steadying hand at the small of her back.
He could feel the tension radiating from her.
The Commander waved away the thanks and
ushered them into the dining area. A long, glass table had been
laid with an assortment of fruit and other foods that she didn’t
recognize. The strangeness of her current situation came rushing
back to her at that instant. What if the doctors had been right all
these years, and what she was seeing and hearing was simply a
product of a warped and broken mind? Panic clawed at her. The
presence of a warm hand at the small of her back offered
reassurance. She could feel Kyr reaching out to her mentally. The
bond was there, harder to access when they were less intimately
connected, but still she felt it. It offered her a measure of peace
and comfort that she’d never had before.
Taking a seat at the table, she allowed the
staff to serve her. She had no idea what the customs were on, well
it wasn’t really a planet, but a space station. Deciding to observe
others and follow their lead, she studied the others present at the
impromptu gathering. They were obviously very important people. The
richness of the fabrics adorning their bodies bore testament to
that. The women’s clothing was shocking, incredibly so. One wore a
gown similar to hers, but completely diaphanous. She might as well
have been wearing cling wrap for all that it hid. The sheer,
gossamer like fabric floated over her skin, revealing one rouged
nipple, the other bared entirely by the asymmetrical cut of the
gown. The woman also wore nothing under the gown, and her shaved
mound was visible, as was the jewelry that adorned it.
“I understand that on Earth, where you have
been, that the custom is for women to cover their bodies entirely,”
the woman said, a hint of challenge in her voice.
“It varies, really,” Wren replied, coolly.
“There are certain cultures where women must cover everything but
their eyes, others where women may wear whatever they choose, so
long as they are not revealing their breasts or genitals. There are
even certain individuals on Earth who call themselves naturists and
prefer to go without clothing altogether. Most of us are somewhere
in between, however.”
The woman shuddered, “I would never live
somewhere that required me to hide my body. The universe has
blessed us with pleasing forms, and it is a crime to hide it.”
“Perhaps I will adjust to that way of
thinking, in time, but at present, I prefer to keep some things a
mystery, at least to most people.”
“Commander,” Kyr began, interrupting a
conversation that could not end well, “Has there been any news on
the locations of the other Sentinel Mates?”
The Commander smiled sadly, though the
expression did not match the coolness of his gaze, “I’m afraid not,
Lieutenant Nivarre. The others may well be lost to us forever. Had
that Aldacyian ship not been recovered and the incriminating
records of Wren’s escape discovered, we might never have found
her.”
Wren felt ill. Memories were suddenly there,
indistinct and fuzzy, but more than she had ever recalled before.
She’d been so little, not quite six. The Aldacyians had been
dragging her away from a ship and into the woods to meet someone.
One of them had stumbled in a small hole and she’d jerked away,
running deeper into the trees.
“Wren? Wren?”
Wren shook her head and pulled herself back
to the present. One of the servants held out a small bowl of
something that she couldn’t quite identify. “No, thank you. I’m
sorry, but I just don’t feel very well.”
“My poor dear! What a difficult few days this
has been for you... You must be exhausted. You should rest,
Wren.”
“Precisely, Commander. Thank you for being so
understanding,” she replied, her smile as sickeningly sweet as his.
They had to get out or they would both be dead by morning, she
thought.
Hearing her thoughts clearly, Kyr spoke,
“With your permission, Commander, I would take Wren on a tour
He could feel the tension radiating from her.
The Commander waved away the thanks and
ushered them into the dining area. A long, glass table had been
laid with an assortment of fruit and other foods that she didn’t
recognize. The strangeness of her current situation came rushing
back to her at that instant. What if the doctors had been right all
these years, and what she was seeing and hearing was simply a
product of a warped and broken mind? Panic clawed at her. The
presence of a warm hand at the small of her back offered
reassurance. She could feel Kyr reaching out to her mentally. The
bond was there, harder to access when they were less intimately
connected, but still she felt it. It offered her a measure of peace
and comfort that she’d never had before.
Taking a seat at the table, she allowed the
staff to serve her. She had no idea what the customs were on, well
it wasn’t really a planet, but a space station. Deciding to observe
others and follow their lead, she studied the others present at the
impromptu gathering. They were obviously very important people. The
richness of the fabrics adorning their bodies bore testament to
that. The women’s clothing was shocking, incredibly so. One wore a
gown similar to hers, but completely diaphanous. She might as well
have been wearing cling wrap for all that it hid. The sheer,
gossamer like fabric floated over her skin, revealing one rouged
nipple, the other bared entirely by the asymmetrical cut of the
gown. The woman also wore nothing under the gown, and her shaved
mound was visible, as was the jewelry that adorned it.
“I understand that on Earth, where you have
been, that the custom is for women to cover their bodies entirely,”
the woman said, a hint of challenge in her voice.
“It varies, really,” Wren replied, coolly.
“There are certain cultures where women must cover everything but
their eyes, others where women may wear whatever they choose, so
long as they are not revealing their breasts or genitals. There are
even certain individuals on Earth who call themselves naturists and
prefer to go without clothing altogether. Most of us are somewhere
in between, however.”
The woman shuddered, “I would never live
somewhere that required me to hide my body. The universe has
blessed us with pleasing forms, and it is a crime to hide it.”
“Perhaps I will adjust to that way of
thinking, in time, but at present, I prefer to keep some things a
mystery, at least to most people.”
“Commander,” Kyr began, interrupting a
conversation that could not end well, “Has there been any news on
the locations of the other Sentinel Mates?”
The Commander smiled sadly, though the
expression did not match the coolness of his gaze, “I’m afraid not,
Lieutenant Nivarre. The others may well be lost to us forever. Had
that Aldacyian ship not been recovered and the incriminating
records of Wren’s escape discovered, we might never have found
her.”
Wren felt ill. Memories were suddenly there,
indistinct and fuzzy, but more than she had ever recalled before.
She’d been so little, not quite six. The Aldacyians had been
dragging her away from a ship and into the woods to meet someone.
One of them had stumbled in a small hole and she’d jerked away,
running deeper into the trees.
“Wren? Wren?”
Wren shook her head and pulled herself back
to the present. One of the servants held out a small bowl of
something that she couldn’t quite identify. “No, thank you. I’m
sorry, but I just don’t feel very well.”
“My poor dear! What a difficult few days this
has been for you... You must be exhausted. You should rest,
Wren.”
“Precisely, Commander. Thank you for being so
understanding,” she replied, her smile as sickeningly sweet as his.
They had to get out or they would both be dead by morning, she
thought.
Hearing her thoughts clearly, Kyr spoke,
“With your permission, Commander, I would take Wren on a tour
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