Star Trader Update .013

013.01

I was so exhausted. I ached all over. To breathe was torture and he was sitting across my waist with his knife in his hand. Klaid had my hands pinned up above my head. He flashed his knife in my face.

“How about a little breast meat?” he threatened.

I screamed out in excruciating pain as he cut into the top of my left breast.

“3su, wake up,” Attalla said in my ear. “It’s a dream.” He soothed back the hair from around my sweat dampened face. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

He was sitting on the edge of my bed. I was still in my clothes from the night before, but he was in some sort of pajama bottom and nothing else. I must have awakened him from a sound sleep. Chee sat on his shoulder her tail curled around his neck. Her dark round eyes were bigger than usual from watching me struggle with my rampant sub-conscious.

Two nightmares in one night were more than I could handle. I put my arms around Attalla’s waist and let him comfort me. He stroked my hair and held me as I cried myself out.

When I came up for air he handed me some tissues from the box beside my bed. I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. I even dabbed at his chest a bit. I tried to smile, but it just wouldn’t come.

“I’ll find you another ride when we get to our stop,” I said. “I’m sorry you had to be here for this,” I apologized again. “I really thought I was ready to go back to work.”

“I don’t want another ride,” Attalla said, as he handed me another tissue. “I like traveling with you.”

“You’re not a counselor. You shouldn’t have to put up with my issues. You’re a guest.”

“I had hoped that I had risen above guest to friend status by now,” Attalla said with a smile.

That did bring a smile to my lips. “Even a friend shouldn’t have to endure this.”

“I don’t see that it is near as hard on me as it is on you,” Attalla said. He wiped a stray strand of hair out of my face. “You want to talk about it?”

“No,” I said again. Though I thought he deserved an explanation after what I had put him through tonight. “Talking about it just makes it come to the surface more. It’s too raw a memory right now. I need to bury it, not dig it up.”

“I have found that sometimes if you drag those dark demons out into the light they die faster,” Attalla advised. He sounded as though he was speaking from experience.

“Not now,” I assured him. “Not yet.”

“Well, I am here if you want to talk and I will be here for several months,” he said. He leaned over and kissed me lightly, his lips just brushing mine. “Do you need anything?”

Right then I didn’t feel like telling him what I had wanted since he came onboard. Instead, the first thing that popped into my head was ‘I didn’t want to be alone.’

“Can you sit with me a while until I fall asleep again.” I sounded like a child, but it was too late. It had tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it.

He moved me over to sit in the bed next to me. He plumped some pillows to put behind his back so he could sit up against the bulkhead. Once he was settled, he pulled me into his arms and covered us both up.

“Get some rest, 3su. Tomorrow’s another day.” He kissed the top of my head and I snuggled down contentedly in the hair on his chest.

*****

013.02

I handed Attalla a com link and inserted my Ear. I didn’t know how familiar he was with the devices so it is standard to run through the operation before dropping someone that will have to contact you for a later pick up.

“Your link comes directly to me.” I took it from him and strapped it to his arm. “It’s voice recognition and activated. Just say my name and I’ll pick it up here.” I pointed to the Ear I had put in my right ear. “I have a built-in mic. I just activate it and I can talk to you.” I clenched my teeth and said, “Yo..Attalla.”

He smiled at me, showing off those gorgeous dimples. “The coms I have seen before, but not your built-in mic. You just clench your teeth and it turns on? Where is it? In a tooth?” He seemed fascinated by the technology.

“It’s implanted in my jaw. The MT unit I ran into a while back had them and they seemed very efficient. It cost a bit, but it keeps your hands free - no headset to worry about breaking or being ripped off.”

“Ripped off?” Attalla asked. “What kind of jobs do you do?”

“I take about anything that interests me. I’m not particular, just peculiar.” I smiled back.

He shook his head. “Well, this will be as easy as a spacewalk for you. The Rahic are a gentle planet-bound race. We have them included in the treaty for their protection and the Tokkzic they produce for distribution to the other planets in our system.”

