Barbara took a threatening step toward the doctor. “I just think you’re trying to help the enemy so they pick you to live. The rest of us will die.”
“I think your mouth is a bigger threat. You’ll get us killed by doing everything you can to insult and anger them,” Becky muttered.
Barbara turned on them, glaring at Darla’s sister.
Darla released Becky and struggled to her feet. “Becky’s right. You’ve got no room to talk about what’s going to get us killed. I’m grateful Doctor Brick informed them that their plan won’t work the way they think. We all need to remain calm and avoid angering our captors. No good could possibly come of that.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Barbara snapped. “What’s your rank or station on my ship?”
Darla hesitated. “We just got hired to work in the gardens. We’re civilians.”
“That’s great.” Barbara rolled her eyes. “Not only are you an alien animal lover, but you’re a shitter. That’s what we call the ones who work in the garden section. Did anyone tell you that you’re fertilizing all those plants with human waste from the ship? You know…shit.” She smirked.
Darla opened her mouth, getting ready to tell the rude woman exactly what she thought of her, but the wall slid open again. She reached back for her sister, who had stood, too, and grabbed her hand as the three Elth returned. They were still holding their round weapons in their tentacles.
A red light shot out of one this time, hitting Dr. Brick in the chest, where the alien held the beam steady.
She gasped, her body stiffened, and her eyes widened. Pain twisted her features.
Instinct had Darla wanting to do something, anything, but her sister clung to her hand. It was a reminder that if she acted rashly, Becky might pay the price, too. She’d do anything to protect her baby sister.
“Tell the truth, human,” one of the Elth demanded. “Can the Veslors only breed a child with a single mate? Lie to us and you will die.”
Silent tears streamed down the doctor’s face. “Yes.”
The Elth cut off the red light. The doctor collapsed to her knees, sobbing and clutching her chest with both hands, clearly still in pain.
“We’ll chose one of you to become the Veslor’s mate and you will breed with him. If not, we will torture you until you comply.”
“I chose the human with the insulting mouth,” one of the Elth stated. “She has wide breeding hips and if he kills her, I’ll take pleasure in watching.”
Barbara shook her head frantically and threw her hand out, pointing toward Darla and her sister. “He was sitting with them on the shuttle. Don’t look at me to fuck that animal!”
Darla was horrified. Barbara had sacrificed them to save her own ass! Worse, it seemed to work when the aliens turned their ghostly bodies in their direction, seeming to study Darla and her baby sister.
She tensed, terrified of what they’d do.
It alarmed her even further when all three seemed to focus on Becky more so than her.
“I still wish to send in the insulting female first. There is no use for her anyway, if one of those two mates with the Veslor. We may as well gain some amusement with that one.” One of the Elth aimed his device toward Barbara.
“Wait!” Dr. Brick seemed to recover from the pain and got back to her feet. “Mating to a Veslor is a biological thing. A male must test a female. It can take time. If you kill all of us, what happens if it turns out those women aren’t compatible to become his mate? Do you have other human women to test? I thought your experiment revolved around successfully breeding a Veslor?
“You must have gone through a lot of time and trouble to grab a shuttle. It couldn’t have been easy. Now that you’ve done it, every ship, station, and planet will be on high alert. Your chances of grabbing another shuttle with humans onboard are slim to none. You need to keep us all alive. We’ll be impossible to replace if one of them isn’t a match to the Veslor.”
The three Elth did that weird thing where they chirped at each other.
Dr. Brick wasn’t done. “You need us as spares, if it turns out the one you pick isn’t his mate. Veslors can’t form a bond with just any woman. It must be one they’re highly attracted to and have excellent chemistry with. They have to feel emotions for her that are positive, to induce his physical ability to become fertile.”
The chirping began anew as the aliens debated who knew what, since Darla couldn’t understand anything they said.
They finally stopped—and one of them pointed their weapon at Darla and her sister. “Come with us, female in the back.”
They planned to force her sister to have sex with Gnaw.
Darla immediately wanted to attack but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Becky squeezed her hand so hard it hurt and pressed against her back, her body trembling.
“It’s me,” Darla blurted.
She shook off her sister’s tight grasp and stepped forward, staying between Becky and the aliens.
“I was talking to the Veslor on the shuttle. If one of us might be his mate, it’s me. He only talked to me.”
“Darla!” her sister hissed, grabbing hold of the back of her shirt.
She turned her head, holding her sister’s gaze. “I love you. Stay calm. Don’t give them any reason to hurt you.” She turned back to the aliens.
They pointed their weapons at her. She waited to feel pain or to be thrown back by a blast to her chest, but they didn’t shoot. “Come,” one of them ordered.
Her sister clutched at her frantically. “Don’t go!”
“I’ll be fine.” She had
