9. Chapter 9
Mika
This was my first time ever visiting a Talin station, and I was nervous as hell.
It wasn’t surprising that I hadn’t run into their species before; they were new to our sector. They’d only gained prominence after taking over so much area once controlled by the Orloks. I hadn’t been directly impacted by the Orlok-Talin war until now.
I was starting to truly appreciate the soft landing Mazorium was providing me. Not only was I able to rest, but he was taking care of Nadia as if she were his own child, maybe even better.
However, all his kind and generous treatment of me didn't make me any less wary of visiting a place full of members of the large, powerful species. Some societies didn’t see slaves as sentient. They were considered soulless automatons, not living, breathing things. Would other Talins be like that?
It didn’t help that I was human. Because our homeworld couldn’t support life any longer, we were seen as a bad luck species. There were places we were banned from for no other reason than that.
Mazorium didn’t present his species as particularly superstitious, but they could still have a lot of reservations about having me around. I especially didn’t like having Nadia with me, but I couldn’t leave her behind either.
“I could wait on the ship,” I suggested for the fifth time as we waited for the all clear signal from the dock indicating the umbilical passage to the station was airtight and ready to be used.
Mazorium started purring again. “I know you’re fearful of being someplace new, but I promise there are no dangers to you or Nadia here.
First we’ll visit the healers, and then we’ll shop for supplies.
This station is a decent size, so they should have most of the items we’ll need, at least for the first half a solar. ”
He was calling this station a “decent” size? It was twice as big as any station I’d worked on previously. What did he consider large? A station the size of a planet?
The image made me grin.
“You’re smiling; that’s good,” Mazorium praised. “Remember, if you become fatigued or overwhelmed, I can always carry both you and Nadia.”
“Maybe you could carry Nadia,” I said. She’d put on a lot of weight in the last few days.
She might still be tiny, but even a small weight could grow quite heavy if carried over an extended period.
I felt like I was building some serious muscles in my arms, especially my right one.
Having a baby was like having a weight lifting routine that worked very specific muscles, not that I minded.
Holding Nadia was a joy, even when I was tired.
However, I wasn’t interested in being carried around like a baby. That seemed demeaning somehow. Although that was probably ridiculous considering I was wearing a collar.
The display next to the door lit up. I couldn’t read the Talin glyphs, but there was also the symbol used on most ships and stations to indicate a seal. A moment later the door slid open with a hiss, revealing a short, umbilical passage.
Mazorium was too big for us to walk side by side, so when he started walking, I fell in step behind him. His bulk kept me from seeing anything of the station until we fully emerged into the crowded and busy port area.
I stopped in my tracks when I realized it wasn’t normal traffic around the entrance to our umbilical. There was a large crowd gathered there. The moment I emerged, they all started sounding rattles and rumbles and talking at once.
“She’s so tiny! I knew humans were small, but not this small!”
“Look at the pup; it doesn’t have any mane, poor thing.”
“Do you think she’s malnourished? Her dermis seems pale.”
“Her mane is short, do you think she was forced to cut it because no one was grooming her properly? Humans require a lot of grooming.”
They were talking about me and Nadia. All these Talins were gathered here to see us, as if we were some kind of exotic species.
I mean, humans were rare but I’d never been looked at with anything but contempt before.
Having so many eyes on me that were admiring instead of disdainful was different. Still uncomfortable, but in a new way.
Mazorium stopped at the edge of the crowd and I huddled behind him. Several hands reached out to touch my hair and I flinched away, pressing closer to Mazorium’s back.
“How much do you want for the human?” someone asked him.
“Yes, how much?” another one shouted from further back in the crowd. “My family is the wealthiest in our clan. Name your price and we can meet it.”
“I wouldn’t trust him to care for a delicate human,” another said. “They don’t even have a menagerie. What do they know about caring for anything? I’m in the Verde Clan, and we are full of healers and scientists. She’ll be well taken care of if you sell her to me.”
“Can I buy the youngling? You can keep the adult and I’ll raise the pup.”
That question had me clutching Nadia to my chest and shifting so she was hidden between us. I must’ve made some kind of distressed sound, because Mazorium looked over his shoulder and started purring.
“You’re safe, Mika. I’d never sell you or Nadia.”
