by C. F. Harris
Not that I'd seen that much in the way of a hand-to-hand combat before I started my last not-so-illustrious career in the penal battalions. I'd always been more of a ship-to-ship kind of guy, but she’d done pretty well for herself. She’d certainly saved my ass.
I saw the holding area up ahead. It was a massive circle with a raised platform in the middle that Klik jailers and researchers occupied, and cells holding my people all around the large circle giving those researchers and jailers easy access to the prison levels. Their platform could raise or lower to give them that access.
The whole thing seemed like an ostentatious waste of space on an interstellar ship, but if that arena had proved anything it was that the Kliks weren’t above a little ostentations space wasting.
There weren't any bars on these cells. Just a slight yellow glow that let me know there was a forcefield in place. And we’re not talking the friendly kind of forcefields that pushed someone back when they pressed against it.
No, these were old-fashioned forcefields that caused searing pain and knocked you on your ass if you were stupid enough to touch it.
At first I thought the Kliks were the height of primitive for using that kind of forcefield, but the more time I spent as their guest the more I realized that maybe causing pain for their captives was the primary goal.
Case in point. They also had armored doors that could come down and shut a cell just as effectively as the forcefields with none of the pain, but they rarely elected to use them. The bastards.
The Klik kept right on pushing until I was about to run into the field covering my door. I winced. I couldn't help it. It wouldn't be the first time one of them had shoved me into the field for the sheer joy of watching me writhing in pain.
I continued hurtling forward towards the forcefield, anticipating the pain, but it winked out of existence at the last moment as I stumbled through. I wheeled around to make a rude gesture at the guard, and thankfully it didn’t seem to be in the mood to drop the forcefield to come in and give me a piece of its hindbrain.
I moved over and sat down on the small cot that passed for a bed. It wasn't much, but it was mine. And it was a damn sight better than anything I'd gotten when I was stuck in the penal battalion.
Though of course it didn’t hold anything to the quarters I’d enjoyed when I was on top of the world as one of the most notorious captains on the semi-legal trade routes. Before the Kliks came along and ruined that business model by declaring war on my people and destroying those semi-legal trade lanes.
Fucking Kliks. There wasn’t anything in my life they hadn’t ruined.
I leaned back against the bulkhead and closed my eyes. It's not like there was anything in the way of entertainment in here.
I thought back to that girl. There was something about her. As though she…
It hit me exactly why she'd been so familiar. Thinking about my time in the penal battalion was enough to knock some memories loose.
It was her. The strange alien from my vision. The one who told me to get up and get back into the fight. The one who’d saved me with that strange dream.
It felt impossible that she could be the same woman, and yet I was sure of it. I’d bet my life on it, though my life wasn’t worth all that much these days.
The only question was what was a woman from my dreams doing stepping out of those dreams and into the arena to act as an experimental subject for the Kliks?
It didn't seem like I was going to get that question answered anytime soon. The reward wasn't supposed to get involved in the fight. I could only imagine how angry the Kliks were that she got involved.
At least they hadn't killed her. Not in front of me, at least. I'd been worried they’d go that route when several guards stepped in, but instead they’d lifted the brute off her unconscious form.
I couldn't even make sure she was okay. She was an alien anyway. It's not like I actually knew anything about her or how her body worked.
Just that she was somehow in my mind. She’d reached across the stars in my time of need and given me hope. I didn’t know how that was possible, telepathy wasn’t something my species was known for, but it had happened.
The hum from the forcefield holding me in here changed. I opened my eyes and looked over. Blinked a couple of times to make sure I was seeing what I thought I saw.
It was another Klik guard wearing that ridiculous power armor that gave them such an advantage in combat.
I didn’t give a fuck about the armor though. It was what the guard carried in his claws that interested me. Maybe I spoke too soon when I said they weren’t bringing me my reward.
The guard carried the woman. I couldn't believe they were bringing her to my cell.
Perhaps they looked at me as the winner regardless of how that win happened. Regardless of how involved this woman was in making that win happen. It boggled the mind.
The guard placed her down on the hard floor before me. I looked up at it and cocked an eyebrow.
"What is this?" I asked.
The alien turned an armored eyestalk towards me and raised its weapon menacingly. I looked at the weapon, a plasma rifle with a glowing tip that hummed ominously, and longingly thought of what I’d do to the Klik if I could get that plasma rifle out of its claws.
Unfortunately the fact that it was in that power armor meant it would be very difficult to get the weapon out of its claws. Metaphorically speaking, considering the weapons were actually attached to the creature’s side and not to its claws. Which wasn’t likely, and that was a damn shame.
I'd run contraband shipments of Klik weapons on more than one occasion. I was fully versed in how to remove and reprogram those things on the fly so they could be used without the power armor attachment, and I’d love nothing more than to get a chance to use it against my captors.
The guard pulled back, keeping his weapon trained on me the entire time. I didn't do anything to give him an excuse to use that weapon. No, I was well-versed in exactly how much damage they could do, and I wasn't in the mood to have him do that damage to my body.
