by Biance D'Arc
Davin grasped Mick’s hand the way he’d learned humans did, and pulled the other man in for a quick, thankful embrace.
“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Mick.”
Mick tried to shrug off the moment, turning to the computer and preparing the files he wanted Davin to have. “If she is your resonance mate and you two do get together at some point in the future, I just want your promise that you’ll always treat her with love and respect, and protect her with your life.”
Davin nodded solemnly. “You have my vow, Mick O’Hara.”
Chapter Three
Rick St. John had learned survival skills at his father’s knee. There was no better man to learn from than Zachariah St. John, former Army Ranger and medical doctor. He knew how to survive in the worst conditions, how to hide and how to fight. But the day the Alvians finally caught up with him, Rick was not at his best. Sick with a high fever, he wasn’t able to use his gift of healing or his extensive knowledge of either medicine or self-defense. His reaction time was way off and when the soldiers captured him, they took him not to prison, but to a hospital ward where he stayed for the first three weeks of his captivity.
He didn’t make a lot of friends during that time, but he’d used the opportunity to learn more about his new situation. He didn’t let on about the true extent of his psychic talents. As far as they knew, he was a minor telepath. He wasn’t about to become the subject of study when they realized just what he could do. Healing talent as strong as his was rare. He’d be damned if he’d give the Alvians another lab rat.
In the end, it didn’t make any difference. Rick was transported to the pens below the city and stuck in a cell with a few other men. From time to time their jailors would come and take one or a few of them elsewhere for a while to be used in their experiments. Sometimes those experiments were as innocuous as being weighed, measured and given a medical exam. Sometimes they were downright depraved, owing to the fact, Rick believed, that the aliens had absolutely no clue what impact emotions had on their captives’ responses.
He’d become a sort of leader of his small group of cellmates and when the Alvians tested their mettle by throwing a naked girl in with them, nobody moved. The girl couldn’t be more than eleven or twelve and while Rick was as hungry for pussy as the next man, he wouldn’t become subhuman, as their jailors no doubt expected.
Rick tore a sheet off one of the cots as the girl cowered in fear by the door. Approaching slowly, he used his small gift of telepathy to try to calm her, but her thoughts were too chaotic. Calling on memories of his father and the way Zach St. John had been able to tame wild animals with calm movements, words and thoughts, Rick tried to imitate the soothing sounds and motions as he crept forward, holding the sheet out in front of him.
He kept an eye on his cellmates too. They were edgy, but they respected his abilities and let him lead. Of course, he was ready to fight should one of them forget who was in charge here, but he didn’t think it would come to that. Most of them had learned not to mess with him, and every one of them was what Rick would consider a good guy. He didn’t think they’d stoop to attacking a child. They were hungry, but not yet driven to perversion.
Rick gave the sheet to the girl and wasn’t surprised when she grabbed at it like a wild thing, covering herself as she regarded him with terror. He squatted down a few feet away from her and tried to project calm, but the poor creature was too far gone. The Alvians had essentially thrown this little lamb to the wolves. Rick felt compassion and rage in equal measures—compassion for the poor girl and rage at their captors for the unfeeling use and abuse of such a frightened creature.
He stood and faced the camera he knew was monitoring their every move.
“It won’t work, you bastards.” His anger burned through his veins. “We’re not animals to be thrown a piece of meat. We won’t cooperate and we won’t hurt her any more than you have already, you unfeeling savages.”
The men in the cell shuffled a bit, but one by one they stepped forward to stand with Rick, facing the camera, turning their back on the shivering girl by the door.
“Does this one answer for all of you, then?” a new voice asked from near the doorway.
Rick spun to find one of the scientists watching them. He was one of the older ones, though guessing the age of Alvians wasn’t easy. The pale man was flanked by two big soldiers, so he was probably one of the more highly ranked aliens. Rick stepped forward as the girl cowered between them.
“We won’t participate in rape. You should be ashamed for what you’ve done to this girl. She already needs psychiatric help. For that matter, your people could use a shrink¾or a beating¾to straighten a few things out. Probably both.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a fact.” Rick walked right up to the man, staring him down. These Alvians were so damned unemotional, it was hard to deal with them on any level. But for the girl’s sake, he had to try to make this one understand.
“And what do you know of medicine, Breed?” The Alvian couldn’t quite carry off a sneer, but Rick felt it all the same.
He didn’t want to give the aliens any ammunition against him, but the girl needed someone to speak for her. It went against his conscience to even talk to the damned cold bastards, but someone had to. The more time he spent in the pens, the less human he felt and he knew the others felt the same.
“Quite a bit, as it happens. My father was a medical doctor, with an interest in psychiatry. He taught me most of what he knew. You’ve traumatized every human in your grasp without the slightest understanding of what you’ve done. Your ignorance is unforgivable. This girl may never be the same after what you’ve done to her. I know you have no feelings, but surely you take an interest in your test subjects? Torture for torture’s sake is not the way of science. At least not any kind of sane science. And from what I’ve seen you people aren’t insane, just intensely misguided.”
