Chapter One: Erica
The medical bay of the USC Battleship Sidhe was probably the most impressive one in the United Species fleet. It was full of the most up-to-date medical equipment, including DNA scanners that could tell a person what diseases they were genetically predisposed to in under a minute. It was also connected with real-time updates on scientific breakthroughs on various species: Dibat, Aphrosian, Suesue and many more.
Erica Chase could remember vividly how she had felt the first time she came aboard the ship. She had been in medical school back on Earth before waking up one day to find she had been abducted and kept in a stasis chamber for hundreds of thousands of years. Almost everything she had known was ancient history. Even now, if she stopped to think about it, she was overwhelmed, feeling like she could easily have a mental breakdown. So she simply didn’t think about it, focusing on her job as a paramedic relief aid worker.
Erica stood at attention, waiting for the chief medical officer, a green-skinned, winged Odap, to address the gathered paramedics. The translator chip implanted behind her left ear was buzzing. She'd have to get someone take a look at it soon.
"Teniscore can be a dangerous world," the CMO said, glaring at the volunteers. "It’s been hit by a small asteroid, causing extensive worldwide damage, and as such it's the responsibility of the United Species Corps to step in and help the residents out. But the denizens of Teniscore are mainly T'Shav mercenaries, so you need to keep your wits about you. Especially the females among you. Understood?"
Erica nodded, though she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. T'Shav were thought of nothing more than mercenaries across the galaxy. The males were considered especially dangerous because of their musth, a hormonal fluctuation that made them more prone to violence, but that also produced pheromones that made any woman exposed to them go crazy with sexual lust.
But Erica had met several T'Shav, and they were perfect gentlemen towards her. In fact, she had been rescued from a medical corporation that wanted to perform experiments on her by the T'Shav warlord Zon and given a place in his human sanctuary, until she decided to explore the galaxy.
"Some of you might not take me seriously," the CMO continued, flapping his wings so he lifted a few inches from the ground. "But for your own good, you must not stray from the Corps officer assigned to your group. Do not leave the regulated safety zones. The USC cannot protect you if you don't follow the rules."
Beside her, her cousin Bethy shifted, snickering under her breath. She brushed a strand of impossibly fine hair from her face. It was always falling out of the bun that United Species Paramedics were meant to keep their hair in. Erica's own brown bun was still tightly in place. But then, it had always been thick and coarse.
"The way he's going on you think that these uniforms were negligees," Bethy muttered.
Erica snorted loudly, which caused a few of the others to give her dirty looks. The uniforms were shapeless things, designed for comfort and maneuverability rather than looks. Erica had needed a size larger than what was commissioned to accommodate her extra-sized curves. She wore it as baggy as possible, but sometimes she still thought that she might as well walk around naked. Back on Earth, she had been self-conscious about her size. Everything about her was curvy, from breast to butt to thighs to stomach.
Out here, though, curves on women were highly sought after. Not like on Earth where the ideal seemed to be big boobs, big butt, stick-thin everywhere else. In this new world she found herself in, they wanted curves everywhere. Flat stomachs were unattractive. 'Thigh gaps' were a cause for medical concern. When she first mentioned wanting to lose weight to her doctor, the Dibat had been horrified at Erica wanting to 'starve' herself.
The downside was that Erica now found herself the center of unwanted attention, and she didn't know how to handle it. Going from being the girl nobody looked at to the girl everybody wanted was tough to get used to.
The CMO grunted from where he stood and shook his head. "Take a look around you. Some idiot in this group will be certain to leave the safety of Corps protection and won't come back. Do you want it to be you?"
"Oh, just shut up and get to the actual medical rescue already," Bethy muttered under her breath. "We get it, dangerous world."
Erica repressed another snicker. The Odap took a moment to look around again. "I would again remind our human recruits that laws on human sentience are not yet fully legislated. There are still corporations that would love to get their hands on your universal DNA, and species that are dying out that would love to use you as breeders. But you are all so very smart that I doubt you would listen to me. Get to your shuttles."