I sighed in relief when the guard was out of the room and the forcefield popped up again. Then something even more interesting happened. A metal door slammed down with a metallic clang.
Huh. That’d never happened before in my cell. It certainly gave us some privacy that’d been lacking ever since I found myself in this place.
I looked down to the exotic alien beauty. Wondered what they expected us to do in here that they felt the need to give me privacy beyond the translucent forcefield. I could see that the field was still there, they weren’t taking any chances, but they wanted to give me the illusion of privacy.
I never doubted that it was merely the illusion of privacy. I was sure my cell was loaded with all sorts of listening and viewing devices even if I couldn't see them.
I sighed and got down to have a look at the alien. My strange angel who’d appeared in my dreams, and now here she was in front of me. She’d saved me twice now. Once on the battlefield, and again in the arena.
I figured I owed it to her to at least see if she was okay. Something told me the Kliks hadn't bothered to do a medical once over before they tossed her in here. They probably thought I’d take her while she was unconscious. She was the spoils of battle, after all.
My lips turned down in distaste at the idea. I wouldn’t do it. Even if they came in here and threatened me. Even if this ended with them killing me because I wouldn’t give them what they wanted. I wasn't going to become the animal they thought I was.
As I inspected her, I was pretty sure she was a her, it occurred to me that I wasn't going to be able to do much for her. I had limited medical experience with my own species, and none at all with her species. Even if she was obviously from an alien species that looked so similar to my own.
I'd heard rumors of a species like that out in the space lanes. I'd heard men who operated on freighters talking about angels that roamed the stars, but I never thought I’d co
me face-to-face with one of those angels. They were supposed to be stories.
And yet all I could think as I stared down at her was that she was an angel. She was everything from the legends wrapped into one perfect package, and she needed my help. I might not be a medic, but I knew the basics.
Most living things in the galaxy seemed to continue the business of living with systems that were more or less the same even if the specifics of how they built those systems could differ wildly from planet to planet.
I felt for a pulse. It took me awhile to find one, but I finally did in her chest area. Right about in the same spot that it would be on our people, but a little higher.
She had the same form as my people, so maybe I should treat her as though the same basic medical checks would work on her. Not that I'd had occasion to do that sort of thing very often. I’d had a medic to handle that back when I had a ship. Back before I lost everything.
Once I found the pulse I pulled away. I had no way of knowing if that was a normal pulse for her species. What I did know was how hot her body felt. I worried she might be feverish, but there was nothing I could do if she was.
She didn't cry out as my hands moved around her body. I took that as a good sign. I hoped that meant there wasn't anything broken. Though it could also mean she was so out of it that she didn't have the capacity to cry out in pain.
It was difficult to tell which was which.
I moved back up to her face. Stared down at her as her chest rose and fell steadily. I wondered how different she truly was from the women on my world. Her body was accentuated and curved, and I had a feeling that was just how she was. That it had nothing to do with getting the surgical enhancements that had been all the rage on my world before the Kliks came along.
"I really hope you're okay," I whispered as I looked down at her.
I couldn't think of anything else to say. I was fairly certain she wouldn't understand anything I said. I recalled all too well her blank stares when I spoke to her in the arena.
I didn't dare speak to her in the language of our captors. Not yet. Not unless it was a last desperate measure. Not when they were likely listening to everything I said here.
I nearly jumped when her eyes fluttered open. She stared up at me without recognition. Then her eyes narrowed and I figured she was remembering exactly who I was. Or at the very least she was remembering that the last time she saw me she'd been pumped full of whatever natural chemical stimulated her species when their fight or flight response kicked in.
Whatever it was, it wasn't good for me because she screamed as she lunged for me.
Okay then. This wasn’t good. I didn't have time to think much beyond that before she was on me though, and not in the way I'd fantasized about since I first saw her in the arena.
11
Dalia
I floated in a strange void. I knew I needed to get up, that something was wrong, but I was having a difficult time understanding exactly what had gone so wrong.
I should be in my ship. I should be nice and safe cocooned in the life support system that kept me alive while I roamed the stars looking for Klik bogies.
Kliks. There was something important there. Then it hit me.
I was a captive. They’d taken me aboard their ship. They’d nearly destroyed my ship in the process.
And there was something else. They'd put me in an arena to fight, though that didn't seem quite right. No, they’d done something else.
I wasn’t meant to fight. They’d put me in there as a prize. Two men were to fight it out and the winner got me.
I smiled thinking about the look on the big guy’s face when I’d joined that fight. That smile lasted until I remembered what happened immediately after with him falling on top of me. I'm sure that's not the sort of falling on top of me he'd been hoping for at the beginning of the fight.
I felt something jostling my body. That was weird. I was busy floating in a formless void here. A nice dream state that was a hell of a lot better than the captive reality waiting for me if I woke up. I didn't want to wake up, but something jostled me again.
