Colony To Colony

Dovetails With Rainbow Series

Daughter of a single parent, Siar is named for a Zheien colony her mother always spoke about. Lack of an aandat and trade for passage stopped her. Siar decides to leave Earth in search of a better life. But, is this life better? Dedicated To Gary and Lin Flandro. 295pp. Novel. medical science fiction, novelette, healers, sexual abuse, mind control, slaver training, indigent issues

Excerpt. © Dannis Cole. All rights reserved.

His green eyes dragged around the room. Many men lay groaning on the beds. He stared dully at the green ones like him. They didn’t move. Just sat, staring, as healers fed them amta. “Edemari, we have nae choice. Make me Purapu—”

“Even if you are willing, my son, I can nae change your physiology so that you can survive this decadence! Or meals of raw meat!”

“I will die here.” He sat up. I didn’t think he could move on his own! But, I felt how much worse his headache got when he did. “I knew that when I accepted the position as stationed diplomat. Nis will have his Purapu—dead.”

“No! There’s gotta be another way—”

As we argued about what to do next, Puran held his head. I wanted to put my arms around him, but you don’t do that if they’re able to sit up.

“Purapu has a girlfriend, right?”

Puran stared at me with his green eyes impossibly wide. “Kishan is nae his wife. She violates him with decadence!” He shuddered.

I smiled at him. “What if Kishan wasn’t what they think she is? Could we change the story a bit? What do they want from Purapu?” I thought up a crazy plan.

“Nis wants to rule Riyhupur.”

“What will he do with it?”

Puran turned very pale green, almost yellow. “Turn this healing colony into a place of experimentation on helpless slaves!”

Did Aubus hear that? I looked behind me, and he’d heard. He shivered. “I was a slave.” His bright blue eyes filled with tears. I grabbed his hand.

“My son, you must calm.” Latam waved. “Ejis! I need chocolate for you, and I have nae. Aubus, lie in my arms. Nae think.”

“Latam, where is Fa?”

I kept Aubus’ hand until it went limp. Turned my attention back to Puran. “If we kept control of the healing, we could turn it into a research facility to cure slaves.”

Latam soothed Aubus into restless sleep. His hand let go. He didn’t wake up. Puran stared at me. My heart skipped a beat. He’s handsome. Those dark curls. About my age.

Edemari touched my wrist. “Too dangerous, Siar! We could all be participating in torture of slaves—”

“What else can we do? If we don’t try, we’ll all be zombies.” I sighed, and hugged Puran. He sank against me. I got scared he’d give up and die of grief! I sent energy into him. He didn’t seem to feel it. I enjoyed holding him too much for a healer.

Edemari shook his head, and his eyes turned dark blue. “He will nae survive. You will nae survive much of their fostok. Do you know what Kishan does? She tries to consume more fostok than he! If they try to pour it down your throat, they will drown you—”

“Ejis!” Puran held onto me tighter. I rubbed his head. The back of it was hot. Bad mind pain.

“I’m a healer. If I can be near Puran, I can help him survive it. You can teach him stuff to help me. We can do it!”

Puran turned cold, and stiff. The Thordes got out the tnshey and painstakingly massaged his arms and legs. Edemari and I helped, too. Finally, we got him warmed—barely—and Edemari made him sit up and stop leaning on me. He held onto my hand tightly. Stared at Edemari. I felt guilty.

“You must eat, Puran.” His brown hand held up a platter of blue amta. Bei-amta—the licorice ones—by the strong smell. A lot sweeter-smelling than bei-amta I’d eaten.

Puran took a breath, as if he’d have to hold it a long time. Then he bit into one. Immediately, his shoulders sank. His eyes closed. His body swayed to his right a little. “Ejis! Help me, Edemari! I cannot find my feet!”

“You sit, my son. We hold you on this bed—”

Puran cried. I held his head against my shoulder. Edemari frowned at me, but what else could I do? Oh, how I wanted to do something awful to Nis!

