by Shae Mills
Chelan’s mouth dropped. “She does what?”
Terig glanced at her, slightly flustered. “Well, the orifice has no sensation. So, she reaches inside and pulls out her reproductive organs.”
“No...!” Chelan gasped. “Then what?”
“Well, as the explanation goes, somewhere within this mass is a tight cylindrical tube attached to the womb. The whole mass is secured to her internal organs by a form of umbilicus. Apparently the Cleosan male finds all this anatomy intensely arousing. When erect, just like an Earth male, he inseminates her through this vagina-like area.”
Chelan cleared her throat. “How?”
Terig sat back in his chair and rubbed his brow. “Well, she told me that she simply holds the organ so that the male can enter her—or more accurately, it. Apparently, all the flesh is extremely sensitive and swells easily when stimulated. She says that penetration is very pleasurable to both parties. When the male ejaculates and withdraws, she simply inserts the whole mass back into herself. Then, through powerful muscle contractions—an orgasm, per se—she draws everything back into place. This sates the external orifice, which contracts and tightens up, becoming impenetrable once again, until the next time she becomes aroused.”
Chelan was stunned. “What did it all look like?” she blurted out.
Terig squirmed, and then winced. “Like she had taken her insides out, body fluid and all, which is exactly what she did.”
Chelan tried not to grin. “Snuffed your desire, I’d wager?”
Terig laughed. “Aye, lass. I’ve never deflated so fast in all my life.”
“How did she take it?”
“Quite diplomatically, actually. She was a little embarrassed, and she was apologetic. She stayed till morning, but then that was it.”
Chelan flopped back into her chair. “Do you still see her romantically in any capacity?”
“Oh, no. Quite frankly, I no longer have the stomach for Cleosan women.” And they both laughed.
After they chatted a while longer, Chelan suddenly leapt to her feet. “The stew! I hope it’s not burning.”
Terig was close behind as they ran into the kitchen. He grabbed the large paddle and began stirring the thick meal. “’Tis fine, and I do believe it’s ready.”
Chelan smiled just as her stomach growled. “And I think I’m about ready too.”
Terig nodded as he retrieved a couple of bowls and some utensils. When they returned to the great room, Terig picked up a large loaf of bread. Seated at one of the long benches, he tore off a sizable piece and handed it to Chelan.
Chelan took her first taste of the stew. “Oh, my Lord, this is divine. The fresh vegetables, the meat and the spices—it’s all so perfect.”
“You flatter me, my Lady. Maybe it’s simply that you disliked the Iceanean cuisine?”
“I’ll admit it took some getting used to, but now I don’t mind it. What is Cleosan food like?”
“Insipid. They seem to have a panache for the bland in many things that they do and like.”
Chelan smiled. “So I assume you prefer your own cuisine?”
“To say the least. I tried to introduce a few dishes to the people I worked with, but they didn’t seem to appreciate my attempt to broaden their culinary horizons.”
Chelan broke off a smaller piece of bread and dipped it in the stew. “Is that why you asked about my life with Korba, because of your experience with Leeman?”
Terig stirred his meal and he thought carefully. “Aye. I guess I’m trying to find similarities between you and me and our adaptations to life with aliens.”
Chelan stopped eating and thought seriously for a moment. “I think you and I share a lot in common besides our similar ancestry. And we both make do with our situations as best we can. I was captured and, in essence, so were you, but from there, everything is very different. I was raised on Earth and then abducted... forcefully immersed. You however, were ‘farmed,’ if that’s the right word—raised and educated by aliens, and then released.”
“Very true, but very early on in my upbringing, since I was to infiltrate Earth society, I was immersed in Earthly environments provided by the Telesians. I studied Earth to such a profound degree that when I did visit, it was as though I’d always been there. The first time I returned home to the Telesians, it was obvious who the aliens were, and it was not the people I’d met on Earth. There was never any bonding with my Telesian mentors. I was raised knowing full well that I was a tool of their making, designed and programmed to provide information.”
