Chapter 9

Miscommunication

~ Haden ~

Walking into his quarters, a soft feminine voice called out. “Greetings, Haden.”

“Greetings, my queen.”

“Thank you. If you would like to cleanse, I will prepare a meal.”

Feeling some strange kind of tightness in his chest, Haden nodded. “Thank you. I will hurry.” He moved to his cleansing room, and Haden stepped into the steamer. It felt strange to prepare himself to spend time with a queen. It was something he had never anticipated doing.

Looking down at his scarred body, he wondered what his human queen would make of him if she could see all of him. Humans were an unpredictable lot, always getting attached to drones regardless of their status. Being a simple drone, he’d never had reason to hope for a queen’s notice. In the before times, queens were scarce and not prone to bonding with a single drone. He was thankful that human queens were plentiful in this region of space and seemed open to his kind.

He hurried through his hygiene regime, looking forward to spending time with the lovely storyteller who still thought of herself as his queen. When he exited out of the cleansing room, she smiled at him.

“I thought your quarters would all have food resequencers. You room does not seem to have one.”

“Drones are bred to be very utilitarian. I wear the uniforms designed for me, live in basic quarters built for me and usually eat whatever the dining center sees fit to deliver to me. Because you are a queen, you will be afforded more choice once we arrive on my new home world.”

“Come and sit with me. The delivery drone brought our food. I like how the delivery system is built into the ceiling.”

“It is a very efficient system. Our drones deliver food, clean clothing any other items we need to function at optimal capacity.”

Looking down at his plate, he realized the bulk of the food had once again been portioned out for him. “I hope that I’m not speaking out of turn, but you do not appear to require much sustenance.”

Eyeing his overflowing tray, she stated playfully, “I have to be honest, even herd animals on Earth probably don’t eat as much as drones do in a day.”

Haden screeched a laugh. “I might agree with that assessment.”

“Humans say, I resemble that remark. It’s much the same meaning.”

“I noticed you seemed partial to the tarnaga when we’ve eaten together in the last few days. You seem to have no objection in eating the same thing for many days.”

“It’s nice to enjoy the taste of my food. I guess once I find something I like, I don’t want to take a chance on ordering something I might not be able to tolerate. It seems wasteful.”

Haden took a bite of his food, struggling to figure out what to talk about.

His queen spoke. “You mentioned that you listened to my stories. Do you have a favorite?”

Snapping to attention, he was grateful that she’d spoken first. “The first of your stories was the most fascinating to me.”

“What part in particular caught your interest?”

Glancing up, he found his words coming easier. “I could not figure out why they marginalized the elder queen by locking her away. It seems she was removed just at the moment her wisdom would have been most useful.”

“Do you assume she was wise merely because of her advanced age?”

Smiling slightly, he responded. “That is a foolish assumption. Perhaps she was a person who never learned from her own mistakes and therefore did not grow wise.”

Grinning Venice added, “Or perhaps she was affected by an age related disease and barely able to form coherent sentences.”

“This is true. What was the real reason you had the wolf lock her away?”

“This story is told in a variety of ways on my home world.” Shifting in her seat, she ran her fingers through her short dark hair. “In the oldest version of the folktale Red is a very small child. The wolf actually swallows the grandmother whole, climbs into bed, impersonates the old woman and then eats Little Red Riding Hood as well.”

A shocked screech escaped before Haden could stop himself.

“The true hero of the story is a local woodcutter who uses his ax to open the wolf and pull Red and her grandmother out.”

“I must admit to being confused about the point of that story.”

Venice replied thoughtfully, “I believe it was a cautionary tale about remaining safe in the city as opposed to venturing into the dangerous unknown of the forest. I’m certain they would see it as sticking to what you know and staying away from the unknown.”

“Why did you change it?”

“Unlike our ancient ancestors, women today enjoy exploring the unknown. We crave new and interesting experiences. Even if things weren’t so desperate on Earth, I would have accepted your world’s offer to relocate just for the pleasure of seeing a new and different world and meeting another species.”

“Another difference in your version is making the wolf half male.”

“There are many tales on Earth of creatures that are half person and half animal. The most famous is the wolf-man. He is portrayed as a savage male, yet to be tamed by civilization. He lives in the forest, hunts in wolf form and mates with innocent women in his human form. Though mating with them is taboo, women fantasize about them relentlessly.”

“The males being half animal is what makes them forbidden?”

Nodding, she replied thoughtfully, “Yes.”

“Then they are much like drones. We are part insect.”

Jerking to attention, her eyes got wide. “You’re right. I don’t know how I missed that. I think I didn’t make the link about drones being similar to the wolf-man because drones are so mild mannered.”

Smothering a smile, Haden put food onto her plate. “I believe you have seen us in battle mode, so you know that is not quite true. We can be terrifying when we need to be.”

“I remember. Unlike us, drones are excellent warriors.”

“The human queens on our planet were quick to fight when one of our Maruvian queens threatened our safety. It was strange to see such defenseless creatures facing off against a huge Maruvian queen.”

