SWNOVELS Mandy and the Tentacle Monster: Chapter 10
I must have dozed off because the next thing I am aware of is a loud tapping on my shuttle door. I shake out all my tentacle arms and blink a few times, coming fully awake, and then unlock and open the shuttle door.
“Good greetings!” Salhuteck intones, “I have sent a freight shuttle up to your ship. I had planned to follow in my personal shuttle, but we could ride up with you and back on our freighter. What say you? Would you like some company?”
Nodding my head, I wrap all my tentacles under my form to grant them room to join me.
“Greetings to you both.” Shawn has been revealed behind Salhuteck as they move into the shuttle. “Your company is appreciated. I would be glad to shuttle you back if your freighter is not convenient when our visit concludes.”
“Many thanks, my friend.”He looks around for a moment until I realize what he is looking for.
“Apologies. There are no seats or restraints on our shuttles. If you stand to the back there is an overhead rail you can hold onto.”
He moves to the rear of the shuttle and grips the rail, but seeing that Shawn cannot reach so high, he wraps an arm around him and instructs, “Hold onto me, Little One, we would not want you to fall.”.
Shawn glares at Salhuteck from the side but does grab onto him as the shuttle takes off.
“Third, tell me – when did your human begin making art? What medium does she use? And where did you get her supplies from?” Salhuteck starts peppering me with questions as soon as we clear the atmosphere.
“On her third day aboard our ship, Tiny found a set of utility markers. They were included with an exploratory mining laser assembly. She began decorating her pen with those. When I noticed her enthusiasm, I ordered an art kit from the Rissant 5 Space station when we stopped there. It is the kind of kit that art students are required to have when taking a general art class offered on that station.” I pause, trying to remember how Tiny makes her extraordinary murals. “She uses the paints from the kit for the most part. I keep having to replicate that to refill her kit, so that is definitely what she is utilizing most often.”
Salhuteck directs his next question at Shawn, “Do all humans share such proclivities? Do you also paint?”
Shawn shakes his head, “No. Not all humans paint. I don’t.”
Salhuteck does not show any disappointment. He squeezes the human with the arm he has draped across his shoulders. “I am surprised, Third, that you recognize your human’s markings as art. And you encouraged her with more supplies. I have heard that your people do not value or even recognize art.”
“We do not. Not usually. Tiny’s efforts were obvious, though. I believed she was simply decorating her nest as a wild creature might. Had I better understanding of art, I may have recognized her sentience myself earlier. I bought the art supplies because I knew that the markers were not suited to decoration. They would have soon run out of pigment.”
Nodding his flat, scaled head, he makes a humming, thinking sound as he ruffles Shawn’s closely cropped curls with his clawed fingers. “Tell me, if I am not being too intrusive, now that you know your human is a sentient being will she stay aboard your ship?”
My shoulders droop and frustration darkens me to deep gray, “I will have to speak to Tiny and my crew mates about this. I would personally like her to stay, but I do not know how anybody else would feel on the matter.” I worry that First and Second would much rather she was gone. I also worry that she may not wish to stay where she has been treated as less than sentient.
“If a life of interstellar travel does not agree with her, I would be pleased to offer my protection and hospitality for as long as she likes.” There is that greedy gleam in his eyes again. His forked tongue slides out for a second, tasting the air as his people do to interpret pheromones.
“I shudder to think of Tiny being treated in the same manner as Shawn. Leashes, collars and gags would be out of line. She is very small, smaller than Shawn and delicate. Your treatment, though appropriate for your people and culture would not suit one such as her.”
I turn away from the controls, looking straight at Salhuteck, so I can see if he is offended. And let him see that I am firm in this assessment. “I will make sure she is aware of your offer, but I will not encourage her to accept.”
He nods his head in understanding and I hear Shawn mutter, “Doesn’t suit me either.”
I set the shuttle to auto-dock and pull my tentacle arms under my form again. This allows my guests room to exit the shuttle. I had planned to escort them to the storage hanger to review the merchandise. And after that, introduce them to Tiny, but as we exit the shuttle bay, we find her in the corridor.
