Chapter 23

Another month went by before Casina realized there were H"San warriors tailing her. Although they tried to duck out of her sight, both failed miserably one afternoon. While on her way to the aviary, she had suddenly stopped to look behind her. The feeling that someone was watching her had been nagging her for some time. Only this was the first time she felt the need to actually stop and look around. When she spotted the Kaanig"s men, trying yet failing to hide discreetly behind a tall outdoor display near one of the shops sitting on the corner, just down from A"lam"s, she smirked. I should have

known.

Turning, she shook her head, satisfied that her instincts hadn"t failed her. Yet, although she wasn"t angry that Kaanig Altair had posted guards to keep an eye on her, it still bothered her that her every movement was probably being relayed back to him.

Ignoring their presence, she returned to work, mentally readying herself for a trying afternoon. A group of school children were expected and were to be given a select tour that would aid in their educational experience of native Jupitarian birds. She had been preparing for it for several days, hoping she had become as familiar with the aviary and its subjects as she needed. She had learned some Kathian terms, but she still needed T"nia to assist in translating during the tour. Although T"nia was quite able to carry on the tour herself, their employer insisted that Casina be allowed this, as practice for the patrons that were expected in a few days from Planet Vaalstra.

* * * *

It was past closing when Casina, weary from answering curious questions all afternoon, finally left work. T"nia had been a great help to her, but she still had a massive headache that tormented her all the way home. Once there, she ate a quick meal and headed straight for bed. Some time later, she was vaguely aware of someone sneaking into her room to check on her. It wasn"t until the next morning that she learned that the commander had come to see her. But he had soon left after finding her worn out and sleeping. He had ordered La"ara not to disturb her and had departed soon thereafter, saying only that he would return another time, when she wasn"t so tired. Disappointed that she had missed him, Casina hurried off to work, hoping she wouldn"t be asleep the next time he arrived. She missed him so much, it actually hurt.

"Mayatenta!" A"lam greeted her when she arrived the next morning. "Are you ready for today"s tour?"

Casina stopped in her tracks, not anxious for another headache to take home with her.

"Today?" she said. "The tour is...today?"

A"lam gave her a sympathetic look. "Yes. I"m afraid it is. Did you mix up the days?"

Casina nodded, believing him to be at fault here, and sadly lowered her head, never realizing how difficult her 'fun" job could be. Had she known, she wouldn"t have come in until well past noon.

A"lam came closer and put a comforting hand to her back, stooping to peer into her drooping face.

"Should I assign this task to T"nia?" he asked. "She is busy helping to unload the new stock at the dock, and then she must do inventory and catalogue all of it. But I suppose I could reassign her."

Casina"s head came up as guilt overcame her. She knew T"nia had a crush on one of the drivers of the transport unit who came every few weeks for delivery and would not want to prevent her from seeing him.

"Um, no...no," she replied. "I"ll do it. I just didn"t realize there would be back-to-back tours. I thought, from what I was told, that the Vaalstran tour would be in two solarities, not one. That means

I"ll be putting in a full day, so I"ll probably take tomorrow off, if that"s all right."

"Well, okay," A"lam said, although he didn"t seem too happy about that decision. "But what about the order you said you were going to post tomorrow?"

"I"m sorry. I, uh, I"ll get right on that." She hurried to get her smock from the stock room. "Um, who is going to translate for me?"

"S"tmpl," he said, although even his tone gave evidence of his displeasure with that idea. "He"s helping to unload, but he will be in time to begin the tour with you."

Casina paused as she considered spending the entire afternoon with the teenager, but she knew God would see her through it. She nodded, then followed A"lam to his office for her aviary brochures and touring notes.

"At least I"m learning more Kathian this way," she told her boss. "It really is a beautiful language. It flows smoothly and seems easy to learn."

"Yes yes," A"lam agreed, but already he had his nose buried deep in his account books and ledgers. He went to his v"d"mr and began pulling up his own work for the day. "Have a nice day, my lady. If you have any problems with S"tmpl, don"t be afraid to let me know."

"I will." With butterflies nervously fluttering around her stomach, she headed for the entrance foyer. The doors would open soon, and she wanted to be prepared for the trying day ahead of her.

