by Maia Starr
“Did you see anything?” I asked my guards.
“No, nothing, General, except the creatures of Earth,” he said.
“Good. I am ready. Let's get back to the ship; there is much to do,” I said.
We flew back to the ship. The cargo door closed, and it had been exactly an hour. I put the bag on the floor as I saw Lieutenant Qon coming toward me.
“We are ready for the meeting. The map is set up in the conference room, and everyone is waiting for orders,” he said.
“Good. I am on my way,” I said.
Minutes later I stood in the conference room looking at the human colony map that we had obtained from Haven Brook. There was another concentration of human colonies just north of our position.
“I want to go to this area. Maybe we will find a human colony there. Now that we have the human female, we can send her down first to speak with the humans on our behalf. It is how the king did it at Haven Brook and was successful, as you all know. Therefore we will try to do the same. Set a course for this spot,” I said circling the area.
“Remember: we need to get at a high altitude. Do not descend until I give orders. We will be embarking on a scout ship down to the ground while the fleet stays out of sight high in the clouds. That is the plan. Now go,” I said.
The group disbursed to complete their orders. I went back out to the cargo area and grabbed the bag of human items. I went to Hannah's room. The guard I had posted was there.
“You can take a break and return in an hour,” I said to him.
“Yes, General, ” he said with a salute and walked away. I knocked on the door, giving her a warning. Then I opened it. She was sitting on the bed.
“Did you eat?” I asked.
“Yes, I did,” she said standing up. I closed the door behind me and threw the bag at her feet. She gave me a dirty look. Was this woman never satisfied?
“What is that?” she said.
“Look inside and see, human. Or do I have to do everything for you?” I asked.
She gave me a look and then squatted down and opened the bag. She pulled out the clothes and canned food. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes.
“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“I flew down to the ground and looked into some human houses. I found these items for you,” I said.
“You went down to get this for me?” she asked with a softer voice.
“I did.”
“Thank you. I am glad to actually have some clothing,” she said.
“Good.” I stood there waiting.
“Did you need something else from me?”
“No. I am just waiting for you to try on these items,” I said folding my arms across my chest and leaning against the wall.
“What?” she said with anger.
“How will you know if they fit?” I laughed.
“I am not going to get naked in front of you,” she said.
“Not yet anyway. But you will eventually, and I have already seen this,” I said as I motioned toward her breasts.
"That does not mean that you get to see it again. Now if you'll excuse me so that I can change, you pig,” she said.
I laughed. I took very wide steps and stood directly in front of her. Standing this close to her, she was much smaller. I looked down at her as she looked up at me with her big brown eyes. I could see fear in them. I am sure that my size terrified her.
“You will be my mate, human. You can count on that.” I leaned down as though I was going to kiss her. She sucked in a sharp breath of air. I stopped. I did not kiss her; I only lingered. Then I turned around and walked out of her room.
Chapter 6
Hannah Maven
I didn't mind the room that I was in so much. It was a very small room, but at least it was private. Even at Willow Springs, I didn't have such luxury. I shared a room with my twin sister, Helen. I didn't mind it because we were close, and we were in survival mode, but I missed the old days of having an entire apartment to myself. This small bank on a spaceship was the closest I had to any privacy in years. There was a single bed all along one wall, and it was very long and very wide for a single bed. But that was because it was for these extremely tall alien creatures that were massive and broad. The rest of the room had a small table and then a small door that led to a washroom the size of a small closet. I was glad to not have to share a washroom with all of the soldiers.
But I wasn't alone for a long when the frustrating brute General Razook came in to interrupt my solace. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening, but more importantly, how I would escape. I needed to get back to Willow Springs and to my sister. I wondered if anyone on the supply run had managed to get away. Either they were killed by the humans or cyborgs, captured, or had gotten away. I would not be able to find out such information where I was. I needed to get on the ground and get away from these aliens.
So, it was quite the surprise when General Razook came into the room to give me a bag of human things including clothing. I was very grateful for it. I did not want to be topless any longer. But I was surprised when he told me that he went down to the ground to get it. He had done this for me. I didn't understand this creature. I was seeing two sides of him. One side was brutal and completely rogue. This was the side that had seen me half naked and was talking about my breasts. The other side was kind enough to go down to the ground and get me clothes and food. I didn't understand him.
Now, he stood towering over me.