The alien picked him apart with his gaze. “Curious.” He turned on his heel and left the room, signaling to the guards to take both the girl and Rick with them.
Rick followed along silently, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. The girl whimpered, but fled the cell eagerly, and followed the Alvian soldier without much prompting. The scientist entered a white room that looked like the medical exam rooms he’d been in when he was first captured and so gravely ill.
The scientist stepped through a portal that lit up as he entered and stood there for a moment before proceeding fully into the room. The guards waited outside, motioning for the girl and Rick to enter the same way the Alvian man had. The implication was clear. The soldiers weren’t entering the room but would be watching all in case Rick got any funny ideas. The threat was not lost on him. Rick was a big man, but these guys were even bigger and the odds weren’t in his favor. Rick was smart enough to know this wasn’t the time to make a break for it. He’d pick his time—and better odds—when it came. For now, he had to help the girl.
He felt a slight buzz against his skin as he stepped through the lights. They looked vaguely ultraviolet and Rick spoke before he thought better of it.
“Some kind of sterilization beam?”
The scientist looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Very good, Breed. The sanitizing rays keep our examination rooms, patients and personnel clean during medical procedures.”
Rick shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “Makes sense. And my name is Rick, not Breed.”
“I am Mara 36,” the man answered, surprising Rick with his almost-friendly tone. He then signaled for the girl to take a seat on the exam table.
“Now,” the Alvian turned to Rick again, “will you procreate with this female?”
Rick stepped back, appalled, and unable to hide his horror at the idea. “Not on your life.”
“Is that a negative response?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
“Excuse me?” The scientist displayed only confusion on his pale features.
Rick sighed. “I will not have sex with this girl for your entertainment.”
“It is for scientific purposes, I assure you.”
“The answer is still no.” Rick clenched his fist at his side, wanting badly to plant it in the face of one of the Alvians, but he had to play it cool for the girl’s sake. He noticed she was watching him with wide, frightened eyes as she huddled on the table.
“Why?”
Rick discarded several replies before settling on the most innocuous one. “I prefer willing partners. This girl is clearly frightened and much too young.”
“Age is a factor? She is fertile, according to our observations.”
“Fertility is not the only factor in whether or not humans become sexually active.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look—” Rick sighed, amazed at how little the aliens knew after all their testing, “—human children go through a period of years called puberty, during which their sexual organs mature and hormone levels rise. Judging by her size, this girl is at the very beginning of this portion of her life. Among rational humans, she would not be considered eligible for mating for several more years until her psyche has time to mature along with her body.”
“Interesting. We had concluded fertility was the main factor in Breed mating.”
“Your conclusion is wrong. We’re not animals, contrary to the way you treat us. We had an advanced civilization before your people attacked. Society functioned according to rules generally agreed to among civilized people. If you managed to save any of our books or databases, you should look for a title called The Social Contract by a fellow named Rousseau. He was just one of our philosophers who articulated the ideals of human society. There were others¾Descartes and Locke to name a few.”
“How do you know of such things? I thought you were too young to have been educated in the time before our people claimed the Earth.”
“I was fifteen when you attacked. I’d been through roughly ten years of schooling and would have studied more advanced subjects and specialties for another five to ten years after that before I was considered fully educated for the profession I wanted as a doctor. But my father was an educated man and he taught me from those books and others. I had a small solar-powered computer unit before I was captured that had the text of hundreds of books on it. I don’t know what happened to it. Maybe it’s still in my last camp.” Rick shrugged, trying not to indicate how deeply the loss of his books had hurt. But then, the aliens probably wouldn’t understand regret any more than they understood fear or emotional pain of any kind.
“If I had the soldiers search for it, would you show us the books?”
Rick wondered at the question. He knew damn well the aliens didn’t need him to show them anything. If they wanted to see the books, with their advanced technology they’d discover a way to download them. It wasn’t as if they were encrypted or anything. This Mara 36 had to have some motive in asking, but Rick would play along for now. He was curious about these aliens. Perhaps if he learned more about them, he’d discover some weakness and be able to give them a little payback for what they’d done to humanity—or more specifically, for what they’d done to his family.
“Yeah, I’ll show you the books, if that’s what you want. I’d like to read some of them again myself. There’s not much to do when you’re stuck in a prison cell twenty-four/seven.”
“Twenty-four/seven? What does this mean?”
“It’s an old expression meaning literally all the time. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s how we count time. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc. All based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun.”
The alien looked startled for a scant second before the usual bland expression reclaimed his face. “Interesting. Will you discuss this with one of our chronomaticians? I believe they would be interested in the primitive measurements. We use a similar system for each planet we inhabit.”
