Chapter Five

Zoe

 

We got to Mars faster than I could get to the nearest WalMart from my apartment back home. Not that I go there a lot, but sometimes in the middle of the night when there’s nothing else open and you have a craving for some Ben and Jerry’s, you have to go. The nice part is, you don’t even have to change out of your PJs if you don’t want to.

I have personally been guilty of wearing my favorite sweats and my sleepy bear t-shirt to Wally World and nobody even looks twice. Of course, the sloppy sweats and t-shirt were a hell of a lot more decent than what I had on now, which was just Sarden’s temperature regulating wife-beater t-shirt draped over my more sensitive areas. I wondered if he was going to give me anything else to wear once we reached his ship, or if I was just supposed to wander around naked, clutching my boobs and crossing my legs constantly.

I was really tired of being naked.

The red curve of Mars was barely looming in the windshield before we zipped around its side and came to a long, needle-shaped ship with a big round bulge at one end of it. Maybe that was the hydrogen scoop thingy Sarden had been talking about?

We were coming in so fast I thought we would crash right into it. A scream was rising in my throat but just at the last moment, the shuttle slowed down dramatically and its nose just barely kissed the side of the huge, needle-shaped ship.

At once, a hole irised open on the silver skin of the ship and our little shuttle was sucked inside. It gave me the creepy sensation of being sucked into a toothless mouth but before I could protest, we were in. The shuttle settled with a soft sigh and Sarden flipped off the ignition—or whatever it was that turned it off and on.

He pressed a button and the doors on either side swooped up—kind of like a DeLorean’s. He hopped out and was about to just leave me there when I shouted at him.

“Hey! Are you just going to leave me strapped in here or what?”

“Oh…” He turned back, as though I was the last thing on his mind. “Sorry. A.L.—take care of her.”

I was wondering how the golden dragonfly could manage the complicated straps holding me in place. But the dragonfly flew away—upward into the dim recesses of the metal ceiling. A panel opened and it flew inside. Well how was it going to help me up there?

Before I could yell at Sarden’s retreating back to ask him, a long, thin, many-jointed silver arm with a six clawed hand came down out of the same panel towards me.

I screamed, of course, because I don’t like it when metal claws come at me from out of the ceiling. I’m funny like that.

Though Sarden had been doing his best impression of the disappearing man—or disappearing alien, I guess—he turned and came charging back at once.

“What in the Frozen Hells of Anor is wrong now?” he demanded in a low, irritated growl.

“What do you mean, what’s wrong? You leave me strapped down and helpless and then a long metal claw arm starts reaching for me!” I exclaimed. “What do you think is wrong? I don’t want to die! That’s what’s wrong!”

“Die?” He looked at the silver, many-jointed arm and frowned. “Don’t be foolish—that’s just A.L.”

“My deepest apologies.” Suddenly another flexible metal arm came down but this one was topped by a thin rectangular box with a round blinking light in the center. Almost like an eye, I thought. The same proper English butler voice that had been coming from the gold dragonfly was now emanating from the box. “I am so sorry—I did not mean to frighten you, Lady Zoe.”

“I thought you were a dragonfly,” I told it. “What are you, anyway?”

“I am the computing system which runs this ship,” A.L. said. “Do you not have such things on your planet?”

“Only in science fiction movies,” I told him. I looked at Sarden who was watching our little exchange impatiently. “You could have warned me, you know.”

“How was I to know your people are so primitive you don’t even have artificial life-forms? I don’t have time for this,” he growled, looking really irritated now. “Are you well or do I have to unstrap you myself?”

I thought of the heat of his big, warm body leaning over me, the spicy scent of his skin, and the tingling feeling I got when his long fingers brushed against my more sensitive areas. Then I looked at the six, long metal claws on the end of A.L.’s arm.

“I’ll take the claw,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Fine. Then I have to go see to the hydrogen scoop.” He turned again but I called after him.

“And what am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t care.” He made a dismissive gesture. “Wander the ship if you want. Just keep out of trouble. Oh…” He turned to face me once more briefly and stabbed a finger at me. “But don’t go into the storage area at the rear. It’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous for who? Dangerous how?” I demanded but he was already gone, his broad, red back disappearing through the sliding metal doors I swear reminded me of every Star Trek episode I ever watched with my dad when I was a little girl.

“If you’ll allow me to unfasten your harness, perhaps I can take you on a brief tour of the ship,” A.L.’s proper butler voice said in my ear.

I jumped when I saw that his round light was blinking right by my face—almost as if he was examining me.

“Okay, sure,” I muttered. “Just…be careful, okay? Those claws of yours look awfully sharp and some of my most delicate areas are pretty exposed here.”

“Of course—I will proceed with utmost caution,” he announced. Before I could answer, he had pulled the black shirt aside and was clicking the metal buckles that held the harness in place.