“Puran, we’re all here. We’ll help you through it.” Gary held his other arm.

“Gary. I feel shame.” His eyes opened. “Pain leaves me, and I can but enjoy—”

“Novas, Pur!” Gary rubbed the back of his head. “Don’t feel guilty for that! You’ve suffered enough.”

Edemari sighed loudly. “He must suffer more. Puran, you must eat at least three of these tainted breads. In your condition, you cannot stand any more malnutrition. If only we had bahef for you, even bahef with fostok in it! Eat, my son. We will watch over your honor.”

Puran cried loudly as Edemari helped him finish the first one. He stopped crying, suddenly. “O, it tastes well, Edemari.” With a smile, he took the second one off the platter and bit into it. Chewed quickly.

“Eat slowly, young son.” His brown hand wrapped around Puran’s wrist.

Puran stared at Edemari. Stifled a giggle. “I will. O, I grow mindless!” He took another bite and giggled. “Is it fostok, in this? Did I laugh so, Gary?”

“I saw you when you started getting sick—” Carefully, Gary helped support Puran as he started to lean towards him. Puran finished the amta and licked his wide finger. The other Thordes stared. Gary didn’t finish.

I never saw him act like that! Ka whispered it to Olfie privately, but my telepathy picked it up.

Puran finished the other amta, and giggled between tastes. “O, I am intok-in-tok-k, o!” He laughed loudly, and we helped him lie down. “Make me Purapu, Edee-mar! Where is my Kish-ann?”

I started to lean over him, but Edemari held up a tri-fingered hand. After a few mins, Puran seemed to learn how to handle this new drunkenness, and sat up by himself. Covered his face with both hands. “Ejis! I am intoxicated!”

“Ah, you are better. Look up, my son. Let me help you wake.” Edemari put his hand on the back of Puran’s head. He sat straighter. “Now, speak to Siar. Tell her what you know of what they expect of Purapu.”

He went into detail about men and women getting drunk and pawing each other. Couldn’t describe anything more. Puran shuddered.

Then he designed a robe for me that was short and bare-shouldered. Very form-fitting. When he waved it up on me, he turned pale yellow and shuddered so hard, Gary had to catch him.

“You can’t act like that when I come out, Puran.” I made him look at me. He shook all over. I felt his burning headache and got nauseated.

Edemari sighed. “I despair to intoxicate you, my son, but I must. I designed an herb to impair your judgment. If your mind is whole, you will nae survive.” He held up a bright blue amta. Puran opened his mouth wide and swallowed it whole.

He got very relaxed. Stared around at the whole place, the beds, the white walls and ceiling, as if he’d never seen it before. Then, he looked me up and down. I thought about the drunks in Merit—but I gotta pretend to enjoy this. He smiled at me. Not like those drunks at all. His eyes stayed on my face.

“Did your mind pain go away, Pur—Purapu?”

He giggled. “Purapu. Eae. The blue—is striking.” I held his hand, and he stroked my fingers, as if he loved me. My heart beat faster.

“My son, you yet have your honor.” Edemari turned his face so he had to look at him. “Listen to Kishan. She will teach you to be Purapu. You trust me. You trust her. She will try to take you through a dream, my son. A strange dream. In dreams there is nae shame. Feel you well?”

“I feel more than well. Kishan, let us dance!” He pulled me onto my feet with a big smile. I felt the warmth of his flat fingers on my bare back. He startled, and his eyes opened very wide. “Are my fingers well, Maiden?” His look of concern touched my heart. Not like the drunks of Merit at all. He looked sober.

“You’re fine. You’re not hurting me, Purapu. We’re good friends, and we touch each other a lot.” He smiled, and suddenly, his feet moved. Gently, he led me dancing around the room. “I’ll teach you how to kiss me without—”

“Siar! He cannot kiss you!” Edemari followed us as we danced about. Puran moved my legs for me. Didn’t stumble. Like an Olympic dancer, graceful, strong, and he made me dance as if I’d been trained from birth for it. His telepathy didn’t stray into my private thoughts.

