Rennek
Kate’s breathing slows and becomes heavy with sleep. I rise carefully from the bed so I do not wake her. She is beautiful, how I ever found a mate as giving and sweet as she I will never know. I watch her for a moment. Her red mane splayed out across the pillow. I briefly wonder if our fledglings will have such extraordinary manes. But now is not the time to think of such things. There is work to be done.
First thing is first. I go to the prompter and slide across the selections until I find the correct sales branch of the merchant market here on the station. Within in minutes I place my order and set the delivery to be made to the pod. I hope I have gotten enough of what is needed. I do not have much expertise in this area.
Then I dress, take one last look at my sweet goddess Kate and head out into the hall. I make a pass of Tennir’s room, but it does not look like anyone has been there yet. So, I head to Da’vi’s room and quickly check in. Allison sleeps and Da’vi keeps watch of the hallway. All is well, so I head over to the stairway and make my ascent to the roof of the building. From here I will watch the passages below.
***
Kate
I wake up some time later. The blankets are wrapped around me and I’m nice and cozy. I blink at the room and briefly trip out on the fact that I’m not in my awful little apartment, but countless light years away on an alien space station with my alien boyfriend. I look around… okay, no alien boyfriend.
“Rennek?” I call out. No answer. I pop my head in the bathroom. Empty. Then it dawns on me.
“Son of a bitch! That jerk went without me!” I hurry to pull on my clothes, cover my head and hair, and fasten my charger to my belt. I’m so mad he left me behind. I am getting sick and tired of this ‘you need to rest, Kate’ bullshit. Like I’m anemic or some shit.
I try to just be mad, but I’m worried too. I know Rennek has gone to speak with Gorrard and I do really feel Gorrard is trustworthy, but I also didn’t want to split up. I feel safer when I’m with Rennek and I promised to be an extra set of eyes for him--to watch his back. What if we are wrong about Gorrard and it’s an ambush or something? Or what if bounty hunters see him and try to take him away or kill him?
I know I don’t have many skills that are super helpful in this situation. I don’t know karate or anything, but I have a charger and a set of eyes. I might be able to help, if Rennek really needed it.
I hurry out of the room, keenly aware I don’t have a key to get back in, but I figure if I don’t find Rennek at Gorrard’s place I can just come back and knock on Da’vi and Allison’s door. I decide to sneak as quietly as possible past their door on the way out though. I don’t want Da’vi to try and stop me. If someone tells me to rest one more time I’m going to scream.
I hurry down the stairs and into the hotel lobby. The alien woman there glances up but her eyes quickly return to her magazine. I try to act like I know what I’m doing, like I belong on a space station just as much as the other aliens do. I walk out of the lobby and into the wide-open passageways which lead to the other areas of the station. I head for the elevators, passing throngs of every kind of alien imaginable, and many aliens that are unimaginable.
Now that I’m out here I feel vulnerable. I try to walk with confidence, even though there is fear pulsing throughout my body. I keep one hand on my charger and scan the crowds of aliens as I push my way through them. Once I’m at the elevators I wait in a long line with others trying to move around the station. When it is finally my turn I board the elevator. I put my back to the wall so I can keep an eye on the other passengers. I notice all the other passengers are male… or as far as I can tell at least. I guess that isn’t really surprising considering there are so many more males than females on the station, but it still makes me uncomfortable to be the only girl in a confined space like this.
As we get closer to my stop I could swear the dude next to me leans over and smells me. When the door slides open and I’m quick to get out. I hear the dude that smelled me say something to another guy and when I glance back I see them both exit the elevator. I quicken my pace. Maybe it’s just a coincidence they got off here too.
I keep heading towards Gorrard’s, weaving in and out through other aliens all headed to their own destinations. I stumble over some blankets and boxes, earning a hiss from a down on his luck alien lying along the side of the alley. I mumble my apology and keep moving. I find the thin alleyway that leads towards Gorrard’s. I recognize it because of the steamy grates with the funky, stale smell. When I look back again my view is obstructed by the steam, but it doesn’t seem like I’m being followed. I sigh my relief.
