“I know,” I say, not wanting to hear her say the wordhuman. “But what if she's right? What if the Sovereigns are making me into their plaything and then they are going to sell me like they did to Denise?"
“They’re not. If you weren’t from Earth, people would think they were grooming you to be their wife.”
Those words stop me dead in my tracks.
Lira turns. “You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t know. How… When… What? I don’t understand. I feel publicly humiliated most of the time.”
Lira takes my arm, and I begin walking forward with her again. “This isn’t something to discuss openly. And try not to think about it. As much as the three of you like each other, it’s impossible for you to be together. Eve, you will always be their employee. But that should be enough.”
I look her in the eyes, questioning her last statement.
“It’s enough for me, so I hope it will be enough for you too. I will never marry. Not here. No one will ever have a woman who has chosen to work off-planet. And for you, well, you’re human. But this is a good job, and I’m happy to work alongside you for years to come. And I mean that.”
“But what do I do now… you just told me…”
“I shouldn’t have. Try to forget it. And if you can’t, we can talk about it later in private. But knowing or not knowing changes nothing. The Sovereigns are complicated men. Everyone knows that. What they’re doing with you…well, any one of us would trade places with you in a second to see where this ends, for better or for worse.”
“How bad is worse?”
“Maybe eternal heartbreak or even death. The Sovereigns are not men to be trifled with. But you had no choice. They never gave you one. Try not to think about it, Eve.”
"I like the way they make me feel," I admit. "Even though they own this place where humans are slaves and humans will die in that arena.” I point towards where the Grand Championships will take place. “And despite never having a a choice, I would still choose to be with them. And I worry about what that makes me.”
"That makes you a woman. They’re attractive and powerful men, and they didn’t make the laws in the galaxy. And for what it’s worth, they don’t personally own a human companion."
I resist saying,not yet.
It’s still Second Chime when I discreetly open the transfer window at my terminal without resistance.
The files are, coincidently, exactly what Terra Ka asked for—arrival windows, trainer assignments, holding locations, internal access routes. I don’t alter the numbers or corrupt the logs. I only remove one thing. The custody transfer timing.
Not the locations or the names. Thehand-off intervals—the minutes when responsibility shifts between security teams, when no one is officially accountable for a human being.
Without those windows, Terra Ka will know where the humans are, but not when they are most vulnerable. They’ll plan fast extractions instead of precise ones. They will read this and see confirmation. Proof that the Sovereigns are careless.
The Sovereigns will see the same packet on their end and recognize the signature they expect. A controlled leakage. A betrayal that behaves itself.
Neither of them will notice what I didn’t send, that I removed the only piece of information that decides whether people vanish without a trace or bleed out in public.
I haven’t lied. I have just decided which factsare allowed to arrive together.
I take a deep breath as the upload completes. I wipe my hands on my trousers even though theyaren’t dirty.
Whatever happens next, no one will be able to say I acted blindly.
My shift is almost over. But before it ends, I receive a message, but it’s not from Terra Ka or the Sovereigns.
A wave of anger washes over me. I’m going to be humiliated in front of everyone. Of course, they know about the fight.
Lira interrupts my thoughts. "Want to walk to High Table together?"
"Yes," I say, then add, "I'm to be made an example of."
"Whatever happens, remember most people will think Rae deserved it. And don’t worry about being naked. Humans are considered good-looking, and remember you’re considered one star in the galaxy."
I know she’s trying to make me feel better, I’ve seen most of my colleagues naked now for one mistake or another, but for it to happen to me makes me nervous. So nervous I can’t answer her. I’m terrified of how badly this punishment is going to hurt.
