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Her head continued to shake, but she couldn’t force words out past her emotion-tightened throat. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. Jobek was trying to manipulate her. Driving a wedge between her and the founders was his only way into her life.
“He’s not being cruel,” Tandor interjected. “A soul bond is triggered by the combination of chemicals contained in sexual fluids. The bond forms faster and is stronger if the female’s body has only been exposed to the semen of two males. Besides, males in our star system are territorial. We only like to share with our teammates.”
“The point is,” Jobek stressed, “you are, and have always been, a product to the founders. You’re a commodity to them and that is all.”
She recovered enough to glare at him. “I don’t believe you.” And yet she’d always had questions about the seclusion and secrecy. If the goal was to blend in with humanity, as the founders claimed, complete separation seemed counterproductive. In fact, the people in Sitka had concluded that Still Water Farm was some sort of a cult.
Jobek said something in a language she didn’t understand. A beam of light shot down from the ceiling then spread out across the middle of the table forming a display. He issued another command, this one longer than the first. An image of Dr. Lorish appeared in front of her. He looked younger, but it was obviously the same person.
“This male is one of the founders, correct?” Jobek asked.
“You know he is. Why ask me?” She was so tired of being on the defensive, so tired of feeling attacked and harassed.
“His name is Degatt Norice. He is a renowned geneticist. He and three of his colleagues were responsible for Project Revive. Have you ever heard the term?”
She shook her head, yet trepidation tingled down her spine. “What is Project Revive?”
An unexpected flicker of compassion shone in the depths of Jobek’s eyes. “They are responsible for second-level conduits. Do you understand what that means?”
She stood up and backed away from the table. His words rang true but she wasn’t ready to accept them. Her entire world would unravel if she accepted what he was saying. It simply could not be true. “You’re lying.”
“We were part of the evacuation of your island,” Jobek continued, his voice firm yet patient. “As we returned for our next load of passengers, a shuttle launched from the island. Tandor was coordinating the shuttles so we knew it was not one of ours.”
Tandor picked up the tale, his expression filled with compassion. “We managed to disable the shuttle and the occupants were teleported onto the hunter ship. The founders, the people you are defending, deserted you and the other conduits. They abandoned you to the enemy, or the people you think of as your enemy.”
“Why should I believe any of this?” she cried, precariously close to tears. “It’s your word against theirs.”
“She’s right.” Jobek stood and left the house without explanation.
Ansley stared after him in confusion. He’d seemed annoyed, but not angry enough to storm out. “Is he coming back?” She had the insane need to run after him but her feet remained motionless.
“We have no reason to lie to you,” Tandor said softly, drawing her attention back to the table.
“You have every reason to lie,” she objected. “The founders claimed that the Citadel is evil and you guys are claiming that the founders are evil. Who am I supposed to believe?”
“How did the founders explain the need for keeping you locked away on that island?” Tandor sounded confused rather than argumentative.
“They were worried that humans would find out that we were aliens.” She cringed inwardly. The excuse sounded so flimsy now. Why hadn’t she seen through it sooner? Why the hell hadn’t she asked more questions?
Jobek returned with a cylindrical device in his hand and a determined look on his face. “This contains a nano translator. It will allow you to understand all of the languages spoken in our star system. Will you allow me to inject you with it?” When she hesitated, he added, “It has been used by the other second-level conduits. It’s perfectly safe.”
Being able to understand their languages worked to her advantage so she nodded as he approached. “Will I be able to speak your language or just understand what I hear? What about written words? Does this translate them too?”
“Speaking a new language takes practice,” Tandor told her. “This will allow you to understand what you hear. Full literacy requires an in-depth language infusion. That will have to wait until we reach the hunter ship.”
Jobek lifted one side of her hair and she felt something cool puff against her skin then a momentary sting. She gasped softly and instinctively rubbed the area just behind her ear.
After releasing her hair, Jobek stepped back. “Give it a few moments to make the necessary connections and then I will proceed.”
“Proceed with what?” She didn’t understand his sudden need for her to understand what they said to each other. Wasn’t it an advantage if she didn’t understand them? “What language do you guys speak? For that matter, which planet are you from?”
“We grew up on Torret, but our loyalty is to each other,” Jobek told her. “When you spend most of your time in space, it’s hard to feel connected to any planet.”
“Then which language do you consider native?”
“We most often speak a lesser used dialect of Altorian. However, the norm in our star system is to freely converse in all eleven of the most popular languages. The human custom of only knowing one language seems needlessly limiting to us.”
“It might seem less ‘limiting’ if you didn’t have access to nano translators and language infusions.” She arched her brows to emphasis the challenge in her tone.
