Uncharted

  But before he could say anything else to the young male with white skin, another male came into view. He was dressed the same except he had even more silver chains and some gold ones as well strung across his black vest. Also, his eyes were concentric rings of black, white, and pearl gray.

  “Baxtrell, what’s the problem here?” he barked, frowning.

  “Unidentified ship, Captain Yumex,” the younger male told him. “It came through Night’s Window—I tracked it. Now they’re refusing to show themselves clearly.”

  “They came through Night’s Window—through the Blind?” The captain peered at Terex, plainly trying to make him out through the static. He seemed agitated. “Why did you not inform me of this at once?”

  “Well, I mean…it just happened, so—”

  “No excuses, Baxtrell!” his commanding officer rapped out. He looked at the viewscreen again, an expression of intense concentration on his pale features. “A moment, please,” he said politely. “I must confer with my underling.”

  “Of course,” Terex murmured. Suddenly the picture of the two males faded, leaving the sight of the large blue/green/purple planet to take its place.

  “They cut us off!” Elaina sounded indignant.

  “Not for long.” Terex allowed himself a small smile as he pressed a button under his console. He’d had every possible communications block, buffer, and enhancer—legal and illegal—installed on the little vessel. Picking up a transmission that was no longer meant for him was child’s play.

  “Don’t you know this is the first ship to come to us out of the Blind in over a hundred cycles?” the captain was saying when their images flickered back onto the viewscreen.

  “Well, yes Sir, but—”

  “Don’t you see? It could be the prophesy!” the other male hissed.

  “The prophesy?” The younger male’s eyes grew wide. “You don’t mean—”

  “Keep your voice down, you fool. We can’t alert everyone in Ground Control until we’re certain. But did you see how the male piloting the ship looked? It must be him!”

  “Must be who?” Baxtrell, the younger male, looked mystified.

  “Here.” Leaning forward, the captain waved his hands in a complicated pattern over what was clearly a motion-controlled instrument panel. Suddenly a portrait of a male appeared, hovering in the air before them.

  “See that?” the captain demanded, gesturing to the image. “It was painted by the blind seer, Varusa, in the hour before her death. This is the reason we always keep one of our trackers pointed at Night’s Window at all times! It’s Master Valdor—he who comes to teach the new ways!”

  Beside him, Terex heard Elaina bite back a gasp as she studied the image.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, staring first at the portrait, then at Terex, and then back to the portrait again. “That’s you.”

  Actually, it did look surprisingly like him, Terex mused, right down to his jaw-line and the silver in his newly black hair. The only difference, besides noticeably paler skin, was the eyes. In the picture, they were three ringed like those of the two males they saw conversing on the viewscreen.

  Terex wondered, if the artist had really been blind. If so, how had she captured the exact pigments of those eyes? A deep, blue purple around the pupil, a brilliant silver middle ring, and a blue so pale it was almost white for the outermost ring. The lightest blue would have bled into the whites of the subject’s eyes but for a thin line of black around it. It gave the male in the portrait a hungry, almost feral look.

  “I…I couldn’t tell if that was him on b-board or not,” the younger male stuttered. “As I told you, Captain, they’re jamming my scanning signal.”

  “So you threatened to blow them out of the sky?” the captain demanded, sounding scandalized. “Don’t you know you might have threatened to blow up Master Valdor—he who was foretold? By the rod and flail! What do they teach young ones in the public learning grid these days?”

  “I…I’m sorry,” the younger male faltered. “Forgive me, Captain Yumex. Let me apologize to them!”

  “First make certain it’s him, Baxtrell,” his commanding officer said. “And if you’re sure it’s not, then you can talk about blowing them out of the sky.”

  “I’ll hail them again,” the younger male said. He made a series of complicated waves over the controls and the image of himself and his commanding officer flickered, then steadied. “Unidentified vessel, we respectfully request that you identify yourself. Are you…” He cleared his voice. “Do you by any chance go by the name of Valdor?”

  “Oh my God…” Elaina murmured. She looked over at Terex. “Oh my God, Terex—this is what the priestess was talking about. Remember, she said, “They welcome you but not as yourself”? Remember that?”

  “I do.” Terex was thinking hard. Without making a conscious decision to do so, he looked away and pressed his left thumb to his left temple. He imagined himself with paler skin and those strange, alien eyes. When he glanced back at Elaina, she looked like she might faint when she saw him.

  “Commander Terex,” she whispered faintly. “How…what did you do to your skin…your eyes?”

  “What was necessary,” Terex said shortly. He reached to unjam the signal and answer the hail, But Elaina stopped him with a shake of her head.

  “Terex, no,” she exclaimed. “Don’t you remember what else the priestess said? She said you have to reveal your true self at once—otherwise you’ll be in grave danger!”

  For a moment, Terex considered it. In the past, he probably would have followed the priestess’ instructions to the letter. But now he found himself reluctant to do so when there was a clear advantage in doing the opposite.

  These people, whoever they were, clearly expected someone who looked like him to come flying out of the Blind. This person they were waiting for was one of respect—someone who would have instant status and perhaps access to their secrets, such as the “little healer which cannot fail” and the “silver sphere which finds the trail.”