To my great relief, it popped open quickly and I was able to stretch out my cramped arms and legs. There was nothing else to wear, so I pulled Sarden’s black t-shirt over my head. It warmed me up immediately and fit like a very snug mini-dress. I didn’t love that—normally I wouldn’t mind showing off my curves but this wasn’t one of those times. Still, it was the best I could do and better than nothing although I wished fiercely I could have a bra and panties to go under it.

It smelled like him too—that warm, spicy, campfire smell that seemed to get in my head and make me dizzy. I tried to ignore it as I hopped out of the shuttle and followed A.L. out of the docking area.

“So you’re an artificial life-form?” I asked him as he hummed along, his round, blinking light-eye glowing like a lantern. The metal arm it was connected to slid neatly through the silver ceiling panels which parted with a ripple as he went and closed behind him seamlessly. I wondered what kind of alien technology allowed metal to flow like water. Then again, the fact that they were able to suck me through a mirror was even more impressive.

“I am indeed, Lady Zoe,” he answered in his prim and proper voice.

“And is that what A. L. stands for?” I asked. “Artificial life-form?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t have any other name?” I asked curiously.

“Do I need one?” His proper butler voice sounded curious. “Master Sarden acquired me along with the rest of the ship in a game of chance. He has never bothered to give me any other name but I did not think I required one.”

“Everyone needs a name,” I said. “I’d name you Alfred, I think—that’s a good butler-type name. Al for short, which also goes with your initials.”

“Alfred.” He sounded cautiously pleased. “I think I like that, though I am not sure what a butler is.”

I explained briefly and Al got excited—in a mechanical kind of way.

“Yes—one who serves. This exactly encompasses my directive.” His round eye-light blinked excitedly. “Thank you, Lady Zoe. I shall be pleased to be your butler, Al.”

“Just Zoe is fine,” I said, smiling a little at his enthusiasm. “Last time I looked I was just a girl from Tampa—not landed gentry or anything.”

“Oh, but you must be accorded a title of respect,” Al told me seriously. “You have no idea, I think, of how very rare and special you are. You are the first Pure One to be officially taken from your planet. And you are a La-ti-zal as well.”

“Whatever that means,” I muttered. I still thought it was a load of hogwash. “Okay, where are we?”

I had been following Al through a narrow maze of metal corridors that made me feel kind of claustrophobic. But now they had opened out into one long, wide hallway which seemed to run the length of the ship.

“To the left is the navcom and the control area.” Al’s blinking light indicated the long metal passage with a nod. “To the right are areas for sleeping, eating, and entertainment. I believe these areas will be more to your interest. If you would follow me?”

“What if I don’t want to follow you? What if I want to see the control area?” I asked.

“Well, it is not forbidden, but I do not think you would know how to use any of the equipment. And even if you could, it would be impossible since all controls are voice locked to Master Sarden,” Al explained.

I sighed. No wonder Sarden felt free to let me wander around—I couldn’t affect anything since the whole ship responded only to him.

So much for my fantasies of getting in the cockpit, turning the ship around and flying back to Earth. Somehow in science fiction movies, the heroes are always able to figure out the alien tech and use it against the invaders. But I had to admit, though I hated to, that I wasn’t a techy kind of girl. Half the time I don’t understand everything my smartphone is doing. As complicated as the shuttle had looked, I didn’t think I had a chance of learning to fly the huge, needle-shaped spacecraft. Anyway, if it was locked to Sarden’s voice, then there was no way I could do anything—even if I’d been the geekiest science-freak around.

No, if I was going to get out of this predicament, it wasn’t going to be by learning to fly a spaceship. I would have to appeal to Sarden’s good side—if he had one, the big red jerk. I had to make him see me as more than a prisoner or a trading commodity. I had to make him see me as a person.

I had read an article about that once—about a girl who got kidnapped by some guys who wanted to hold her for ransom. She turned the situation around and made friends with her captors. They liked her so much they let her go without a scratch on her—she did a kind of reverse Stockholm syndrome thing on them.

That’s what I would have to do—reverse Stockholm the shit out of this situation until Big Red wanted to take me back to Earth. Which meant I was going to have to be a hell of a lot more charming than I usually was.

Well, crap.

Still, it was the only thing I could think of—Plan A. I had to put it into motion and the first thing to do was to find out more about my captor. I thought I had an idea of where to start.

“Take me to the sleeping quarters,” I told Al. “I’m, uh, kind of tired. I’d like to lie down.”

“You have, of course, had a very stressful experience, being transported from your home world.” Al sounded almost as if he cared. I wondered if he really somehow did or if it was just good programming.

“I have.” I manufactured a yawn. “I’m really tired.”

“Come this way.” His glowing light-eye led me down the corridor, pointing out various other areas along the way. “This is the food prep and dining area, where you may simulate yourself any kind of comestibles for your gustatory enjoyment.”

