by Pearl Tate
I’ve had plenty of time to consider what this means. From the brief explanation from my mother, it appears I’ve been ‘blessed’ with some additional capabilities beyond the average Quasar male. I suppose I should embrace it, since I’ve done so much without sight over my lifetime.
“Here.” It’s entirely dark, and I’ve controlled the power all around us, only allowing the flow in remote areas where I can sense and ‘see’ the auras of mated couples. There’s only one group, and it must be Bren, the captain of the Discovery with his mate. The group is fairly large.
Placing my palm on the slab in front of me, I release the mechanism, and it automatically slides to the side. “Let me take you into the library where you’ll have access through a hub to the network.”
Selas is right behind me, leading the females. He’s the one that told me her name was Tara. Reaching back, I catch a hold of her hand. At this point, I can’t control the zing of excitement when we touch but she doesn’t seem to mind. Her hand is warm in mine.
Releasing the freeze I’ve maintained, I allow the energy to flow and lights begin illuminating the stairwell we’ve entered. It’s narrow, but I know right where it ends up. The long line follows me quietly, only the occasional murmur breaking our hushed silence until we enter the back pantry storage. I’m still stunned that I never knew this existed.
All my life I’ve lived in this small—comparatively—group of rooms. Sure, it was more than enough, especially since I was blind. I’ve never had to load the pantry but it’s interesting in hindsight. I should have questioned how the food miraculously appeared here all these years.
“Is this where you lived?” Selas spins in a circle next to me while the rest of the group spreads out in the large kitchen, pouring into the dining hall. It’s totally abandoned. As I planned, most of the population has migrated to where I’ve left the power flowing on the other side of the city.
Nodding, I continue through the dining room, leading them to the grand library connected through several archways. “You can access the network here, and most of it is inaccessible to everyone else. That should keep anyone from coming to investigate—at least for a little while.”
Explaining to Matthias who’s gone to settle in front of a control hub, “There’s food and plenty of room for everyone to settle in and relax. There are even guest quarters just off the other side there.” I point to the opposite side of the dining hall. “I’m going to take Tara with me to my rooms to gather some of my belongings and clean up.”
There’s a clatter behind me as some of the other males drop the weapons they’ve been carrying. “Those will work now, so be careful.” I gesture at the laser weapons I incapacitated earlier when I froze all the energy around us to take down the voltaric barrier.
Karen has begun talking to Tara who nods quickly, looking up at me with a shy smile. When Karen nods back and steps away to talk to Selas, I realize she checked to make sure that Tara was alright with going off alone with me. The fact that my mate has friends that are looking out for her welfare that way makes me like them all even more.
With a nod, I smile back at Tara and slowly pull her to the hall that leads to my private rooms. Her small hand in mine squeezes back despite the hesitation I sense in her. She wants to come, but something worries her. The colors accelerate around her as she follows me.
As I release the door to enter my dwelling, I look at her expression, wondering what she’ll think. None of the decorating had much input from me, but the layout was my planning over time. As it is, I have so much I’m hoping she’ll teach me. Not only about the world, but also about life.
Walking quickly to the control hub just inside the door, I tap on the console pulling up the program I downloaded into the system and buried, keeping it hidden from prying eyes. Not only did I plan to download this as soon as possible, I also spent time constructing a translation program. Due to the circumstances surrounding my leaving, I wasn’t able to start the learning process, and I couldn't chance someone noticing the transfer.
Handing a listening orb to Tara, she accepts it with a strange expression, clearly confused about what it is. Instead of trying to explain, I ask, “What does my dwelling look like to you?” Tara’s frozen just inside the door, and as the device retrieves my language and spits out the translation to her, the surprised expression on her face morphs into happiness.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile, and it’s beautiful. Her straight, white teeth flash in the low lighting. When she doesn’t respond, instead taking a step to the right and running her hand over a chair covered with fabric, I’m not sure what she thinks.
“Busy.” I’m not sure what that means, and instead of questioning her, I cock my head to the side, waiting for more. “It’s bright, and the colors and patterns are all so different.” The device translates what she said into Quasarian, and I nod my understanding even as she explains further. “When we have a bunch of patterns together, sometimes we say it’s ‘busy’. I think just because there’s so much going on to look at.”
She looks sheepish as she explains, but I just laugh at her discomfort, explaining, “That makes sense. I can tell they have patterns—now. But up until ten daily rotations or so ago, I couldn’t see anything at all.”
Tara listens patiently as the device translates for her, brows furrowed. “Total darkness? Your entire life?”
Nodding, I smile, letting her know it doesn’t bother me. “Even now, I don’t believe the way I see is the same as you. What is this color?” Stepping closer, I pick up a lock of her dark hair, sliding the strange hair follicles between my fingers. They’re silky to the touch, just like her skin has been. Smooth and silky.
“Brown. Her voice is breathless as she reacts like I do when we touch.
“Well, I see colors but don’t know their names. I’ve never had anything to compare it to before. And this?” I point at the robe she’s wearing. It’s the same one I’m sure I’ve worn many times, or some variation of it.
