Naked with the Emperor holding my hand, I had no idea which way this conversation was going. I pulled away from his grip and dressed quickly under his unflinching, watchful gaze. “What kind of reports? You mean the Captain’s reports?”
“The Captain has not said anything untoward, except to make clear his claim on you. The rumors stem from the Warriors who serve him. Two Warriors were disturbed by the way Captain Cronin has treated you.”
“What claim does the Captain hold over me?”
The Emperor glanced down at the collar around my neck, the only clothing I could never remove. The physicians hadn’t even tried to remove it. “The Captain claims you are his by right under the treaty between the Traders Guild and Humans. The Captain’s report states you are not natural-born. You were birthed on Nugene, a special design, similar to the workers who are specially designed for the Gran. He reports you are a new kind of worker.”
“Yes, I was born on Nugene, but I am not a worker. I am nothing like them. I was made special for human medical research. I was never intended for the Gran. My genetics were engineered to explore certain capacities of human development.”
“It is unfortunate. The nature of the Trading Guild’s arrangement with Nugene gives the Captain rights to their creations. Captain Cronin is correct.”
Fury blazed across my body and my hands began to shake with the adrenaline rush. My vision honed in sharply on the Emperor. “The Captain entraps me in his cabin and uses me to serve his sick addiction. Is this the right you believe he holds? To be his concubine, abused endlessly to serve his desires?”
Time slowed to a crawl and my heart rate soared as strength flooded my body. I seized the Emperor’s hands tightly. In my rage, I was gearing up for battle. I fought hard to regain control before I lost it in front of the Emperor. My hands fisted around the Emperor’s claws with enough force to cut into my own palms.
He watched me closely, and his features betrayed nothing. “There are many complexities to Gran laws, but the right to property is clear. When the Captain acquired you from Nugene, you became his. Though his actions are morally questionable, there is nothing uncommon about Trading Guild officers enjoying concubines. Males need companionship. Traders often bring concubines aboard for their journeys into deep space. These arrangements are legal. In your case it is unusual, only because you are not of our species. This does not change the law which states you are his property.”
Tears blurred my vision. I had known this instinctively, I’d been living under this law since the moment Captain Cronin stole me from Nugene, but to have it spelled out and confirmed as my future shredded my soul to pieces. “Why would you speak of bringing me into your home, of my bond to your son? Why say these things when you know I am the property of the Captain?”
“You are in my home, now. You will stay in my home until your journey for this trade meeting with humans. Then, you will accompany the Captain and serve him, however he chooses. I can occupy your time as long as you stay within our system. When you are needed, you will go with the Captain. My authority gives me no right to take property from another. Were I to negotiate for your purchase, the Trading Guild would block the transaction.”
The Emperor dropped before me to one knee, face to face and eye to eye. “My views of Gran trade policies are unpopular with the majority of the Traders Guild. They maneuver constantly to blockade my initiatives. It is an age-old power struggle between the Traders Guild and the Emperor. My father and his father fought the same battle. I have stretched my authority in borrowing Captain Cronin’s servant. I know you do not understand our ways yet, and I would teach you, but I am limited in what I can do for you. I hope to avoid making you more of a political target than you are.”
“What of my freedom? Do my wishes mean nothing? You said all things are possible. You spoke of lofty ideals and a new consideration of humanity. The man I love waits for me on the other side of the galaxy. I need him!” My tears blurred my vision again, and the squeezing desperation in my chest stole my breath. These damned Cats and their twisted laws pushed me over the edge of sanity.
Holding my eyes, taking my anguish in stride, he nodded. “Angel, for you, all things are possible. You are a singularly gifted soul. The Gran and Humanity need you, yet none truly appreciate your worth. Opportunities await one such as you to discover your destiny among the stars. I foresee a time when freedom is in your reach. Know this, Angel; wherever you stand amidst Gran and Human relations, you will always be welcome in my home.”
