Chapter 8
Natalie sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes. How long had she been asleep? She’d collapsed there when she got so exhausted she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. The instant she woke up, the same raging hunger and thirst she suffered in the holding cell came back with the same maddening intensity. How long would her body take to adjust to life without the regeneration bed? She had to find a toilet, and even then, she had to remind herself how to use it.
She stumbled to the food dispenser. “Water.” A glass of water appeared in front of her, and she guzzled the whole thing in one shot. “Apple.”
The machine hummed. Then a metallic computer voice said, “Input not recognized.”
She tried again. “Earth apple.”
The machine took a moment, but a bright red apple appeared in place of the water glass. Natalie bit into it. Her teeth ached and her jaw barely had the strength to chew, but the tart juice relieved her hunger and reminded her of home. She devoured it in a few bites. Then she went out for a walk around the ship.
The windows along the hall all stood empty now. Only the exercise studio was occupied by the burly crew she saw on the command bridge. She recognized Kyan with his mask still on. Why did he keep his face covered? She observed him practicing his fighting moves with his crew mates. Even through the window she could tell they weren’t the same species. They had greyish mottled skin, and their heads were a different shape.
Under his mask and uniform, Kyan appeared almost human. Only his green eyes and lizard-green skin marked him as something alien. In all her time with Fo, she’d never encountered anyone like him. He noticed her outside the window and said something to his companions. They stopped practicing and glanced over at her. Then they disappeared into another room.
Kyan opened the door, and Natalie stepped into the studio. “I wondered when I’d see you walking around.”
“Where is everybody?” Natalie asked. “Where are the women and children I saw earlier in the other rooms down the hall?”
Kyan cocked his head to one side. Then he nodded. “I remember. The windows along this hall are viewing ports into virtual training chambers. The women and children you saw were holographic representations used by the crew for training purposes.”
Natalie stared at him through the sting of tears. “You mean they weren’t real?”
“The crew of this vessel consists of males only,” Kyan told her. “When they need to complete certain kinds of training, they program the training chambers to construct the appropriate hologram. That’s what you saw through the windows.”
Natalie bit her lip. She couldn’t break down, not now, not in front of him. “So...I’m the only female on this ship?”
“I’m afraid so,” he replied. “The Police Force organizes our teams according to our job. The pirate trackers—the Surveyors, as you called them—must be all male teams. If one of us falls in battle with the pirates, we can’t take the chance that we will be sold into slavery. That’s the reason for it.”
Natalie nodded and stared at the floor. “I understand.”
Kyan turned away and started packing up his equipment. Natalie wandered over to a vaulting horse against the wall. Some forgotten power told her to jump up on it. She rested one hand on it and leaned into it. The next thing she knew, she was swinging up onto it. Her legs swiveled around and she vaulted over it to land on her feet on the other side.
She stared at the horse with wide eyes. Then she tried it again and the same thing happened. She pushed herself harder this time, and she swung around and around the horse with her arms and legs flying. Every move she tried, she completed with ease.
When she landed again with a half twist, Kyan nodded. “You’re good.”
“I’m not,” she told him. “It’s the regeneration bed. It’s made me stronger and more agile. I never even knew I could do it until just now.”
He set down his equipment and came toward her. “Let’s see what else you’ve got.”
Before she could react, he threw a series of rapid punches at her head and body. She tried to bat his hands away, but her body knew better how to handle that situation. She blocked his strikes and delivered a few blows of her own. Kyan rubbed his wrist and nodded again. “That’s good. Now try this.”
He pulled a long dagger out of his boot, and with one swift lunge, drove it into Natalie’s chest. She jumped back just in time, and it ripped the front of her jump suit. She returned the attack, and in a moment, they grappled together on the floor.
Kyan brought his knee up between her legs and flipped her over on her back. His weight slammed her into the floor and knocked the wind out of her. Natalie tried to throw him, but he was just too big. He pinned her to the ground and held her in place with his massive bulk.
She stopped struggling and gazed up into his eyes. He panted behind his mask, and their chests heaved together. In a flash, the lightning bolt of desire shot through Natalie’s being. Her crotch pressed against his knee, and her thighs closed around his leg. Before he could pull away, his own body responded to her signal, and he pressed his hips down against her.
Whatever alteration the regeneration bed made to her body, it was permanent. She didn’t need the regeneration bed to feel that insatiable desire for a thick, hot member slithering into her. She didn’t need the regeneration bed to make her juicy and open.
Kyan caught himself in time, though. He jumped off her and shook himself. “That’s good. We’ll do it again, and I’ll show you how to counter an attack by someone of superior strength and weight.”
