Xia Phar had a good life for a human on Saer’kah. She didn’t wear a restriction band and the Saer’khi family that had raised her since the Migration treated her like one of their own. Others humans on Saer’kah though had no reason to love the Saer’khi . At least Xia had some semblance of freedom. So when the humans decide to rebel against the Saer’khi and she discovers the real reason for the presence of humans and other aliens on Saer’kah Xia decides to take action. Enlisting the help of her family and her friend Tarek she forms a plan to get everyone out of the alien barracks without arousing suspicion and get them off Saer’kah on one of the newly built colony ships. Sounds pretty easy right? Now Tarek’s crush on her is the least of her problems and leaving Saer’kah is just the beginning.     Twice Removed Chapter 1 To Bee or not to Bee By Amethyst

It was over six years since I emerged from the medical tube and almost eight years since I was brought to Saer’kah in that first Migration. A lot can change in eight years; people most of all, and often in the most unexpected ways. I was no different and the past eight years had changed me more than I cared to admit, but there was so much good that had come that I was willing to take the bad along with it. I had gotten used to being female, even loved it, although I still had some issues relating with other humans, and human males in particular. Despite that and the fact that I still looked sixteen I was pretty happy with my lot in life. I guess I had grown up a bit too, all evidence to the contrary, and had lost a good deal of my fatalistic attitude. Still, I often wondered if I could even be considered human anymore. I probably wasn’t alone in that and I imagined that humans with obvious cybernetic parts often felt the same way. At least I was lucky enough to be able to hide my differences.

A group of Saer bee drones flew by with a loud buzzing of their wings on the way to some task or another. I was reminded of my own task and quickly shook off those thoughts, wiped the perspiration from my brow, and continued filling the two containers I had brought with honey. I only occasionally took a taste, for quality assurance purposes of course. It was a hot summer day on Saer’kah’s southwest continent and it was only moderately cooler in the hives. I quickly finished filling the containers and hauled them outside to the mag-transport with the others I had filled earlier, and once I was certain that they were secure I got into the cockpit. The air grew noticeably cooler as the cockpit hatch closed and I breathed a sigh of relief before starting the transport and heading back to Torah.

Torah is Saer’kah’s capitol city and like most Saer’khi cities it was built close to the hives of the Saer bees that they had evolved from. Saer bees are on average the size of golden retrievers and produce the honey that is one of the planet’s largest staples. Those are some pretty big bees right? Well everything on Saer’kah is big. Almost the entire planet is tropical and covered with jungles of massive flowering plants, and hiding in those jungles are all manner of nasty predators; flying reptiles, thirty foot long poisonous snakes, large creatures with tusks and spikes that are some kind of cross between mammal and reptile, and don’t even get me started on the spiders.

The trip back to the city didn’t take long and soon I was landing at the alien barracks. I quickly adjusted my goggles and the large improvised bandana that covered my antennae and what hair that wasn’t hidden beneath my robe. Then I stepped out of the cockpit to adjust my robe. The loose calf-length hooded robe was of the same type favored by the Saer’khi, though mine had some notable differences; it was form fitting with only sleeves enough for two arms, no slits in the back for my wings which were kept under my hair and held firmly against my bare back, and pale blue rather than white. It was light but offered little relief in the afternoon sun and I couldn’t wait to return home for the day.

Humans lived in the alien barracks with the other species that the Saer’khi had brought to their world. They sleep in the barracks, eat in the barracks, and if their work for the day was cooking or sewing or the like, they did that in the barracks as well where it was cooler. They only left the barracks if they were gathering fruit, butchering meat, or working on components for the starships the Saer’khi were constructing, and even then they were only allowed in a small area of the city. This was enforced through the use of the restriction bands all aliens wore on their ankles. The devices were magnetically coded to the barracks, and the orchard and work yards alongside, to physically prevent anyone wearing one from leaving that area. The restriction band is slim and form fitting and can usually be hidden under pant legs, socks, boots, or the like. I always wore boots to hide my lack of one.

The Saer’khi had spread us out across all of the cities on Saer’kah so that the resources of any one city weren’t pushed too far and Torah’s barracks could house up to a thousand people. It was mid-afternoon though and most people, human and alien alike, were hard at work so the barracks courtyard was quiet. I was glad it was quiet; I just wanted to hand the honey off to the people working in the kitchen and be on my way. I took two of the containers and headed to the kitchen where the smell of baking bread greeted me and close to two dozen people were working on the evening meal. I didn’t know any of them very well but Sarah, but then I usually kept to myself so that wasn’t surprising.

I placed the first two containers of honey on the table and smiled at the undisputed head of the kitchen. When we had left the research lab the Saer’khi had sent Sarah here to the barracks and put her to work doing what she does best, making good food. “Hi Sarah, I have a delivery for you.”

