Kate
It’s time. We are near the coordinates Tennir sent us. The guys are able to gather some data from scans and explain this area is “dark space” because of the composition of a few of the surrounding planets and asteroid belts. Luckily, the geography of this region in space provides us with lots of places to hide the ship without fear of detection. We watch as Dax pulls us into a crater on an asteroid… which is probably the size of Texas. It’s like watching a movie, only super scary because it’s real. Vivian nearly faints.
The guys continue their work on the bridge, but all the humans go down to the pod bay to see us off. There is lots of hugging… and awkward not hugging in Allison’s case. Rennek and Da’vi make sure there are enough emergency suits in the pod, but I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed and pray we don’t have to use them. First of all, they are way too big--I don’t even know how I’d be able to move in one and secondly, if I have to walk around out in the open in space I’m going to throw up and then die from fear.
Once we are on our way, I feel a bit more at ease. Though I do wish I were wearing jeans and a tee shirt rather than this makeshift dress. It’s not super functional. Rennek keeps squeezing my hand and looking at me with worried eyes. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he finally pulls me out of my seat and onto his lap. Allison looks practically disgusted by our PDA and even Da’vi tenses a bit. I just kind of go along, because it honestly feels nice and safe. Plus, I don’t know alien culture yet, maybe this is a thing. Maybe everybody does this and I’d be rude if I didn’t accept. I don’t want to be rude, so I snuggle against his solid chest.
It’s quiet in the pod as we head towards the spaceport. Finally, we align in a way where I can see the looming port through the viewing window. I gasp. I thought the asteroid was the size of Texas. This space port is… well it’s beyond my imagination. I am thankful movies on Earth gave us some kind of preparation for our new lifestyle, a frame of reference at least.
The port looks a little old and hodgepodge. Like bits and pieces have been added on over a long period of time. I start to realize there are many other small ships and pods floating through space around us, heading in and out of terminals. I can see lights coming from the spaceport and it reminds me of high rise buildings in big cities. The specs of light coming through windows are tiny pinpoints and it makes me realize the scale of all this. I wonder how we will find Tennir here. I look at Rennek. His eyes are dark and his body tense. I squeeze his hand.
“Docking locked. Cruise set,” Da’vi reports.
The guys relax a bit in their seats. It seems like there is some invisible thread pulling us towards the spaceport. I see a hanger… or a garage, or whatever it might be called. It gets larger and brighter as we quickly approach. I feel butterflies tremble in my tummy, but it isn’t fear I’m feeling. Well, maybe it’s a little fear, but mostly it’s adrenaline. I’m excited. We finally land and through the viewing window I see dozens of aliens moving around, busy and working.
“Is anyone going to recognize we don’t belong here?” I ask, “Like humans, I mean.”
“There are so many cultures that convene at spaceports no one should notice one from the next.” He pauses and takes me in, “Though, many will recognize your beauty is unique,” Rennek tells me smiling.
“And if anyone does recognize you as humans we should capture and interrogate them,” Da’vi says strapping an extra holster around his waist to match the one around his shoulders.
“What? Why?” I ask.
Rennek frowns, like he knew this too but was trying to keep the mood light and Da’vi spoiled it. “If anyone does recognize you, it may be because they have dealt in the trafficking of your people before Kate. If they recognize you, it is because they recognize you as merchandise,” he tells me sadly.
“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”
Rennek pulls another blanket from a cupboard and easily tears it in two with his sharp claws.
“Wrap this around your head and mane. You might also draw attention from those who honor the Goddesses. Though, in a place like this, there are few that do,” he says frowning.
Soon, Allison and I have the blanket pieces draped around us kind of like hijabs and we are disembarking from our pod. The bay where we leave our pod is intimidating. There are big open doors looking right out into space. I try not to worry about whatever shield is holding the air--and us--in and hurry to keep up with Rennek’s wide strides. He holds my hand tightly in his. I feel for my charger, it’s secured to my belt. Weapons are allowed in most areas of the spaceport, but restricted in certain places, Rennek tells me. There are so many aliens bustling around us, at first, I don’t notice how not human they are. I see lots of creatures with face masks on--they look something like gas masks.
“It is a breathing apparatus. They do not breathe the same composition of air we do,” Rennek whispers as we make our way through the crowd.
Many of the aliens wear hearty woolen looking clothing that appears to have seen much wear and tear. There are very few females we come across. Those we do see either look like prostitutes or real bad asses. Allison and I look like neither, but if we get mistaken for anything I hope it’s bad asses. We go down a long, wide corridor and there are hundreds of people pushing in all directions. Eventually, we get to an inner part of the port. We step close to a rail and it seems like the levels of this place go on forever in both directions. The men speak in hushed voices and then tug us along beside them. Da’vi grips onto Allison’s arm. She, smartly in my opinion, doesn’t try to shake him off. It seems easy to get lost here.
