?” she asks.
“Yes, it is me.” Though I do not know how she can tell.
“Where is Kein?” she asks.
I sense her discomfort at being alone with me and war with myself. Would it be wise to comfort her? “Are you in need, human?”
She shakes her head, fidgeting. Her eyes seep with moisture. A tear. It rolls down her cheek, and she hastily scrubs it away. “A bath would be nice.”
Of course she wants to wash off our essence. It ann
oys me Kein was correct.
“We have something called a bak which is much like a human shower.”
“I think I’ve experienced that before.” She tucks a strand of thick hair behind her ear, standing on shaky legs. “Not the most pleasant experience, but it will do in a pinch.”
I do not understand this pinch and search my human data. It is an idiom. There is an extensive catalogue of terms. I search through and find an adequate human response while gazing at her supple breasts. I would like to touch them. Suck them into my mouth as would an infant feeding from her. “It is the best thing since sliced bread.”
“What?”
I sense confusion and concern. “The bak,” I explain. “It is a convenient innovation, like human sliced bread.”
Her mouth opens and closes a few times. “Yes. It is.”
In two strides, I touch the wall, and the panel slides open revealing the bak. At her hesitation, I gesture towards the opening. I can sense her reluctance. I peer inside the bak. There is nothing in there. “Do you not wish to sanitize yourself?”
“Will you come in with me?”
Anxiety. Uncertainty. They roll off her. If she is frightened by the mere idea of sanitizing herself, keeping her alive on one of the planets being replenished is going to be a chore.
“Weak human,” I mutter. Annoyed, I grab her arm and steer towards the bak.
She balks. “I’m not weak. That thing just freaks me out.” She yanks again. “And you’re hurting me.”
I immediately release her, and she rubs at the spot where I held her arm. Hurt. Confusion. Sadness.
“You stink with emotion.”
“Better than not having any,” she says crossing her arms and boldly staring at me with defiance.
Yet, I scent her fear.
Can hear the wild staccato of panic in her heart rhythm.
She chooses now to be brave? I am much more dangerous than a bak.
This human’s instincts do not serve her well. It would be a kindness to terminate her now. She will never survive harsh living. Yet the thought of ending her fills me with a sick hollowness.
Exasperated, I step into the bak and hold out my hand.
She steps forward hesitantly, as if I am somehow tricking her. At least she is not completely inept. Maybe she will last a shift past landing on a plant like Therg.
“I have a name,” she says looking up at me, her tone petulant.
“Most sentient beings do,” I say, pulling her in so the panel closes us into the tight confines of the bak. The Zapex see us Monrok as lowly watch dogs, nothing more than useful pets, yet even we have names.
She makes an exasperated sound. I do not understand the cause of her peevish attitude. Am I not in the bak with her?
“Do you want to know it?”
Her name? It matters not to me. She will still be a human female, like any other, a type of being I have existed my fifty some years without. But I sense this is of importance to her. “Tell me.”
“Allyson Eloise Hendricks,” she states like she is a puissant being.
I do not understand the human’s need for so many names with no importance. Although— “You must change your name now.”
“Why?”
“It is Earth tradition when a female takes a mate she changes her surname. You are now Allyson Eloise of Cal and Kein.” Yes, I like this Earth tradition. It pleases me.
Touching the panel, I engage our sanitation cycle.
Allyson Eloise of Cal and Kein screams, emitting panic and wrapping herself around me as we are covered in sterilization mist.
This, too, pleases me.
Chapter Five
KEIN
It is done. Coded messages have been sent to Monrok at outposts and stations around the galaxy. Tonight, we take our freedom. Return messages of allegiance are already streaming in. So much so, they are slowing my intel. My internal mainframe works to process them all. There is a sense of finality as I stride down the hall towards the barracks. I have walked these passageways or others like these my entire existence. That is about to change. Monrok are not prone to sentimentality or excessive merriment—our internal sensors regulate our endorphin output, keeping us content—but I am experiencing a new level of well-being.
Normally, before battles we have waged against species not allies to those in the Jun’pn Galactic Unity, a cold calm settles over me. My mind is clear, my sensors fully functioning, but this exuberance rising in me is unsettling.
Analytically, I wonder if it is the product of mating a female or the prospect of rising up against the Zapex. Either way, I must wipe the smile off my face before entering the shared sleeping quarters of the Monrok on board. The shift change means most Monrok will be congregated, resting to regenerate their strength, injecting nutrients. Had Cal and I not be chosen to mate, we would be here with the rest of our brethren, going through the same mundane routine.