He pulled me in for a strong, warm, furry embrace, and let me cry on his powerful shoulder.
“I pray to Lura that the Gran can learn from you, Angel, and that you can learn from us.”
I learned the massive suite I had dined in with the Emperor and his family was really only Rollick’s bedroom. The other attached room was for his sister, Lenka. Rollick and Lenka decided I should have the grand tour of the facility and hauled me off into the corridors. They each held my hand as they chattered incessantly about every aspect of the seat of the Royal Empire of the Allied Federation of the Gran.
The entire monstrous football space station the size of a small moon was essentially the Emperor’s palace, which housed the theater where I’d almost died, several dining halls, huge conference rooms, a whole wing for the Trader’s Guild, a battle arena for gladiator sports, commerce centers with stores and shops, and even a tropical garden-park. The garden alone stretched several kilometers in diameter. Lenka led us on a winding series of paths and bridges through the garden while her and Rollick pointed out the little creatures around us and the huge, leafy green, purple, orange and black plant life.
There were many affectionate couples in the gardens, strolling hand in hand, laying together in the purple grassy areas. I wished Cesar could be here with me to enjoy the alien wonder and beauty, things no human had ever witnessed.
Hours later, starving and seemingly lost in the endless expanse of the station, Rollick and Lenka pulled me along to what looked like a food court at a supermall I’d seen in Earthside holovids. Vendors of foods and goods lined a huge open circle, with seating couches and tables in the center. We passed one store that had several unclothed females standing out front. I stopped short, fascinated by female Gran anatomy. I’d never seen a naked female’s body.
The four females on display had their fur dyed in brilliant colors of orange, red, yellow, green and blue. Their gaudy colored stripes accented their darker, natural stripes. Their breasts weren’t much more than nipples, and their genitalia were basically the same as a woman’s, only larger, more fleshy. Rollick started to protest and pull on my hand as one of the females flicked her long, curling, provocative tongue at him. She reached down to her hips and ran her claws across a series of tan-colored lines of bare skin, as though showcasing her markings.
“Come, Angel. Stay away from them.” Rollick pulled me off to a food booth, but I kept looking back, fascinated by these strange, aggressively sensual females. Rollick ordered some food for me, and tugged on my hand to get my attention. “Forget them. They are concubines!” He spoke it like a curse word.
Then it suddenly made sense. The markings on their hips were scars, just like the marks Captain Cronin left on my body. Only I didn’t scar.
I hesitated to ask, but I needed to know. “What is wrong with concubines?”
Rollick squished his face up as though he scented something distasteful.
Lenka looked at me funny. “They are unmated females of little value. Concubines and the males who attend them are the dregs of Gran society. The Traders pay for a concubine’s companionship on long, interstellar journeys. They use amixa.”
I listened carefully to her every word and nuance of judgmental tone. I needed to understand what it all meant to Lenka and Rollick, to the Gran. Food servers escorted us to a table and arranged our plates while I waited for Rollick or Lenka to explain further, but they were silent.
Sensing I had dipped into the realm of impropriety,
I risked pushing for more. “What is amixa?”
Lenka’s eyes flicked to Rollick and then to the females loitering in front of their store, harassing the males who passed by. “Amixa is a concentrated essence of female mating scent. The females have a special recipe made to drive men into a manic, perverse mating craze. The females sell the drug and prostitute their bodies in the name of profits. Unmated females become very wealthy from the addictive quality of the drug. Males who use it always want more, and they become very aggressive, violent. The females bear the scars of the addicts who lose control under the influence of amixa.” Lenka drew her claws over her own unmarked hips to show how the females got their markings.
Rollick inclined his head towards the girls. “Most males would not consider mating a scarred female like that.”
I couldn’t help but recall the marks Rollick made on my body when he was mauling me in his panic. The youngster seemed to have forgotten his own indiscretions.
