and when the Alvians tested their mettle by throwing a naked girl in with them, nobody moved. The girl couldn’t be more than eleven or twelve and while Rick was as hungry for pussy as the next man, he wouldn’t become subhuman, as their jailors no doubt expected.
Rick tore a sheet off one of the cots as the girl cowered in fear by the door. Approaching slowly, he used his small gift of telepathy to try to calm her, but her thoughts were too chaotic. Calling on memories of his father and the way Zach St. John had been able to tame wild animals with calm movements, words and thoughts, Rick tried to imitate the soothing sounds and motions as he crept forward, holding the sheet out in front of him.
He kept an eye on his cellmates too. They were edgy, but they respected his abilities and let him lead.
Of course, he was ready to fight should one of them forget who was in charge here, but he didn’t think it would come to that. Most of them had learned not to mess with him, and every one of them was what Rick would consider a good guy. He didn’t think they’d stoop to attacking a child. They were hungry, but not yet driven to perversion.
Rick gave the sheet to the girl and wasn’t surprised when she grabbed at it like a wild thing, covering herself as she regarded him with terror. He squatted down a few feet away from her and tried to project calm, but the poor creature was too far gone. The Alvians had essentially thrown this little lamb to the wolves. Rick felt compassion and rage in equal measures—compassion for the poor girl and rage at their captors for the unfeeling use and abuse of such a frightened creature.
26
He stood and faced the camera he knew was monitoring their every move.
“It won’t work, you bastards.” His anger burned through his veins. “We’re not animals to be thrown a piece of meat. We won’t cooperate and we won’t hurt her any more than you have already, you unfeeling savages.”
The men in the cell shuffled a bit, but one by one they stepped forward to stand with Rick, facing the camera, turning their back on the shivering girl by the door.
“Does this one answer for all of you, then?” a new voice asked from near the doorway.
Rick spun to find one of the scientists watching them. He was one of the older ones, though guessing the age of Alvians wasn’t easy. The pale man was flanked by two big soldiers, so he was probably one of the more highly ranked aliens. Rick stepped forward as the girl cowered between them.
“We won’t participate in rape. You should be ashamed for what you’ve done to this girl. She already needs psychiatric help. For that matter, your people could use a shrink¾or a beating¾to straighten a few things out. Probably both.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a fact.” Rick walked right up to the man, staring him down. These Alvians were so damned unemotional, it was hard to deal with them on any level. But for the girl’s sake, he had to try to make this one understand.
“And what do you know of medicine, Breed?” The Alvian couldn’t quite carry off a sneer, but Rick felt it all the same.
He didn’t want to give the aliens any ammunition against him, but the girl needed someone to speak for her. It went against his conscience to even talk to the damned cold bastards, but someone had to. The more time he spent in the pens, the less human he felt and he knew the others felt the same.
“Quite a bit, as it happens. My father was a medical doctor, with an interest in psychiatry. He taught me most of what he knew. You’ve traumatized every human in your grasp without the slightest understanding of what you’ve done. Your ignorance is unforgivable. This girl may never be the same after what you’ve done to her. I know you have no feelings, but surely you take an interest in your test subjects? Torture for torture’s sake is not the way of science. At least not any kind of sane science. And from what I’ve seen you people aren’t
Rick tore a sheet off one of the cots as the girl cowered in fear by the door. Approaching slowly, he used his small gift of telepathy to try to calm her, but her thoughts were too chaotic. Calling on memories of his father and the way Zach St. John had been able to tame wild animals with calm movements, words and thoughts, Rick tried to imitate the soothing sounds and motions as he crept forward, holding the sheet out in front of him.
He kept an eye on his cellmates too. They were edgy, but they respected his abilities and let him lead.
Of course, he was ready to fight should one of them forget who was in charge here, but he didn’t think it would come to that. Most of them had learned not to mess with him, and every one of them was what Rick would consider a good guy. He didn’t think they’d stoop to attacking a child. They were hungry, but not yet driven to perversion.
Rick gave the sheet to the girl and wasn’t surprised when she grabbed at it like a wild thing, covering herself as she regarded him with terror. He squatted down a few feet away from her and tried to project calm, but the poor creature was too far gone. The Alvians had essentially thrown this little lamb to the wolves. Rick felt compassion and rage in equal measures—compassion for the poor girl and rage at their captors for the unfeeling use and abuse of such a frightened creature.
26
He stood and faced the camera he knew was monitoring their every move.
“It won’t work, you bastards.” His anger burned through his veins. “We’re not animals to be thrown a piece of meat. We won’t cooperate and we won’t hurt her any more than you have already, you unfeeling savages.”
The men in the cell shuffled a bit, but one by one they stepped forward to stand with Rick, facing the camera, turning their back on the shivering girl by the door.
“Does this one answer for all of you, then?” a new voice asked from near the doorway.
Rick spun to find one of the scientists watching them. He was one of the older ones, though guessing the age of Alvians wasn’t easy. The pale man was flanked by two big soldiers, so he was probably one of the more highly ranked aliens. Rick stepped forward as the girl cowered between them.
“We won’t participate in rape. You should be ashamed for what you’ve done to this girl. She already needs psychiatric help. For that matter, your people could use a shrink¾or a beating¾to straighten a few things out. Probably both.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a fact.” Rick walked right up to the man, staring him down. These Alvians were so damned unemotional, it was hard to deal with them on any level. But for the girl’s sake, he had to try to make this one understand.
“And what do you know of medicine, Breed?” The Alvian couldn’t quite carry off a sneer, but Rick felt it all the same.
He didn’t want to give the aliens any ammunition against him, but the girl needed someone to speak for her. It went against his conscience to even talk to the damned cold bastards, but someone had to. The more time he spent in the pens, the less human he felt and he knew the others felt the same.
“Quite a bit, as it happens. My father was a medical doctor, with an interest in psychiatry. He taught me most of what he knew. You’ve traumatized every human in your grasp without the slightest understanding of what you’ve done. Your ignorance is unforgivable. This girl may never be the same after what you’ve done to her. I know you have no feelings, but surely you take an interest in your test subjects? Torture for torture’s sake is not the way of science. At least not any kind of sane science. And from what I’ve seen you people aren’t
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