  The more he thought of it, the more he decided that allowing them to believe he was “the one who was foretold” was the right way to go.

  “It’s better this way,” he told Elaina. “When you speak to me, call me Master Valdor.”

  “But—”

  Terex didn’t wait to hear her arguments. Instead, he clicked off his jammer and allowed the two males stationed in the planet’s ground control station to see him clearly for the first time.

  “By the rod and flail!” breathed the younger male. “Captain Yumex, it is him!”

  “So it is.” The Captain’s triple-ringed eyes were shining as he took Terex in. “My lord, may I assume that you are Master Valdor—he who was foretold?”

  Though Elaina was glaring daggers at him from the passenger side seat, Terex nodded his head gravely.

  “You may.”

  “May Janos, the Lord of Judgment go hard on me for my transgression!” the younger male exclaimed. “Forgive my earlier words, please, Master Valdor.”

  “The Master does not forgive freely—that is not his way,” the captain said, frowning at his subordinate. “For your impertinence it’s within his right to beat you like a female with the Need!”

  Terex shifted in his seat, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

  “Blessings to you both,” he said, hoping he was saying the right thing. “As the young male could not see me clearly before, I forgive his mistaken treatment of me and my shipmate.” He nodded at Elaina.

  “Hi.” She gave a weak smile and a wave.

  Captain Yumex looked at Elaina, clearly surprised.

  “Master Valdor, may I be so bold as to question—why do you have a pleasure slave sitting on the same level as you—as if she was your equal?” he asked.

  “And dressed so strangely, too,” the younger male remarked. “Why, you can’t see any of her flesh!”

  “Ah…” Terex cleared his throat. “What makes you think my companion is a slave?” he asked a
t last, well aware that Elaina was glaring at him.

  “Well…is she not female?” Captain Yumex looked confused. “I can see that her skin and eye coloring is strange. Is she from a different planet where their males resemble females?”

  “I’m a female, all right.” Elaina spoke up for the first time.

  The younger male’s eyes got wide.

  “Master Valdor—you allow her to speak out of turn in that manner? To a male who is not her Master?"

  “Oh my God,” Elaina muttered in a low voice meant for Terex’s ears alone. “What is this place—Misogyny World?”

  “As a Master, I choose to hold my own council on this,” Terex said at last. Honestly, he didn’t know what else to say. “Will you give us leave to land or not?”

  “Oh, of course—of course, Master Valdor! You have immediate clearance,” Captain Yumex exclaimed. “Forgive our impertinence for questioning you. The way you deal with your pleasure slave is, of course, your business entirely.”

  “Yes, it is,” Terex said, frowning. “Send me the landing coordinates at once,” he added sternly.

  “At once,” the younger male echoed. “It’s a pleasure to welcome you to our planet, Master.”

  “Indeed.” Terex nodded briefly and then flicked off the communications tab, breaking the connection.

  As soon as the viewscreen showed nothing but the side of the planet again, Elaina burst out, “A slave? They think I’m a slave because I’m a woman?”

  “Apparently so,” Terex growled. “And as there’s nothing we can do about it now, I’m afraid you’ll have to play along.”

  “Like hell I will!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “What kind of a planet is it where all females are slaves?”

  “A Nixian one,” Terex said grimly.

  “A what?” she frowned.

  “A planet colonized by the Nix and their genetic trading partners.” Terex sighed heavily. “I believe we may have found the Lost Kindred—or what remains of them.”

  * * * * *

  Elaina stared at him, disbelieving.

  “What do you mean ‘what remains of them?’” she demanded.

  “I mean, if our two friends in their ground control center are anything to go by, the Kindred genes must have been almost totally dominated and buried by their genetic trade partners.” Terex sounded grim. “Otherwise, they would never have founded their planet on the principle that females should be enslaved and treated as inferiors.”

  “This is awful,” Elaina exclaimed. “I agreed not to get in your way during this mission, but nobody said anything about me being your slave.”

  “Nonetheless, it is what they now believe and apparently what they consider to be normal.” Terex was staring stonily ahead, a muscle on the side of his strong jaw twitching. “So these are the parts we must play.”

  Elaina almost said, you mean the parts you chose for us when you decided to ignore what the priestess said and lie! But somehow she bit her lip and held her silence. She had a feeling that Terex was already regretting his decision to go along with the idea that he was this Master Valdor person and she was nice enough not to rub it in.

  Even if she really felt like it.

  “Okay,” she said at last. “If these really are the Lost Kindred, then how do we play this?”

  An uneasy shiver ran down her spine as she remembered what Liv’s husband, Commander Baird, had said about the Lost Kindred the night before. That they were into some kind of sexual perversion—was this it? Keeping woman as slaves? If so, it would certainly go against the Kindred principles of revering their females almost to the point of worship.

  “We say as little as possible,” Terex murmured. “It’s my experience the less you talk, the more others will spill their guts. Therefore I will say little and you…” He turned and gave her a stern look that made her stomach flutter for some reason. “Will say even less. Do you understand?”

  “Already treating me like a slave, I see. Aren’t we getting into character just a little too early?” Elaina raised an eyebrow at him.

