Chapter 1
~ Cassidy ~
Cassidy practically skipped down the corridor, easily outpacing her perpetually irritated handler. Today was the day her older sister was being released from medical, and nobody or nothing would get in the way of escorting her to their quarters.
“Slow yourself, youngling.” The gruff voice that rang out practically gasped for air.
Turning to frown at the white-haired Krylon warrior, she shouted a giddy reply, “It’s not my job to slow down; it’s your job to keep up. Captain Yearl said so himself, and that makes it the law aboard this vessel.” The older man just grunted, but she could tell by the look on his face, he found her antics amusing.
Before she could get turned back around, Cassidy found herself brought up short by a head-on collision with a hard surface. Bouncing back, two huge hands came out of nowhere to grab her. Stabilizing her roughly on her feet, the wall stepped back.
Only then did she realize it was a person. Or rather, what might have once been a person. Like all Krylonians, the huge, muscle-bound man came packaged in dull pewter-colored skin. Unlike most of the other warriors, his skin was marred with endless scars of every shape and size.
Looking him over carefully, some long-dormant instinct kicked into gear, sending goosebumps skittering over her skin. The knife hanging at this side was huge, serrated, and unlike anything she’d seen since coming aboard the Krylon vessel. Every instinct told her to run, but for some godforsaken reason, her feet simply wouldn’t budge.
Dark, brooding eyes slid over her delicate form, raising even more goosebumps. His long, black hair had been pulled up in a warrior’s top knot—common among his kind. However, his top knot was an unruly mess, making it appear more like a rat’s nest he’d been unable to get the tangles out of. In fact, this warrior looked more disheveled than any she’d seen.
Her handler finally caught up, appearing flush and out of breath. “Forgive me, commander. The youngling outpaced me. I cannot understand why the captain continues to pair the aged warriors with the human youth. They are pernicious, and it isn’t a good fit.”
Taking a deep breath, the warrior replied in a deep, rumbling tone, “She is no youth, Odar.”
With an imperious wave of his hand, the older warrior disagreed, “Note her slight form, and delicate facial features. They are that of a child. Her chest is flat, as she has yet to develop her female form.”
Cassidy’s arms came up to fold defensively over her teacup-sized chest. She looked away from the two keenly observant men, wishing the floor would open up and suck her into another dimension. Perhaps one where flat-chested women were prized. Like she hadn’t had that fantasy a thousand times already.
It would be nice to be able to say this was the first time someone had mistaken her for a teen, but unfortunately, it was a recurring problem. Her short, five-foot-two frame wasn’t the deciding factor in creating this embarrassing problem. Being systematically starved for two years had washed away what few womanly curves she’d once had. Her habit of wearing slightly baggy clothing didn’t do her any favors right now either.
Gently prying one hand away from her chest, the warrior spoke softly, “Come, my beauty. You have nothing to feel shame over.” Shifting his eyes to the older man, he explained, “Human females aren’t as large as Krylonian females, nor do they all enjoy the same shape. This is a particularly beautiful one, with her long deliciously scented, nearly white hair. Her eyes are a lovely shade of blue, like the skies of her home world.”
Cassidy just began to warm up to the scruffy warrior, with his almost poetic description of her ice-blue eyes and platinum-blond hair. That’s when he spoke the words that caused her to take a stumbling step backwards.
“She is fully matured and experiencing heightened fertility. Can you not scent it?” Though his voice was slightly awestruck and reverent, she didn’t particularly care for being sniffed by him. That was a definite deal breaker. Desperate to get away from the acute embarrassment this situation afforded, she shook her wrist loose from his grasp.
“Sorry, big guy. We’re in bit of a rush. Umm, I’ll have to catch you later.” Dashing off down the hall towards the medical unit, Cassidy didn’t even care that she’d been barely able to cobble together a reply. Everything about that encounter was just weird.
Skidding to a stop at the door of medical, she practically tripped over the threshold. Looking down, she noticed what had caught the toe of her shoe. It was a thin, relatively flat strip spanning the threshold. Almost laughing at her own clumsiness, she didn’t notice the strange warrior had followed her until he was steadying her again.
“Hands off, I can take care of myself.”
As he moved away, a cold voice sounded off with authority, “Why are you harassing the youngling, Commander Daron?”
Smoothing down her shirt, Cassidy decided to cut him off at the pass before he began talking about her scent again. “He’s not harassing me. I accidentally ran into him, and now he thinks I’m too clumsy to walk on my own.”
The stern healer shook his head with an exasperated expression on his face. “You of all people know, how inadvisable it is to grow a liking for one of the humans. Go, before I inform the captain of your actions.”
Taking a step backwards, the man spun on his heel and marched out of the room. Turning to the healer, she grumbled, “Could this day get any worse?”
“Worse than being touched by an un-clanned warrior, I seriously doubt it.”
