Page 7 of Radakk's Mate
The captain wants to make me pay for my crimes, and I have no doubt he wants to torture all the names of my accomplices out of me, but Emperor Radakk’s promise to keep me safe echoes in my mind.
I believe him.
I don’t know how the hell he’ll manage it, but I believe he’ll make sure the captain doesn’t hurt me.
Then I remember something rather ominous the emperor said. About how if I were his mate and he caught me engaging in espionage, he wouldpunishme. That he would take a strap to my bottom.
I glance up at his stern face and have little difficulty imagining him following through with this threat. My stomach flips as I envision what life will be like when I’m his mate. How I’ll be subject to his authority.
At least you’ll be alive, I tell myself.
The emperor barks an order at Officer Brute, and to my surprise the officer quickly disappears down the long, retractable docking tunnel that’s temporarily joining theHaxxalto theJansonna.
“Captain Warren, I have decided to reserve this female as my mate.” He pauses and fixes a lethal glare on the leader of the worldship. “Listen to me very carefully. You will not harm Thalia in any way, nor will you interrogate her. Officer Brute is retrieving a set of bio monitors that will be affixed to her. If she experiences pain or discomfort or fear, I’ll receive an immediate alert. Trust me, Captain, you don’t want that to happen.” Emperor Radakk hugs me closer to his side and emits a warning growl.
“Reserve her? But we haven’t finished our negotiations, and it might be some time before you locate a habitable planet for us. It could beyearsbefore we deliver any human females to you. She might be too old for you by then. We won’t just give you females before you uphold your end of the bargain.” The captain’s hands shake harder, but he lifts his chin and straightens, no doubt trying to look brave in front of his own men. If his command team senses any weakness in him, they’ll eat him alive and he knows it.
Panicked thoughts speed through my mind.
What if Emperor Radakk decides to take me right now?
What if he steals away with me back to theHaxxal?
I doubt any of my people would be able to stop him.
Not for the first time, I wonder why the Darrvasons are so keen to make a deal with humankind rather than take what they want by force.
Emperor Radakk steps closer to the captain, bringing me with him. To the captain’s credit, he doesn’t back up, though the same can’t be said for his cowardly advisors, all of whom retreat a few steps.
“You will give us females soon,” the emperor says. “Even if it takes years for us to find a suitable planet for humankind, we will not wait that long to claim your females. In the meantime, we’ll be providing you with fuel, supplies, and helping to repair your ship. Those services will require immediate compensation.”
Captain Warren flushes and tugs at the collar of his uniform. “Well, perhaps we’ll agree to give a small number of females for the services you provide, but the majority will have to wait until we reach a habitable planet.”
“Waves,” Admiral Tornn says. He steps closer to Captain Warren, scowling down at the leader of the human worldship. “You’ll surrender females to us in waves. An initial group that will be given to us in payment for the fuel, supplies, and the repair crew we’ll send over to your ship. Another wave after the repairs are completed. And the final, largest wave once we guide you to a habitable planet.”
“To receive our help and enter an alliance with us, we’ll require a minimum of two thousand females,” Emperor Radakk announces. “Given that we’ve already scanned your ship, we know the level of repairs that are needed. We also know how many fertile females between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five you are in possession of, and while this number will leave you with a small percentage, you’ll still have more than enough women to guarantee the continuation of your race, especially when you consider that you can artificially inseminate your older females that we aren’t taking. Furthermore, you have plenty of younger females who will come of age in a few years.”
Whoa. The spy in me does backflips over the information I’ve just learned. But will I get a chance to tell my father? Once I’m escorted out of the docking bay, will I be taken to my family’s quarters or the brig or held in another location entirely? I want to ask, but I don’t wish to interrupt the negotiations.
A deep sense of awe washes over me because I’m witnessing history in the making.
But reality soon crashes down, and fear makes me cold all over.
I’m going to be handed over to Emperor Radakk. Very soon. I’m going to become the mate of an alien I don’t even know. An alien who just so happens to be the leader of his people.
“You expect us to give you two thousand females?” Captain Warren peers between the emperor and the admiral. “That is madness. Utter madness. There will be riots in the corridors of my ship. We’ll never be able to—”
“If you wish to save your people, captain, this is your only option. Aminimumof two thousand. We’ll not budge from this number, and depending upon the time and resources we’ll have to spend on your repairs, that number might go up. A team of our engineers will need to board your ship to assess the damage before we give you a final number.” Emperor Radakk gives a casual shrug. “If you refuse, we could always stand by and wait until your ship’s systems finally fail, then we could scavenge your dying ship for fertile females and leave the rest of you to perish.”
The entire command team gasps, and the captain’s hands shake harder as he sputters nonsensical words. After a moment, he gathers himself enough to say, “I must confer with my advisors in private. We-we’ll need several days, perhaps even a few weeks, to consider your offer and debate whether it’s the wisest course of action for us. Surely you can understand that. Before we agree to give you such a high number of females, we must make sure we’ve exhausted all other options.”
Emperor Radakk grins, revealing his sharp teeth. “Of course, Captain Warren. But I recommend you make up your mind soon—your ship won’t last much longer in its present condition.”
“Once an agreement is officially reached,” Admiral Tornn says, as though he has no doubt the captain will soon acquiesce, “we would like a team of Darrvason physicians to examine some of your females. About five young women should be sufficient, and we can conduct the examinations on theJansonna.”
“Very well,” Captain Warren replies through gritted teeth. He nods to his first mate. “When the time comes—or rather,ifit comes—Commander Hampton will select five random females from the brig and get them set up in examination rooms. We’ll make sure they’re between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five.”
Horror clutches me. “That’s barbaric! You can’t do that!”
