Awakened by the Giant: Brides of the Kindred Page 5

  Then she remembered how Calden had held her while she cried her heart out—the way he had rubbed her back and whispered soft, soothing words in her ear to comfort her while she had her mini-nervous breakdown. Abruptly, she felt ashamed of herself. Would a person who could display such compassion and kindness for a stranger’s grief be likely to kill somebody and cut them up to study them?

  “I don’t see how he could,” Maddy murmured to herself. His arms around her had felt so comforting—she had badly needed a kind touch and a soft word when she was feeling so upset and alone. And Calden had been there for her. Likely he was just doing his best to help her—the sole survivor of a terrible wreck—like any decent guy would do. Still…

  “Here you are.”

  His deep voice startled her. Whirling around, she saw that he was holding out a piece of black fabric, though she couldn’t see what kind of clothing it was.

  “I was looking around your lab,” she said, unnecessarily. “Is that one of your specimens?” She nodded at the furry orange creature in the tray.

  Calden stiffened visibly and for a moment she thought she had upset him.

  “Yes,” he said at last, his deep voice neutral. “That is a brantha from Harkon Prime.”

  “Did you kill it?” Maddy demanded. She didn’t know why she was being so harsh—so accusatory. Hadn’t she just been telling herself that the giant Kindred couldn’t possibly be capable of such a thing? But somehow she couldn’t seem to stop. “Did you kill it so you could cut it up and study it? Or did it die of natural causes and you’re trying to find out why?”

  “I did not kill the brantha.” Calden’s tone was still carefully neutral. “But it did die before its natural life span was up.”

  “Oh.” Maddy felt a rush of relief. “So you were going to perform a necropsy—to see why. Right?”

  “Essentially.” He cleared his throat. “If you’re having fears again about my possible treatment of you—”

  “No, I’m sorry.” Maddy shook her head. “I shouldn’t have been so rude. It just…upset me when I saw the, uh—what did you call it?”

  “The brantha.” His deep voice was thick with emotion when he spoke this time. “He was…a very engaging little creature. Very affectionate. I was…sad when he passed, though we are not supposed to engage in emotions here on the Mentat station.”

  Maddy felt awful when she saw the pain in his glowing topaz eyes.

  Oh my god—it was some kind of a pet. I accused him of killing his own pet to dissect it! What a jerk I am!

  “I’m sorry,” she said again, earnestly. “I didn’t know he was your pet—I thought he was just a specimen.”

  “He was a specimen,” Calden protested. “But…” His voice dropped. “I suppose he became a kind of pet—though again, such things are forbidden here.”

  “If having emotions and pets is forbidden, I don’t think I’m going to fit in here very well,” Maddy said, frowning. “I’m a vet—a veterinarian, you know. I worked with people’s pets—cured them and healed them—for a living back on Earth. It’s one reason I was welcome aboard the Kennedy, because the leaders thought I’d be useful to have around when we established a new colony and we could start defrosting the embryos of the farm animals we brought.”

  Calden cocked his head to one side and gave her a penetrating look.

  “Fascinating. So your profession was to care for animals? In that case, I am sorry the brantha expired before you could see him for yourself. I think you would have liked him.”

  “Did you ever give him a name?” Maddy asked.

  He shook his head. “I simply thought of him as ‘the littlest one’ I suppose. To actually name a specimen is to become too attached.”

  “I guess it’s too bad I came already named, then,” Maddy said dryly.

  “I’m glad you can remember your name,” Calden said seriously. “It means that your other memories are not far behind. And I am hoping to learn much from you in the time that we have.”

  “In the time that we have?” Maddy frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “I…” Calden cleared his throat. “I just meant in the time that FATHER has allotted for this study.”

  “Who is this ‘FATHER’ anyway?” Maddy asked. “You’ve mentioned him before—is it your actual father?”

  “Oh, no.” Calden appeared to be amused by the idea because his glowing topaz eyes crinkled and the corners of his mouth twitched. The expression made his chiseled features almost handsome and for a moment Maddy felt her heart skip a beat. “FATHER is the AI overseer who runs the Mentat station,” he explained.

  “AI? As in Artificial Intelligence? You have a computer boss?” Maddy asked, putting a hand to her hip—or trying to. She kept forgetting that the damn things were non-functional. All she succeeded in doing was letting the towel she’d been clutching to her chest slip halfway off, revealing her bare right breast.

  “Oops!” She clutched for the towel but it was hard to hold onto when her hands weren’t working. She found she couldn’t even get the towel back up to cover herself so she had to settle for hiding her nipple with her arm. “Damn it, I’m getting really tired of this!” she exclaimed, feeling her cheeks get hot with embarrassment and frustration.

  “Here—let me help you into the garment I simulated for you,” Calden said practically. He held out the black fabric, showing it to her.

  “What’s that?” Maddy asked, frowning. “Did you make me a dress?”

  “It’s actually the smallest version of the undershirt that I wear that I could get the simulator to make.” He pointed at himself—he was still wearing the sleeveless black t-shirt he’d had on under his lab coat as well as black trousers and comfortable looking black moccasin-type boots that laced up to his knees.