“Does that leave you feeling cold?”
Terig looked down at his food, his brows furrowed. “Originally, no. I didn’t know anything else.” He looked at her. “It wasn’t until I integrated into Earth society that I felt the stirrings of all that I may have missed. Because I wasn’t raised with endearing warmth and affection exactly, forming bonds with those I encountered on Earth, in the beginning, was nearly impossible. But I soon learned that I could have a rapport with my own kind that went far beyond anything I’d experienced with the Telesians.”
“I don’t understand. They’re a brilliant race. Surely, they know the psychology behind the importance of proper parental bonding.”
“Oh, no, don’t get me wrong. My primary caregivers were warm and understanding, even affectionate. But from an early age, I was under the tutelage of instructors honing me for my mission. I guess it was akin to what the Iceaneans go through when they’re groomed for the military. You don’t end up bereft of emotion or the ability to love, but you are hardened. So, in that way, there are some similarities. I knew from my earliest comprehensions that the Telesian were my instructors—alien instructors—and that my true parents were of another planet.”
Chelan pondered his words, trying to imagine such a life. Then she spoke. “I love Korba with all my heart, and he does take care of me. But I still exist in a completely alien and hostile world, even after all these years with them.” She took a deep breath. “Would I go home now? The answer is simply no. Like you, too much has changed, me included. Would I wish it had all been different? I honestly don’t know.”
She took a moment to look deep into Terig’s eyes. “But unlike you, I have a mate. Though at times I’m lonely, and long for what was once familiar, he fulfills me as only a man as great as him could. Korba has given me his child, Dar gave me Jason, and I can’t help feeling...” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “I can’t help feeling for you. You’re so isolated, caught between extreme cultures with no real home.”
Terig took another bite of his food and chewed it slowly. “I told you that I loved someone once.” He hesitated for a long time, staring at his meal. “On one of my trips to Scotland many years ago, I met a young lady. Kip MacLauchlan was her name. And she was a fiery beauty. She was the curator at a museum I was visiting, and she was helping me out with some history I was looking into. We dated a couple of times, and before I knew it, she had skewered my heart.”
He glanced away, and Chelan felt his loneliness enveloping her like a thick mire.
Then he continued. “I agonized over telling her the truth about who I was, but in the end, I couldn’t. And as it was, I couldn’t stay on Earth and she couldn’t come with me.”
“Why couldn’t you tell her the truth?” Chelan asked quietly.
Terig straightened and set his fork down. “Well, foremost, there’s a doctrine I must adhere to. But that aside, she wouldn’t have understood the whole situation. And I could never have asked her to give up everything she had on Earth just to be with me. She would have been caged.”
“Did she love you?”
“Aye, she said she did, with all her heart and soul.”
“Then why didn’t you confide in her and give her the option?”
Terig set his fork down and stood. He moved in front of the fireplace.
Chelan rose slowly, and stepped up to him.
He glanced down at her before returning his attention to the flame
s. “Firstly, there was my indoctrination, my mission imperative not to reveal myself to the culture I was to study. But then there came to be a more important reason for not exposing all. I couldn’t take the chance of having her here, with me, so completely, and then watch her wither away, become more and more bitter and alone each and every day.”
“It might not have been like that.”
“No, it might not have been. But I couldn’t bring myself to find out.”
Chelan stared into the fire. “And so... you simply left?”
He nodded wearily. “I told her I loved her, but that my life was elsewhere.” His voice was but a whisper.
Chelan looked up at his handsome features, the flames illuminating the gold flecks in his green eyes. “I bet that broke her heart.”
He hung his head. “Aye,” he murmured. “She didn’t take it at all well. Stepping away from her tore my heart out as much as it did hers.”
Chelan knew too well the pain he spoke of. She was all too familiar with deep losses. With an understanding born of shared experiences, she reached out and touched his arm tenderly, her hand lingering. She felt him relax ever so slightly. “You were a brave man, my Lord. Not many men could have sacrificed so much in the name of love.”
