Chapter One – Jada
Life in the Zon Sanctuary was an interesting mix of socialism and capitalism. Everybody was given what they needed to survive comfortably. Nobody went hungry or without a roof over their heads. The food provided was nutritious and tasted good. Quarters, however, were fairly cramped unless one could afford to pay for luxuries.
Jada Isles was not a girl who settled for anything less than luxury. Being abducted from Earth and kept in a stasis pod for billions of years didn't change that. When she awoke to find herself in a universe where her home planet was a dead rock and there were hundreds of alien species roaming the galaxy, she did what she always did. She found a way to improve her situation.
And that was how she found herself at a desk, sloughing through applications of clients who had contacted her dating agency. Most of the applicants were either one of the few thousand humans who had been rescued from stasis like she had been, or T'shav, their guardians here at the Sanctuary.
"Ugh," she groaned, typing in a program to separate the lists into more manageable groups. "It seems like half of the women who want to be with a T'shav are just looking for a musth hookup."
Her colleague, Amic, smirked. "Many of the T'shav men have signed up for the same."
It was true. And Jada understood both viewpoints. All the humans knew about musth, a hormonal cycle that T'shav men went through every year. During that time, they physically required sex just to stop them from turning into raging killing machines. They also released pheromones that drew women into a state of unbridled lust. Jada herself had to admit that she longed for the chance to find out what it was like to be with a man in such a state, no inhibitions between them.
But that didn't mean she didn’t also want something more.
"I get the women," she said to Amic. "T'shav are insanely hot. But they all just seem to be in it for the sex. And why do so many of the T'shav want humans? What's the big draw?"
Amic laughed. She was T'shav herself, with the species' signature devil-red skin, black hair and black eyes. "Have you seen yourself lately? Even the thinnest of your women have curves from head to toe. And you!"
The T'shav woman gestured at her with an envious expression. Jada ducked her head. She still wasn't quite used to the fact that she was the epitome of feminine beauty in the Sanctuary. On Earth, she never saw anybody like herself in magazines or on TV. She was too thick in the waist, although she was fortunate enough to have a figure that was narrower at the base of her ribcage, plus well-proportioned breasts and an ass that won her third prize in a 'chub club' her sister once made her attend. Her curves were exactly what was considered attractive in women out here.
"I'd kill for those hips," Amic said, putting her hands on her own narrow hips. "T'shav are too muscular. Men and women both. You don’t understand our men lusting for your women? I don't understand your women lusting for our men. We're like walls of muscle from birth."
They had had this conversation many times over the months since Jada set up the agency, but she never got tired of it. It was nice for both of them to see outside their own cultural beauty standards. Jada flipped through a few more profile pictures. "Listen, back on Earth you would have been the bomb. Cute, tight and fit. That's what you are. And considering that I saw yet another new guy walking you home last night, you know it."
Amic smoothed her cute strapless var'kin dress over her knees, affecting a prim look. "You know that T'shav have no taboos against taking a mate for a few weeks before moving onto the next one. Unlike your society, we don't consider casual sex a shameful thing. Except during the musth. Then it's always dirty and messy, and you never really know if it would have happened if it weren't for hormones."
"Which is why we make sure that our clients state whether they're comfortable getting together during musth or not."
Jada focused on the holoscreen as a new profile popped in. She pulled up the image of a T'shav man. He was a little older than most of the men who signed up with the agency. Rather than the twenty- and thirty-year-olds she was used to, he looked to be in his early forties. Just like her. Age estimation wasn't an exact science, especially with all the new health and beauty products available, but Jada dismissed it. This man, with his hard, unsmiling mouth and eyes that stared straight ahead, didn't seem like the kind to care about beauty routines.
"Now, he's yummy," she mumbled to herself, leaning forward.
His skin was a darker red than most T'shav she had met, with a triangular face shape and sharp cheekbones that made his devil-like appearance even more pronounced. The picture showed him shirtless, wearing only a kilt-like var'ki. His face wasn't the only triangle. His torso had that Dorito shape she loved so much, and a well-defined 'V' was sculpted below his perfect six-pack. On Earth, she would have never had a chance with a guy that looked like that. Here she actually outclassed him.
"Sildon. Nice name," she continued. "New to the Sanctuary. Looking for some one-time fun to see if a human woman can really take a T'shav male at full musth."
A swirl of heat made Jada shiver. A tight feeling started in her core and she pressed her legs tightly together to try to dispel it. Normally, it was a bit tricky for her to tell when she was aroused. In her younger days it wasn't so difficult, and while forty wasn't old, especially in this world, her body had begun to change on her. But right now, what it wanted was as plain as a pimple on a debutante's face.
"You can't match him with any of our girls," Amic protested, leaning across Jada's desk to peer at Sildon's application.
Jada pulled one of her tight black curls straight along the side of her face as she considered Sildon's image. Even the semi-scowl he wore was something she liked to look at. Okay, maybe she had a bit of a Savior complex – she could never resist a romance where the good-hearted woman saves the bad-boy cad – but having a bit of fun with this guy didn't seem to be that dangerous.
Amic waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Are you listening to me?"
"Why can't I match him with one of the girls?" Jada turned off the holoscreen. "He's forthright about what he wants. He's had his testing done. If a girl wants to have a one-time with him, what's the problem?"
"He's new to the Sanctuary."
Jada sighed. Humans had long since evolved into other forms, everything from the devil-like T'shav to the tentacle-faced, gray skinned, Wlobqs with their white eyes that had no pupils. As such, humans were a rare commodity that was sought after by everybody from private collectors to religious orders. The Zon Sanctuary was founded to protect humans from the forces that would cut them up for experience or gawk at them in a cage.
"Yes, he's new to the Sanctuary. So what?"
Amic gave her a stern look. "He hasn't had a full assessment and we don't know if he's got ties to any of the corporations that are petitioning the United Species to take away humans' status as sentient beings. Or any of the various criminal elements that could cut a woman up and sell her parts on the black market."
Jada groaned. Amic was probably right. But it had been so long since she had been properly rebellious… "My mother always said that about the guys I met on Tinder. The Sanctuary is well-defended. Even if he's not an honest guy, it's not like Zon would let anybody actually chop me up. Besides, a warlord like him demands so much respect and fear that nobody would dare to go against him."
"Don't tell me you're going to meet this Sildon yourself!"
It was like she hadn't even heard Jada. The human shrugged and pulled the holoscreen back up. She typed out a quick note to Sildon asking for a date. She grinned as she waited, although she knew it could take days for the T'shav to reply.
"You aren't being serious, are you?" Amic asked. "You're not actually going to go meet him! You could get pregnant and not have a mate to help you raise your child."
"I thought it was common for T'shav women to end up raising children on their own," Jada muttered, ducking her head. She tried not to let Amic see how much her words had stung.
"But it's not common for humans."
Jada held up her hands. "It's not going to happen. I'm infertile. That's why my first husband divorced me. I couldn't have babies, so he thought I was useless."
Amic's face fell into horror. She pressed both hands to her mouth. "Jada—"
"I don't want to talk about it. But I am going to go see this Sildon, and hopefully, have a great story to tell you when I get back. We're in the Sanctuary. What could go wrong?"