Chapter 3

~ Helena ~

Thirty-six hours later, the sisters stowed away on the Terillian freighter hadn’t had any success finding water, so they decided to break into one of the crates. Hel used her handheld device to scan and translate the manifest on each crate.

“This one has fresh produce from the hydroponics units.”

Alexis grabbed onto her arm and stood on tiptoes to peer over her shoulder. “Any liquids? I’m so thursy.”

“I don’t see any listed, but there is citrus fruit inside.”

“Say oranges and I’ll kiss your boots.”

“No need to be dramatic. There’s oranges, apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes and several more items my handheld can’t translate. Help me pull it open.”

The three thirsty women worked together and popped the seal within moments. Peering inside, Hel smiled.

Penny quipped, “It feels a bit like winning the lottery.”

Pulling out a clear sack of oranges, Helene tossed them to Ally. Scouring around, she pulled out a liter of old fashioned club soda. Immediately twisting the top off, she offered to Penny.

The young girl gratefully accepted it, took a nice long drink, and passed it respectfully to Ally. After taking a huge swig, Ally handed it back to Hel. “Drink up. We have to stay hydrated.”

Hel put the cap back on the bottle, and tore open an orange instead. “I’m dying for good old fashioned orange juice.”

They passed around the fruit and ate until they were stuffed. Just when they were preparing to get some sleep, a strange noise split the air. It was the sound of twisting metal. Hel was astonished that she could identify such a sound. The ship began to vibrate, then shuddered under the impact of weapons fire. Her sisters were at her side in seconds.

Penny’s frightened voice sounded off first. “What the hell is happening?”

“We’re under attack. All bets are off. Grab what you can and let’s prepare to be boarded. They’re probably here for the cargo.”

Alexis jerked her chin to the wall. Hel turned just in time to see the wall pierced by huge metal claws. Pressing themselves back against the far wall, they watched a huge section of the exterior hull get ripped away. As the dust cleared, several men entered the cargo bay, but they weren’t walking. Hel gaped at their wings as they flapped gently in the air.

Penny panicked. “Insectoids. They’re going to eat us.”

Shaking her head, Hel stepped out to meet the men. “They’re not going to eat us. They don’t do that anymore. They have a human queen now. Don’t you listen to the news?”

Turning her attention to the men, she spoke. “Greetings, drones. My name is Helena Watson, of Earth. Whatever you quarrel with the Terillian, we want no part of it. I wish to speak to your human queen.”

The men immediately fell to the ground like fallen angels. Their wings folded neatly behind them as they dropped onto one knee in submission. Each assumed the same strange pose, with one hand across their chest and the other hand touching the floor with the tips of their fingers.

Since they didn’t answer, Hel tried communicating again. “I am an Earth Gov soldier and I have been briefed on Maruvian customs. I know that because you have a human queen you all speak our language.”

When she said Maruvian, their heads came up in unison.

Glancing at Penny and Alexis, Helena shook her head in bewilderment.

Alexis approached. “You are allowed to speak to us.” Gesturing between them and herself, she added, “We are no longer at war.”

The males broke out in what was probably speech but sounded like a bunch of screeching. One stood and approached them. He cautiously gestured between himself and Alexis, making sounds they could not understand.

Alexis took another step forward, took his hand in hers and placed it on her upper chest. “Ally. My name is Ally.” Taking his hand, she placed it on his chest. “What is your name?”

Something about being touched set the man off. He turned on his heel and screeched repeatedly to the others. Suddenly, the room filled with more men.

Three stepped forward out of nowhere holding long, shimmering cloths. As the men slipped the cloths over the women’s shoulders, one of them noticed Penny’s injuries. His expression turned furious. He pointed to the man who had attempted to communicate with them earlier and screeched. Another warrior stepped forward, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

Penny gasped in horror. “God, they think he harmed me.” Rushing forward, Alexis wedged herself between them, shoving the warrior back. “Leave him alone. He didn’t do anything wrong.” The warrior’s shocked expression cleared almost immediately and he stepped back.

There was a massive jolt that seemed like the ship was about to be torn apart. The men motioned them forward through the huge rip in the hull. Hel could see their ship on the other side. There was some strange gel sealing the ships together along the edges of the breach. “This day is just getting weirder and weirder. We better go with them before they blow this ship right out from under us. I’ll talk to their queen and see what it would take to get us transport to the Sylon home world.”

