Chapter Two – Chapec
Chapec frowned as Dievca carried the human out from the bathroom on their ship. They normally didn't waste the ship's energy on showers, preferring to wash planet-side whenever they landed, but the human had been so covered in the foul-smelling gunk from the ancient stasis chamber that they had to clean her up. His sister had dressed their new acquisition in one of her old var'kins as well. The flowing garment covered up the bounteous curves the human had displayed in her own clothing.
That wasn't what was making Chapec frown, though. He had carried the unconscious human back to their ship hours ago and she hadn't woken up yet. What had Dievca given her? What if it put her into a coma? Drugging someone out of stasis was usually a bad idea.
"Are you sure she's alright?"
"Yes. She should wake soon. Come on, Chippy. We have things to talk about."
His twin left the room. Chapec stayed for a moment longer, watching the human sleep. She was beautiful. Her body was all curves with a perfectly round belly, hips, and breasts to match. Soft hair fell about her shoulders, and she had a round nose and perfect fat lips. Just the sort of woman he'd like to hold all night while they…
He shook himself and followed Dievca to the center of the ship. Their vessel was a cozy three-bedroom rig with a spacious cargo bay, kitchen unit, and a reasonably efficient energy system – as long as they were careful. Owning the ship made it so that he and his sister didn't have to stoop to being full-blown mercenaries like many other T'shav like them. It was the only home they had, though, and at times, that got tiresome – especially for siblings.
"Well, the first step in our plan has now been fulfilled," Dievca said, pulling a package of bleki noodles from a nearby shelf. "We have a human. She's our ticket into Zon's Sanctuary. All we have to do is get her to claim you as her mate. And given those bedroom eyes she was making at you before things turned ugly, you're well on your way."
"Bedroom eyes?" Chapec stole the noodles from his sister. "She looked terrified. There were no bedroom eyes."
"Terror and lust aren't always mutually exclusive," Dievca shot back.
"There was still terror."
"So, you just have to make her not be terrified. What's so hard about that?"
Chapec grunted. "It's just this whole plan. It makes me uneasy."
"I'm not overly fond of it, either."
"You're the one who thought it up!"
Dievca's eyes tapered to angry slits. She stabbed the pack of noodles through with a knife, narrowly missing Chapec's hand. He jumped back, reaching for the sword strapped to his back. The sword his father had made, the one bequeathed to his son upon his death. Chapec's throat constricted as emotion welled in him.
He never got along well with his father. That was always Dievca. They shared so many of the same ideas and sense of humor. Chapec was too similar to him, but in all the bad ways. He and his dad never saw eye to eye. That wasn't to say that their relationship was without its good points. His father never made him feel any lesser for not sharing his viewpoints. But it was never a close relationship.
And then, one day, he was gone. The United Species Corps had arrested him for an assassination he couldn't have possibly committed and sentenced him to die. They said that he had chosen his method of execution to be in the gladiator games that the Rayne Five Network held.
Chapec swallowed hard. His gaze met Dievca's. He could see in her eyes that she was confronting the same memories.
Their father was not a violent man. He didn't stand a chance against the murderers in the gladiator games. His death had been broadcasted to be cheered on by millions of viewers. The face of the man who killed him was burned in Chapec's mind. Eyes that were dead, a heart of coal. A T'shav gladiator by the name of Gylden – and now, the only thing driving the twins forward was knowing that they had to find and kill their father's murderer.
Dievca drew her weapon and swung it at him, but not so fast that Chapec couldn't block the blow. It was aimed past his head, with no danger of hitting him. His sister sliced the noodles down the middle and flicked half of them in his face. Chapec grabbed her arm and dragged her across the table. She kicked him in the knee, and he responded by flicking his sword towards her. She blocked. He stepped back and turned his sword downwards.
"I don't feel like fighting."
Dievca scowled. "Fine."
Chapec put his sword back into its sheath. "So how do I go about wooing a woman who is terrified of me?"
"Like I said, she might be terrified, but she also desires you. You just have to lessen the terror and play up the lust." Dievca returned to the table and cleared off the noodles before grabbing two more packs, tossing one to her brother. "And you'll have to figure that one out yourself. I'm not getting involved in my brother's love life."