Bethy and Erica headed to the station they would be manning together. It was their job to record which paramedics were going to the surface and to make sure they had the supplies they needed. They weren't even going down to the planet, which Erica thought was pretty cheap. She left Zon's sanctuary with Bethy to explore the galaxy, but so far all she had seen was the USC paramedics training barracks and the inside of this ship. Not to say that the technology that she was encountering wasn't awesome, but she wanted to breathe the air of a new planet, she wanted to actually treat more than a few minor burns.
She wanted an adventure. But she wasn't going to ask to be sent to the planet, not until she had a better grasp on the first aid. After all, she and Bethy were still quite new to all of this. Right now, as boring as Erica found it, they were best suited for the job they had been given.
"You know what's weird about T'Shav?" Bethy asked as they settled into their station. "Apparently their women don't ovulate like us. No periods. Must be nice. I wonder why it's only the males that go through musth. Do you think it works on lesbians?"
"How should I know? You're the expert in that area, not me."
Bethy shrugged. They started their work, which went smoothly. They had been well trained. Erica stared longingly at all the paramedics being sent to the surface but reminded herself that doing what she could do to save lives was more important than having her adventure. Soon, it was just her and Bethy left in the medical bay, keeping an eye on medical requests, making sure that the robots did what they were designed to do: essentially nothing.
Several hours after this mind-numbingly boring activity, Erica's comm activated.
"Paramedics Chase and Chase, you're needed on the surface!" The CMO's voice was strained. "Get to shuttle A-43 at once. The robots can take care of the processing."
"Yes, sir." Erica glanced at Bethy to make sure her cousin also got the message and headed for the shuttle. "Why do you think he changed his mind?"
"There must be more wounded down there than they anticipated."
The shuttle was a small vessel that ran completely on autopilot. With the medical supplies crammed into it, there was just enough room for Bethy and Erica to squeeze themselves in. Erica's heart pounded with excitement, and she checked her belt three times to make sure she had everything she needed. Fleshseal, Bloodstore, regenerators.
The flight down to the planet seemed to take forever, but as soon as the doors opened, Erica bounded down the gangplank, looking around for the CMO. She froze halfway down. They were in a large clearing, but on every side were giant twisted trees. They were blue-barked and had a sickly yellow moss of sorts growing over them. A small transport ship was also in the clearing, but it was the only thing.
The ground around the shuttle was completely bare. No rocks. No grass. No wounded patients.
Only the CMO, accompanied by several men with guns wearing Planchet Corporation uniforms. What was Planchet doing here? They specialized in livestock breeding. What would they want on a planet suffering a disaster?
Breeding.
Erica's stomach dropped.
"Where is everybody?" Bethy asked, brows drawn in confusion.
"Get back to the shuttle!" Erica grabbed Bethy's arm. She tried to drag her cousin back into the ship, but it was too late. The Planchet men bounded up the gangplank and seized them both around the waist. Erica screamed, kicking and thrashing about. She wasn't going down without a fight!
"The Warlord Zon knows we're here," she shouted. "Do you think he'll just stand by while you abduct us?"
"But you left the sanctuary voluntarily," the CMO replied. "Do you think he has the resources to keep an eye on every human in the galaxy? I did say that there are always some foolish individuals that leave USC-secured areas. Unfortunately today, it's you two."
Erica continued to struggle uselessly. The Planchet men grunted as they hauled her towards their ship. To make it worse, Bethy was allowing herself to be carted away without so much as a whimper. Her eyes were wide, but she was silent. Erica threw a weak punch at one of the men holding her. He grabbed her wrists and tied them.
The CMO turned to the Planchet men. "Well, here you are. Two human beauties for your bridal program. They'll fetch a handsome price. Now, my payment?"
"Bridal program?" Erica threw her head back but unfortunately didn't hit her captor's face. His arms were tight around her. "No freaking way!"
The Planchet officer who was paying the CMO turned to her with a bored look. "Your other option is to be sold as a laboratory subject. But we would prefer you cooperate as a bride. After all, our breeding services are completely legal. Experimenting on humans, on the other hand, borders the illegal, and is highly frowned upon these days." He turned back to the CMO. "Thank you for your business."
Bethy started to cry softly. Erica screamed. No way was this how it ended. She would find a way out of this. Somehow, she would find a way to get her and Bethy both free.