Chapter Three

JOHN DIDN’T know what to make of Dale and Chad. Obviously, they’d been harvested, but the resentment and fear John expected to see were absent from both of them. Stockholm maybe? Or had they been brainwashed? Threatened? John’s mind raced with questions and theories as he tried to piece together the puzzle before him.

He didn’t know what to think. As he’d observed the two, a confusing mix of emotions swirled within him. They hadn’t acted like typical victims of abuse. Instead they’d radiated a sense of contentment and joy.

Dale had even taken playful jabs at his own nickname, bringing a smile to the face of the large white-haired alien beside him. Their easy banter and obvious affection for each other spoke volumes about their relationship, leaving John feeling both intrigued and bewildered.

Keyno had appeared lovingly annoyed with Dale. As ridiculous as it sounded, that was the best way John could describe it. That Tah’Narian—and yes, John was perfectly aware of their race.

But the white-headed Tah’Narian had treated Dale with respect. For that matter, he had done the same for Chad. John didn’t know the relationship between the two humans, but something told him they’d been friends before they ended up on the spaceship.

Gods, he was on a spaceship. In space. That was full of aliens.

A small noise caught his attention, and he glanced up. The Tah’Narian called Doc stood at the entrance of the bedroom.

“John?”

Well, John had a choice now, didn’t he? He could carry on the way he had, which resolved nothing, or he could deal with the situation. “Yes?”

Doc’s expression suddenly relaxed with visible relief. John couldn’t comprehend it. What reason did Doc have to be concerned about him in the first place? Why was he here, lying on a bed in a stranger’s quarters?

And speaking of that, whose bright idea had that been because he’d like a word with them.

Every human knew what the story was surrounding the aliens and what they needed. What was happening now wasn’t lining up with what they’d been told, and it worried John. No, it scared him down to his toes, but he couldn’t dwell on that at the moment, or he’d end up a blubbering mess. Again.

“Could I interest you in something to eat? Or something to drink? I don’t know exactly how long it’s been since you’ve had any sort of refreshments, but I’m sure you must be dehydrated at the very least.”

“I think I could eat something. I definitely would like to have something to drink. Water, maybe?”

Between the screaming, the crying, the shock, and the drugs, Doc had good reason to be concerned about him being dehydrated.

Doc pointed to a door that was off to the side. “Bathroom is through there. I’ll be in the other room waiting on you. Okay?”

“Yes. Okay.”

John stayed where he was until Doc left.

Then he hurried to the bathroom. Somewhere along the way, he’s been dressed in wide-leg, soft, sky-blue pants that ended a couple of inches below his knee. He also wore a white shirt with long flowing sleeves that ended past his elbows. It was the same soft feel as the pants. They reminded him of, well, pajamas. Sort of. Someone had put clothes on him, and he didn’t like that one bit.

The bathroom, surprisingly enough, resembled a very human one with a toilet, a shower stall, and a sink. And thank goodness, everything worked as it should.

Once John finished in the restroom, he washed his hands with lukewarm water and a hint of soap. He glanced around the unfamiliar room until he spotted a rectangular metal object on the wall.

Curious, he approached it cautiously and pressed a button, causing hot air to blast out from small vents. As he dried his hands, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror.

The polished surface of the mirror reflected every detail of his face, from the slight stubble on his chin to the wariness in his eyes. Huh. They had mirrors too. Why he found that startling he did not know.

Maybe because if he dealt with the bigger picture, he’d find himself curled up in a ball, screaming again.

But looking at his messy red hair did make him think of something. Hadn’t Doc mentioned an implant that helped him understand the Tah’Narian language and vice versa?

So did that mean something had been surgically implanted? As a doctor, the implications thrilled him. As a human, it horrified him. Had they actually operated on him without his consent? Why he found that so unbelievable he didn’t know. No human had consented to any of this.

John ran his hand through his hair looking for an incision. Then he ran it down the back of his neck. He felt nothing, and he didn’t know what to make of that. But there was no denying he understood the Tah’Narians perfectly.

Sighing, he walked out of the bathroom. For a moment he glared at the bed. Whoever thought that plunking humans who were harvested down in a bed was a good idea needed to have their own brain examined.

Shaking his head, he continued on toward where he’d seen Doc standing just a moment ago, and the odd sliding door opened. Taking a deep breath, John walked through.

The bigger room had a small eat-in kitchen area that also opened to a living area. There was a small dinette near the kitchen, with funny-looking chairs. He stared at one of them, trying to figure out what was different about it—and it dawned on him the cutout near the bottom was for Doc’s tail.

A tail. A tail that moved, and jumped, and twisted like a cat’s. Huh. They also had tufted ears on top of their head. But the rest of them, at least the parts John could see, were humanoid.

