She looked up and realized they were not headed to Trenton. This was some nondescript part of town. They pulled up to a plain building and went through one army checkpoint and then another one.
“Girls, we’re here,” the nurse said.
The two dazed girls looked over, still not seeing anything, while the weepy mouse dried her eyes.
“Are there usually so many tested at once?” Vi asked.
“Just depends on the population. We haven’t been getting a lot of matches the past few times, so they’re probably casting a wider net.”
The two girls next to Vi looked up at that, hope filling their eyes.
The aliens - Mahdfel - whatever they were called - weren’t getting much luck out of their latest world, apparently.
When they pulled up, the nurse helped the mouse out and the other two girls, but Vi waved her off. It was either going to happen, or it wouldn’t. Either way, her life was feeling too complicated at the moment.
She needed simple. That’s why she’d put a state between herself and her sister. Too much drama in that direction.
As they were herded into the room, she noticed there were already five other girls waiting.
Three nurses moved around the room collecting information. When one of them reached Vi, the nurse flipped the page and began jotting down Vi's information.
Vi had to pause when the nurse asked Vi where she wanted the money to go. The money. You know, that stuff they used to bribe your loved ones not to be upset they’d never see you again. A million dollars. That was the price of compliance.
Of course, the money wouldn’t actually help her or women like her - the ones whose lives were actually affected - unless she somehow came back. And it certainly wouldn’t help her if somehow the genetic testing missed something and having sex with the alien ended up killing her.
Apparently, a million dollars, plus the fact that at least most of Earth got to stay alive, was enough to keep the whole crazy draft in place.
Her sister worked long hours at an office. She had a baby now. But Vi’s friends were there for her.
She shook her head. “I don’t know, to be honest. What am I supposed to say?”
“It’s your money. What do you want to do with it?”
“Give it to my sister. She probably needs it the most.”
The nurse made a few more notes and handed Vi the sheet. “Hold onto this. We’ll start the testing in just a minute.”
Violet fiddled with her bag handles for a bit before withdrawing her smaller sketch pad and pencil. She sketched out a few symbols, trying for the one that would evoke the right feeling of ‘good riddance’ and ‘you’ve got this’ but be small enough for her shoulder blade or possibly a collarbone.
She looked up at a heartfelt gasp. The mouse had been tested, and the screen lit up green. The nurse pushed her over to the pad and reached over to press the button to send the girl. The girl looked around, fear in her eyes, then she glanced at Violet. Their eyes locked as the girl disappeared before Vi’s eyes.
Everyone grew very quiet and still, and then a bit of a commotion broke out as the others started freaking out.
Hello? Why were they doing them all together like this?
Violet could not understand people sometimes. Had they not been doing this for years?
“Hey,” she broke in. “You can test me next.” The chaos dissolved, and Violet felt multiple pairs of eyes on her.
“Might as well,” Vi said.
The nurse who’d filled out her form before was busy sending over the girl’s luggage, but another nurse came over and reached for her paper. “Good. Violet Dunn? Date of birth? Okay, yes, we are all set. Here, let me have your arm.”
She felt a small stab as the nurse drew blood. The nurse inserted the vial into a little square box. It murmured and clicked, then blinked rapidly.
…And that’s all it did.
“Is it supposed to do something?” Vi finally asked.
The nurse shrugged. “Perhaps it’s taking a bit longer to get to wherever it’s going. Sit tight. I’m going to keep testing the girls until we get your results.”
For a minute, Vi stared at the device, then she felt herself get a little tweaked about it. “No, I’m not going to be my sister,” she thought. “I TOTS don’t care what the thing says.”
She opened her pad and stared at the half-made sketches, letting the lines speak to her and what they wanted to be. Finally, she had to turn her body away from the infuriating, blinking device.
How horrible was this to do to someone?
4
Haze
The conversation dragged on until his head hurt, and Haze thought he would rather burrow a spoon through the middle of his own head. Haze felt his patience, already threatened by lack of sleep, eek away until there was none left.
Haze leaned forward and tapped the table for emphasis. “You all need to stop being wusses. Start being men.”
That shut them up. They turned to stare at him.
Fyn’s mouth started flapping before he could make the sound come out. …As it so often did.
“We go back,” Haze continued, before the First Officer could start in. “End of story.”
“Haze,” the captain warned.
“Sorry, cap’n.” Haze ducked his head in acknowledgement, almost meaning it. Captain Vren was one of the few people Haze could honestly respect taking orders from. Not that he followed them completely, but more closely than he did other people’s nonsense.
“You know it’s true though. I didn’t come on this mission to sit scared at some frasken rock with no goods in it.” He felt the frustration seep out of him. “It’s breaking my back for no payoff.”
The captain leaned back. “Haze, it’s not that simple.”
“It is.” He hazarded a guess: “Even Molly knows it is. Seban, you know it.” Oz wouldn’t make eye contact, just stared at his mate, which tweaked Haze even more.
“Oz, just ‘cause you’re getting some doesn’t mean we don’t still have a mission.”
Oz stood up, his fists clenched.
“Let’s go, little man,” Haze said.
