Alien's Bride 1-3 (27 page)

My heart began thudding in my chest.
 

“They got his first wife Sasha out of here.
 
They’re ready to get me free, too.
 
You need to find Elentinus’ control unit for your collar.
 
Any control unit can be set to work on any collar.
 
You can switch mine off.
 
They have a pod that’s too small to be picked up by the wave sensors.
 
It’s attached to the ship next to the waste disposal unit.
 
Once I have the collar off they can move the pod to form a seal with the waste disposal hatch.
 
I can crawl down through the hatch onto the pod.
 
It will take me to Earth.
 
From there, they have land vehicles to bring me to the Southern Hemisphere out of this ship’s sensor range.
 
They have a ship waiting there to bring me to planet Rendam where I can be free.”

She stopped whispering to glare at me.
 
My breaths had become staggered with fear.
 

I started to shake my head.
 
“I…I don’t know where he keeps his control unit.”

“In his drawer, in his desk, in his shelf, whatever.
 
Just look for it.
 
And it has to be done tonight, do you understand?
 
We might leave tomorrow.
 
I won’t ever get another chance this good.
 
They guard us like hawks on the home world.”

I started to quake with tears.
 
“Don’t…don’t ask me to…”

“Are you fucking crazy!”
 
Anger made her whisper even louder.
 
“They’ll never know you helped me.
 
Even if he suspects it, he loves you too much to punish you.”

“This could ruin things.”

She started to cry along with me.
 
“You…you would be this selfish?
 
They’re torturing me!
 
I haven’t even told you everything.
 
My God—!”

I put my face in my hand.
 
“I have to think about it.”

Kang rolled back over to us.
 
I was so grateful I could have hugged him.
 
He offered us two of the peanut butter milk things.

“I told you to fuck off!”

“No.”
 
I took my drink and cradled it in both hands.
 
“I want him to stay.”

She fumed and slumped back in the couch.
 
A moment later she sat up again and took her drink.
 

The two of us sipped in silence.

A Domestic found us after a while to ask if we wanted to join the others for a tour of the ship.
 
I popped up from the couch.

“Yes.”

“No!” Inga said.
 
“I don’t give a fuck about this stupid ship.”

The urge to cry buoyed up in my chest again, but this time anger came with it.
 
Inga was just the sort of person I tried to avoid in my old life.
 
No matter what her situation was she would always make the worst of it.

“I’ve never had a tour of the ship.
 
I want to see it.”

She stayed planted on the couch and turned away from me to scowl.

Fine.
 
Stay here and wallow in your self-pity.
 

No.
 
That was callous of me.
 
She really did have a living Hell waiting at home.
 
I drew in a deep breath and found my compassion.
  

“Come on, sweetie.”
 
I took her hand.
  

“Pah!”
 
She half-heartedly climbed to her feet.
 
“It’s the only time I get away from that fucking asshole Rolf-Tem.
 
Why do you have to ruin it for me?”

She kept stride with me behind the Domestic all the same.
 

We were brought into a large dining room that was walled on one side with concave windows showing outer space.
 
Elentinus and Nayjoor sat close together, chatting.
 
Rolf-Tem and Hor-Denay each sat one seat away from their masters to speak to each other from across the table.
 
I came up slow since they hadn’t noticed us yet.

“We could spread R78 spores on their home world,” Nayjoor said.
 
“The planet would be dead in weeks without a single Dak-Hiliah soldier lost.”

“If we use such a devastating weapon their allies would retaliate,” Elentinus said.

“Not if they don’t know it’s us.
 
If it looks like a natural disaster.”

“They’re not fools, Nayjoor.”

“They would practice selective ignorance.”
 
He gave Elentinus a dismissive wave.
 
“A moon base, then.
 
Just as a warning.
 
To tell them not to fuck with us.”

“Would you really put such a thing to a vote?”

“If we had a session today?
 
No.
 
But if more wives disappear—if things don’t change—“

Elentinus tipped his chin at us.
 
Nayjoor looked behind him and snorted.
 