I nodded my head, even as more ridiculous offers were being tossed at him from the crowd.
Another hand reached out from nowhere and grabbed my arm. “Turn this way. I want to see your face.”
I gasped and tried to jerk my arm free, but the grip was too strong. Mazorium realized what was happening and let out a loud rattle. The combination of Mazorium’s intense rattle right next to my face and the harsh grip on my arm made me tear up.
“Don’t touch my human!” Mazorium growled, reaching for the person. Before he could grab the Talin’s arm, several individuals from the crowd wrestled him away.
“You damaged her, you dumb oaf!”
“How could you touch her like that! She could be permanently injured. Didn’t you hear the sound she made?”
While they not too gently dragged the guy off, others started addressing Mazorium.
“Look, there’s water leaking from her eyes. That’s a pain response. We need to get her to the medical bay. She might be seriously injured.”
“I’ll take her,” someone said and moved as if they were going to pick me up. “I know the head healer there.”
I shied back and Mazorium moved so he was between me and the stranger. The problem was that we were surrounded and he couldn’t shield me from all of them.
He sounded a shockingly loud rattle and unsheathed his claws. His quills were up and he was sounding a low, buzzing, warning rattle.
“All of you are traumatizing her!” he roared. “Back away now!”
The crowd didn’t move away, but at least no one was trying to grab me. Of all the scenarios I pictured, this one wasn’t even close. I’d had to worry about getting stepped on or knocked down on most stations, but here I needed to worry about being mobbed!
A rattle echoed from the back of the crowd, making several of them jump and all of them move away. What was going on now?
A commanding-looking Talin stepped up. Judging by the way everyone moved to give her room, she had to be someone important.
When she reached us, she ignored me and turned to survey the crowd. “Everyone here will disperse or I’ll start issuing citations. If you think you could easily pay for a citation, I warn you, I plan to issue one per submark if you continue to linger.”
That got the crowd moving! With mumbled comments and a few upset rumbles, they all walked off, leaving only the four of us.
She turned to face Mazorium, slapping her hand to her chest. “I’m Ithorum, of the Ull family within the Grul Clan. I’m in charge of station security."
Mazorium slapped his hand to his chest and introduced himself, then pointed to me. “This is my pet human, Mika, and her pup Nadia.”
The newcomer turned to look down at me then back at Mazorium. “She and the pup appear in distress. Can I escort you to the medical bay?”
She wasn’t wrong. One of my eyes was still tearing up and Nadia’s fussing at the noise had turned into angry crying.
Mazorium sounded a rumble of agreement. “That was where I planned to go first, if I hadn’t been stopped by the crowd.”
“That situation was unfortunate," Ithorum agreed. “I only found out about your arrival as you were docking or I would’ve been here earlier. I apologize for my tardiness. Do you think the dam can walk or should you carry her? I can carry the pup.”
Up until that last sentence, I was standing near her without worry. The moment she mentioned wanting to hold Nadia, I was quick to move behind Mazorium.
After the way I’d been grabbed, I didn’t trust any of these Talins with Nadia. Well, except Mazorium, but he was special.
“Humans don’t like strangers touching their offspring,” Mazorium said, putting an arm back as if to make me feel more shielded. “They’re very protective.”
“Of course, that only makes sense,” Ithorum agreed. “I’ve read they’re good caretakers of their pups, especially the females.”
“Mika is a wonderful dam and her pup is perfect,” Mazorium said with obvious pride. “I’m convinced they are the best humans.”
“You’ve been blessed by the ancestors to have found them,” Ithorum said, then gestured in a direction. “If you follow me, I’ll escort you to the healers. I’ll walk slowly so Mika can match my speed. Inform me if we need to stop.”
With that, Ithorum set off at a speed that a crippled hilk turtle could keep up with.
I didn’t care, it gave me the ability to take in the station.
Now that we were moving and all the loud sounds were over, Nadia had gone from fussing to looking around.
Her eyes were big, taking in all the different shapes around her.
I saw a few shops that, if I’d been on my own, I might’ve gone into. Mazorium must’ve noticed me looking because he leaned over to speak.
“We’ll be shopping here later,” he murmured. “This is a Talin station, so every merchant here will offer the best of any product you might want. This is the place to purchase items before we reach my next assignment.”