“Haze, that’s enough.” The captain’s irritation was plain. “The next step is writing you up.”
“Sir.”
Haze had said his piece anyway. The captain would make the right call. Everyone except Oz must know it was inevitable.
“Xain and Fyn?” the captain asked.
Fyn looked at Haze with open dislike and shook his head no.
Xain nodded though. “Sorry, man,” Xain said to Oz. Dissension in the ranks.
“I get a vote though too, right?” Molly asked. “Since I’m here as well.”
The captain turned to look at her. “It’s not really a vote, traditionally, but it does help to know where everyone stands.”
“I think you should go.” Molly turned to Oz. “Your people need the mineral.” She reached up to grab Oz’s hand where it was resting on her chair.
Oz’s tail thwacked his chair in annoyance.
Someone was going to get punished tonight, Haze thought with a grin.
The captain nodded his head. “Thank you, Molly. Seban?”
“Yours,” he said, refusing to cast his weight to either side.
Haze grunted. Figures.
“Good, let’s adjourn for now. I think we’ve talked this out as much as we can. It’s a risk to thwart the Mahdfel directives and head back toward Suhlik territory when we know it’s now in their hunting grounds. I’ll let you know my decision at 08:00 tonight.”
Haze’s wrist started beeping then: loud, annoying, and commanding.
He held it up confused. “Oz, what have you done to the comm?”
“Huh.” Oz stared at the beeping bracelet for a moment more. “Captain, I think Haze, here, has been matched.”
Haze cocked his head to the side. “What now? I thought we took care of that…?” Weren’t they supposed to be on the exemption list due to their highl
y secretive mining operations which potentially involved dangerous, covert excursions to Suhlik-bordering areas of space?
The captain glanced at his first officer, Fyn. “Unfortunately, talks have stalled out on that one, so yes, it’s possible.”
Fyn’s dad was on the Vargys council and wanted some grand-spawn to continue his part of the Mahdfel line. Therefore, the old man was continuing to ignore the crew’s requests to keep women off the ship.
Haze felt a deep chuckle come out until he was guffawing. “Time to get me some.”
Suddenly, the little human female was scrambling up beside her mate. “No, no, no,” Molly objected. “There’s no way you can let Haze go meet her.” She waved her hand at Haze like a bitty bird.
Seban broke in at the same time. “Captain, I think perhaps Haze would not be the most diplomatic choice to…”
In these situations, it was best to act. Besides, the noise from his band was growing annoying. Haze stood up to head toward the teleport. “I’ll be…”
“Haze, wait a moment,” the captain broke in. “It’s off to The Pit for you. We need more level-heads to speak to the girl when she first arrives. I’m sure she’ll be frightened and out of sorts.”
“But Oz got to meet his woman,” Haze protested.
“As the captain said,” Fyn interrupted. “Level heads.”
“Well, that’s not—”
“Oz, Xain, why don’t you keep Haze occupied in The Pit, while Seban and Molly go say hello to our guest.”
Xain stood up next to Oz. “Fyn, you’ll need to release the hold and send them the code.”
“Got it.”
Haze let himself be corralled to The Pit. He felt himself get hard just thinking about what might be whisking it’s way to him now and adjusted his pants. Looks like there’d be moans coming from his quarters soon and not just of the self-induced type.
“Who’s first?” he asked once they’d reached The Pit. A little distraction wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like it took much to take these ones down.
In response, both men took their stances.
Haze flared his eyes and bared his teeth. It would be a battle then. Bring it.
Both men launched at him at once. Time slowed down as Haze lost himself to the fight.
His mind roared. They would be wiping vanquished pieces from the floor for months to come.
5
Violet
It took an eternity, or near about, before a nurse finally bustled over, holding a transmitter to her ear. She punched in a code, and the box showed a green response.
Green. Vi knew what that meant.
Other than the first girl, they’d all been sent home with a red result. Didn’t she feel lucky now?
As the nurse came over to collect her, Vi asked, “Do you know why it took so long to get a response?”
“No idea, dear. We feed it vials, and it spits out results. For some reason, we had to put in a code to unlock your results. If you’ll come over here… Your form indicates that you have three bags?”
“Yes, that’s my suitcase and duffel bag and this one here.” Vi hastily stuffed her sketching pad back into her bag.
“Good.” The nurse took the bag from Vi’s shoulder.
“Oh. Please don’t lose that. It’s really special to me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll send them all through together.” The nurse set Vi's bag on top of the duffel bag.
“Okay, please.” Vi just nodded though. She was at the mercy of them giving two squats about her stuff.
The nurse took her hand. “It’s all right. I will make sure to get them to you. Now, step right onto the center of the circle here. Good.”
“You’ll let all my contacts know? Everyone I listed on my form?” Vi gestured toward the paper the nurse still held in her hand.
“Yes, right.” The nurse tapped the paper. “Don’t you worry about a thing.” Vi didn't feel particularly reassured.
At the same time, the nurse took a step back to stand by the little sending switch.
Crap. Here goes. What if it hurt? What if she ended up with atoms scattered all over half the galaxy? Surely that happened, right?