Ever the pragmatist, Alexis ran over and grabbed several packages of oranges. “I’m not going hungry again.” Taking her lead, the males swarmed the crates and transferred the cargo to their own ship while the women approached the breach.

A male stepped forward and wrapped a gigantic wing around each of them. Helena explained, “Don’t be alarmed. Our training mentioned that Maruvian warriors wrap a wing around their queens as a sign of protection, nothing more.”

“What’s with the shimmering fabric?” Even in a crisis, Penny was full of questions.

Glancing at her ever curious sister, Helena responded, “It keeps us from being picked up on sensors.”

“Another safety measure?”

“Yes. I’m not certain what we are being protected from, since we are entering their ship.”

“This is creeping me out.”

“Me too, Penny. Me too.”

They were hustled to a darkened room aboard the Maruvian vessel. The only lighting was the electronic equipment in the room. Looking it over, Hel decided it was a makeshift medical unit of some sort. At first she thought they had been left alone, but after her eyes adjusted, she could see about a half dozen warriors standing quietly along the wall, much as alien warriors tended to do when they were assigned a protection detail.

A low whining noise drew their attention to a hovering treatment platform. Penny’s excited voice rang out. “It’s a dog.”

Eyeing the ferocious looking animal, Hel stated flatly, “It’s not even close.”

Cautiously approaching the animal, Penny murmured, “He’s an insectoid version of a dog. He’s in pain.” Running her hand over his leg, she almost got nipped.

“Stop what you’re doing immediately.”

“Don’t be a spoilsport. He’s not in any condition to gobble me up.”

Jerking her back, Hel responded tartly, “I beg to differ with you. Have you noticed his teeth?”

Taking out an orange, Penny broke it open with her thumbnails and approached the creature again. “In all fairness, don’t most animals have sharp teeth?”

Holding out the fruit to the animal’s mouth, Penny seemed thrilled when he licked at it. “That’s a good boy. Eat up.”

“You’re taking your chances there, Penny. The best intel we have indicated they can eat just about anything but dairy products. Still, you never know how a sick animal will respond to a new food.”

The animal turned, quick as a wink, and snatched the fruit from the girl’s hand and scarfed it down, barely taking time to chew. He made a chirping sound that maybe meant he was happy, and then quickly licked Penny’s hand. His tail was long and had a heart shaped point on the end.

“Ha! He likes me. Can we keep him?”

“He obviously belongs to someone already, Penny. Don’t get attached.”

Sitting on the edge of the platform, Penny began peeling another orange. “I won’t, I promise.”

Watching her happily feeding the animal, Hel already knew they would have to try to buy the pet for her, if that was remotely possible. She hadn’t seen her little sister so happy in a very long time. It would be worth sacrificing some of their much needed credits for Penny to keep the mangy animal, if he didn’t turn out to be dangerous.

Hel became aware that the warriors were staring at them with very confused expressions on their faces. “It’s my understanding that they have a one queen rule, and their queens fight like Krylon women. They’re probably trying to figure out why we aren’t scratching each other’s eyes out.”

Alexis grinned. “We could spar a little to put them at ease.”

“Don’t tempt me. After sitting on my lazy ass for a day and a half, I’m itching for some action.” Glancing back at Penny, she cringed. Penny was now sitting with the large animal draped across her lap, cuddling it as it licked her face. “Jesus, Penny, don’t let it do that. There’s no telling what kind of germs are in its mouth.”

“You worry too much, sis. Give it rest already.”

Looking around for Alexis, Hel saw her with the warrior she’d tried to talk to earlier. Ally punctuated her softly spoken words with hand gestures meant to drive her point home. The clearly baffled man just stared at her adoringly.

Looking from one Maruvian to the next, Helena saw their stark insectoid features were more pronounced than the images she’d been shown of the human queen’s mate. Their skin tone ranged from green to dusky blue to dark purple. Each had rather huge black eyes and no hair. Instead, each man had a different pattern of spots. They were similar enough in appearance to be brothers. Something was off about the situation, but she could not for the life of her figure out what it was.

