Evading Miran (HIssa Warrior #10)
Chapter 1
Miran
Miran and his two companions watched an audience of Fielden from the nearby planet file into the large room, taking seats and chatting among themselves.
There was a stage at the far end of the room, with a large box draped in fabric.
The show was supposed to start soon, and Miran assumed that whatever was in the large box would be part of the show.
The three of them stayed in the back, standing against a black-painted wall.
Most of the lights were centered on the stage so it wasn't hard for them to remain out of sight, despite their large size.
As with most Hissa males, the three of them were between seven and seven and a half feet tall.
Unlike most other Hissa, Miran and his team were far from home and were covered in armor and carrying weapons.
They’d arrived at the entertainment ship in a gunship and had to do extensive bargaining before being allowed to dock and search the Delight. If they found what they were looking for, it would all be worth it.
“Do you really think one of the human females could be here?” Lazil whispered. “The information we got was degraded.”
Miran gave Lazil a reassuring look. “It’s doubtful, but it’s better to check and be wrong than to ignore it.”
The two males nodded in agreement. Decades ago, the Hissa had lost all their females and half their male population to a disease they referred to as the Great Death.
At first, the Hissa thought it wouldn’t be long before their scientists figured out a way to continue their population using Decanting technology, but the Hissa couldn't be grown in vats.
Decanting was first developed by humans.
In only six months, they could grow a child to the biological age of six years old.
Slavery wasn’t legal on Earth, but the owners of the company simply moved their facility to Mars and started producing babies in rows and rows of vats.
They sold designer humans off-world to whoever could pay while pretending they were providing babies to desperate couples.
They were eventually found out and shut down, but not before shipping off tens of thousands of children.
The Hissa didn’t know anything about this technology until several of their warriors discovered that Hissa males were breeding compatible with Decanted human women.
With hope renewed, the Hissa government requested access to the decanting tech and the sales records. It was with great disappointment that they found out that the tech and most of the records had been destroyed during the raid on the Mars facilities.
Still, they used what little information they had and set out to recover as many Decanted humans as possible.
That led Miran and his team to the Delight. They'd scoured every inch of the ship looking for a human female sold twenty years ago. The ship offered gambling, relaxation suites, dramatic or comedic plays, sports, music, and a circus. The circus was the last place for them to look.
Miran only hoped that if she was here, she wasn’t too broken by her time as a slave.
He hated it when he found the women were shells of themselves.
They’d bring her back to Hissa and care for her, no matter the state of her mind or body.
Miran hated how many women they’d found who had been so badly abused that they couldn’t stand to be touched by anyone, not even another human.
His heart went out to those women, but he was proud that his people continued to care and protect them no matter what.
“We should’ve asked the people who run the ship if there’s a human here,” Lazil said, repeating what he’d said earlier. This was only the second mission he’d done with Miran and wasn’t as experienced.
Miran let out a sigh. “As I told you before, it’s better for us to find her first or we risk an inhospitable bargaining situation. Once we have eyes on her, it’ll be easier.”
“We can also simply take her with us and pay later,” Nerin added. “If someone is willing to buy a slave, you can’t trust them to honor any agreement we make with them.”
Their conversation halted as the overhead lights lowered. The show was about to begin.
The buzz of conversation quieted. They had already explored most of the circus area and had seen almost all the acts. This was the last one. If she wasn’t here, they’d have to start talking and bribing the staff to see if she was working somewhere behind the scenes.
There was always the chance she was dead, but he refused to acknowledge that until all other avenues were exhausted.
A small, furry Fozin wearing a bright, elaborate outfit hurried out onto the stage.
“Welcome to our humble circus,” the Fozin said, holding up his little paw-like hands over his head. The Fielden audience responded well to the motion so it must be something species-specific. “My name is Riff, and I run the Delight’s circus.”
The lights switched completely off until only the stage was illuminated.
“I'm pleased to be able to show you a rare creature,” he told them in a voice surprisingly loud for such a small body.
“I'm sure you’ve all heard of humans. You might have even seen one, but this one is special. She was captured in the wild. Most likely abandoned by her pack at a young age. Humans need the civilizing force of a pack to guide them. Without that,” he paused dramatically, “they go feral! ”
Miran watched the audience eagerly eat up every word. The crowd’s excitement was palpable. Miran had to tamp down his feelings of disgust.
“How do you know when a Fozin is lying?” Nerin whispered, then he waited until both Miran and Lazil were looking at him before giving the answer. “He's speaking.”
Miran grimaced at the old joke but nodded his head at the truth of it. None of his research on humans mentioned humans going feral. He’d been worried about a traumatized human, but now he feared the human’s mind was so damaged that she’d become violent.
He really didn't want to risk hurting her if she had to be subdued.
The Fozin pointed to a dark red line on the stage. “For your own safety, don’t cross this line. If she can get her hands on you, she’ll kill you. We keep her well fed, but she loves the taste of fresh, bloody meat.”