  He really was pretty muscular for a scientist, Maddy couldn’t help thinking. The black t-shirt revealed well-developed arms and a broad chest as it clung lovingly to his six-pack abs. She wondered if he worked out in between science experiments or what.

  Then she realized what she was doing—admiring another man and an alien man at that—when she’d just found out that her husband was dead. A rush of shame and guilt came over her and she looked away in confusion.

  “Oh—okay.” She nodded jerkily. “Let me have it and I’ll put it on.”

  He hesitated. “Perhaps I’d better help you with it. It might be difficult to get over your head without the use of your hands.”

  Maddy saw that he had a point. Though she didn’t like it much, she was going to be at least semi-dependent on the big Kindred until she got her hands fixed. They must have been injured in the crash and the slime bath he’d had her in was helping to regrow the nerves or something.

  “All right,” she said reluctantly. “Just put it over my head and I’ll drop the towel when you do and put my arms through the holes.”

  She thought for a moment that he was going to protest again that he didn’t think of her in a sexual way so it didn’t matter if he saw her body but he only nodded.

  “All right. Here.”

  He dropped the black fabric shirt over her head and Maddy put her arms up, letting the dark blue towel puddle at her feet. She managed to get her arms through the large holes, all right, but when the shirt settled over her, the rounded neck-line proved to be much too big. It sagged down towards her belly button, leaving her breasts completely bare.

  “Oh!” Maddy tried to cover herself with her arms, feeling her cheeks get hot again. “I, uh know you said this was the smallest thing you could make but I think it’s still too big,” she told Calden.

  “Hmm.” The big Kindred frowned. “This does pose a problem. Maybe if we turned the undershirt around? It’s higher in the back than in the front, I believe.”

  He turned himself so she could see what he was talking about, showing a broad, muscular back which matched his front. Maddy saw that his long hair—which was in many tiny braids—was gathered in a loose bunch at the back of his head. Some of the
braids were bound with intricate metal bands that looked almost tribal in nature. It made her wonder about his people and his background—it seemed likely that he hadn’t always lived in a cold, clinical setting where emotions were forbidden.

  “All right,” she said again, when she caught her eyes wandering down to his firm, muscular ass. “Let’s try turning this thing around.”

  “I’ll help you.” Carefully, Calden lifted the straps of the shirt-dress, as Maddy thought of it—since it did fall almost to her knees—and turned it around so that the back of it was to her front.

  The solution worked—kind of. For though the front of the shirt now covered her breasts, the back of it sagged nearly to her behind, showing the top of her ass. Also, Maddy could tell that the moment she moved her arms the too-big straps were going to slip right off her shoulders and she’d be flashing him again.

  “Hmmm….” Calden stepped back, frowning. Clearly he could see the problem as well.

  “Maybe if we belted it?” Maddy suggested. “Or maybe you could just wash the clothes you found me in,” she said hopefully. “Where are they, anyway?”

  “Oh, those clothes were non-functional,” Calden said—perhaps just a little too quickly. “Here—I think I can help,” he added. He took the hem of his own shirt and carefully ripped away a strip from the bottom, leaving a ragged edge which he didn’t seem to care about. “Let’s try this,” he said and stooped to wrap the strip of stretchy material around Maddy’s waist.

  The result was functional if not very fashionable. The shirt-dress fit her now—rather like an oversized sun dress—though it still had the tendency to slip off one shoulder or the other. Also, the arm holes were so big Maddy had to keep her arms pressed to her sides. If she forgot and lifted them, she would flash whoever was looking with a side-boob shot that showed pretty much everything.

  She wished desperately for a bra and panties to go with the saggy garment—it felt horribly weird to be running around in a stranger’s shirt with no underwear underneath it. But she told herself to be grateful for what she had. At least she wasn’t naked anymore and it was nice of Calden to go to so much trouble to make her some clothes.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking up at him. “I appreciate having something to wear.”

  “It’s not very good for your size,” he said frowning. “But I will tinker with the simulator some more and try again later.”

  “Thank you,” Maddy said again. “Um…what now?” she asked. “I mean—what do we do next?”

  Calden arched an eyebrow at her.

  “I thought you wanted a tour of the station. So that you could verify that none of your former crewmates are aboard.”

  “Oh yes—yes, I do,” Maddy said, lifting her chin and warming to the idea. She felt in her gut that Calden was telling her the truth but she wanted to see for herself just the same. “And after that can you fix my hands?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I will. Come.”

  He led the way to the flat silver door panel and it whooshed open at his approach. The big Kindred stepped out into the hallway beyond and Maddy followed him.

  Immediately she wanted to draw back.

  Walking down the long, curving corridor was one of the strange, gray-green, scaly aliens she’d seen when she first woke up in the slime tank. One of the Mentats, she supposed. It turned its blank black eyes on her and swung its four arms as it walked with a peculiar crouching gait because its knees bent backwards, like the hind legs of a horse.

  Also, it was huge. Not quite as tall as Calden but well over seven feet, just the same. It was a lot bigger and stranger than Maddy liked and she was pretty sure it wasn’t the only one around here.