“Nice,” I murmured, taking a quick look as we went by. I caught a glimpse of a long bar against one wall with tall stools bolted to the table and a strange gold cylinder that looked like the world’s biggest stock pot with lots of brightly colored wires coming from it.

“And here is our entertainment area,” Al continued, his light nodding to another area as we passed. “Here you can enjoy written, recorded, or holographic entertainments to pass the time during space travel.”

“Holographic?” The thought made me come to a screeching stop. “Like the holo-deck on Star Trek?”

“I am not familiar with the entertainment you mention,” Al said.

“I mean, is it a big room where you can imagine any scenario and the computer creates everything to go along with it so you can play out your wildest fantasies?”

The thought made me almost salivate with excitement. I thought of all the fantasies I could play out. I would instruct Al to download a copy of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I would be Claire and he could simulate me a sexy, Scottish Jamie…or I could be Beth from J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover novel and he could simulate the hot vampire king, Wrath. (Can you tell I read a lot of romance?)

Or I might just play out a Sherlock Holmes scenario like they did in the Next Generation—remember the one where Moriarty got out and nearly took over The Enterprise? (God, I am such a geek.)

But if I did Sherlock Holmes, I decided, I would definitely play Watson and have Al simulate Holmes as Benedict Cumberbatch. Because how hot is he? Yum! It would be the first time that Watson actually jumped Holmes’ bones instead of just helping with his cases. Well, the first time outside of fan fiction anyway…

Or, leaving the book fantasies behind, I could just be a rich and famous model, walking the catwalk in fabulous clothes. Okay, I know I said I own my curves and I do. But just once it would be nice to be effortlessly skinny, you know? I’d like to see how it felt to be a size three with paparazzi all around, salivating for a glimpse of my sexy hip bones…

“Ah…I am afraid not. The holograph projector simply shows images of different areas of the known universe. You are not able to interact with them.”

Al’s proper butler voice brought me crashing down to Earth. Or to the spaceship, anyway.

“Damn.” To say I was super disappointed is an understatement. For a minute, I’d almost felt like it was worth being abducted by aliens. I’ve always wanted my own private holo-deck. But oh well, on with the plan.

“I am sorry if you find the entertainment facilities lacking,” Al said apologetically.

“Never mind.” I sighed. “Just take me to my room, please.”

“With pleasure, Lady Zoe.”

He led the way down the corridor until we came to a row of sliding metal doors.

“This will be your room for the duration of our trip.” Al motioned at the last door on the left. “Simply wave your hand to break the beam and the door will open.”

I didn’t see any beam (maybe it was invisible?) but I waved my hand in front of the door he’d indicated anyway and sure enough, it slid open with a nearly silent whoosh.

Inside was a metal counter about waist high, a single chair, and a large silver bean bag floating about three feet off the floor. It was really long and looked like it had been built for someone Sarden’s size, so it was going to be like sleeping in a king sized bed for me.

“Whoa…” I walked forward and put my hand out to touch the silver material of the bag. It was soft as silk under my fingers. “How cool is this? A hoverbed!”

“It works by simple principles of magnetic deflection,” Al said modestly. “It gives excellent support while cushioning your whole body.”

“I can’t wait to try it,” I said and I really wasn’t lying. By now, you can probably tell I’m kind of a Scifi geek. If I hadn’t been captured with the express intent of being sold off to some alien trader in a galaxy far, far away, being aboard a genuine space ship would have been a dream come true.

“There are bathing facilities as well. Here.” Al glided further into the room and then into a smaller doorway set in the wall opposite the bed. I followed him, wondering what alien bathroom fixtures looked like. I really hoped they had a recognizable toilet—it would be super awkward to have to ask Al how to use it if I couldn’t figure it out just by looking.

But it wasn’t the toilet that caught my eye when I went into the bathroom. There was a rectangular enclosure filled with clear, pale purple liquid standing in the center of the room. It was about five feet wide by five feet across and enclosed by a clear barrier that might have been glass or plastic or some alien material I had never heard of. It was tall, too—reaching almost to the high metal ceiling overhead.

“What’s this?” I asked, eyeing it in confusion.

“The pool of personal cleansing. Do you not have such things on Earth?” Al asked, sounding confused. “Do you not bathe?”

“Of course we bathe!” I exclaimed. “But we usually take a shower or a bath.”

“A bath—as in you submerse yourself in water or cleansing liquids?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Then you should feel right at home! The PPC is for exactly that purpose. Simply slide open the entrance hatch…” He indicated a sliding door on one side of the clear enclosure. “And step inside to be thoroughly cleansed.”

I frowned. “Are you trying to tell me this thing is a huge vertical bathtub? How can you open the door without all the, uh, water—is that water? Anyway, without it going everywhere?”