Speaking of the Tah’Narian, Doc sat at the table, waiting patiently. John slowly approached, thankful that Doc remained sitting. He wasn’t exactly sure how tall Doc was, but John would bet he had at least a good foot on him.

John slowly eased into the vacant chair. Now what?

“Thank you for joining me.”

“Sure.”

John didn’t point out the lack of choice. “Uh, may I ask you a question?”

“I’m sure you have hundreds, and I will gladly answer them, but can I request you please eat and drink something first? Please?”

Doc asked. “We have human food here.”

John’s mind shied away from why they had human food there.

Doc motioned to something that looked like a microwave but without a door or buttons. “This is called a reduplicator. It’s where we order food from. Well, that’s one of its purposes.”

One of its purposes? What did that mean? “How about I eat while I ask questions?”

“A compromise?”

Doc nodded encouragingly as he stood. “Compromise encourages individuals to consider others’ perspectives and fosters empathy, which can strengthen relationships and create a sense of connection and understanding.”

Sure, it could mean that. Or it could mean that in some small way, John refused to be bossed around.

Doc listed off what the machine could make, and John picked something. Doc walked to the machine and spoke to it. There was a humming noise and a flash of light.

Within seconds there was a plate of food and a glass of what looked like plain water. Picking up the plate and glass, Doc brought them to the table and set them down in front of John.

“Later I’ll have you place an order so the program will have your voice print. Then you can use it whenever you want.”

John caught the implication, of course. “Meaning that I will be here to make use of it.”

Doc sighed heavily. “There is much to discuss in regards to that, but yes. But could we start off with something less stressful? Please? Before you ask, I’m not avoiding the subject, but it’s going to be upsetting for you. And I would like for you to eat and drink first.”

What little appetite John had, that successively killed, but he still picked at the food. He had requested bland things for that very reason—scrambled eggs and toast were usually easy for him to digest.

“Less upsetting, huh? I’m not sure that’s possible, but I am intrigued about something that was mentioned earlier. Something about the implant?”

John managed to eat about half the eggs as Doc explained exactly what had been done, and he did so as if he was speaking to a peer.

That surprised John. “You speak to me as if you expect me to understand the terminology.”

Doc raised an eyebrow. “Well, why wouldn’t I? You’re a doctor. Our advancements in medicine may be beyond where humans are, but you have a scientific mind, the education, and the skills to understand me.”

John’s eyes began to sting as he fought the urge to cry. “Thank you for that.”

“You are important, John. You matter. Now, back to the implant. As you know, the brain is….”

John listened with half an ear as Doc continued explaining about the procedure for the implant. Most of his brain was focused on that, but Doc’s words also had made an impression.

They pleased John, but they also scared him. Why was he important? And to whom? He glanced back at Doc. John was afraid he knew the answer to the second question, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“There are also earbuds that are used, but they are not permanent, which are sufficient for the humans who are not part of… of the….”

Doc trailed off.

“Not part of the harvest?”

John finished for Doc.

“I’m sorry,”

Doc said. “Please be aware that the majority of us are not happy with the way your government handled this. But yes, the earbuds are sufficient for the humans who are not going with us.”

A memory tugged at John’s brain. “When they came for me, I was in surgery. We were operating on a little girl who has leukemia. I was assisting with a bone marrow transplant.”

“John, I hope you understand that our men were willing to wait until it was over. But there have been several occurrences like this reported to our captain. Your people want us gone and want us gone now.”

“You knew what happened? Do you mind if I ask how you knew of this?”

“At first, no. I had asked our captain to send one of my nurses when we were told a doctor was going to be harvested. Of course, I had no idea the humans were going to actually interrupt the surgery.”

Which made sense. No doctor would ever do something so horrific.

“I had sent the nurse in the hopes that maybe he could talk to the doctors to see if there was something we could do to help. He ended up trying to undo the damage done by the humans. Then he had to leave.”

John slumped in his chair. “That’s… that’s good to know. She’s okay? The little girl?”

“She was at the last update I received.”

“Thank you. It’s preyed on my mind.”

“Of course it has. You are a doctor.”

Doc cleared his throat. “Are you through eating?”

Surprised, John looked at his plate. He’d eaten everything and drank the entire glass of water. “I guess I am.”

“Excellent.”

Then Doc grimaced. “Because now I need to discuss with you the very thing that’s going to upset you. Your human government has lied to you. There is no five-year program in which the humans picked will be returned. We’re here for mates, John. And you are my mate.”

Special thanks to Charlotte, Jazmine, and Liz for answering my questions about John and Doc.

Ti’s POV of Colt’s Harvest

I chose to show Ti’s point of view this time because I wanted to show his thoughts and feelings when the Tah’Narians answered his distress call lol.