“What could have happened?” asked M. Mort. “Wait. No, don’t tell me.”
“Hey, captain. Why don’t we just stop that junky old truck and take Pweet away from that guy right now? We’re out in the desert where no one will see us. That old man couldn’t do anything,” said Murrie.
The captain chuckled.
“Now Private Murrie, suggestions like that are why I made you promise to follow orders,” said Captain Kamphone. “By law, we’re not even supposed to be on this planet. It’s OK if we just hover here in stealth mode, but if we hijacked a citizen and interfered with a citizen’s property, that would be a galactic crime. We’d all end up on trial on Central Planet, or worse, in a Woogah jail. All of us humanoids anyway. Is that what you want to happen?”
“No, captain. I’m sorry,” said Murrie.
He lowered his furry black chin. M. Mort reached up a hand to scratch under the chin.
“It’s OK, Murrie,” M. Mort told him. “I know exactly how you feel. It’s hard just watching and following them take Pweet from one place to the next and not being able to do anything about it.”
“Well, the next stop is where the action’s going to happen—if there’s any,” said Captain Kamphone.
M. Mort went back to watching the view screen that showed the slow-moving truck driving down the road. For several hours, that was all there was to see.
And then, Lieutenant Sosha spoke up.
“Captain! The ship’s radar detects another space ship outside the Woogah work plant we’re headed to. Two ships! And they’re both Verdante ships!”
“What! Let me see that,” said Captain Kamphone.
The tall, older green man unstrapped from his chair and floated over to the lieutenant’s side. Lieutenant Sosha pointed a slender green finger toward one of her monitors. Two space ship images, a small one that was clear and solid, and a big one that was a sketched drawing, showed on the screen.
The small one sat on the ground in the building’s courtyard. The large invisibility cloaked Verdante liner sat just outside the courtyard.
“The force field is down too, captain,” said Lieutenant Dweeemm from across the room.
“Yes, I see that,” said the captain. “This is strange. Why would two Verdante ships be here? Lieutenant XoXo, get the registrations on those ships and tell us who the owners are.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” said XoXo.
Murrie floated back and forth from one monitor to the next, trying to see what was happening. M. Mort was curious too, but he stayed out of the way in his chair.
“That small ship in the courtyard belongs to Master Meeepp, captain,” said Lieutenant XoXo.
“Master Meeepp! Isn’t he M. Hoyvil’s primary male gene contributor?” the captain asked. “What would his ship be doing here? And did you get the other one?”
“Yes, captain,” said XoXo. “The big liner is the Integer. It belongs to Master Chewaah, whoever he is.”
“I’ve never heard of him,” said Captain Kamphone. “Have any of you?”
“No. I haven’t,” they all answered except Murrie.
“We’re on the final approach, and we’ll be there soon. Lieutenant Dweeemm, can you hail those ships before we get there? We don’t want to surprise anyone, or get any unpleasant surprises for that matter.”
“Right away, captain,” said the lieutenant. “I’ll start with the smaller ship, the Bawbaw.”
He pressed some keys on his console and then lifted a up built-in microphone.
“Hail the Bawbaw,” Lieutenant Dweeemm spoke into the microphone. “This is the Verdante ship Jalapeno. Do you read me?”
Nothing.
The lieutenant tried again. Still nothing.
“Lieutenant Sosha, activate the sensors,” said Captain Kamphone. “Check if there’s anyone inside that ship. Lieutenant Dweeemm, you can hail the other ship now.”
“Yes, captain,” Lieutenant Dweeemm answered.
He typed on his console again and then spoke into his microphone.
“Hail the Integer. This is the Verdante ship Jalapeno. Do you read me?”
Nothing again. A few moments passed, and the lieutenant tried again.
Still nothing for a moment, but then the sound of a crackly voice filled the room.
“Hail Jalapeno, this is M. Hoyvil on the Verdante ship Integer. Sorry, I had to figure out how to work this thing. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, we hear you, M. Hoyvil,” Lieutenant Dweeemm answered.