Terig remained silent and unmoving for a long time. “I was no warrior, my Lady. I was a coward, scared to death of rejection and failure.”
Chelan pulled away and looked up into his somber eyes. “No, my Lord. You set her free out of your love for her. It was a love you did not wish to compromise or tarnish with uncertainty. Only you and I know how much you truly gave up. You released the bonds of love to live in solitude among an alien culture while doing the bidding of others. There was no greater sacrifice.”
“But it still pains me, my Lady. And I’ll be candid, I’m still dying inside, slowly.”
“I know, my Lord. I can feel it.”
Their eyes met for the longest time as they silently shared a past and a present, an understanding flashing between them, their mere looks exchanging fathoms of similar experiences and emotions. Then finally, the night was upon them.
Chapter 20
AFTER ALL THE FOOD and dishes were put away, Terig led Chelan back up the tower room. She stepped inside and watched as he lit the fireplace. Then he moved to a small table and poured a couple of glasses full of a golden liquid.
Bringing one to her, she took it and looked down at it. “What is it?” she asked.
He smiled. “Uisge beatha.”
Chelan beamed. “Water of life.”
“Aye, some of the finest single malt whisky ever produced in the Highlands. Here’s to you, my Lady.” And he raised his glass to her.
Chelan blushed. “And to you, my Lord, for one of the most exquisite adventures of my life. I shan’t forget it... ever.”
“Nor I. And I must be honest when I tell you, it will pain me to return you tomorrow to Korba. I’ll miss your company dearly.”
“And I yours, Terig. In one short day, you have become so much a part of me that I’m stunned.”
He took a small sip of the drink, as did she, and then he tipped his head back, taking the whole shot at once. When he returned his gaze to her, she could clearly see the pain etched upon his features. Pain over just what, she knew not.
“I shall leave you now to your rest, my Lady. Sleep well. There’s no rush in the morning. Get up at your leisure. If you should require me for any reason, I’m just one room below you.” And with that, he turned on his heel and left.
Chelan was left standing quietly, surprised that he had departed so quickly. She hadn’t even had a chance to say good night or to thank him for his room. Shaking her head, she walked over to the door and closed it silently. Then she sat down in one of the large chairs and gazed into the fire.
As she sipped her smooth drink she realized that she felt more at home here than she had felt since roaming the decks of RIBUS 7. Though she was an American, both her parents had emigrated from Scotland. Her father was a MacKay, her mother a Stewart, and both had made sure that she never forgot her heritage—a very rich one, at that. And now, after almost two decades in space, here she was, once again immersed in her ancestry.
She put her glass down and hugged herself, warmth from the drink flowing through her. She closed her eyes and allowed her imagination to take flight. Which clan would come riding over the hills to challenge the Clan Mackenzie? Or what if the redcoats were attacking right now, trying to scale the castle walls, muskets flaring, sabers slashing, dirks striking?
Chelan smiled to herself and then suddenly sat up straight, her eyes wide. Would Terig have his plaid? Her heart almost fluttered at the thought. What a magnificent Scot he would be in his full Highland regalia! Then her thoughts diverted scandalously, and she felt herself grin. She wondered what he would wear under his kilt. She blushed. “Damn drink,” she muttered. “Going straight to my bloody head, it is.” And she laughed quietly.
She rose to her feet and looked at the massive bed. She was warm and drowsy, and the bed beckoned lovingly to her. She threw back the top quilt and then fluffed the down pillows. Slipping out of her uniform, she snuggled into the sheets and drew the quilt over her. “This is wonderful,” she whispered sleepily, and she was out.
WHAT TIME IT WAS, SHE had no idea, but she was awoken by a furious roar from outside. It sounded as though she was in the middle of a hurricane, yet pushing open a windows revealed only calm. But it was dark, very dark, and from what she knew of the planet system, that was not natural. With Cleos’s two suns, nighttime was only twilight, never black.