“There is a moisture repellant field around it which keeps the cleansing liquid in of course,” Al said, as though it should have been obvious. “I really must learn more about your home world. How do your people keep cleansing liquids contained?”

“With good old fashioned gravity, mostly. I mean, we use uh, horizontal bathtubs, not vertical ones,” I said.

“But then, how are you able to submerse yourself fully and completely?”

“We don’t.” I shivered as I looked at the alien “bathtub.” As I said, the enclosure was tall—a lot taller than me. If I got into the purple pool, it would be over my head—way over.

Just the thought gave me a nauseous, squirmy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I remembered the last time water had closed over my head…looking up through the murky blue light, panicking at the thought that I would never break the surface again as the chlorine burned my throat and my lungs filled with liquid. And then there was Angie…

I pushed the memory away, feeling sick.

“Look, I’m not trying to be difficult but do you have any other way to clean yourself around here?” I asked Al. “I’m, uh, afraid I don’t swim and it looks like that stuff would be…would be over my head.”

“We do have a misting chamber for refreshment although I do not recommend it for everyday use. It simply will not be able to get you completely clean.”

“Misting chamber sounds great,” I said, ignoring his warning. After all, it wasn’t like I was planning to do any heavy lifting or hard work outs while I was here. A light shower should be able to get me clean and even if it couldn’t, there was no way I was getting into that huge vat of purple liquid.

“This way.” Al led me to something that looked kind of like a shower stall back home but without a shower head. In fact, I didn’t see any knobs or nozzles at all.

“Uh, how do you work it?” I asked, frowning.

“Simply disrobe and step inside. The mister will activate on sensing your presence.”

“Okay.” That seemed straightforward enough. “And, uh, your restroom facilities?” I asked, feeling embarrassed. I hoped they weren’t weird—by this time I really needed to pee. Being abducted and dragged through a mirror onto an alien spaceship tends to do that to me.

“This way.” Al showed me to another small alcove which had what looked like a silver chair with a solid bottom. Like the silver beanbag bed, it was large—obviously built for someone a lot bigger than a regular human. But there was no hole in the middle of it. No place for anything to go, if you know what I mean.

“Uh…” Just what I was afraid of—I was going to have to ask for an explanation.

“Simply remove any encumbrances to elimination and seat yourself upon the waste disposal unit,” Al said helpfully. “The center will open for your convenience and remove the products of elimination via air suction.” He nodded at a grouping of three silver buttons mounted on the wall beside the unit. “There are three suction strengths to choose from, depending on your need.”

Okay,” I said again. “That all sounds nice but I don’t see any, uh, toilet paper.”

“Toilet paper?” Al sounded like he was frowning in confusion. “What is that?”

I could feel my cheeks going red. I’m a private bathroom person so I’ve never liked talking about this kind of thing—not even to a robot, or whatever Al was. It’s embarrassing.

“It’s this soft roll of paper—that is, thin sheets of disposable material—that we use to, um, clean up after the elimination process,” I told him.

“Oh! Well, rest assured you have no need of such primitive methods here. The waste disposal unit will clean and dry you after each use.”

“Wow. Sounds great,” I said flatly. I didn’t love the idea of the unit “cleaning” me but then, it seemed like I had no choice. Maybe it would just be like an alien bidet. That would be okay, I guessed.

“I am so glad you are pleased,” Al said.

“Sure. Very pleased. Okay, well…I think I’d like to, uh, try it out. Now,” I hinted as strongly as I could.

I was nearly crossing my legs with the need to pee by now. I shouldn’t have had two cups of coffee that morning while my boss was throwing staplers at my head. God, that seemed about a million years ago now.

“By all means. Be my guest,” Al said politely. But he didn’t leave—his lantern-like eye just kept hovering there right in front of me, as if he expected me to go with him watching me.

“Al,” I said at last, my exasperation overcoming my embarrassment. “I don’t know how Sarden’s people do this kind of thing but for humans it’s private.”

“Oh. Of course—forgive me.” His lantern light-eye flickered in acknowledgement. “Shall I withdraw to the next room and wait for you?”

“Actually…” I cleared my throat. “Actually, I’m really tired, like I said. After I, uh, take care of business, I’ll probably just go lie down for a nap. So you can help Sarden do…whatever it is he’s doing. I’ll be fine.”

“I see.” Was it my imagination or did he sound a little hurt? “You want privacy and solitude.”

“Something like that,” I said, gritting my teeth and crossing my legs. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings but I really had to go. I swear, if he doesn’t leave soon…

Luckily, Al finally got the hint.

“Very well, Lady Zoe. I will check on you later. For now, I wish you a very pleasant waste elimination experience.”

“Thanks,” I said tightly. “I’m sure it’s going to be just fabulous.” God, I was about to explode.