M. Mort saw Captain Kamphone’s slanted gray-green eyes open wide. He floated over next to the lieutenant and took the microphone from him. Then he almost shouted into the mic.
“Private Hoyvil! This is Captain Kamphone. What the heck are you doing back here on this planet on that ship?”
“Hello, captain,” M. Hoyvil answered. “We came back here to rescue some more of the kidnapped alien females. The Central Planet authorities sent us actually.”
Chapter 30
Pweet looked out of the truck’s window at a large, ugly building next to a smaller even uglier building. Her new home for the foreseeable future. At least the long drive through the desert with the creepy silent man was over.
The truck parked itself next to a round space ship in a courtyard in front of the building.
That looks like a Verdante ship! Pweet thought. If only I knew how to fly it!
Without another word or look at her, the bony old Woogah man climbed out of the truck and walked away toward the smaller of the two buildings. He pushed open a flimsy door and went inside.
Pweet got out of the truck too.
I am not going in that building, she told herself.
She looked over at the bigger building, and its doors opened wide. Two strange creatures walked out toward her. They appeared humanoid but also reptilian. They also appeared friendly. They waved their skinny arms at her and hurried over on thick, broad legs.
“Hello, Earth woman,” said one with female characteristics. “I’m Apostrophe and this is Pooquali. We’ve been waiting for you. Eegor is so excited that you’re finally here! We’re Eeeepps, by the way.”
“Yes, yes. Eegor is waiting for you. Come on. Come with us. We’ll take you to him,” said the other one, who seemed male.
He waved his arms some more and gestured at the door to the large box-like building.
This isn’t what I expected at a slave work plant, but OK. I’ll go along with it, thought Pweet.
“Hi. I’m Pweet. I’ll go with you,” said Pweet.
The two semi-humanoids turned and practically bounded to the door. Pweet took her time.
I’ve just rode for four hours in a truck with a crazy man, and I’m worn out. I’m not running anywhere. This Eegor person—if he is a person—can wait, she decided.
She caught up with the two strange beings at the doorway, and they gestured her inside. Pweet walked in, and they flanked her on either side.
“This way, Pweet,” said Apostrophe, gesturing again straight ahead.
The interior of the factory was a contrast to its bare-bones exterior. The room just inside the doorway looked clean and new. Another doorway led to a long hall. Pweet stepped into the hall with Apostrophe and Pooquali walking on either side of her. Cleaning bots scurried out of their way across the floor. Other robots moved up and down shelves. The three of them walked down a long hallway and then passed through the doorway to another hallway.
There were no shelves or robots in the next wider hall. Pweet heard telepathic voices talking all around her. She didn’t see any slaves, but alien females of countless varieties stood looking out of doorways along the hall. Pweet’s mind was hit from all sides with confusing mental speech that sounded like it was about her!
“There she is! Isn’t she beautiful!” said a blue and orange female with a beak and feathers in one doorway.
“I don’t see what’s so great about her. If Eegor didn’t have this stupid thing about wanting an Earth woman, I know he’d like me better,”
said a female with short red fur and a long striped mane that flowed from the top of her head to the bottom of her tail. Her tiny nose twitched, and her eyes narrowed at Pweet.
“Stop being jealous. Just get over it,” said another with high pointed yellow ears poking out through rust-colored hair.
“I’m not jealous. It’s true. She’s not that great,” said the red-furred one.
Pweet held her head up high. She put a strut in her walk and let her cloak flow out behind her.
Yeah. I’m the chosen one, and you’re not, Pweet thought in response to the words she was hearing.
But she didn’t try to speak telepathically. This didn’t seem like the best time to start that.
If the Eeeepps heard the telepathic speech, they didn’t give any sign of it. They waved to some of the alien females as they walked along with Pweet. And they talked to her out loud nonstop.
“We’ve been getting things ready for you for months,” said Apostrophe. “All these females did most of the work, actually.”
