Page 25 of Redeeming Captivity (Human Pets of Talin #7)

Chapter 25

Lena

Being able to walk around the large bay helped calm the panic that had been trying to take over since coming onto Bountiful. It was also helpful that she had so many new, meaningful possessions to hold onto.

She had the bag of looms and limrit weighing heavy on her shoulder. A teaching square tucked into her jacket pocket, and a collection of information squares clutched to her chest. Next to her, Tarquin was still carrying her bag with the new Simtee outfits and a few odds and ends that had ended up in the teardrop with them.

They’d probably never need an emergency blanket again, but the thought of discarding even one item made her feel short of breath. Tarquin being the wonderful, sweet, perfect Talin he was, didn’t question any of the items. Not even the single worn slipper or empty cord that had held the lucky nulmi on it.

“Derani’s family almost disowned him,” Tarquin said as they walked. “He had to trade this ship for a small, fast one to save Nalia. He was ready to give up everything he knew to rescue her. It’s a fascinating story, do you want me to tell it?”

She hummed in encouragement. As much as she liked Nalia, she probably wouldn’t remember any of what Tarquin was going to tell her. It was enough to hear his voice.

The story was long enough that they walked an entire circuit of the bay, except for the area full of cargo, before he was done. As they reached the door leading into the bay from the main ship, she noticed a Talin next to a hover-cart. He looked up as they approached.

“Greetings,” he called out. “I’m Orbian. I only joined the crew fifty rotations ago, but I know all the important things, so don’t worry about hiding anything around me.”

“Greetings, Orbian,” Tarquin said, then introduced himself and her.

“Nalia said you guys might want to use this bay instead of one of the rooms, so I brought a few things to make it comfortable.” He gestured to a utilitarian bed and a small table with a glow-lamp. Then he pointed back to the hover-cart. “I also brought all the bedding needed to make a nice nest, but I wasn’t sure if I should set it up or let Lena. Nalia told me that some humans can be very particular about their space.”

It was clear by his voice and mannerisms that this Talin wasn’t far from his adultlette stage.

“That was very thoughtful of both Nalia and you,” Tarquin said. Lena wasn’t ready to deal with anyone new, even if they were young and eager. She took a half step behind Tarquin, a clear sign to both Talins.

“I’ll leave the bedding on the cart,” Orbian said, sounding a purr even as he took several steps back. “If you don’t feel like joining everyone for the evening meal, we can send a delivery bot.”

“Thank you for your gift of time and skill,” Tarquin said, the most polite dismissal available.

“Contact me if you need anything else,” Orbian said. He sounded one last purr for Lena, then left. The moment he was gone, she looked over the items he’d brought. They were all generic and not worth picking up and carrying with her, so she left them behind and started walking again.

Without needing to ask, Tarquin launched into another story, this one about how Jinna and Holian met. The added benefit to this was that she found out how Tarquin became Holian’s adopted son.

It seemed Holian liked to adopt Talins as well as humans.

It was only after the third circle around the bay that Lena felt relaxed enough to stop. When she paused next to the hover-cart, Tarquin stopped telling her about a human named Kasi getting kidnapped by a Talin named Ignatias.

“Do you want to rest?” he asked.

She nodded and focused her gaze on the bedding still rolled up and packed on the cart.

“The bed doesn’t look very comfortable,” Tarquin said, setting the bag down at her feet. “Let me put together a nest for us.”

He pulled the bedding off the hover-cart and set up a nest. Knowing they’d share, he pulled the mattress off the bed to add to it, making it large enough to easily accommodate both of them. When he was done, she laid her arm full of information squares on one of the fluffy pillows rimming the nest. Then she tugged her bag until it was leaning on the edge, and finally she set the Simtee bag inside the nest.

Almost all her things were in one place; she was only missing a single item. Grabbing hold of Tarquin’s hand, she urged him into the nest and waited for him to sit down. He followed her wishes and sat with his legs spread far apart and his back resting against a mound of pillows. She unlatched and kicked off her shoes then settled down between his legs.

He didn’t make any move to hold her tight, realizing that at the moment she wouldn’t be able to handle feeling restrained.

She only had to reach out to grab one of the information squares. She started tapping, holding the square so Tarquin could read as she typed.

I don’t know if I want to go to Kalor.

“We could go to Sorana instead,” Tarquin said. He didn’t sound concerned, but that was because he didn’t understand the deeper implication of her statement yet.

She took a deep breath before typing again, bracing herself for Tarquin’s distress.

I don’t know if I want to live anywhere in the Talin Empire.

Tarquin didn’t speak, but he didn’t stop purring either. She kept typing.

I never felt vulnerable before, but now I do. The Talin family who owned my parents, sister, and me were kind and wonderful. But that life was ripped away from me without warning when they sold me to Jafinium. I had no control and no warning. I wasn’t even allowed to take anything with me, not even a change of clothes or an omni. One day I went to bed confident that tomorrow would be the same, and the next thing I knew, I was forced into a transport by Talins who wouldn’t tell me what was going on. My owners weren’t even there to say goodbye. My last view of my parents was of them being held back by our keeper, screaming my name.