I notice it’s noisy up ahead and that sort of registers as odd to me. The alley opens up and I take in my surroundings. Okay. Definitely not in the right place. My stomach sinks and my heart starts pounding. First of all: holy shit, I’m lost in space. Second of all: I think I just stumbled into the red-light district.
The little back alley I took dumped me out onto a crowded thoroughfare. It’s darker here. Neon lights hallmark the atmosphere of this new place I’m in. The buildings remind me of Amsterdam. There are all kinds of alien women--and men for that matter, standing exposed in the windows of the different...er, um… establishments? They try to entice the customers to come in. Others stand in the doorways calling to aliens as they pass. Okay, Kate… just turn around and go back the way you came.
I start to take a step back when someone grabs me tightly by the arms and a rough hand slips over my mouth. I instantly kick and flail, but I am held tightly and hauled off in another direction. I try to scream, but the sound is muffled by the hand over my mouth and drowned out by the hum of the god-awful place I stumbled upon. I desperately try to make eye contact with someone else in the crowd, but I am quickly being pulled away from them, away from anyone who can help me.
Before I know it, we are in a quiet little recess between buildings. It’s just another back alley in this awful labyrinth of a place, only it reminds me of a sewer or something. It’s dark and there are lots of pipes and mechanical looking things filling the narrow space. The dude holding me throws me to the floor and I bang into the wall hard on my way down. My charger goes sliding out of my reach and the fall knocks the wind out of me. I struggle to regain my breath.
Looking up, I see the dudes from the elevator standing over me. They make some clicking noises. My translator doesn’t recognize their language, I guess, because I can’t make heads or tails of what they’re saying. Doesn’t really seem like they’re talking to me anyway. One of them unhinges his mask and reveals his face. It’s like spaghetti on bottom with two little beetle eyes on top. He starts to come at me.
“Oh no, not going down like that.” I’m not sure if I said that out loud, or just felt it really strongly… but I push myself to my feet and use the wall to propel myself into spaghetti face’s torso. I catch him off guard and he falls back into some of the columns of pipes lining the wall. I scramble to run, but dude number two grabs me by the hair and flings me back. I hit the pipes with a crack. I cling to the wall, struggling to stay on my feet. They are clicking at me like crazy now, likely pissed. Don’t need a translator to tell me that. One of them turns me around and holds my arms to my sides. The other starts coming at me again. I’m kicking and screaming with all my might, trying to swing my head enough to headbutt one of these mother fuckers.
I notice that, even with all the noise I’m making… it’s oddly quiet. It’s like you could hear a pin drop. I can hear the sounds of their clothes rustling as the one in front of me approaches. I can hear the soft hiss of steam spilling from a nearby vent and I can hear clicking. Only, it isn’t the clicking of these creep’s language. It is something with a rhythm to it. Click clack, click clack, click clack… it’s getting louder. Then I hear an ear-splitting scrape--like nails on a chalkboard.
All three of us turn our heads down the passage from where we came and I’m so thankful for what I see. Rennek comes bounding up on all fours, coming to such a screeching halt--his claws tearing up the metal floors. His wings are spread to their full span and his tail lashes madly. We all freeze at the sight of him. Talk about silence. Then, he roars. It’s like the sound a lion would make and even though he’s here to save me I tremble at the sound of it. The dude holding me drops me to the floor. Rennek is charging. Using his horns, he slams one of the alien guys into the wall with a nasty crunch. He stands at his full height and from my vantage point on the floor it looks as though I am staring up at a giant. He stalks to the other dude who clicks feebly at Rennek. Rennek grabs him by the throat and lifts him high. Dude’s legs swing helplessly searching for solid ground.
“Are you hurt, my Kate?” He asks me without breaking eye contact from my attacker.
“No. I’m fine. Just scared, but I’m okay,” I tell him.
