Celestial Beauty

by Angela Castle

  “I am sorry we don’t have the latest data upload on treating humans. I don’t think any of us expected to come into close contact with one.” He smiled again, placing her foot down. Kue turned his back on her to put the gadgets he had used to treat her ankle. “It’s a simple sprain, so I recalibrated the muscle modulator to help heal your more delicate muscle structure. Is there anything else that hurts?”

  She hadn’t noticed him standing in front of her again regarding her in silent study. She saw his fingers before she felt them move under her chin, lifting her head, forcing her to meet his worried gaze. “Beauty, you are not all right, are you?”

  She swallowed again. “I … I don’t want to be a burden. I’ll leave if you’re finished.” She managed to choke the words out. Kue frowned and glanced around. He hooked a wide stool with his foot bringing it forward before sitting down. It lowered his bulk to the same height of where she sat, and he very gently and tenderly brushed her dirty, matted hair from her face.

  “What makes you think you’re a burden? Trust me when I say all four of us have never been more delighted that we found you. It is an honour to care for you, and in no way are you a burden.”

  Her vision blurred, and warm wet trails were left down her cheeks as her tears spilled over the rim of her eyes. “You don’t know what I’ve done. I don’t deserve this, you being so nice.”

  “I highly doubt there is anything you could have done to make me think differently. Will you tell me why you think this?”

  She couldn’t hold it in any longer. The need to confess her crime burst out. “B-because I killed everyone on that ship.”

  “Somehow I doubt that, but will you tell me everything you can remember?”

  She closed her eyes, her mind going back to that horrible time on the Jorval ship. She should have never taken a walk that moonlit night.

  ****

  Celeste pulled her drugged, sluggish body up, seeing the bars surrounding her. It was a cage no bigger than a dog kennel. Under her was a cold metal floor. She was on the end of a row of cages, along with other women in her same situation.

  At first there was sorrow. Then despair, as the hours passed, turned into anger. But Celeste held onto her anger, refusing to let it go, even when the other three women had broken down, defeated by humiliation and gnawing hunger in their stomachs.

  Clearly these alien beings held human women in the same regard as the boxed cargo stacked around them.

  What right did they have to do this? But who was there to stop creatures with highly advanced technology? Not her species, who had trouble even getting to the moon.

  It was a hard fact to swallow. She, along with the other three, was lost to Earth and would never see the blue sky or breathe the human air again. Still, it didn’t stop Celeste’s mind ticking over, constantly thinking about escape and revenge.

  Endless hours passed with nothing but water, and they grew weak. Her mind edged more towards giving up as the other women had.

  At this point she weighed up the possibilities in her mind. Where would she rather be? Back on Earth, suffering at the hands of her asshole ex, constantly being ignored and told how worthless she was? On Earth at least she had clothes and food. Here she was naked, half starved, with a fate unknown at the hands of alien creatures. It was an utter cosmic joke.

  She swallowed and leaned against the door, gasping when it creaked open. She turned, sitting back on her heels, staring at the open crack for a long moment, trying to understand if this was real or a hallucination. Tentatively, she reached out and pushed it wider. No, it wasn’t an illusion at all. Was this the break she’d been praying for? It must have been an oversight on her captors’ part when they’d shoved water into her cage.

  She glanced at the other women, sleeping fitfully in the filtered darkness, before crawling out. Her limbs and back ached, and she stretched them slowly, standing to her full height, her legs weak and wobbly. Vibrations of the ship shuddered up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

  She looked again at the younger, thinner women. How fragile they appeared. Would they survive what these aliens had in store for them? They’d been friendly, with only each other for comfort through this ordeal. No doubt they would be as weak, if not more so, after being starved for what felt like days. She glanced down at her naked and ample padding and larger breasts. No doubt her fat stores were helping her through this period of famine. She drew in a slow breath and took a few steps forward.

  No, she wouldn’t wake them. They needed to rest. Besides, why give them false hope when she felt none herself? One or more of her friends might burst into another fit of hysterics and bring the big eared, wrinkly faced aliens back to subdue them with more drugs. She couldn’t risk it.

