Dr. Lain Brosseau
“Perhaps it was a mistake to bring you here,” Trillis said with a sheepish laugh.
I glared at the ground as Trillis led me through a winding shop that was full of bright objects and clothing unlike anything I had ever seen. It was apparently the equivalent of a shopping mall on Earth. The Thressl’n in the shop couldn’t keep their eyes off me. I felt like an animal in a zoo.
“I told him I’d rather just wear my own clothes,” I mumbled. I hated the way he tried to throw his weight around. “That would have been good enough.”
“He is just doing what’s best,” Trillis said. I glowered. Why was she so blindly loyal to that man? Couldn’t she tell that he was just an asshole? I couldn’t believe I had allowed myself to sleep with him. What would happen if I ended up pregnant?
“Here, this one would look nice on you,” Trillis said, taking a gown off one of the shelves and holding it up for me to look at. I frowned. It looked a lot like the one I had worn the night before, when, for some reason beyond my comprehension, I had surrendered to a bizarre chemical desire that had driven me past the point of no return.
“I don’t like it,” I said, embarrassed by the memory of Zerk’k, finding himself so easily inside of me.
“You are going to have to settle on something, dear. Or I’ll just have to pick it myself. Your human clothing will not suit you for the weather here. Zerk’k is only trying to protect you. That’s how he has always been. It is why he was chosen as Second in Command.”
I didn’t want to be suited for the weather on Jenal’k. I wanted to go home. What made them think that any of this was okay? I had been at the height of my career when I’d been abducted. And now? I was just some breeding toy for a man who liked to order me around and expect perfect compliance.
“Look,” Trillis said when I didn’t reply to her. “We don’t know how long it’s going to be before the situation is in your favor. You might need to rely on a little bit of patience. At the very least you can make the best of the situation you’re in until you are given a chance to return to your home. Zerk’k is a reasonable man. I’m sure he’s working on a way to return the human females after the population crisis has been averted. But it really is safer on Jenal’k.”
I knew Trillis was trying to help, but somehow her words just seemed to make everything feel even worse. Yes, I could handle patience. I was a scientist for Christ’s sake. Patience was in my blood.
I gasped, suddenly realizing that I had been putting my personal feelings ahead of my real mission: gathering intel about this new planet so that once I could finally get back to Earth, I would have all the information anyone could possibly need about the Thressl’n. I’d better get back to taking notes.
“Can I try that one?” I asked, pointing at one of the shapeless gowns in the corner of the rack. Trillis beamed.
“Of course.”
As we were checking out, I noted the elaborate coins that Trillis handed to the overseer of the shop. They looked as though they were made of platinum, and were imprinted with a beautiful design. It appeared to be a representation of foliage, though I hadn’t seen much lush green space on this planet.
There was a hint of a forest of some type far away, but the settlements were in an area that struck me more like a red desert. Off in the distance was a mountain range where the camp of human women was located. I stared hard at the coins until the image was burnt into my head. I would make notes of them when I got home.
I was met with an unexpected wave of pure heat once we left the shops. It was almost enough to make me collapse; for a moment I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath at all.
“Are you all right?” Trillis asked.
I nodded.
“Those clothes you have on are far too heavy,” Trillis said, shaking her head. “You would be miserable in them. Let’s hurry into the hovercraft; we’ll get you home. You can change clothes there.”
This place was not my home. The confusing labyrinths of Zerk’k’s hovel would never be my home.
“Okay,” was all I said.
Trillis didn’t need to be let in by my internal monolog. For some reason, I was far less angry at her. I’m sure she had done all she could to keep the breeding crisis at bay. As far as I was concerned, the females of this planet were victimized just as much as the women on my own planet were, by our own men and the Thressl’n. Where in the universe could we find a planet where women were as highly valued as men were?!
“The Commander will be pleased,” Trillis said, beaming happily.
Although it annoyed me that her thoughts seemed only to lie with what Zerk’k thought, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It seemed that her only role in this world was in serving Zerk’k and worrying and caring about Zerk’k. Where did she fit into the grand scheme of things? He was old enough not to need a caregiver anymore.
“The Commander can go to hell for all I care,” I grumbled.
Trillis was quiet for a moment. “The Commander adores you. He adores us both. You would do well to show him some respect.”
I scoffed inwardly, but I knew a battle with Trillis would land me nowhere. She had been groomed to believe she could only rest easily if Zerk’k had everything he needed. She would feel like she had done a good job in life if she served him to the fullest. But what did Trillis want to do with her life? Did it matter? It probably didn’t matter to Zerk’k any more than it mattered what I wanted to do with my life. Why was he such an asshole?!