“You will be my mate, human. You can count on that,” he said to me in a very cold way. He leaned down over me, and I thought he was going to kiss me. I gasped. But for some reason, I didn't move away even though there was plenty of room behind me to step away from him. I froze. Somewhere deep down inside of me, I wanted this attractive alien to kiss me. What the hell was wrong with me? He was awful. He was rude and a pig. But at this moment with him standing this close to me, demanding that I will have sex with him at some point, made my body feel hot all over. It was not the reaction that I was expecting.
I sort of got ready for him to kiss me. But then I was completely shocked when he didn't. He just smiled at me as though he knew that I wanted him to kiss me. Then he turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I realized that I was holding my breath. I started to breathe again.
“What the hell was that, Hannah?” I said to myself. I was very disappointed in my behavior. I threw the bag on the bed and emptied out everything. There were tank tops, a plaid flannel, and two pairs of jeans. There were cans of green beans, carrots, and even a can of chicken soup. I was delighted by this, even though the Veruka had brought me a tray of fresh food which was surprisingly from Earth. I had been expecting some sort of alien goulash. This meant they must have been on Earth for quite a while now. I wanted to know more about what was going on, but I wasn't going to find that out in this room.
I unwrapped the bandages that served as a tube top. I pulled on a green tank top slowly over the bandages on my back. I was surprised that they were feeling better already, and I remembered that General Razook said I would heal fast with the alien medicine. Then I pulled on a flannel but didn't bother to button it up. It was more like a jacket because it was a bit drafty in the spaceship. I put on a fresh pair of jeans, considering the ones I wore had been dragged across the forest floor. I put my boots back on and felt better. Too bad there wasn't a bathtub in this room. I really could use a long hot bath.
I knocked on the door. The door slid open quickly, and I realized there must be a soldier guarding my door. That was going to make it harder to escape.
“I wish to see the flight deck,” I said. I didn't know if I was allowed to roam the ship, but General Razook had mentioned that I was not a prisoner. I assumed that meant I did not have to stay in my room.
“Yes, human, allow me to escort you,” he said in a very military way.
He turned, and I followed him down the maze of halls, and I was
shocked at how big this ship was. It was very shiny and white. I could see my reflection in the walls.
All around me there were many gadgets on the walls. They were blinking with all kinds of fascinating colors. There were purple lights. Green and red lights and orange. I didn’t know what any of these things did. There was writing on all the panels that I could not read. We passed rooms with open doors. I peeked inside as I passed. I could see holographic projections on the walls. Some of them were of maps. The others looked like a map of different solar systems.
That was when I remembered. I was in a vessel that had traveled many galaxies to get to Earth. It was absolutely fascinating, and for a moment I felt like smiling, even though I was a captive of these strange alien dragon men. I was still in a very beautiful spaceship and looking around made my jaw drop. As we walked through, soldiers saluted General Razook. It was obvious that he was the supreme leader on the ship and I found it sort of impressive. I liked that he was the one in control; there was something attractive about it. But then I stopped myself. Stop being attracted to an alien! I screamed inside my head.
Finally, he led me to an open room with a large glass wall, and I realized it was the windshield of the spaceship. It was the flight deck. It was beautiful. I could see the large clouds outside. It was like being in an airplane and looking out the window; we were that high. The soldier nodded to me and then stepped away and stood against the back wall watching me. I realized he was to be my escort around the ship.
“You are the human female,” I heard a deep voice say. I turned to see a very tall Veruka standing behind me. He was standing close: too close for comfort. He had jet-black hair and his eyes were yellow and seemed to glow. He had a menacing smile, and he did not make me feel good about his presence. There was something that I didn't like about him. It wasn't the same way that I disliked General Razook; this was different. I could tell this creature did not have good intentions.
“Yes, I am,” I said stating the obvious. His eyes removed from my face and went over my breasts all the way down to my feet and then back up. He was taking his time. I shifted my weight feeling very uncomfortable. When General Razook did this to me, it was sexual. This creature was looking at me like he was going to eat me for dinner.
“My name is Lieutenant Qon; it is an honor to meet you, human.”
“Thank you,” I said trying to turn back towards the windshield and in the conversation. But I felt his hand on my arm stopping me.
“It is rude to not give your name in return after you have been given a name. Or do the humans not have manners?” he said with his eyebrows frowning at me.
“My name is Hannah,” I said, and then I yanked my arm away from him. I turned toward the windshield and stepped away from him. I heard him laughing behind me. He was awful.
“Report,” I heard a familiar voice say as stomping sounds entered the room. I turned to see General Razook walking in.
“Yes, General; we are approaching the human colony Hartford in thirty minutes,” the pilot said.
“Good,” he said. Then he saw me. “Hannah, it is good to see you emerge from your room,” he said.
