Starport: Zeta Prime (Alt)

by S. A. Jackson

  She had been thrilled at the opportunity to start a life on this new planet. Gateways had proven efficient and safe space travel, and those who had travelled for many years by ship and built successful colonies on other worlds were now able to welcome old friends and loved ones from Earth, and visit them, too, thanks to the gateway technology. Zeta Prime was one of the last human inhabited planets without a star port. The long journey had been very much worth it, as far as Jillian was concerned. The planet’s gateway was nearing completion when she took the post–the old head of security taking a comfortable retirement and by the time she retired herself, the gate would have been long since complete, visits to Earth mere seconds away.

  Now, she wished she’d stayed where she was. She had liked working for the military on Earth–had been a really good soldier in fact. But she was lured by the money, the opportunity, the free life extension. Risky as that procedure was, who could honestly turn down an extra one hundred years added onto their expected life span, really? Living to a hundred was so limited. But compared to being a hostage for a potentially unfriendly race, a life of a hundred years suddenly seemed preferable to this, now extended, alternative.

  Where was the man who had bought her here? Last night, she had gone through such a range of emotions with him. Terror, at first, but then a weird calm and, she had assumed—a connection. Did he mean to harm her? It made no sense, if so, that he would see to it to provide food and water. His strength and power meant he could tear her to shreds easily if he wanted but so far, she had to admit, she had been reasonably treated.

  It was the not knowing that made things worse, and the isolation. All alone, the darkest parts of her mind crept into the foreground, and she found that she wanted to see her capturer again–for comfort. It was all so confusing, the mixture of dread and fear with a strange security. In this time, had she planned carefully, she probably could have formed an escape plot. The chain was sturdy, but surely not impossible to break from. The materials they had at their disposal seemed a far cry from the technologically enhanced ones they possessed on Earth.

  There had been no signs of life since she had awakened. She knew that she could have figured a way to break free from the metal and she certainly had a clear path to the forest.

  The question she had to ask herself, was if an escape could have been possible–why hadn’t she? Her eyes watered as the answer dawned on her. Jillian had nowhere to go. Unless she wanted to hide out and camp in the planets as yet, unexplored forest–which she didn’t unless she had absolutely no choice, her options were to either stay where she was, or go back to the military run bunker, a prisoner still, but this time alongside her own kind.

  Not daring to question the reasons, and despite no knowledge of what awaited her in the near future–she decided that for the time being, she would rather stay put.

  Chapter Six

  A female of the species emerged from the largest of the buildings, carrying a familiar looking bowl. Her eyes were glossy and as she got closer, Jillian noticed less green in the amber of those big eyes than the male had. They were still beautiful. Like all the other natives of Zeta Prime that she had experienced, lithe muscles undulated as she moved–and headed straight for her hut.

  Instead of being frightened, Jillian felt almost glad to see her. Definitely less threatened by a female carrying food, at any rate, but also because she had started to wonder if she had simply been chained here and abandoned. And that scared her more than any of the worries she had previously experienced–being left, all alone.

  As she entered, Jillian waved at her. It was an instinctive human response, but the cat-like woman looked startled and taken aback at the manic arm movements of the prisoner. Realizing her mistake, she dropped her arm and started trying to mime her most pressing need. She stood, pretending to glug a drink and then pointed to her belly, expanding her hands outwards in effort to draw attention to her full bladder.

  She frowned as the female, still clutching the bowl, leaned against the wall of the hut. It was almost a cocky stance and at first Jillian felt a stab of irritation. Squashing it as quickly as it had risen, she told herself that the body language may be different, and scolded herself for making assumptions.

  She tried again with the mime and was met with an unblinking stare. Jillian rubbed her forehead, trying to think of a way to get her needs across without revealing her secret. The woman waved the food under her nose.

  Jillian pushed it away–no. Cringing inwardly, she mimed going to the toilet as best she could, frantically pointing to the jug of water and hopping from foot to foot. All that happened was that the food bowl was placed on the floor then the native stood back and watched. It was exasperating, but what made it worse was the suspicion that there was a level of understanding. There was just something about the way the female was behaving—like she was enjoying Jillian’s discomfort. There was an unmistakable air of resentment.

  She puffed out a long, calming stream of air before trying again–trying to dismiss the hint of a smile on the female’s face. Fixing a serene expression, she tried yet again, this time making out like she was undoing her trousers. Feeling like she had gone far enough, she lifted her head, just in time to see her kidnapper enter the hut.

  Faron had been watching the whole time, wanting to see if she would break under Misha’s arrogance. Still unsure as to her knowledge, he admired her cunning if she did know more than she was letting on. She was obviously in a dire situation, so to pretend to this extent was nothing short of impressive. Misha had behaved in exactly the way he’d predicted, and he could see the frustration of it in his human. He liked that. He liked how she was so…vital, and how well she read others, even though they were not of the same species. Faron had not misjudged her intelligence.