“I honestly have a hard time imagining it as well. Humans fight very rarely. Did you decide on a preferred ending for the story?”

“Since I identified with the male, my preference was for breeding. After all, a drone can eat many different kinds of creatures, but is breed compatible with very few. No sane male would eat a potential mating partner.”

“I must admit to enjoying hearing the male’s perspective regarding the story. I preferred the mating ending as well. My primary concern was letting a handsome wolf-man go to waste.”

“So how would you have finished the story if they were mating?” Haden asked without looking at her because he knew the question was provocative.

Laughing, she responded playfully, “Let’s just say there would have been some making the human kiss, halabowing and reverse halabowing, and then official baby making sex.”

“In that order?”

“You are a nosey one.”

“Just curious as to why the male did not choose to use a heart stone on his mate.”

“I thought the pleasure stones were only used by drones with wings?”

“Every drone wishing to maximize pleasure for his queen uses the stones.”

“Interesting. I have a tiny one. Did you know that?”

“No. I am aware that Queen Carolyn gifted many thousands to the queens of Earth. How fortuitous that you managed to secure one.”

“I’ve always been fascinated with all things alien. Your culture is more interesting than most because you are the only world that does not purchase or trade for brides.”

“Queen Carolyn and King Igor commanded it so. They were certain a small number of human females would enjoy the various things our home world has to offer.”

Finishing up their food, she replied. “I can’t wait to get there. Will you tell me of your home world?”

Motioning her toward his sitting area, they curled up on opposite sides of a long settee. “Our world is very different from Earth. The air and the oceans are pristine and we go to great lengths to ensure they will remain so. Our world has an orange sun and two moons. By any standards the lush vegetation and abundant wildlife would make it worth settling, but our world is mineral and gemstone rich.”

“You are saying everything that human women like to hear. Your world is virtually an untouched paradise blessed with gemstone and hot Maruvian men. Who wouldn’t want to settle there?”

“It seems many do not care for our insect heritage.”

“What insect heritage? You look very human to me. Granted I haven’t seen all the good bits, but you look as much like humans as any aliens I’ve seen.”

“Kind of you to say, but we do not appear as human as some other species.”

Smiling, she moved down the settee a bit, and leaned in to look him over. “Yeah, but they don’t have cool antennas, now do they?”

Feeling inspected, yet admired, warmed his soul.

Moving closer, she didn’t stop until she was right beside him. “I really liked touching your ears and your antennas the other day.”

Feeling his possessiveness rising, he reached out wrapping an arm around her slim body. Drawing her forward, he murmured, “I like that as well. Do you have designs on touching me again?”

“You don’t have to make it so easy for me there, Haden.”

Looking down into her eyes, he knew this was some form of Earth humor he didn’t understand. She wanted to touch him. He could tell by the look in her eyes and the soft flush of her cheeks. Truth be told, he’d have been able to tell blindfolded. Her alluring scent was growing stronger by the moment.

“You know on Earth, sometimes the men do the touching.”

Haden felt his nostrils flare. It sounded like she was offering herself for his pleasure. That couldn’t be correct information. “I am unsure what you are alluding to, my queen.”

Reaching out to toy with the magnetic seam of his uniform, she dropped her eyes. It was such a submissive pose that it took his breath away. He’d never seen a queen act that way and, through some form of perversion, he was thoroughly aroused by it.

“Do you have a vehicle back home?”

The little queen was losing him. “Yes. It is a hovercycle. I ride it for leisure.” Staring down at her, he waited for her to speak.

“I’m sure you test drove it before you purchased it.”

Nodding, he acknowledged he had. “The trader had many different designs. I rode several before settling on the one I felt was a good fit.”

Raising her eyes to his, she stated quietly, “Now apply that analogy to mating.”

Haden felt as though lightning had struck his brain. He didn’t need to think about it because he knew exactly what she was saying. “You are suggesting that we test compatibility for mating prior to making our bond permanent?”

Smiling, she pulled lightly at the seam and watched it come apart to reveal his muscled chest. Then she stopped. What was she waiting for? A suspicion crawled for from the depths of his mind.

“Let us return to the part of the conversation where you said on Earth the male touches.”

She moved a little closer and her mating scent grew stronger. “I sometimes like males who take the lead.”

A lusty screech threatened to erupt from the back of his throat. “You wish to submit to me?”

“Well, maybe, if that wouldn’t be too forward.”

“It is your right to ask for what you wish and my duty to comply. However, this request will be both an honor and a pleasure to fulfil, my queen.”

“Are you sure you would not rather rest after a long hard day of work?”

Standing, Haden scooped her up in both arms and headed for his sleeping platform. After suffering the misfortune of being fitted with a transponder and being forced to submit to the will of a queen, this was a role reversal that left him eager and aching with need. “No changing your mind, my queen. You have offered yourself up to me and I am far too greedy to do anything but accept.”