Page 1 of Kameer's Mate
Chapter 1
MANDY
The beauty salonis eerily empty today, and a sense of doom hovers in the air. It’s Selection Day. That’s what everyone is calling it. I turn to the waiting area and peer out the large viewscreen. My stomach flips as I catch sight of the Darrvason fleet, a formidable group of fifteen technologically advanced ships. The alien vessels have been traveling in a shared hyperdrive bubble with theJansonna, the human worldship, for over five months.
Selection Day. I suppress a shudder.
Will my name be on the list?
Will I soon learn I’ve been chosen to become a savage alien’s bride?
Technically, I’m engaged to a wealthy human Founder and my nameshouldn’tbe on the list. My fiancé promised I would be safe, but I still can’t help but worry. Neither can my mother. Even if my name isn’t on the list, there’s a good chance my sister’s will be.
I look at the nearest info screen just as it illuminates. It flashes blue before a ten-minute countdown appears. My trepidation deepens, a cold tendril of fear that caresses my spine.
Needing to keep busy, I set about tidying the area around my chair, though I doubt any clients will stop by today. My hands tremble as I arrange bottles of hair product, nail polish, beauty treatments, and random cosmetics. I take a long breath and glance in my mother’s direction, only to wish I hadn’t. Seated in the waiting area near the viewscreen, she’s staring at me with tears in her eyes.
“I’m going to miss you girls so much,” Mom says in a tone brimming with sorrow, and heartache promptly clutches me.
Forcing a smile, I join her in the waiting area and take a seat. I place a hand over hers and silently pray I won’t break down in tears. No matter what, I’m not going to cry. Even if my name appears on the screen. Even if my sister’s name appears.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom.” I swallow hard. “Even if one or both of us are chosen, we’ll be living on the same planet,” I say, referring to 58-Zallnanis, a habitable planet recently discovered by Darrvason probes. We’re currently en route. “I’m certain we’ll be able to visit you.” The lie tastes bitter. I’m not certain about anything.
Mom turns to face me. “The Darrvasons don’t plan to settle on the same continent as humankind. What if your husband, or Tasha’s husband, is a beastly, controlling male who won’t allow you to visit the human settlement?” A tear cascades down her cheek, and her hand is frigid beneath mine. “Any freedoms you girls have,” she continues in a trembling voice, “will be granted to you by your new alien mates. From what I’ve heard and observed, Darrvason males are domineering and only care about breeding their females.”
Nerves assail me at her choice of words. But she’s not wrong. Darrvason males are notoriously possessive of their mates. Along time ago, they lost most of their females during a terrible war, and now they need human women for procreation.
It’s why they made a shocking deal with the worldship’s command team: Two thousand one hundred and thirty human women in exchange for supplies and fuel, help repairing our dilapidated worldship, and assistance in reaching a habitable planet.
Thus far, one hundred and thirty (plus five) human women have been handed over to the aliens, the extra five being an imposed penalty after a coup gone wrong, and of these women just over a third have contacted their friends and family on theJansonna. To my knowledge, only one has returned to theJansonnafor an in-person visit, a friend of mine named Leona. But she’s a special case. Her mate, Doctor Zahhn, visits theJansonnaregularly to treat my sickly younger sister, and he usually brings Leona along on his visits.
Today, the final group of two thousand human women will be announced, women specifically between the ages of nineteen to twenty-five. Selection Day, indeed. I go cold all over.
I squeeze my mother’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, Mom.” Again, the lie tastes bitter. Again, my stomach clenches with icy terror.
A contingent of security officers march past the salon, and Mom and I exchange a worried look as their bootsteps echo down the corridor. The ominous sound mirrors the rapid beating of my heart.
What will happen on theJansonnaonce the full list of women is released? Will there be yet another uprising? Will more blood coat the corridors of the worldship?
I glance at the screen. One minute to go.
Well, at least I won’t have to wait long to discover my fate, or my sister’s. Our last name is Benton, and I expect the list will be in alphabetical order.
As the countdown continues, I think about some of the rumors I’ve heard recently. Rumors about older human women willingly becoming the mates of older Darrvason engineers who have visited theJansonnato make repairs. Supposedly, several mothers of the randomly selected younger women decided to follow their daughters by offering themselves to older Darrvason males, males who wanted female companionship so badly that they didn’t care whether their mates were fertile.
I pray my mother doesn’t do something so foolish. I also hope that if one of us must be chosen, it’s me rather than my sister. Tasha is almost fully recovered from a terrible illness that plagued her for years, and she’s just starting to get her life back. Recently, she felt well enough to take on a job as a teacher’s assistant. She’s also been spending time with childhood friends, reacquainting herself with the cello, and enjoying numerous other recreational activities aboard the worldship for the first time in ages. I’ll be heartbroken for her if she’s selected, and I resolve that if she’s chosen but I’m not, then I’ll do whatever I can to trade places with her. I keep these thoughts to myself, however, not wishing to upset my mother any further.
At last, the names begin scrolling on the screen. I hold my breath as I await the B surnames. It feels like an eternity passes, but finally, they come.
The sickness permeating me increases. Maybe if Tasha’s name appears, I can convince my fiancé to marry her instead. It’s not like we’re a love match. Our impending union was arranged by my father months ago when the Darrvasons first made contact with humankind. A preventative measure, Dad called it. He’d arranged for Tasha to marry an elderly Founder as well, but my sister’s fiancé passed away just two weeks ago, leaving her extra vulnerable tothe list.
Suddenly, the C last names start scrolling, and it takes me a few seconds to realize I’m safe. So is Tasha. Neither of our names appeared.
A sob erupts from Mom, and she gathers me close. I rub her back as she cries tears of joy. Relief washes through me, cautiously at first, before it becomes an immense wave of respite.
I’m safe. I’m safe and Tasha’s safe too.
When we arrive on planet 58-Zallnanis, just a month from now, we’ll be able to settle on the continent reserved for humankind. Yes, I’ll still have to marry Ned, the ninety-two-year-old Founder to whom I’m betrothed, but it’s my hope that he’ll agree to live with my parents and sister.