We were quiet for a while before my guilt for lashing out at Trillis welled up inside of me. She was just another victim of a cruel system, but she tried to see the positive aspects of the world she was raised in.
“I’m sorry, Trillis,” I said. “This is all really strange for me.”
Trillis beamed.
“Really, don’t apologize. I just want you to know that Commander Arkti isn’t a bad man. He is only doing what he thinks is necessary under the circumstances. And I respect his mind; he consistently makes good decisions.”
I held my tongue for the rest of the ride. It seemed like forever until we finally made it back to Zerk’k’s house, and once again I nearly fell to my knees as a strong wave of heat crushed me. I was beginning to see why they were so worried about my clothes.
“It gets like this every afternoon and lasts well into the evening,” Trillis said. “The Commander thought it best to keep the humans in the mountains as our climate is far different from Earth. The mountains are relatively similar to some areas on Earth and your comfort is guaranteed there.”
“And yet he thought it would be a good idea to bring me here,” I said, pointing out what I thought was perfectly good evidence of the fact that he didn’t give a damn what was best for me.
“Yes,” Trillis said, unlocking the door and stepping inside. She paused and waited for me to follow. The cool atmosphere of the house immediately made me feel better. “I have a feeling that he didn’t want the other Thressl’n men to come and treat you with disrespect. He thought it best to hide you away as quickly as possible, before inquiries were made about you.”
The information gave me mixed feelings. Trillis seemed so convinced that Zerk’k put everybody’s best interests at heart. It would take a lot more than that to convince me that she was right. If he cared so much about respect, he wouldn’t have abducted so many women against their will. I was fairly certain there were groups of women on Earth who would line up for the chance to breed with an unknown alien species. Hell, I may have gone voluntarily just to experience their world. But this? I couldn’t accept it.
Once inside, Trillis immediately got to work on serving yet more food. I was surprised; we had already eaten just a couple of hours ago, and there was no way I was ready for another meal as elaborate as the one we’d had for breakfast.
“Why don’t you put your things away for now, dear, and I’ll call you when the food is ready.”
I nodded, grateful for the chance to escape by myself and write about my adventure to the Thressl’n’s downtown area. I walked into the bedroom, stricken suddenly by how much it smelled like Zerk’k. I felt oddly comforted by the fact, though I couldn’t help but fight a twinge of nausea as my mind made its way guiltily to the night before, when all of my inhibitions had somehow blown out the window.
Sure, Zerk’k was a gorgeous man in his own right, but that wasn’t enough to make me happy about being his captor. What did he expect from me? Total obedience? I wasn’t a slave to anybody; least of all some arrogant extraterrestrial who disguised his controlling behavior as a concern for my best interest.
Now that I was alone in the bedroom and Zerk’k wasn’t due home anytime soon, I realized that I had a good chance to do some snooping. Trillis had been given strict instructions not to interfere with me or my relationship with Zerk’k. Knowing that made it possible to relax for the first time since I had been abducted.
The bedroom was big. Really big. It was clear that Zerk’k was given a position of power and was compensated generously for it. There was plush carpet, softer than the carpet on Earth. The fabrics were different somehow. Everything was a pure white color, but it seemed deeper than the whites on Earth. At the far end of the room, across a vast space of carpet, was a door.
I crept close and examined the electronic mechanism that served as door handles in this place. I had watched Zerk’k and Trillis enough to have figured it out, despite being automatically allowed into the bedroom space. With trembling hands, I tried a few different button combinations before the door hissed open.
I gasped softly when the open doorway revealed a closet bigger than the living room of my apartment on Earth. In the back were rows of shelves full of brutal looking machines that I was positive were weapons. To the side was a long row of intricately designed outfits, and a replica of the black armor that Zerk’k had been wearing the first time I’d seen him on the ship.
I couldn’t help myself from venturing further into the closet. On the opposite side was an empty row with one outfit hanging up; it was the gown I had worn the night before. The rest was empty. I cast a glance back at the full bags of clothes I had carried into the bedroom. Half of this closet was intended to be mine.
My heart raced as I ventured deeper inside. I fingered the soft, light material of Zerk’k’s outfits, once again stricken by his scent. I felt an unwelcome surge of longing as my mind involuntarily returned to the rapture I had felt the last time I had smelled Zerk’k’s body in person.
Suddenly, a blinking light caught my eye. It was coming from the shelves in the back. I felt suddenly uneasy, but couldn’t keep myself from moving toward the shelves.
