Aisha put on a firm face, her brow creased and her eyes turned diamond hard. Her lips curled up into a sneer and she placed both hands on her hips. Aisha closed her eyes and huffed loudly. Once she reopened her eyes, they were focused dead center on Molly.

“Once more, let me get this strait. My slave attacked you, and then made you flee in shame. Now, you want me to eat him right on the spot or hand him over to you. Do I have all of this clear?” Aisha spoke menacingly, showing no hint of backing down or being intimidated by Molly and her family’s position in the military. At first Molly was at a loss of words, she expected no problems in this transaction, but was finding things not going the way she planned. Mustering up her confidence, Molly stood up strait and returned Aisha’s stare.

“That’s right,” Molly said, getting a nod from Aisha. The commanding officer turned to her slave, aka Jim, and looked him up and down with a stern eye. Playing the part of the frightened slave, Jim shuddered under Aisha’s stare and leaned back into the corner of his cage. He tried to loom as frightened as he could, all the while trying not to laugh. Aisha finally finished looking at Jim and turned back to Molly.

“What is the Ctarl-Ctarl creed?” Aisha asked, getting a blank stare from Molly. Scratching her had, Molly said the first thing she could think of.

“If it breathes, eat it.” Aisha shook her head sadly, indicating that Molly was wrong. Woloma, Molly’s assistant, stepped in and answered Aisha’s question.

“If I’m correct, the old creed passed down from generations of Ctarl-Ctarl elders is, ‘strength is all that matters’.” Aisha nodded approvingly at Woloma, happy that someone knew something about their heritage.

“Molly, who had the most strength in your fight with my slave last night?”

“Me,” Molly stated proudly, puffing up her chest in smugness.

“Than how the hell is it possible that you got hurt by a mere terran child. You embarrassed our people with your lack of strength and have made a horrible example for your fellow officers. To be beaten by a terran is so very shameful, what do you have to say for yourself young lady?” Aisha admonished, leaving Molly gaping. In his cage, Jim covered his face to hide his smile. When Aisha wanted to humiliate someone, she did an amazing job.

“but…but… but he had help from a Ctarl-Ctarl. I would of won if she hadn’t been there!” molly screamed at the injustice of all this. She was the victim. All she wanted was to eat the little child, how could the commander say all those horrible things to her?

“Oh, so now there’s a Ctarl-Ctarl in this story! Do you take me a fool Miss. Silverpaw, what self-respecting Ctarl-Ctarl would help a human? None on my ship I’ll tell you. I’m starting to think you story about an vibro-knife was a lie too. You’re trying to make me think that you weren’t humiliated and beaten down by a barehanded, infant terran.”

“That’s not true! I’ll call my daddy!” Molly screamed resorting to her last weapon. Molly had tears funning down her face, ruining her expensive make-up that she used to hide the bruises on her face. She wasn’t used to being chewed out like this. She was rich and important; no one had ever spoken to her like this before.

“And tell him that you got beaten up by a terran child? I happen to know that Mr. Silverpaw, your father, is a strong believer in the old Ctarl-Ctarl creed about strength. I can just imagine how disappointed he’d be to hear his only daughter was overpowered by a terran. He’d be so furious that he’d probably send you back to basic training.” Molly gulped in fear. She’d only survived basic training because she paid off her instructors. In terms of strength and speed, Molly was on the same level as Paige.

Seeing that her message was getting across, Aisha went in for the kill.

“I think we can both agree that eating a perfectly good terran just because you’re a weakling isn’t right. He’s mine and when I eat him and how, will be decided by me. I don’t need some glass jawed, daddies slut to tell me what to do. I suggest you go back to your quarters, do a few push-ups, cut back on the terrans and try and get into shape. Your pitiful.” Aisha reached for the panel beside her to close the door, when Molly’s hand snapped forward and grabbed her wrist.

“Wait, He broke curfew! You got to eat him for that!” Aisha narrowed her eyes at Molly and looked down at the lower officers hand on her. Molly recoiled back, knowing how much the commander hated to be touched. Aisha sneered at Molly.

“I was sending my slave out for a walk. If I leave him in the cage too long, he’ll get stringy and won’t taste as good when I eat him. If there’s nothing else, leave while you have some shred of dignity.” Aisha gave Molly one more look of disgust and shut her door, leaving Molly to stare blankly at nothing. Aisha didn’t have a second after the door was closed before Jim tackled her from behind in a hug.

“You are sooooo cool!” Jim laughed gleefully.

“Don’t I know it,” Aisha laughed and spun around and hugged Jim back. They went back to bed together, enjoying each other’s warmth, as they slept into the long hours of the day.


Outside the room, Molly was coming out of shock and was beginning to feel her ire rise.

“Am I not being traded?” Roger, the slave Molly brought, asked timidly. Molly turned to him rigidly; her eyes ablaze and she swiped out at his chest with her razor sharp claws. At first, it seemed that Molly missed, and then five sets of cuts formed on Roger’s chest, rapidly oozing blood. Roger fell to the floor, clutching his chest and biting back a scream. If he screamed he knew the punishment would be worse. Woloma handed Molly a towel wordlessly to wipe off the blood. Molly cleaned the blood from her claw and tossed back the towel.

“Bring him to my quarters, and bring the ‘toys’.” Woloma nodded and Molly left, she would spend the rest of the morning imagining Jim face on Rogers, while she ‘played’ with the young terran.