“I thought I would see your ship,” I said.
“And what do you think?” he asked.
“It is very impressive. But this is my first alien spaceship, so I have nothing to compare it to,” I said.
“Trust me; it is the best and fastest in the twelve galaxies outside of Earth. The other races we are acquainted with cannot compare,” he said.
“Other races?” I said with my eyes wide. “You mean that there are other types of aliens out there?”
“Of course. You do not think that humans and Veruka are the only ones that exist in all the universe? That would be ridiculous,” he said.
Well, he was right. I never expected for cyborgs to take over the Earth, so why not lots of different aliens all over the place?
“Now that you are up and about, we need to have a meeting. Follow me to the conference room,” he said. He turned and walked away. I followed him. But then I felt something on my hand: a very large hot hand. I turned to see Qon glaring at me.
“I will be seeing you again soon, human,” he said. I pulled my hand out of his and quickly walked down the hall trying to catch up with General Razook. I somehow felt safer with him now that I had Qon to compare him to. I would much rather be by Razook’s side.
“In here,” he said.
I followed him into a large room with a big oval table. There were many chairs, and an entire wall had a giant screen on it with lots of different flashing images. I could not read the writing on anything. It was sort of a command center. It was very advanced.
“How are you feeling? Your injuries?” he asked as he poured two cups of water and handed one to me.
“I am actually feeling a lot better. Thank you for the medicine,” I said.
“Good. Now I want to review what is going to happen when we get to this colony called Hartford. Have you heard of it?” he asked.
“No, I have not,” I said.
“You and I are going to take a smaller scout ship down to the ground just outside of the colony. Together we will go on foot to the human colony so as not to scare them by allowing them to see the spaceships. You will enter the colony first, getting the attention of any human you see. Asked to be led to anyone in charge. Then tell them that you have come as a messenger from me. You will tell them exactly what I tell you to say. You will say that you have come as a messenger from a human colony called Haven Brook. The humans at Haven Brook are working with a new species called the Veruka. This new species comes from a planet called Tivoso. They have become friends with the humans and are helping to fight the machines. You will tell them that I am a general and have been sent by my king to speak with other colonies on behalf of Haven Brook. You will then ask if the leader will meet with me,” he said.
“That is a lot to ask of them,” I said.
“I understand. But it is the only way for now. Do you understand what you are to say?” he asked.
“Yes, I understand. How long do they have to decide if they wish to take the meeting with you?” I asked.
“Tell them they can take as long as they want inside of two days. But if they do not wish to meet with me then we will leave and find another human colony. We do not mean any threat to Hartford. I want you to make that clear to them. Tell them that we have been good to you. Tell them that we rescued you from the machines. This is what you must do,” he said.
“This is what I must do as my part of the agreement,” I said.
“Yes, exactly. Now I am going to go prepare the scout ship. We will be leaving in approximately thirty minutes. Would you like me to escort you back to the flight deck or to your room?” he asked.
I didn't want to go to the flight deck because I didn't want to see Qon again.
“I will go to my room so that I may prepare myself for departure,” I said.
“Then I shall take you there,” he said. He walked out of the room, and I followed him down the hall to my room.
“I will return to escort you to the scout ship in ten minutes,” he said.
“Yes, I understand,” I said as I walked into my room. The door closed behind me. This was it. It was just going to be him and I on the ground. It would be my chance to escape. I didn't know how I was going to be able to do it. He was bigger and stronger than I was, but I hoped that I could figure something out.
Thirty minutes later, I sat inside a smaller ship. It only fit about three passengers, with two seats in the front and one in the back and a long narrow hallway that was the middle of the small ship, not more than fifteen feet long. General Razook called it a scout ship, and I could see why. It was small, and as soon as he flew it out of the bigger ship, I knew just how fast it was. It was so fast it was hard to see anything underneath us.
“I am going to park the ship a mile away from the colony in the woods. I do not want them seeing it first and having the same reacti
on as the last human colony. We scared them. I will park it a mile away, and we will walk the rest,” he said.
“Yes, I understand,” I said. What I understood was that I would have a mile of walking in the woods with him to try to escape. But where would I go? I couldn't go to the human colony; that would be the first place he looked for me. I didn't want to put that colony in danger either because I really had no idea what the true intentions of this alien race were. He could be lying to me about helping. I didn't know if anything he said was true. I only knew that my sister and Willow Springs were to the south. So that was where I needed to head. I wasn't happy about heading out on my own with machines and hostile humans around, but I didn't have a choice.