Natalie got to her feet and straightened her jump suit. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I need all the instruction I can get.”
He regarded her for a moment. Then he turned away. Natalie hesitated at the door. “Would you mind walking me back to my quarters?”
“What for?” he asked.
She blushed and lowered her eyes. “There’s something I want you to show me.”
“Just tell me what it is,” he told her. “I’m supposed to be on duty. I shouldn't go with you unless I know what it's about.”
Natalie shifted from one foot to the other. “I can’t figure out how to use the….the toilet. I don't know what you call it. I never had to use one on Fo's ship. The regeneration bed took care of everything. I can't activate it, and I really need to go.”
He stared at her. “Do you mean the cleansing device?”
She looked away. “I don’t know what you call it.”
His eyes crinkled again. “All right. I’ll come and show you how to use it. I should have thought of that in the first place.”
He walked at her side back down the hall toward her quarters. On the way, she stole sidelong glances at him. “Why do you wear that mask? Why don’t you ever take it off?”
“My people have a tradition that warriors are to be feared and not approached,” he replied. “That’s why we keep our faces covered.”
“You’re not like the rest of the crew, are you?” she asked. “You’re a different species from them.”
He nodded. “I’m from an obscure little planet called Eblian. It’s in another galaxy, but I was stationed here by the Galactic Police.”
“What kind of planet is it?” she asked. “Is it beautiful?”
He nodded again. “It’s covered in rain forest. My people live in nests in the tree canopy, and we hunt the small animals that live up there. We almost never come down to the ground. The big predators live on the ground. It’s safer in the canopy.”
“It sounds incredible,” Natalie exclaimed. “I’d love to go there some time.”
He shrugged. “You wouldn’t want to go there.”
“Why not?” she asked. “The commander said I can go wherever I want.”
He looked away. “My people are dying out. I’m one of the last of my kind.”
Natalie gasped. “But why? Did the predators get you?”
“No, the pirates did,” he replied. “The pirates discovered my people and stole most of our females. They only left a few very old women. The others they sold into slavery. By the time my people realized what was happening, most of our females were dead or destroyed.”
“That’s terrible,” Natalie cried.
“We formed a task force to get them back,” he went on. “We found ten of them still alive, but the regeneration beds altered them so much they could no longer reproduce. Our population won’t recover for another several decades. Most of our young males joined the Galactic Police Force to stop the pirates doing anything like this again.”
Natalie shook her head. “I wish there was something I could do. I would do anything to help you if I could.”
He studied her with his head on one side. “Maybe there is.”
“What?” she asked.
“The pirates that stole our females,” he explained, “they were the same species that stole you from your home world.”
Natalie stiffened. “You mean Fo and his crew? I didn’t know they had others doing the same thing.”
“They’re called Toom,” he told her. “They’re the worst pirates in the galaxy.”
“They certainly make a lot of money on their slaves,” Natalie remarked. “I can understand why they do it. But how can I help you stop them?”
“Your species is the most sought-after for slaves like you,” he told her. “The Toom have targeted Earth more and more recently. Soon they’ll launch an all-out campaign to take as many of your females as they can. They could do the same thing to your species that they did to ours.”
“But what can I do?” Natalie asked. “They already took me, and I’m not a member of the Galactic Police Force.”
“You have more credits than you could use in a lifetime,” he told her. “I heard the Commander tell you so.”
Natalie blinked. “So?”
“So,” he went on, “you could buy your friends out of slavery. You have enough money to afford them.”
“Buy them!” she exclaimed. “I never thought of that.”
“It could be the only way you could get them out,” he told her.
“I would have to find them, though,” she pointed out. “That could be the hardest part of the project.”
“Someone would have to go into the gathering to get them,” he went on. “They would have to take your money and bid on your friends. If they succeeded, your friends would be free.”
Natalie’s eyes widened. “How would I know if my friends would be at the gathering?” she asked. “I would have to go without knowing whether they were there or not.”
“You wouldn’t go,” Kyan returned. “You couldn’t go. Females don't attend the gatherings except as slaves.”
Natalie wilted. “That’s true. I guess it couldn't really work.”
“Don’t give up so easily,” he replied. “There might still be a way. Just think about it. You wouldn’t be able to spend all your credits in your life. This could be the best use for the money.”
Natalie smiled. “I’ll do it if I can. I'll do anything I can to help out.”
At that moment, a bell rang somewhere overhead. Kyan went to a panel on the wall and touched it. “That’s the Commander's signal. I have to go up to the bridge. There's another gathering taking place, and the surveillance team detected another human present.”
