Her eyes followed the trail of his fingers tracing the edge of the scar. “It’s the scar from an inoculation. An immunization shot children on Earth receive before beginning school. The medicine protects against polio and other childhood diseases.”
He made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat. The touch of his index finger under her chin brought her attention and her face upward. He had beautiful eyes. “Karuntee don’t contract diseases up here, so you’re safe from any alien illnesses.”
A sarcastic alien. What next? She held his arms when he lifted her, setting her on the floor, adjusting her to face a panel in the wall.
“That’s a replicator. These buttons allow you to put in your body measurements then it’ll create a wardrobe to suit your needs. You can speak into the microphone here,” he said indicating a mesh screen above the buttons. “Speak plainly. It may have trouble understanding your southern accent.”
She had a slight Georgia twang, and he wanted to make it an issue. His differences concerned her from the moment they met. Sadie kept that to herself. She agreed with a quick nod, anxious to see this radio-like panel replicate clothes.
Suddenly the warmth of his chest filled her back before his hand came over her shoulder where he pressed a few buttons. Giving her the five-dollar tour of the controls, he stepped back as she clumsily made a few selections. When she said her bra size, Sadie would swear the captain drew in a long breath. The erection shoving at her back told her she’d heard correctly.
Captain Farkus moved away to stand with his arms folded; his chest swollen and bare. His sex appeal stood around him like a cloak or cape. Why was he single?
He told her to try on the pieces. He waited while she proved each item fit…each item. The jeans seemed to appeal to him more than anything she’d replicated. The last thing she wanted was to arouse him.
The captain abruptly went to the replicator and punched in a series of numbers before a few strings of yarn to the counter. He held out a string bikini, brown ribbons on either side of the panties and a drawstring holding the bra cups together. Her face warmed, sex clenched, and the skin of her inner thighs became moist at the thought of him seeing that much of her body.
“You’re shapelier than our females. Try them on so I know you’re decent,” he urged, handing the white crochet item in her direction.
When she emerged from the bathroom, near naked, she caught the flash of his pectoral muscles flex. He nodded then bolted for the door. “Pack Norese’s things and meet me in the living room in twenty minutes.”
“Wait, Captain,” she called after his hulking form. He stopped without turning around. “Am I going home to Earth? You can’t possibly have a beach up here.” She gestured to the window.
“We enjoy a good swim the same as you, Sadie. It strengthens the lungs, heart, and back muscles,” flexing his back to expand and bunch, highlighting just how big he was. “It’s important exercise for the health of a karuntee warrior.” The tight angle of his chin as he peered back over his shoulder gave the tattoo of the moon situated above his ear the appearance of being in motion when he spoke. "Prepare to leave in twenty minutes.” A walking piece of art.
The stainless steel doors slid apart, the mechanisms whirring when they closed seconds after the captain cleared the threshold. His spicy scent remained.
She dropped to her knees, fingers clasped together and prayed. “Lord, give me strength to endure this adventure I’ve longed for, but certainly wasn’t expecting it to come in such a sizeable package.”
Her mind made up, she hurriedly packed the replicated items then selected a month’s worth of clothes for Norese. For the Captain to be so gruff, he had excellent taste for his little girl. Her clothes were adorable.
She ran into the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, then found Norese and gathered her into her arms. Waiting in the living room, she prepared her mind for the next month. She was a prisoner to an alien.
Chapter 5
Two hours later, dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, and tennis shoes, Sadie stood with the captain in a corridor full of aliens coming and going. Norese held her hand and gave small waves to each as they passed into the bay, like a child standing on the porch watching the older kids going to school. Sadie found the notion endearing. And from the smiles and nods, it was evident Norese held a vital role in this community. Obvious Captain Farkus had a heart under his maudlin grumpy exterior.
Sadie eyed the ceiling down to the tan walls with their gray horizontal stripes. Each parking bay had replicator panels before each shuttle.