Three older males burst into the room and skidded to a stop in front of them. Their eyes went wide and they practically ran to Penny, disengaging the animal from her lap. Being separated made the animal feral. He began to chirp and bite at the men, leaving a bloody trail behind. Penny, being who she was, positioned herself between the animal and the men and began shoving them back. They immediately capitulated to her wishes, though they looked thoroughly freaked out.

With the animal settling back down, Penny just ignored them and pulled out another orange. Hel suspected they were going to be real short on that particular fruit before the day was out.

The men whispered to one another in subdued screeches, before turning to Hel. Surrounding her, they gently guided her back onto the table. Thoroughly familiar with physicians giving people the once over after a battle, she let them get on with it. It felt strange, but she’d had enough contact with alien species to know how to interact appropriately.

They flipped on a holographic image of her internal organs and performed a head to toe scan. Snapping their claws in her face, she figured they were testing her ability to hear so she responded appropriately. At last they let her sit up and pulled out a clear cylinder of sparkling green liquid.

“What the hell? Don’t let them shoot you full of that stuff.”

“I’ve always wanted the multi-language bacteria. It’s too expensive for the military to give to grunts like me, so this might be my only chance.” Watching them load it into a hypo-spray, Hel moved her hair to the side so they could get to her neck. The moment the syringe dispensed the liquid, all the males began screeching. Slowly their screeching turned into words in her mind. However, there was some kind of delayed reaction as her brain tried to select the correct word.

“The liquid… medicine… serum is working… functioning… effective.”

“Look at her beautiful vision… oculars… eyes.”

Shaking her head, she tried to keep up.

“The woman… female… queen is correct… righteous… perfection to my eyes.”

Concentrating, she doubled down on trying to figure out their words.

“Our drones will wish to see… behold… admire her beauty.”

“Can you know… comprehend… understand our words, human queen?”

Nodding, she spoke their tongue. “Yes. My name is Helena.”

“Our company… people welcome you.”

“Are we safe among your people?”

“We will protect you with our blood… soul… lives.”

“That is not an answer.”

“As long as our queen does not find you, all will be well.”

“I wish to speak to your human queen.”

“There is no human queen.”

“Yes, there is. I saw her with my own eyes. She had a Maruvian king at her side and they had four newly born young.”

Several males made noises that sounded like disbelief.

Looking from one to another, she explained, “I am told they were accepted into the Galactic Council of Worlds and awarded trading rights.”

“We are at war with your people.”

“You are not. Your new queen has brokered a peace for all Maruvians. You have a home world for crying out loud. How can you not know this?”

“We are welcome in this region of space?”

“You are more than welcome. I was told we are to protect your people as we protect our own.”

One of the men stepped forward. “We are newly arrived in this dimension. Our queen slipped through a rift in space when a world exploded. There was a moment of flux where space time was stretched to the point of breaking. Instead of coalescing into a black hole, it stabilized. Our ship slipped through just before it calmed.”

“Jesus, you have a crazy Maruvian queen aboard this vessel?”

“Indeed we do, and she is much more unstable than most.”

“Then we aren’t the only ones in danger.”

“You are correct. She killed twenty-eight of my brethren in the last lunar cycle.”

“Why did she attack the Terillian freighter?”

“We scanned it and discovered Terillian females aboard. She is very territorial. We could not save the seven female members of the Terillian crew, but we spirited you away before we were forced to destroy the vessel. We don’t scan the cargo hold for people because it is closed off during transport.”

“Did any of the Terillian get away?”

“No survivors were noted. It took a coordinated effort of nearly thirty-three males to obscure your boarding. If she discovers we allowed you to live, the punishment will be death for all involved.”

Stepping off the exam platform, she commented menacingly, “I think your queen is outliving her usefulness.”

“I do not understand your words, Queen Helena.”

“I won’t allow her to attack another ship. I’m a member of Earth Gov military and my job is to protect innocent lives.”

Shaking his antenna, his expression turned dark. “You have no idea what you are saying. Our queens rule because they are stronger than males. They are intelligent, cunning, resourceful and ruthless beyond your ability to imagine. Our queen is twice your size and was practically born with a weapon in her hand. You are small and defenseless compared to a Maruvian queen.”

“What do you suggest we do, just sit back and allow her go on a killing spree?”

