Collected (Selected Book 1)

by Robin Roseau

  "Is that what that noise was?"

  "Of course. I bet the smile is learned behavior for humans. I bet it's not natural to her. Did you see? She never showed her teeth. I bet humans see whatever she has inside her mouth and find it disgusting. I wonder why. I'm going to ask her why tonight, and if it's not too disgusting, maybe she'll show me."

  "I don't understand you," the guard on the right said. "Earlier you hated them."

  "I still hate them. Or at least I hate what they're doing. But I'd be lying if I was unwilling to admit being fascinated at the same time. Don't you two have any curiosity at all?"

  Neither of them answered.

  We arrived in my cell. The visor remained dark as they removed my shackles. And then they withdrew from me, and a moment later, I could see.

  I set my glasses on the space I thought of as the nightstand. Then I moved to the clear wall and looked into the other cells. I saw some women wearing visors.

  The businesswoman across from me was not. Her loss. She saw me, and she mouthed the word, "traitor". It took her several times to get the message across.

  I shrugged. Then I carefully spelled out word Pragmatic as if I were painting letters on the glass.

  She turned her back on me.

  As I said: her loss.

  I sat down on the bed, then I thought about it and lay down instead. Then I placed a call to Moirai.

  * * * *

  "You have earned a privilege," she said in greeting.

  "It won't stop me from trying to kill any of you who get too close when I have a weapon at hand." I paused. "I bet I wouldn't stand a chance against you."

  "Probably not," she said. "Would you really?"

  "I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, you betrayed me."

  "It seems you have impressed Jasmine Brighteyes."

  "I could like her, if, you know, it wasn't for the entire slave trade business she's in."

  Moirai sighed. "Maybe you'll decide it's not slavery."

  "Don't count on it."

  "You liked her. You let her touch you."

  "No. I asked her to touch me. And when she visits later, I'm going to ask for more."

  "Why?"

  "It felt nice. And I'm scared."

  "And being touched by alien tentacles doesn't scare you more?"

  "Should it?"

  "Do you want me to convince you why it should?"

  "Sure. Go for it."

  "She touched you. That's it?"

  "She sucked." I smiled. "It felt nice. She said she can suck a lot harder."

  "She can. It's how she eats, Sapphire."

  That surprised me.

  "She wraps her tentacles around her prey and begins to suck."

  "Huh," I said. I leaned back against the wall and hugged my knees. "So it really would be a hickey."

  "That doesn't bother you?"

  "Does the thought bother you?" I asked her.

  "Actually, yes, it does," she admitted.

  I shrugged. "Could you see me do that?"

  "Shrug? Yes. But I don't really understand the gesture. Humans do it at everything."

  "It's non-committal," I said. "Could she eat me if she wanted, or would I make her sick?"

  "If she's living on Earth, then she probably has adapted her system to accept the local food. So yes, she could eat you. I wouldn't imagine it would be pleasant."

  "Neither do I." I offered another shrug. "She said she wouldn't want to hurt me. You've said the same. You're a lot more frightening than she is."

  "You recognize me as a predator, but she's every bit the predator I am."

  "You seem intent on convincing me to distrust her. I think perhaps you should just say it."

  "Oh. No. She won't hurt you, Sapphire. I'm just..."

  "What?"

  "Jealous."

  I laughed. "Seriously?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "You have no idea, Sapphire. I would have given a great deal to be the first to taste your skin."

  "She tasted me?"

  "I believe so. I don't know if she can taste that way, or if her species recognizes the concept of taste."

  "I thought you were a xenobiologist. Doesn't that make you an expert?"

  "Not on every race. I've studied humans the most."

  "Ah. Well, it's too bad you're a billion kilometers away. I might let you lick me."

  "My teeth did not frighten you?

  "Hmm." Then I grinned. "You could taste a hand, if you were careful."

  "You would let me take your hand in my mouth?"

