of myself as a kind decent human being and the world where I’m forced to do whatever it takes to save human lives are two moving parts that don’t fit together at all.
Molly comes into the room with Eltran at her side. They’re carrying huge trays of warm drinks. Borak is right about Molly being the mechanism that enables everything else to work properly. I don’t know who raised this woman, but I do know she’s worth her weight in gold when it comes to social graces.
I motion towards the large seating area. “Let’s sit down and have a conversation like civilized adults.”
“So now that you have a rich alien husband, you’re civilized? I don’t think so. Just spit it out. What’s going to become of us?”
Borak growls, a deep, dark sound meant to warn off potential predators. “You will respect my queen.”
Jill turns on him as well. “What the hell is wrong with you? You mated a psychopath who was willing to enslave other women and hand them over to an alien lifeform from another galaxy.”
The one who hasn’t spoken up until now does so, her voice trembling with emotion. “They’re just alike. I remember him. He was there when we were brought in and handed over to Zeong. He just stood right there and let it happen, like all the rest of them. None of them did a damn thing.”
Chantel’s horrified voice sounds off. “It’s not true, right, Mother?” Her eyes jump around the room before landing on me again. Her voice hardens. “Say it’s not true.”
Borak starts to speak, but I’m not about to make this man do my dirty work. Dropping down into a chair before my knees buckle under me, I allow Molly to press a hot drink into my hand.
“I spent my whole life in Earth Gov military, just like every woman in my line for three generations. We were taught that if you’re not intellectually gifted enough to become a doctor or a scientist, then you only have two choices. You either bust your ass in the military or you end up indigent, because no other vocations on Earth since the fall are stable enough to keep body and soul together.”
Borak’s hand comes out to land on my shoulder. I glance up to see his expression is filled with pain and compassion. It gives me the strength and presence of mind to explain myself thoroughly. “I’m ashamed to say those in charge did think of you as less. When our world was attacked by an enemy we couldn’t hope to beat back on our own, we found our backs against the wall. It was great that the Draconians offered to help fight off the Moltan, but the only way to eradicate the Vithacan parasites from our aqua filters deep underground was to enlist the aid of a shifter. He’s the only reason we won the war, the only reason that Earth is now safe for the millions of people who survived the fall.”
It’s my Chantel who guesses the rest. “And the only thing he wanted in exchange for his cooperation was three human women.”
I stare into my sin-caffeine, my hands shaking slightly. “It wasn’t all he wanted, but his demands were non-negotiable. I don’t know that I can go into his other demands because it’s classified information, but I will say that the women were the only part that hurt our hearts and souls to deliver on. Once we understood that we had to sacrifice three, the generals talked it over, and instead of asking for three volunteers like I suggested, they decided on sending indigents.”
There is a fluttering of wings from Borak’s boys who are appropriately shocked by my words. I push the rest of the story out before I lose my nerve. “I was assigned to pick three from the lower levels of the bio-dome where the poorest of us were forced to live. It was a difficult choice, but for me it came down family connections. I had my commanders pick up a total of thirty women. We sifted through their backgrounds, eliminating the ones with children or parents depending upon them for survival. We got it down to nine women.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I admit the worst of it. “I picked the three of you because I thought you were strong enough to endure hard times and resilient enough to make the situation work out for yourselves. I also picked you because you looked different from each other.