Vi closed her eyes, trying to center herself. She opened them, and the room wasn’t there anymore. She was in a dark, cramped compartment with some odd smell in the air that she couldn’t place.
She heard a human voice say something. English, she thought. She concentrated. Something about ‘take a minute.’
She reached out her hand to the wall and took a breath. Her stomach felt like it hadn’t arrived at the same time as the rest of her, like it was some big, roiling pit. She thought for sure she would be sick.
There were alien words in the air too, but she let them pass without scrutiny. Then the human words again — a woman’s voice — and a gentle arm at her side, helping her move off the platform and into a seat.
She felt someone patting her shoulder, and the woman’s voice said, “Take a deep breath, it’s over now. The doctor says it affects some people worse than others.”
“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” Vi mumbled. She couldn’t yet look up from the floor.
There were more alien words which she couldn’t focus on.
Something was shoved into her hand.
“Drink this,” the girl said. “It will help you.”
Mindlessly, she brought it to her mouth and took a big sip. It was sweet and cold, and after a few more sips, she felt the queasiness recede. She drank it down.
“Here.” Another one was pressed into her hand. “The doctor said you may be dehydrated, so it’s hitting you hard. Drink this too, and you should start to feel more like yourself.”
“Thank you,” she managed. Talking made her feel sick again, so she drank more of the liquid.
After a moment, Vi did her best to look around. It was a small but high-ceilinged room with some boxes piled to the side. It seemed to be some sort of storage area. She squinted her eyes as the human standing next to her came into focus. It really was a human woman.
She wasn’t alone. Relief flooded her.
“You have no idea how good it is to see a human. I thought for sure I’d be alone, wherever here is.”
She caught movement by the door and refocused. Yes, there was somebody big over there. A man. Probably an alien.
The girl touched Vi’s arm reassuringly, bringing Vi’s focus back to her. The girl was petite and curvy with brown hair and a warm smile on her face.
“I’m the only human here,” she said. “Well, we’re the only ones, but yes, it’s nice to see someone from home. Or at least… the same planet?” Her voice dropped off hopefully, as though she had thoughts that Vi might be from her home town and had brought some postcards with her.
Vi smiled sympathetically. “New Jersey.”
“I’m from Kansas.”
“Kansas? I’ve never been to Kansas before. …So, what kind of soup are we into exactly?” Vi asked. The girl looked at her confused. Vi lowered her voice as she leaned toward Molly. “You know, freaky shit. What’s it like?”
Vi glanced at the big guy still standing a few feet back. She squinted. He was big, very well-muscled, almost sculpted. Hugely tall. Seriously tall.
There was a quick swish of movement by his feet. The realization broke over her - surely she had just seen a tail.
She leaned back, trying not to look shocked but keep the guy in her peripheral. Aliens look alien. It was fine really. Just different. That’s all. Really.
It was nice that he was so considerate though, giving her time to adjust and looking so nonthreatening while he did it.
“Is this my mate?” she whispered to the girl.
The girl smiled. “No, this is actually the doctor, Dr. Seban. He can implant the translator so you can understand everyone, if you’re feeling up to it.”
Vi nodded her head quickly, before she changed her mind. Molly turned and gestured to the doctor, so he could come over.
The doctor said, �
��Gramma duvem hu.” The light came up a little more in the room. The doctor stepped closer, holding a metal device.
Wait. Was the guy green? Yes, definitely green.
The doctor looked even bigger up close, and she thought she spotted some tattoos or tribal markings running up his arms.
“I’m Molly, by the way. Molly Galloway. I’ve been here about a month or two.”
“Violet Dunn. Most people call me Vi.”
“Just so you know…” Molly seemed to hesitate. “It does sting a tiny bit, but it’s really not too bad at all. It’s really nothing to be afraid of.”
Vi nodded. “Lay it on me,” she said, shifting in her seat. She figured she was probably a little more experienced with pain than Molly. Compared to a tattoo, this was probably nothing.
It turned out that was correct. The pain barely registered. Of course, Vi was also still a bit shaky and distracted from the trip.
Seban spoke again and gradually the words ungarbled in Vi’s head. “Is that better?” he asked. “Can you understand me now?”
“Trippy,” Vi managed as some words took a few moments to register in her mind, and some translated as he spoke them.
“You get used to it,” Molly explained. “Some words don’t have good equivalents, so it’ll kind of define it for you.”
Vi turned to the doctor. “So, where am I anyway?”
The doctor smiled. “You’re on the Xeo Tarlith. We are at an asteroid cluster in the Nexxus quadrant where most of the crew mines for minerals.”
Vi nodded. “Miners? Interesting…”
It was sort of strange, to be honest. She’d expected warriors and soldiers. Apparently, these alien war men were more diverse than she’d heard. At least she might not be in a battle.
“Your luggage arrived while you were hydrating,” the doctor added. “If you feel you can walk, Molly, here, can show you to your room. I have a few things to take care of, but I could bring your bags by in a few minutes, if that would be sufficient?”
“Please say there are three bags. Molly, please, could you check for me?”
“Sure… Yup, three bags.”
Haze (The Telorex Pact Book 2) Page 2