* * * *

Fortunately, the day went swimmingly. Except for one man who ogled her throughout the entire tour and found every reason to stand close to Casina, to sniff her scent, or accidentally touch her wrist, her hip, or her lower back. He unnerved her so much, she kept looking more to S"tmpl to carry on the tour as she kept forgetting what she was supposed to say. S"tmpl didn"t seem to notice and clearly liked the chance to share what he knew about the birds. Having been an employee for two years, he was quite familiar with the aviary and its workings.

The Vaalstran man had short black hair, unlike most Kathians, had lighter skin, but similar dark eyes as the aliens Casina was familiar with. He was good looking, although nowhere near as gorgeous as the commander. Still, Casina sensed something evil about him and tried keeping her distance from him during the tour. No one else seemed to notice his unusual interest in Casina, too intent on learning about the fowl housed at the aviary.

During a short break, Casina fled to the refreshment room, only to find the Vaalstran man waiting for her just outside the door when she exited. When he saw her, he grinned mischievously, then daringly caught her to him and shoved her into a shadowed corner near the water fountain. Lowering his head, he nestled against her neck, his body intimately pressing against hers. Trembling in fear, Casina closed her eyes, uncertain as to what she should do. She had no knowledge of good manners on Vaalstra any more than she did on Konatha. Finally, when the man tried to kiss her, she used all of her strength to shove him away.

"Get away from me!" she snarled in English, all she could think to do, then squeezed past him. As she hurried back to the group, she heard him chortle behind her. She observed him following, his nonchalant attitude making her wonder if it was a game he was playing.

Totally unsettled now, she tried to compose herself. The man"s continued presence wasn"t making things easy for her, especially when his hand discreetly moved to his crotch so she could see his intent. Horrified, Casina turned the group"s direction to a different room, as she fought within herself to remain calm and collected on the outside.

Secretly, she felt near to tears and wished the commander was there to help her with this particular problem. S"tmpl remained ignorant of her plight and took every opportunity to assist her with the tour, actually seeming to prefer himself being in charge. Later, when the tour was over, it was to S"tmpl the gratitude was directed, more than her, since the patrons knew she was an ignorant Zarcon who didn"t seem to know what she was doing anyways.

Humiliated though she was, Casina remained gracious while thanking them for visiting their aviary and inviting them to come back, with S"tmpl"s help at translating. Then, once they began filing past them and out the door, Casina turned and hurried to remove her smock and return her notes and other items to the office. A"lam was getting ready to call it a day when she returned.

"How did everything go?" he asked her, mistaking her discomfiture for relief at the tour having ended.

"Um, o-okay," she managed, without facing him. She flushed the brochures into some order and placed them in the stock box, then moved to put her notes into her cubby behind the desk. "The Vaalstrans seemed very eager to learn and enjoyed the tour. S"tmpl was a great help to me today," she went on. "I hope you make note of that."

"He has his moments," A"lam said. She heard him get up from the desk. "Well, see you in the morning. I"m going out for evening sustenance with my mate. We"re supposed to meet her sil"pens at the Shal"ton."

Casina finally turned, forcing a smile. "Have a good evening."

When he had gone, Casina took a deep breath, smoothed out her clothes and hair, then picked up her data recorder, to check everything before locking up the aviary for the night. She was quick to notice that S"tmpl, T"nia, and the other employees who worked behind the scenes were already gone for the night. With Casina in charge of closing procedures now, following the tours, all were able to gratefully flee when the time came.

As Casina considered this, she felt sad that they all seemed to be taking advantage of her good nature and willingness to learn everything she could. For some reason, this made her feel even more alone than usual.

She locked the entrance doors, then pressed the buttons shading the windows. Check.

She moved methodically, procedurally throughout the aviary, saying her good nights to all of the birds she had come to love so much, particularly to Peecah, a gorgeous blue-and-pink-feathered creature, a native from the depths of a Rhenian rainforest, a pleasant reminder of the time she had spent with the commander in Sequestia. Peecah was her favorite and even spoke a few words to her now and then, sometimes in Kathian, sometimes in English. She prided herself on having taught her those special words, such as 'good night", 'good morning", 'watch out", and 'hiya". She hoped to teach her to say, "I love you," but felt a bit foolish when T"nia or some of the others were present.

