Croso smiled and told Venay, “I like her.” Then he looked at me, “Yes, I would love to take you and your friend on a tour of our village. Sadly, I need to discuss a few things with Venay. Maybe the Captain would like to take you all around?” He looked over at her, and she nodded her head.
The Captain held herself very stiffly, like she was at some formal event or something. Maybe Commander Venay intimidated to her too. He seemed to frighten everyone, except for Paris.
Captain Mypo looked to Commander Venay, “Commander, will your guards be escorting your mate and her slave? Or should I provide warriors?”
That ticked me off! I was no one’s slave! I knew my face reflected my emotions because Paris took my hand and whispered to me, “Not now. Let’s get through this first.”
Zelan must not have liked it either, “Excuse me Captain, but Natalie is not a slave. She is my future mate.” He stood next to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
I looked up to him and smiled. Even though I didn’t like the idea of him claiming me as such, it would be nice to be treated decently while we were here.
Commander Venay looked at me with an arched eyebrow but didn't say anything.
“While we are here, I will be escorting her everywhere we go. You won’t need to worry about her.” Zelan said as he squeezed my shoulder.
The Captain’s look changed from a scowl to a smile with this announcement. She must not have liked the idea of a slave running around without supervision. Funny how once my status as a “mate” was confirmed it became fine. I have always hated segregation and discrimination. To see its manifestation here based on status instead of race, religion, or sexual orientation didn’t lessen my disgust. This was going to be an enlightening visit. I hoped we were able to see the local “slaves” and how they were treated here.
“Follow me, and we can begin our tour.” Mypo signaled for us to follow her, and the three of us did.
She wasn't a very good tour guide. Most of what she told us was how things were built and who did what. We stayed mostly in the industrialized part of town.
“Excuse me, Captain Mypo, will you show us the areas of town where everyone lives? I am especially interested in how you treat your humans.” I just couldn’t call them slaves. That term was starting to really grate on my nerves. Everyone had been using it way too much lately. The new warriors from Captain Montgomery’s ship had trouble calling us “humans,” even though Commander Venay’s crew had started using the term.
“Of course, we just have one stop to make on our way to the residential section.” She turned her back and took us in the direction of what looked like the office complex.
"I thought you might appreciate seeing our newest buildings. These were designed by a group of our…humans, who live and work here in New Hope." She sounded like she almost choked when she said humans. I swear she had to clear her throat after using that word.
“Captain, you have humans who work in offices? What type of jobs do they hold?” Now I was curious. This could be a good thing for humanity as a whole. Paris had some interesting ideas about working with the leaders of Earth. Maybe they could send some of our people here to work. We certainly have a lot of office workers who are currently not working, maybe this could be the answer to some of our unemployment issues.
“I imagine they do similar work here as they did back on Earth. We have secretaries, receptionists, even a few managers who are all human. I think most work in supply and acquisition positions.” She opened the glass door to a four-story building I had noticed on our way in today.
Inside looked just like office buildings back home. Tile floors, plants, although these looked real and not plastic, there were even some chairs, a sofa, and a table that housed some magazines. If I didn’t know I was on an alien planet, I would have sworn I was home on Earth. Although, the walls were made of that strange metal. It was a cross between glass and metal. It was almost translucent. It was as thin as sheet metal, but seemed much stronger. I touched the wall and pushed on it a little bit and it didn’t move at all. It didn’t even buckle under the pressure from my hand. That was the only thing that made me think alien. Even the receptionist was human.
“Clarissa, I have some guests with us today and will be taking them on a tour. Are there any areas we should avoid today?” the Captain asked the young lady manning the desk.
She stood up. “No Captain, the leadership is all out meeting with Commander Venay, I believe. None have returned yet." She looked over to us and asked, "Would you like something to drink? We have coffee, tea, and bottled water. All of it from Earth." Her smile was very pleasant and inviting. Strange, she acted as though she was just a regular human doing a normal job. I would have expected her to cower before the Captain or even Zelan. But she seemed comfortable.
Paris walked up to her and shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Paris. This is my friend Natalie and her mate Zelan. I would love a coffee, if you have some ready, with milk and sugar. Is that possible? I haven’t had any coffee in a while. Do you have flavored syrups too?”
Clarissa laughed and said, “Sorry, we only have regular coffee. But we do have cream and sugar. Why don’t you all come with me, and I can show you our coffee corner.”
Paris and I followed her while Zelan and the Captain followed us. “Paris, can you believe this? Real coffee! I thought I would never see this again! I can’t wait. Although, I do wish they had hazelnut creamer. That would make this perfect.”
“I know what you mean, I wish they had peppermint creamer. But any coffee would be a treat for me. Venay must stock them with coffee and everything from Earth. Maybe I can talk him into picking up some of our favorites next time he goes to Earth!” We both giggled while walking to the coffee corner. When the reality hit me about what I was laughing about, I instantly felt guilty for getting excited about Commander Venay going back to Earth to pick up supplies. It would also mean he was abducting more people.