“Goodbye for now.” Al finally withdrew, his snaky metal neck sliding through the ceiling and away from the little alcove the strange alien toilet was located in.

The minute he was gone I pulled up the black t-shirt and plopped down on the flat bottom of the silver toilet-chair. At first nothing happened and I was afraid I would have to go pee in the sink or the mister or anyplace else that had a drain. But just as I was about to get up, I remembered the three silver buttons Al had pointed out for “suction needs.” One had a small dot on it, the second had a slightly larger one, and the third had a large black dot that filled almost the whole button.

At that point I had to go so bad I thought I was going to die. Without hesitating, I pushed the far button with the biggest dot, thinking that since I really had to go, that would be the right choice.

It was the wrong choice. The wrongest choice possible.

A hole in the seat of the silver toilet irised open and immediately an incredibly strong, cold wind started sucking at me. Remember how I said the toilet was big—like it was built for a species of people way bigger than human? Well, despite my much more than generous ass, the hole was plenty big enough to suck me in. And the suction was so strong, that was exactly what it started to do. I could actually feel myself folding in half like I was doing some kind of crazy bend in yoga class, and being sucked down into the wide hole in the silver toilet.

“Oh…Oh my God! No! Help!” I blurted, grabbing at the walls, since there was nothing else to hold on to. Was this the end? Was this how I died? Sucked down into the depths of an alien toilet and probably ejected into space? “Help!” I cried again.

“Lady Zoe?” Suddenly I heard Al’s voice right outside the alcove. “Are you quite well? Master Sarden heard a disturbance and sent me to check.”

I was about to scream that no, I was not well, I was about to be flushed like a used burrito, when my grasping hand happened to hit another one of the silver buttons—the one with the tiny dot on it.

At once the suction eased and I found I was able to extricate myself from the grip of the monstrous alien toilet. I stood up quickly, almost expecting to hear a pop like a cork coming out of a wine bottle. There was no such noise but at least I was free.

“I…I’m fine,” I lied shakily to Al, since I didn’t want to explain what had almost happened. Not to him and especially not to Sarden.

“Oh, good. I just wanted to warn you that you might not want to use the facilities set on the highest suction level just at the moment. When Master Sarden is working on the hydrogen scoop, it tends to send some of the ship’s functions into flux.”

“Now you tell me,” I muttered. And then louder, “Uh, thanks. I’ll be sure to only use the, uh, light suction for now.”

“Very good.” There was a nearly silent hum and I had a mental picture of Al gliding away again, his lantern-eye glowing as he went about his business.

I was left standing there, still having to pee. Because as strong as the suction had been a moment ago, I hadn’t let go of a drop. Probably because my body had immediately shut down ‘let’s pee now’ mode and gone into ‘let’s not get sucked into space through the toilet’ mode instead. So I still really had to go—but could I trust this thing a second time?

Mistrustfully, I eyed the toilet, which seemed perfectly normal now. It was sitting there peacefully, barely sucking at all. I wished I was back in the bathroom stall at Lauder, Lauder and Associates—it might be a lousy job but at least I knew I could take a pee break without getting killed. Still, this was what I had to deal with.

My screaming bladder decided me. I would go—I would just have to be really careful.

Gingerly, I sat down again, keeping as far to the front of the silver metal seat as I could. The suction was still slight—barely noticeable. It seemed safe enough—I decided to take a chance.

It took me a while to unclench but finally I was able to pee. Ahhh… I moaned in silent relief. There’s nothing to make a tense situation worse than having to pee. Ever sit in the dentist chair and realize you really have to go in the middle of a root canal? Well multiply that times a hundred and you’ll know how I felt being trapped on an alien spaceship going who knows where in the universe with a full bladder.

When I was finally finished, I wasn’t sure what to do. Was there another button somewhere to engage the, uh, cleaning mechanism for want of a better word?

As I was looking around, I felt something cold and damp come up from below and swipe at me. It felt like the Creature from the Black Lagoon had made a grab for my coochie.

“Ahh!” Though Al had warned me about the toilet’s cleaning function, I still nearly jumped out of my skin. I almost fell off the seat but just then the cold, damp thing retreated and I was buffeted by a blast of hot air instead.

Wow—Al hadn’t been kidding. I was clean and dry in no time. Clean and dry but not happy. The simple act of using the bathroom felt like an assault. I was pretty sure it was going to take me a while to get used to the whole process but it didn’t look like I had much of a choice.

I got up, straightening my t-shirt mini-dress as well as I could, and hobbled out of the bathroom, trying to ignore the giant purple vertical bathtub as I went. I might be stuck using the alien toilet but there was no way in hell I was going to take a bath in that drowning tank-looking thing. Just a glance at it made me shiver.

