by Cara Wylde
Araime, the Minarian captain of the Craziak, was the last one to enter the room, followed close behind by Kryan, who closed the door. Her ivory skin looked almost transparent, and her hair was sporting a new shade of pink today. The color clashed with her pale blue eyes, making her gaze seem even harsher and more menacing.
“Why did you make us leave our wives outside when yours is here?” Gorgan asked Aedar and Kryan. “My Grace is dying to see Poppy.”
Aedar smiled amicably. “This won’t take long, Gorgan. You will all be reunited with your wives in a few minutes.”
Avery knew those few minutes Aedar was talking about were actually going to be a few hours.
“You can’t speak for everyone.” Araime’s high-pitched voice cut like a knife.
“Of course not.”
What else could Aedar say? Araime was the only female captain in the Alliance, and she didn’t have a pleasure slave. Avery had spent many sleepless nights trying to figure her out. Sure, because of the terrible plague that had hit her planet, Minaria, Araime couldn’t have children. Still, what could have stopped her from taking a male slave just for fun? Why choose to be alone when all the other ship captains, and her own people on the Craziak, were taking pleasure slaves and making their lives more bearable? Was Araime going to be a problem? Not even Dr. Jeffreys had been able to understand this beautiful and proud woman who never seemed to let her thoughts and feelings known. That was… if she had any feelings at all.
“Shall we begin?” Kryan took a seat only when everyone else, Avery included, was seated.
“Wait. What is that? It smells amazing!”
Araime rolled her eyes at Gorgan’s words, and Avery didn’t miss it. The Minarian woman was clearly fed up with the Valgan captain, who was currently staring at her mug of steaming coffee.
“There is plenty for everyone!” Aedar turned to Avery. “Poppy, could you please serve the coffee?”
Avery blinked, then remembered that was one of the things she was supposed to do. A Terran princess who knew how to use a coffee filter. Yes, she could do it. As the meeting began, she poured six cups of coffee, placed them on a luxurious, finely embellished tray, and proceeded to serve the aliens. Of all the things she’d thought she’d do in her life, this one couldn’t have occurred to her in the craziest of dreams. Gorgan thanked her eagerly, then scrunched up his dark green nose when he realized it was hot. Drav spared her an almost imperceptible smile and a grunt, but Eldav and Araime ignored her just like before, seemingly too focused on what Kryan was saying. When Avery finally sat back down, the ship captain had already reached the part about how they’d discovered the ancient history between Kralians and Terrans. She did her best to hide behind her coffee mug as she studied the faces around the table.
Gorgan looked shocked, Eldav started tapping his foot under the table to mask his discomfort, Drav was holding it together well, and Araime showed no emotion, as usual. Kryan told them the entire story in a single breath, eager to get it over with. Avery knew the brothers had grown tired of it. She herself knew it by heart, and if she had to tell it to another single person again, she’d rather quit life altogether. She couldn’t wait for everyone to be up to date and on the same page, so they could finally move the hell on.
When Kryan was done, there was silence for a few minutes, before Eldav raised a hand to get their attention.
“I’m sorry, I’m confused about something. How did you know where to look? I imagine the database of the Hordaa is huge. I myself have asked four of my people to start going through the database we managed to save when we left Cattalia, and it’s like swimming in a dark ocean of information that is sometimes helpful, and most of the time useless.”
Right. The Kralians and the SPG had decided to leave that detail out. The captains couldn’t know that Kryan and Aedar had been working with a Terran agency all this time. Not yet. The Alliance would definitely take it the wrong way. Aedar was the one who answered. Not because he was a better liar than his brother, but because he was calmer.