Natalie gasped. “Another human! I’m coming with you. It could be one of my friends.”
He held up his hand. “You’re not allowed on the bridge. You have free access to the rest of the ship, but not the bridge. Go back to your quarters. If you want to help, you can help rehabilitate your friend after we bring her aboard.”
“No way!” Natalie shot back. “If it is one of my friends, I’m coming with you. I have to do what I can to help them, and no one is going to stop me.”
He spun away on his heel. “I don’t have time to argue with you. If you think you can do something, you can explain it to the Commander.”
Natalie hurried after him, and when they came onto the bridge, the Commander rose from his chair with his fists clenched. “What’s she doing here?”
Natalie squared her shoulders. “This is my fight as much as anyone else's. If there's a human down there, I have to help rescue her. I'm not leaving this bridge. If you don't want me here, you'll have to remove me by force. Just be warned that I will fight with everything I've got to stay here, so you better come prepared for anything.”
The Commander glared at her. “All right. You can stay. Just stand there and listen and don’t interrupt.”
He turned back to the Tactical station and the crew surrounded him. The Commander pointed to a computer screen set into the table. “The gathering will take place on the planet Krakith. The guests are just beginning to arrive. We'll lie low behind the fourth moon, and when they get started, we'll strike.”
One of the crew spoke up from another station. “Only seventy vessels are orbiting the planet. It’s an elite gathering, not like the last one.”
Kyan went to his own station and studied his computer screen. “I’m receiving a message from our agent on the ground. They got a special invitation for the unknown Eblian warrior.”
“Eblian?” Natalie gasped. “But that’s you! You're not going down there. You're not going to the gathering.”
“I always go undercover,” he replied. “I get invited because I’m a rare species and a respected warrior. That's how I got you out.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?” Natalie asked.
Kyan didn’t answer that question. He turned back to his read-out. “There’s only one problem. Every guest must bring a slave.”
“We don’t have anyone who can act as a slave,” the Commander pointed out. “We’re all male.”
“I could take a male slave,” Kyan suggested.
The Commander waved his hand at the assembled crew. “None of these men are smaller than you. You would attract too much suspicion. It would never work. Besides, the male-oriented representatives don’t usually mingle with the female slaves. You wouldn't be able to get close enough to rescue them.”
“Maybe we could get a volunteer from the local population,” Kyan suggested.
“That won’t work either. The Krakith females aren’t compatible with most of the representatives. They aren't sought-after as slaves. Anyway, there isn't time to brief one of them and get her to the gathering on time.” The Commander turned away. “Well, I guess we'll miss out on this one. Better luck next time.” The crew started to leave the Tactical station.
“Wait a minute,” Natalie cried. “I could pose as his slave. I could go with him, and we could work together to get the other slaves out.”
“Forget it,” the Commander snapped. “We just rescued you. You’re not going back.”
“But I want to,” she exclaimed. “I’m volunteering.” She rounded on Kyan. “You said there might be a way I could fight back against these pirates, and this is it.”
“You can’t go,” Kyan told her. “You have no training. You’re an unknown quantity.”
“I might not have any training,” she replied,” but I can fight well enough. You’ve seen that for yourself. I can handle myself down there. I promise I won't let you down. You have to let me go.”
“You’re not going,” the Commander snapped. “That’s final.”
Kyan hit a button on his console and the screen switched off. None of the rest of the crew was even paying attention to the conversation anymore. The Commander sat back down in his chair and looked the other way.
Natalie’s heart sank. How could she let this opportunity slip away like this? When would she ever have another chance to find out if her friends were alive or dead, or have a chance to help them? She had to get down to that planet at all costs.
She rushed to Kyan and gazed up into his face. “Please, Kyan. I know I’m totally untried, but please let me come with you. I can help you in a way no one else can. The pirates don't know what happened to me after the last raid. They don't know you're part of the Galactic Police Force. We can convince them the Eblian warrior stole me from Fo and made me his own slave.”
Kyan’s eyes crinkled behind his mask. “I couldn’t put you in danger again. You've been through enough.”
“I’ve been to enough of these gatherings,” Natalie told him. “No one knows better than I do what do expect down there. Please let me come. This is my fight as much as it is yours.”
His eyes softened, and his voice murmured behind his mask. “I couldn’t stand by and watch you used and abused again. It was bad enough watching the last time. I couldn't put you in that situation again if I could do anything to prevent it. Stay here and leave this to us. We'll find your friend and bring her here. That's when you can help.”
Natalie clamped her eyes shut and a single tear squeezed out onto her eyelashes. She started to turn away when the Commander spoke up. “Actually, this just might work.”