“Xia!” she replied with a smile as she looked up from the bread dough she was pounding. She was wearing a lavender sundress and seemed to be in her usual chipper mood. “It’s good to see you; we were running out of honey. Thanks for bringing this by.”

“We all have our jobs here, this is one of mine for now,” I said with a shrug.

“Well let’s hurry up and get you unloaded. You don’t need Jake coming on to you again or trying to pull you into whatever trouble he and his father are cooking up.“ Jake is the sixteen year old son of Jared Olsen. They arrived on one of the final Migration ships last year and nobody knows for sure why they were shipped off Earth but it was probably for causing trouble. The final ships had been for any remaining troublesome medical cases and people who wished to leave Earth for various reasons. Some countries on Earth had been known to send some of their minor criminals and troublemakers on those last ships to be rid of them.

“They’re up to something are they?” I asked. I had heard bad things about the pair of them from Sarah and some of the others from the first ships that I spoke with sometimes and I had met Jake for the first time recently. It wasn’t an experience I cared to repeat.

Sarah nodded solemnly. “The rumor is that they are trying to convince all the humans here that we ‘slaves’ should rise up against our ‘alien oppressors’. They haven’t been trying many of us from the first ships but since nobody sees you around much, most people here think you’re from one of the last ships, so they might come calling for you.”

I groaned at that bit of information. “Great, that’s just what I need, people taking an interest in me. Surely those idiots can’t get that much support.”

The chef shrugged as she stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Not from those of us in the first Migration ships. Most of us were severe medical cases or family members of one. We’re grateful for what the Saer’khi have given back to us and it’s not like they mistreat us. But those in the second and third Migrations weren’t as severe or left Earth for other reasons. They also haven’t had as much time with the Saer’khi and other aliens as we have and many of them are a bit xenophobic.”

“So what you’re saying is that even morons could convince the more recent arrivals of something they’re inclined to believe anyway.”

She nodded once again. “Be careful around them, they are gathering quite a bit of support. I’m afraid that things could get violent soon. And if they can’t get at the Saer’khi they might just go after whatever aliens, or other’s with visible differences, that are within reach.”

“If that happens you make sure to get yourself and any aliens or people with obvious cybernetic parts somewhere safe until help can arrive,” I responded quietly.

“I’m way ahead of you,” she replied after another quick look around. “I’ve been quietly talking to them and we’ve got an emergency plan in place. I just thought you should know what’s going on since you don’t live here at the barracks. Once Jake and company realize that you’re not just hiding somewhere in the barracks away from everyone else when you’re not working, you could be a target too.”

“It might help things if you give people the impression that I slip in here quietly for my meals when nobody else is around and would rather find quiet places outside to sleep rather than with other people. Tell them I don’t like people much,” I whispered.

“I’ve already been doing that, why do you think nobody has bothered you so far about it. Jake only bothered you because he thinks you’re a cute girl his age and probably wants what all teenage boys want from attractive teenage girls.” She rolled her eyes as she said the last.

I shuddered theatrically. “And that is why I usually avoid teenage boys. If I see anyone other than you or other firsts I’ll try my best to be less sociable.”

“You can be less sociable? I didn’t think that was possible,” Sarah said with a quiet chuckle.

“Hey, I’m sociable with you,” I objected.

“Only because I give you sweets,” she teased. “Now let’s get all that honey in here so you can get going before the others finish their assigned duties for the day.”

I worked quickly and brought all but two of the remaining containers into the kitchen. As I placed the last of the honey for the barracks on the counter I said, “I’ll see you later Sarah, I need to get going.”

The older woman handed me a package wrapped in thermal paper. “Here Xia, take a loaf of my honey bread with you. It’s fresh out of the oven and I know what a sweet tooth you have.”

“Thanks Sarah, you’re the best,” I responded with a grin as I hugged her and took the package. “I’ll see you next week.” With my prize in hand I headed back outside to the sounds of humans and aliens returning from their tasks for the day. When I arrived back at the mag-transport a familiar figure nearly the same height as me with short black hair was there leaning against the door. He was wearing jeans, a worn t-shirt and a pair of sneakers that looked like they had seen better days. If there was one thing I envied other humans for it was that most of them weren’t hospitalized for a good portion of their lives and had been able to bring clothes from Earth that fit them properly. I would have loved to have a pair of sneakers. “Damn,” I cursed as I approached.

“Hi there sexy,” Jake said with a smarmy grin, “I haven’t seen you around much.”

“How lucky for me,” I retorted as I placed the bread in the storage compartment with the two containers of honey for home. I could practically feel Jake’s eyes roaming over me, stupid teenage boys and their hormones. I shuddered at the thought and hoped that his eyes wouldn’t linger too long or find anything out of place. After a very long moment I decided to hurry things along. “Look Jake, I need to get in that cockpit so the transport can take me to my last delivery, it’s too hot to stand out here being ogled.”

