by Maree Dry
“No, no, I’d never make that mistake,” she said hastily.
Zurian looked at the tablet she’d disabled and a sly idea came to him. It would solve many problems.
“You will give me your word that you will not touch our technology for a year.”
“A year?” she said, as if he asked her to give up her life when he was trying to save it.
“Yes.”
“A whole year without programming. Wait. Did you say your technology? I could still use the TC?”
“Yes.” He’d restrict the use and, while he did that, he would banish the Space Ranger.
The wall bleeped and Julia jumped. “Even your damn walls creep up on me.”
“Report here with your breeder,” Zacar said in English.
“That’s weird. I wonder what happened. Why he would want to see me as well?” She looked scared. “Do you suppose he wants to execute me himself? Would he hurt Natalie?”
Zurian drew her tight against him. “You need never fear. If any punishment is meted out, I will take it for your.”
She smiled and cupped his scarred cheek. “And I will do the same for you.”
He didn’t know what to say to such a strange answer.
Chapter 26
Zurian hoped the summons was one of Natalie’s dinner invitations. He had to get Julia to Viglar for those tests and he didn’t need more trouble from their leader.
Zacar waited for them in the main cave and one glance told Zurian his leader was extremely unhappy.
“We were ordered to attend the traitors execution, with our breeders,” he said in Zyrgin.
They stood in the new cave Azagor had built. It would be used as the secure location for the experiments with the new weapon. But for now, it would serve as the place they used to watch the execution of the traitor.
Zacar nodded and the leader’s hologram appeared.
Two warriors brought Egglggc in and moved him to stand inside the triangle. The Zyrgin traitor trembled so much the warriors had to drag him to the execution chair. Remembering Julia lying in the isolation booth, Zurian bared his teeth in contempt, vaguely aware that the other warriors watching the hologram did the same.
Next to him Julia stiffened. “What’s going on here?”
The leader stood back and the executioner stepped forward. He punched the traitor in the face. Blood sprayed everywhere. Julia flinched as if afraid the blood in the hologram would spatter over her. Zurian watched the slow deliberate blows and waited for the traitor to die. Among the other races they encountered, only those purple freaks, who called themselves explorers, were strong enough to withstand such a beating. It would take many hours for the executioner to beat him to death.
“What are you doing?” Julia shrieked.
The hologram winked out.
Julia whimpered and Zurian looked into her terrified eyes.
She stumbled back from him with her hands held out in front of her. “Stay away from me.”
He put out his hand and ignored her recoil. Deliberately he placed his hand on her neck, moving it up to cup her jaw. “Do not ever flinch from me again.”
“They were beating that man to death and you watched, expected me to watch?”
“That was the traitor responsible for your translator malfunction.”
“What? You killed a man because the translator didn’t work? What, did he do, sign off on cheap parts?” She threw her hands up. “Wow, that’s a crime that should have a death sentence attached.” She slapped his chest while she screamed at him.
He could never understand why she did that when it only hurt her and not him. Zacar escorted Natalie out of the room. Zurian should have followed his example and explained to Julia what was happening and asked her to keep her eyes closed.
“He did it for gain. Three new breeders died because he sent out faulty equipment. You almost died. Most of our equipment malfunctioned because of him. Would you prefer we allowed him to live?”
“This is why I left my family. It’s the kind of thing they would do to a traitor. I’ve been running form this kind of violence for years, and now I’m sleeping with exactly the same type of man.”
“It is our way. We do not tolerate traitors.”
“Then kill him with a bullet to the heart. Beating him to death is barbaric.”
“I did not beat him to death. I watched an execution.”
“No, you expected me to watch. I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“You do not need to think anything. This is warrior business. You shamed me in front of my leader.”
She put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe. Zurian didn’t dare relax his stance but this was his Julia. The fiery temper and the foot tapping were for him alone.
“I won’t have a man beaten to death because of me.”
He remembered what she told him about her father beating the president. “Your father did not beat the president because of you and the executioner is not killing the traitor because of you”
“Then why do I feel responsible?” she whispered.
***
Zurian walked to the cliff overlooking the valley where he always came to restore his calm. He would return to talk to Julia when the doctor finished the tests. Viglar insisted that he needed to monitor Julia for the next two days and Zurian agreed. He would miss her but he hoped she would calm down by the time Viglar released her. But first he had to find the strength to combat his fear of losing her. Fear that she would try to leave him because of the execution of the traitor. The fear that made him want to draw his sword and kill until the rage inside him was appeased. He’d defended her honor and she’d reviled him in front of his fellow warriors.
He knew the moment Zacar walked up to him. After so many years of his father stalking him to beat him, Zurian always knew when someone approached.
“She wants to bring another man’s blood into my dwelling,” Zurian told his friend and leader without turning.
Zacar didn’t react with the disgust Zurian expected. Instead, Zacar sighed like a human and leaned against the jutting rock. “I have decided to bring my breeder a human girl child,” he said.