“Is this safe? I’ve never ridden in anything taller than a Ferris wheel. Will it make me sick…nauseated? Do I need a particular air suit or helmet in the event something happens?” Anxious, her tone came out wobbly, barely recognizable. Surveying the crowd’s attire, she noticed no one wore jeans other than her. Pants with multiple pockets down the legs were common among the karuntee.
The captain’s look hung between amused and annoyed. Heat poured off his body in waves with him inches from her side, bumping her with every step.
“Sit over here along the wall. Take hold of that strap hanging from the shoulder rest and bring it across your body. There’s one for your lap. For your safety, remain fastened securely in your seat until we’re clear of the launch bay doors.” Their bodies barely cleared the other when she eased around him to her seat.
The chair had a high back and a thick cushioned seat as she got Norese then herself settled, securing their individual straps. The captain flipped a few switches on the ceiling. A clanking mechanism churned, closing the doors. The lights inside dimmed. “We’ll be there in under an hour.”
“An hour,” she retorted, her voice higher than normal. How slow did this ship travel for it to take an hour? “Are you good at driving these shuttles?” she asked hesitantly. “How safe are they? Does anyone ever crash?”
His eyes pierced her with a cold stare. “There’s a blanket in the drawer beneath your feet,” he said, ignoring her comment to speak with his daughter. “Norese, are you cold?”
“No.” Inching her way onto Sadie’s lap, Norese gave her father’s hand a little push to clear her path.
Sadie reclined, giving her space to cuddle her body to her chest where she withdrew a toy from the cushion of the seat. She clutched the stuffed animal in the shape of an iguana—orbital black eyes on either side of its head—to her chest. Norese’s warm breath penetrated Sadie’s T-shirt when she settled into her chest.
“I’ll take a blanket,” Sadie told him, needing to be comforted herself. Up here on the space shuttle for the first time, she should be looking for a bottle of liquid courage to accompany the blanket, but Norese’s little body would do.
She drew back when he knelt, fishing a blanket out from the drawer under her seat. His dark eyes trailed her open legs up to her face. The overhead lights, although dim, illuminated the curve of his bald head, and she bit back the urge to touch his face. His body came over hers. He draped the dark velvety cloth over the both of them, careful of where he touched.
“Thank you, Captain; I can handle it from here.”
Abruptly he returned to the controls. For the first time Sadie noticed Montage to his right flipping switches and pressing buttons. Broad shouldered as the captain, Montage held a classic handsome quality to his features set off by a hint of cruelty in his eyes. The long burgundy ponytail at the back of his otherwise bald head gave him a Japanese flair. They all had black with burgundy eyes she had to fight not to drown in.
“Ms. Alexander, there’s something you need to know about a karuntee.” He shifted, angling his broad shoulders enough for their eyes to meet, addressing her politely yet stiff as a board left out in the snow. “Seldom do we have humans on the station or in our daily lives. It’s wise to remain with the captain while on the beach.”
She stroked a hand through Norese’s curls, as if it medicated her jumpy nerves. “Thank you, Commander,” she said when the interior faded to a soft glow around the base. “I’ll remember that and hope everyone else remembers I was brought here by force.”
The captain’s shoulders tensed. “I’m done hearing your complaints, Ms. Ochi.” His voice came out a harsh force of nature, consuming her calm by the intense tone.
“Ms. Alexander,” she corrected him, not wanting him to know the level of control he held over her with the sound of his voice. “Ochi is my middle name, my mother’s maiden name.”
Montage shook his head.
“I will refer to you using whichever name appeals to me…Ochi!”
To hand over power wasn’t her style, but staying alive was the top priority. She scoffed under his harsh forceful tone and shook her head. “Fine, Captain Farkus. This is your world, and these are your people, not mine.”
“Thank you...Ochi,” he said her name slower, tempting her to have another outburst. She didn’t take the bait.