“We began a long time ago. Years. The moment we discovered our… what did we use to call it?… allergy to humans, we started digging. We knew something had to give eventually. It had to. My brother and I didn’t care that much that we couldn’t take pleasure slaves, but we owed it to our people to discover what was going on and find a solution. After years of searching, years of trying to figure out why Kralians and Terrans shared a common gene sequence, we finally found it. And it was… still is… the only thing that makes sense. We had all forgotten that part of our history. So far away in the past, so ancient that not even our elders remembered it. But now we know the truth. Kralians have visited Earth once before, and have lived among Terrans as equals, as friends, as brothers. Our ancestors…” he motioned toward Avery, “and her ancestors gave birth to entire generations of half Terran and half Kralian children. When the two races decided it was time to move on, each in their own direction, the physical features they shared got washed down generation after generation, but the gene sequence remained.”
Eldav didn’t say anything, nor made any gesture. He looked as if he needed more time to process the information. Araime was the next one to speak.
“So…” She stole a glance at Avery. “She was never your… slave?”
“Not quite,” answered Aedar. He needed to tread carefully with Araime. The alien woman would most likely never forgive them for having lied that first time when Avery stumbled into an Alliance meeting, naked. “She is our partner.”
Araime cocked an eyebrow and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the edge of the table as if to show she was finally very interested in their story.
“I’m sorry, but it sounds to me like you lied to all of us. You lied to the Alliance.”
Kryan cleared his throat and made sure to adopt the harshest and most confident tone he could muster.
“No. We took Poppy with the intention of making her our slave. As a test. Even better, as an attempt to overcome our own sensitivity to humans. When we introduced her to you, we said she was our pleasure slave because we needed more time. Back then, we didn’t have the answers that we have now, and it was easier to hold off until we found out more. It was never our intention to deceive the Alliance. You need to understand that the situation of my people is a very delicate one, and my and my brother’s concern is, first and foremost, for their wellbeing. Even though Poppy was never our slave in the sense that you mean, her constant presence helped us tremendously. Now we understand what’s happening when a Kralian touches a Terran.”
“What happens?”
Kryan took a deep breath but lost his resolve to speak before he even opened his mouth again. Aedar took over.
“Empathy. Telepathy. A combination of both. It’s like… becoming one with someone else, with a being who seemed to be a stranger a second before and then suddenly becomes a part of you, a part that you never knew was missing. What Kralians and Terrans experience when they touch is not… an allergic reaction. It’s…”
He wanted to say “love”. Kryan and Avery caught his thought, and their hearts grew to the size of three. He didn’t say it, though. He was afraid that he might have pushed it too far, already.
Avery fixed her eyes on the bottom of her empty mug and waited for the others’ reactions with baited breath. Had Aedar, indeed, crossed an invisible line?
“Love.”
Avery gasped, then cursed herself for acting so stupid. It was Gorgan. Gorgan had said the word. Not Aedar, not Kryan, but Gorgan the Valgan.
“Not an allergic reaction, but love. Why didn’t you finish your sentence?” he insisted.
“Because we wouldn’t get it.” Drav said in a drawn-out tone.
“We wouldn’t?” Gorgan looked at Drav as if he were speaking a completely different language.
“They think we wouldn’t.”
“But do we? Do we get it?”
Drav threw Gorgan the most confused look he
was capable of. A million questions were dancing in the Norgavian’s green eyes.
Gorgan sighed deeply and exasperatedly, then stood up, rounded the long table, and stopped right behind Avery. She froze, but he was too preoccupied to notice.
“Do we get it or not? Love. Not for our own, not for a Valgan mate,” he pointed to each of the other captains in turn, “not for a Norgavian mate, a Cattalian wife, or a Minarian husband. For a Terran one.” He looked at Kryan and Aedar. “They get it because their ancestors banged her ancestors some thousands of years ago and made babies. The Kralians now share a gene sequence with the people of Earth. All right. I don’t like this grand reveal, but it is what it is. It’s understandable. You can’t deny something that’s in your cells, can’t ignore physical and emotional reactions that you can’t control. But where does that leave us? The rest of us, the rest of the Alliance.”
Araime pursed her lips. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
It was Gorgan’s turn to roll his eyes at her. “What I’m getting at is: what now?!”
Araime nodded and turned to Kryan and Aedar.
“You heard him. What now?”
