by Maia Starr
She seemed agitated by the command and pursed her mouth shut tightly. I sighed. It appeared I would have to inject her.
“Don’t be afraid,” I said quietly, and penetrated her skin with the needle.
The formula would take about fifteen minutes to kick in. Until then, the gas would continue to work itself throughout her system. It usually put our foes into a deep sleep before waking them up with perfect clarity. Somehow though, the female doctor sat up tall, clenching the sheets of my bed, and kept her eyes squeezed shut, as if determined to remain aware of every single thing that happened to her.
It was then that I realized that I wasn’t dealing with the typical female. In fact, no other being in the galaxy had ever proven to be more stubborn than the human in front of me. I wasn’t sure whether to be concerned or impressed. Stubbornness in females was highly frowned upon in my culture. We were all to know our roles and carry them out. They were predetermined, chosen for us from birth, and we spent our lives understanding exactly what was expected of us. A stubborn female meant a world of trouble.
“Commander!” Jerd’s voice suddenly rang out from my communications device. I picked it up at once. He sounded concerned.
“What is it?”
“You must come at once. Supreme Leader Aloitus is demanding your presence.”
“Of course,” I said, glancing over at the female. I was reluctant to leave her alone in my chambers, but if I locked her in and secured my weapons, it probably wouldn’t pose a problem.
“Water,” she whispered.
Of course, I realized. We had made a serious miscalculation. The human females were highly dependent on water, and we had deprived them for all this time. Quickly, I fumbled through my cabinet until I retrieved a small vial of the stuff. Thressl’n had little need for water, though it was present on our planet.
“Here,” I said, offering the vial to her. She made no move to take it, she was far too weak, so I held it to her lips. She drank deeply.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
She was still staring forward, her eyes fluttering and drooping as if she were making a huge effort to stay awake despite the fierce drugs circulating in her system. I shook my head in awe and then locked the storage facility where my weapons were kept.
“Don’t touch anything,” I said as if she could have moved if she wanted to. It was taking an unbelievable amount of willpower to simply sit up and look straight ahead. If I hurried, I would be back in time to see her safely to the camp with the other females. Hopefully the meeting with the Supreme Leader wouldn’t take long.
***
“Peace and prosperity to you,” I said with a small bow when I reached the Supreme Leader’s office.
“Commander Arkti,” Supreme Leader Aloitus said, a frown deepening on his face. My stomach dropped. From his expression, I could tell that this meeting wasn’t going to be one of praise. “Have a seat.”
I lowered myself into the small, elegant chair opposite his broad desk, and Supreme Leader Aloitus moved his shimmering robes aside so he could sit down across from me.
“I understand that we were able to secure a thousand humans for the camps.”
“Something like that,” I said.
“Was that number your idea?”
Of course it was my idea. I was the second in command. But he always liked to toy with me before a good berating.
“Yes, sir.”
“I had trusted your judgment, Commander Arkti. I assumed you would take our planet’s resources into consideration. You do realize what a monstrous plague the humans have become, even on their own planet. A thousand barely covers a city block.”
“I thought it best to be thorough,” I said, prickling. In fact, I had recalled Supreme Leader Aloitus pitching that number during a meeting we’d had about the breeding crisis, and thought replacing Thressl’n females with human females would be a good way to decrease the deficit.
“You understand what could happen to Jenal’k if the human tendency to self-destruct infects our people. I’d been hoping to use the humans as simply a trial…not a replacement for Thressl’n females.”
“I understand, sir,” I said, biting my tongue. I wouldn’t have brought so many humans back if he hadn’t approved my proposal, but he had. My guess was that he had been crunching numbers while I was away, and he was unhappy about the expense of supporting so many human females.
Supreme Leader Aloitus was a greedy man, one I hoped never to be like. Even if something happened and he had to retire from his position, I liked to believe I would lead our people with more pride than self-interest and focus less than he did on the material aspects. There were so many other things that made our planet great, and yet Aloitus chose to favor plans and proposals that lined the pockets of the government workers.
“I’d like you to give a speech to your people outlining the potential risks that your decision has endangered our planet with. Inform them of everything you know about human females and what your plans for them happen to be. Let them know that these humans are in no way going to be assimilated into our society. They will remain in the breeding camps and are only to be used for breeding purposes.”
“Yes, sir.”
I was proud of my ability to hold my tongue. It was lucky that our kind knew just how important it was not to step out of line. We had to be able to welcome our destiny, no matter what that entailed. I turned away from Supreme Leader Aloitus and began to see myself out when he called my name. I looked back at him, bracing myself for more berating.
“Make sure the people know who to blame if this little problem gets out of hand, will you? I don’t want anybody asking me for handouts because you messed up.”
“Of course, sir. As you wish.”
I left the office with my hearts pumping wildly. If I were a different type of man, I would have struck Aloitus long ago, back when we were in the academy together.
***
“You have to do what I say, or you’ll get executed!”