“You’d allow it into your home?” Revulsion pushed the raw Eduki he’d had for breakfast up his throat. He turned and stared at Zacar. Ever since his leader had allowed Natalie to capture him, she’d influenced him. And not for good.
“I would tolerate a female child.”
“Why?” Zurian could see no benefit into allowing a human child, male or female, into a warrior’s dwelling.
“Natalie wants a weak useless baby.”
Zacar definitely catered to his breeder with dangerous indulgence, Zurian decided. “And you would indulge her such a foolish wish?”
“When a breeder is happy, a warrior lives in a happy home. You’ll come to accept that wisdom. I can learn to tolerate a girl child.” He pulled back his lips from his teeth. “Never a boy child.”
“I don’t want it in my dwelling,” Zurian said. He’d made peace with the fact that he would never provide little warriors for their people, but he wasn’t about to share Julia with a human. “Have you seen one?” he asked his leader. He’d seen some in town but never up close.
“On their primitive TC. A sickly thing the size of a pre-change Zyrgin.” Zacar flicked his claws. “They can’t move or eat without help.”
“And you’d give that to your breeder?” It would be an insult to provide such a thing to a breeder. He couldn’t imagine that Julia would really want such a weakling. He’d rather allow her to try to break into his equipment.
“Yes, it would make her happy to have a baby to cuddle.” Zacar was quiet for a bit and then said, “I’ll get her a healthy one.”
“That goes without saying. Where would you find a baby?” Would Julia stay mad at him if he could give her a baby? Maybe she would be so busy with it that she’d forget about the traitor’s execution. She’d been quiet and sad these last few days.
“They have places
where they put babies who have no parents. Natalie told me it is not a good place for them. It would be a kindness to take one away from that.”
Zurian stared at his leader. “And we Zyrgins are known for our kindness.”
They threw back their heads and their laughter echoed around the valley. Birds flew away and, far beneath them, he saw a flock of the newly introduced animals stampede.
“I can bring you one too,” Zacar offered at last.
“No.”
“It would make your breeder very happy.”
“I will think on it.”
“It would take her mind off the execution of the traitor.”
“I might be able to tolerate a female one in my dwelling,” Zurian said with great reluctance.
He had this feeling deep in his gut that he would regret his generosity. But if he took another’s blood inside his dwelling for her, he could claim she had small humans. It might keep her safe from the Zyrgin leader’s wrath when she did something dangerous again. And she would eventually do something dangerous again.
“When do we go?”
“In an hour. I want it to be a surprise for Natalie.”
Zurian nodded. “It will be waiting in our dwelling when Viglar releases my breeder.”
She would be grateful to him and forget to be mad at him. And she would not be sad all the time.
Chapter 27
Zurian was a soldier and he’d endured primitive conditions, organs flying around, seen his fellow warriors die. The slop the warrior force called food ranked right up there with the worst horrors the universe had to offer.
But this thing turned his stomach. He curled his lip at the ugly, squalling, little insect on his couch.
“Quiet, useless human,” he snarled at it. He wanted to present Julia with a pleasing girl child. Not this foul-smelling, noisy creature. “I can’t think with its noise in my ear.” He picked it up with two fingers, holding it by its foot. “I’ll kill this one and get her another one. This foul-smelling noisy creature is defective. There are plenty left at the baby place,” he told Zacar and lengthened his claws.
A shriek behind him stopped him.
The leader’s breeder stormed forward and grabbed the screaming, useless, little human.
“You will not. Zacar, tell him he can’t kill a baby.” She cradled it against her chest and, not for the first time, he wondered if humans had supernatural ears. The way she shrieked at him, along with the noise of the small useless human, almost brought him to his knees.
“You can’t kill a baby,” Zacar said obediently.
Behind his breeder, Zacar flashed him rude claws.
Zurian fisted his hands. Natalie didn’t notice the taunting look Zacar gave him. Probably wouldn’t recognize it even if she did see it.
He knew that to humans they appeared totally expressionless.
“I do not want to waste time with this disgusting creature.”
Zacar sobered. “She will be fine. Your breeder will like her.” He turned to Natalie. “You will look after the small human along with ours until the doctor finish the tests on Julia.”
A cunning look came over Natalie’s face. One Zurian didn’t like at all.
“Zacar, I need to speak to you alone for a bit.” Putting the screaming little human down, she walked outside with Zacar. Clever--to make sure he couldn’t hear. He stood looking down at the disgusting thing on his couch. Its face was red and it waved little fists in uncoordinated fury.
He curled his lip at it. “It’s a miracle you even achieved primitive technology.”
It screamed louder, hurting his ears even more than Julia’s screams. Zacar stepped back in and Zurian didn’t like the look on his face. At all.
“Natalie said among humans it is a terrible thing to give your adopted child into someone else’s care.”
“What am I supposed to do with it until Julia returns?” Zurian didn’t believe that story for one moment but he had not gone through his third change yesterday, so he kept his doubts to himself.