“You are lucky she is not hurt,” he tells my attacker. “Your death will be quick.” The spaghetti faced guys’ eyes bulge and I hear a wet popping sound before he goes limp. Rennek drops him in a pile on the ground. He turns to me, lifts me to my feet, and presses me against the wall.
“What were you thinking?” He growls as he starts to roughly inspect me. My hair is loose and free now. I must have lost my wrap somewhere along the way. He pulls my hair aside to inspect my neck. He grabs my chin and turns my head to either side. Looking at my face.
“You could have been killed. Raped. Taken by away by these monsters! Taken Kate, and I would have never been able to find you!” He grips my arms gingerly and turns them over, looking for injuries. I can see the red marks turning into purple bruises already. His words hurt more though. It isn’t just his tone, it isn’t even that he’s saying something mean--because he isn’t, he is stating fact. Maybe it’s just the reality of it that’s hitting me, but tears start to form in my eyes. I want to hug him, to have him hold me and tell me that he’ll always be there to protect me, but another part of me wants to be strong and to not need to be taken care of.
Is this my life now? Professional damsel in distress? And does Rennek really want to be my keeper? What if he doesn’t and he moves on? Will I be kidnapped by aliens five minutes later? Because honestly, my track record isn’t looking so good right now.
He puts a massive muscled arm on either side of me and leans down so we are eye to eye. I try to look anywhere else. I cross my arms over my chest.
“Can we just go please?” I ask.
“Kate?”
“No, can we just go? I don’t want to be here with this,” I motion towards the dead aliens a few feet from us.
He takes in our surroundings and wraps an arm around me wordlessly. Then, to my surprise he lifts me up and starts scaling the wall. With one arm around me and the other clutching pipes or digging claws into solid metal, he makes his way to the top of a building. Setting me down, he glares angrily at me. But I can play this game too. As a matter of fact, I am the queen of this game. I send him my coldest stare.
“You will speak to me!” He yells finally.
“Oh? Will I? Fine, let’s speak. Where did you go? What were you thinking? I thought we had a plan, that we were partners here and you took off on me. My dumb ass was coming to protect you.”
“You came to protect me here?” He gestures furiously at the alley below, disbelief in his voice.
“No! Of course not. I went looking for you at Gorrard’s, but I… I overestimated my navigational abilities,” I cross my arms, pissed, remembering why I was out here in the first place.
“I was not at Gorrard’s! What made you think this?”
“Ummm, I woke up and you were MIA. I figured you went without me.”
“EMMM EYE AYE?”
“Gone, Rennek. I woke up and you were gone. What was I supposed to think?”
He huffs out a breath and appraises me. “I would not have gone without telling you,” he says finally, his tone softening.
“Excuse me? Wouldn’t have gone without telling me? My, how gracious of you!” I say sarcastically. “You should be saying you wouldn’t have gone without me, period.”
He covers his face with his hands, shaking his head. Slowly I hear his laughter bubbling up, but I’m really not in the mood. “Yes, that too, my mate. Unless I had great reason to change plans. You are my partner Kate,” he pulls my hands to his lips, but I resist. It’s hard for me to let my anger subside.
“What is wrong, my Kate? Is there something more?” He asks.
I let out a sigh. “I just don’t want to be a victim anymore Rennek. I want to be able to protect myself. I want to be able to help you.”
“I will protect you Kate, always. It is my job,” he assures me.
“No Rennek, you don’t get it. I want to be strong and capable. I don’t want to feel like a burden or to be afraid to leave your side. Not that I don’t appreciate you saving me, but the past few days--I’ve been so utterly helpless. That’s just not me. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a kid and to now be in a situation where I have no control over my own safety and wellbeing… well frankly, it sucks. Then on top of that, to feel like I’m incapable of helping anyone else? I can’t stand it Rennek, it goes against everything I am.”
He stares at me for a long while, taking in my words. Then he silently stalks over to the edge of the building, looking out over the edge to the cavernous space station surrounding us.
“There is a story,” he begins. “Of two Havash birds, born of the same egg. If the Havash ever truly existed it must have been long ago, but they are in many ancient tales. You see, the Havash are meant to live among the stars, but they are born of the planets.”
