Chapter Thirteen
“Human?” I gasped, shocked not by the announcement but that I hadn’t figured it out on my own. The lack of tusks and forehead ridges, the smaller horns, five fingers instead of four, very little body fur—his mixed genetics were obvious. “How is that possible?”
“Apparently our two species are genetically compatible,” he said drily.
“I didn’t mean biologically,” I said, although I filed away the information. Since my friends had hooked up with men from Nomoru, I had wondered if humans and Copans and Arasetans could produce offspring. “There’s the prohibition against fraternizing with humans.”
“Unless you count the slave trade,” he said softly and took another sip of wine.
“What are you saying?”
“My mother, a human, was abducted. My father purchased her to free her,” he explained. “He operated a trading post on a small space station he leased. An alien docked one day and offered to trade her for supplies. Abused and neglected, she was in bad shape. My father figured she was probably going to die, but he agreed to the trade to try to save her. As it happened, a Cerulean veterinarian also docked that day. She treated my mother, and she survived. My father reported my mother’s kidnapping. They arrested and prosecuted the man on charges of kidnapping an alien sentient and violating the embargo. But, per LOP rules, my mother couldn’t go home, so she chose to stay with my father on the space station. They fell in love, became bond-mates, and had me.”
“That’s why you speak Terran Universal without an accent!”
“Yes. I learned Terran Universal from my mother and Ara-Cope from my father.”
“The abduction had to have been some time ago!”
“About fifty years.”
“Human abductions have been occurring for fifty years?” I had no idea it had been going on that long.
“Maybe longer, but for decades, abductions amounted to little more than random snatch and grabs by individual criminals. Small ships, only a few people taken at a time. Nothing organized. The cartel hadn’t formed yet.”
“Oh, well, as long as it was small scale, no harm done,” I said sarcastically.
“That’s not what I mean,” he said. “The situation was manageable. Most, but not all, of the cases involved sentients other than humans. Then Imana formed the Copan-Cerulean Cartel, and the trafficking situation mushroomed almost overnight.” His expression turned grim.
“How old is Imana?”
“Older than she looks. At least forty, which is probably why she’s getting impatient and decided to push her mother off the throne.”
“You joined the League of Planets because of your mother…”
“Yes. Aware of her past and how much she missed her family, I wanted to help her people. Her father died before she was taken, but her mother is still alive. I grew up hearing stories about her family, her mother in particular. When I can, I drop in.”
“You visit your grandmother? You’ve spoken to her?” That poor woman! Losing her husband, and then her daughter.
I shook my head. “I can’t. It’s not allowed. I’m an LOP agent. But I keep an eye on her—from afar.”
“Aren’t you tempted to speak to her?”
“Of course I am. But after so many years, I figure she has come to terms with her daughter’s disappearance. I feel it would be cruel rather than comforting to reveal her daughter is alive. She can’t see her, so it would be like taunting her with the information.”
“She might find comfort from just knowing she’s alive. That she has a grandson.”
“Contact with humans is forbidden,” he said, but I could see the conflict on his face. The LOP’s desire to keep New Terrans ignorant of life off planet had been unfair to him, too.
“You have contact with me.”
“You inserted yourself into the mission. You are a protectee.”
Despite myself, I felt a surge of sympathy for him. “It couldn’t have been easy being half human.”
“No, it wasn’t always easy being a half-breed. You’ve heard the slur. People call my mother that.”
“Ovwet,” I said, and he flinched. The derogatory, degrading term happened to be the only word for humans in the Ara-Cope language.
“I look more Copan than human so that’s what people assumed I was. It was easier for all concerned—for my father and my mother—that I denied my humanness. It helped that my parents worked and lived on a space station that drew beings from all over the galaxy. Diversity created anonymity. But still, there were sometimes problems. Slurs. Threats. They could never have lived on Nomoru. It would have raised too many questions. Both my parents insisted I never refer to my mother as my mother. She was the human who worked for my father.” His mouth twisted. “I still hate myself for that.”
I could hear and see his pain, his guilt, and it tore at my heart. “What’s your mother’s name?”
“Louise.”
“Louise…”
“Just Louise.”
“Humans have surnames.”
“Just Louise.”
Okay…more secrets. It wasn’t like I’d drop in and visit Louise’s mother for goodness’ sake. Not tonight anyway. It had been a very, very long day, and fatigue had kicked in with a vengeance. I stifled a yawn and rubbed my bleary eyes.
“You can understand why this isn’t just another assignment. It’s personal to me. I, and the rest of the team, will do everything in our power to ensure the abductees aren’t harmed. But the abduction must occur so we can stop the cartel once and for all.”
It still sounded contrary, counterintuitive, but I was too tired to think anymore. I’d hit the wall. Since this morning, I had landed on New Terra after being gone for months, discovered a burglar in my apartment, revealed the abductions to my boss who’d brushed them aside, met with the president, been drugged and abducted, got shocked and taken in to protective custody by a sexy half Copan, half human, and been told the fate of two worlds rested on an abduction taking place.
My body and my brain were tired.
A yawn broke through that I couldn’t stop. “Sorry.” I patted my mouth.
“You must be exhausted,” he said. “Why don’t you get some sleep? Take the room with the big bed at the end of the hall.”
“Okay. I think I will.” I got to my feet. “I’ll help you clean up,” I offered politely.
“Go on. There’s not much to do. I can handle it, and then I’ll turn in.”
“Thank you.” I weaved my way to the bedroom. I didn’t bother to undress. The clothes I had on were like jammies anyway, so I pulled back the covers and crawled into bed. I sank into sleep moments after my head touched the pillow.