Chapter Six
I had been working for Detro for several months when news arrived that a delegation would be arriving from the home world. Detro had slowly started instituting his less strict measures and they had started to pay off. On X29 productivity was up and executions were down. It was working, and Gosebs from the home world were coming to see for themselves.
They would, of course, not spend any time in the human work camp. That was far too unpleasant for them. Instead, there would be a hunting expedition on the one place on the planet that actually had foliage, the small jungle in the southern hemisphere. Detro wanted a human servant to come along and cook and clean for him at the camp, and I was chosen.
The jungle was hot and wet. Walking through the tall trees and hanging vines, the air was so thick with moisture that it felt like walking through water. I stepped off the ship and took a deep breath of the wet air. I could smell the trees, the flowers, the dirt underneath my feet. After spending all that time on the sterile ship it felt wonderful to be back on a planet.
The other Gosebs had their own human prisoners, so I only had to work for Detro and it was easy enough to keep him happy. I set up his camp exactly as I knew he would like it. He came in as I was working and walked over and sat behind the small desk I had set up for him.
There was no need for me to kneel when he entered or even stop my work. Instead, we both just went about our tasks. Occasionally we would have to move around each other in the small tent, but it was like a dance. We knew each other well enough that we knew what the other would do.
When another Goseb entered, everything changed.
“It is a fine morning, Detro,” a Goseb commander said, as he marched into the tent. I dropped to my knees and kept my eyes downcast.
“A fine morning for a hunt,” Detro agreed. I glanced up and saw this commander staring at Detro, and then his eyes glanced down to me and a hard frown appeared on his face. It took me a moment to realize where the anger was coming from. The Goseb commander was wearing his black mask, but Detro still did not have his on.
The tension in the tent changed, and I knew it was because of me. According to Goseb custom, Detro should always have his mask on when a human was in the room.
“Go and find some occupation,” the commander spit at me, and I quickly sprang up to my feet and hurried out of the tent. I stopped the moment I was outside, breathing heavily. Things on Detro’s ship had been so relaxed, and it was startling to have to go back to the world where I was nothing.
They left for the hunt and were gone all day. The other humans were kept separate from me and so, for the first time in a long time, I was alone. I walked around the camp. The jungle here was intense. Everything seemed so big. The leaves on the hanging vines were the size of my head. The bugs were the size of my hand. Birds flew above me screeching and calling out, their cries echoing around the jungle.
The hunters came back successful, their kills carried by their humans: large wild beasts with cloven hooves, long tails and bright plumage. They were cleaned and drained and then roasted over the fire, sending a mouthwatering scent over the camp.
Discretely, I watched Detro as he moved about his fellows. He was younger than most of them, yet he walked with a regal bearing and seemed to command respect. But his ideas were met with scoffs. The commanders didn’t seem that interested in Detro’s ideas about kindness. Even though output had improved impressively on the planet, they thought it was a fluke, something that would pass eventually.
They ate and drank long into the night. I sat on the ground near Detro’s tent, struggling to keep my eyes open as the cackle of Goseb laughter passed over me. At some point in time I must have drifted off, because when I opened my eyes it was dark and I could only see a lone fire in the distance.
Someone had my arm and was pulling me to my feet. I struggled in the darkness to see who had me. Whoever it was held my arm tightly and pulled me away from the camp and towards the woods.
“Detro?” I whispered, but a hand was clamped over my mouth. It wasn’t Detro. It couldn’t be. I didn’t know who was hiding under the mask, but Detro would never be so rough with me. I struggled, but the hand holding me only gripped tighter.
I was moving away from the camp. This was bad. I didn’t want to be away from the safety and warmth of the fire. Panic flooded my veins. My struggle did nothing; my tears did nothing. I fought and pulled, trying to get back to Detro, but it was like trying to swim upstream. No matter how hard I fought, I made no progress.
Suddenly, I was pushed against a rough tree and I felt hands on my hips, and then they were moving over my body.
“No,” I sobbed, fighting against the Goseb, but the hand was back on my mouth, silencing me.
Think of better times, I thought, closing my eyes. But then the hands were gone. With a grunt I was free, and I opened my eyes to see my attacker lying flat on his back with Detro standing over him. I recognized Detro even with his mask and armor, even in the dark.
I quickly wiped the tears away from my face and Detro moved to put himself between me and the commander on the ground.
“How dare you!” the commander hissed, as he struggled to get to his feet.
“I don’t permit my humans to be touched,” Detro said.
“You don’t give orders to me,” the commander yelled. “I am above you. I am a fighting commander, not some bureaucrat who spends all day watching prisoners. I can have any human I want. You think you’re a real warrior? You’re nothing. You’re pathetic. Now step aside.”
“No,” Detro said.
“You are too close to the humans. They are weak. We are strong. We invaded their planet and overtook them. They are beneath us and always will be. Your feelings for them make you weak.
“Give me the human or I will make you pay for it. I will have you removed from your command and sent to a re-education training facility. You will lose all of the advances you've worked so hard for. You will be reduced to nothing and I will have her anyway. Now step aside.”
“I command this planet,” Detro said. “And before you toss aside my accomplishments I will remind you that the ore we mine here is used to build your ships and your weapons and your technology. Without me, your fighting force would be nothing more than an easily defeated scrap heap. The Goseb world has changed. It’s not just about the fight anymore. Our society has grown and we must change with it or lose everything.”
“How dare you lecture me!” the commander said. “I am your superior in every way.”
“If you touch her, I will kill you here in this forest,” Detro said. “You may be superior to me, but I am younger and stronger than you. We are not easily matched. I would defeat you. You are not such a great warrior anymore.”
“You will pay for this, Detro,” he spat, and then stomped through the forest back to the camp. “Pack up,” he yelled, “we’re leaving.”
“You have to stop him, apologize,” I said, grabbing Detro’s arm.
“I will not,” he said.
“Please, Detro,” I begged. “Don’t let your pride get in the way of being smart. I couldn’t stand it if you were to lose everything for me.”
“And what should I do?” he demanded, spinning around to face me and ripping off his mask. “Should I just stand aside while he has his way with you? Should I try to ignore your screams and your tears? Don’t you understand, Mereen? You are everything to me. You are the only thing I cannot stand to lose.”