Check, check, check. She dotted each box on her recorder, then lowered the lights in that part of the building.

"Night, Peecah," she crooned.

"Niiighhhttt, Peekkaa," the creature rasped, with its strange squawking noise.

Casina smiled at her then hurried to the stock room, then to the dock, to make sure everything was secured there, before moving back to the main corridor of the building. When everything was in order, she glanced at the time scan on the wall, realizing it was nearly half an hour past closing.

Sighing, she returned to the office, finalized her data, grabbed her personal effects, then made toward the refreshment area. She wanted to splash some cold water on her face and straighten her hair a bit before heading home. It always made her feel better, especially after having had such a trying day. But at least she didn"t have a headache as bad as the one she had had the day before.

She entered the ladies" room and put her effects on the sink, digging through her bag for a hair brush. Finding it, she lifted it and her gaze to the mirror, only to gasp in terror at sight of the Vaalstran stalker standing behind her. He had been hiding in one of the stalls, waiting for her. She turned, dropping her brush, aware now that she had never seen him leave the building. As it clattered to the floor, she made a mad dash for the door, only to have him race over to snag her by the hair. She gave a mild screech of pain, as he pulled her around. He slammed her up against the door, ignoring her protests as he plastered his lips to hers.

She gasped inwardly, frantic sounds emitting from her throat as his hands found their way to her breasts. Virginal fear overwhelmed her senses as she struggled against him, memories of Crater McConnell and Maxwell Turner returning with a vengeance.

Suddenly her knee came up and connected with the man"s groin. He groaned and released her, slumping over, long enough for her to escape.

She ran through the aviary, to the only exit she hadn"t secured. She heard the man"s footsteps behind her as she reached the door. The door whisked open, just as the man caught up with her. He grabbed her neck and yanked her back inside. She screamed then, as he gripped her arm to painfully force her to the floor. She could hear the birds making a raucous at the disturbance, from the other room, and wished for a moment they were able to help her.

She fought with all the strength she had, whimpering as the man fell atop her, licking her, kissing her, and running his hands over anything he could. Panicking, she kept her body in motion, trying to shake him off, her head rolling from side-to-side in an effort to avoid his disgusting mouth against hers. He held her hands to the floor, so she felt helpless and overpowered. She screamed and gave a loud cry, which he quickly stifled with his mouth over hers. Groaning with dismay, she tried angling herself out from beneath him, but it only gave him what he wanted. Her legs were now spread, with his knee between them.

His hand moved to touch parts of her that no one ever had. Then it slid to her waist, his hand moving to undo her belt. Even when the aliens had taken her from Earth, she couldn"t recall ever being as scared then as she was now.

But she didn"t give up. Still trying to buck him off, it only seemed to incense him. His lips returned to hers, and his breath was hot upon her face.

"No!" she growled, trying to bite him. "No!"

That was when the H"San found them. Having heard her screams, they had hurried to find their way into the building.

One immediately snatched the man from Casina and punched him in the face, temporarily subduing him. He quickly cuffed the man, then shoved him face down on the floor as they waited for more help to arrive. At Casina"s initial screams, their superior had been notified first thing.

The other H"San wasn"t sure what to do for Casina. She still lay trembling on the floor, with shaking hands covering her face as tears poured from her like a monsoon.

"Are you all right, my lady?" he finally asked, in English, lowering himself to one knee beside her, to touch her shoulder. After a moment, her hands dropped from her face, and she stared at her rescuers, mortified that they should see her like this.

"Do you need medical assistance?"

"N-No," she said, then cleared her throat. "No." The man helped her sit up, leaning her against the wall. She drew her knees to her chest and put her head to them, wrapping her arms about them. Sobs shook her slender frame. Knowing all they could do now was wait, the H"San removed himself and returned to the man lying dazed on the floor. The H"San decided to cuff his ankles, then they dragged him over to the wall, several feet away from where Casina sat.

That was how the commander found them when he arrived.