He could feel the men on either side of him tense, they weren’t happy about this either.
“If you wish to let your children meet her, we will be giving her calming drugs for the second show, and they can approach her safely. Her deep desire to have children of her own means the young of any species are safe in her presence. For only a small fee, your child can touch a rare human specimen.”
The audience buzzed with excitement for a moment, parents already making plans to bring their children back to touch the wild human.
The Fozin stepped aside and raised his hand with a flourish. There was the sound of a mechanical whirr, and the drape was pulled free to reveal a large cage.
Miran sucked in a breath at what he saw.
A human female was crouched inside the cage. She hissed at the audience, baring long fangs.
The front row gasped as she threw herself at the bars.
“Do not be afraid,” Riff said. “The cage is strong enough to hold her.”
She reached through the bars, clawing to get her hands on one of the audience members.
Her hand didn’t go further than the red line on the floor, far from any of the seats.
Despite being a safe distance away, several individuals in the front row got up and moved away.
She howled when she couldn’t touch any of them and jumped up, grabbing the bars high on the cage wall, and violently pulling at them.
“She's lost her mind,” Nerin whispered, heartbreak in his voice.
“We’ll take her to Hissa, at least she won't be abused like this anymore,” Lazil said in a voice heavy with sadness. Miran and Nerin nodded in agreement.
She was wearing pants so tattered they didn't cover much of her legs and some kind of tight garment over the top of her that hid her breasts from view.
The rest of her was nothing but lean muscles.
She flung herself from one end of the cage to the other, screaming and howling.
Each movement showed impressive feats of strength and agility.
She climbed, balanced, and jumped all around the cage while never once touching the floor.
Riff told the audience about her capture. According to him, five men died trying to subdue her. One died of a bite from her fangs, and he screamed in pain for three days before he succumbed to her venom.
“I didn't know humans could have sharp teeth like us,” Lazil commented. “I’m sure he made up the venom part though.”
“Maybe she was created with them,” Miran said.
“They could have put all kinds of special tweaks in her DNA.
This pleasure ship specifically ordered her so maybe they requested the fangs.
They look over-large though. I don't think they fit in her mouth when she closes her jaw. Poor thing, I bet they make eating difficult.”
“Our doctors might be able to file them back for her,” Nerin said.
Miran grunted in agreement. “I'm sure we can do a lot of things to make her more comfortable.”
Lazil straightened away from the wall. “We should put a stop to this abomination.”
Miran grabbed his arm to hold him back. “We need them to sell her to us. It won't put them in a good mood if we interrupt the show. Stealing her is a last resort.”
Lazil grumbled but settled back down to lean against the wall again. “I don't like this.”
Miran let out a sigh. “None of us likes this.”
They watched the rest of the show in silence.
They could tell the show was coming to an end when Riff stepped in front of the cage and all the lights came on.
Miran noted the little male was standing inside the red line.
Maybe he wasn’t concerned for his safety because the human wouldn’t attack her keeper.
Miran was taken by surprise when the human reached out her hand and grabbed the Fozin by the collar of his little coat and dragged him back against the bars.
She bared her teeth, but before she could bite him, several men rushed forward with shock sticks and violently pushed them against her.
They could hear the zaps from the shock sticks and her howls of pain. Whimpering, she let go of Riff and scrambled away.
Hissing and glaring, she crouched in almost the same place she’d been when the curtain was first pulled off the cage.
It was hard to remain in place when the poor human was being abused.
“Calm,” he said for his benefit as much as his two companions. He looked to Lazil. “Find the ship’s owner. Negotiate a price for the human. We’ll stay here and make sure there isn't an afternoon show or reprisal for what just happened.”
Lazil gave him a curt nod and with one last hard glance toward the cage, he stalked off.
Miran and Nerin stayed in the shadows, watching as the audience filed out past the cage. They were all careful to stay behind the red line. Even so, the large guards remained standing nearby, with shock sticks ready.
The human eyed them malevolently and occasionally sounded a growl or hiss, making the leaving audience members jump.
Once the audience was gone, the guards relaxed and set their shock sticks down on a nearby table before ambling off.
They completely ignored the cage and the sweaty, distressed human inside.
He couldn’t believe the callousness of everyone here. How could they torture this woman multiple times each day? It was inconceivable.
Finally, the large doors to the room banged shut, leaving the room empty except for the human, Nerin, and himself.
He was going to tell Nerin to stay here in the back while he tried to talk to the human.
It would probably be less stressful for her to meet one of them at a time, and he needed to find out if the human had any language skills.
Except before he could say anything to Nerin, she casually stood up and stretched.
He and Nerin froze and watched the human move her shaggy, wild hair out of her eyes, look around, and chuckle.
She pulled a small band from around her wrist and used to tie her hair back. Then pulled something out of a pocket of her tattered pants and unlocked the cage door.
“Our wild human isn't as wild as they would have us believe,” Nerin whispered with a relieved grin.
Miran felt dizzy with relief. “It's an act. It's all an act.”