Alien Caged (10 page)

Oret offered a bow before taking the dish.  Behind him, Miragin and Zemos did the same, their features also warm and welcoming.  They chorused, “Good afternoon, Matara.”

Oret added, “Ah, Miragin’s favorite meal.  Thank you for the kindness.”

Elisa’s face heated to match the warmth spreading from her stomach to her chest.  Even if she’d dared to speak in front of Remington, she’d be too tongue-tied to do so right now.  Oret, as bestial as he appeared, had a level of graciousness that Remington could never aspire to.  His gratitude for something as simple as his clanmate’s preferred Earther food was a wondrous thing.

Miragin’s face lit with delight as Oret gave him his lunch.  “I could eat this every day, Matara.  Thank you.”

Zemos chuckled and added, “He talks about it all the time.  I can’t blame him; your meatloaf is delicious.”

Remington, of course, had to ruin the moment.  “Meatloaf?  Your favorite is meatloaf?  It looks like dog food to me.  Then again, dog food is exactly what you Earth killers deserve.”

Elisa followed Oret’s example and acted as if the guard wasn’t yelling in his efforts to have them acknowledge him.  She wished Remington would get bored and go away.

She handed Oret another tray.  Heavens, the man’s hands were so big and powerful.  He had knots for knuckles and thick veins ran across the backs.  She bet the pads of his fingers were harsh with callouses.  She imagined them touching her naked flesh.  It was all she could do to not shiver.

Remington kept right on talking.  “Stupid Kalqs.  You wouldn’t know good food if it shoved itself in your mouths.  This is military chow, not upscale.  It’s not like she’s giving you filet mignon or lobster.  It’s just meatloaf!”

Elisa handed in the last dish with real regret despite Remington’s presence.  As slow as she’d been to hand them their food, it was already time to leave.  Clenching her teeth against the sigh that wanted to escape, she closed up the food cart.

“The best meal of all doesn’t come from the kitchen.  The tastiest flesh is what little Miss Chef there has cooking down below.  Now that is some sweet stuff.”

Elisa jerked her head up to stare at Remington.  Horror and disgust twisted her guts as he leered at her. 

Miragin laughed.  The Imdiko’s derisive snickers, uttered around a mouthful of food, drew both Earthers’ attention.  His clanmates looked at him too, warning expressions on their faces.

Miragin ignored the other two Kalquorians, staring at Remington instead.  He swallowed so he could speak.  “What’s that saying you Earthers have?  Oh yes, I think it’s ‘in your dreams’.”

Remington’s lip curled back in a mutt-like snarl.  “You think I haven’t had her?”

“I know you haven’t.  I doubt you’ve had any woman.  You’ve only had yourself, judging from how remarkably toned your right arm and hand are.”

Despite their obvious concern, Oret and Zemos burst into laughter at that.  Remington shrieked in wordless anger.

Miragin grinned at Elisa and tipped her a wink.  He shoved another mouthful of meatloaf in and groaned in delight as he chewed.

Elisa couldn’t help herself.  A smile flashed over her face before she could gain control.  Unfortunately, the red-faced Remington glanced at her just as it happened.  She ducked her head to hide behind her hair, but it was too late.

He got in her face in an instant.  “You think that’s funny?  You think the Kalqs are humorous, you tight twat?”

“I need to return to the kitchen,” Elisa quavered, frightened by the raw anger in Remington’s eyes.  She grabbed her cart and tugged at it, ready to flee down the corridor to get away from the irate guard.

He seized her upper arm with one hand, his grip punishing with force.  She cried out and the three Kalquorians shouted in anger as Remington yanked her close.

He ignored the noise they made.  Spittle flying in his furry, he snarled, “Let’s see how fucking funny you think
this
is!” 

Remington’s free hand moved from his belt.  When he brought up his frequency disruptor rather than the blaster, Elisa nearly fainted from relief.  Then she was suddenly hurtled towards the cell’s containment field.  Remington had shoved her too hard for her to stop her momentum.  She tensed as she braced to crash against it.