“White.” I nod at her explanation. Taking a step away from her, I encourage her to follow me deeper into my dwelling.
Leading her through the sitting space, I make my way to the cleaning area where my waterfall hums, the white noise peacefully lulling me. I’m still only wearing the small underwear they placed me in when they strapped me to the restraining chair. I can already sense her accelerating tension as she notices my sleeping platform off against the one wall.
My entire dwelling is one large room. Without walls and doorways to worry about, over the annual rotations, I only needed to remember where my items were placed and everything always had a spot. Ignoring her discomfort, I walk ahead, stopping at the steps that lower into the water. Glancing over my shoulder, I see she’s stopped quite a few steps away. “You’re welcome to get cleaned up too.”
Without another word, I step down and sink into the tepid water. The heating system has been off with the power, and it’s taking time to get up to the range I prefer. That’s alright because I plan to be quick. Closing my eyes, I explore the perimeter, confirming we’re still the only ones within any distance. I notice that they’re definitely accessing the network from the library too.
Perfect. I hope they’re able to accomplish what seems to be so dire. “What’s so urgent? Besides the obvious issue with getting out of the grasp of the Council and… Sacred Mother.” I can’t help the jaded laugh that escapes as I begin scrubbing the sweat off my body.
“Well, quite a bit actually.” Tara’s voice is closer than before, and I know she’s right on the edge of the pool, still holding the translator. There’s an alien race called the Marel orbiting right now—”
CHAPTER NINE
- Mihile
“Quasar? They’re orbiting Quasar?” I turn around, surprised. Her eyes dip down into the water, exploring my nearly naked form. Taking a step closer, I give her plenty of opportunity to become acclimated to seeing me like this. I won’t push her, but I’m anxious to touch and explore
her naked.
“Yes. That’s who… well, I think it was pretty much this morning that the Marel spacecraft grabbed us, and they tried to make us food! Like cattle.”
“Cattle?” The translation through the device she’s still holding has made the word something that means to breed for food. Could that be correct?
Tara shrugs her shoulders, her eyes flitting to the ceiling as I move to the edge of the water and grab my drying cloth. “As far as I understood, yeah. They’ve been picking up Quasar men that grow up in your society without families. You know, the unfortunate ones who live at church orphanages or something. But the horrible part is they’ve been feeding them some kind of drug that makes them bulk up so that there’s more meat on them, and then they’re shipped off for food later. And the drugs also keep them complacent and controllable—”
The more she says, the more I realize she’s speaking the truth. I can feel her passion and conviction. “Controllable how?”
I walk up the short flight of stairs until I’m standing next to her, continuing to dry off my body. After believing our species is so close to dying off my entire life, now I’m being told that we’re intentionally agreeing to let the less fortunate be shipped off for food? Who could be allowing this? Why wouldn’t the councilors and Sacred Mother step in?
Tara has turned totally around, facing away as I walk over to my storage area to remove the undergarment they kept me in while in captivity. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looks at the ceiling as she explains. “While we were traveling back to Quasar on the Discovery, one of the men from the orphanage sanctuary, I think they called it the Sanctuary of the Order or something, he came on board at the same time Callim did. He also grew up there. But he was the mate of Shelly, one of the original abductees.”
I turn around, totally lost. Who are all these people she’s referring to? Fastening the robe I’ve thrown on, I move closer, watching her across the room as she speaks. Glancing at me moving closer, she takes a few steps to sink into one of the chairs. “Anyways, the point is, this guy Vekel, he grew up in the Sanctuary with Callim, and they both got really sick when they originally came on board the Discovery. Fortunately, Hannah and your medical teams were able to figure out what the issue was and make sure they didn’t die, but Vekel was in the medical center for a long time recovering. At one point, he actually left the medical center and went down to the Discovery’s engineering room and tried to sabotage the entire spaceship. We would have all died!”
“What? Why? Wouldn’t he have died as well?”
“Well, yes. But it was like he was programmed to do it.” Tara leans toward me as I settle into the chair across from her. “And when we were captured by the Marel in their ship orbiting Quasar, they had a bunch of Quasar men they’d already retrieved from their contact on Quasar. They have a weird device they use to implant monitors on their chest. It dispenses this drug that keeps them under control. It’s horrible.”
Tara’s sitting back in her chair, clearly uncomfortable with where the conversation is going. I can’t help but lean forward to settle my hand on her leg, rubbing it lightly. Her eyes widen at the rush of awareness that shoots through us both. I’m sure she feels it just as intensely as I do.
“So, just to make sure I’m understanding this correctly, Bren, the captain of the Discovery, discovered that the men living in a Sanctuary were being raised and sent off planet as food to the Marel, and on his way back here to Quasar, one of the men tried to take down the ship? Then you get into orbit and the Marel are here? Still doing this?”
Tara’s nodding, but there’s still one thing I don’t understand. “So, it’d seem that whoever is working with the Marel must not be in the Council or Sanctuary because otherwise, they wouldn’t have let the other mate—Callim, you said?—off the planet, correct?”