Not caring for his detestable attitude about the scarred warrior or the eagerness that he dispatched the man, she stated frostily, “I want to see my sister.”
“Of course, youngling. Follow me, she is well and has been asking for you.”
“I’m sure she’s eager to get out of this place.”
“You’re correct. Medical wasn’t created with an eye towards long-term use.”
Upon entering a small closed-off alcove, she saw Carolyn sitting on a healing platform. She appeared to be scanning through information on an e-reader. Though two healing assistants busied themselves clearing up the room, she ignored them in favor of whatever she was reading.
Grinning from the doorway, Cassidy quipped, “You look healthy enough to make a break for it today, sis.”
Jumping to her feet, the woman rushed over to her. “I thought you’d never get here. What took so long?”
Sighing, she tried to keep the disgusted look off her face. “I ran into some huge, scarred-up warrior. We had a chat. There was some disagreement between him and my handler about my being a kid.”
Wrinkling her nose as she tried not to laugh, Carolyn shrugged, “Sorry that keeps happening to you.”
“Want to know the really funny part? He could smell that I’m ovulating, and that was all kinds of embarrassing…”
Suddenly, the healer and the two assistants took a step closer to her. “If you like, I’d be happy to arrange for you to have seclusion with the warrior of your choice.”
One of assistants strolled up to her. “Perhaps the female doesn’t prefer warriors. Not all of them do, you know.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, she palm-smacked the man in the chest, driving him back a few feet. “Look, short stuff. I don’t like males in my personal space, so back the hell up.”
Though the man looked almost contrite, his words didn’t support that assumption. “Breed-ready females only care about finding a suitable partner.”
The other assistant stepped forward. “You don’t want to waste an entire breeding cycle, do you?”
The empathetic healer stepped in, attempting to rein in his gregariously pushy men. “Step back and stop coercing the patient. Human females cycle every month, not every year like our females. Losing out on a breeding cycle means little to them.”
Both men seemed stunned.
Cassidy knew she was verging on getting really snarky, but she just couldn’t manage to stop herself from getting worked up. “I’m getting sick and tired of it being open season on my ovaries. So, if you two could just back the hell off for just a second, I’d really appreciate it.”
One of them was stupid enough to continue to press his suit. “You’re growing irritated. Soon, you’ll need relief. My name is Tran and I have had experience pleasuring a human female.”
Disengaging totally from the males, she shot her sister a dark look. “If we don’t get the hell out of here and soon, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Rolling her eyes, Carolyn walked towards her. “Don’t lose your mind over their crass and less than artful attempt at romance. The ignorant fools think we’re like the women of their world. I’m supposing that when Krylon women get angry enough to fight, it ends with sex.”
Turning to one of the men, she stated cloyingly, “When I was a kid, sometimes I pulled the legs of insects that annoyed me. I’m about irritated enough to try that with a guy. Any volunteers?”
The Krylonian males regarded her with both fascination and suspicion. Throwing up her hands, Cassidy complained to her sister, “What in the verse would it take for them to lose interest in sex?”
“Nothing short of an act of Go. Now, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Shooting Tran a dark look, she mumbled, “If I pulled off a few arms and legs, I’d honestly sleep like a baby afterwards.”
“Don’t even say things like that. You know these guys are kind of literal.”
As they turned to leave, the older warrior appeared in the doorway. If his huffing and puffing was any indication, they weren’t going anywhere fast.
Ignoring the always annoying Tran, she pointed directly at the smaller of the two assistants. “You’ll escort us to our quarters.”
Looking ten kinds of smug, the man took the lead position. Meanwhile, Cassidy calculated the odds of them taking him in a fair fight, in case things got ugly. Hiding a smile, she knew they had nothing to worry about. He’d do whatever they asked, even if it meant going away and never talking to them again. All the Krylon men were accustomed to following orders from their own females. As pushy and annoying as they were, submission seemed to be their default position. Cassidy had to admit that it didn’t look all that great on them.
Noticing her sister’s slow pace, Cassidy asked tentatively, “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? You looked pretty bad there for a while.”
“If you had a parasite the size of an apple camped out in your chest, you’d look like crap too.”
“Yes, they’ve pulled them out of more than one of the humans.”
“Once they got that thing out, I felt like my old self again. You’ve visited me every single day for weeks. You have to see the improvement.”
Nodding uncomfortably, she acknowledged, “I saw it, but it felt too good to be true. Did they say how you got it?”
Pressing her lips into a tight line, Carolyn refused to answer.
Unfortunately, their escort felt chatty. “Our healer identified it as one prevalent in the waters of your home world.”
Casting her eyes down to hide the fact that she was tearing up, Cassidy trailed along behind. He got lost in some long, drawn-out discourse about all the ways it was possible to contract such a parasite, and how once imbedded in the blood-rich tissue surrounding the heart, they grew to gigantic proportions. From a medical standpoint, it was fascinating stuff. On a personal level, not so much.
