12. AHANE

There was a Human in the cosmos more annoying and hapless than his House-Sister. Chess had fed herself to the worms, but Thalia had damn near started a hunger riot.

His muscles corded and seethed, filled with a rush of anxiety and panic and violence. He had not heard her screaming; he had sensed it. A potent sense of horror and fear quite unlike anything he’d ever experienced, and a galvanizing go, now.

Chess could be skeptical of Human psy abilities all she liked. No doubt: Humans were psys.

And Thalia”s terror could goad him to extraordinary violence. He had restrained himself, but he would have to be mindful in the future.

Could the other denizens of this rock hear her screams, or had they been for him?

She tucked in on herself as she stood before him, arms in front of her breasts. A purple-red shade rimmed her eyes, a shocking and distressing jolt of color unmistakable and distinct from her otherwise unremarkable coloration. She quivered and her breathing hitched, and her salty scent took on a smoky, charred distress that made his sinus cavity burn. She seemed impossibly small and fragile, and under his anger, he wanted nothing more than to take her close and comfort her.

It must be her psy abilities telling him she needed comfort, but her body language told him she did not want him to provide it.

He wrung his tail in frustration. He’d been too harsh. But damnit, had it not occurred to her that the door would lock behind her?

He’d woken up with her tucked softly against his side, her head in the crook of his shoulder, and his arm somehow around her, his claw stroking the small of her back.

He’d gently extracted himself from the embrace. She had not woken. It had spared them both an awkward conversation about we’re stuck with each other, these things happen.

He didn’t need to contribute to her torment. But… “I saw you didn’t stay out of sight when I was dealing with the mob.”

Her body shuddered on sobs even as her expression projected sudden, burning defiance. “So what? They were looking at you, anyway. You can’t keep me locked in here. I won’t stay in here. I’m not your pet.”

She spat pet with such venom it made the delicate scales around his throat feel brittle.

[PET (noun usage): PRIMARY MEANING: a companion animal, such as a kit-kit. Also a term of endearment. SECONDARY MEANING: A sentient that is confined by other sentients. Autonomy and freedom are greatly restricted due to their handlers not believing them capable of managing their own affairs, or managing their affairs in accordance to the handler’s preferences. Pets are usually subject to humiliation, degradation, and manipulation, in addition to other mental and emotional forms of torment. The handler’s objective is frequently the erosion of the pet’s sense of self and identity. There is little practical distinction between being a pet and being a prisoner, although being a pet is considered more derogatory and humiliating, as a pet is considered incapable of being dangerous or hazardous]

His scales felt even more brittle. The translator confirmed his suspicion that a pet in Human context was similar to (but not quite the same) as what the Gestalt called an amusement.

Was that what she had been to Him? His pet?

She would never say that word again. Not if he had anything to do with it. “Of course you are not my pet. But if you are caught, your remaining life will be brief and terrifying, and I would spare you that. Especially if anyone decides to investigate if any of the rumors about Humans are true.”

“What kind of rumors? What could we possibly do to you? We can’t even get off our own damn planet. And going to the Moon didn’t count.”

He wished he had asked Keiron to tell him more about Humans. “It is widely believed Humans have teeth in their buttholes.”

She blinked several times. “I… I’m not sure how that would represent some massive threat to the Gestalt.”

“Your system is also considered very dangerous because it is highly anomalous. Travel is forbidden.”

“It’s a planetary system. How is it an anomaly? There are billions of them.”

“Precisely. And because there are billions, we know what is typical and what is not. Your system has one star. The vast majority of systems have two. You have more than three planets, multiple asteroid rings, and an unprecedented level of biodiversity on one planet, with all others being devoid of even microbial life. The region around your system is also devoid of all life. Nobody knows how or why that system formed, and no one wants to find out.”

“And no one is curious about that?”

“No,” he said flatly. “The price of disturbing your system to uncover its secrets could be catastrophic. There are many other things to be curious about that are not obviously a bad idea.”

“But the Greys go.”

“Because they’re cheap assholes who would rather exploit a helpless species and risk disturbing a dangerous system, rather than pay for biomaterial.”

The little folds between her eyebrows indicated thinking. She broke eye contact. Her lips pulled tighter into a small pucker while she stared at his tail. “They’re cheap and they don’t want the Gestalt interfering in their work. I don’t think they’d buy from any other species even if the bio-putty was free.”

“That is not comforting. At all. Everyone believes they are cheap and don’t want the Gestalt to know how badly they’ve engineered themselves into a corner.”

“That’s true. But they also don’t want you to speculate on their objectives, and I don’t believe it’s because they’re embarrassed their grand plan didn’t go all that well.”

“Do you know what those other objectives are?”

“No. None of the Greys know. They know they’re part of something larger, but they only know what their objective is.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, Ahane. I didn’t mean to cause a kerfuffle.”

His blood warmed slightly. His tail drifted towards her to brush her shoulder, but he caught himself before he did.

She pushed herself back to her feet and held out one hand.

He passed her the broom.