“Tokkzic?”

“It’s an extremely intoxicating liqueur made from the plant they inhabit,” Attalla explained as he buckled his seat belt and activated his shoulder harness.

I cocked my head his direction as I fastened my own safety gear. “They inhabit a planet?”

“Wait until you see. You just might want to stick with me today.”

*****

013.3

As we broke through the atmosphere I could see huge islands sprinkled all over the planet. The islands were surrounded by a deep green sea.

As we came closer I could discern enormous plant growth. You couldn’t see any ground that was not covered with plants.

“The plant is called a Tokkz by the Rahic. There is one that grows on each island,” Attalla explained as we descended. He pointed at the center of the island to a group of huge round grayish-green plant pods covered with lethal looking thorns. “Each pod is hollowed out in such a way that it does no damage to the mother plant. That is where the Rahic live.”

He pointed to the long tendrils that ran from one group of pods to another. “Those are the offshoots of the pods that are created by the Rahic by pollinating the mother plant. She shoots out the tendril, sinks in roots and produces another living space.”

“Stellar,” I said in admiration.

“The tendrils are excavated and are used as tunnels to travel from pod to pod. In the process the Rahic pollinate the plant further because they have been to the flowers,” he pointed to a huge bloom growing off one of the tendrils. It was easily as large as my landing pod and was reminiscent of a Venus flytrap. “They go to the pitcher of the flower each day to collect the nectar they live on and sell as the liqueur we call Tokkzic. During the collection process, they get covered in the pollen of the planet. As they pass along the inner portion of the tendrils the pollen brushes off them and onto the plant’s underbelly.”

“Drop down into that opening there,” Attalla instructed. “Switch to hover mode and direct your engine exhaust down so you won’t damage the plant.” He was pointing to what looked like a huge cylindrical part of the plant that appeared to be hollow with an opening at the top. “It is the Rahic’s route to the surface for this plant so we want to be careful not to damage it or any inhabitants that are using it as we land.”

“If the plant has a pitcher, what does it eat?” I asked as I maneuvered into the plant and started our descent.

“The cool evening breeze off the ocean sends a fog over the island. It is very mineral rich. It catches on the thorns of the pods and the hairs of the tendrils. The plant drinks it in as the morning temperatures rise. The same fog fills the pitcher with dew. The plant mixes its juices with the dew to make a vat where the plant catches mostly birds that come to drink from the pitcher,” Attalla explained.

“So, the Tokkzic liqueur is basically stomach acid,” I said wrinkling my nose.

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Attalla said.

*****

013.04

The Rahic are small and dark green. The closest thing I can associate their looks to for you to imagine them is a four-foot-tall aphid. They scurry around on all fours, but stand on their hind legs to converse. They don’t actually sit they squat on the rear legs as well. Their eyes are opalescent and seem to swirl as they concentrate on Attalla and his information about the treaty renewal.

I personally cannot tell one from the other, but somehow, he does. He’s brought some kind of translator with him. They speak at such a low volume that I cannot hear, as much as I feel, their conversation. There is a deep resonance to their voices like the malfits back home that can be heard for miles.

The tunnels are close quarters for someone as tall as I am. That means Attalla has to almost bend double in order to maneuver them. The Rahic, dusted in yellow pollen as Attalla described, maneuver through the tendrils in such large numbers that their bodies rub the sides of the tunnels pollinating the plant.

I was asked to join them in their negotiations, though Attalla told me it was not so much negotiations with the Rahic as a courtesy call. Their part of the treaty remains the same year after year. It was created to protect the Rahic from any outside interference. Attalla’s people use the acquisition of the Tokkzic to keep the other planets from bothering the Rahic. In turn, his people sell the Tokkzic in order to provide funds for the manufacturing of the packaging for the liqueur. The liqueur is sold for just the packaging and transport costs. It is highly sought after due to its rarity, flavor and intoxication factors.