Aloitus used to tell that to all of the young men in our class. The academy had been difficult for all young Thressl’n males, in particular, those chosen for the ruling classes. The females didn’t have it much better, though their rites of passage were kept secret from us. Our planet was heavily reliant on the ancient values; our sexes being considered very different and adept at specific types of tasks.
Unfortunately, these differences and our society’s way of dealing with them led to the gender disparity that I had been assigned to navigate. It tended to be that the male children were chosen for occupations full of danger and adventure, as our muscular structures were superior to most races in the universe. Thressl’n men were strong and brave, with great instincts for battle and how to use our powerful bodies.
Thressl’n women, on the other hand, were superior creatively, and were most often chosen as engineers and architects who created a most beautiful world for us to live in. It was thought that they were our most valuable resource, and one we must protect at all costs. Otherwise, I knew many a female who would have loved to go to battle alongside the males. They also had strong instincts, and generally leaned toward creative endeavors such as organizing philosophical seminars for the community and cultivating the land and food. Because our bodies and instincts were so different, we were reasonably divided and taught in different ways how to utilize our skills.
Unfortunately, the job pool that was available to Thressl’n men appeared far more glamorous than the job pool for Thressl’n women. Around the time of my birth, power hungry men were jailed for murdering their newborn females in the hopes of bringing power to their family name through a son. Females during that time were considered less precious and more of a burden to men who craved control over Thressl’n society.
When it came time for my birth, my father was chosen to draw my future occupation. I was born the same day as Supreme Leader Aloitus, and it just so happened that our families had long histories with the government of Jenal’k. Tha
t meant our chances of receiving leadership positions were greater, though not guaranteed.
Aloitus was chosen to become Supreme Leader, and I was chosen to be his second in command. What many people neglected to see, however, was the depth of his greed.
One day, a young male decided that he’d had enough of Aloitus’ bullying, and he raised a fist at him during our lunch break.
“Hold it right there, Kremm’lak!”
We were all frozen in fear. Aloitus had already been appointed bodyguards, one of which was my own uncle. He would have pummeled me without a second thought had I stood up to Aloitus and his bullying.
“I’m sorry…” Kremm’lak stammered. But it was too late. He had already shown violence toward the future Supreme Leader. And nobody would ever be allowed to harm Aloitus. Not until his term was up….150 revolutions of Planet Jenal’k around the three suns, which roughly translated to 45 Earth years. Aloitus had been throwing his weight around his entire life. Just because I was second in command, due to take over his reign if the people voted him out of power, didn’t mean I was allowed to fight back. In my opinion, the whole system was flawed.
“Did you see what happened to Kremm’lak?” Aloitus laughed, thumping me hard on the back the next day. My father had told me to be kind to the future leader. If I could stay in his good graces, then there were potential benefits for me and my family. But sometimes, keeping my mouth shut around Aloitus was the hardest thing to do.
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep the glumness out of my voice. Kremm’lak had been one of my best friends. And watching my uncle rearrange his face and send him to the holding chamber, where he was probably still awaiting release all these years later, made my stomach knot.
“He really got what he had coming to him,” Aloitus said, grinning. He broke a piece of his sacred bread in half and handed it to me.
“I can’t accept this…” I said fearfully. “What if someone sees?”
“My word is law around here,” Aloitus said, smiling kindly at me. “If I want to share with my friend, I shall.”
Ultimately, I shared the sacred loaf with Aloitus, and although it was the most delicious food on our planet, it felt heavy in my stomach. And so that feeling had remained for the majority of my time under Supreme Leader Aloitus.
But what was I to do about it? I knew my place. And if everyone else was smart, they would learn theirs as well.
***
“Good evening, my fellow Thressl’n,” I said as cheerfully as I could muster. My chest was still on fire from my meeting with Aloitus, but I was determined to do as I was commanded.
“Welcome back, Commander Arkti!” someone in the crowd shouted. Soon, everybody was cheering and applauding. I bowed, unable to keep myself from smiling. Even though the Supreme Leader could make me feel like hell, the people of Jenal’k were as loyal to me as they were to him. I could feel their praise and acceptance coming at me in waves. It was a nice change from the oppressive atmosphere of Aloitus’ office.
“Thank you. Hopefully, I will not need to venture back to Earth for quite some time.”
I paused as the crowd cheered once again, and finally held my hand up to silence them.
“It has come to my attention that perhaps too many Earthlings have been brought to the planet Jenal’k. This could pose a danger to our planet, and so it is paramount that the human females only be visited for breeding purposes. Your schedules will be handed out by the Supreme Leader when the time is right. Until then, it is important that we don’t try to assimilate humans or their culture into our society, as they are not only a danger to themselves, but to those around them as well. Because of this, they will be housed in the camps on the far side of Mount Zennith, and are only to be visited upon clearance from the Supreme Leader. We appreciate your full understanding and cooperation.”
I hesitated. I always wanted to leave my people with more than just an order, the way Supreme Leader Aloitus did. It seemed such a cold way to lead a nation.
“Thank you again for your warm welcome,” I finally said. “It is good to be home.”
The crowd cheered again, and I turned my back to the noise.