Lenka added, “The scars are a mark of shame and over indulgence. Even clothed, everyone sees the scars and knows what concubines do to earn their money.” Lenka’s eyes pierced me, probing deep. “Only high-ranking Traders can afford the expense of a concubine. Like your Captain Cronin. I have seen him pass through those doors.”
Gran females had an unnerving habit of alluding to things without speaking directly. Lenka was doing it now. I suspected she’d heard the rumors from the Warriors aboard Captain Cronin’s ship, or she was an exceptionally perceptive Cat. Either way, I felt the judgment in her gaze.
Her snipish tone ignited my ire. “The concubines choose their lives. They choose when they wish to pleasure a male, correct?”
Lenka nodded. “Females control the terms and set their prices.”
“What a luxury that would be, to have control over my time and choices. Maybe someday I too can have the freedom to choose.”
Lenka blinked several times. She caught my meaning, but didn’t comment any further.
Rollick looked at me with amusement in his eyes. “Stop worrying about the concubines. I will take you to the arena where the males fight! Have you ever seen a Warrior in full battle dress? It’s magnificent! Father says I will be a great Warrior like him. He’s been teaching me!”
I decided it unwise to chat about the half dozen Gran Warriors I sliced and diced in my short-lived escape from Cronin’s ship.
Chapter 9
Between Rollick and Lenka’s endless chatter and brief moments of conversation with the Emperor or Empress, my days passed amazingly fast. Rollick demanded I sleep in his room at night, and Lenka refused to lose that argument, so it was decided they both got a share of me. An oversized plush couch served as our bed and I slept squeezed between two furry, squirming heaters to keep me warm. I soon learned that Rollick snored, and Lenka talked to herself in her sleep.
Life in the Emperor’s home was a relentless and fascinating study of Gran history, politics, law and culture. My head filled with all things Gran. The only thing missing was Cesar. I could not get the man out of my mind. Some days I wondered if it was Cesar’s similarity to his brother Jason that drew me to him. That may have been true when first we met, but it was Cesar’s name on my lips, and Cesar’s face that I dreamed of.
He was complex, furtive, a thieving pirate, yet also loving, kind, considerate, and fascinating. Was it his intellect that intrigued me? Yes, but it was more. I could not forget the three weeks we spent together. That single experience stood out as a shining peak of happiness in my life, the happiest I’d ever been. I wanted that happiness again. I needed it.
Though I waited impatiently for the time when Captain Cronin made the trip to the other side of the galaxy to Nugene, and the prospect of seeing Cesar once more, I dreaded the trip aboard the Captain’s ship, trapped in his cabin. I’d been spoiled by the affectionate, pleasant life with the Emperor and his family. Rollick sitting on my lap. Rollick laying with his head against my shoulder. Rollick and Lenka wrapped around me in a Cat pile of warm fur through the night.
The thought of returning to the drunken debasement of a concubine made me physically sick to my stomach. The day came all too soon when Rollick and his sister escorted me to the Traders Guild complex where Captain Cronin awaited me.
“My dear, Angel. It is good to see you again. The Emperor’s hospitality has done you well.” Captain Cronin’s eyes reflected his genuine pleasure. I’m sure his filthy mind was full of all the ways he’d make up for my absence.
Rollick wouldn’t let go of my arm, not even when Lenka chastised him for being foolish. I could see the anxiety in Rollick’s eyes. The youngster sensed the depravity hid behind the Captain’s warm welcome. I pried Rollick’s claws off my arm and rubbed him nose to nose, an intimate sign of affection. “Thank you so much, Prince Rollick. You have been a gracious host and a wonderful friend. Until we meet again.”
Rollick finally let me go, but I could see how much it pained him. Lenka was wiser. She rubbed noses with me and squeezed my hands. “I pray for your safe return and await your next visit. You are always welcome in the royal house of Grandrock.”
With that I began my journey back to Cesar.
