“What?” Kat asked again, this time from behind Dykan’s back.
“I don’t want to speculate, but I believe they want to use you as bait,” Mitha replied.
Kat frowned. “Me? Why?”
Dykan shook his head. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Captain, she is a human/Cassidi hybrid,” she heard Sly say. “The Zzjitzzeëns would give two of their three balls to get their hands on a human/Cassidi sex slave. She is our way in.”
Kat blinked. Had she heard Sly correctly? And she didn’t mean the testicles bit. That she would just ignore. Instead, she focused on the human/Cassidi sex slave comment. She didn’t know if she should feel offended or flattered that he considered her sex slave material. Offended, she decided. Definitely offended.
“No. I will not have her near those Zzjitzzeëns,” Dykan growled.
“He’s right, Kat.” For the first time ever, her brother agreed with Dykan. Hell must be freezing over. “We can’t let you go on that Zzjitzzeën ship. You’re not a warrior.”
Kat placed her hands on her hips. “Hey, big guy, don’t I have a say in this?” she said to Dykan’s back.
“No,” Dykan answered without turning around.
Kat tilted her body to look past Dykan toward the three Makaen sitting in front of the viewscreen. “Why do you think they would even want me?”
Now Dykan did turn around. He looked down as if he was reprimanding her.
“That doesn’t matter, because it’s not happening.”
She glared up at him defiantly. “You’re the captain, and I know I promised to follow your orders, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have my own opinion. I want to make the decision whether to help or not for myself. And for that, I need to hear your crew out. So move aside or I’ll climb over you. Your choice.”
“I would take her seriously, Captain,” Lirid warned. “She never makes idle threats, and she fights dirty. Especially when you have long hair. After being on the receiving end many times, I know.”
“You heard him,” Kat said with a straight face, trying not to laugh at her brother’s comment. “So, what’s it going to be?”
Dykan blew out a breath and slid his claws through his hair. Reluctantly, he moved aside and Kat stepped in front of him.
“Good. Now, why do you think the Zzjitzzeëns would even be interested in me? I’m no one special.” Kat thought of the colorful Cassidi women and how plain she looked in comparison.
Selvin cocked his head. “Oh, you are mistaken about that. Do you know how many female Cassidi/human hybrids exist?”
Kat shrugged. “As far as I know, I’m the only one on Cassidiri. Maybe there are a few on Earth, but I can’t be sure. I haven’t met any.”
“That alone makes you a collector’s item,” Selvin stated. “And a collector’s item means credits. Lots of credits.”
A collector’s item? That sounded even worse than being a great fuck. If this was the way men saw women, then there was something terribly wrong in this universe.
“Yay me,” Kat snorted, waving her hands in front of her, “and I’m also in pristine condition. Just a pity someone took me out of the box to play with me.”
“I don’t follow,” Selvin said with a confused look.
Kat sighed. “Never mind. It’s not important, just an Earth thing. Please continue.”
“As I said, you are special because there are not many like you. But what makes you even more special, and therefore coveted, is the combination of both species.”
“Why?” Kat drew out the word, lifting up one eyebrow.
“Well, there are some general preconceptions about Cassidi and human females.”
“Yes, I know. Cassidi women are supposed to be sensual and open-minded lovers. Not all are, but that’s how preconceptions work.”
“That’s the nice version. In the sex slave business, things are expressed somewhat more…scurrilously. Keep in mind that in that industry, females aren’t exactly appreciated for their intellect.”
Kat found the fact that there even was a sex slave business appalling, so she wasn’t too keen to hear what Selvin was going to tell next. After all, she could never unhear it, but there was no way back now. She had to take the rough with the smooth.
“Okay, what’s said about Cassidi women?”
“It is believed that Cassidi females are obedient and submissive nymphomaniacs who need fucking like others need oxygen.”
“What?” Kat did a double take. “That’s ridiculous.”
Lirid snicker-snorted. “Obedient and submissive? Kat? She must have missed that memo.” He winked and elbowed Mitha.
She gave her brother a dirty look. “Zip it, doofus, not funny.”
Then she turned her gaze back to Selvin. “And we are certainly not nymphos.”
“Could have fooled me,” Boda grumbled. “My quarters are next to the captain’s and the walls aren’t that thick. You don’t seem to get enough of it.”
Kat felt a blush spread from cheek to cheek. Ashamed, she slapped her hands to her face, peeking through her fingers at the three Makaen in front of her. This time it was Dykan who gave Boda a dirty look. And a growl. And some fang showing.
“Okay, let’s move on. Please,” Kat said, lowering her hands and taking in a deep breath. “I really don’t want to know, but I’m going to ask anyway: what is said about human women?”
Selvin gazed at Dykan uncomfortably.
“Well…um…it is said that…um…” Selvin stammered.
“That human females have tight wet cunts,” Boda blurted out with a stoic look on his face.
Bang! Kat’s jaw dropped. For a moment she was too dumbfounded to speak.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she yelled out when she found her voice again. “Are there really men who believe that women are only defined by that? This is disturbing in so many ways.”
“No, we’re not kidding,” Selvin answered. “Some alien races, like the Zzjitzzeëns, don’t consider females to be beings with thoughts and emotions. To them, females only exist to pleasure males and bear children. In their eyes”—he pointed to the Zzjitzzeën ship on the viewscreen—“you are the perfect combination of an obedient female who likes to be taken as many times as possible and one who always has a—”
“Tight wet cunt,” Boda added.
Kat grunted and pinched her nose, trying to ignore Boda and his one-track mind.
“So, Selvin, what does that mean for our situation?”
Selvin looked at Dykan, who just stood there stoically, then turned his gaze back to Kat.
“We need to get on that ship to hack the computer. For that, the Zzjitzzeëns have to invite us on board. And for that, they have to see something priceless. Something they can make a big profit from. You.” He pointed at her. “We just have to make sure they get to see what they would expect to see.”
“So, you want me to confirm their biases and act as if I’m a nympho.”
“With a w—” Boda started, but Kat cut him off midsentence, making a chopping gesture with her hands.