Page 16 of My Human Wife

g.“Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can. When you arrive in Kamos’s palace there’ll be other humans who’ll be fluent and can continue to teach you. But remember trust no one.”

l.“What is the plan then? I thought I was there to liberate the other humans?”

g.“Only after you return here with the teleportation suit.”

l.“But…”

g.“Do you know what Stockholm Syndrome is?”

l.“No.”

g.“It’s when you fall in love with your captor.”

l.“Who’d do that?”

g.“Oh, you’d be surprised. Many people. It’s easier than accepting reality.”

l.I begin to question this, but he cuts me off.

g.“There’s not enough time to talk about it now, but trust me, I’ve been doing this for long enough to know that not everyone is thrilled to be liberated. The plan is this; you get in there, gain enough trust that you can find out where the teleportation suit is and then use it to escape. I’ll be at a nearby rendezvous point so you don’t have to go far. And with this ring at that distance, you’ll be able to contact me so that I know when you’re escaping.”

l.“There’s another issue. Besides the fact that I don’t speak or read Imperial. I also have never teleported or operated a teleportation device let alone a military prototype.”

g.“It won’t be difficult to understand. I’ll have your language tutor run you through how teleportation works. My main concern is you getting through Gala.”

l.“Me too.”

g.“Hela says that she can give you some calming drugs before you enter.”

l.“I don’t want to be drugged out. What if I have to fight? I need something that’ll make me feel invincible.”

g.“There’s a black market drug that does that, but I don’t know how long it lasts.”

l.“I want it.”

g.“Did you have to fight last time?”

l.“Yes. I was pitted against another young girl and we had to fight to the death for spectators. It was horrible.”

g.“I’m sorry you have to go back, but it’s for a greater purpose. Imagine if you could’ve been saved and sent back to Earth when you were eight years old?”

l.I’m not crying but tears are running down my cheeks thinking about that little girl I was then. I would do anything to save her right now. I can still see her crying in Gala. Scared, hungry, and angry.

g.I bring up images of the humans that have just been brought into Gala. “You can save most of these girls, Lara. Get me that suit from Kamos.”

l.“I wish I could go back in time and save myself,” I whisper. I’m not even trying to hold back the tears now thinking of myself as a young girl. I had forbidden myself from remembering all of this before. But now it seems like I’ve no self-control and my mind is forcing me to remember.

g.I put a comforting hand on Lara’s petite shoulder. “If I ever get my hands on a time machine…”

l.I smile up at him. “Just give humans all the technology they need to rule the galaxy so no one decides it’s a great idea to start abducting us.”

g.“It wouldn’t even take that. All that needs to change is Earth joining the IGC when they were first asked during Earth’s mid-twentieth century.”

l.“You really think that would’ve made such a difference?”

g.“Yes. Imperials have a strange closeness with humans. And I believe humanity could’ve also influenced the Empire for the better. Maybe in a different timeline that happened. Just remember no matter how similar Imperials feel to you, they can be just as ruthless as any other species in the galaxy.”

l.“Please don’t underestimate me, I’ve been among aliens most of my life. I know what it means to be human in the galaxy. People assume I’m hardly sentient with a short memory and only basic emotions.”

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