He stayed seated while Elentinus rose to greet me.

My hand was trembling as I reached out for his.
 
I squeezed tight to try to hide it.
 
“We—we’re here for the tour.”
 

Elentinus kissed my lips.
 
His calm, authoritative vibe reassured me.
 

“I’m glad you decided to join us.”
 

Inga walked over to the window and pasted her hands against it.
 
“Is that Earth?”

Nayjoor lumbered to his feet with a grunt.
 
He walked over to her.
 
“Yes, Inga dear.”
 

We all huddled before the window.
 
The planet took up the bottom fourth of our frame of vision.
 

“It looks like Earth…like space pictures.”
 
She turned to me.
 
“What have they done to our world?”

I pursed my lips.
 
“Well, actually, I guess some space invaders call the Instajants pretty much ravaged the place.
 
The Dak-Hiliah took over afterwards, when the damage was already done.”

“I know all about the Instajant bullshit.
 
Tell me what it’s like there now.”

My brow twitched.
 
“I’ve only been there once, and I wasn’t able to leave the ship.”

“Elen,” Nayjoor said, “I don’t understand a word your wife is saying.”

We all turned toward him.
 

Elentinus looked annoyed.
 
“You didn’t get all seven Earth languages?”
  

“Fuck no.
 
It was bad enough having to go under for Inga’s language.
 
Why do I need that garbage clogging up my brain?
 
I still haven’t used your fucking Dornovonian, you know that?
 
I thought we were getting all the wives from the same area.”

My husband stared at him a moment.
 
If he was a less serene being I’m sure Nayjoor would have tried his patience.
 

“Darling.”
 
He caressed my cheek.
 
“Could you try to speak in my language?”

“Ffff…Fthenbaukila…kila…dyehas,” I said.
 
It should have been one fluid word:
 
Fthenbaukiladyehas.
 
I still think it was okay for my first attempt.
 
It meant, ‘Okay, I’ll try.’

“I want to go see it,” Inga said, while still attached to the window.

“That could be difficult,” Elentinus said.

I wanted to jump on this opportunity to ask Nayjoor how long he was staying, but the words were coming together too slow.

“How long will we be having you?” Elentinus said (since we were of one mind as usual).

“Eh.
 
Three or four days,” Nayjoor said.

Rolf-Tem puffed out his breath in disgust.

I bopped Inga.
 
“Hear that?
 
Three days at least.”

“Yes.
 
I heard him.”
 

She shot daggers at me with her eyes.
 
I didn’t care.
 
Her fucked up deadline of an escape tonight had to be taken off the table.

Elentinus brought us into the vast kitchen, filled with hundreds of white cupboards above sterile shiny counter space.
  
Loads of Domestics who looked different than the normal ones (Chef-bots?) were whirring around.
 

We proceeded up an elevator that led into a relatively small control room.
 
Seated at two pilot chairs in front of a broad window and control panel were actual
robots
.
 
Not the boxy cylinder head things like Kang, but two units with silver faces on round heads, as well as arms, legs, torso, and pelvis.
 
They were crude metal sci-fi rejects but at least they had a humanoid shape.
 
One of the robots spun his chair around and sprang up.
 

“Lord Elentinus,” it said in an appropriately computerized voice.

“Continue your work.
 
I’m merely giving my guests a tour.”

It sat back down and faced its control panel.

“What kind of weaponry do you have?” Nayjoor said.

“Two thousand armed Defenders,” Elentinus said.
 
“Most remain at the Earth colony.
 
Five hundred man the yacht’s armaments.
 
The hull can withstand anything the denizens of this sector can muster.”

Nayjoor looked smug.
 
“They may not penetrate the hull, but they can still knock you out of orbit.”

“It’s not possible to be completely invulnerable.”
 
He was unperturbed, as usual.
 
“I accept the risks of my post.”

“It’s a shitty post.
 
I wouldn’t do it.
 
No one else on the council would do it.
 
You didn’t have to volunteer for it.
 
You’re above these sorts of missions now, Elen.
 
You still think like a petty viceroy.”