Her Alien Commander (11 page)

“Yes, yes. All right.” Caria stomped off into the sleeping chamber and retrieved the ankle cuffs from the floor beside the bed. She had hoped not to require these again. The young crewman grimaced as she marched back into the outer chamber and held them out to him.

“Could you put them on, please. In fact, just one will be fine. The left one…”

Caria crouched to wrap the cuff around her ankle, but couldn’t fathom how to secure it. She glared up at the young man. “How do I—?”

“If you could sit at the table, please?” He gestured politely in the direction of the empty space in the centre of the room. A small table materialised, with a chair at either end.

Caria gasped. “What? How did you do that? Where did those come from?”

“Vahleans prefer their space to be uncluttered. Furniture and fittings dematerialise when not in use, and are reconstituted by uttering their names. I mentioned the table, and my request that you be seated implied that chairs were also required. So, here they are.” He grinned at her, as though the matter were quite simple really.

Perhaps it was. Caria hobbled past him to take a seat. The lad followed and bent to secure the cuff. She wasn’t sure how he did it, but the apparatus seemed to respond to his touch where it had been oblivious to hers. DNA recognition technology? Probably. She filed that snippet away.

“What’s your name?”

“Todd…. er, Todd East, private first class, miss.”

A private was, as far as Caria was aware, the lowest rank in the interstellar space fleet. “Is this your first posting then?”

“Yes, miss. Could I have the other cuff, please?”

She handed it to him and he secured the cuff around the chair leg, then attached it to the one on her ankle.

“That should do. I’ll release you when I leave. Or the commander will.”

Caria was aware that she bristled every time her nemesis was mentioned, but she was cautious about openly criticising Phahlen. It was clear where the lad’s loyalties lay, and she didn’t want him to decide that babysitting her was just too much bother. She craved company, human contact,
more than anything. She could keep her opinions about Phahlen to herself.

“How would you like to pass the time, miss?” Private East took a seat opposite her and offered a tentative smile. “We have an extensive library at our disposal aboard the
Empyrean
—music, literature, holovid scenarios…”

“Holovid? You have that?”

“We do. Our computers can recreate any video production you might care for as a holographic image and you can interact with the characters, take part in the drama. You might even manage to change the ending if you choose.”

Caria grinned. She had heard of this technology but had yet to experience it. For now, though, she preferred something less energetic.

“I don’t suppose you play Obelisk, do you?”

“Yes, a bit. Shall I request a set?”

Caria nodded and the crewman approached the housekeeping portal. Moments later the familiar structure of a tower and playing pieces materialised. Based on the ancient Earth pastime of chess, this version was played vertically and horizontally, required careful strategic planning and implementation and was notoriously difficult to master. Caria had long been fascinated by the game since her father had taught it to her when she was a child, and she had enjoyed playing ever since though opportunities had been rare on board the
Luminaire
,
where no one but her understood the complex rules. The young private set up the opening sequences quickly, clearly familiar with the complicated arrangement of black, white, and red figures that made up the playing pieces.

“Do you prefer to start, miss?” He offered her the one remaining piece, a bright red queen that would afford the holder a slight advantage in the ensuing battle for supremacy on the various ascending layers.

“No, you can. I’ll start next time.”

The young man selected his preferred position on the tower and placed his queen, and the game commenced. They played in silence for the next half hour or so, both concentrating, both assessing the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Caria soon arrived at the conclusion that she would have little trouble outsmarting this opponent, but she enjoyed the game even so.

“Obelisk,” she announced as she manoeuvred Private East’s emperor piece into a corner from which there would be no escape. “Do you want to play again?”

This time Caria had the red queen, and the contest was a swift one.

“I’m not much competition for you,” her opponent observed ruefully. “You’d be better playing against the commander.”

“Phahlen plays Obelisk?”

“I do,” came the amused response from the doorway, “though the Vahlean version of the game differs slightly.”