She does not take notice of us right away because she is so wrapped up in her creation. I cannot tell yet what it will be, but it looks like another seascape. I am surprised to see that she has modified her garments. She now wears a sash below her waist that has at least 100 Crimbuline Credits sewn into the hem. The whole planetary system of the Crimbulan Empire was destroyed. Their star unexpectantly went supernova. Nobody knows how it could have happened without warning. Usually, people realize centuries in advance that their star will soon burn out. In the case of the Crimbulon Empire, not one astrophysicist in their system or in the whole galaxy knew what was coming. From one moment to another, a civilization that held sway over their whole sector, whose technology and wealth well surpassed all other known life in the universe was snuffed out. Some Crimbulonians survived outside of their planetary system. But without the empire to support them, their numbers dwindled. Crimbuline credits are rare and ancient antiquities. They hold value as regular currency fluctuates. They cannot be replicated or destroyed. It is said that the only physical evidence of The Empire left in that system were Crimbuline Credits floating through space. I do not know how accurate all that is, but what Tiny is wearing around her human hips, clanking against each other as she shimmies around, is wealth enough to buy an armada of ships. Or a small life-sustaining planet.
Where did these credits come from? She must have found them somewhere on this ship, but how did a fortune in Crimbuline credits end up here?
She finally notices us and her eyes widen as she sees Salhuteck. She takes a step back, but then she notices the Human and she lets out a loud squeal and launches herself at him. “Shawn! Oh my god! It’s you!”It is startling to hear her chirps translated into actual speech.
Salhuteck leans towards me, “Do you have a command deck we can observe from? I would like to give the humans a semblance of privacy.”
“Of course. This way.” I would not want to leave Tiny alone with Shawn as I do not trust him and by all evidence, he is not very well behaved. We can keep watch on them from the command deck, though, and intervene if necessary.
When we reach the command deck, I pull up the security feed from the corridor the Humans are in.
“Look at them, they are adorable.” Salhuteck is close to the screen peering at the humans with interest, “Do you think they will mate? Can you imagine how cute their pups would be?”
“Pups?” I am dumbfounded. Why would they mate? Admittedly, I do not know anything about human mating, but Tiny is so modest. I do not believe she would allow him to mate her in the corridor. The thought of it has my color darkening. If Shawn tries anything, I may throw him out an airlock.
“Yes, pups!” Salhuteck is vibrating with excitement. “If they conceive a litter, I would like to keep a pup or two. It’s only fair.”
I gape at him. “No, Sal. You yourself confirmed the sentience of humans. How can you lay claim on their progeny?”
“Sentient or not, Shawn belongs to me. I purchased him from a Seerechee market. If he seeds this female, I have some claim. You cannot deny that.” He is rubbing his scaled palms together in anticipation.
“You have no claim. Tiny has not accepted any such breeding agreement. And your ownership is not enforceable anywhere but your planet.” I turn away from the screen to face Salhuteck fully, “I must tell you that I feel deceived. Was it your intention that Shawn should breed her?” The words taste dry in my mouth. Why the idea of any male touching my precious little human in that way, fills me with battle rage.
“No, my friend, I would not plan such a thing. When I saw them together, they are so cute! And they know each other and are happy to be together. You are correct, there is no breeding agreement and I have no claim on your human or her progeny. I let my excitement get the better of me. Apologies.”
He looks abashed.
“Accepted. I do not believe they are going to mate each other in the corridor in any case.” I try to find the audio for this surveillance. I have become so distracted by this talk of breeding that my implant has disconnected from the control center. I calm myself and focus my thoughts and I am reconnected.
As the audio joins the video feed, we can hear the humans converse. “So you don’t know where any other humans are?”
Shawn shakes his head, “No. I was separated from the group by those gray bastards and sold at a market.”
“Sold!” Tiny is aghast, “So that lizard guy is-“
“He bought me, so he thinks I’m his slave or pet or something.”
Tiny is more distressed with each word Shawn is saying. “We need to get you away from him! Maybe you can stay on this ship.”
“It’s not that bad, hun. I’m doing ok. I don’t want to stay with that tentacle monster anyway.” Shawn shudders, “You know that he thinks you’re a pet right?”