  But now what? There had to be away out, a way to stop them before they got any further from Earth. Renewed anger fired through her. Even being naked wouldn’t stop her. Gaining momentum, she ripped off a smaller black cover from a nearby metal cargo crate and wrapped it around her body in a makeshift toga. She tucked it in tight, but not so tight as to inhibit her movements. The gleam of several tools scattered around caught her eye, and she picked up a heavy silver, cylindrical object, rather similar to a large wrench. At one end it had several little blinking lights.

  She slapped her palm over the door panel, as she’d seen the creatures do. The door hissed as it slid open giving her access to a very short corridor. She realized the alien spaceship wasn’t that big, and guessed about the length of a passenger bus, only wider and oddly coloured with grey, pastel oranges and splashes of green. It smelled musty and stale.

  She shook her head to remove her curious thoughts, and focused on what was important. Which way? From the vibrations coming from one end, she surmised it was their engine room.

  There was no logical plan other than to stop them, stop the ship. If she caused enough trouble, she got the upper hand. She could demand they turn the ship around and take them back to Earth. Or let her and the other three women go on some safe, friendly planet?

  Her hand shook, and she closed her eyes. She’d known suffering most of her adult life, and despite keeping them naked and in a cage these aliens hadn’t hurt them, beat them. This was the first real taste of freedom she’d had, but for how long? If they were only cargo, where were they taking them? Would they be sold at some alien market, turned into nothing but slaves?

  Fuck them all! No way will my life to end like this! In outer space, at the hands of aliens. Never would she let someone else have power over her, to control, manipulate and abuse.

  She nodded to herself, more for self-assurance, and her palms began to sweat as she gripped the alien spanner tighter.

  The door hissed open, heated smells of odd oils and other mechanical perfumes filling the air. Lit up panels surrounded the ship’s bulkhead while a central orange, oval bubble system beat out a techno style rhythm as they sped through the stars.

  Destroy the engine. The strong thought popped into her brain, but how? She glanced it over but figured it was too smooth. Her eyes went back to the glittering wall panels. Now that she could do some damage to. She took three steps forward, then paused. What if I damage their life support?

  Two choices, stand here and do nothing or take the chance and start smashing. There was nothing really to lose. With a grunt, she swung her weapon and brought it down with a heavy wham. Parts and sparks flew everywhere. Oh it felt good. She swung again and again, not missing one inch of the controls as she moved. All her pent-up anguish came pouring out as hit it over and over.

  “No more, no more, no more!”

  Red lights now flashed and loud claxon bells rang, but she didn’t care, even when some of the hot sparks landed on her skin, singeing it.

  Oh, crap on a stick! She wobbled on her feet as the whole ship suddenly shuddered violently, before careening wildly, throwing her against one of the panels.

  The door slid open, and wide eyed aliens with panic stricken expressions barrelled into the
room.

  “Take that, you stupid fuckers! Teach you to abduct humans!” She emphasized her words by waving the spanner at them.

  “You destroyed our navigation and thrusters! You’re going to get us all killed, foolish Earthling!” Enraged bellows filled the air as they charged her. She swung wildly, but the ship suddenly turned, flinging all the battling occupants in the room against the panelling. More sparks flew as a fire broke out. Black smoke filled the air.

  Celeste fell back, tripping on her makeshift clothing, and pain exploded across the back of her head, just before she blacked out.

  ****

  Celeste blinked, bringing Kue’s thoughtful face into focus. Her story now over, she held her breath with her heart in her throat, waiting for his condemnation. She expected his rejection and to be cast out and put back onto the harsh, alien planet.

  What she didn’t expect was to be pulled from the med bed and into his arms, held tightly and cradled as one would a child. Unable to handle his kindness she again broke down, her body wracked with sobs.

  His deep rumbling voice vibrated from his chest as he spoke. “You are brave as well as beautiful, risking your life in such an action. No one in their right mind wants to be enslaved. I can’t say what you did was right or wrong. If it had been me or one of my brothers, we, too, would have rather faced death than an uncertain future.”