Avery wanted to make herself small and crawl under the beautiful tiles of the Hordaa. The moment they had all feared had come. The fact that the green-skinned Valgan was still hovering close by didn’t help her anxiety. She felt like she was sweating all the coffee she had drunk, and her mouth was parched.
Kryan stood up and planted his fists on the table. Aedar stood up as well and crossed his arms over his chest. Even without carrying their usual weapons, they still looked imposing and threatening in their warrior gear. Avery could fall in love with them all over again.
“We have made our decision.” Kryan’s voice was calm but determined. “We’ve discussed it with our people, allowed everyone to voice their opinions and vote, and the decision was unanimous. We are turning the Hordaa around. We will search for our luck somewhere else. The people of Earth are our brothers and sisters, and we can’t hurt them anymore. We’ve done enough harm. It’s time to accept our fate. Kralia is no more. However, no matter how painful this is, no matter how terrifying the idea that the Hordaa and the last people of Kralia will certainly perish, we can’t continue to take part in the horrors that the Alliance has been inflicting on Terra in the past ten years. We are done.”
The chaos that rained on Kryan and Aedar was sudden, but not unexpected. The other four ship captains started yelling and arguing all at once. Gorgan stepped closer to Aedar but didn’t touch him. Eldav wasn’t as diplomatic, though. When he pushed Kryan in the chest, all hell broke loose. Araime was just as quick as Eldav. For some reason, Gorgan and Drav weren’t as violent, although they didn’t agree with the two Kralians, either.
This was Avery’s moment. Her lovers had made it a strong point that the other warriors on the ship should not be involved in this dispute if it could be helped. The idea was not to start a war between the five alien races. She stood up, gathered her courage, and made herself heard over the ruckus without raising her voice too much.
“Don’t you want to know how it feels?”
Her words didn’t penetrate the first time, so she tried again, louder and clearer:
“Don’t you want to know how it feels? Love! Love for your Terran wives who are carrying your unborn babies.”
That did it. Silence fell over the conference room. Even Araime looked stunned, even though she really didn’t have any bone in this particular game.
“We can do it. I mean… they can do it.” Avery stole a quick glance at Kryan and Aedar. “Of course, it’s impossible to replicate something so deep and ancient, but their scientists have managed to create something… temporary. Just enough to, maybe… hopefully, help you understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand,” said Araime.
Even though it was obvious that was her final decision, it couldn’t be said the same about the other captains. Gorgan was interested. Avery could swear he was thinking of Grace and her huge baby bump. Drav was studying her expectantly, as if he thought she suddenly had the solution to all his questions and worries. Kaylee’s pregnancy wasn’t that advanced, but it was there, looming over him like the promise of a new, better life. Eldav was pensive.
“It’s true,” said Aedar. “We provided our scientists with samples of Terran DNA. We still had some samples of Cattalian, Valgan, Norgavian, and Minarian DNA from when we ran the tests with the invisibility serum. It’s temporary, yes. But it’s real. I know it looks like we’re betraying the Alliance. Aren’t you, at least, curious to see for yourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing?”
Araime sighed and waved everyone off. “This is ridiculous. It makes no sense at all. No one wants to try your little… ugh!… whatever you cooked up in your lab.”
She sat down and crossed her arms over her chest, one hundred percent convinced no one would fight her on that. She was sorely mistaken. When Gorgan walked to Avery, took her hand into his, looked into her eyes and said “please ask Grace, Ginny, and Kaylee to join us”, Araime almost had a heart attack.
CHAPTER SIX
The three pleasure slaves recently turned wives entered the conference room and sat down next to their masters. Recently turned husbands. The whole dynamic playing out before her eyes made Avery’s head swim. Seeing Grace lean on Gorgan as if asking for his attention made her feel a bit sick. Still, when the alien sneaked an arm around her friend’s waist and she smiled, Avery couldn’t help but feel relieved. At least, Grace was fine. More than fine. Okay, she seemed happy! And the same went for Kaylee. The blonde, petite Ginny, though, didn’t interact much with her master, Eldav. He was acting just as cold as he’d acted at the party on the Swetho, and Avery suddenly felt guilty for not having talked to Ginny more and, at least, asked her how she was doing. Anyway. It would all be over soon. Hopefully. That was… if all went well in the next couple of minutes.