We find some good old-fashioned elevators and go up a few floors. Looking around, it appears we’ve entered a giant market space. It’s almost like a mall. There are lots of little shops along the walls and tons of kiosks set in the center of the walk way. Aliens push carts and carry bags whose potent smells assault my nose. Some are delicious, others repulsive. I can’t help but look at all the eye candy surrounding me. Everything here is a little dirty and dingy, it doesn’t have the shine and presentation of the malls back home--but everything here is also so foreign and amazing. Half of the stuff I see I am completely confused by. Is it a vacuum? Is it a weapon? Are you supposed to ride on it? Who knows! The stuff I can recognize is a joy, because I’m proud I understand anything going on around me at all. Then… I see a clothing store. Rennek feels the change in my body and follows my gaze.
“If the situation allows us Kate, we will buy new clothing for you and your people.”
“Oh my god, Rennek. If that can happen, we will totally pay you back. We would appreciate it so much.”
Rennek looks at me sternly. “You will never need to repay anything to me, my Kate. I will take care of you and your people.” Before I can thank him, Allison interrupts.
“Good to know,” she says. “Someone buy me that.” She points to a kiosk selling kabobs. I guess it doesn’t matter what kind of meat it is. It does smell delicious though.
Da’vi pushes forward and navigates the rowdy crowd easily. He returns with kabobs for both Allison and me. They are as good as they smell and I try to focus on the taste and not let my mind imagine some kind of scary alien rat that I might be chomping into right now. As we eat, I see Da’vi speaking to the vendor. The vendor’s bubble eyes shift back and forth and he gestures in a direction with his three-fingered hand. I try not to stare but remember my promise to Rennek, that I’d be an extra set of eyes. I stop looking at all the wonderful things in the shops and start paying better attention to the crowd. I look for anyone who might be watching us too closely.
When we finish eating, the guys bring us down a corridor between some of the shops. The path is not so wide here and the aliens we pass look a little rougher than the rest. Steam pours through grates in the floor and the smell of the air becomes stale. Finally, a plaza opens up and I spy a handful of bars. It’s easy to tell these are bars. Even in space the windows are filled with tacky neon signs. Some tough customers loiter around the outside of each entrance and I’m not eager to walk past any of them. Some of them look even bigger than Rennek, though there aren’t many of those.
Allison and I are even more out of place here than we were back in the market area. I can feel eyes on us. Rennek puts his arm around me possessively and I remember what a badass I’m with, so I relax a bit. Da’vi indicates one of the establishments and we make our way inside.
The interior is much like the exterior. It is smoky and all of the patrons I can see are male. Rennek leads us to a table in a back corner. I do notice one other girl besides Allison and myself. She is a singer, standing on a small stage a short distance away. She sings in a voice that sounds underwater. I can pick up every couple of words. She is singing a love song. I guess lots of things are universal.
“Why can I only understand part of what she says,” I ask Rennek.
“The translator. It is loaded with dozens of languages, but not all. On ports like this, many speak an amalgam of languages because they come into contact with so many cultures.”
“Huh. Cool,” I tell him.
“Are you cold my Kate?”
“No,” I laugh, “just a language thing.” He beams a smile back at me. Dang, this dude could be a model I think to myself as I admire his features. But suddenly his face changes and he is looking past me, I follow his gaze. Standing at the bar is an alien that looks like Rennek and his friends. His eyes meet Rennek’s and the older alien has to grab onto the bar to steady himself.
I think back to what he told me of his parents. His mother was a politician on Mother World and his father was a soldier who occupied her planet and assaulted her. I saw Tennir, Rennek’s brother, on the message he sent and he looked… well kind of standard alien. Grey, no hair, black eyes. Not like Rennek. This guy standing in front of us though? He looks like Rennek. There is one thing about Rennek that is different from Bossan, Dax, Kellen, as well as this older alien in front of us… Rennek is the only one with wings.
“Rennek…” I start, but I don’t know what to say. Da’vi seems to get the gravitas of the situation and I feel bad for Allison for a second before I remember we are the only people here who understand English. I see she has her hand on her charger, so I figure I better fill her in with the little I know before she starts shooting from the hip.
“I think this might be someone like Rennek,” I tell her in whisper, even though it’s not like anyone can understand us anyway.
“Well, fucking duh Kate.”
“Sorry, I mean he wasn’t raised by his own kind,” I explain, struggling to find the right words, since I don’t really know too much of the particulars. “His mother’s side of the family raised him and his dad’s side… they were soldiers who invaded and… well, raped his mom.”
“Holy shit, Kate.” She says and glues her eyes to this new guy, her hand still resting on her charger.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t think Rennek has ever met anyone else like himself, except for his friends.”
Just then the dude at the bar wipes his hands on a grungy old towel and picks a bottle and some glasses from the shelf and makes his way over to us. My heart pounds in my chest. I have no idea what this means, if it’s connected to Rennek’s brother or some weird unrelated coincidence. I’m on the edge of my seat here, I can’t imagine what Rennek must be thinking.