“That’s enough!” Ross barked in perfect H’kaah, catching both aliens by surprise. “She told you no, and you damned well better accept it!”
Without releasing his grip on S’leen’s arms the wild-eyed male H’kaah snarled wordlessly and jumped straight up, twisting at the waist and snapping a wicked side kick straight at Ross’ head—but the foot only connected with thin air. Ross had studied the lapin aliens’ fighting methods, and his own combat-trained reflexes had automatically kicked into high gear the moment he perceived the H’kaah as hostile. He lunged directly toward the alien while, in the same smooth motion, dodging the large sandal-shod white foot. As the male dropped awkwardly back to the ground Ross delivered a swift, perfectly executed rabbit punch to his assailant’s unprotected left kidney. The immediate pain of the blow shocked the alien into releasing S’leen’s arms, and Ross used his own muscular legs to sweep the off-balance male’s feet out from under him, dropping him flat to the ground on his stomach. Ross dropped to his knees directly on the H’kaah’s back and grabbed the long, sensitive rabbit-like ears, pulling back hard on them like big white reins.
Only a few seconds had passed, but C’maat, who arrived directly behind Ross and had poked her head through the wall of shrubbery, had seen the entire lightning-quick exchange. Even though she was horrified by the violence, she, like S’leen, had remained absolutely silent during the few seconds of the battle. Ross, however, wasted no time as he barked, again in fluent H’kaah, “You two block the entrance and make sure nobody comes in here! Move it!”
They jumped as if they’d been goosed with a cattle prod, neither of them stopping to question his orders. The females weren’t naïve, but they momentarily let their instincts guide them as they scurried the thirty-odd feet to where the cul-de-sac opened into the main garden, there to pause and whisper intently. Those who saw them observed two beautifully contrasting female H’kaah engaged in an animated conversation—and saw nothing amiss.
Ross’ “conversation” with the male H’kaah, however, was far more animated, and anything but pleasant.
“You will give me a good reason why I should let you live,” he snarled in H’kaah, “or I’ll tear your throat out with my teeth, gut your carcass with my bare hands and roast you for my dinner!” He punctuated his threat with an added tug on the terrified alien’s abused ears.
“ERRGGG!” was all the stunned, weakly struggling male could manage while his head was pulled back at such an acute angle. Ross snaked his left arm around the H’kaah’s throat and released his ears, quickly grabbing and folding the stunned alien’s right up arm behind his back. This brought the human into much closer contact with the terrified H’kaah, who was now able to breathe but could also feel Ross’ hot, Scotch-scented breath ruffling the fur on the side of his face.
“What was that, stud-boy?” Ross grated. “You had something to say?” When the wide-eyed H’kaah didn’t respond right away Ross tightened his hold around the alien’s neck. “Well? I’m waiting, but I think your time’s about to run out.”
“P-please! Please let me go!”
“Now why should I do that, stud-boy?” Ross growled. “You weren’t going to let S’leen go, now were you?”
Several tense seconds passed before the male stammered, “But—she is…is—it is her season, and—w-we—I—want—”
S’leen’s in heat? Ross thought in amazement. So that’s why— The weakly struggling male in his iron grip brought his thoughts back to the unpleasant task-at-hand. Ross snarled and further tightened his neck hold. “So all you wanted to do was rape her, is that it?” The male responded by squirming, which did him absolutely no good. “As I see it,” Ross grated, “it doesn’t matter how much fuck-me-now pheromones she was radiating; she told you NO and you didn’t listen.”
The male tried to say something, then he tried again. Both times he couldn’t get anything intelligible past his terror. But just when he thought he couldn’t be any more frightened, Ross showed him how wrong he could be.
“Son,” the man began, his voice dripping venom, “I know for a fact that sexual assault is as serious a crime on your world as it is on mine. But by trying to fuck with MY companion you REALLY screwed up, so as far as I’m concerned your fate’s in MY hands now.” Ross momentarily tightened his neck hold for emphasis.