  “I’m doing what’s necessary to complete this mission.” He glared at her. “I suggest you do the same.”

  That’s right—the mission, Elaina reminded herself. It wasn’t like she’d come along for the ride because she wanted a vacation from her hum-drum life—although it certainly appeared she was going to get one. She was here to find something to save her sister from dying. If she had to pretend to be a slave to do that, well, it was a small price to pay.

  “Fine,” she said, frowning. “I’ll play along and call you ‘Master’ and pretend to be your slave. As long as you remember it’s not true when we’re alone.”

  “I am a Kindred. We revere, honor, and cherish all that is female.” He looked away from her, the muscle in his jaw clenching again. “Do you honestly think I would wish to dominate and subjugate you?”

  “I guess not.” Elaina was taken aback by the vehemence of his tone. “I just…have never been in this kind of situation before.”

  “Neither have I,” he growled. “But it doesn’t make any difference. We will go to the planet’s surface, play our parts, and find out about the little healer and the silver sphere. As soon as we get what we need, we’ll be on our way—you to find a cure for your sister and me to get my vengeance.” His eyes flashed. “Nothing else matters.”

  “I agree,” Elaina said. “I just hope it won’t take too long.”

  “The better we play our parts, the quicker we’ll find what we need,” Terex predicted. “Remember that.”

  “I will.” Elaina lifted her chin. She could do this, she told herself. It might feel weird and maybe even a little degrading, but she could do anything that was necessary to find a cure for her little sister.

  “Good.” Terex was already punching coordinates into the array of controls in front of him. “Then let’s land.”

  Chapter Eight

  There was a party waiting to greet them. Not just a few people standing around in the weak, smoggy sunlight of the Nixian world to witness their arrival—an honest-to-God party.

  Male soldiers in green and purple and gold uniforms stood in orderly lines and there were a number of males in the same black leather and chains outfit they had seen the Ground Control personnel wearing. There were also men playing strange instruments that appeared to be made of leaves and strings, which made a whispery harp-like sound, and some other people milling around, who appeared to just be bystanders, excited to see what was going on.

  But it wasn’t the men who caught Elaina’s eyes and held them as they descended the steps from Terex’s ship to the waiting crowd below. It was the women. There weren’t many of them in the crowd but they really stood out.

  Look at them! Elaina couldn’t believe what she was seeing. While the males dressed modestly enough—hiding their muscular physiques with the leather and chain vests and suits which seemed to consist of wide, flaring overcoats layered over tight trousers—the women were literally on display.

  Elaina saw one woman wearing nothing but black leather straps and silver buckles. The strange harness showed her breasts and sex clearly so that she was practically naked. Another woman had on a long, clinging gown of see-through red fabric. It was belted at the waist with a thick silver chain and it was clear she wasn’t wearing any undergarments beneath it. A third woman wore what looked like a gold lame` bikini with triangular patches cut out of the cups and bottoms so that her nipples and pussy peaked out from the shimmering gold fabric. They were blatantly sexual and revealing outfits and yet none of the women wearing them seemed to feel uncomfortable.

  Despite their different modes of dress, they had one thing in common—on every single woman, Elaina noticed a collar. Some were fancier than others—some even looked like expensive choker necklaces. But she saw them for what they were—mainly because many of them had leashes attached to them.

  It’s like they’re pets! she thought, watching as the women leaned against the men who were wi
th them—because none of them was there alone. Some of them looked contented and snuggled into the encircling arms of the men who were clearly in charge of them. One or two looked bored or angry but even those with discontented looks on their faces never got far from their men. Mainly because in most cases, the man with the irritated looking woman was holding the leash attached to her collar.

  “What is this?” Elaina breathed to Terex as they came to stand at the foot of the stairs. They were in a large, open-air docking area surrounded by various types of space ships and the sky was a dark purplish-blue that reminded her of a lighter shade of his eye color. Or what had been his eye color before he changed it, anyway. How had he managed to do that? Was it some kind of Kindred talent she’d never heard of before? Whatever it was, he looked eerily like the men standing around waiting for them.

  “Ah, Master Valdor.” An important looking man wearing a long, flaring robe and a tall white turban-like hat with a blue jewel in the center came bustling through the crowd.

  “Hello.” Terex stepped forward, nodding his head in greeting. Elaina stepped with him but made sure to stay behind him, so it didn’t look like she was trying to be his “equal.”

  Ugh—what a sexist planet! But they were stuck here until they found what they needed so she might as well get used to it. They were never going to get anywhere by offending the natives so she stayed well out of the line of sight, in the big Kindred’s shadow.

  “I was informed by Captain Yumex that you had arrived through Night’s Window after an absence of over a hundred cycles. Let me be the first to make you welcome—I am Ambassador Waygu. If you don’t mind, I am charged with comparing your retinal scan and print to those which we have on file for you.”

  Elaina’s heart leapt into her mouth. What were they going to do now? Terex might be able to make himself look like the long-lost Master Valdor, but how was he going to mimic his retinal scan and fingerprints?

  But Terex only nodded, completely unperturbed, as the Ambassador held up a small device with one round lens that looked like a shortened telescope.