“That was nice of them,” said Pweet.
But it’s sure not what I expected when I found out I was going to be a slave in a work plant, she thought.
Pweet and the two Eeeepps turned a corner, and even more alien females lined the hallways. More mixed telepathic words of approval and scorn bombarded Pweet’s mind. They stared and waved, so Pweet stared and waved back.
“Is she in a trance?” Pweet heard someone ask telepathically. “She sure doesn’t act like it.”
Am I in a trance? thought Pweet. Is that why I’m seeing this crazy scene? Am I just imaging all this?
She pinched herself hard on the arm. Ouch! The scene didn’t change.
“Eegor would have come out to meet you, but he can’t stand to be around these women,” said Pooquali. “That’s why he needs a woman from Earth.”
That explains everything—not! thought Pweet. Except that they’re bringing me as a mate or something for this Eegor. Wait! Is he an Eeeepp too? Are they planning to mate me with a reptile? Not without a fight!
Pweet mentally reviewed all the defensive fighting moves she knew while they walked to the doorway at the end of the hallway.
The next hall was empty of alien females. Only cleaning bots swept across the floor of this longer, broader hall with only a few doors spaced along it. The Eeeepps walked a few doors down, approached a door, and opened it.
“Eegor’s here in his office waiting for you,” said Apostrophe.
There was no turning back now. With dread for whatever creature might be in there, Pweet stood tall and strode into the door. The Eeeepps didn’t come in with her but hovered outside in the hallway.
“Ah! At last you are here!” said the seven-foot-tall humanoid male who stood just inside the room.
Pweet couldn’t believe what she was seeing and tried pinching herself again. But nothing changed. The most unbelievably handsome male she had ever seen was right in front of her. Dressed in satiny trousers and a sleeveless shirt, he was total perfection from the his ice blonde hair, down to sculpted features, and even more sculpted body.
The man looked like an extremely attractive Earth human except for his skin’s light greenish glow.
“I’m Eegor,” he said. “Welcome to my work plant.”
He reached out a large hand to Pweet. She reached out her own hand and placed it in his.
“I’m Pweet,” she answered. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Is he related to the Eeeepps? she wondered.
Instead of shaking her hand, Eegor held on to it and didn’t let go.
“It’s more than just nice to meet you, Pweet,” said Eegor. “It’s fantastic. I’ve been waiting for you these long months, you know.”
“Oh,” said Pweet, not really sure how to answer.
“I have to tell you that you’ve exceeded my wildest expectations,” said Eegor.
“Well, I have to tell you that this isn’t exactly what I expected when I found out I’d be going to work in a slave plant,” said Pweet.
Eegor kept hold of her hand as if he never intended to let go of it. And Pweet realized that she didn’t mind.
“Oh, that,” said Eegor. “Right. Well, things have changed around here since I got here—me and the Eeeepps. We freed the slaves, and now everything’s automated. Our product output is several times better. But I don’t really pay attention to that stuff. I let the Eeeepps and the females handle all that.”
“You freed the slaves?” Pweet asked. “That’s amazing! How did you do that?”
“I’ll tell you that story if you’ll have dinner with me,” said Eegor. “But first, I know you must be tired from your long trip here. I’ll take you to the room we made for you. I hope you’ll like it. We didn’t know your tastes, of course.”
He gently tugged on Pweet’s hand and walked toward the door. Pweet followed Eegor out into the hallway. The Eeeepps joined them. They walked across and down the big hall to another door.
Eegor pushed the door open with his free hand and then led Pweet inside. She looked around in amazement. It was the most plush, opulent room she had ever seen. Something out of an ancient Earth movie. The room of a queen of a princess.
Tears stung at the corners of Pweet’s eyes. She looked up at Eegor’s face. He was looking down at her as if waiting for her reaction.
“Do you like it?” he asked. “Why are you crying? We can change it if you don’t like it.”
More tears flowed down Pweet’s cheeks.