There was something burning in my mind. A certain female who had been trapped in my private chambers for the better part of a rotation. And now that I was free of my duties as Second in Command, I could hardly keep myself from sprinting back to my ship and seeing to it personally that the female I had abducted from Earth made it to the camps safely.
Chapter 9
Dr. Lain Brousseau
I wiggled my fingers and felt a surge of relief. My body had been in hell sitting on the Thressl’n commander’s bed for the past half hour, but I was finally beginning to regain feeling in my limbs. It was nice to feel like myself again, and better, there was light in this room. I’d be able to preserve my hard-earned sanity.
I could hear a muffled speech through the heavy walls of the ship, and I could tell that it was being given by the voice that had somehow become my salvation in the darkness of the ship. The translation implant I’d received from my position as a researcher on the Orion Project was beginning to unscramble the idiosyncrasies of the language that the Thressl’n were speaking in, though I still hadn’t gotten a good look at any of them yet. The gas was obnoxiously strong, and no matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes open, I couldn’t make sense of anything I was seeing.
The voices had spoken in broken English over the microphone in the dark chambers where we had been stored during the flight, so it had been easy to understand. But the musical voice that I’d grown so fond of was now speaking in a language all his own as he addressed the crowds. I could gather bits and pieces, but my basic lack of understanding was unbelievably frustrating to me.
And yet somehow, I felt like I could understand this particular man. Not by listening with my ears though. It seemed as if there was a different part of my brain that processed his intent. Something I’d never even known existed before. It was almost as if we shared a deep connection. But that was impossible. It was probably some form of Stockholm syndrome. That or a region of the brain I was unfamiliar with. Emotions were purely manifestations of brain chemistry, after all. I would have to make a mental note to figure out what that meant. If I ever got back to Earth, I would have to ask Nora. She specialized in neurobiology.
Feedback from the microphone seemed to imply that the speech was done. I’d been able to understand a little bit about the females being led to live in a camp, but the reason for our stay was still unclear. Once I could hold my eyes open, I looked around the room, shocked now that I could finally see. All of the furniture was a color I had never seen on Earth; a beautiful pastel that had no name. And unlike the monochromatic rooms on Earth, everything seemed to have its own color in this room. I’d never been somewhere quite so cheerful.
I closed my eyes, trying hard to summon an image of the man who had brought me here, but unlike my attempt to picture the woman in the dark room, no image appeared. I wasn’t even sure it had been Commander Zerk’k Arkti who had brought me here. I could have been hallucinating and imposing my own strange desire to be near that man again.
Had it been a dream? Or was the person who rescued me from the gas truly the same man with the musical voice I’d heard on the rooftop?
There was no way I could be sure. The drugs in my system were probably strong enough to down a full-grown elephant. For all I knew, I had been kidnapped right on Earth and was hallucinating the entire ordeal. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility.
Fortunately, the team at Project Orion had been smart enough to see abduction as a high possibility for members of our team, and we had begun to take supplements that strengthened our resistance to chemicals of extraterrestrial origins. Otherwise, I would probably be passed out in the dark room with all the other women the second they turned on the gas, whether I held my breath or not.
Even then, sitting bolt upright on the alien man’s bed, it would have been easy to slip into
a deep sleep, but I was determined to experience every second of this bizarre abduction. I had so many questions about life on planets outside of Earth. There was no way I was going to miss an opportunity like this. Every detail seemed crucial.
A sudden clamor outside the room made my heart pound hard in my chest. Somebody was outside. I was going to have my first personal experience with an extraterrestrial. It was something I had been waiting for my entire life. But I wasn’t sure if I was more excited, scared, or angry. What right did they have to kidnap me like this? And when was I going back to Earth? I had work to do.
Angry accusations were on the tip of my tongue, but as the door hissed open, my mind suddenly went blank. I wasn’t prepared for the doorway to open, or for the tall, muscular man who came strolling through. His skin was a bright teal, and reminded me of a clear ocean on a sunny day. I could feel the confidence rolling off of him in waves, and I had to do a double-take. He was gorgeous, despite his somewhat strange features, and he looked like the kind of man who wouldn’t be crossed.
He was taller than any man on Earth I had ever seen in person, probably close to seven feet. Perhaps most striking about him was his smooth, sea-colored skin. He had no eyebrow hair, but a brow ridge was definitely there. I was sure it played a similar role for the Thressl’n in expressing emotion. He almost looked like the drawings I had made of mermen when I was a child, only he had no gills or fins. He was simply a perfectly proportioned man. But he wasn’t a human man. In fact, I had no idea what kind of a man he was.
His hair was a deep black, and reached down to his broad shoulders. His eyes were fixed on me, and he seemed unable to conceal a grin. It was a relief to know that he was able to show emotions similar to the way humans did, but I couldn’t help but take note of all of his differences. They were the most profound. Four fingers on each hand? He seemed to be missing a thumb. Longer rib cage? Was that why the Thressl’n were so tall? And the color of his eyes. A striking metallic purple. I found myself unable to look away from them.