Their coffee corner was more like a coffee room. I would have called it a break room. It had to be at least 30’ X 60’. There were tables and chairs in the middle of the room. On one side there were three refrigerators and a couple of cabinets. Another wall was entirely encompassed by a counter that featured a sink, three microwaves, and cabinets above and below. Whoever designed this room did it for humans.
There were even several big screen TV’s up on the walls. They were playing different movies, human movies. My eyes were wide open as I turned around and looked at everything in the room. I felt like I was home. This is where I belonged.
Zelan walked up to me and took my hand, “Do you like this place?”
“I love it! I feel like I am back on Earth.”
Clarissa handed me my coffee. “That is because a couple of our residents used to be architects back on Earth. They have designed several office buildings here and a few of their plans have even been shared with the homeworld. They are making quite the name for themselves.”
Paris went to add more sugar to her coffee. “You are residents here? Not slaves?” She looked at Clarissa, who looked to the Captain.
"Go ahead and tell her. I think they might like this part," the Captain said. She smiled and relaxed just a bit.
“A couple of years ago there was a revolt by the slaves, and we almost got away. But, Commander Croso made a deal with all of us. If we worked for them, like we did for our employers back home, we could be considered residents instead of slaves. He wanted us to work together to make this a better outpost.”
I was shocked. They had revolted and turned things around. This gave me hope for creating change once we made it to the homeworld.
Clarissa continued, “I think we did a really great job in the past few years. There are some more improvements in the works, but nothing like the office buildings. Back home, I was a receptionist for a big office building in downtown Denver. I really liked my job too. So, when we started talking about what we all used to do back on Earth, the leadership here decided that they could
use some of those roles.” Clarissa shrugged her shoulders.
Paris interrupted her, “Did many die in your revolt?”
“No, actually. It was a very short lived battle. Well, maybe battle is too strong of a term. The Commander was mated to a human. She left him and joined us. When most of us escaped from the compound, the Commander and the Captain came after us with troops. Most of whom had already mated with humans. It was more like a discussion and negotiation.”
The Captain grabbed some water and took a seat near us.
“When we got back we had to find a way to make it work. They needed roles filled and we were the best choice since we had the experience that the V’Zenians didn’t have. Most of them were warriors or kids. So it was a new thing for them to have to run a colony and any businesses needed here to keep things going.” Clarissa explained.
“There is even a pizza joint and an ice cream parlor near the residential areas. You should come join us tonight. We have a BBQ planned with live music. Most of us are settling in now. We know that we can’t go home. Lately, we have been creating things and places that remind us of home. Most of the VZ’s, we call the aliens VZ’s, like the improvements we have made. Some aren’t a fan of ice cream, which just means more for us!” Clarissa announced cheerily.
“Do the leaders on the homeworld know that you have made all of these changes?" I asked. Paris and I had talked a little bit about making changes I wondered if it wouldn't be that difficult after all.
The Captain joined the conversation at that point, “No, and they don’t need to know do they?” She raised one eyebrow as she looked at me.
“I won’t say anything, but why not let them know about your advances? Especially since things are going so well here, and the homeworld likes the architectural changes. It seems to me that you have made happier humans who are now giving back a lot more than a slave would.” I looked over to Clarissa “Isn’t that right? None of this would have been possible with slaves.”
Clarissa hemmed and hawed as she looked everywhere but at me. “Um…well, the leadership believes that if a slave doesn't perform then they can just be replaced. They don't care too much about making us humans happy, even if it does mean that we are more productive."
“Ah, I see. Alright, I won’t say anything once we get to the homeworld.” I looked over to Zelan.
"I won't say anything either, but I must tell you, I love what you are doing here. On the Commander's ship, we usually refer to the slaves as ‘humans' or lately as ‘guests'. None of us are comfortable with the term ‘slavery'. I can't speak for the Commander but now that he has taken a human for his mate…" He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Paris.
“Yes, things are changing on Venay’s ship. What I want to see is all of us working with the governments back home and get volunteers instead of abductees. But it won’t work until your,” she pointed at the Captain, “government treats humans with more decency and respect. That is something I would like to work on. It’s too bad we can’t show them how wonderfully this outpost is run now.”
“Commander Croso did try to feel out our leaders when he sent them the new office building plans and told them he wanted to staff it with more humans. They were not very receptive to having more humans work here. Especially since they had heard about our uprising five years ago.” The Captain put her drink in the sink and waved for us to follow her.
We spent the next hour touring the building and watching as the humans and aliens interacted just like any two groups of people who worked together would. This gave me hope. Hope that one day soon, humans would get their freedom.
Chapter 9
The Captain brought us to their guest quarters. I wasn't uncomfortable with Zelan at all today, until we were assigned our rooms. Since we were supposed to be mates, we had to sleep together. We weren't a real couple, and I was very nervous he would expect something from me. No one told me we were staying the night, or I would have said something sooner about wanting my own room.
Once we were in our room I asked Zelan, “Um, how is this going to work?”
“Don’t worry, I will sleep on the floor. You can have the bed. I only told them you were my mate so that you wouldn’t be treated like a slave today. Had I known they were forward thinkers, I wouldn’t have said anything. If this is too uncomfortable for you, let me know and I will come clean.” He scratched his head while looking at me and quirked the left side of his lips up.