The three girls were followed by four Kralian scientists dressed in long, white robes. One of them was carrying a small case, and everyone at the table instinctively fixed their eyes on it. A mix of curiosity, uncertainty and anticipation hung in the air, and for a moment, Avery doubted that the four aliens would agree to let the Kralians inject them with the serums they had prepared. She herself wouldn’t have allowed anyone to get close to her with a needle. However, Kryan and Aedar had seemed convinced this part would be the least of their worries, and when one of the scientists opened the metallic case to reveal what was inside, and Kryan stepped forward and said something about the bond between the five races from back when they had formed the Alliance, Avery understood why her captains hadn’t been worried about it. Apparently, aliens took their bonds, promises, and vows seriously. Well, that was one thing humans could learn from them: honor.
“I’ll pass,” said Araime when one of the robe-clad Kralians made a step toward her, syringe in hand. She chuckled darkly. “What’s the point? I don’t have a pleasure slave.”
“We… have thought about this,” said Aedar carefully. “There’s someone outside that we’d like you to meet.”
They locked eyes for a long, tense moment. Avery thought Araime was impossible to read even for her. Her experience as an FBI agent, and the sharp intuition she’d gained while working undercover, should have helped now. It was no use. Araime was too good at masking her feelings. That, or she was a sociopath of the alien variety. Could be a possibility… She wondered why Dr. Jeffreys hadn’t mentioned it.
“You thought about this,” Araime repeated as if she was trying to understand a foreign language she was just hearing for the first time. “Of course you did. I’d rather pass, either way. But I’ll stay. These three fools need someone sane to look after them.”
Needless to say, Eldav, Gorgan, and Drav didn’t appreciate being called fools. It was a good thing they were too curious about the serums they were about to be injected with, otherwise a second fight would have thrown the
conference room into chaos. Araime did try to stir the pot with a cock of her white eyebrow and a daring smile, but the promise of a conflict didn’t stand a chance before the promise of a deep connection with the women they had kidnapped and turned into slaves, then wives. A taste of love. Real, undeniable love… Nothing that Araime could say or do would make them refuse the opportunity for such an experience.
Grace, Kaylee, and Ginny had been briefed about why they were there and what was, hopefully, going to happen by Medo and Dr. Jeffreys. They hadn’t had time to think of the possible implications, nor to wrap their heads around how the Kralians had come to work so closely with a Terran therapist, but they were in. As long as Poppy was there, they trusted that things could only get better for them, as well as for the other women on the four alien ships and their children. Poppy could only have their best interests at heart.
“All right, let’s do this,” said Eldav as he extended his arm.
The blue-skinned alien squeezed his hand into a fist, making the veins on the inside of his elbow pop. The syringes the Kralians used were nothing like the ones on Earth, and a simple, quick prickle of the needle was enough to trigger the mechanism and allow the colorless serum to make its way inside the man’s blood. Eldav closed his eyes for a second, mentally ready for anything to happen. Slightly disappointed, he opened them, cocked an eyebrow, and looked around him. Gorgan and Drav were just getting their own doses, which had been especially prepared for them. Ginny was sitting next to him, her big, doe eyes studying him carefully, but still too shy to say anything or make any kind of gesture. Eldav sighed in exasperation. He liked Ginny, he really did. She was nice and pleasant, and certainly the most obedient and easy-going pleasure slave he could have wished for. But sometimes, however, she was simply too innocent. He would have loved to see her show some willpower and determination. He would have even been up to being challenged by her with some argument or debate. But no, Ginny was just happy to be around him. By this point, after years of sharing his bed with her, he was pretty sure the young woman had experienced some trauma in her childhood, otherwise she wouldn’t have showed such passive and silent resignation at the prospect of spending her whole life as his consort, never once being allowed to see her own planet again.