The huge silver beanbag was still hovering invitingly in mid air, about three feet off the ground. The scifi geek in me wanted to try it in the worst way. But I hadn’t maneuvered to have time alone just to lie around in bed. If I wanted to put plan A into action, I needed to find out as much about my captor as possible. After all, how could I make him see me like a person if I didn’t see him as one, or understand his motivations?

Cautiously, I moved towards the sliding metal bedroom door. It slid open obligingly when I broke the invisible beam and I found myself out in the long silver corridor again.

Okay, I thought, eyeing the three other doors on the wall beside mine. One of these has to be Sarden’s. I hoped, anyway. And I also hoped it wasn’t locked.

Well, only one way to find out.

Going to the door directly beside mine, I reached forward to break the invisible beam that held it closed.

Sure enough, the door slid open. But disappointingly, I found the room was almost an exact duplicate of my own, right down to the floating silver bed, the chair toilet, and the tank of purple liquid for “personal cleansing.”

Okay, strike one. But I had to keep trying.

The next door opened into a storage area filled with all kinds of alien equipment I didn’t understand. I was about to leave when it occurred to me I might find something useful. Stepping inside, I scanned the shelves which seemed to be arranged in a haphazard fashion.

Most of the items just looked like tools or spare parts for the ship, which made me nervous. After all, Sarden was making repairs right now. What if he decided he needed something from this room and found me snooping around where I didn’t belong? Then again, he had told me I could look around the ship, as long as I stayed away from the storage area in the back, that was.

Still, I wasn’t seeing anything of interest and was about to leave when something caught my eye. It was a soft, blue glow, almost hidden by a pile of rusty metal pipes in the far corner of the room. Hoping that mysterious blue glow didn’t equal radioactive, I pushed some of the pipes aside—they were heavy—and found what looked like a pair of thick iron manacles.

They were kind of like handcuffs only the cuff part that went over the wrist was three inches long and very large—again like they were made for a species bigger than human. Well, Sarden was certainly that. I wondered if all the sentient species in the universe were. Maybe Earthlings were the runts of the litter. I’ve always been kind of height challenged so I’m used to being short but I was betting some of the macho guys back home would be in for an unpleasant shock if they found out.

I examined the manacles more closely. The glow was coming from a blue light, embedded in the length of silver chain that linked the thick cuffs together. I didn’t quite dare to touch it but I noticed it flickered when I lifted the manacles—which was not easy—they had to weigh twenty pounds at least. I wondered why someone had buried them under all these rusty pipes? Were they trying to hide them or was it just a mistake or an oversight?

Looking down at the heavy manacles and the equally heavy pipes, suddenly plan B formed in my brain. It was a hell of a lot more dangerous than plan A and I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. But it seemed like a good idea to have a backup plan in case my Reverse Stockholm thing failed completely. Which was entirely possible given that Sarden had been completely upfront about trading me away and didn’t seem likely to change his mind.

Holding the manacles against my belly to keep them from clinking, I chose a piece of rusty pipe that was about two feet long. It was thick, and comfortingly solid in my hand. I hefted it experimentally. Yeah, it was heavy enough to do the job, though just thinking of what I might have to do with it made my stomach feel like a flock of nervous butterflies had taken up residence there.

Well, whatever—I was committed now.

Sneaking back to my own room, I looked for a place to store my ill gotten goods. There was no nightstand, unfortunately and I couldn’t just leave them lying under the bed. Finally I just stashed them in a fold of the floating silver beanbag. Then I went back out to explore some more.

At first I thought Sarden’s room was just another guest room, like mine. It was bare of any personal touches and looked exactly the same except for a desk in one corner.

I walked over to it curiously. The top of the desk was completely clear—so at least my captor was neater than my old boss. Dayton Lauder the third always had messy stacks of half-finished paperwork everywhere. I thought longingly of the coffee-stained piles which I used to curse because it was my job to clean them up and try to organize them. What I wouldn’t give to be staring at my boss’s messy desk instead of this sterile, blank alien one.

I actually felt tears coming to my eyes before I got hold of myself.

Get a grip, Zoe, I lectured myself. Whining and moping aren’t going to get you home! Taking a deep breath, I reached out to touch the desk. It was made of some kind of black, shiny material I thought must be glass or plastic at first but it felt warm—almost alive—under my fingertips.

I don’t know what I expected but the minute my fingers brushed the desk, it vibrated and came to life. Panels flipped over to reveal several long, feathery instruments about the size of pencils what I could only assume were alien office supplies. There were some thin, transparent sheets piled in stacks too and several other things I had no idea about. But what caught my eye was a clear, crystal cube sitting at the far end of the desk. It was about as big as a softball but square and its many faceted sides caught the dim light in the room and reflected rainbow patterns across the walls.

“Beautiful,” I murmured, reaching out to pick it up. Yeah, I know it was probably stupid but I have a weakness for pretty, shiny things.