Caria turned in her seat, wrenching her ankle, which was still attached to the chair leg. Her captor grimaced as she winced.

“Hold still, I’ll release you.” He nodded to the crewman who had scrambled to his feet and now stood stiffly, awaiting further instructions. “Thank you, Private. I’ll take over from here.”

Caria remembered her manners. “Yes, thank you, Private East. I enjoyed our games. Maybe you could come back sometime…” She paused, not sure if that was the correct thing to say. Phahlen was unpredictable to say the least and he may object to her befriending a member of his crew even though he had sent the young man here in the first place.

“I’m sure he will, when his duties on board the
Empyrean
allow.”

The private executed a swift but polite bow and exited. Caria eyed Phahlen with some unease, not sure yet what his current mood might be. He approached her and knelt to remove the cuffs shackling her to the seat. He offered her a rueful grin.

“I’m sorry about the need for this, but you’ll need to earn my trust. Young East is a fine crewman, but he lacks experience in dealing with dangerous criminals and I wouldn’t want you taking advantage of him. I thought you might enjoy his company though. Was I right?”

Caria nodded, though she still bristled from his remark about her criminal past. “I’m not dangerous. Why would you think that? It’s true that I was on board the
Luminaire
, but just as the partner of one of the crew. I helped in the galley, that’s all.”

“You were listed as an IJI by the authorities on Earth, an Individual of Judicial Interest, category alpha. We take piracy and robbery seriously within the interplanetary collective, not to mention the murder of innocent victims. The
Luminaire
was prolific, I gather, and the crew not known for showing mercy if anyone got in their way.”

“But I wasn’t part of the crew. I just—”

“Guilt by association, Caria. I suggest you accept your situation here as the lesser of several evils, not least in view of the fact that Earth has recently voted to reinstate the death penalty for crimes such as those perpetrated by the
Luminaire
, following a series of atrocities committed by terrorists on your planet. I’m sure you’re aware of this.”

Caria felt the blood drain from her face.

“I was not aware, but in any case that has nothing to do with me. I’m not like those people, not at all.”

He shrugged. “If you say so. I intend to ensure you have no opportunity to present a danger to the
Empyrean
, however, so you will be restricted to my quarters. I’ll allow you the company of other humans from time to time if it pleases you, but you’ll be restrained when I’m not here. There are no other females on board, but there are seven human members of my crew.”

“Am I to have no contact with anyone else then?”

He frowned. “You will, if it is necessary. Morele, for example, our doctor, and Lieutenant Baren, my second in command.”

Caria got to her feet to glare at him. “This is unjust. Private East said I had been convicted and that I am already serving my sentence, but I never even had a trial. I had no chance to explain…” She dropped her gaze in the face of his implacable expression. “I just want to go home. I have a family, my parents—!”

“I have fully explained about your conviction, and the length of your sentence. Private East’s words cannot have been unexpected. As for your parents, they have been informed of your capture and current situation, and you will be permitted to send and receive correspondence from them. That is why I’m here, in fact.” He handed her a small recording device. “If you care to dictate a message I will ensure it is uploaded with our next transmission to Vahle, and from there it will be forwarded to Earth. You will be permitted to make one transmission every ninety par-cycles, and you may receive any transmissions sent in return.”

Caria took the device but couldn’t bring herself to thank him for it. Apart from his rescuing her from the planetoid, she struggled to see why she should be grateful to him at all. He was a tyrant, and she had been treated abominably whilst on his ship. She had been denied the most basic rights and freedoms, and was not even to have control over her own body.

“I find myself with some spare time if you might care for another game…” he gestured to the Obelisk tower, “…or perhaps you prefer to be left alone to compose your message to your family?”

Caria drew in a breath, then shook her head. The prospect of enforced solitude held little appeal. “No, Commander. I can dictate my message later. I… I would enjoy another game.”

