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But I force my shoulders back in resolve. If I’m going to die, then I’ll damn well do it with my head held high and I’ll do my damnest to take out one of the Zyfeliks with me.
I shriek and jump as the impatient gray alien pokes me in the side with the cattle prod to get me to move. Damn, that hurt. The smell of burned flesh reaches my nose and makes my eyes water. My side burns and tingling arrows of pain shoot down into my leg making me stumble.
“Sub-Captain, may I suggest an alternative? What of the Giglisians, sir?” It’s the other gray alien, the one without the cattle prod.
“What of them? They are as ugly as a newly hatched bewickii. And they have their own females, who are also as ugly as a newly hatched bewickii.” The sub-captain laughs and an unpleasant shudder goes down my spine. We’ve stopped now, halfway across the medic bay while the aliens talk. I don’t care if they decide to chitchat all day long if it will give me a few more minutes before being killed.
“Yes, but there is a shortage of females throughout the Alliance, including on Gigla. The Giglisians still have some of their own females, enough to continue their race, but they prefer outsiders for their brothels. Specifically, they prefer unbreedable females for their brothels as it is forbidden for the Giglisians to breed with outsiders. My brother is a navigator on another ship, and the last time I was home, he told me his crew sold an unbreedable female to a tavern on Gigla. She was not human, but an Ilzia.”
“Ilzia? They are uglier than the Giglisians.” I can see the gleam of interest on the sub-captain’s face. I watch with bated breath as the conversation continues around me and the aliens decide my fate.
“Gigla is in the Rexa star system, correct? That is four cycles out of our way.” The other gray alien interrupts.
“If we set the hyperdrive to maximum level, we can make it in two full cycles. It would be worth the extra time it will take us to travel there.” Then, the alien says the magic words. “My brother said the Giglisians were quite pleased with the female they purchased, and they paid with gems from their mines.”
“From Gigla?” I can practically see dollar signs glinting in the sub-captain’s eyes like a cartoon character as he salivates over the thought of acquiring jewels. “They are the rarest gemstones in the Alliance.”
“Even the Kakiav do not have access to Gigla gemstones. Imagine how many scores of credits they would trade for even one. We have taken such a risk to acquire the humans. It would be a shame to not take advantage of our endeavors and earn as much profit as possible. For the glory of our empire, of course.” The gray alien with the cattle prod is practically jumping up and down in his excitement at the fabled gems. I eye the electrified stick warily as it comes close to making contact with my skin again. “What should we do with the human, Sub-Captain?”
The sub-captain points a spindly finger at me and issues his command. “Return the human to her cell. I will convince Captain Zirconiz of the need for a short detour to the Rexa system.”
“And if he isn’t convinced?”
“He will be. I’ll make sure of it.” His cold eyes sweep over the other two aliens.
A shiver runs down my spine at the menace in his voice. Great, not only do I have to look forward to being sold to a brothel, but there may be a mutiny on the way.
Chapter 3
Haley
Defective?!? Seriously?
That word is still ringing in my head. Even in space, I can’t get away from being reduced to a uterus. I know I have much bigger problems to deal with right now, but it still stings.
I can’t help it that my lady parts don’t like to play nice. I have hated my period and everything about it since I was a teenager, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I hate my body at times. Sometimes, it feels like an enemy fighting against me. I hate that Cheryl from work keeps asking me when I’m going to start a family and reminding me of my biological clock. I hate the memory of Chad’s cruel words, and I hate that even on a spaceship far away from Earth and facing a future in a brothel, his words still haunt me.
As soon as the Zyfeliks finished making their plans, the two lower-ranking aliens roughly deposited me back in my cell. Now, I’m lying on the narrow cot and we’re finally alone.
“Pssst, Haley. Are you okay?” Aria, a few cells down, breaks the strained silence.
I really don’t want to talk right now. I want to curl up on my bed and try to forget it all. But Aria has been so kind and optimistic, doing her best to keep our spirits up, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Yeah.” I mutter.
I’ve struggled for years with not feeling normal and inadequate. That feeling of being a square peg in a round hole has never quite left me, and now even aliens think there’s something wrong with me.
Unbreedable. That was the excuse Chad gave me when I caught him cheating on me. I was honest with him from the beginning about my diagnosis, and he told me it was fine with him. He assured me that he loved me and wanted to be with me no matter what. Turns out, it was all a lie.
When I walked in on him with his sidepiece, after the yelling had died down and he had kicked her out, he said that he could never actually commit to someone who wasn’t a real woman – his words, not mine.
The fact that, now, even aliens are judging my worth based upon whether or not I am breedable is seriously messing with my head.
“Bullshit. You look like something the cat dragged in and the kitten refused. And Rose does, too.” Crystal speaks up, breaking through my tumultuous thoughts.
I roll my eyes at her words. Although, they’re probably true.
“So, will one of you tell us what happened?”