It was with a cup of the Tokkzic that Attalla and the Rahic sealed the signing of the treaty. I was asked to embed with them.

You have heard the expression, ‘the nectar of the Gods?’ Well, let us just say that whoever wrote that phrase had to be speaking of Tokkzic. It is a sparkling emerald green color with bubbles of gold laced through it. A mere thimble full was intoxicating. Even before it reached my lips the fragrance was overwhelming. Attalla said it smells like a mixture of spices his mother used in her cookies. To me it smells like coconut with a hint of vanilla. He told me it is part of the allure of it, it smells differently for everyone. Yet when I tasted it, it didn’t taste like coconut or vanilla. In fact, I can’t compare it to anything else I have ever drunk. I just know I savored every drop and would have licked the cup had it not been terribly uncouth.

*****

013.05

“I can’t do this,” I said pulling back on the controls of the pod.

“It’s okay,” Attalla soothed. “They’ll get out of your way. Just make a slow descent so they have time.”

The iiadtsu filled the sky. Even though Gathus hadn’t been a fully-fledged iiadtsu the sight of all these winged beings brought on horrible memories. Klaid, Gathus, Cracker, and everything that road on their contrail dumped into my brain. My hands were literally trembling.

I thought I could handle this. I thought there would be such a difference between Gathus and his base species that I hadn’t even told Attalla about my issues with the iiadtsu when he announced we were headed there next. I had no idea when I took the job that the iiadtsu were from this system.

I rose up above the atmosphere to clear space free of my nightmare winged creatures. I popped the release on my shoulder harness and belt. I sprang to me feet and paced the tiny bridge of the pod. Four steps took me from one side to the other. If there had been a place to run, I would have. I forced myself to breathe deeply and calm my shaking hands. The only thing worse than seeing the iiadtsu would have been another close encounter with a Xyron.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I really thought I could do this.” I ran my shaking hands through me hair. I had broken out in a cold sweat upon seeing the iiadtsu. My hair was damp around my face and on the back of my neck.

Attalla got up from his own chair. He moved toward me, I think to comfort me like he had after my nightmare onboard ship, but I couldn’t stand still and I certainly didn’t want to be confined in someone’s arms. I stepped away from him.

“Talk to me,” Attalla prompted. “It has to do with the nightmares, right?”

He was pretty observant putting the two together.

I took another deep breath and plunged in before I changed my mind. “About two months ago I was taken prisoner by three reject hybrids from something called the OmniCron Project. One was an iiadtsu mix. He couldn’t fly, but he was partially fledged. I had no idea their planet would be one of our stops. I thought I could handle it. I’m so sorry.” I hated failing a mission.

He brushed my apology aside. “What did they do to you 3su?” he asked in a sympathetic tone, as he stepped up to me and touched my arm.

 I didn’t want to pull away this time. I was past the shakes. The adrenalin was crashing. I wanted to be comforted. I wanted to be held until the memories faded again.

I was shaking so hard he sat down and pulled me into his lap. He held me close gently rocking.

“Are the scars on your back from them?” he asked.

I thought he caught a glimpse of them when I was working out, but I hadn’t been sure until now. He was polite enough not to mention them at the time. Even though Jake was religious about applying the scar cream, I would carry the worse bits to my grave. The ones on my back would never truly fade away.

I couldn’t meet Attalla’s gaze. I spoke into his shoulder. “Their leader was a hybrid Xyron. He decided he liked how I tasted. He carved on me for a few days before help arrived.”

I heard Attalla catch his breath. He gently smoothed my hair and when I looked up his beautiful phenotypic eyes had a mixture of pain and sympathy in them.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “You should have told me. I never would have made you come down here. I can fly a pod, you know.”

“Yes, but it is my job to get you to and from your meetings during this mission. That is what I hired on for.”

*****

013.06

Attalla took Chee out of her pouch and placed her in her basket on the dresser in his room.

He took my hand and pulled me down beside him on his bed.