I held the cube—which was surprisingly heavy—in one hand while I examined it from all sides. There seemed to be a smudge on one jewel-like surface but when I tried to wipe it off, the smudge grew until it was a picture.

A laughing young woman with smooth brown skin, long black hair and big golden cat eyes like Sarden’s suddenly filled the cube.

“Sardie!” she exclaimed as the picture came to life, playing like a video on my smartphone back home. “You’re incorrigible! Stop it—my hair is a mess!”

I heard the deep rumble of Sarden’s laugh, though I couldn’t see him. Presumably he’d been the one making the recording.

“You look fine, Sis—stop being so vain.”

“I am not vain—you are, big brother” she protested.

I frowned. So was this Sarden’s little sister? Her eyes were like his, sure enough, but her skin was brown instead of brick red and she didn’t have any horns. I frowned, trying to think how it could add up.

“I’m not vain,” came Sarden’s reply. “Got nothing to be vain about—ugly half-breed bastard that I am. But you’re beautiful and you know it.”

“Well…” She tossed her shiny hair and I had to agree with Sarden—she was gorgeous.

“Are you ready for your coronation?” he asked, still off camera—or off whatever it was he had used to record this.

“I am.” She looked suddenly sad. “I wish it was you up there with me, though. I don’t want to rule with Hurxx—come to that, I don’t want to rule at all.”

“I know, little Sellah—always got your head buried in your books and you don’t give a damn about the outside world. But the planet has to have a female of the blood as well as a male of the blood to prosper.”

“I know, but you’d be better at it than Hurxx—you know you would.”

“Hurxx is purebred Eloim and I’m not—you know that,” he said flatly. “The people would never—”

“What in the Frozen Hells of Anor do you think you’re doing in my room?”

The muted roar from behind me almost made me drop the crystal cube. As it was I fumbled with it comically and barely managed to clutch it to my chest. Then, just when I thought I had it, it squirted out from between my fingers and dropped like a rock to the metal floor below.

Or it would have if Sarden’s long fingers hadn’t reached out with surprising speed and delicacy and plucked it out of the air.

He pressed something on it that cut off the scene and made it go cold and blank again. Then he spun me around and glared at me.

“I said what are you doing in my room?”

“You…I…you said I could go anywhere,” I blurted. “I was just exploring. I didn’t know this was your room.”

Which was true—I hadn’t actually known but I had hoped.

“I would think that a desk full of very personal objects would give you a clue about that,” he snarled. “Are all Earthlings this rude and nosey or is it just you?”

“I’m s-sorry,” I said, trying not to be scared and failing. When he did that glaring thing where his eyes got all glowy he looked positively terrifying. Think—I had to think! Remember the plan—plan A! whispered a little voice in my head.

“Um, was that your sister?” I asked, nodding at the cube which he still cradled protectively in one hand. “She’s really pretty.”

“Yes, Sellah is my sister—not that it’s any of your business,” he growled. “What of it?”

“Nothing. It’s just that…I had a sister once, too. Her…her name was Angie.”

My sister’s name stuck in my throat. Still, even after all these years, it was hard to talk about her. But I had to try and make a connection with him. Reverse Stockholm, I reminded myself fiercely. It’s the only way you’re getting out of here!

Sarden’s response was less than enthusiastic.

“Good for you,” he growled. “So you have a sibling. It doesn’t give you the right to go rifling through my things.”

“And what gave you the right to buy me and kidnap me?” I demanded, losing my temper. “What gave you the right to take me away from my entire planet and bring me on this God-forsaken ship where the toilets try to eat you?”

“What?” He stared at me as though I wasn’t making any sense. Well, maybe I wasn’t but at that point I was so mad I didn’t even care. Even though he was huge and muscular and scary, my anger had erased my fear—at least for the moment. Who was he that he thought he could just buy me and steal me away from my ho-hum life and crappy job back on Earth? What the hell was wrong with him?

“What would your sister think of you now?” I demanded, seizing on the only thing I could think of—the only piece of emotional leverage I could find. “What would she say if she knew what you were doing?”

Yet again, I seemed to have said the exact wrong thing. Or maybe it was the right thing, I don’t know—but the consequences were the same. Sarden seemed to grow even bigger somehow, his face turning dark as he glared at me. Had I thought he looked scary before? It was nothing to how he looked now. Still, I stood my ground and refused to back down, even though my heart was thumping and my palms were sweating with terror.

For a moment we just stared at each other. And if you’ve never had a staring contest with a seven foot tall guy who looks like a sexy Devil and could break you in half with his pinky finger, let me tell you—I don’t recommend it. Finally, though, Sarden spoke.

“My sister,” he said in a low, grating voice. “Is the reason I took you.”