  He had initially planned to stay hidden, he was a talented stalker and could’ve remained undetected, even from Misha, but he started to feel guilty at how uncomfortable she was clearly getting, and needed to intervene.

  At his appearance, Misha immediately changed her attitude. She tilted her head in order to seem like she was attempting to understand the actions being played out to her, and looked to Faron with a helpless smile.

  Jillian was too surprised by her own reaction to take much notice. Once the embarrassment at being caught in such humiliating circumstances had calmed, she felt a thrill at seeing him. At knowing he had not just dumped her and left. Having no control over it, her heartbeat started to increase as he walked up to her.

  “Do you need to release water?” he asked gently, placing his hand on her arm.

  Torn, she wanted to just nod at him in affirmation. But she still had her concerns, and had made the foolish error before of revealing too much too quickly to a man–albeit a human one, so the comparison wasn’t quite the same. She couldn’t trust someone she knew nothing about though, that was her final decision. Painful though it was, she pressed her lips together to prevent a moan from escaping her lips, looked up at him and gave a hopeless shrug.

  Misha watched this exchange with obvious distaste until she could witness no more. Dropping her caring act, she slammed the bowl down, turned on her heel and leapt out of the building. Jillian gaped after her, of all the stories she had heard regarding their basic lifestyles and primitive existence, she had not been prepared for girlie nastiness akin to being at a school on Earth. In a way, it was rather entertaining. It seemed that girls could always be bitches, no matter what the planet.

  Unaffected by the departure of the female, the male captor did not remove his eyes from Jillian, and she was horrified to note the amusement in him. As he failed to disguise his growing smile, she felt a burning rage radiate from the inside out. This was some awful torture and what felt more unbearable was the fact that he was obviously getting a great deal of pleasure from watching her squirm. She wished she had her stun gun right now, even more so, she wished she had a real gun. Never before had she wanted to kill someone dead as much as she did in that instant. That was how
badly she needed to pee.

  It was difficult to keep his face from showing his delight at her response to Misha. She had very clearly understood her resentment, stood up against it by not rising to her evocative insolence, and appeared as though she were stunned and a little amused by Misha’s childish display of irritation. He was delighted because he felt that this meant she was seeing them as individuals, that her fear was decreasing, and he knew he would soon be able to introduce her to a villager.

  Sensing her urgency now, he directed her to a small hole on the opposite side of the hut from where they were standing. Her mouth dropped as she looked first at his extended palm, proffering her the hole, and next into his face, aghast at the insinuation he was making. It seemed that the–opening–in the ground was the toilet, though she really, really did not want it to be so. The urge was at the point of overwhelming however, and she was prepared to take whatever was on offer. They had this kind of thing in South East Asia, right? It would be fine.

  Not aware that she had been waiting to go for so long, Faron continued to look at her as she danced around the hole. To the point of bursting, Jillian had to flick her fingers in a motion she hoped would usher him out. She wasn’t about to do it right there in front of him, that was for sure.

  He laughed. She just captivated him. She was so shy and proud. He waited around a moment longer, teasing her a little, then he finally, finally relented and left her alone.

  Sweet relief cloaked her, and she at last felt like her mind could focus on more important things. Before reviewing the day so far, she lifted the clay jug to her lips and gulped down the most refreshing water she had ever tasted. She did eye the food, it looked like crushed potatoes, and suddenly realized she was starving. Crossing her legs to sit on the fur, she reached for the plate. Sniffing it first, she detected a hint of the sweetness from last night’s meal. Hungry now, it smelt delicious, and she scooped a large handful to cram in her mouth.

  It was creamy, really rich–like decedent scrambled eggs but with the consistency of potato. The sweetness she had smelt reminded her of coconut. She finished it in seconds, it had been divine.

  Full and fairly contented, given the fact she was chained up, she shuffled over to the warm patch of sun, and observed the graceful movements of the cat-people, way off in the distance. Her mind began to wander as she did so.

  She was always used to having to be tough, shipped from pillar to post as child–her Mother had proved unable to cope with her due to mental health problems, and her Father had vanished from their lives before she could even remember–she had been constantly put into unfamiliar situations with unfamiliar people. Passed from foster family to foster family on the grounds of her being ‘uncontrollable’ and ‘wild,’ she had built up thicker and thicker walls in defense, forming attachments to no one and no place. A steel exterior that was embedded several layers deep. It had taken years for her to prove herself in the army, having such an unkempt history and a bad reputation people refused to forget.

  She had learnt to control her hedonism, to realize that by acting in the way she had, she was obstructing the path out of her old life. But she never forgot the lessons she’d learnt. Never forgot that she couldn’t trust anyone, that no one would look out for her but herself, having been let down so much that lesson was proven again and again. Most recently when she had taken the blame for an explosion she had nothing to do with. Briefly, she thought of Mikey and his selfless act. Afraid of the weakness that thought might cause, she quashed it swiftly.

  Faron spoke to his most trusted companion and brother Camil, informing him that he felt it was nearly time to unchain her.

