“Good evening, ladies. I’d like to welcome you to our ship, the Patira Alana. I am Commander Larson Raa-ling, the first officer. I’m sure this has been quite a shock for you.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Crystal said.
“I want to assure you, you will not be harmed,” he continued.
“What do you want from us?” Jenna asked, her voice quavering.
“Let me explain why we have brought you here.”
He sat in the chair facing them and settled back into the cushioned upholstery.
“There is a power in the universe that takes a hand in our lives,” he said. “We call it nata’tai. It provides the means to keep us healthy, as individuals and as races.”
“We don’t want a lesson in alien religion,” Crystal sniped.
“To stay healthy,” Commander Raa-ling continued, “a race must grow. It must embrace other cultures. It must open its gene pool to other races, otherwise it will stagnate. Physically, emotionally and culturally.”
Jenna’s stomach tightened. “Oh my God, they’ve brought us here as breeding stock.”
Eva glanced at Jenna and squeezed her hand, fear glittering in her eyes.
“You have not been brought here to be sex slaves,” the commander reassured. “As a race matures, nata’tai gives its people the ability to sense their tanash’ae—what you would call their soul-mate—even over great distances. To ensure a mingling of races, nata’tai directs the spirits of tanash’aei—soul-mates—to be born in different races on different planets.”
“Soul-mates?” Jenna repeated in a hushed tone.
Excitement skittered through her at the thought that she’d finally be able to meet her soul-mate. She’d always believed that everyone had one special person meant for them, despite her mother’s string of disastrous relationships. Mom hated to be alone, so she’d jump at whatever relationship presented itself, making the same mistake over and over. Jenna firmly believed that if Mom had only been willing to wait for the right man to come along, she’d have found the happiness she so longed for. And Jenna would have had a stable home and a father who loved her.
“That’s right. Each of you is the soul-mate of a member of this crew. That’s why you’ve been brought here. To meet your tanash’ae.”
“So you intend to convince us we’re in love with some guy, then use us for breeding,” Crystal scoffed.
“This has nothing to do with procreation. I’m talking about love.” He focused directly on Eva. “The love of two people destined to be together. Of people who make each other complete. Soul-mates. Tanish’aei.”
“Excuse me, Commander.”
Jenna glanced around to see the woman who’d dragged Aria away. She stood in the doorway.
“Captain wants to see senior staff.”
“Thank you, Casey.” The commander rose. “Excuse me, ladies. You will remain here until someone is free to take you to your quarters. Make yourselves comfortable.”
He followed Casey out of the room, followed by the other two men. The door slid closed behind them, leaving Jenna and her companions alone in the room.
Crystal rose and approached the door, but it didn’t open. She flattened her hand on it, then dragged her fingers along the edge, clearly looking for a way to trigger the mechanism.
“Are you okay, Eva?” Jenna slid her arm around Eva’s shoulders, concerned with how pale she looked.
“Did you feel…funny…when that man came into the room?” Eva asked.
“What do you mean?” Jenna asked.
“She means were we hot for him.” Crystal turned to face them.
Eva shot her a glance and Crystal shrugged.
“You were practically drooling over him, sweetie.” She crossed the room and sat beside Eva. “He is definitely a hunk, but I find that other one—Terrien, I think they called him—much hotter. I really would love to jump his bones.”
“Crystal, how can you think about that now?” Jenna asked. “We’ve been kidnapped by people from another planet.”