  "Sure."

  "Do you have any idea how big my mouth is compared to your hand?"

  "I bet you can fit my whole head. A terrestrial tiger can, and you're bigger."

  "I could."

  "So? You said you wouldn't hurt me."

  "You already feel I betrayed you, but you would trust me not to bite?"

  "Sure." I smiled. "You said if I weren't startled by you, it would worry you for my sanity. Am I going insane, knowing I'm going to die sometime this week?"

  "You aren't going to die!"

  "Just watch me," I said hotly. "I'm not letting one of those men touch me. I'm not. It isn't happening."

  "Will you let me change the subject back?"

  I stared for a minute. "Sure. Please. I don't want to think about that, anyway. But tell me. Am I going insane?"

  "No. If I weren't a billion kilometers..."

  "If you were here? I'd be mad if you didn't come to meet me. Before the whole dying thing. I'll let you taste me. Promise."

  "I want a serious answer, Sapphire."

  "I was serious," I said. "If you're on Earth and we don't meet, I'm going to be pissed when I find out, so you better not tell me."

  She cocked her head. "You mean that."

  "Of course I mean that. I might be mad at you, and I might hate you for betraying me, but that doesn't mean we're not friends."

  "Maybe you are insane."

  "Maybe so. If I don't win my freedom, they're going to haul me up there where you are, aren't they?"

  "Probably."

  "Will we meet?"

  "If your new mate allows us to."

  "My new mate might live an extra day if he promises to let me meet you first. Then I'll find a way to kill him. Or at least lop off everything that makes him a him. And feed them to Jasmine Brighteyes."

  "Her species isn't known for eating carrion. She eats her prey while it's still breathing."

  "Okay, I'm not sure I needed to know that, but as long as she doesn't make me watch."

  "If you were mated to her, she would expect you to feed her."

  "Myself?" I squeaked.

  "Cook for her, so to speak."

  "Oh."

  "To her, our dining habits are probably disgusting," Moirai said.

  "Speak for yourself. I'm a very dainty eater. I bet you're messy though. Probably tear off huge hunks of meat and swallow them without chewing."

  "What's wrong with that?"

  "And I bet you even eat from a three-days-dead carcass."

  "Only in a pinch."

  "I was kidding."

  "I'm not."

  "Yeah, you're a lot more disgusting."

  "You burn the flesh of animals. You burn the eggs of animals. You spread across your food some of the most disgusting concoctions in the known universe." Then she made a clear face. "You eat plants."

  "So does most of your prey, I bet."

  "So that makes you prey."

  "I suppose it does." I paused. "Are you guys drugging me?"

  "Not that I know. Why do you ask?"

  "I can't believe we're having this conversation, and I'm not freaking out."

  "You're amazingly resilient, Sapphire. Did you wish to discuss something else?"

  "How much time do you have for me? You must be a busy woman."

  "Another half hour, if you want it."

  "How much are you allowed to tell me?" I asked. "Now that the tiger is out of the
bag."

  "Tiger out of the bag? I don't understand this expression."

  "A tiger is a type of cat, and we have an expression about letting the cat out of the bag. It means that something secret is no longer secret. But you resemble a tiger, so... Sorry. I'll try not to do that."

  "No, please speak however you like. It is refreshing. What did you want to know?"

  "I might end up living on that station out near Saturn."

  "Yes, you might."

  "How big is it?"

  "It is a rotating double ring nearly five kilometers across."

  "Holy shit!" I said.

  "Would you like to see?"

  "Yes!"

  "Give me a moment." She took on a faraway look for a minute or so, and then her eyes focused back on me.

  "Why don't I see your visor? Aren't you wearing one?"

  "I don't actually wear a visor. My eyes are altered and serve the same purpose."

  "I see. How do I see the image of the space station."

  "Go into Interactive Mode."

  I moved my eyes to activate Interactive Mode. "Ready."