  “I know you always do what’s best for us. That I am not doubting,” Camil said. “But this race, they are unpredictable. I’m not sure we understand their ways fully enough to be certain of her actions. I remember what happened to the other clan, how they were deceived.”

  Faron nodded his head and placed a reassuring hand on top of his brother’s shoulder. He too, remembered the other’s fate well. It had been the same tribe the invaders had first befriended to practice language skills on. He had watched what he thought were friendships being made, bonds being formed and had thought, like all the others, that the merging of their two people would be harmonious.

  But the strangers to their planet had deceived the tribe. For after they had been invited into the village, they had suddenly started to detach, being too busy for conversation and the companionship members of the tribe had grown accustomed to. Some of Faron’s species had even learnt a few words in that bizarre language, but this did not give them insight as to the new behaviors and sudden dismissal.

  Then, the invaders had brought foreign looking, large devices into the village they had once been made welcome in, causing the tribe to flee, and then knocking down their homes and lives without any remorse. Their objects had flattened the entire village to the ground to the complete devastation of those who had spent all their lives there.

  A large fence had been constructed, heavy materials brought in and more and more of these small-eyed people moved in. Faron didn’t know, but that village was to be the site of the gateway, and where, years later, he had first laid eyes on Jillian.

  “I have not forgotten, brother. But do not worry about her. This one, she’s different from the others,” Faron said, trusting his heart.

  Chapter Seven

  Jillian was all alone for a good while. The sun was warm and her seat comfortable, but she itched to be able to walk around. While her chain allowed free movement enough for her to stand and walk pretty much the radius of her prison, she still felt cooped up and uneasy at being so.

  The cat-people were fascinating to watch, providing her with occasional distractions from fluctuating theories about her fate. She watched their young chase balls and play fight with each other on the dusty auburn earth, and it made her smile–the innocence of them as charming to see as with human children. She was too far away to hear the words they called to each other, or what the adults said to them every so often which she found frustrating. Little clues into the lives of these aliens may have proved useful at this point, so she continued to strain her ears hopefully, just in case the mild breeze carried in her favor.

  The female from yesterday came and fetched her jug. She gave Jillian a long look, which she matched. At this point, Jillian didn’t want to come across as unfriendly or challenging–despite the instinct that this female clearly found her distasteful–but she also didn’t want to come across as weak or a pushover either. She was mindful of the fact that the females here, while slightly smaller in stature than the few males she had encountered, and much smaller than her kidnapper, they were still agile and strong. A physical battle between the two wasn’t Jillian’s desired activity for the day.

  She watched as the female carried the jug towards the large dwelling at the head of the other buildings curving in front of it. She felt slightly envious as she saw the sunlight hit her downy skin, giving it a glossy sheen and highlighting the impressive muscle structure. Her hair hung straight as a board and the color of straw. Her sleek frame disappeared into the building, but she emerged again quickly and slunk her way back to where Jillian sat, placing the now full jug by the door.

  “Here you are, prisoner. Enjoy the luxuries while you still can.” Misha’s words were rounded and undulating, but Jillian understood her with little difficulty. She had hoped she would say more—reveal something, anything, about the reason for her capture. But she turned and left with a tight smile.

  Jillian concluded two things from that very brief encounter. Firstly, that she was most definitely a prisoner here–and possibly awaiting some form of punishment, for what crime she did not know. And secondly, that the female that was tending to her was a right, royal bitch.

  * * * *

  Faron led the men deep into the forest. Great sturdy chunks of corded tree trunks covered them as he gave his orders.

  “Fayzel, Visha and Niall—I want
you three to patrol here. If you see any of the other species, follow them silently. If they get too close to the village, tie them and send out a call.” He instructed the three youngest of the group–although still much larger and more solid than a human male could ever wish to be–he figured the position furthest from the human colony would be the safest for those not yet old enough to be considered warriors.

  “Ashan and Charin, circle the tree line on the invaders’ side. Chances are, if they were to hunt her, they would do so without entering the wilderness. It is rare for them to come alone without their machinery.” The two males he spoke to nodded seriously.

  “Camil and I will patrol the place my female spent most of her time, and also where she managed to escape from. If there appears to be any activity, or signs of a search being conducted, we will send out a call to discuss our next move. I am doing this as reassurance to you all that the female in chains will not present a problem to our village. We will meet here in one day with our findings. If all is well, we’ll then hunt food for a great feast on our return.”

  Faron’s men waited for his signal and then leapt high into the trees, making no sound as they swung towards their set locations—sending the ribbon-like throngs that hung from the branches fluttering in their wake.

  Despite his certainty that his ‘prisoner’s’ people would not be able to trace her back to the village, Faron had a duty to ensure that everyone was protected from the horrors that had befallen the tribe who had so willingly embraced them when the colonists had first arrived.

  As he pounced across the treetops in the direction of the bunker where Jillian had been held, he also knew he had to do everything in his power to ensure that his feelings about her were correct–that she would not run and alert her people to their location and also that she, as well as his tribe, were safe.