Candidate (Selected Book 4) (64 page)

"Right."

"We have two jumpers in the air," Cedar said. "ETA for the candidate: seven minutes. Challenger: seven and a half."

"I like to get shots as the jumpers land," I said. "But we have a few minutes. Let's show people the course. I want you to zoom around the two starting locations. Which camera?"

"SS-11-A and SS-34-D," she said.

"Got it. Do 11-A first." She understood, and we got a real good view of the mating candidate's starting position, ending with a close view of the stone pillar where she was soon to stand. I added subtitles explaining what it was, and then we did the challenger's start, complete with more subtitles. The video itself didn't include the subtitles. Instead, it went into the stream as a separate element, just like the audio portions were all separate elements. The receiving systems would merge them all together, including a translation of the subtitles into the appropriate language for the viewer.

It was all pretty amazing. I could write in English, but the words might appear in Wookie if Soft Rain were watching.

I could also add voiceover if I wanted, but I only spoke English, and it didn't get translated. Sometimes Cedar or Jasmine would add voiceover. But if I wanted critical information included, it was subtitled.

"Candidate's jumper approaching."

Charo was ready, and I switched views. "Mating Candidate Megan Francis" was the subtitle. A few seconds later I had to do a split screen, with one side staying on her and the other on the jumper for the challenger. "Challenger Warm Wind (Greenbear)".

Megan was led from her jumper. Charo did a good job with the cameras, but I said, "Give me a slight zoom out as she is pressed into place, but then I want to see her hands stuck in the pillar with a pan up to her face."

The Greenbear lumbered out of her jumper and moved to her starting spot.

"I love the jungle challenges with the Greenbears. They're at home in our jungles."

"I'm looking forward to our challenge tomorrow," Charo said. "You will lose, and you know what happens after that."

"Focus. I like to show the jumpers leaving."

"Got it."

* * * *

Our last events were Jasmine's. One of them looked like it would be running for some time. The human was being particularly wily. Jasmine finally said, "You two can go."

"But-"

"But you are a mating candidate first and a camera coordinator second," Jasmine said.

"Yes, Administrator Brighteyes," I said, putting just a little sarcasm into my tone.

"That's right, and don't you forget it."

Charo and I stepped out. "Is an hour too long?" I asked.

"No. Perfect. There will be clothes in your cell. I'll collect you in exactly an hour."

I smiled. She pulled herself to me, stepping up on tip-toes to accept the kiss-lick we'd worked out between us. I kissed. She flicked her tongue at me a few times, and I parted my lips, and then she licked.

We'd done that a lot last night, and it had already become associated with the other things we'd been doing at the same time. I clung to her, enjoying it, and then released her.

"I like doing that," she whispered.

"I do, too."

"We need to do that more."

"I agree."

So we did.

"Ahem."

We broke our kiss-lick and simultaneously turned. Jasmine stood at the edge of the corridor with her hands on her hips. "Charoite, are you mauling my mating candidate in the middle of this corridor?"

"Jasmine-"

"Silence, Mating Candidate Hayes." I closed my mouth. "Well Charoite?"

"I wouldn't say mauling, Administrator Brighteyes. I might suggest that I was appreciating her from very, very close."

"I see," she replied. "As long as we're clear. Carry on." And then she turned and strode down the hall.

A moment later, we both began laughing. Well, Charo squeaked. I laughed.

"Do you know what that was really about?" Charo asked.

"A reminder to me what my status is."

"And a reminder to me that she holds me responsible for our shared behavior."

"Because I am a child and don't make my own decisions, right?"

"No, because we stole your power from you, and it now rests in my hands and hers."

"I think it won't help my mood if we talk about that. Please kiss me again."

So she did, but then she sent me on my way. I set the timer on my visor and headed for the showers.

* * * *

I stared at the clothes that were waiting for me. I should have predicted them. It was the same outfit I'd worn to the first meal with Sugilite. And then words appeared on the visor.

As Charoite suggested, Andie. We stole your power. You have no choice, you know.

I stared at the words a short while then got dressed. Well, the clothes were comfortable, even if I looked ridiculous. I wondered if she would expect me to dress like this every day, or if she was sending a message.

Maybe she thought these colors actually looked good together. If so, it was evidence she had the worst taste imaginable.

Then I wondered if that was why she was here with me in the first place.

And then I thought about their words.

We stole your power.

Those words went through my head, over and over through my head.

We stole your power.

They had never even apologized. They had never even tried to justify why they thought they had the right to do that.

You have no choice.

Was that true? I wasn't sure it was true. I looked at the clothes I was wearing. I wondered if I was willing to make a statement. By doing, what exactly? Putting the undies back on instead? It wasn't like I had other clothes I could access. I wore what they gave me or I wore nothing at all.

I sat down on the bed, staring straight ahead. I tried to decide what I was going to do. I was sure I had no way out of this. They were right. They stole my power, and I had no way to get it back. I had no illusions I could escape. I had no illusions they would actually let me go.

For about a second and a half, I thought about telling my parents what was going on. They could go to the press. But could they even get that far? Jasmine had been clear. If I told my parents anything, she'd kill us all. I was sure she'd do it. Well, someone would do it.

She acted like she cared about us and what happened to us, but that was a lie. Maybe she cared a little, and that was how she assuaged her guilt for her role.