“The first, Teeka, was wild of spirit. Eager. The second, Aerine, was born without functioning wings. But in her core, she knew she would take her place among the stars. Havash birds are night birds,” he explains. “They cannot be exposed to the sun. After they hatch they fly in the night to the heavens, following the path of their ancestors.”
I’m failing to see the point of his story, but I go stand next to him and look out on this terrible and amazing place we’re in.
“Teeka begrudgingly agreed to wait for Aerine, who found a mountain. Since she was unable to fly, Aerine decided to climb that mountain and simply step into the stars once she reached the top, but it was much work for her. Teeka grew exceedingly impatient with Aerine. Restless and overeager, she decided leave her sister to make the climb alone. She crept away, but as she flew, the sun rose and she was burned before she could reach the stars.”
“Later, Aerine found Teeka and her spirit became as wounded as her wings. She feared she would not be able to go on, now more than ever. She looked to the top of the mountain far above and wept. The mountain had been watching and took pity on the young Havash and spoke, she told her that over many, many yets she had watched travelers climb to her peak and she shared a great secret with Aerine.”
Rennek looks at me now. “In every step we take, there needs to be a moment of pause. A rest step. We cannot rush our journey or we will burn up before we arrive, but if we take a moment in each step of our journey to rest--to gain strength for the steps to come, to honor all the steps which have brought us this far…” he sighs heavily, “You cannot rush the journey Kate,” he tells me with eyes full of empathy.
“Did Aerine ever make it to the stars?” I ask, swiping at a stray tear on my cheek.
“I do not remember. Probably,” he shrugs.
“Rennek?!” I laugh, pushing my big guy hard on the shoulder. “What the hell? You can’t tell a story like that without remembering the ending! What if Aerine ends up getting eaten by an alligator or something, or decides she’s cool with just living on the mountain forever?”
He is smiling now too, bringing me close to him. “It is not the story that is of importance, but the moral my little Havash,” he says, kissing my forehead.
“Yeah, well thanks for the pep talk Aesop,” I tell him and I mean it. Sometimes all you need if for someone to remind you to have a little perspective.
“What is an Aesop?” He asks.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say and I relax into his embrace, feeling a little more centered--all things considered. “But wait! Where were you? Why weren’t you there when I woke up?”
“I wanted to let you rest and I needed to scout the building. I was on the roof when I smelled your scent and saw you pushing through the crowd. By the time I made it to the elevators you had already gone down and I had to wait for the next to follow you,” he explains.
“Wait, you smelled me from the roof?” I ask, horrified.
“Yes, your delicious scent is unmistakable, my Kate. Especially after I licked your cunt.” He purrs into my neck, bringing back memories of enjoying each other back in our room.
“Wait, wait, wait. Can other people smell me too?”
“Yes, your arousal is like a perfume,” Rennek tells me, matter of factly.
“Oh man, those guys… one of them on the elevator smelled me. Is that why they attacked me?”
“No.” His demeanor becomes more serious. “Your scent is like a perfume and it speaks of arousal, but no male should interpret that as an invitation to take what has not been offered,” Rennek says icily.
I’m reminded now of the jerks lying dead in the alley. “Um, so do we need to get out of here before police or enforcers or whatever show up?”
“No. Space stations in dark space essentially police themselves. There is an organization to their lawlessness. If you commit a criminal act or wrong someone, no one is surprised if a punishment is dealt out.”
“Oh, okay. That’s good… I guess.”
“Now, my partner, perhaps we should take this opportunity to go pay a visit to Gorrard,” Rennek smiles and squeezes my hand.
“I’d like that. Can we grab my charger before we go? I dropped it down there.”
“Of course, my mate,” he says and holds me tightly with one arm while moving to the ledge to climb down.
“Thanks, Rennek,” I tell him, looking into his black eyes. He kisses me, sweet and gentle--full of both passion and affection, before he effortlessly climbs down the side of the building.