T’saran growled, but T’ngorzul only laughed at her horrified expression before he wheeled and headed for the door with a sharp command to T’saran.
With a last look at her that she refused to acknowledge, T’saran followed him out of the room. She pulled her legs up and huddled into her coat, then gave in to the gathering tears.
“Commander T’ngorzul,” T’saran protested again as they left the med lab. “You agreed to let her spend the shift with me.”
“I agreed to give her the choice.”
“But she doesn’t understand. I need the translation upgrade.” His current translation protocol allowed him to understand human speech, but his own abilities to speak it were severely limited.
T’ngorzul raised an eyebrow. “You know that the fleet doesn’t provide those for anyone below the rank of Sub Commander until after the first year of conquest.”
T’saran gritted his teeth. “For another year of service?”
He had already committed to two more years under T’ngorzul—one year to have the bastard refrain from ordering any experiments for a full shift, and another for the opportunity to have L’ren spend the shift with him. The thought of the additional time filled him with dismay, but he had to do everything he could to protect L’ren.
The commander stopped and considered him thoughtfully. “You are behaving as if this primitive female was your L’chka.”
The term echoed in his head. Every Yehrin warrior yearned for that elusive mating bond, but, like their females, they were increasingly rare. Surely he couldn’t have found his L’chka here on this isolated planet, through a mere accident of fate?
Before he could voice a coherent response, T’ngorzul nodded. “Very well. You may have the upgrade for a year of service.”
He managed to choke out a thank you and salute before hurrying off to make the arrangements.
An hour later he returned to the med lab, his head aching from the upgrade. His female was huddled on the exam table, but he was relieved to see that S’kran was nowhere in sight. He wouldn’t have put it past T’ngorzul to have ordered the medic to begin testing, in spite of their agreement.
As he approached the table, he saw that her eyes were closed. Although their time together would be limited, he was reluctant to disturb her slumber. He was debating whether or not to wake her when her eyes opened. For the briefest second, she looked happy to see him, then her eyes hardened and she looked away.
“L’ren, I must talk to you.”
“You can talk now?” She pulled herself back up to a seated position, glaring at him when he started to help her. “I suppose that was all part of your game.”
“It was not a game. I had to request the upgrade.”
“Why bother? You brought me here the way you were supposed to.”
He wasn’t sure which bothered him more, the bitterness or the defeat in her voice.
“I did not bring you here because of my assignment. I brought you here because you required medical assistance. It was, perhaps, naive of me to assume that your condition would prevent Commander T’ngorzul from seeing you as a subject.”
“Who are you, anyway?”
“I am Officer T’saran R’llen—”
“Not you personally. I mean all of you… Yehrin, was it?”
Despite his disappointment that she was not interested in him, he was pleased that she was at least speaking to him.
“Yes, we are part of the Yehrin Empire. This ship is part of the Yehrin fleet.”
“And you really think you’re going to conquer Earth?”
He hesitated, but he wasn’t going to lie to her. “I know we will. Just as we have conquered hundreds of other planets.”
“For breeding experiments?” she asked warily.
He had resolved not to lie to her, but this was one piece of information that he could not share. It was too vital to his people. He compromised on a partial truth. “It is one of the reasons. We also choose to assist planets in transitioning to life beyond just their own world and in developing technology that will not destroy their planet.”
“By conquering them?” she asked skeptically.
“Planets at your stage of development benefit from a firm hand.” The lesson had been drilled into him at an early age.
“I’ve yet to find a benefit to a firm hand,” she muttered, then ducked her head away from him.
The move reminded him of an abused sekhmet that he had fostered for a short period of time during his first assignment. Had someone abused this pale, fragile woman? Just the thought forced him to turn away and stalk to the door before he frightened her with his anger.
Several deep breaths later, he had regained enough composure to turn back to her. The way she was watching him warily, her shoulders hunched, added to his suspicions, but he forced them aside.
“I am truly sorry that bringing you here has forced you into this position. I have offered repeatedly to return for another female, but the commander will not let me.”
“Would it be any better if it were another woman?”
He understood her point, but again went with the truth. “It would be for me. I do not like the thought of you in T’ngorzul’s hands.”
She paled but her shoulders actually straightened. “I don’t like it, either. What does he have planned for me?”
“I am not entirely sure. We have basic information about humans in our data banks already, but he seems to be looking for something more.”
“His breeding experiments?” She made a noise that could have been a laugh. “Then you definitely picked the wrong woman—”
S’kran stepped into the room. His gait was unimpaired, but his hands were trembling, and even from here, T’saran could catch the distinct smell of alcohol. L’ren, too, recoiled.
“What