Incoming video call from Jasmine Brighteyes.

I considered denying it. I wasn't ready to burn bridges yet.

"Hello, Jasmine."

"This is not the body language of someone about to go on a nice date with someone she was kissing in the halls an hour ago."

I didn't say anything.

"What's going on, Andie?"

"Nothing. Long day."

"You've got something stuck in your head, don't you?"

"You never even apologized," I said softly. "You never apologize to any of us. We're just the natives. Me. The women here. Our own people gave us to you for this slave trade. They gave us to you to appease our overlords. And you don't even think we deserve apologies for what you're doing to us."

"Is that what you think?" I didn't answer. "You're right. I don't apologize. I don't apologize because I'm not the one who is doing this. I am the one who is trying to make the best of the situation for you."

"Yeah, right."

"And an apology? There isn't an apology big enough for what is being done to you."

I stared for a while, not focusing. "You and Charo are right. You stole my power. I have no choice. But don't pretend to care, Administrator. You love the situation. You revel in it. You make sure at every opportunity to remind me just how weak and helpless I am. But you're a fucking hypocrite. You talk about humanity's immaturity. I think you need to look in the mirror. You talk about humanity's immaturity, but look at the people who are doing this to us. Look at the people who accept it. Look at the people who come here and take a woman against her will. Look at the people who decide, they're just humans. They have no rights. They're just humans. That's all the justification we need to do this to them."

I focused my eyes and looked at her. "You withhold the most basic of rights, instead calling them privileges, and doling them out parsimoniously, as if it actually would cost you anything at all to let us chose our own clothes or have a modicum of privacy. I'm wearing this utterly ridiculous outfit because it's either this or nothing. I literally have nothing else to wear."

I shook my head. "And then you're going to give me to someone who takes advantage of what you do to us, and if I don't like it, you'll find someone horrible and give me to him instead. And there's not a thing I can do about it. Fine. Humanity owes you, so you get your sex slaves. I suppose that's how you justify it. And some of us are lucky. You drug us out of minds so we don't care. But your argument that you're more mature than we are? That's bullshit. You're nothing but a human trafficker. And humans consider them lower than terrorists. So get off your fucking high horse."

Then, before she could say anything else, I terminated the call and deactivated the visor. I set it aside and stared at the wall.

I was there perhaps another ten minutes when I heard the glass wall make a doorway. There was always a sort of whoosh sound. It wasn't loud, but I'd grown accustomed. I turned, expecting Charo to have arrived. Instead, Jasmine was there.

"Have you come to remove privileges?"

"No, Andromeda."

"Am I to be punished?"

"That isn't my plan. May I sit?"

I moved down to the far end of the bed, leaving the near end for her. She sat, facing me, but I continued to stare at the far wall.

"You went out of your way to remind me. Twice. I don't think your timing is coincidental."

"I was not the one to choose this location or built this facility," she said. "Although I've made improvements. I was not the first administrator. I was the third, and I've held my position beginning three years after we arrived."

"That's a lot of women whose lives you have ruined."

"It's a drop in the bucket compared to the number hurt by what humans do to each other."

"Yes, but the women whose lives you are ruining aren't guilty of doing that, are we? So if you use that as an excuse, then you're abusing the wrong people. Why don't you do something about the people who victimize others?" I turned to her. "Oh, wait. You'd have to start with yourselves."

"I have spent the entire time I've been here trying to enact changes in how this is done."

"Yeah, because what I've helped to accomplish is a distinct difference. I'm the spoon full of sugar that makes the medicine go down."

"That sounds like a cultural reference."

I sighed. "You're right. If you add sugar to medicine that tastes horrible, you can convince a child to eat it, even though it still tastes terrible."

"I sacrificed a friendship that was very important to me so that I could make the sort of changes that you're experiencing. I am finally making progress, but it's not going to happen overnight."

"Right. You're a saint." I turned to her. "You didn't comment on the reminders."

"You're right. I didn't."

"What do you want?"

"I want to know if you're cancelling your date, Andromeda."

"I'm still wearing the clothes, aren't I?"

"So you're going to burn your bridges."

"Jump to conclusions much?" I sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do. But she's complicit in what happens here."

"She didn't invent it."

"She is here to take advantage of it."

"Did you drive an internal combustion car?"

"I'm not the one claiming to be the superior race while buying a human being from slave traders." I shook my head. "The only alien I've ever met who wasn't a fucking hypocrite was that Implac."

I turned away. "Are you going to tell me why you did this to me, and why today?"

"No."

"Did you do this so I'd burn my bridges with her? Are you hoping to present me to someone else? Or maybe you really don't want to make these changes, and you're manipulating me to ruin your experiment."

"I remember one of your first women," she said. "A big woman."

"Julie."

"We gave her something she thought she could never have."

"An anomaly."

"No. We get women in every group who are happy when they leave."

"How many of them had to get pushed down to rock bottom, so anything was a step up? Is that why you treat us like this? I bet it is."

"Of course it is, or at least part of it. You've helped manipulate those women, Andromeda. You've helped make them feel gratitude for a bathrobe."

"Oh, so you're equating my position with yours? The difference is, I'm helping them get the best you'll let them have. But you're the one who won't just give them the bathrobe."