Chapec rolled his eyes. "I don't see why I have to woo her anyway. We have her. Shouldn’t that be enough to get access into the Sanctuary?"
"It gets her in, but not necessarily us. Zon is most accepting of T'shav with human mates. Our best chance to gain free access is if the human claims you as her mate. You know that. We can't take any chances with this."
"I know."
Dievca slurped up some of her food, a frown heavy on her face. "So. How are you going woo her?"
"You just said that you weren't getting involved."
"I know. But I don't have a mate and I'm bored. So. How? You shouldn't make it too hard for yourself. Probably start by emphasizing how much you wanted to help her, and how killing the Wlobq and Aphrosian was a necessary evil. Maybe make up some evil crimes —"
"I think it's best to stick as close to the truth as possible. I'll think of something."
"Good. Just don't get too involved."
Chapec rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was really difficult to figure out what sort of things were going on inside of his sister's head. She always had a plan behind a plan, and he always felt like he was ten steps behind in her little schemes. It was annoying, but that was his sister.
A groan from down the hall made him turn in time to the human leaving her room. She staggered, running face-first into the wall. Chapec jumped to his feet. As the human slumped to the floor, he ran forward and gathered her into his arms. She pushed a little against him before sagging against his shoulder and giggling.
"You're hot. You're Mr. Hottie McHottie Hotpants."
Chapec's brow narrowed. What was she talking about?
"Wait." She straightened. "You're not allowed to be hot. You killed people!" A sluggish fist tapped him on his nose.
Chapec had to smile at the weak attempt. He carried her to the table, where he set her down. She pushed at him, but as soon as he loosened his grip, she swayed, so he kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her upright.
"You killed people," she repeated accusingly.
"Those men were dangerous criminals," Dievca said. "They would have done terrible things to you. We had to kill them."
"I want to go home. Take me back to Earth." The human rubbed her eyes. "Take me back to Earth this instant."
Chapec frowned as he considered the human. She had just been taken out of the stasis pod. How terribly disorienting must all this be? Dievca may have thought that sedating her was the best way to get her slowly introduced into the new world that she found herself in, but had it really helped?
"Earth is gone. I know it's hard to think about, but it is," Dievca said. Her voice was low and soothing. "But there are other humans. Thousands of them have been found and taken to a sanctuary. That's where we're headed. You'll be safe there."
The human glared at her. "Take me to Earth!"
"What's your name?"
"Take me to Earth!"
Would seeing the dust bowl that had been confirmed as Earth help or hurt her more? If he was in her situation, would he want to see the desolated place he had known as home? All of the ancient Earth structures were buried under rock and dirt. These days, only archaeologists and people who worshiped humans as the first ancestors dared venture towards that planet. Well, them and tourists.
"My name is Dievca, and this is my brother Chapec. What's your name?"
The human swallowed hard. "Veronica. Veronica Benson."
Veronica leaned against him again. His hand slipped down, accidently brushing against her breast. She gasped, jerking, and he moved his hand. They looked at each other, and Chapec saw what Dievca had been talking about. Even though there was fear in her eyes, there was also undeniable desire.
Chapec's own eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know how to react to that… Terror and lust were two very different things. He didn't think it was possible for them to reside in a person at the same time, yet there they both were. And he had to woo her into claiming him as his mate.
It was that that made him most uncomfortable.
Yes, he liked the idea of her desiring him, and he couldn't deny that he'd love to seduce her – with that body, no man wouldn't want her in his bed! But in the end, why make it worse for her than it was already going to be?
Her fingers curled around his bicep. "Please take me back to Earth."
"Yes." Chapec was surprised by his own answer. Dievca shot him a warning glance, but he ignored it. "We can take you to Earth. But it's not what you remember. It's a dead world—"
"I want to go back."
"Okay. Okay, we'll take you back."
"Chippy, we'll lose a lot of time. And as soon as word is out that we have a human—"
"We'll get there as quick as possible and then head to the Sanctuary." Chapec put his arm around Veronica, supporting her as she slumped again. "No big deal."
Dievca frowned but nodded. "Fine. We go to Earth. I just hope we don't get our butts bitten off because of it."