The object that was blinking was long and cylindrical. I touched it, and it was ice cold. A few lights became illuminated from my touch, and a strange whirring sound filled the small space. I realized with a start that it was charging, and the cold metal was heating up rapidly.
A robotic Thressl’n voice began speaking, and a loud, rhythmic beeping began. It sounded like a countdown. Fear flooded my breast as the little room became hotter and hotter, and a blinding ball of white energy began to grow at the base of the weapon.
“Fuck,” I hissed. It was going to go off. And it was going to cause a lot of damage. I studied it, sweat building on my brow. I had to disengage it somehow. If Trillis got hurt it would be my fault, and the special treatment I’d been given so far would come to an end. I might never see Earth again. Worst of all, I could die.
I had no idea how to read the Thressl’n written language though, and try as I might, everything I did was futile.
“Lain!”
Zerk’k’s masculine voice made me nearly jump out of my skin. His strong arms were suddenly around me, and I was being hauled outside the closet. Zerk’k ran back inside, and I could hear machinery clicking as he dealt with the weapon.
Soon he was standing in front of me, a wild expression creasing his otherwise flawless face.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his hands roaming me as if to make sure that I was still in one piece. The fear in his voice was unmistakable, and I couldn’t fight the surge of pleasure that Zerk’k’s long fingers elicited. I felt an odd sort of relief now that he was near, as if I had been waiting to be close to him again since I had woken up.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said, shrugging his hands off of me and taking a step back to examine him. He looked like a wreck. “What was that thing?”
“Somehow you managed to find my most powerful weapon,” Zerk’k said, sighing heavily. “If I hadn’t come home and heard it charging up, I wouldn’t have had much of a home left to come back to. Are you sure you’re all right?”
The sincerity in his eyes made me uncomfortable. Maybe Trillis had been telling the truth after all. Maybe his sole concern was protecting everybody around him. But where did that leave him any time to take care of himself?
“I’m really fine,” I said. I bit back words of gratitude toward him. There was no way I would thank a man who had kidnapped and taken advantage of me.
“Good,” he said, dropping heavily onto the bed. He put his head in his hands, and for a moment I was afraid he was going to fall asleep right there.
“Maybe you should lie down,” I said quietly, gently guiding his shoulder back onto the bed. He resisted for a moment.
“I have work to finish,” he said. But I knew he couldn’t possibly have gotten enough sleep.
“Work can wait. Try taking care of yourself for once.”
Zerk’k’s metallic eyes widened in surprise, as if I had touched on something very personal to him. What Trillis said really must have been true in his case. Still, it didn’t excuse him from the way he tried to control me.
“Come on,” I said, covering his muscular torso with one of the incredibly soft blankets. “Just rest for now, please.”
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Zerk’k breathed. He tried to fight a moment longer, but soon his eyes fluttered closed. Before I knew it, the handsome Thressl’n man was asleep.
***
I watched Zerk’k sleep, my mind roaming in a million different directions. So he cared about me to some degree, that much was clear. But it was possible he only cared because that’s the way he was programmed to care. It was his job to put others before himself. That’s what Trillis had implied to me. Still, the way he had touched me…I couldn’t imagine his eyes filling with fear over one of the Thressl’n whom it was his duty to protect.
As Zerk’k’s broad chest rose and fell lightly, my eyes roamed back to the closet. So he kept his weapons in there. That meant I would have a chance to escape. I could find one that looked easy to operate and carry it with me in case anybody tried to stop me.
But how would I get back to Earth? I would need a ship, and someone who was experienced enough to navigate the space between the planet Jenal’k and Earth. So much for that idea.
Still, the knowledge of the weapons right at my fingertips seared a place in my brain. If I ever needed a weapon, I would know where to find one. And maybe I would be able to learn how to use it from Zerk’k himself.
As Zerk’k slept, I began to feel restless and rummaged through the bags of Thressl’n clothing Trillis has bought for me. It was all clearly made for Thressl’n women, and appeared lumpy and shapeless on my much smaller body. There had to be a way to make the clothes work more in my favor.
I set to work rummaging quietly through the large house as Trillis hummed, obliviously cooking food, until I stumbled upon a repair kit for the hovercraft. Inside were a needle and thread suitable for puncturing the durable Thressl’n fabrics, and I returned victoriously to the bedroom, where Zerk’k was still sleeping deeply.
Careful not to wake him, I lifted the prettiest of the Thressl’n gowns from the bag. With a few minor alterations, I would be able to wear it with pride, rather than feeling like a scrawny alien from another world. And so, I made myself comfortable on the floor and set to work, hoping I would be done by the time that Zerk’k awoke.