They seated themselves on either side of the table and Phahlen offered her the red queen. Caria took it and selected her opening position.

The next hour passed in what Caria might almost have mistaken for companionable silence, were it not for her simmering discontent. Phahlen proved to be a much worthier opponent: skillful, strategic, a master-planner. His style of play reminded her of her father’s: studied, thoughtful, every move a part of a larger purpose. He beat her twice, but she managed to snatch one victory from him before the communication device on his wrist emitted a series of short beeps.

“I am required on the bridge. I trust you can be relied upon to remain calm in my absence and not to disrupt the smooth running of the
Empyrean
.”

“I’ll record my message home.”

He inclined his head as he rose. “I hope to be able to return soon. When I do so, I expect to find you in my—sorry, our—sleeping chamber, naked and on your knees.” Perhaps he caught the rebellious glint in her eye because he paused by the door and turned to regard her coolly. ”Do not disappoint me, Caria. That would entirely ruin your evening.”

Caria allowed herself several moments of bitter cursing, though she was careful to ensure the portal had fully closed before she heaped expletive after expletive upon her captor’s head. Only when she had fully vented her stream of self-pity and righteous invective did she turn her attention to the recording device Phahlen had left at her disposal. She wandered over to the sofa and made herself comfortable, then considered what she wanted to say. She decided to keep it simple.

“Daddy, Mum…” Her voice broke as she started to speak. She stopped, erased her words, and gathered herself together to try again. “Daddy, Mum, this is Caria.” She paused, then, “I know you’ve been told what has happened, and that I am a criminal. I swear to you both, I didn’t do what they say I did, though
…
I have made some foolish choices. You were right, both of you, about Petros. I see that now. I
did
love him. Or I thought I did…” She paused the recording, already questioning her latest statement. Petros had seemed exciting when she met him in a bar back on Earth. He’d oozed confidence and sex appeal and had only to beckon for her to follow him and his cutthroat
mates. She had spent the ensuing five years trying to please Petros whilst being pretty much ignored by the rest of the crew. She was fairly certain he had not been faithful to her but she hadn’t made a fuss because it wasn’t as though she could just walk out on him. She brushed away the last few regretful tears. She was free of him now, but at what cost?

Caria had known the
Luminaire
’s trade was illegal, but she held no power or influence on board the vessel. She was just there, on the periphery. By some miracle she had escaped death when the
Luminaire
was shot down, and had somehow inherited all of the blame for their crimes. If Phahlen was to be believed—and thus far he had given her no cause to doubt his word on anything—she might be executed if she was to return to Earth. Was that a risk she might be prepared to take if it meant she could go home, see her parents again?

She started recording again. “I want you to know that I am unhurt, and that I am safe. I am in the custody of the Vahleans, on board an exploration and scientific vessel.” She wasn’t entirely certain what mission the
Empyrean
was engaged upon, but thought her description was probably fair enough. “I am a pris—They won’t allow me to leave, but I do hope to see you again soon, both of you. I miss you so much, and…” She paused again as she collected her shattered thoughts. Her final words were tearful, but she managed. “I love you. Please don’t worry about me, I shall be all right. I promise.” She closed down the recording and saved it, already wondering if she had made her parents a promise she couldn’t keep.

Caria set the device on the table, and went into the sleeping chamber. The butt plug, now washed and carefully cleaned, lay on the bed along with the wrist cuffs, the tiny vibrator, and the tube of lubricant. The ankle cuffs were still in the living area so she retrieved them and placed them with the other items. Phahlen might well wish to avail himself of them again
and, now that the time was approaching, she found herself unexpectedly aroused at the prospect. He might return at any point, and he had made it clear what would be the consequences if she was not ready for him. A spanking at least, or maybe the hated strap.

She might have enjoyed a shower, but decided not to risk it. Instead she removed the all-in-one suit and placed it carefully to one side, then sank to her knees to face the door.

Chapter Seven