The words poured out of her as her fingers flew over the character stack, letting her pour out all the fear and anxiety that had been building since she was well enough to get up and move around on the Simtee ship.

I want to be free. I want to know that no one can make decisions for me anymore. I know Kalor and Sorana are as safe as you and Holian can make them. I know you’d fight to the death to keep anyone from hurting me, but that doesn’t change my feelings. I can’t stay in an empire where I’m a thing to be bought and sold.

She had to look down at her square to type, the collar Jafinium put on her digging into the skin under her chin. She’d learned to ignore it, but suddenly she was hyper-aware of it. Dropping the square in her lap, she dug her fingers between the front of her neck and the collar, pulling hard.

She didn’t care that she was making the hard metal edge of the collar dig into the back of her neck. The pain felt good in a weird way she couldn’t explain.

“Lena, please,” Tarquin said, his voice full of concern. His hands covered hers, but he didn’t force her to let go. He applied the barest of pressure, a request for her to stop instead of an order.

“Off!” she demanded. She hadn’t realized she shouted until it echoed in the large space. She didn’t care. She wanted to be free, and freedom meant she could scream at will. “Off now!”

“I’ll remove it,” Tarquin agreed. “But you have to move your hands.”

It was hard, but she let go. Tarquin worked his fingers between the collar and her skin on either side. It wasn’t comfortable, but she remained motionless.

“I don’t think you’d be patient enough for me to get the ship’s engineer to come in here to unlock it, so I’ll have to force it,” Tarquin explained. She felt his hands flex, pressing into her bruised flesh. “Remain still for me, brave Lena.”

She didn’t move as he strained against the lock and hinge. The collars were meant to withstand human-level strength, not Talin.

The hinge groaned, then she heard it snap and the collar’s pressure was gone. Tarquin carefully pulled it completely free of her neck, then tossed it far into the bay. She heard it hit and skitter, then it was gone.

With shaking hands, she felt the skin of her neck. There were a few scars at the back of her neck. Before she’d learned to anticipate Jafinium’s movements, he jerked the leash and made the collar dig into the back of her neck. Unlike her old owners where every little scratch meant a visit to a healer, Jafinium didn’t care about anything but the most severe injuries. That turned out to be a good thing because Ulnum was so mean, but now she could feel the raised flesh of scars from that time.

Jafinium hadn’t only left her with internal wounds, but external marks to forever remind her of her time with him. It wasn’t fair that he survived. She wished she could go back and make sure he died.

“Is that better?” Tarquin asked. He was being careful not to touch her, as if he was scared that he might cause her distress.

She reached out and took his arm, wrapping it around her and leaning her shoulder against his chest.

“Better,” she said. The word came easier to her, so she tried for more. “Never again.”

“No, you never have to wear a collar again,” Tarquin agreed with a loud purr rumbling against her shoulder and her ears. She was calm enough for it to be soothing.

“I can understand why you don’t want to remain in the empire,” Tarquin said. “Technically, it’s illegal for me to deliberately leave the empire with you. If anyone found out, there could be a bounty placed on me and Holian could end up being called before the Committee of Pet Welfare to answer for my crimes. It’s an easy weapon we could hand to his enemies.”

She made a pained sound. She picked up the square and typed.

Do I have to pick between your safety and my freedom?

“No, I’m not telling you this to make you decide or feel guilty,” Tarquin said. “I want you to understand; you’re free, Lena. With freedom comes choices and with choices comes consequences. Because of Holian’s status, I don’t think anyone will find out about the two of us, but it’s a risk, especially now. I could see someone looking for a way to distract him from rooting out the traditionalist extremists within the government by using you and me.”

If I go to Kalor or Sorana, I’ll have to wear a collar and be a pet again.

“No, you wouldn’t need to wear a collar,” Tarquin said. “Sorana is on the very outreaches of the Talin Empire. There are no close trade routes or hubs. The only traffic is to and from the colony. Any visitors would be known in advance and we can make sure you’re hidden away before they get there. You’d never even need to see them.”

“Kalor?” she asked.

“We’d live in the forest,” he reminded her. “We’d be far from the port or Holian’s compound. We could live as we wanted to without worry about being seen. The only other people we might come across are the other retired soldiers.”

“Dangers,” she reminded him. “Civil war.”

“That’s true,” Tarquin agreed. “I know there’ll be fighting and perhaps even a civil war. We can’t be sure what the future holds. But living outside the empire doesn’t guarantee safety either. Any civilization can suffer a war, insurrection, attack, or disaster. The universe is an uncertain place.”

She scowled up at him. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“I could lie,” he offered. “But you’d have to ask me to.”

She heaved a sigh and slumped against him.

“There’s one thing I can absolutely promise you,” he murmured, hugging her to him. “If anything ever happened, I’d stop at nothing to get you back. I wouldn’t hesitate to burn any empire down for you.”

Those words made the last of her anxiety vanish. Maybe it wasn't so important where they lived as long as she had Tarquin. Losing stuff was bearable as long as she didn’t lose him.