“I’m not an expert, but I’ll tell you what I know. There are probably some folks in the pens with more knowledge on the topic than me. I know for a fact, there’s a woman named Sadie in the cell across from mine who was an astronomer. She’d be able to explain it all in much more detail.”
Sadie was also sickly and the damp cells—though not dungeon-like, but still subterranean—were not good for her lungs. Rick would be happy if she got a chance to come up here once in a while to breathe less humid air.
Mara 36 nodded. “A good suggestion. I will pass it along.” He turned abruptly back to the girl. “Now, as for this one. What is your opinion as a medical professional?”
“I never claimed to be a professional, but right off the bat, I can tell you she’s scared.”
“This is something we don’t yet fully understand. Fear is foreign to us.”
Rick felt his anger rise again, but did his best to control it. “That much is obvious from the way you torture some of us. Human women were habitually treated gently in our society. They were to be protected and nurtured so they could in turn nurture their chosen mates and children. Not always, of course. There are exceptions to every rule. But women, generally, were treated as the gentler sex, to be respected and protected.”
“And you still adhere to these ways? My observations have led me to believe that most males will mount any female presented to him.”
Rick wanted to curse, but kept his cool. “Starve a creature and most will turn feral. Men have strong sexual drives and since the destruction of our society, more than a few have become no better than animals. I’m not one of them.”
“Commendable, but impractical for the continuation of your species.”
“Perhaps extinction is the best course for a species that has lost everything. Existing as guinea pigs in your prison is not any kind of existence.”
“What is a guinea pig?” Mara 36 asked.
“A small, furry rodent,” the girl spoke for the first time. Rick looked at her, surprised by the change in her demeanor. She sat up straighter on the table, cloaked in the sheet, holding it around herself with white-knuckled hands. “I had one as a pet once, but my father said they used to be used in experiments.”
“Your dad was right,” Rick said softly, not wanting to scare the girl.
“He was a biologist in the old world. He taught me a lot about plants and animals,” she said with a hint of shyness.
Rick stayed where he was, not wanting to frighten her. “He sounds like a good man. Do you know where he is now?”
“Probably still in the cell with my mother and little sister. They took me away last week.” She nudged her chin toward the soldiers by the door.
Rick stepped closer, projecting calm as best he could. “Did they hurt you?”
She shook her head. “They hurt Daddy when he tried to stop them. I hope he’s all right.” Tears threatened and Rick knew he had to help her in whatever small way he could. Perhaps he could find some angle that would appeal to the scientist. He looked at the alien with shrewd eyes.
“Do you know the condition of her father?”
“He is well, though the soldiers did have to restrain him with some force. I believe they broke one of his arms, but it is healing well.”
“And your plans for this girl? I have to tell you right now, putting her in with a group of hungry males is a very bad idea. Gang rape will do nothing but traumatize a youngster like this. She is not mature enough physically or emotionally to endure that kind of treatment.”
“How do you know this?” Mara 36 asked.
Rick wanted to pound his fist against the wall in frustration, but restrained himself. “If you’ll find my handheld device, I have a number of medical texts on human development. If you had familiarized yourself with the subject before beginning your experimentation, you could have avoided re-inventing the wheel.”
The scientist pursed his lips, almost smiling in amusement, but Rick couldn’t see a damned thing that was funny about this situation. “A quaint expressio
n, but one I understand. I will give this matter some thought.”
“In the meantime, will you allow this girl to go back to her parents? I can assure you, she’s way too young for what you had in mind. Subjecting her to the kind of experiment you intended could bring on despondency, thoughts of suicide and major psychosis.” Rick pulled a few big words out of his ass, hoping to convince the alien to return this poor little girl to her mom and dad. It was the least he could do.
Mara 36 sighed. “Perhaps you’re right. I can delay this study for now and dispatch a team to find your device. If you agree to help me study your people’s old texts, I will wait. Otherwise, the study will proceed as planned. Do I have your agreement?”
Rick saw no way out that would not harm the girl. He had no choice but to help his enemy. He’d have to make a deal with the devil.
“I agree.”
Callie turned sweet sixteen a few weeks after Davin left and the family had a party for her. They’d had a celebration of Harry’s sixteenth birthday just days before and he’d stayed with them at the ranch for the occasion. Harry spent a lot of his time in the alien city, getting an education and surreptitiously looking after his Papa Caleb, but he didn’t want to miss Callie’s special day.
The party lasted for hours with music and jokes, all her favorite dishes and a big cake. Jane had also managed to make some new clothes to surprise her daughter with and the girls of the house had oohed and aahed at an impromptu fashion show.
Harry found Callie alone by the paddock the next day, just before he was going to return to the city. She had the beautiful amethyst crystal Davin had given her in her hand, watching the play of light through the facets, almost mesmerized by its beauty.
“That’s a special gift he gave you.” Harry propped up his boot on the split-rail fence next to her as he watched a yearling colt gallop over the grass.