What the hell was going on here?
My eyes flew open and I recognized the alien hovering over me. He was the one I'd seen in that strange dream before I was captured by the Klik raiders. The one I’d given that pep talk to. The one who’d been in that arena, as impossible as that seemed.
What was he doing on this ship?
Unfortunately recognition wasn't the only thing that kicked in when I saw him hovering over me. No, training kicked in telling me there was a strange alien hovering over me and looking at me pretty intently. And I didn't know what his intentions were. Especially since he'd technically won that gladiatorial combat where I was the prize.
I reacted without thinking. I screamed as I punched him with all the strength I could muster. It didn't feel like much, but it was enough to knock him away from me.
He tumbled over, letting out a series of what I could only assume were curses in his language. I didn't know his language, but the funny thing about four letter words was they sounded about the same no matter what language you were talking in.
I pulled away from him and scrambled back against the wall. This might be the strange alien from my dreams, but I had no way of knowing if dream alien and real alien were gentlemen. For all I knew he could be coming after me thinking he was getting a one-way ticket to pound town as a reward for what he'd done.
And I didn't even know what the hell kind of species he was. Humanoid, that was for sure. Humanoid with an odd ridge on his nose that looked like something out of the cheesy set design on an ancient sci-fi TV series and only three fingers and a thumb instead of the usual four.
Humanoid and delicious, but best not to take any chances.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked.
He cocked his head to the side and arched an eyebrow. And as he paused and looked at me with that bemused expression I couldn’t help but think again just how fucking hot he was.
I'd obviously noticed it earlier in the arena, but I was really noticing it now. Damn this guy was built. Damn this guy was sexy. It made me want to get to know him better, if you know what I mean.
Only I didn't want to get to know him better under these circumstances. Not when he was looking me up and down with that same gaze that seemed to be a constant among males all over the galaxy. At least humanoid males all over the galaxy. It looked like he mostly had all the right parts, and he seemed to be really enjoying the sight of my parts.
I shivered. Why was I shivering? I shouldn't be shivering. I should be figuring out a way to get the hell out of here.
He said something in that incomprehensible noise that passed for a language. I stared at him for a moment and he opened his eyes wider. He nodded a couple of times as though that was somehow supposed to make everything better. As though I was supposed to magically understand everything he was trying to tell me because he was nodding like an idiot.
At least he wasn’t trying to talk louder and slower yet. Like that’d ever helped someone understand a language ever.
"You're going to have to speak a Terran language,” I said. "Because I have no idea what the fuck you're trying to say here buddy, and we're definitely having a lost in translation moment.”
Now it was his turn to stare at me blankly. I rolled my eyes and let out a disgusted sigh. Great. Just fucking great. I was stuck with an alien who was probably going to try and ravish me at any moment and I had no idea how to even say hello to him.
Again, not that I minded the idea of being ravished in a theoretical sense. It was more the principle of the thing. I was not some prize to be won in an alien fighting competition. Especially a competition the Kliks put together.
It occurred to me to try talking to him in the language of our captors. After all, if he was being held captive by the Kliks then there was a chance he knew their language.
Only there was still a part of me that refused to give up
the small advantage that might come from the Kliks not knowing I understood them. I didn’t want to give that up any more than I wanted to give up the blaster hidden in my subcutaneous pattern buffer ready to rematerialize at the opportune moment.
Classic tactics. Don’t use a weapon until you’re sure you can do the most possible damage with that weapon. And I was pretty sure now wasn't that moment. Not for the blaster, at least.
Not unless this guy got a little too handsy before we’d solved this lost in translation problem.
Well then. If I didn't know his language and he didn't know mine and neither of us seemed willing to speak Klik, assuming he knew how to speak Klik in the first place, then there was nothing for it but to do the whole “me Tarzan you Jane” routine. Only I guess in this case it was “me Jane you Johnny Weissmuller” since I was the one making broken introductions.
I pointed to my chest. "Dalia."
He eyed me warily. There wasn't any of the savage undercurrent you saw in the ancient black-and-white movies that came to mind as I did this. No, it was clear he was a sophisticated being who knew what was what, but this communication barrier meant he might as well be a savage from the jungle for all the good that sophistication did.
He tapped his chest. “Keer.”
"Keer?” I asked. "That's your name?"
"Name…" he said, as though he was rolling around the word in his mind. Getting used to how it felt. Then he smiled.
“Name. Kir. Not Keer.”
The way he said his name was shorter. The difference between his pronunciation and mine was obvious.
“Kir,” I repeated.
His grin grew even wider. Well then. That was one gesture that seemed to be universal between our two species.
He took a step towards me and I held up a hand. That stopped his slow march across the room. My eyes narrowed. Good. At least he knew when to stay the hell away.
“Stay right there buddy," I said. "I might be a member of the Fleet, but I will not hesitate to throw down hand to hand if you cause trouble. Don't think for a minute that because you won that arena fight I'm going to give myself to you."