“No, it’s fine. I knew why you did it, and I am thankful to you for looking out for me. I don’t like the idea of you sleeping on the floor though. If you promise to keep to your side of the bed, we can try sharing. It looks to be plenty big for both of us. Do you move around much in your sleep?” I walked over and sat on the bed and wondered if I made the right call. Would he keep his hands to himself? I knew I wouldn’t be grabbing him in the middle of the night.
Before he could answer, alarms went off. They sounded similar to the klaxon bells on the ship but not as loud. I jumped up “What is that?”
“Battle call, we are under attack. Stay here. I must go help defend the outpost. Please don’t leave the room. I would hate for you to get caught up in any of the fighting.” He kissed me on the top of my head and ran out. He didn’t even close the door behind him, he was in such a hurry.
I ran to the window, after closing the door, and looked out to see if I could find out what was going on. There really wasn't anything to see. If we were under attack, it must be a small group attacking one gate or something. I couldn't even hear weapons firing.
Someone knocked on my door. When I went to answer it I found Paris loaded with weapons. “Come on. We are going to go and help defend this place.”
“Who are we defending it from? It doesn’t look like there is anything attacking us.” I grabbed the door and shut it behind me as she pulled me with her.
“Here, take this phaser gun and a Taser too. The Taser is a one-time use thing, and it works great if a bug is on you. Much better than shooting their head off once they are on top of you.” She made a screwy face, and I remembered hearing about her experience with a bug getting its head blown off while crawling on her body. Eww. I could totally empathize.
That must mean that another group of mutant cockroaches were attacking. This was not going to be a fun night. We were supposed to go to a BBQ and have ice cream, for pete’s sake! Not fight the Zateelians again.
When we made our way outside, it was pandemonium. They were obviously not accustomed to battle. Aliens were yelling all over the place to try and calm the people down. Most of them looked scared to death. Kids were even running around crying and calling for their moms.
This was awful. I looked toward the closest wall, and it did seem to be manned. I could see orange bolts of energy as the warriors discharged their weapons.
The humans should know better than this. Most of them would have grown up back on Earth and had to learn how to deal calmly with natural disasters.
Shoot, I should be inside, not out here in the middle of the battle. Zelan told me to stay in our room. I couldn’t understand what Paris thought we were going to be able to help with. I have never used a gun, nor had any training. Zelan promised to show me how to use a phaser gun after we were attacked the other day, but there hasn’t been time. I only knew something about the Taser because he had given me one to use. However, I never used it.
“Paris, what in the universe can I do to help? I have never even held a gun,” I complained as we ran towards a wall.
“Natalie, you don’t need experience. I didn’t have any before this week. Now I know how to use these weapons and can kill cockroaches with no problems. Just think of it as a giant bug swatter, and it won’t be a problem to kill them.” She smiled at me over her shoulder. She looked like she was enjoying this.
I followed her and started panting, “But I don’t have a problem killing bugs. I just don’t know how to use these guns.” I put one into the air and waved it about like I was holding a
foam finger at a football game. My arm hurt from holding it up so I brought it down quickly. Those phaser guns were heavier than they looked.
We made it to the wall, and I could barely hear the screeching from the other side. Those bugs weren’t very loud. Our guys were yelling orders left and right and shooting into the area outside of the wall like crazy.
“Come on! We have to find a way to that walkway. They need more people who can shoot at the bugs. Most of the humans here are too used to the simple life, and they have forgotten how to handle an issue. Which really surprises me since they practically had to fight for their freedom.”
“Maybe they are just tired of fighting? Or they know something about these bugs that we don’t? Paris, did the Commander ever tell you how the cockroaches reproduce?” She was walking quickly to the nearest stairwell. Their stairs were made of the same shiny metal but didn’t seem to make any noise as we ascended them.
“Yes, Venay told me. Did Zelan tell you?” She looked back over her shoulder at me and scowled.
“Yes, after we found those women in the jungle. The warriors had to kill them and burn their bodies in order to make sure none of the hatchlings survived. It was pretty gruesome. If I am ever infected, I hope you kill me right away and burn my body too! I don’t want to give them a way to increase their numbers using my body.”
“Same here, sister! Now come on! Let’s find a spot where we can kill all of the insectoids in our path! But remember, you have to shoot them in the head, it’s the only way to kill them.” I swear that chick had blood lust or something. Her eyes were alight with excitement as she smiled. She actually smiled as she shot at the first bug she found! Then she said, “Oh, yes! Take that, sucker!”
I shook my head at her and pointed my gun and tried firing. I missed the first couple of times. Once I hit one in the head, and it exploded, I was pretty proud of myself. There was no way I would be called a great shot, but I did hit quite a few of those things. Most of them were crawling along the ground so it was difficult to aim only for their head. A lot of my shots hit the ground in front of them instead of their head.
Worlds Collide: Sci-fi Adventure/Romance (Alpha Alien Abduction Tale Book 2) Page 6