Instead, Elisa flew into the cell, heading straight for Oret.  The startled Nobek had only enough time to drop his food tray before she smashed against his iron body.  His arms wrapped around her and he automatically gave a little against the collision, cushioning the blow and keeping Elisa from being hurt.

For an instant, their gazes met.  Elisa stared into the face of the Nobek, feeling his breath on her face.  His arms tightened around her, molding her against himself.  Their bodies crushed to one another’s, and Elisa felt the strength of the man holding her.  Her knees buckled as her senses drowned in the sight, smell, and feel of the Nobek.

The next moment, Oret released her, simultaneously swinging her to one side and leaping at Remington.  The containment field was already restored, however, bouncing the Nobek off with enough force to send him to the middle of the cell, where he landed on his ass.

Elisa’s legs somehow found their strength.  She stood frozen and stared at the Kalquorians, terror stealing over her.  She was locked in the cell with the three aliens.  Remington had trapped her inside with men that the Church had warned would rape any Earther female they could lay their hands on.

Remington laughed maniacally on the other side of the containment.  “That’ll teach you, you bitch.  Hang out with your friends, have a few more laughs.”

The Kalquorians stared at her, Oret still sitting on the floor where he’d landed.  Elisa shrank back, taking slow steps until her butt met the field behind her.  It hissed a warning at the contact, but she barely noticed.  Purple eyes filled her gaze, along with monumental bodies possessing strength she could never hope to overcome.  She was trapped inside with alien men who had no women of their own, who had flirted with her, and who she had brazenly flirted back with.  She had nowhere to run from them.

Zemos recovered from the shock first.  He blinked slowly and his tensed shoulders slumped a little as he made himself relax.  He offered Elisa a slight smile.

His tone cautious, the Dramok said, “It is all right, little one.  We are not going to hurt you.  We will not even touch you.”

As if awakened from a trance, Miragin shook his head.  He gave Elisa his own gentle smile, bowed, and sat down on the bunk. 

“Well, that was exciting,” he said to no one in particular.  With that, he went back to eating his meal.

Oret dragged his gaze away from Elisa’s face.  He swallowed hard.  The Nobek stood up, looking more gargantuan than ever to Elisa’s terrified stare.  However, he only brushed himself off and looked with regret at his food, lying in a mess on the floor.

“Share with me, my Nobek,” Zemos offered.  “The portion is generous enough.”

“Thank you,” Oret said and joined his Dramok.  The pair went about eating the tray of food, passing the plastic fork back and forth.

Zemos winked at Miragin.  “I notice you did not offer to share with him too.”

The Imdiko gave him a pathetic look.  “But it’s
meatloaf
, Zemos.”

The three men cracked up.  Grinning, Miragin lifted his plate towards Oret.  The Nobek and Zemos both shook their heads, chuckling.

Oret said, “Enjoy it, my Imdiko.  I know how much you like this dish.”

Miragin nodded and turned his beaming face to Elisa.  “Delicious as ever, Matara.  If this is indeed dog food as your crude admirer says, then I envy dogs.”

Elisa gaped at him, at all three men as they continued to eat.  They seemed intent on their meal, barely glancing at her as the food disappeared from the trays.

They weren’t going to attack her.  She felt ashamed that she had expected them to.  Fearing they would harm her told Elisa that she was no better than assholes like Remington who saw the Kalquorians as animals instead of men.  Hadn’t she known deep inside that these three could be trusted?

Relaxing, Elisa glanced at Remington.  He watched the Kalquorians eat, puzzled disappointment dawning on his face.  The man actually seemed unhappy she was not being raped. 

Son of a bitch.  She was reporting him the instant she got the hell out of this cell.

The guard finally spoke.  “You don’t want her?  Damned if you aren’t man lovers, just like they said.”

Oret’s violent gaze cut to him.  “Not all men.  Certainly not you.  If you stick your ugly face in here, Remington, I’ll rip your dick off and stomp it to pieces.”

Miragin added, “But he’s not a real man.  I wouldn’t fuck him if his was the last ass in the universe.”

