exist? The shamans are all at a loss. Nothing has happened the way it was foretold, all is different. Many tribes are in doubt about everything now. And then your tribe, the alien tribe, wanting warriors to fight the dragons. Why? What is the purpose? It is well known there is only a handful of women among you that are unmarried. But a single tribe can have a thousand men! Who will they marry, after they have defeated the dragons, with great danger to their own lives? What is their reward?”
“To hear other men mate with their wives,” the chief scoffs. “That’s all they are offered. I was in your tribe, woman, eager to fight with the best warriors from the other tribes. Thinking there must be a woman for each of us. There was not. The women there never looked at us, never went close to our camp. They kept themselves apart, mostly out of sight. You yourself did. I remember you well, walking in your village and laughing with your friends. All we knew about you unmarried females was that you all wanted to leave Xren. And we asked, what then are we supposed to fight for? There aren’t enough women for all, or even for a single tribe, unless we share them. And now they all want to leave? There will be no women, then. For what purpose are we now leaving our own tribes, leaving the Lifegivers, leaving the life we love, to go and fight dragons? Yes, I asked. I asked the legendary Juri’ex, the owner of the longest sword on Xren, himself married to a glorious alien woman. He didn’t reply. He simply said that if I didn’t think I was slayer material, I could leave. I did, because it was obvious what the true answer was: there is no purpose. There is no reward.”
There’s a murmur of assent around the fire.
“The purpose is to live in peace,” I tell them, becoming desperate. “To live on a Xren without bad dragons. Some dragons are good, but many are bad. If the warriors don’t slay the bad ones, they might take over the whole planet and make your lives miserable, and maybe try eradicating all of you. But if you fight for the good cause, then more Earth women will come. Many more. Hundreds. Thousands. That is why we want to leave — to go and get more. We are happy on Xren! And there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, of unmarried women on our planet. They will also be happy here. But they will not come here if there are bad dragons!”
I’m laying it on pretty thick, but I feel totally justified in making all this up. This is looking like a bad gang bang in the making. “When the Earth women get here, a good warrior can expect a good wife. Two, even. Three. As many as he wants! You all want a wife, right? Imagine having many wives, many women in your cave, all yours and willing to mate with you!”
The cavemen look at each other, then at me, clearly interested.
“When will they get here?” a man on the other side of the fire asks. “And how?”
18
- Jennifer -
My bullshit story might be working. And I should not blow it by being too unrealistic.
“After we leave,” I invent, “there will be a year before we can return. We will return on a spaceship similar to the one that brought us here. That was built by the Plood, but we have the same thing, except much bigger. We will bring thousands of new women. Then another batch, and another. Every warrior on Xren will have a wife! Or as many as he wants. Old and sick warriors, as well. A short year from now.”
The warriors lean forward, hanging on my every word.
“Even a man who has lost a hand?” asks one, holding up the stump of his left arm.
“Even a young one?” asks another, who must be barely past the Stripening.
“Even one who has only a broken sword?”
“Everyone,” I say with emphasis. “There are many women on Earth. As many as there are stars in the sky.” I point up, where there are some bright points visible between the clouds. “And all they want is a good husband! Any husband,” I quickly add. “But the dragons must be gone.”
It’s quiet around the fire as the cavemen consider the possibility of having several women each.
Then the chief chuckles. “That would indeed be a fine