  "If you scroll through the menu, you'll find an option titled Media."

  "Got it." I clicked it. "Ah. I found a collection from you." I selected it, and I was presented with an array of images. I selected the first one.

  It wasn't a still image. It was moving. I saw, hanging in the dark of space against a field of stars, the station. It was, as she said, two rings connected via a central hub and a series of spokes. And in six places, there were connecting tubes between the two rings.

  "That design seems inefficient."

  "It would be if you don't know the history. These are the two starships we took to this system. We merged them together like this. Individually they were each one ring."

  "Which way do they travel?"

  "Consider the ring the mouth of one of your baleen whales."

  "Oh. I see."

  There were more images, and I paged through them. There was one with the design of the station and others with photos of some of the common areas.

  And I found an image of Moirai, curled on a bed and looking into the image.

  "You sent me a selfie."

  She offered her laugh. "Yes."

  I thought about asking more questions about the space station, but I realized I suddenly didn't want to know. I sighed.

  "Are you thinking about dying again?"

  "The station where you live is in a cold, horrible place," I said. "There's nothing there. You're as far from anywhere as you could be, practically. I imagine the sun is small and shares little warmth. Why are you so far away?"

  "To avoid scaring all of you. It is too intimidating if we come closer."

  "Haven't we accepted you?"

  "You know the rumors. We're here for conquest, right?"

  "Well, they say you are lying to us. They say you're here to steal our women. They seem to be right."

  "Did you just make a joke?"

  "Dark humor. Do you understand the concept?"

  "Yes."

  "They, by the way, clearly are impotent little men who can't keep a good woman, so everyone is here to steal the women they can't get anyway."

  She didn't say anything. I think she was wondering if I were serious, or perhaps what I meant. I wondered if everything I said translated well.

  "Is there anything else you lie to us about, Moirai? I don't believe I'm going to be in a position to tell anyone, so you can tell me."

  "We don't even lie about this, Sapphire. We just don't tell you."

  "You're going to lie to my parents about what happens to me."

  "I suppose that's true. You know we are careful with our technology, and we don't show you everything about us."

  "Like Catseye tentacles?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm not worried about things like that."

  "I understand. No, we aren't hiding anything else on a par with this, Sapphire."

  "So other than being kidnapped from our beds, we have no real reason to be afraid of you."

  "No. No other reasons."

  "You did make our women sterile without telling us."

  "None of you are sterile, and your leaders agreed to our plan."

  "And to think; most of them won reelection."

  "Were we wrong, Sapphire?"

  "I don't know. I wouldn't want more than two, anyway, but I was put out it wouldn't be my decision."

  "That is the basis for many of your problems, your dogged individualism."

  "It's also the basis for some of our greatest achievements."

  "This is also true. Humans make some of the most diverse music in the galaxy."

  "The song Amaryllis sang made most of us cry."

  "All their music is the same," she said. "There is no variety."

  "Oh. That would get boring."

  "Your aversion to boredom is another of your greatest strengths and greatest failings, wrapped into one. Jasmine received promises from you simply for giving your mind something to do. I do not understand why you require external stimulation. You have a brain. Can't you use it?"

  "Most of us don't know how to think that way," I said. "I suppose I could have used this time to teach myself."

  "You could avoid giving her what she wants. She'll take the visor away, and then you wouldn't have a choice."

  "But then we couldn't talk," I said. "Is that what you want?"

  She grew still.

  "You don't want to talk to me?" I asked, suddenly hurt. I didn't even wait for her response. I angrily terminated the call.

  It took about ten seconds before the visor told me I had an incoming call from Moirai. I declined it. I declined the next one, too. I got up from the bed and was ready to try to take off the visor when her call came through, whether I wanted it to or not.

  "You cheat, you bitch."

  "Give me thirty seconds."

  "What will you give me if I do?"

  "If you are dissatisfied with my explanation, I'll..." She paused.