“Still, I’m a fair man,” Ross stated in a voice cold and merciless as steel, “so I’ll even let you decide your own fate. Choice number one: You’ll be sent back to your homeworld, and there you’ll explain to your government, your family, your friends—and S’leen’s family and friends—the reason why you’re back home before your contract was fulfilled.” The alien’s fear was so intense his struggling had fallen off to a faint quiver, and Ross began worrying that the male was going into shock. He loosened his arm hold on the H’kaah’s neck and the terrified alien turned his head to stare directly at his captor’s fearsome, snarling countenance. Ross continued, “Or choice number two: You can stay right here—and I’ll dine on roast H’kaah tonight!”
Even the human’s alcohol-numbed nose could smell the sour, musky reek of the alien’s naked terror, and the man suddenly worried that he’d overplayed his role. He was trying to use fear to overwhelm the male H’kaah’s raging hormones; hopefully the brutal return to sanity would help focus the alien’s understanding on just how serious his transgression had been. Or actually had almost been, since the assault had luckily been interrupted before any sexual encounter had taken place.
What Ross did NOT want to do was scare the poor creature to death!
The human released his hold on the cowed alien and moved to stand blocking the only obvious way out of the cul-de-sac, his arms folded ominously. For over a minute the H’kaah lay on the ground, his fright-widened eyes watching Ross the way a paralyzed rabbit watches a snake.
“Don’t you think it’s time you stood on your own two feet?” Ross softly asked in the alien tongue. “Up to now you’ve acted more like an obnoxious child than the mature adult you’re supposed to be.” The alien gasped several times, then swallowed and coughed. He was so weak he had trouble climbing to his feet, and when he finally stood he was trembling like an old man in the final stages of Parkinson’s Disease. Ross motioned for him to sit on the nearby wooden bench, then he firmly administered the punishment’s final lash.
“I think I’ll add a third choice,” Ross stated matter-of-factly. “I’m going to walk down that pathway and ask S’leen to come back in here, and if she’s in a generous mood you might have a chance to beg her forgiveness.” The alien blinked several times, at first not understanding what his human adversary had said. “And if you’re exceptionally lucky your intended victim could conceivably show you some undeserved mercy, stud-boy, so if she gives you a chance to beg I’d advise you to give it your best shot.” As he turned to walk away he added, “Oh, and remember—if she turns you down we still have a couple of other choices.” And with that he left the male with his unhappy thoughts.
By the time Ross strode the short distance to the cul-de-sac’s opening he had straightened his clothing and put a cheerful smile on his face. In fact, his smile wasn’t completely bogus since he was quite pleased with the male H’kaah’s reaction. He thought there might be hope for the young buck after all. “Are you two OK?” he asked the pair of female aliens in fluent H’kaah.
C’maat’s mouth hung slightly open in surprise, leaving S’leen to voice one of the questions they both had been discussing. “Jack, when did you learn our language? How long have—?”
He laughed, gathering both of them in, one to an arm, with a friendly hug as he said, in English, “Sorry, I keep forgetting that I’m not supposed to understand H’kaah. I’ll just have to ask you to kindly keep that little secret among us three—OOPS, I guess among us four, counting stud-boy back there in the bushes.” He released the confused females, then became serious as he spoke to his companion. “S’leen, I hope I did the right thing back there, but I’ve put that male�
��s fate more-or-less in your hands. If you’re not too upset or frightened to do it I’d like you go back in there and talk to him—or maybe just be a good listener.
“What he says and what you do will decide how this is handled. We all know what he did was wrong, and if you feel it’s for the best I’ll see that he gets shipped back to your homeworld.” Her eyes widened with shock; she knew the gravity of that punishment. “Or, if you feel he’s learned his lesson I’ll see that the matter ends here.” She looked toward the forlorn, ghostly figure seated in the enclosure. The male was gingerly rubbing his abused ears.
She quickly hugged Ross, whispering in his ear, in H’kaah, “I think I am very proud of you, Jack Ross, but we have much to discuss—later.” She nipped him on his ear, causing him to yelp and jump. She danced out of his grasp, then strode down the shrubbery-lined corridor to settle a young male H’kaah’s fate.
As they watched her walk away, C’maat carefully said, “I won’t ask where you learned to fight that way.” Ross just looked at her, his expression neutral. C’maat added, “Tony has shown me time after time how incredibly violent humans can be.”