How had we ended up here? My mind was a fog. After he calmed me down aboard the pod he took over the controls and maneuvered us through the flying beasts of my nightmare back to the safety of Ma-rye-a.

When we landed in the pod bay he took my hand and led me here. I’m not one to sleep around. I talk big, but really, it’s all show for the guys. I am a novice compared to most of the females in my line of work. Maybe I’m choosey. Maybe I’m shy. Maybe I just haven’t been asked as much as the next gal. I don’t know. What I do know is I definitely am inexperienced. I don’t know what’s expected and I ‘totally’ don’t know how to get from Point A to Point B without a guide.

Attalla was kissing my neck and nibbling my earlobe. Nice, very nice. It wasn’t too long before buckles started to be undone and zippers began to slide. I thought I was holding up my end pretty well. My hand was buried in his chest hair when he pulled back and out of my grasp.

“I need to get something,” he said as he slid off the bed.

He went to the dresser drawers and removed a silver box. He returned to the bed and opened it for me to see. Inside the velvet lined box was a black blindfold and an ornate silver cuff with a chain attached to it. On the opposite end of the chain from the cuff was a heavy clasp. I could possibly be teased and coaxed into the blindfold, but there was no way I was letting anyone cuff me.

Attalla must have seen the doubt in my eyes because he immediately said, “not for you, for me,” he explained. “My species can get a bit rough when aroused.” He leaned over me to reach the head of the bed and clipped the clasp at the end of the chain to it. Then he installed the cuff around his own left wrist.

“One handed and blindfolded will slow me down enough you can get away if I get lost in the moment.” He gave me one of those dimpled grins of his and started to put on the blindfold.

I caught at his hand and took it away. “I love your eyes. I don’t want them covered.”

“It’s not safe,” he warned. “My species is very visual. It won’t be possible for me to stay in control.”

“Ah, but I have my own failsafe,” I announced. “When I built this room I took into consideration that I might get into something I couldn’t handle in a passenger. Of course, at the time I was thinking in terms of undetected felons or murderers. The room is equipped with four trank guns.” I pointed to the corners of the room. “Sam has them loaded and trained on the occupant at all times. It is part of his security sub-routine.”

“Sam?” Attalla called.

“Yes, Attalla,” Sam responded.

“Are you monitoring this room?”

“At all times,” Sam confirmed.

“Great,” Attalla said in an exasperated tone. He flopped down on his back. “That’s one way to kill the mood – an audience.”

I gently ran my hand through the hair on his chest. It was like petting a cat. “Sam doesn’t watch. We have a code if I feel I need assistance,” I explained as I leaned over him and nipped at his chin. I think I was getting the hang of this.

He reached up and pulled me down into a hug. He rolled me in his arms until I was on the bottom and he was straddling me from above. He leaned down and took my lips in a warm, sensual kiss. I could feel my toes curl.

“What is your secret signal? If Sam’s not watching, then he’s listening. What if I stop your call with a kiss?” he asked when he came up for air.

“It’s not a word. It’s more like a series of sounds,” I explained.

Attalla picked up my hand off his chest and nibbled at my fingers. I melted. His tongue teased between the fingers. I shivered. He sucked. The breath caught in my throat. I coughed. He bit. I squealed.

The next thing I knew Attalla was dead weight on top of me with a trank dart in his shoulder.

“Are you all right,” Sam asked in a concerned tone.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just fine,” I said in disappointment.

I rolled Attalla off of me, got up and covered his now tranquilized, sleeping form up with a blanket.

“Sam?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to have to work on the signal recognition part of your room security program.”

“As you wish, Cap.”

*****

013.07

The iiadtsu officials saw the pod containing Ambassador Attalla return to the transport vessel. They received a message via subspace communication from the ambassador stating that he had been delayed and would contact them shortly to reschedule the treaty meeting.

The Council Flock held their breath hoping that Ambassador Attalla did not suspect anything. It would appear as an accident. No one would be the wiser. It was as close to a perfect plan as they could devise.