I was getting one match and his BFF. I could deal with that. I nodded.
She swiped her finger over the tablet. “As I said, your Prillon warrior is living on The Colony. That is where you will transport as soon as the testing is complete.”
My eyes widened. “My testing isn’t complete? Do I have to do that dream thing again?”
“No. I have a few standard questions to ask, and then we will send you on your way.” Warden Bisset looked to Warden Egara for approval, and the other woman nodded.
“Yes. Perfect. Proceed.”
“This place, The Colony? What’s it like?” I wondered.
Warden Bisset glanced at her tablet and began to read. “The Colony is made of eight sector bases ranging in population from several hundred to several thousand. Residents of each base elect their own governor. The governor of your base, Base 3, is Governor Maxim Rone, a Prillon warrior. At this time Base 3 has seven hundred eighty-three Prillon warriors, twenty-seven Atlans, and three hundred and four fighters from the various other Coalition planets.”
No. That wasn’t what I meant. “Please, stop. I meant, what is the planet like? Actually, not the planet. If I’m going to Base 3, is it like Earth?”
Warden Bisset tilted her head and flipped her fingers over some images, turning the screen to face me. What I saw looked like Utah, or worse, Arizona. Red. Dry. Nothing but desert and rocks. Zero water.
“Obviously I have not been there, so my geography for that planet is minimal. According to this report, that area is arid. Barren. Desertlike. Rocky. The atmosphere will not sustain human life for long, so you will be required to remain within the base structure unless you wear protective gear.”
Was this for real? “Any oceans on the planet? Anywhere?”
“None according to this report.”
I was going to a place with no ocean, where I couldn’t even go outside without wearing a special space suit? “God is punishing me twice,” I mumbled to myself. It was one thing to be trapped in a seven-by-ten-foot concrete cell for the next ten years, unable to touch water more than from a sink or shower, but to go to a planet where there was none? No chance to surf or swim, to see fish again?
“Can I change my mind?” Ten years wasn’t that long? Right?
But then what? I’d get out, but I’d be a convicted felon. I would be so out of touch with the industry I wouldn’t be able to get another job, despite the fact that I’d worked my ass off to get my master’s in environmental science at one of the top programs in the world. I had years of expertise and experience running impact studies, applying for grants. All of it would be for nothing. I’d be an ex-con. Nothing more.
I’d be ten years older and still alone. Always alone.
“For the record, state your name.” Warden Bisset hadn’t answered my question.
The memories of the dream rushed over me. The gentle touches from my mates. The feeling of contentment and belonging. Of home. The orgasm. The blinding pleasure.
I had to go. I’d figure things out after I got there. They were offering me a happily ever after with two alien warriors who would respect and adore me. Right? Who would make love to me like I was their dream woman. Who would never cheat on me or leave me. I’d be a damn fool to turn that down.
“Mikki Tanaka.” It was starting to sink in that this was real. That I was choosing space over Earth. Choosing a barren, desertlike planet over a jail term. I didn’t think I could make it ten years without freedom. Would I have it on The Colony with two bossy Prillons?
“Do you have any biological offspring or children for which you are legally responsible?”
“What?” My mind was adrift, thinking about those two aliens and what they’d done to me—her. “No. I don’t have kids.”
“Are you currently married?”
“No.”
“I am required to inform you, Miss Tanaka, that you have thirty days to accept or reject the mate chosen for you by our matching protocols. Remember, there is no returning to Earth. Once you accept the match, you will relinquish your citizenship to Earth and become a citizen of Prillon Prime, subject to their laws and regulations. If you are not satisfied with the match, you may request a new primary mate within thirty days. You may continue this process until you find a mate who is acceptable.”
She swiped the tablet a few more times.
“Your prison sentence is reduced to time served in exchange for your new bride status. As of this moment, you are no longer a citizen of Earth but of Prillon Prime. Do you understand everything I’ve said?”
“I do,” I replied, my voice lacking all the usual intensity.
Holy shit, this was happening. I was going to space. Leaving everything I knew behind. No more ocean. No more fish, whales, waves. No more surfing.
The chair slid backward into an opening in the wall I hadn’t even noticed before. Soft blue light engulfed me.
The older warden, Warden Egara, who had been watching and nodding in approval as though Warden Bisset was doing everything right, moved out of the way as the younger woman came to stand beside the opening. “Please remain still for any preparation or body modifications that might be required prior to transfer.”
“What?” I began to fight the restraints.
“Ms. Tanaka, please do not resist. You will only hurt yourself.”
“Resist what? What body modifications? Aren’t two mates enough? Two bossy mates?”
“Your testing pulled your deepest desires and wants from your subconscious.”
“Those weren’t my deepest desires!”
Warden Bisset looked over her shoulder with a helpless smile, and Warden Egara came forward and placed a hand on my forearm, the action oddly calming.
“Weren’t they?” she asked. She gave me a soft smile. “Sometimes it is extremely difficult for women as strong as you are to find a mate dominant enough to handle your… umm… needs. Two Prillon warriors as mates will be perfect for you.” She gave a little laugh and looked down at her tablet. “Well, ninety-eight percent perfect.”
A large needle came out of the wall on a long, metallic arm, and I tried to avoid it until Warden Egara squeezed her hand hard enough that I looked up at her.
The needle stung as it entered my skin, behind the base of my ear, but the process was over as fast as a flu shot.
“We have implanted a very small device into your temporal bone. The device is no larger than a grain of rice. It is called an NPU, or Neural Processing Unit. The device will allow you to understand all languages. Do not be afraid. When you wake, Mikki Tanaka, you will be on The Colony and your mate will be waiting for you.”
“Wait!” I called, but the warden just smiled like everything was right as rain and the chair was lowered into a warm, blue bath. My thoughts quieted, but I fought the lethargy stealing over me,
