She unzipped and let the rain-sodden fabric fall to the ground. Her soaked T-shirt plastered against her skin, leaving little to the imagination. Self-conscious, she crossed her arms over her chest.
“No chip. Not registered. No one to report her missing,” Nicky said, yanking down her arms. “How much are you willing to pay for this delicacy? Non-traceable credits only. No trade. I’m not interested in your slutty aliens or whatever.”
A holographic figure leaned forward to get a better view, but he remained in shadows. What little was visible was a swath of pale skin, heavily inked with cryptic symbols. “The female’s coloring is alarming. Is the female toxic or venomous?”
“Yes,” Thalia said.
Nicky slapped her across the face with an open hand. “No. The color is a non-toxic chemical used as decoration.”
“Terran males prefer such coloration?” the shadowy figure asked.
“Oh, yes. It doesn’t look like much on her, but that color will warn off predators and keep your nest safe,” Nicky said.
The shadowy figure hummed and nodded. The inked symbols shifted and slid across his skin.
Alarmed, Thalia stepped back. “Not him,” she said.
Nicky clamped a hand around the back of her neck and steered her forward. “You’ll go with him or any fucking one who will take you off my hands.”
“Just kill me,” she whispered, realizing the depth of the shit she was in. This was happening and she couldn’t think of a way out of it. Not above crying or begging, her body refused to cooperate with the tears. She had no trouble managing the begging. “Please, Nicky, don’t give me to an alien. Please. I’d do anything you want. Please.”
Trying to twist around to look him in the eyes, his hand squeezed her neck and kept her firmly in place. His hot and fetid breath curdled against her ear. “You hear that? She’s so eager for you, gentlemen. She’ll be a good breeder for you.”
The bidding commenced. The aliens shouted out numbers too fast for the computer to translate. Eventually, Nicky nodded, satisfied at the price.
“She’ll be delivered when the funds are received,” Nicky said, handing her off to a minion.
They pushed her toward a large glass coffin. She recognized a stasis chamber, but she could not convince her brain that it was anything other than a coffin. If she went in, she’d never wake up.
Thalia went slack, forcing the minion to drag her full weight. She refused to go easily. He shoved her in, knocking her head on the edge of the chamber. “Ow! Fuck you,” she snapped.
The minion smiled, his broken teeth stained yellow and brown. “Sweet dreams.”
The door sealed shut with a hiss. Something pricked the back of her neck. A computer counted down.
Five…
Four…
Three…
Havik
The ship, while capable, was not fast. The journey to Earth stretched out. Frequent stops, necessary for fuel and repairs, added time. Teleportation gates might have shaved time off their journey, but Havik did not trust the ship to withstand the stress of using a gate.
“My hair will be white by the time we arrive,” Havik grumbled.
“We’d be there by now if we’d utilized a gate,” Ren said, his faith in the ship never shaken by frequent repairs.
“We’d be drifting in the deep black with no life support.”
“Earth has a gate now.”
“No gates.”
“What is the point of having a gate if we can’t use it?” Ren ran a frustrated hand through his short hair, drawing attention to the white lock at his temple. “And you should be so lucky to have white hair. Females find it irresistible.”
Havik highly doubted that but he did wonder at Ren’s urgent need to arrive at Earth. Havik had a lost mate to retrieve and honor to restore. He wasn’t sure what Ren expected to gain from the journey.
Just when Havik could no longer stand the sound of his friend’s voice, they arrived at Earth. Terrans, apparently, enjoyed bureaucracy. Docking at the station on the moon required a permit, which required a reason for his visit. Havik struggled with the form as there was no box to check next to “Reclaim honor and right a past wrong against his mate.” Instead he ticked off tourist.
Ren downloaded an Earth guidebook and spouted facts about Terrans, or humans as they liked to be called. “Their bodies are mostly water, and their planet is also mostly water. They must be very moist.” Ren lowered his tablet. “I do not think I would enjoy that.”
Then he added, “I found amusing photographs of Terrans in the extreme cold pretending to eat food, but it has already frozen. Look, the utensil for the noodles is frozen in midair. It is amusing.” Ren grinned. “Terrans are humorous. You cannot eat that.”
And, “Terrans have an evolutionary obligation to protect their young and they find other beings with the features of infants to be cute. Large eyes. Disproportionate heads on small bodies. Lesser species have evolved to have their young mimic the features of Terran infants. Fascinating. This is an infant feline. It is adorable. I need one.”
“We will not acquire a feline,” Havik said.
“The guide says they excel at killing vermin. Do you like vermin? Is that why you do not want a feline? It is fine. We will discuss this later.”
He knew it was a lost battle.
Havik stood outside the squat, ugly building. Earth was a cold planet with too much humidity in the air, a ludicrous amount of water, but the sunshine took away the worst of the chill.
Ren, apparently, loved being frozen. With both fists on his hips, he took a deep breath and sighed with pleasure. “You can smell rain. How wild is that? And Terrans have a word for it: petrichor.” He took another exaggerated breath. “Earth is amazing.”
Havik had a differing opinion but kept his mouth shut.
Earth had proven to be a frustrating, backward planet. Vanessa could not be reached with the contact information Havik had. He tried to remember if she had family, but he was as bad as Ren