  "Yes?"

  "I'll tell you how to make sure none of the challengers want you."

  "You would do that?"

  "Yes."

  "As my friend, shouldn't you tell me anyway?"

  "My method has risks."

  "Fine," I said. "Thirty seconds."

  "Your visor is locked, Sapphire. You cannot remove it until I release it. Nor can you access any other modes."

  "You're wasting your thirty seconds."

  "You will listen to the entire explanation, and then you will judge."

  "It's half gone."

  And then a thirty-second timer began in the upper corner.

  "You're right. I don't want to talk via the visor."

  "I knew it!"

  "I want to talk in person."

  I stared at her.

  "I want to taste you."

  "Shut up."

  "We barely know each other, and I am fascinated by you, Sapphire."

  "You suck."

  "No. That's Jasmine. Am I forgiven?"

  I sighed. "You could still tell me how to make them hate me."

  "Please tell me I'm forgiven."

  "You're forgiven." I plopped over on the bed, lying down on my side. "I'd be bored without you, anyway."

  "Our time is almost up. I want you to listen to me, and then we won't have any more time tonight."

  "You have duties."

  "Just listen. Give Jasmine what she wants."

  "I will, if I don't lose my temper."

  "She can help with that if you ask her to."

  "I'm not going to ask."

  "Enjoy your conversation with her tonight. Understand that I am insanely jealous, and I would happily fight her for you."

  "She'd try to eat you with her odd tentacles."

  "She's not a fighter. I'd win. Be quiet now and stop interrupting. After your conversation, ask the visor to help you to sleep until morning. You need to be strong and fresh tomorrow."
r />   "All right."

  "And Sapphire."

  "Yes?"

  "Tomorrow. Think outside the box."

  "That's a human expression. But do you mean outside the cat box?"

  "I most certainly do not! Think outside the box, and trust your instincts. And trust my advice."

  "Are you trying to help me, or are you trying to ensure I end up mated to some horrible creature?"

  "I am trying to lead you to happiness and fulfillment."

  "Mated to a space alien. Who is going to have to rape me if he expects to touch me."

  "Tomorrow. Trust me. Good luck, Sapphire. I must go. I'm sorry."

  And then she was gone, and I had a view of my cell. A moment later, the doorway formed, and the four humans from earlier stepped in.

  "Why are there four of you?" I asked. "But there were only two when you returned me?"

  "In case you fight the restraints," said one man.

  I stood up. "There's no mirror. I don't know how I look."

  One of the women smiled. "The visor can help."

  I went into Interactive Mode and scrolled through the options. I found a mirror option, and when I selected it, it was like a mirror appeared two feet in front of me. It came with controls to adjust the size and location.

  "Wow." I stood up straight then straightened my appearance. I didn't have a hairbrush, but I stepped to the sink and used a little water to do the best I could. It wasn't much, but it was better than when I started. I dismissed the mirror and turned to the guards.

  "Same as before?" I asked.

  "Yes."

  Display

  The visor dimmed the moment the two women took my arms.

  "I can't see," I said.

  "We know."

  "Oh. I suppose they do this to everyone."

  "Everyone with a visor."

  We began walking. I didn't chastise them this time. I had other things to think about. And they didn't talk.

  I had no idea when the men stopped following. Perhaps they never left the cell block, and it was only the two women who walked back and forth.

  But it was a longer walk than before, and it included a trip in an elevator. They warned me and held me carefully.

  Once we stepped off, I could hear sounds. They were faint. I put the visor in Interactive Mode and was surprised it responded. I browsed the available choices and found one labeled Sound. Then I turned up both the volume and sensitivity.

  It didn't do me much good. I heard a great many alien voices. At times, they spoke one at a time. Other times, there was more of a hubbub. The visor didn't translate. I went digging through the available documentation to learn why, eventually finding it would only translate communications it received directly, not sounds I was hearing and it was enhancing.