Ross was suddenly very serious as he softly asked, “He’s never been violent with you, has he?”
“No,” she soothed, “exactly the opposite, Jack Ross. I could not ask for a more kind and gentle companion. But I have seen some of the video recordings of the…the football games he played, and the brutality and violence upsets me. I find it almost beyond belief that the same person who is so wonderful to me was so…so ferocious to those other humans.”
Ross relaxed and smiled at the beautiful lop-eared H’kaah, saying, “Although we humans claim to hate war, violent sports give us an acceptable means to engage in battle. In Tony’s case it gave a talented young warrior-athlete the chance to earn enough money and fame to carry him over into the business world once he was too old, or too wise, to battle the younger ones.”
“But from what he tells me, you never played in a ‘professional’ sport, yet you move like a true warrior! I saw you defeat and subdue one of our large, strong males as if he were a mere child!”
“I was a warrior before you were born, C’maat,” he explained. “Still, with proper combat training and the motivation to use it, that young buck sitting in there could have broken me into little pieces.” To her shocked expression he added, “His mistake was that he saw me as merely an annoying interruption. What I saw from my warrior’s point of view was simply a big, soft target. The ‘fight’, what little there was of it, was literally over before it began.”
Ross grinned evilly at her, saying, “And when I got his attention I told him he had three choices. He could go back home, or he could beg S’leen’s forgiveness, or—”
When he didn’t finish the sentence C’maat prompted him. “Or what, Jack? What was the third choice?”
He clacked his puny human teeth at her and said, laughing, “I told him I would tear his throat out and eat him— cooked, of course!” To her horrified reaction he added with glee, “And the boy believed every word of it!”
From the sudden frozen look on C’maat’s face she believed it, too. Her eyes showed white all around the dark gray pupils and she began slowly edging away from Ross. He realized that, once again, he had frightened someone that he really didn’t want to scare, and he said with exasperation, “Oh for pity’s sake, C’maat, that was an ACT! The first thing I had to do was get his attention, then I had to scare him badly enough so maybe, just maybe, he’ll think twice about ever doing something that damned stupid again.”
She halted her retreat when understanding took hold, and as tension melted away from her lithe form C’maat hesitantly closed the gap between them. “You…you really would not have k-killed him, Jack? Not…not eaten him?” It hurt Ross to see that her questions were serious.
“Good God, no!” he cried. Then in frustration, “I’m sorry, C’maat. I…I guess I really can’t have it both ways, on one hand scaring the shit out of gonad-heavy boys while on the other hand expecting you girls to understand that we humans actually want to help, not hurt you.” He took her delicate, trembling hands in his, stating, “Dear, I’ve never raised a hand against S’leen, and if I ever find that Tony has hurt you I’ll—” He paused, and his expression hardened enough to frighten her anew, but she clamped down hard to hide it. “Let’s just say that if I ever come for him his ‘NFL warrior’ skills won’t even slow me down.” His pale blue eyes were as pitiless as a viper’s, and in that brief moment, a chill skittering down her back, she understood a little more about what makes humans such deadly enemies—and such wonderful friends.
She rose up on her toes and gently nuzzled Ross’ lightly stubbled cheek. That broke the tension, instantly softening his demeanor. He released her hands and smiled warmly, saying, “Yeah, and I think you’re pretty special, too, but if we keep this up we’re both gonna get into trouble.” He stepped back, cleared his throat, and then said, “I haven’t heard any more harsh language from our two young combatants. Maybe it’s time we checked up on them.”
On the wooden bench in the seclusion of the garden cul-de-sac the two formerly antagonistic H’kaah sat in quiet conversation. Ross and C’maat slowly approached them, and C’maat was amazed at the male H’kaah’s reaction when he noticed the human’s approach. The alien jumped to his feet and stood at rigid attention until Ross and his companion-of-the-moment reached the area of the bench. Then the male H’kaah nervously said, “Honorable Mr. Jack Ross, m-my name was L’niik, of the family D’naal, but…but now that I have shamed my name and m-my family I…I am no longer worthy of them, nor can I lay claim to m-my life.”