Chelan scurried about, collected her uniform, and threw it on. Then she felt her way to the door and out into the darkened stairwell. Cautiously edging down the stairs, she made her way to the bedroom Terig was using. The door was open, but he was gone.
Chelan felt a chill overtake her. “Terig?” she called. But there was no answer.
She hustled down into the great room as fast as she dared and she looked about it, the cooling embers of the fire casting just enough light to allow her to see everything. But she was alone. “Terig!” She stood still and listen, but there was no reply.
Finally, she ran to the front door and opened it warily. The first thing she spied across the bailey and through the blackness was Terig’s white shirt, high up on one of the battlements. It took her some time to find her way up to him, and once there, she approached him slowly. “My Lord?”
He looked at her through the darkness. “My Lady. You should be asleep.”
Chelan hugged herself. Even though her uniform protected her adequately, she noticed it was much colder than it should be. “I would have been asleep except for that incessant howl. It’s as though we’re being descended upon by banshees.”
Terig chuckled. “No, not quite. But we are marooned.”
Chelan’s eyes widened, and she moved closer to him so she did not have to shout. “What do you mean, marooned?”
Terig frowned. “Welcome to Cleos in all her tumultuous glory. This is one of her notorious sandstorms. They hit with virtually no warning, and they last as long as they bloody please.”
Chelan looked about herself, bewildered. “But I feel nothing.”
“We’re shielded, and hopefully we will remain so. It will depend on the strength of the storm. When I built this castle, I installed a shielding device within the walls of the keep. It emits high-frequency sound waves in a dome shape over the castle itself. The sand and the wind are merely deflected. I heard the bluster about an hour ago, and the shield automatically deployed at the same time that the sensors picked up the storm. But it was already upon us—too late to escape, I’m afraid.”
Chelan looked straight up, observing for the first time the swirling vortex about them. She gasped. “What about the grounds?”
Terig shrugged almost tiredly. “They will be mostly buried or scoured. With the help of massive wind machines and rainmakers, I’ll flush away most of it, just so it can all be b
uried once again someday.”
“How long will it last? Is there any way to tell?”
He looked down at her. “I really can’t say, and despite decades of trying, even with Telesian technology, nothing we have come up with accurately predicts the strike or the duration. The sandstorms are caused by sunspots on Cleos’s larger sun, Sipris. They appear nearly instantly, and as a result, large tracts of land are thrown into chaos for the duration of the spot activity. The magnetic fluctuations act on the high iron content in the sand and all hell breaks loose. The storm will rage for the duration of the upheaval on the sun. That could be as little as a few hours, or as long as several weeks.”
“Weeks?!” Chelan squeaked. “My men—”
“They’re fine.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve been in contact with Korba. They bugged out as soon as the sensors were triggered.”
“So the storm doesn’t affect your communications?”
“Oh, yes, my Lady. They become totally disabled. I have to establish an underground link with the Cleosans, who in turn establish a satellite link on the far side of the planet, out of reach of the magnetic storm.”
“And my men?”
“They’ll wait it out on the periphery or at a high altitude. They can always go underground if they wish.”
Chelan shivered. “Looks like I’ll be here a while.”
Terig smiled. “Korba knows and he sends his love. When he’s able, he will move the RIBUS to the other side of the planet periodically for communication purposes. But other than that, he prefers to be overhead.”
Chelan shrugged. “Well, I guess there’s nothing he can do about it anyway.”
Terig became heavy hearted. “I’m genuinely sorry, my Lady. I never imagined you would be trapped here. I know you expected to be with Korba and your children in the morning.”
Chelan touched his hand gently. “You’re hardly to blame, my Lord. I have had much experience with a similar phenomenon on Iceanea. The planet falls victim to massive snowstorms. Walls of sharp ice crystals are whipped up off the vast ice plane called the Dead Zone. The fronts rise many kilometers into the sky and hit with a force that batters and flattens everything in its path. However, they’re a little more predictable than this, and they’re planet generated.”