“No. It’s beautiful,” she answered, not able to keep the sob out of her voice. “It’s the nicest, most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me. That’s why I’m crying.”
Eegor just stared at her and squeezed her hand.
“Aw! That’s so sweet! She likes it,” said Apostrophe from behind them. “Now why don’t you two guys leave and let her settle in and get some rest? You see how tired she is. I’ll show her where everything is, and then she’ll see you at dinner, Eegor.”
The female Eeeepp made shooing motions at the males with her clawed hands.
“We’re going! We’re going!” said Pooquali.
He tugged at Eegor’s arm, more of a hard yank really. Eegor let go of Pweet’s hand and swayed toward Pooquali.
“I’ll see you soon at dinner, Pweet,” Eegor said in a thick, slow voice.
Then Pooquali tugged him out the door.
Apostrophe led Pweet around the enormous bedroom showing her the bathroom and the walk-in closet. The big space was empty except for rows and rows of shoes.
“We didn’t know your size, so we didn’t make you any clothes yet,” Apostrophe explained. “The alien gals will make you whatever clothes you want tomorrow after they take your measurements. But I got you lots of shoes in all different sizes. There must be some that fit. If you don’t like any of them, we can make you some more tomorrow too. We just don’t like to ask the females to work at night. They aren’t slaves any more, you know.”
“Of course not,” said Pweet. “I don’t want them to have to work at night. And I don’t want them to go to any trouble for me.”
“It’s no trouble,” Apostrophe said, waving a long-clawed hand. “They love having something to do. I think some of them are starting to get bored, actually. Anyway, we don’t make anyone do anything here. We just ask them if they want to help. And there’s always some who do.”
Then Apostrophe left. Pweet took off her space boots and left them in the closet.
I guess I won’t be needing these for a while, she thought.
She went to the enormous marble-tiled bathroom and took a bath in its opulent tub.
Chapter 31
M. Mort sat strapped in his chair in the Jalapeno watching and listening to what was going on in the Woogah work plant. At last, the guilt that had crushed him for so long started to ease up. Because it didn’t look so bad in there, and Pweet looked happy.
M. Mort felt less guilty, but he also felt sad.
Will Pweet w
ant to stay here instead of leave with us? he wondered.
He knew she must be mad at him, and he wanted her to be happy. But all along, M. Mort had hoped that he would be able to apologize and make all this up to Pweet. In the perfect ending in his imagination, she always left with him and Murrie. Then the three of them took off on the trip to space that they should have already been on. But now, M. Mort didn’t think that would ever happen.
The most important thing is for her to be safe and happy though, he thought with a deep mental sigh.
The Jalapeno was parked next to the other Verdante ship Integer, and the two ships were sharing information. The humanoids on the Verdante ships communicated through video and audio, but the distance was too far for them to speak to each other telepathically.
Distance didn’t stop the cats from mental communication though, and Murrie was talking to the other two cats on the other ship. He sat still on M. Mort’s shoulder, holding on with his claws. But whatever he was saying, M. Mort couldn’t hear it because he spoke in the cat telepathic language.
Instead, M. Mort listened to the conversation of the humanoids on the two space ships.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re harming anyone so far,” said Captain Kamphone. “None of these females seem harmed to me. We came here to rescue the Earth female Pweet, but will she want to be rescued? I’m not sure how we should proceed from here. The only thing that bothers me is your gene contributor’s space ship parked out there, M. Hoyvil.”
M. Hoyvil answered from the other ship. A tall, thin Verdante of about M. Mort’s age. And he was alone on the ship with just an Earthling female and two cats.
How is that possible? thought M. Mort.
“That bothers me too, plus a lot more things,” said M. Hoyvil. “I know you don’t care that these people took over this Woogah slaver’s plant. We don’t care about that either. It’s not our business as an alien species. But we know those humanoids in there—or semi-humanoids—from the Verdante planet, and they’re trouble. They’ve committed crimes against Antaska here, in fact.”
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