  The lack of condemnation only renewed her tears.

  “B-but I ... don’t deserve your kindness.”

  “I will not accept that. I do not like seeing this burden of guilt you carry. Try to let it go. No matter what, my brothers and I are here for you.”

  “Why, why do you care?” Her tears slowly subsided, and the sobs calmed. He plucked a cloth from somewhere to let her wipe her tears and blow her nose.

  “Why shouldn’t I want to care? It’s not hard to see what a tender heart you are on the inside, and someone who’s been very hurt. I also get a sense there is more to your story.”

  Did he really see her that clearly, even after a short time of knowing her? She wanted to talk more, but mental and physical fatigue weighed her down, making her eyes droop and her mind start to cloud. It was hard to think clearly. Her head bobbed in a yes, but she couldn’t find the strength to talk anymore.

  She realized it hadn’t passed Kue’s notice. “We’ll talk about this again later. I made a vow to take care of you. So bath before bed. Trust me to take care of you?” She nodded her permission, and in another display of strength, gripping her tightly, he stood with her in his arms.

  ****

  Kue, deep in thought, didn’t notice Raz’s entrance into the meal room until he was nudged. A lot of things troubled him about their new guest. His chest tightened at the torment in her pale blue eyes, so weighed down with sorrow and guilt.

  Once he’d managed to clean her up, her pale skin gleamed, and her shoulder length hair was soft and shiny. With all the dirt gone, she was even lovelier than he’d first thought. Even he struggled to keep things professional and simply care for her, when all he wanted to do was kiss her full, pink lips, and explore all her pillowy softness, and protect her from the universe. He was yet unsure of how his other brothers would feel, but he most certainly wanted to get to know her better, inside and out. Life experience had taught Kue nothing was ever as simple as it seemed.

  Kue glanced up from his plate at Raz, bringing him out of his thoughts of Celeste. He studied his brother’s downturned frown.

  “Where is she?” Raz glanced around as if expecting her to be there.

  “Sleeping, she was exhausted. The poor beauty fell asleep in the tub. She would have drowned herself if I hadn’t been there. I tucked her into my bed.”

  “Why your bed?”

  Kue rolled his eyes at Raz. “It was my wash chamber.”

  “What does she look like naked?”

  Kue folded his arms. Typical Raz, always thinking of his rod. “Appealing, soft, but I didn’t touch her other than to assist in cleaning her. I’m not you, brother. She needed care, not to be fucked.”

  Raz nodded taking a seat to his left. “What are your thoughts over persuading her to be ours?”

  Straight to the point, Kue had known this would come sooner or later from his older brother, at least which answered his initial worry. Raz wanted to keep her, and so did he. Two down, two to go.

  “I’m on board. I’m very drawn to her. She told me what happened to cause the Jorval ship to crash, but I fear there’s more. If we want Celeste to be ours, we’re going to have to tread with care. Have you talked to Loc or Zeb about this yet?”

  As if on cue, Loc, looking clean for a change, walked in, his gaze, too, searching out the female, the same question in his eyes.

  “She’s exhausted and sleeping, so don’t bother,” Kue stated before Loc could ask.

  “Is this a family meeting then to decide how we are going to court her?” Hopeful anticipation gleamed in Loc’s gaze.

  Kue couldn’t help his smile. Three out of four.

  “You could say that.” He focused back on Raz as Loc took the right side seat. “Have you talked to Zeb?”

  Raz’s tight jaw and the anger rolling from him said more than words could. He had, and it hadn’t gone well.

  “Commander ice-for-brains is against it. But I don’t care. If I have to break with him and tradition, and take first rank, then so be it. It also means I take her first. He can keep the damn sex droid for company for all I care.”

  “He is that set against Celeste?” Loc stared at Raz. “But she’s so … so small, soft, and pretty.”

  “Zeb’s being a controlling rod, and kept referencing Nazzara. As if our Celeste would ever be the same as she was.” Raz sat back folding his arms, irritation in his scowling face.