As we made our launch out into deep space, leaving the Emperor’s Palace far behind, the Captain surprised me when he deposited me in a room across the corridor from his cabin. I had no idea what this meant, or why I was there, but I welcomed the opportunity to wear clothing a little while longer. Though my top and belted-skirt were skimpy lingerie by human standards, it was better than living in the buff twenty-four-seven.
Sitting on the couch in my new room, trying to catch a nap before I was expected to perform for the Captain, I was startled when a svelte, green-striped female sauntered in the door and closed it behind her. She was naked, and showed the telltale lines of scarring on her hips and muscular thighs – a concubine.
Suddenly the trip home to Cesar looked a little bit brighter. This female would significantly reduce the Captain’s demand for me. She could help carry the load of servicing his addiction. I stood and nodded in a greeting of respect. She looked at me with eyes full of menace.
“Cronin tricked me into this agreement. I have no intention of sharing accommodations with a hairless bitch. Keep your distance from me, bitch, or pay the price.”
I stepped away from her venomous tongue and watched her claws flex like she wanted to take a chunk out of my ass. Her senseless hatred enflamed me to the point my hands started to shake with fury, ready for combat. “If I had a choice, I would not be on this ship. I would never serve the Captain willingly. You chose to be here for him. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
She launched at me with her claws out and landed on the end of my right fist. I hit her so hard she crumpled to the floor instantly. Out cold. I looked at her for a time, studying her bloodied face, her lanky, muscular body, and long, razor sharp claws.
She was beautiful, sprawled out, peaceful and quiet. Gran females were far more attractive and interesting than the males. The vibrant green dye on her fur lent her a tropical, exotic look. I spent several minutes checking her out top to bottom. When I spread her legs wider, I confirmed what I suspected. She had a large vagina that could possibly accommodate a male the size of the Captain. With her on board, he may not even want me.
The idea put a huge, stupid grin on my face.
The female awoke a little while later from her nap on the floor and stood to glare at me with fuming hatred. She left the room without another word of protest.
I guess that settled our little dispute.
A few hours later the Captain summoned me to his room across the hall and ordered me to strip. So much for the notion he didn’t need me. I stood butt naked, resigned to my fate, and he snatched my hair to pull me in and growl in my face. “You are mine, Angel. Every part of you is mine. You may visit the Emperor’s brats when they call on you, but that does not give you the right to strike anyone aboard my ship!”
Damn good thing he didn’t kno
w about all those Warriors I chopped up with one of their handy dandy gauntlet blades. I wanted to say something sharp, to scream in his face. Instead, I nodded best I could with my hair pulled tight in his grasp. “She attacked me, I only defended myself. I apologize if she was harmed. I only hit her once, to stop her from assaulting me.”
His eyes pierced me with a searching look, like he expected resistance. “Chilla is my concubine for the duration of this voyage, and I will not have her treated poorly.”
At risk of a good ass-kicking, I opened my big mouth. “What of my treatment? Am I to stand idle while she tries to kill me?”
He let go of my hair and scowled at me. “If you have issue with her, bring it to me. I will manage her. It pains me to do this, but she has the right to punish you.”
“If she mauled me as she intended, would I have the right to punish her?” I already knew the answer, but the two-faced bastard needed to have his twisted logic shoved back on him.
In answer to my question, he clicked no, but declined to explain his fucked up reasoning.
I doubted it pained him, but his face showed strain, as if he really felt shitty about letting his whore punish me. He pulled me down the hall, naked, to an empty room with two cables hanging from the ceiling and two more cables mounted to the floor.
“Stand here, and don’t move.” He cinched the cables around my wrists and adjusted them to bring my arms up above my head. Then he wrapped the floor cables around my ankles and adjusted them so my legs spread out a meter wide. I had to pull on my wrist cables to help keep my balance in such an awkward stance.
The door opened behind me and I smelled her perfumed fur as she entered. She purred slightly and came up on my backside. Her claws lashed down my back, cutting me open without warning. I screamed with the sudden burning agony and then giggled when my pain switch flipped.