  As though to confirm her thought, two more of the Mentats came around the bend of the corridor, swinging their arms expressively as they spoke in harsh, rough voices.

  “What’s wrong?” Calden had turned his head and he must have seen the expression of fear on her face.

  “I just…I don’t…” Maddy shook her head, her eyes glued to the Mentats.

  “Those two are Yon-lurk and Gurk-lime. They are my work colleagues,” Calden explained. “They will not hurt you, Madeline.”

  “All right—fine.” Maddy took a deep breath and stepped out into the hall beside him. Sure enough, the two Mentats cast curious glances at her but they didn’t offer any threat—just nodded at Calden and walked on.

  Maddy lifted her chin. I can do this. I can deal with being on an alien space station. We always knew when we blasted off in the Kennedy that meeting extraterrestrial life forms was a possibility. At least these aren’t hostile like the Scourge we were running away from. I can handle it.

  But just as they were about in the middle of the broad, curving hallway, a door opposite them opened and a whole crowd of the scaly, backwards-kneed aliens came out. Maddy suddenly found herself caught up in a bunch of them, jostled this way and that with many-fingered hands waving in her face and their harsh voices rumbling all around her.

  “Calden? Calden!” She felt panic overtaking her but just as her heart was thundering in her ears and her palms were breaking out in a cold sweat, the big Kindred appeared again at her side and swept her up into his arms.

  He tucked her into the crook of his elbow, much in the way an adult might hold a child, and continued walking to the other side of the hallway. But one of the Mentats followed him.

  “Is this the new specimen Too-lug told me about?” he asked in a harsh voice which sounded a little like a parrot screeching in a very low register, Maddy thought. She had the urge to put her hands to her ears but then she remembered that her hands weren’t working at the moment and besides, the Mentat might think she was rude if she tried to block out his voice.

  “Yes, this is Madeline. Madeline, this is Kro-thur,” Calden said, inclining his head towards the Mentat.

  Kro-thur’s thin, lipless mouth drew down in an expression of what Maddy thought looked like disapproval.

  “You have given her a name? You know that FATHER forbids such things. Naming specimens leads to emotional attachment.”

  “I did not give her a name—Madeline came with her name intact—it is part of her,” Calden said stiffly. “She is a sentient being.”

  “Ah yes—I had heard that too. But do you think it is wise to grow a sentient being?” Kro-thur asked. “The risk of emotion would seem to be very high if one had a specimen one could communicate with verbally. Indeed, you already seem to be attached to her, from the way you are holding her close to your body.”

  She was getting pretty close to the big Kindred, Maddy realized. Unconsciously she must have drawn nearer to Calden when the Mentat came to talk to him. She was leaning against his broad shoulder with her arms around his neck, almost as though she was leaning in for a kiss.

  Abruptly, she forced herself to straighten up, even though it put her a lot closer to the scaly alien, who was standing way too close for comfort.

  “Calden is right—I am sentient and I can understand what you’re saying. So how about if you don’t talk about me like I’m not here?” she said, glaring at Kro-thur.

  The alien’s black eyes widened.

  “You put translation bacteria into her nutrient bath? Do you really think that was wise, Calden?”

  “It has caused no trouble so far and it will continue to be harmless as long as you do not speak about Madeline as though she was not able to understand you. I assure you she can—she is extremely intelligent,” Calden said, frowning at the other male.

  “Well!” Kro-thur looked shocked and scandalized. At least, Maddy thought that was what his expression meant. His lipless mouth somehow got thinner and his black eyes narrowed as the slits of his nostrils flared. “Your words are most insulting!” he cawed in his deep, harsh voice.

  Calden took a deep breath.

  “Forgive me,” he said, apparently making a real effort. “I did not mean to give offense but you gave offense to Madeline as well. I was given special permission by F
ATHER to have her here and so I must protect her and see to her well-being—both physical and mental.”

  Kro-thur shook his head, still frowning.

  “No good can come of this, Calden. A sentient specimen—especially a female one—is bound to cause trouble.”

  “Why you—” Maddy began but Calden cut her off smoothly.

  “So far the only trouble I see is that you have an incorrect perception of the situation. I will learn much from Madeline—she has agreed to teach me about the specimens we found aboard her ship. Also, she is a healer of animals and has a vast knowledge of their ailments. I advise you to speak to her as though you were speaking to another scientist.”

  The Mentat looked scandalized.

  “Give a specimen the same respect I would give to a colleague? Never! Especially not a female one!”

  He turned on his heel and marched off in a huff—if marched was the right word for the strange, backward-swaying gait he used, Maddy thought.

  “Geeze,” she muttered, staring after him. “What have they got against women here? Are all the guys you work with so misogynistic?”

  “Unfortunately the Mentats do not…have a favorable view of the female sex,” Calden said, as they continued along the broad hallway. “I believe it has to do with the fact that there were not enough females in their society and so a bloody war for control of the females who were available for breeding broke out. Many males were killed and the more logical ones—my colleagues—left their planet in order to form a society based solely on scientific research and discovery. To avoid discord, they outlawed females, whom they now abhor and regard as an anathema.”