“Yeah, I figured that out. But he’s nice. He doesn’t hurt me or, you know, bother me.” Looking away from Shawn, her cheeks color, but she looks back up at him, “And anyway, I’m not the one wearing a leash.”
“Listen, I’m not saying my situation is ideal. I know it’s not. But have you looked into these tentacle guys? I looked them up last night and I’m worried about you. I want you to leave this ship and come stay at Sal’s with me. He’s not a bad guy and if we can figure out where Earth is, he says we can go back.”
“And you believe him? Shawn, look at yourself! You’re naked, leashed, and collared. I would much rather stick it out here than put myself in your situation.” She has moved away from Shawn.
“I like you, Mandy. And you’re the only human I’ve seen in three months. I want us to stick together and try to keep each other safe, but we can’t stay on this ship. Things might have been ok so far, but girl, these aliens are dangerous. And now that he knows you’re not an animal, I think things are going to get worse for you.” He’s stalking toward her even though she is moving away. This looks like aggressive behavior to me and I consider removing her from the corridor.
“What do you mean? If there’s something I should know, tell me,” she demands.
“Those tentacle aliens have a bad reputation. They kidnap other sentient species and implant them with a batch of eggs. Then hold them hostage until the eggs hatch. Sometimes it kills their victim when the eggs hatch. This how they breed, how they fuck.” He is crowding against her, speaking urgently.
She seems to take note of his aggressive, intimidating movements. She stops backing up from him and straightens her spine. “You don’t know him. I’ve spent months with him and he’s not some rapist. But I’ve only met you once before, Shawn. Human men have kidnapped, raped, and impregnated women with zero regard for their health. Maybe I should stay away from you. Who can say how dangerous you are?”
“That’s low. I know we only met once, but I thought we had a connection. I thought you might prefer me to some nightmare of an alien monster. But if you want to stay here, and get knocked up with a dozen alien eggs and likely die – you go ahead!” He is shouting at her as she stomps away. She holds one hand high over her head with one red-tipped digit extended.
“FUCK!” Yelling, he turns and punches the wall, “SHIT!”
He leans against the wall, sliding down until he is sitting on the floor, his hands covering his face. He seems to be in some kind of emotional crisis. If he had an epidermis like mine, it would be a swirling pulse of dark colors.
“Apologies, friend,” Salhuteck is hanging his head, his tail limp and still behind him. “I have no excuse for Shawn’s behavior. Know that I have never spoken that way about you or your people. He must have looked it up in historical texts on his tablet. I had loaded it with educational material, but I never- “
“Do not blame yourself. It is historically accurate, what he said. And I know that both of us look monstrous to these dainty little humans. That is what engenders their fear,” I move out of the command deck. “Allow me to shuttle you home. Your freighter has already come and gone.”
I give him a moment to collect his human. Emotions are high. He will have a more difficult time soothing Shawn if I follow behind him in the corridor.
I watch the video feed as he stands in front of Shawn for a moment then asks him, “Would you like to remain on this ship? I do not know if you would be welcome, but if you would like to remain, I could negotiate on your behalf.”
Shawn looks up at him from the floor, his whole body is slumped in dejection. “She doesn’t want to be with me. I was trying to help her, and she treats me like some kind of predator. Why would I stay here?” He hangs his head again, looking down at his own knees. “Unless, you don’t want to keep me anymore?”
Salhuteck reaches out to rub his claws through Shawn’s short mane. “I always want to keep you, little one.” He pulls the human up and along with him down the corridor to the shuttle bay. I soon follow and pilot them home.
On the way, Salhuteck asks, “Might you return sometime with your human? This visit did not go well. We could try again when emotions are not so high?”
“I am sure we will trade again. If Tiny is still with us and would like to visit, I would be willing to facilitate.” She will likely not want to visit this ill-behaved male again. If she does agree to see him again, I should remain in the vicinity.
After they exit my shuttle I clasp hands with Salhuteck. Wishing him success in his business ventures, I take my leave am soon piloting back to homeship. When I arrive, I will be able to communicate with Tiny. Feelings of excitement and dread war within me causing my colors to fade from dark gray to pink then back to grey in rapid order. How will she speak to me? She defended my character to Shawn and that is encouraging. I hope she can see me as a friend.