I step over the threshold of the barracks, looking over the faces of all the Monrok present. These are my brethren. Comrades I have fought beside. Monrok who have survived to know this day, but, tonight, some of these men will die.
A hush falls, and I know they have caught my scent, or at least the scent I wear. That of my female. I reek of her feminine nectar, mixed with my essence.
“The rumors of the harvest are true,” I say, not mincing words. “We are to be bred.” Though there are very few females on board, these men deserve to know they exist. “There are at least seven other females on board, not counting my brother’s and mine. Some are in cryo freeze. We will not have time to save them.”
There are murmurs of questions, complaints, excitement.
I wave a quieting hand. “We do not have much time, and we do not want to draw attention to ourselves.”
When all dies down, Krav steps forward. “What exactly are you proposing?” His bright Monrok eyes are focused, his shoulders set, but his body loose. I am not fooled by his casual stance. Krav is a great warrior and I know at this moment he is ready for anything.
Now there is no holding back the smile tugging at my lips. “The moment we have been planning for is here. We will no longer be their guard dogs.” At my words, Krav’s lips twist in an answering grin. “The Zapex want to breed us. Take our young as slaves,” I remind them. “Make our females available to any they want to breed them with. We cannot let that happen.”
Mudah, a huge Monrok, steps forward. “We are not beasts. We are Monrok. I am with you.” He pounds his chest, and there are grunts of agreement.
“They will come after us,” someone points out.
“And we will band together, take a planet undergoing replenishment. We will be ready for them,” I say. “I do not enter into this endeavor lightly. Nor do I propose this to just those here. Our brethren across the galaxy have been notified. They stand behind us.”
Situs steps forward, his face drawn. “One of those females in medical may already be carrying my young. I am with you.”
One by one, everyone steps forward.
“How do we choose who gets the remaining females?” Cyrin asks, staring at me expectantly as are the other twenty some Monrok in the room.
There will not be close to enough females to go around, but I have a partial solution to this problem. “For the safety of the females, they will only go to those willing to claim them with a partner.” There is some grumbling, which I knew there would be, but this is for the best. I raise my hand to demand quiet. “The females...their spirits are strong,” I say, thinking of my own resilient female and the way she bravely stood up to Cal and me even though we could crush her little human self in a second. “But their bodies are weak. They have no defense. They are susceptible to illness. They get cold. Over warm. They will need to be fed, watered. And the mating…” My groin gets tight just thinking of sinking into her welcoming heat. “It is not the same as finding relief on your own. Your back is vulnerable while you fuck.” I meet the gaze of every man in the room. “You will need a second.�
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I see some men pairing off, more than willing to accept a partner if that means having a chance at mating their own female. I must devise a way to choose who gets first pick of the remaining females.
Situs strides towards me interrupting my thoughts. I clap a hand on his shoulder. “Have you chosen a second?”
He nods to Jual who nods back, and they clasp their hands to bump forearms and elbows together as is custom in the Jun’pn galaxy. “I was summoned to mate,” he says with some concern.
“If you have been summoned, you must go,” I instruct, my mind already moving to plans ahead. “No one can suspect what is happening. We shall meet you in the medical bay.” My grin does not wane. “While you are mating, we shall take over the mainframe and seal off any entrances to the medical and docking bays. The vessel is set to jump in less than half a shift. We must move quickly.”
I miss my female and wonder how Cal fares with her on his own. Situs leaves and I look to the remaining Monrok in the room. Many have partnered off. Some talk amongst themselves while others appear to be waiting on me, grim faced and ready for a fight.
“Fellow Monrok, it is time.”
ALLYSON
I hate Cal.
And I hate the bak.
I know I’m all kinds of pathetic for being scared of the bak, but I still cling to him like he can protect me. The mist just caught me unaware.
Again.
The whole process is making my first day play in my head in glaring detail. At least the stinging mist isn’t so bad this time. I think it’s partially because I’ve experienced it before.
By the time the next mist cycle surrounds us, I’ve stopped trembling but still have my arms loosely wrapped around his chiseled waist. The fragrant spray is soothing in more ways than one.
Cal begins rubbing gentle circles up and down my back until his hands are sliding down over my ass and up to my shoulders. I’m pretty sure he’s now just groping, but I’m too battered down to care.
It feels like affection. After days of being scared and alone I’m willing to take it as false as it may be.