  Ah, Nazzara, their now ex sheraz. Zeb, more than the rest of them, had thought her the best choice for their attention. They’d followed his lead and done everything expected of young successful quad brothers. Won the battles, pleasured her to satisfaction, given into her every whim, every demand. It was blind devotion on Zeb’s part. All of them had done their best to make things work, but the rest of them had seen far too many unstable cracks in Nazzara’s personality to ever fully commit their heart as fully as Zeb had.

  Kue felt something very different when he looked at and held Celeste, her body soft and pliant in his arms as she clung to him and wept. He knew he never wanted her let her go. He wanted to bring only smiles to her face, and wipe away her pain. He was confident the four—well, the three of them could do that.

  Nazzara had been far too quick to go running into other quads’ arms, while he and his brothers were away on missions. Her disgraceful actions had angered them. But nothing they said or did changed her disloyal, selfish behaviour. In the end she’d stood in front of them and told them she’d only chosen them for their rising position in the Galafrax military and that she’d never really desired them. It had cut deep, but in hindsight Kue was grateful it had ended before they’d been able make Nazzara conceive, as Zeb had wanted. He had been convinced it would have helped her settle down. No, if they had become parents, it would have become very messy.

  Afterward, they’d thrown themselves into work, Zeb leading them into every deadly mission offered. Fighting for no one’s cause and neglecting what truly mattered, their brotherhood bond. Clearly Zeb had yet to move on, like his brothers had.

  “I advise we not move too fast, until I’m certain.” Kue pulled himself from the past to address his brothers again.

  “Of what?” Raz beat Loc to the question, but both stared at him with expectation. He’d spent the most time with her so far.

  “She’s in pain.”

  “Did you not heal her properly?” Loc growled, his gaze narrowing on him.

  “No, she’s more like Zeb. The pain is inside.” Kue touched his chest for emphasis. “If she was a Demos male, I would say she’d suffered a great loss and was broken from her brothers.”

  His brothers
nodded in understanding. There was nothing worse than the internal pain of losing a brother and being broken. “She has been torn away from everything she has ever known, and survived on this fucked up planet. I feel if we can learn the source of her pain then we can help in her healing. The best thing I can think of is just keep giving her the very best of care. Show her she matters to us.”

  Raz’s eyes moved to his with sudden uncertainty and a touch of fear. “What if it doesn’t work? What if she does reject us?”

  The question hung in the air for a moment. Loc’s chest moved with a deep breath before answering. “Every mission we’ve ever been on has been riddled with risk. Some have come within a hair’s-breadth of killing some of us. Even if this mission is more personal, we can’t just give up before even trying. I will treat this as a mission and give it more than my best effort.”

  Raz nodded at Loc’s display of wisdom, for being the youngest of them. Kue agreed one hundred and ten percent. “Count me in on winning our Celestial beauty.”

  Raz’s lips curved up into a grin. “I like that, our Celestial beauty. Even Zeb can’t deny she is a beauty, and we don’t need his approval for our mission. For now it is agreed the three of us work together to court and win her.”

  They all nodded their approval. “Now.” Raz gaze moved from Kue to Loc. “How do we court and win our human female?”

  Chapter Four

  Hunger pains in Celeste’s stomach roused her from a deep, blessedly dreamless sleep. She rolled from her side onto her back, rubbing her eyes before focusing on the ceiling above her. Light grey, hatched metal stared back. She sat up in momentary confusion, glancing around the comfortable looking room. The sheet slid down revealing her pink naked skin. Heat infused her cheeks as fuzzy memories surfaced of Kue bathing her and carrying her to this room. She didn’t remember past his soothing voice and comforting arms around her.

  Rescued? Or was this a gilded cage? One way to find out if she was truly a prisoner or not. Spotting some clothing hanging over the end of the bed, she snatched it up, fingering the soft material before realizing it was a black top, just like the quads wore, but this one had longer sleeves. It was far better than the cargo coverings, which she’d used to make her clothes. They were hard, stiff, and scratched her skin, but it was all she had. The top swamped her smaller frame. She’d dropped quite a bit of weight since being stranded on this alien planet. The shirt fell to just above her knees.