“I suggest you do nothing. Our fate is sealed with our queen at the helm. Our wish is to hide you away from her marauding eyes until we stop for supplies. Maybe we can smuggle the three of you to safety.”

Glancing at her sisters, Hel knew she’d take that deal. As shitty as it made her feel to leave the men to their own devices, she had to get her sisters to safety. The older man must have seen her internal struggle because a hand landed reassuringly on her shoulder. “Do not allow guilt to eat at you, little queen. You must see that you have no hope of defeating a Maruvian queen.”

“I’m a lot tougher than I look, but it pains me to admit that you are correct about this situation. I must see my sisters to safety, and then I will return with an army to deal with your queen.”

“We lost hope long ago of anyone being able to stop her. Now we just save those we can. Can you tell us more of our brethren in this dimension?”

Sighing, Hel replied, “I don’t know much more than I told you already. I saw the Maruvian delegation once from a distance. They visited Earth on a diplomatic mission and I was one of many assigned to secure the area.”

“Their queen is human?”

“She’s actually quite beautiful. Her king never left her side. It was strange that they had little ones and they didn’t look human at all.”

“It is sometimes the way with our kind. I can’t help but to wonder why she singled out a drone and made him her king. A queen belongs to the many, not the one.”

“I did not know that. They seemed very affectionate with one another. She touched him easily, and I even saw her kiss him.”

“How many young did they have?”

“I saw seven. Four were older and flying under the power of their own wings, but the other three appeared newly born. They were tiny and the male carried them tucked under one arm.”

The man’s eyes got huge. “She couldn’t have chosen a true breeder.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Our drones are divided into casts. Most drones are fundamentally warriors. However, we do have breeders who are caretakers for our queen. They are bred to be prolific breeders. They can carry up to fifteen eggs at a time. A queen maker can carry twice that many. The fact that they have spawned two times with small numbers means she chose a warrior to bear her young. That is not done among our kind.”

“Well, she sure did it. I believe her name is Queen Carolyn. Earth Gov military says she intervened during a war between the Krylon and Maruvians, offering herself to the attackers in exchange for peace in our galaxy. She fought and defeated another woman to be their queen. Your people call her the Victorious Queen. She is held in high esteem because she managed to end the war and save a bunch of lives.”

“Our queen must never know of her. She would stop at nothing to destroy such a rival and capture the drones that followed her.”

“You’re pretty protective of a queen you’ve never met.”

“We are protective of all queens.” Glancing nervously at Penny, he commented, “As such, I must advise the young one to be wary of the flesh eater.”

Hel turned to see that Penny was now hugging and rubbing her face against the strange animal’s pelt. The creature was downright ugly. Sighing, she asked tiredly, “Would it be possible to purchase or trade for the animal? She is very attached to it.”

“Did you not just hear me refer to it as a flesh eater?”

Jerking her head up, she stared at the man. “I’m going to assume you mean it eats people not just the flesh of fruit.” God, she must have been mentally exhausted to have missed that.

He slowly nodded.

“Penny, take your hands off the animal. It eats people.”

Looking up at her innocently, Penny responded, “Maybe, but he wouldn’t eat me.”

“Leave it alone.”

Penny, noting the steely tone of her voice immediately stood and walked to her. “So you speak bug now?”

Patting the exam platform, she quipped, “Sure do. You’re next, so hop up. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get the language bacteria as well and you can ask the creature yourself.”

Penny’s eyes lit up, and she quickly climbed onto the floating platform. Hel felt kind of crappy about being intentionally dishonest with her little sister, but they needed her cooperation. The language bacteria only worked on sentient creatures. Watching the older drone give her sister a thorough examination, her throat tightened up. He was careful to clean her face and run a healing wand over each of the remaining injuries. When he was finished, she didn’t have a scratch on her. As he pulled out a syringe of the green language bacteria, an angry voice trilled out. “Leave my new queen be, old man.”

“Calm yourself, Armon. This will help her talk to you. You may speak to her from a distance. No more touching.”

“I do not accept your commands, drone.”

Glancing around, a shiver crept up her spine as she realized the strange creature she’d been thinking of as an alien dog was the one speaking. Jesus, to think her sister hand been feeding and cuddling a totally sentient being like that left her shaken. They really needed to be more careful.