The night saturated the shuttle in spotty shadows. Sadie’s stomach plummeted when they exited the bay to float out into space as smooth as a ride in a new Cadillac. Through the side window, the station appeared large, almost egg-shaped with eight brackets supporting it. A reddish-blue flat ring circled the circumference of the station much like a freeway in the mountains.
Adjusting her hips, she craned her neck around and took in the magnificent view. Simply blown away by her surroundings, she said a silent prayer. By the time she’d said, “Amen,” Norese’s hand covered hers, her warm body snuggled close and her breathing quiet. In the near-black interior, Sadie listened to the captain and Montage discussing shipments of fuel, and metals, and dealing with humans.
“How many clean shipments came in from the central hemisphere?” the captain asked.
Montage tapped out a series of buttons on the transparent panel as he answered, “Sector Seven hasn’t received a contaminated shipment in the last eight months. The last conference between you and the human captain appears to be making headway.”
The Captain slid a lever forward and the shuttle tilted back then leveled off. “Good. Holston’s a good man.” He chuckled. “Of the few humans I can tolerate, Holston I trust.”
Sadie coughed.
“Did you say something, Sadie,” the captain asked, looking over his shoulder, his features hidden in the shadows.
“You said fuel comes from the Earth and you recycle it up here creating a cleaner burning fluid for smaller engines. Then you manipulate the metal making it stronger, and then you sell it to our government.” She held up a hand gesturing in the shadows. “Why is this a secret?”
Montage angled his chair around, his eyes and tight features partially visible. “Humans are dirty. At one point, your species attempted to steal our technology, having no way of understanding our mother language.”
In the dark, she rolled her eyes. “You speak English, the same language of the dirty species.”
When would she learn to keep her mouth shut? Montage’s shoulders tightened. His hand came up inches from her face. Sadie instinctively shielded Norese, cupping her to her breasts.
A hand shot out of the dark, clasping around his throat. Montage groaned. Aroc slammed him back in his seat, making it strain the bolts holding it together. Their faces were inches apart. “Sadie is my guest. Treat her with respect, at all times, Commander. In my presence and out!”
Tension in the cabin built, robust as a fifth body taking up space.
“Sadie,” he said through compressed lips. “Our language consists of many intricate symbols and lengthy phrases. Many still speak it within their homes.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off the captain. If Montage wasn’t her friend before, the captain stepping in on her behalf didn’t help their relationship.
“Montage, Commander, I understand that you feel exposed with me in your world, but if you don’t like us, why build a treaty?”
“We were exposed by a rogue, leaving us with unfavorable options to secure the safety of our world, Sadie,” the captain said. “In that treaty your government chose to allow a select number of business owners access to our technology, setting up a central location out here in space—a neutral station. Our people are aware of humans. I’ve banned them from visiting Earth unless as a part of the current mission,” he, informed her in a diplomatic tone that neither praised nor condemned his decision. It was a law. End of discussion. Not for Sadie.
“Why keep our two races apart?” What did it say about the captain marrying a woman from Sadie’s world?
“Karuntee have a physical advantage over humans.” He huffed. “I’d spend my time bailing my people out of your prison system.”
True
.
“Like I said,” Montage added, “humans are dirty.”
“Commander,” she said, directing her voice to the other alien. “I’m not dirty and I can read. Learning your language is not above my intelligence. Your arrogance is what would land you in prison down on my planet.”
The swift move between men was a blur. Sadie drew back in the chair, curling Norese closer. The captain held a short blade to Montage’s side, their faces inches apart.
“I would mourn the loss your absence would leave on my life and the karuntee population.” The captain pressed the blade tighter. Montage suppressed a groan. “Take a second look at the comfort my daughter finds in Ms. Alexander’s arms. Turn your face and look.” Sadie felt the weight of his gaze on her, the heaviness lingering even after he returned his attention to the captain. “Two years since the doctor placed Norese, my miracle, in my arms and she’s never had a mother. Sadie’s protection comes second only to Norese’s. Do you have a problem, Commander?”