“They didn’t,” she answers quickly. Matthias went and busted into The Mating Re-emergence Study’s hospital or whatever and got them all out. Originally, the Council had made an agreement with Shelly, Beth, and Susan. They were supposed to get the vaccine for Tirus-X they contracted on Dactyles in exchange for Shelly and Beth staying with their mates in the study on Quasar. Susan was supposed to leave and only come down to the planet temporarily, but they had an agreement all written up about what they could and couldn’t do while the women were here in the study. They found out that not only were they planning to watch and record them—even in their bedroom…” Tara hesitates, her face flushing, and I feel how uncomfortable she is discussing someone else's personal life.
I’m thankful my mate is as sheltered as I’ve been. We’ll be able to learn and relax together. Squeezing her knee where I’ve left my hand, I urge her to keep talking.
“…but they even had some kind of gas in the rooms, ready to subdue them. And when the women questioned the Councilors on it, they used the gas on them. Matthias went in and busted them out, and that was the last time they were on Quasar until now.”
I blink at the implications of what she’s saying. “And this was the Quasar Councilors? They set up these females to enter the Mating Re-emergence Study? They were dealing with the heads of the lines?”
Tara nods, adding, “Vina and Kirley and there might have been one more… I can’t remember specifically, but Susan will be able to tell you all about it when we go back to the others.”
Does she want to go back to the others already? I’m enjoying listening to her voice and hearing her talk to me. The language download is only at seventy percent. It won’t be much longer, and I’ll be able to speak with her without the device.
Taking my hand off her knee, I grasp the edges of the chair, tugging it toward me until I’ve captured her legs between mine. Pitching my voice low, I lean in to ask, “Do you want to go back now?”
Her frame has stiffened in front of me, straightening in her chair. Only our knees are touching, although I can’t control my hair follicles any longer. It’s slowly unraveling and reaching out to stroke her, dancing around us both in its excitement.
“No,” Tara whispers back. “I mean… I’ll do whatever you want…” her voice trails off as her eyes widen. “…I mean… I meant…”
Laughing lightly, I gaze down at her. I’m so relieved that she’s feeling as awkward and as uncomfortable as I am. I’ve never been in this close proximity to a female besides my mother and a few other Sanctuary Helpers before. It’s wonderful to be able to relax with her and just enjoy getting to know one another.
Because of my lack of vision, I’ve always had heightened hearing and scent, and she smells like something I’ve been craving my entire life and didn’t even realize it. The scent is inviting as well as enticing, and I can feel the changes being in her proximity is having on my body already.
There’s a strange tingling around the base of my cock that I’ve never experienced before, and I believe it’s a natural effect directly related to the way she smells. When she shifts slightly in front of me, she grabs both my wrists with her small hands on each side of her where I’m still holding onto the edges of her chair, caging her in.
“I wouldn’t mind kissing.” Her statement comes out low and rushed as she looks at my chest in front of her. The rainbow of colors around her arch and explode, and I realize she’s very uncomfortable but excited, too. Unfortunately, I’ve no idea what she’s talking about. This must be some kind of courtship ritual with her people.
“Kissing? Can you explain it to me?” Her head comes up with a jerk as she looks at me in shock. Clearly, she’s surprised at my lack of knowledge. “You do realize I’ve lived underground here my entire life. This is my dwelling and until about ten daily rotations ago, when the mating marks started appearing on my body and I started having my sight materialize, I thought that all Quasars lived underground.”
Tara’s eyes get bigger as I explain, and I can see the beginning of something I’m very familiar with. Pity. Her hands slide back and forth on my forearms as I continue to reassure her.
“It’s
alright. I didn’t know any better. But I’m thankful that there’s more. Life had become… redundant. Boring. Now, I have so many new things to discover and explore. Above ground. New alien species. Space travel. You...”
CHAPTER TEN
- Nitara
Looking up at him in shock, I try to determine if he’s pulling my leg. I mean, come on! Not only has he never kissed anyone… which I was kind of getting the idea of… but he’s never even heard of it? Seen it?
“You do realize I’ve lived underground here my entire life? This is my dwelling, and until about ten daily rotations ago, when the mating marks started appearing on my body and I started having my sight appear, I thought that all Quasars lived underground—like me.”
Oh, yeah. Right. As he explains, everything starts to make more sense. It’s terrible how he’s been raised. Alone in this big space with all the wild, bright colors and patterns decorating everything. Pleasing enough for everyone else, but he wasn’t even able to see it.
I knew he was different. Night and day different compared to the sexist bullshit I’ve experienced my entire life. I’ve had hundreds of men grope and touch me over the years. All strangers.
In the entire time I’ve been with him—willingly, I might add—he hasn’t tried to grab me or fondle me in any inappropriate way. I can’t help thinking how much my mother would like him.
“It’s alright. I didn’t know any better. But I’m thankful that there’s more. Life had become… redundant. Boring. Now, I have so many new things to discover and explore. Above ground. New alien species. Space travel. You.”
Whoa! I can feel the heat creeping up my neck. This is going to be hard for me, but it takes so much of the pressure off getting into an immediate physical relationship with him.