Zacar’s lip curled ever so slightly in disgust when he looked at the screaming thing. “Azagor is uploading education footage for you to study and master in order to look after the useless—the baby. Natalie will give things it needs to Azagor.”
“Does yours scream like this as well?” It would not be fair if he got the defective one. It had looked so quiet in that ugly factory.
“I think that’s all they do. Scream and eat and stink. Natlia mostly manage to keep it quiet,” Zacar said.
“I doubt anyone could keep this one quiet.”
“It takes a lot of her time,” Zacar groused.
Zurian felt a deep satisfaction, knowing his friend and leader wouldn’t get off without having to kill an Eduki. This had been his idea after all.
Natalie took off the foul smelling cloth on the baby and replaced it with a new one. All the while explaining to him what she did, as if she imagined he would be doing it as well. “I only brought nappies and a bottle. I’ll send the rest with Azagor.”
Next she fed it with a contraption that she stuck in its mouth. He couldn’t begin to express his contempt.
“Remember, when you pick her up to support her neck. It is very important.”
He nodded but had absolutely no plan to hold the awful thing.
Zacar and Natalie left and he turned to the ugliest thing he’d ever seen. It was red in its face and, now that Natalie had left, had resumed screaming. He’d been in battles where he couldn’t even hear Zacar’s orders above the noise and this was far worse.
He leaned over the couch with his hands braced on either side of it. “You will cease this useless noise at once,” he said firmly and loud over the noise.
He would treat it like a new recruit. Julia would appreciate his fairness. There was blessed quiet for a moment and then it screwed its face up and gave him such an ugly look, he instinctively took a step back. It let loose with that unearthly noise again. Zurian straightened and fingered his dagger, thought of Julia’s pleasure when she realized how much he sacrificed for her. Carefully he placed a finger over the ugly little mouth. Maybe it would understand and stop that awful noise. It tried to gnaw on his finger and he jerked his hand away. The noise started up again.
He became aware of Azagor behind him.
“I brought you the provisions the leader’s breeder wanted you to have.” Azagor unpacked a few things, explaining their function and, even the day his father sliced his cheek open with his own sword, Zurian had not experienced such horror.
“I’ll pay you a week’s wages if you look after it for me,” he told Azagor.
Azagor was still laughing when he walked out.
“All right, a month’s wages,” he shouted after him.
He would have offered a year’s wages but his breeder enjoyed buying things. He had the terrible suspicion she would want to buy things for the ugly being on his couch as well.
Chapter 28
Julia shivered and sat upright on the silver slab in the doctor’s section of the cave. It was the perfect sterile infirmary and, every time she came here, the place depressed her with its monochrome color scheme and flame happy doctor. She was surprised Zurian hadn’t objected to her being alone with the doctor these last two days. If she wasn’t so heart sick about the execution of the traitor she would’ve been very amused at their interpretation of her desire for chocolate.
Zurian had arrived hours earlier than the doctor had specified and she was ready to go home with him. They still had an argument to finish. She could accept him being a warrior. Looking on, while a man tied to a chair was beaten to death, that she could not accept.
Zurian and Viglar talked in that growly language and, as usual, she couldn’t figure out if they were arguing or just talking. Zurian looked up and gave her the normal once over, searching for any sign that the headaches still bothered her. “Viglar said you are all right.”
“I’m fine. No chocolate delusions.”
He
helped her down and grunted at the doctor. “We will go to our dwelling now.”
Outside their home, he gave the command to open the door and stood back to allow her to enter first.
Julia walked into the living area and, as always, she was pleased at the welcoming effect she’d achieved with the curtains and loose carpets. One of the cushions on the couch wriggled and she prepared to run if it turned out to be a rat.
She’d read about people in books having their mouth drop open in surprise, but she’d never thought it physically happened to a person. Seeing Zurian walk to the couch and pick up a tiny baby, carefully cradling it in his hands, caused her jaw to drop in a very inelegant display of surprise.
“Where did the baby come from?”
“I took it from the baby factory.”
“Baby factory?” she asked, faint. “You stole a baby?”
“A place where they keep small humans. I took one for us and Zacar took one. I have been looking after her.” He looked down intently at the little bundle in his arms. “You may hold it if you wish.”
She didn’t miss the way he addressed the baby. “When did you do this?”
He held the baby out to her. “Two days ago. Natalie sent some things to care for it.”
She carefully took the baby from him. “Do you have any notion of how wrong this is?”
“You wish me to take her back to the place where I found her? Lying on a mattress without any blankets. She hadn’t been fed for days.”
“How do you know that?”
“I asked Viglar to examine her to ensure she did not bring your human diseases to you.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?” This was unreal. You didn’t just go out and steal a baby. But taking the poor thing back to that horrible place would be worse.
“The small human is a female and you have to support her head and hold her softly not to break her bones.”
Julia bit her lip and looked at the baby in her arms. “I promise I’ll be careful.” She looked down into the sleeping little face and was lost. “She’s sleeping so peacefully, so trusting.”