I looked into his eyes, and felt all romantic. Carefully, I brushed my lips against his. Such a light touch, I thought he wouldn’t feel it. But, he smiled, and I felt feelings I didn’t know I had. “O, happiness! Your lips are soft, and blue! I sing blue!” He hummed. The rumbling of his chest made mine vibrate, and it felt very nice.

“See, if it’s quick, it doesn’t hurt me. If I keep ‘em there too long and get bloody lips, that’s my fault.”

Puran stopped, looked into my eyes, and pulled me against him. A warm feeling came over me like the healing, but better. Much better. I heard bells in my ears, on my skin, and I tingled all over.

He gasped. Stepped back. “Nae! What is it that I do?”

“What was that?” I tried to touch his hand, and he backed away.

Edemari took him to the bed. “Maiden, that is a sound heard only in Zheien wedding beds!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” More than sorry! Will they make me marry him? I found, to my surprise, that marriage didn’t bother me. I thought about asking—

“May I recite my Petition?” Puran sobbed. Oh, how I wanted to hold him!

“Siar, I think this will only work if you marry him.” Edemari’s eyes turned black as he sent energy into the back of Puran’s head. Poured energy back there. Puran still turned deathly pale.

“I’ll do it!”

“Siar, you think as an Earthan.” Latam came near. “Marriage is eternity for us. Nae renewals. Nae divorce.” He shivered.

“It’s to save lives, Latam. How bad can it be, to marry someone green? Kermit the Frog’s green, and I like him.” I hummed, ‘It’s not easy bein’ green’, and Puran laughed. His skin got a little greener, but the yellow streaks showed more. He’s still very sick.

With a smile, he awkwardly put himself on one knee, in the bed. Took my left hand. Edemari made him use his right hand to take my right hand; I don’t think he noticed it, he was staring at me so hard. “Siar of Earth, Healer, I love you! With all of my heart I ask that you join with me in this Petition of Marriage. I will die a happy man, Siar.”

“You won’t die! I’m doing this to save your life, and the people who are sick in here. You’re a good man, Puran. I’ll help you be Purapu, and if we ever get out of this mess, I’ll be a good wife to you.” I meant it. He probably won’t live long, but I’ll make him happy while he’s still around.

Puran looked at Edemari, and his smile dipped a little.

The old healer wiped tears from his face. “You may never enter the Temple, my son. But, may you find happiness beyond life. It is recorded.”

Puran laughed. “I have a wife, a beautiful wife! Come with me, Siar! Kiss me again!” He pulled me out into the middle of the floor again, but we didn’t dance.

He thinks I’m beautiful. I brushed my lips against his, and he laughed. Looked drunk again. But, he didn’t need us to hold him up.

“Think Purapu’s followers will be satisfied with this, Puran? No, Purapu. I gotta call you Purapu. And, you gotta call me Kishan.”

Puran frowned, then smiled at me. “I nae know. All I know is happiness. Kishan, my love!”

He looked exhausted, so I led him back to bed. “We need substitutes for fostok and hyssdia, and the raw meat, and anything else they might give him or put on him.”

“You will need to be intoxicated also, Siar.”

I stared at Edemari. “Why? I can act drunk. Seen enough of ‘em in Merit Colony.” Mama and I used to make a game out of making fun of drunks. I put my eyelids at half-mast, and slurred my voice. Crooked up my face. Giggled. “C’mere, Lover.” Then, I pressed myself against him. My touch brought bellsongs again. He laughed, without care. “Oh, I’m embarrassing you.”

Puran kissed me, as I kissed him, lightly, quickly. “O, my love, light of a thousand stars fills your eyes. How could you embarrass me?”

Emotion rose in me that surprised me. Heat crept into my face. There’s a room fulla people here. Puran turned white. “Latam! Siar is unwell, and I caused it!”

He laughed.

“I’m okay. Just never heard anyone talk to me like that before.” I stared into those green eyes, and almost forgot the others. “I married a romantic fella. I love the way you talk, Puran. This marriage stuff is gonna be fun.”

