AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No Darrvason male would ever allow his daughter to mate with the likes of me—the son of the disgraced male who goaded the Yelltzins into destroying our planet, killing the majority of our females and too many children in the process.
But a human female?
I have a real chance at acquiring a mate from among the humans, and I peer at the illuminated upper decks of theJansonnawith a growing sense of purpose.
Somewhere aboard the worldship, my mate is waiting.
Chapter2
JENNY
The corridorsof the worldship are crowded yet eerily quiet. Hundreds of bodies navigate the narrow space with scarcely a whisper to be heard. My mother and I keep close, and I tighten my grip on her arm when a contingent of armed security officers approach. Their steady march pierces the silence, and the atmosphere thickens with fear. Wide-eyed people scatter through doorways or retreat into neighboring corridors. Mom and I pause near the mess hall’s entrance and plaster ourselves to the wall.
Anxiety twists my stomach as the guards draw nearer, and I sense the tension rolling off my mother.
Please don’t let anything bad happen.
Please please please.
Heart racing, palms sweating, I hold my breath and pray the officers depart the corridor without incident.
During the last few weeks, tensions have remained high on theJansonna, the worldship that houses the last of humankind, and it’s not uncommon for skirmishes between rebels and guards to occur in the narrow corridors.
It’s also not uncommon for innocents to get caught in the crossfire.
Ever since my uncle, Captain Warren, announced an alliance with the powerful and technologically advanced Darrvason Empire, hardly a day has passed without violence.
I remind myself that we’re on Deck Twenty-Two, the uppermost residential deck, and violence usually occurs on the lower decks. But I still can’t help but worry, and as the approaching officers’ footsteps echo in the corridor, I struggle to breathe.
Though I’ve never taken part in the dissent, I’m still nervous in crowds and especially anxious in the presence of armed security officers. And while it’s unlikely violence will occur on Deck Twenty-Two, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
I’m terrified of accidentally getting trapped in the middle of a protest. I’m also worried for my mother. I don’t want her to find herself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Each day, I endeavor to accompany her everywhere she goes outside our shared quarters. Hell, I even took a job teaching alongside her just so we could always be together.
I swallow hard when I recall the blood I recently saw splattered in the corridors of Deck Seven, the aftermath of the latest uprising against the captain and his command team. A shudder rushes through me. Fourteen souls perished during that particular protest.
Of course, I understand why people are upset about the alliance with the Darrvasons. According to the treaty, the aliens will provide humankind with fuel and much-needed supplies. They’ll also help repair our run-down ship and guide us to a habitable planet.
But there’s a huge catch.
In return for their assistance, the aliens want over two thousand young women of childbearing age.
They demanded thirty females upfront on the day a team of their engineers boarded theJansonnato begin repairs. Once those repairs are complete, they’ll receive a second payment of one hundred women. And finally, once the Darrvasons help humankind locate and settle on a habitable planet, we’ll be required to hand over a whopping two thousand additional women. A staggering number.
The contingent slows their march, and the fear chilling my insides becomes glacial. I dare a glance up and nearly gasp at the sight of Nathan, my sister Ellie’s former fiancé. He looks like hell, and his eyes flare with surprise when he notices us. From my peripheral vision, I glimpse Mom shooting him a polite smile. I relax, if only slightly. But my heart breaks at the sadness that suddenly enters Nathan’s bloodshot gaze.
If not for the Darrvasons and the blasted alliance, he and Ellie would be getting married soon. However, she’s no longer an occupant of the worldship, and chances are slim that we’ll see her again.
Ellie was one of the thirty women handed over to the Darrvasons, her name “randomly selected” by a computer. My sweet caring sister. Gone forever. Expected to mate with a barbaric alien. She’s been gone for about two weeks, and I still can’t believe it.
I blink faster, not wanting to break down in front of my mother. I’m all she has left, and I’m trying to stay strong for her. I don’t want her to know how worried I am for Ellie. The last thing I want to do is add to her fears.
I force a smile as I peer at Nathan, though I breathe a sigh of relief when he and the other guards finish passing. Mom and I watch until they round the end of the corridor, then we push away from the wall and resume our travels.
The hum of whispered conversations washes over us as we enter the cavernous mess hall. People are huddled in small groups at various tables, no one daring to laugh or talk loudly. Mom and I get in line, grab our evening ration of food, and head to a secluded table in the back. Suspicious glances follow us, but that’s nothing unusual. My late father was Captain Warren’s brother, and people outside our small friend circle tend not to trust us.
If only the gawking crowd knew the truth. If only they knew how coldly my uncle has always treated us. If only they knew Ellie’s name wasn’t randomly selected by a computer.
I don’t have any proof, but I’d bet my life he personally handpicked her just to be cruel. Just for the simple pleasure of ripping what was left of our family apart. And the bonus? Many citizens on theJansonnathink Captain Warren is a saint for not overturning the results when the computer supposedly picked Ellie’s name.His own niece. What a fair captain he is for not overturning the results.
