Page 34 of Bought and Shared
Though I haven’t heard any gossip on the matter, from what Oren inferred, it appears there is more to this situation than met the eye. “What is everyone saying, exactly?”
Cadence chews her bagel as she glances around to make sure nobody is listening to us. “They’re saying that there’s an underground movement to fight back against the Voltan wherever possible. However possible.”
I shiver at the thought of all the things that might entail. “What’s their end goal?”
“I think they want to kick the Voltan out of the U.S., if not the planet entirely,” Cadence bluntly answers.
That was ludicrous! With all the technology, firepower, and overall strength the Voltan have, it’s nonsensical to think a small group of rebels could oust them out of a restaurant, let alone the planet.
“That’s absurd,” I say, taking a long sip of my coffee. “Nobody can actually think they have what it takes to do something that extreme.”
Cadence shrugs. “I guess they’re pissed off about the draft. Especially the females being used as sexual “companions” part of it. Can’t say I’m exactly pleased about it either.” She makes quotes in the air with her fingers regarding the idea that this is a friendly arrangement between willing partners. Her face revealshow she really feels about the situation we have been forced into. I had wholeheartedly agreed with her before experiencing this bizarre, uncontrollabledrawI have to my masters that makes my sexual servitude much more enjoyable than I’d feared it would be. I don’t hate it; Icravethem. My cheeks warm as a wave of guilt flushes through me at the realization. This is not information I’ll be sharing with my friend today.
My private feelings notwithstanding, the rebellion we’re learning about still seems like an irrational goal nonetheless. “Do you think that’s what happened with the bus? That it was this underground group everyone is whispering about that ran us off the road in order to… do something with us?”
“Maybe. I think there are a lot of men out there who are tired of kowtowing to the Voltan and turning over what they see as ‘their women’. Unfortunately, we women are used to suffering the consequences of men’s dumb choices, so most of us choose to make the best of a difficult situation we are powerless to fight against anyway.”
Cadence is right. Women, especially those in my community, are used to wringing the most they can out of what little they have—or are given, more accurately. Kept powerless, expected to submit to men, held to strict standards of behavior and comportment, and provided few resources, our women still manage to create happy homes and raise healthy children. However, men rarely do the same when faced with similar circumstances. Not that they are the ones having to suffer the direct results of this particular law. As usual, it’s the women who shoulder the burden.
I think about my father then and how angry he’d been when my number had been called. He’d wanted to fight the decision because he believed I’d lose my value in our community withoutmy virginity intact.Thatis what mattered most to him, not my well-being, safety, fear, or impending loneliness. In fact, he raised the idea of having me wed immediately to the man of his choice the day I was drafted, in hopes that he could circumvent the Voltan ruling altogether. It had been my mother’s calm reminder of the consequences that had stopped him from acting foolishly.
If I’d defied the mandate, according to Voltanese law, I could be arrested and put in a detainment camp until my fate was decided for me. My father could have been jailed as well and I would have suffered my inevitable fate regardless, so it would have all been for naught.
Part of me had wanted to fight back as well. I had no desire to be sold to the Voltan and forced to have sex with an alien stranger! The truth is, though, I didn’t want to marry the man my father had picked out for me any more than I wanted to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Both “decisions” had been made without my consent and were equally abhorrent to me.
At least this way, I can decide what I want to do with my life after my service with the Voltan is complete. It will be my choice entirely. And I sure as heck am not going to be wed to a man I don’t love. Because of this, going back to my community isn’t an option anymore. Like Cadence, I want to go to college. After spending time with my tutor yesterday, I have decided to make that dream a reality, one that I hoped Oren and Knox will help me realize.
Coltan told me during our session that the Voltan government has grants available for former draftees who want to further their education. With his help, I just might be able to accomplish what would have otherwise been an impossible goal for me.Instead of ruining me, my “service” will become the key to the future I long for.
“Are your masters saying anything about the incident?” Cadence prompts, after I’m quiet for a bit.
“Oren questioned me about what happened on the way back to the base, but he didn’t say anything about who could have been responsible for the attack,” I reply.
Cadence frowns and leans heavily on her elbows. “They hate us, you know.”
It takes me a moment to understand who she’s referring to. “Who? The rebels?”
“Yeah. Like the boys at the fast-food restaurant, they blameus, the young women who had no choice or say in any of it, for what we the governments of the worldagreed to when the asteroid threatened to destroy Earth. Sure, the deal isn’t really fair, especially for us, but what in life ever is?”
I puff out a deep breath. “Not much that I’ve seen,” I commiserate.
Cadence’s expression grows dark. “Human men don’t feel bad that we’re suffering. They judge us for something we are powerless to escape. They only care abouttheirloss. Their struggles. We’re in the middle of some intergalactic pissing contest, and they blame us for not joining a wartheywon’t openly engage in.”
Again, I couldn’t argue with her logic. “I think you’re right. I’m just glad those Voltan warriors were on that bus when we were attacked. I can’t imagine what would have gone down if they hadn’t been there to protect us until help arrived.”
“And I never want to find out,” Cadence firmly declares.
Having finished our meals, we dump the trash in the waste receptacles and stack our trays.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Cadence suggests. “I don’t want to go back to my room yet.”
Neither did I. A walk sounded perfect. It would help me clear my head and wrap my brain around everything I’d just learned.
I ask Cadence to tell me about her college plans, and she does. The expression on her face is radiant as she explains her major, and all she hopes to accomplish with it. I’m envious of how well she knows what she wants, and exactly how best to get it.
As she talks, I wonder what my own path will be. Maybe, if I learn Voltanese well enough, I could become an interpreter. Or, if I learn enough about the culture, I can be an ambassador of sorts. Help unite humans and the Voltan in a better, more compassionate way. Perhaps I can work on the issue of the draft by ending compulsory duty and introducing more humane options like incentives, scholarships, housing grants. It seems like there are plenty of women who want to join. Like Amy, they are interested in a mutually beneficial relationship with the Voltan. I’m sure there are many more out there who feel just like she does. Why not foster those relationships, instead of forcing others?
I’m chewing this thought over when a group of humans start jogging our way. They’re all male and have been drafted to serve in this new, integrated military that the Voltan government has set up.