Edemari frowned, and his eyes turned dark.

Puran’s head nodded. I helped him lie down. He fell asleep before I could say another word. I was tired, too. I waved my healer’s robes back on.

Beside us, Edemari and Latam went about healing people. But as soon as Edemari finished for a bit, he sat with me. Privately, he sighed his concern to me. “Siar, Puran loves you. Normally, a Zheien has time to come to know his wife. I know little of Zheien customs; we Ishah are related, but we also have Elshar blood. Our practices are similar to Elshar in some ways. If Puran was to live a long life, I would encourage you to learn Zheien customs. Be careful with him, Siar.” I felt his urgency to say more, but a Zheien groaned nearby, and he ran off to do healing.

Careful? I stroked Puran’s head, and he smiled in his sleep. I’ve been a healer and I know Zheien protocols. But, now I’m married. I won’t do anything Puran doesn’t like. Edemari worries too much!

I woke up from my nap to hear Edemari arguing with some Riyhupan in a fancy green robe. “Give him an hour. I will send him.” The man left.

Edemari wiped tears off his brown face as he sat by me. Wet tears; not powdery like Zheien tears. “They want Purapu to meet with Leader Nis. I must teach you about the foods I prepared.” He waved up a menu. Blue amta, bloody meat, flasks of blue—one a lighter blue than the other— “You must feed him my amta constantly. If his mind returns to him, he will not function. Know you how to enter the mind of an unwell and give help?”

I laughed. “Of course!” Then, I thought about what that meant. “Puran won’t need my help. He had me dancing—”

Edemari shook his head. “He was here in my chambers. His memories of Nis will frighten him. You must listen to his mind, and sense when he begins to think about Zheien protocols. You will feel the tension rise in his shoulders, then his mind will turn to how his clothes feel compared to how they should feel. Go into his mind and project pleasant sensations to distract him. You can increase the intoxication—control it—keep his thoughts away from danger. He trusts you, because he loves you, Siar. Remind him frequently that this is a dream. The amta has bis tia in it mixed with my altered fostok. The fostok is weak and includes vital nutrition for Zheien to withstand it. He must eat much to feed this exertion, in his unwell! It also has bis tia—”

“What is bis tia? What does it do to him?”

Edemari sighed. “It is for fear. In small amounts, it makes a Zheien feel happy, but he knows it is the herb and not his mind. Larger amounts affect the judgment. This is why you must keep feeding it to him. Only you could do this. I saw how he acted with you yesterday. The first time your touch brought bellsongs, he reacted with shame. But, the second, he did na. You can do things with him against his very personality!” He shook his head sadly.

I started to ask a question, but he waved up the holo of the meat. “This is a fruit, pressed into a meatlike appearance. Naho fruit intoxicates Zheien without damage. It will make him sleep briefly. He must na exert while intoxicated, for he can easily overexhaust himself and faint. If he appears weak, they will na be fooled. Every time that you notice him trembling, you must give him fostok. But make sure he can lie flat briefly while the effect is strong. Can you do this?”

I nodded.

Soon, Edemari pressed a bright blue leaf into Puran’s mouth. His eyes flew open. “It is time, my son. You wake in a dream.”

He giggled. “Siar, my love. I am hungry.”

Edemari held up a platter of the blue amta. Puran ate without a single complaint. Gary, Olfie, and Ka stared at him. He giggled and stroked my face while he ate.

Then, Edemari nodded to me. I cleared my throat. “It’s time for us to act like Kishan and Purapu. Here’s our costumes.” I waved, and we wore the scanty outfits, his in metallic green. Puran looked good. I stared at his chest where the robe laid open. I think he was looking at the gold trim on my blue robe. Or maybe the blue got him. His mouth sagged open. I waited for him to drool then remembered how dry Zheien mouths are. “Let’s go, Love. Remember to call me Kishan. You’re Purapu, in this crazy dream. I’ll watch over your honor. Okay?”