Zemos glanced at Elisa.  Seeing she’d calmed down, even to the point of taking a couple of steps from the containment field, he asked.  “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

She shook her head.  She had an almost undeniable urge to move closer to the Kalquorians, to seek their protection against anything else Remington might take it in his head to do to her.  Yet Elisa knew she had to remain distant.  Remington would figure out pretty soon he was in deep shit.  If she did the slightest thing that could be construed as wanton behavior, he’d use it to get her executed.  On Earth, a man’s word was worth much more than a woman’s.  Elisa was sure it remained the same way with Commander Chase and Lieutenant Commander Robards.

Zemos tossed his empty tray to one side and fixed her with a paternal gaze.  “Make sure you tell the captain about what just happened.  We’ve warned him about Remington’s behavior around you, but apparently he didn’t take the words of Kalquorians seriously.”

That brought the guard’s temper back full force.  “He tried to pull me off duty, you lousy shit.  It was the tactical officer who said I could stay.  So fuck you.”

Remington turned his hectic glare to Elisa.  She saw the worry on his face, the knowledge that he’d gone farther than even Robards or First Officer Chase would countenance.  Elisa suddenly thought Remington might try to kill her to keep her quiet, except then he’d be hard pressed to explain her body.  Then again, there were plenty of places on the huge cruiser to hide a murder victim.

She wasn’t going to be able to go to Captain Walker with this after all.  Her insides curdled to know Remington was going to get away with trying to have her attacked by the Kalquorians.

His words drove home that point.  “If you say one word to Walker about this, you’ll be sorry.  He’s the boss in name only, you know.”

Zemos scowled.  Apparently he’d recognized Elisa’s position in this mess, and it didn’t sit well with the huge alien.  Oret and Miragin looked rabid with fury as well.

Zemos said, “Countermanding a superior officer’s orders is not a good sign.”

It was a warning to her.  The Dramok was telling her to be careful, that she was in more danger than perhaps she realized. 

Elisa knew exactly how bad things were.  Once again, she wondered how the hell she could survive anywhere, including on board the battlecruiser.

Remington seemed to tire of nothing happening.  He also seemed to think he was in the clear and that Elisa wouldn’t tell on him.  With his field disruptor in one hand and the blaster in the other, he ordered, “You three Kalqs, get all the way to the back wall.  I’m going to let her out.  If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you.”

In that moment, Elisa hated the man and everyone like him with her entire being.  She’d been pushed around all her life by the fanatics of Earth.  Even with her home planet destroyed, she still had to deal with the true believers and the men who paid lip service to wield power over others.  In that instant, she made a crazy decision.

She told Remington, “You can’t kill them.  Bi’is is paying for live slaves, not dead ones.”

Elisa didn’t look at the Kalquorians, but she felt the tension that soared.  All three men were silent and still in that instant. 

Part of her quailed at her treason.  Another part celebrated with vicious glee, applauding her making any sort of a stand at long last.

Remington didn’t realize that she’d shared what was supposed to be a deep, dark secret.  “Shut up and get out.  If that’s where they’re headed, we’ve got seventy more of these fuckers in general population to hand off.  Three less isn’t going to matter, no matter where we’re taking them.”

Elisa bit her lips together as wild laughter threatened.  Remington had just told Zemos how many of his crew still lived.  She wasn’t sure the Kalquorian captain knew.

We should go ahead while we’re at it and tell them the Holy Leader is out there too.  Wouldn’t that be the icing on the cake!

Zemos’ clan had retreated to the back of the cell as ordered.  Elisa walked to the field where Remington waited.  His blaster was aimed and steady on the prisoners as he let the containment down.

As Elisa walked past the guard, she had another crazy impulse; this one was to shove him into the cell and let Oret have him.  Surely the dangerous Nobek could subdue Remington before he got over his shock and shot someone.  Still, there was the chance that one of the Kalquorians would be killed.  It was a chance Elisa was not willing to take.

She really had gone insane to put the clan’s welfare ahead of someone of her own species.  Insane with love.  Her fear of one of the men getting hurt was the only thing that kept her from doing the unthinkable.