Oh? Ross thought, surprised. Now what? Do I have to adopt him into my household? Yeesh! Ross looked to S’leen for some
sort of guidance but got no help; one look at C’maat told him that she was apparently as clueless as Ross.
“I have asked forgiveness of S’leen for my terrible crime of passion,” the male continued, “and she has been most kind in granting it.” He swallowed, then stated, “Still, I feel I owe both her and you, honorable Mr. Jack Ross, a further debt.” S’leen’s expression remained completely neutral, so Ross had to continue standing stoically while he waited for the H’kaah male to make his point.
“While you, honorable Mr. Jack Ross, offered me three, uh, choices for my f-fate,” the now-trembling H’kaah said, “I feel only o-one of them is f-fair.” The alien swallowed again, and Ross was suddenly very careful to show absolutely no emotion. “T-to avoid additional distress for S’leen, and f-further shame for m-my family back on homeworld, I, uh, have decided to yield m-my life to, uh, to y-you.” The poor creature was trembling harder now, and Ross wondered how much longer he would remain on his feet.
After taking several shaky breaths the H’kaah finally said, “While my b-body is yours to do with as you wish, I beg f-for your m-mercy in…in ending m-my life as…as quickly as p-possible.” Tears were beginning to make damp trails down his face, and he closed his eyes, raised his chin to expose his throat and began taking deep shuddering breaths.
Ross had seen a lot of incredible things in his life, but he had never seen anything like this. He didn’t know which he would do first, laugh uncontrollably or scream in outrage. Instead, after a few pregnant moments of silence he matter-of-factly stated, “Well, I don’t know what anybody else wants, but I get the first serving of his liver.”
Before either of the females could react the male H’kaah collapsed in a dead faint.
“Shit!” was all Ross could think to say as he quickly knelt down to try and revive the comatose alien. The females had far more to say, none of it complimentary, but after a few moments of their invectives he said, “Enough! You’ve made your point, now make yourselves useful and help me get him up on the bench. He’ll come to in a few minutes and I’m sure he’ll be shocked to find that he’s still alive.”
The nature of outdoor parties is such that people tend to wander as they mi
ngle, and some people like to explore. So it happened that a mixed trio of Ross’ neighbors chose that time to check out the activity they could vaguely hear coming from the little garden cul-de-sac. What they found was their host and two female aliens working to revive one unconscious male alien, and when Ross spied them he immediately commandeered their small plastic tumblers with their chilled liquid contents, one of which contained only plain Perrier. This he summarily dumped over the male H’kaah’s head, while the less lethal-smelling of the other two cups he placed to the alien’s mouth. He actually managed to get a few sips of the potion down the H’kaah’s throat before the harsh alcohol made him cough it back up.
“Folks,” Ross said in his best businesslike manner while the alien was busily barking like a manic dog, “I’m thankful you showed up when you did.” He began herding them away from the aliens, quickly moving them down the short pathway to the cul-de-sac’s entrance. “And as you can see, our young friend here is going to be just fine. He got a little overheated; too much partying mixed with all that warm fur, I’d guess, so I’d appreciate it if you’d give him some privacy while he gets himself back together.” In a final conspiratorial stage whisper he added, “The more people who know about this the more embarrassed he’ll be, so I’d be eternally grateful if you don’t mention it to the other guests. Thanks!”
In moments Ross had the trio headed toward the outdoor bar to replace their drinks, and he quickly returned to see how the male was doing. When he got back to the bench he found the alien mostly over his coughing spell, but when the male noticed Ross standing there he looked apprehensive and tried to get on his feet.
Ross put a firm hand on his shoulder and made him stay seated, saying, “Didn’t like the taste of my fine Scotch whiskey, I see.” When the trembling alien didn’t understand Ross smiled and told the two females, “Ladies, I think—L’niik, right?—and I could use something cold and refreshing to drink. Perhaps a couple of chilled wine coolers would be nice, hmm?” They looked apprehensive but Ross added, “We’ll be right here, sitting on the bench and talking about, um, maybe the weather. I’m sure we’ll think of something. Now, be good girls and scoot!”
Redeeming Factors (Revised) Page 12