His green eyes looked up at me, a little droopy. “Okay.”

I fed him a little bite of amta. Suddenly, he perked up, and walked with me. Gary, Olfie, and Ka walked with us.

As we passed outside of the arch, a cold wind blew. I remembered how hot I was when we first came to Riyhupur. Now I worried that Puran would collapse from the cold! But, he walked with his arms out. “Purapu has cold skin. I will let the wind chill me.”

His legs also bowed out a little, in a way a human couldn’t do, so more wind hit them. I looked up at his face. Fed him another bite of amta, ‘cause he kept looking tired. But, he smiled at me. Didn’t take long for us to reach the green house.

Nis greeted us. A snake in a metallic green robe. His leering smile got bigger as he looked me up and down. “Purapu, your temple awaits. Shed your clothes! Would you like fostok?”

Men sent the Thordes away.

I undressed him, down to his aandat, which wasn’t like being naked. It was brittle and gray around his neck, but covered him like a yellow ballet dancer’s outfit with short arms and legs. The original color, only left in the middle of his chest in a thin line, was pale green. Aandats protect them against space germs. If it dies, he dies. “Here is Kishan. Only she has fostok to satisfy me. Only she has the meat I crave. Let her serve me, and I will hear your demands.” I made him speak. He let me, and quite easily. That surprised me.

Nis sat in a chair. Nearly broke it. “You are Purapu! I will obey. I will bring you anything you want!”

Puran smiled. “All I wish is for Kishan to touch me. Let us go to my green place.”

“Your temple.”

“I wish to call it a green place. Dare you to defy me?” He slapped Nis’ face, and smiled. I didn’t get him to do that!

He rose from the floor. “Yes, Purapu. Your green place. I will tell the priests—”

“Make all the priests to stay far from me! Their ineptitude made me unwell on my last visit. They did not bring Kishan to me. Only Kishan is the Rising Star!” With a smooth motion, he pulled me against him and kissed me. Bellsongs played on my skin. So absorbing were they, we forgot Nis’ presence. They laughed, too.

He touched Puran’s arm. Frowned. “Why are you not cold, and moist?”

Puran laughed. “I am warmed by my love for Kishan. Is not any man’s heart a furnace when touched by beauty?” Again, he played the part without any help from me.

I sighed, and he embraced me. Another kiss, and his mind reached for me.

Not yet, Puran. Don’t lose it yet. I can’t get pregnant now.

He laughed. Then, we danced in circles to the green place.

People watched us, openmouthed. I kissed him and bellsongs played. I pushed him down on one of the sin benches. Laid on top of him. With a sigh, he slept. I didn’t expect that!

“Where is his fostok?”

“Oh, I have it.” I raised a flask as Puran opened his eyes. Smiled up at me. I felt guilty for this act. But, I showed the blue to everyone present. Then poured it into his eager mouth. His mouth fell open. His eyes sank into his head. Quickly, I sent healing through his cheeks. “Siar,” he whispered.

“Kishan, my love. Call me Kishan when we’re drunk. I’m drunk, you know.”

He whispered my Kishan name again. Again, until he passed out.

I kept lying on top of him. Drank some of my perfumed water and pretended to pass out too, for a while. His heartbeat got irregular. I worried. Occasionally, I sent healing into him and it smoothed out. Then it got shaky again. The triple beats sometimes made double beats, in time and rhythm to mine. Scary. His body’s trying to match my heartbeats.

People made love next to us. I tried to ignore it. Finally, I raised up, and drank the rest of my flask of blue water with perfume in it. Edemari flavored it with bei-amta so it tasted good to me. “You dare to have happiness while Purapu sleeps! Begone, all of you!”

They scrambled to their feet, hastily grabbed robes, and ran out, barefooted. I laughed and pretended to pass out again on top of Puran.

He got cold fast. I was afraid I couldn’t wake him up easily. Worse, I hadn’t been sleeping well, and I was drowsy. I fell asleep.