Page 2 of Argen Mate
I have been a warrior all my life, so I was not a very good slave. I kept escaping but never could get to a ship that would get me off world. I even tried to start a revolt on one planet. They finally decided I was untrainable and they sent me to prison on Julconi. That turned out to be the best thing that could happen to me though I didn’t know it at the time.
A few days later I led a group of twenty-seven people to the extraction point. We had walked all day through the desert, finally arriving in the dead of night. We were all exhausted and thirsty when we got there. The armored warriors scanned us for weapons and a few surrendered knives then we were directed to the shuttle on-ramp. Twenty minutes later fifty of us arrived on theKurellis. I wondered where they got such a fantastic ship.
I scented her as soon as I stepped into the cargo bay. The aroma was so subtle that I was likely the only one who noticed. I sniffed again subtly to make sure I hadn’t imagined it the first time. I didn’t.
Discoveringsolmatualmost always takes us by surprise; at least that’s what I’ve been told. An Uatu never knows beforehand when they will find our soulmates.
I had just been through the worst two years of my life. It didn’t seem possible that the joy of findingsolmatuwas waiting for me at the end of it.
So, of course, I was wholly unprepared to meet her. I was bone tired, weary when I got there and filthy. I smelled so bad that I could hardly stand myself. The others didn’t notice on the trip up because they smelled as bad as me. Julconi Prison is not known for its amenities. Bathing and clean clothes were pure luxuries. The cargo bay was a din of voices echoing in a hollow chamber with long lines for every clerk station.
I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to get cleaned up before setting eyes on my female soulmate. She was one of the females checking in all us refugees. As I got closer to the head of the line, I finally caught her scent more distinctly so I could determine which woman was for me. Then I saw her. She was checking the line next to mine. I rudely stepped to the head of that line, I had to speak to her.
She was absolutely magnificent. Golden tan with black hair and brown eyes. I wasn’t sure whether she was human or not. In fact, all four of the women had odd colored skin and hair, yet their features looked human. That’s not to say they weren’t attractive, but they seemed a bit exotic.
I felt suddenly nervous and a little tongue-tied, considering what to say to her. I stepped up to her table, and she looked up at me with the most stunning brown eyes.
“Hi, beautiful,” I said smiling at her, “please tell me your name.”
“Zoey Addison. May I have your name, sir?”
“Lieutenant Commander Argen Trametu of the Farseek Brigade.” I held out my hand to her, and she put hers in mine, and I brought it to my lips. “You may call mesolmatu.”
It was almost like a static shock when my lips touched her hand. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me and I could see the spark of recognition in her eyes.
“Then you are from Farseek,” she said with a tremor in her voice. “You will want to transfer to one of the dreadnaughts.”
“Where will you be?”
“I will be going back to Dreadnaught One when we rendezvous with them.”
“Admiral Degatu. May I see you there?”
“I’m sure we will see each other if you are transferred there,” she said noncommittally.
“Darling, you are my soul mate, I must see you.”
“Yes, you said that,” she said. “W-why don’t you go get cleaned up, get something to eat, let me do my job here and we will talk later.”
I sighed still holding her hand. I just wanted to sweep her away and kiss her senseless, but I realized my unwashed state would probably not help my cause. “You promise?”
“I promise,” she smiled shyly.
The way her eyes lit as she looked up at me through thick dark lashes, told me she meant it. I sighed, and with great reluctance, I finally let her hand slip from mine. I went to the doorway where a guide was waiting to take me to a cabin.
We stopped at the ship’s storeroom, where I was scanned for a set of clothing. It was issued immediately including a light pair of new shoes. It wasn’t a uniform, but they were clean, and I took them. As I followed the young humanoid male through the hallways of the ship the scent of it told me it was nearly brand new. It was also pristine. I couldn’t imagine where they could have gotten the funds for a ship like this.
My assigned cabin was small but clean and minimally furnished with a sleeping alcove, a small sitting area and a private bathroom with a shower stall. There was a com unit on the wall by the door.
I touched the screen, and it lit. “This is Lieutenant Commander Trametu, I need to reach a commanding officer on Dreadnaught One.”
In about thirty seconds, a face I recognized as Admiral Degatu filled the screen.
I dipped my head in salute. “It’s good to see you, sir. I am on theKurellis, just rescued from Julconi. I commed to declaresolmatu.Zoey Addison who I understand is assigned to your ship is my soulmate. I request a transfer to the Dreadnaught One so I may court and bond with her.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged, Lieutenant. Permission to transfer to Dreadnaught One granted. Congratulations. I look forward to seeing you soon.”
“Thank you, sir.” The screen went dark, so I took my new clothes and laid them on the bed then stripped off the filthy rags I was wearing.
I felt my throat tighten as I got under the hot shower and tears filling my eyes. My ordeal was finally over. I was going back to the Brigade where I belonged, and I found my soul mate. The only thing that would make this day better would be to find my mother wasn’t dead and my brothers and sisters were alive as well.
I was knocked out by the blast when they bombed the farm market as I was walking with her two years ago. One moment we were talking and laughing together over the antics of one of my young nephews. The next, everything went black, and I woke up strapped to a bunk on a Sargan slave ship. I didn’t know whether Mother had been killed or not. Maybe I never would.
I told Zorem Pegitu that I did okay since I’d been taken, but I left out a whole lot. The truth was I barely made it out alive. I have been an Uatu warrior most of my adult life, and I am one of the best pilots they have. But I have never faced the things I suffered as a slave of the Sargus Empire.
As the hot water rained down on me inside the shower, I let my tears fall for all that I had lost and all that I had gained. The main reason I was still alive was that the Sargans who took me never knew I was an officer in the Farseek Brigade. I was not in uniform the day they took me from Farseek because I was on leave.
That didn’t stop them from torturing and beating me, in attempts to force me into meek obedience. It never worked. My only regret was that I didn’t kill them before I escaped the last time.
At least it was over.