“What?” I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”

“Never mind.” He made a sharp gesture with one hand. “I’ll excuse your intrusion in my room this once on the grounds of ignorance. But never come in here again. Never.”

“Fine.” I lifted my chin. “I was just leaving, anyway.”

“Go back to your room,” he ordered. “And don’t leave again. I won’t be so lenient next time.”

As if there would be a next time. It looked to me like plan A wasn’t panning out—maybe it was time to consider plan B.

“Fine,” I said again. But just as I turned to leave, Al glided into the room, his snaky metal neck sailing smoothly through the metal ceiling as though it was silver water.

“Ah, Master Sarden,” he said sounding pleased. “I’m glad to see you found Lady Zoe. Did you invite her to dine with you, as you had intended?”

I turned around and raised an eyebrow at Sarden.

“Dine? We’re dining now?”

“I thought you might be hungry,” he said, still scowling. “There’s time to get something to eat while A.L. runs a diagnostic on the hydrogen scoop.”

“The food prep area can simulate almost any human delicacy you desire,” Al put in helpfully. “I have been making a study of your Earth cuisine—though I could only devote a small portion of my processing algorithm to it. I hope you will find the results pleasing.”

“Thank you, Al. You’re by far the most courteous person on this ship,” I said, staring at Sarden pointedly.

Sarden frowned, ignoring my jibe. “Why do you call him that? His designation is A.L. which stands for artificial life form.”

“As to that, Master Sarden, I have been meaning to ask you to call me by my new name,” Al told him.

“What?” Sarden looked startled. “You have a name now? Who said you could have a name?”

“Lady Zoe was kind enough to name me,” Al said promptly. “I am named Alfred but Al for short. Apparently it is a good butler name—a butler is one who serves on Earth. And the name still goes with my designation of A.L. Is it not fitting?”

For a moment, Sarden looked like he was going to protest. Then he shook his head as though he just couldn’t deal with this right now. “Fine. Al is fine, if that’s what you want.”

“It is. I find I enjoy having a name and not just a designation.” Al sounded happy again, in his proper butler way.

“Great. Well…” Sarden looked at me. “Do you want to eat or not?”

“That depends.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I thought I was going to be confined to my room.”

“Confined to her room? Oh no—why would you refuse Lady Zoe the freedom of the ship?” Al now sounded properly horrified. I was liking the artificial life-form more and more all the time.

Sarden didn’t answer, instead he glared at me.

“I’ll give you one more chance to behave,” he growled. “Don’t pry into my life or my business and I’ll let you have the run of the ship. But one more incident and you’re going into your room and staying there until we get to Giedi Prime.”

“Sounds like somewhere out of a Frank Herbert novel,” I said. “But fine. I’ll stay out of your room.” Which wasn’t exactly the same as not prying—I was still determined to do plenty of that. I had hit a nerve with his sister, I was certain. And he’d said she was the reason he’d taken me. I had to find out more about that—I had the feeling it was the key to my freedom. But for now, I would let it drop.

For now.

“Fine,” Sarden growled. “Then let’s eat.”

He turned and left the room and I followed him, with Al whizzing along by my side, his lantern-eye blinking.

 

Sarden

I tried to control my irritation as I led Zoe down the corridor and into the food prep area. How dare she go snooping around my room, rifling through my private things? I was especially irritated by the fact that she’d gotten me to reveal my relationship with Sellah. It was none of her business, damn it! And she shouldn’t have touched my memory cube!

Seeing the little Pure One handle the precious crystal cube I’d stored so carefully in my desk had nearly turned me feral. It was the best memory I had of my sister, although I hadn’t been able to bear to listen to it in a long time. But when I walked in my room, there Zoe was—playing it as though my most private, cherished memories were hers for the taking.

But even worse than the invasion of my privacy was hearing Sellah’s voice. Her sweet tones were like a blade piercing my heart. My beloved, innocent little sister now lost, possibly forever…

No! I shoved the thought aside. Sellah wasn’t lost forever—she couldn’t be. I was going to get her back, Gods damn it! No matter what depths I had to sink to in order to do it.

But I couldn’t help feeling a flash of guilt when I remembered Zoe’s words. “What would your sister think of you now?” she’d asked. “What would she say if she knew what you were doing?”

I had the uncomfortable feeling that Sellah wouldn’t like it one damn bit.

Trying to shrug off the thought, I turned my attention to the task at hand—teaching Zoe how to use the food-simulator.

The little Pure One would be gone from my life soon enough, I told myself. Though she looked distractingly lovely, dressed as she was in my shirt and nothing else so that all her ample curves were on display, I was determined to ignore her. Ignore her loveliness and the guilt I was tempted to feel when I got too near her.

As soon as the diagnostic was run and the panels of the hydrogen scoop were fit to travel, I would take her straight to Giedi Prime and trade her to Tazaxx.

Before she could worm her way any further under my skin.