Carolyn’s hand came out hard and fast around her arm. “I know what you’re thinking. Stop thinking about that. It’s in the past. Remember how we agreed to live for the future.”
“We both know you got the parasite from giving me your ration of fresh drinking water, while you drank from the stream.”
“You were sick. Dehydration would have been a death sentence. I took a risk and it paid off.” Holding out both hands from her side, she announced, “We both lived to tell the tale, so who cares?”
Huffing out an exasperated expression, Cassie retorted sharply, “Fine, but next time, I drink the muddy water.”
Laughing, Carolyn let her go and stepped back. “There won’t be a next time. We hit the alien jackpot. No more scrounging on Earth for food and water. No more going without a bed to sleep in, medical attention, or worrying about criminals taking advantage of us.” Waving her arms around, she stated dramatically, “Nowadays, all we have to worry about is picking from hundreds of gorgeous alien men, falling all over themselves to be nice to us.”
Cassidy shrugged off her sister’s enthusiasm, “Up until today, I might have agreed with you. Now, I just think they’re interested in our ovaries.”
Looking slightly annoyed, her sister stopped in front of their quarters. “Are we making up things to worry about now? Cause I’ll be honest, I don’t care whether they like me or my ovaries. Taking us in when we were starving and destitute, and giving us our choice of men still seems like a damn good deal to a scruff like me.”
“I know what you’re saying is true. I just need to keep my head in the game.”
“You’ve always been a worrywart. I for one, am more than happy to be out from under Earth Gov’s thumb. Human men are few and far between on Earth. A couple of scruffs like us never would have gotten a husband. Even if we’d managed it, he definitely wouldn’t be so damned hot or accommodating.”
“I agree, our males are the best in the galaxy. Would you care to sample one of the offerings tonight, Miss Striker?” Even Cassidy had to admit the man’s hopeful expression was adorable.
Carolyn smiled affectionately at the Krylon healer, as her fingers danced over his uniform top. “I’d normally say yes to an offer like that. A little cuddle would sure be nice after a long hospital stay. However, tonight, I want to get settled into our quarters and spend time with my sister. Can I take a raincheck?”
Peering down her, the gorgeous man responded helpfully, “It doesn’t rain on a spaceship, little human, so you’ll have to contact me on the com when you wish to… um, cuddle.”
Yep, they were pretty adorable in their own backwards way. Slipping into their spacious room, Cassidy showed her sister around.
“This is much better than the digs we were originally given with the warriors.”
“The captain’s new wife finally got him to understand that we prefer being housed with each other. You know how they are.”
Standing up, Carolyn held up two hands, mimicking the stance and deep voice tone of the warriors. “Stop. Human females, don’t approach each other. There’s no need for violence.”
Cassidy fell onto her bed, letting out gales of laughter. “God yes, I remember those days. It took them forever to realize we wouldn’t slit each other’s throats with our inordinately long nails. The captain’s wife set them straight about all that.”
“I always did like Sarah and her little one. How are they doing?”
“Unlike me, they fit in like a glove here.”
“So, have you been seeing any of the warriors?”
Shaking her head in disbelief, Cassidy sounded off, “Hell no. I still don’t fully trust these guys. I think they’re hiding something from us, and I won’t rest until I figure out what it is.”
Plopping down on her own bed, her sister looked at her long and hard. “You always did believe in conspiracy theories.”
“Hello. I grew up on Earth. Of course, I believe in conspiracy theories. Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean everyone’s not out to get me.”
“You’re a hoot, but you wear me out with that stuff. Snoop all around and let the verse know what you find. Just don’t get yourself hurt.”
“When have I ever been shy about telling the world what I know?”
Picking at her pants, Carolyn spoke tentatively, “I’ve heard all about your exploits around the ship. Tran told me you tell wild stories and have had the women in an uproar several times already.”
Rolling over to look at her sister, she propped her chin on her palm. “They aren’t wild stories if they’re true.”
“We both know the warriors aren’t adding chemicals to make us more docile to the air purification system.”
“I never said they were. I said they could do something like that if they wanted to. They could also put androstenes in the air processors to trigger an increase in our sex drives. I just pointed out that we’re vulnerable on this ship. We’re flying in a huge tin can, controlled by aliens bent on breeding us. The only thing keeping us from freaking out is the promise that they’re a humane species whose ethics preclude them from taking advantage of us. I’m just saying, rather than jump on the first one that strikes our fancy, we should be wary and use some good common sense.”
“I actually agree with you. However, you can’t keep panicking the other women. We need to figure out a better way to communicate that kind of information.”
“I’d be down with whatever gets them thinking for themselves. We can’t let the aliens spoon-feed us information, without fact-checking it.”
“Agreed.”