Jake didn’t take the hint, he just continued to grin and stare at my chest. “Speaking of hot, you are totally redzone.”

“My eyes are up here,” I reminded him with a sigh. “I’ll give you a hint; they’re the things with the goggles on them."

”You’d probably look better without those goggles,” he replied as he tore his eyes away from my chest to look at the eye-wear in question and reached toward my face.

I quickly slapped his hand away. “The goggles stay on, they help me to see better.” It wasn’t a complete lie, they were tinted to let me see better in bright light and had a several different vision modes; infrared, night vision, x-ray, magnetic resonance, and zoom. To try to sell the story about my unsociable behavior I reluctantly added, “I would like to get going so I can finish my deliveries, eat something, and find a cozy place to sleep tonight.”

“I can think of the perfect place for you to sleep. There’s plenty of room on my cot for two,” he suggested.

I just knew the creep was going to say that. I mentally threw up as I responded, “I’d rather sleep in the cold vacuum of space.”

“Come on; don’t be so cold, I just want to get to know you better. We slaves have to stick together right?” He paused as he took a cautious look around. “Speaking of that, me and my dad are holding a meeting in the dining area tomorrow night after dinner for other humans who want to shake off our chains of oppression. We figure that if we can manage to get free maybe we can steal one of those ships they’re having us build parts for. You interested?”

“Sorry, my alien overlord doesn’t let me go to parties,” I answered sarcastically. “But why just humans? Why not some of the other races?”

“If the aliens want off this rock they can find their own way,” he snapped before adding, “They probably wouldn’t understand us anyway.”

I rolled my eyes as I removed my earpiece and displayed it. “That’s what these are for. They are programmed with all of the same languages as the Saer’khi’s voice boxes so that we can all understand one another.” I placed the device back in my ear as I glared at him.

“Aliens can’t be trusted,” he insisted. “So are you in or not?”

“Like humans are any better. Look Jake, I’ve had a long day and the only thing I want in right now is that transport, so if you could move I would really appreciate it.”

“Fine, just think about it, okay? Remember that we humans need to stick together. Some of the people from the first ships who have been here a while might be content the way things are, but we’re all slaves. They brought us here to work for them and we can’t leave because of these slave bands they put on us. You know where to find me if you change your mind.” He sauntered past me to the barracks and at last I was free to go home for the day. I grumbled to myself as I climbed into the cockpit. Sometimes I really can’t stand being around other humans, especially ones like Jake. But as much as I disliked Jake’s attitude I couldn’t help being somewhat understanding about their predicament and it left me feeling conflicted as I made my way home.

I was still on edge when I landed the transport at home. You know how I said that humans live in the alien barracks? Well I was a special case. I didn’t have to wear a restriction band on my ankle and I lived with my family. Khella Phar had taken a special interest in me for several reasons and I was treated as a member of her own family, heck genetically I was a member of her family. She had taught me to use my mental abilities and for the past six years had been teaching medicine to both myself and her older daughter Krie. Despite not being human they were the closest thing I had to a real family since the Great Quake, though Saer’khi family dynamics are different than those of humans.

Saer’khi females often have up to six husbands who are subservient to them after becoming permanently mind-linked to them through a ritual called Dhur-tal. Since the Saer’khi communicate telepathically they can always hear one another’s surface thoughts, but during Dhur-tal the male offers access to his deepest innermost thoughts as proof of his love, devotion, and obedience. Once the ritual is complete males are bonded to the female for life and take on the family name of their new wife.

Mom has three mates; Dhee, Lonin, and Hased. When I got inside, laden with honey and my treat from Sarah, all four of them were relaxing in the family room with Krie, Janik, and Shappu. Getting used to having three dads was confusing at first but they were all very welcoming and I had bonded with each of them in a way; Dhee had taught me to pilot the mag-transports, Lonin had taught me about the dangers in the jungle and had taken me honey gathering my first time, and Hased was an excellent cook who taught me Saer’khi recipes and wanted to learn all I could teach him about Chinese and other Earth cuisine.

I had also developed a good relationship with my new siblings. When I left the research lab and was brought to live with them Janik was eight and Shappu was four. I taught them to play soccer and baseball and tried to be the best older sister I could be to the pair. Krie was a year older than me and was very much the big sister I had always wanted, though she tended to be a little over protective at times. For the past six years we had been learning medicine together and she helped Mom teach me to hone my mental abilities and become fluent in the Saer’khi language. We spent a lot of time together, we had similar interests, and we could tell one another anything.

Janik was quick to get up from where he was seated and take the containers of honey to put away in the kitchen, leaving me only with my treat from Sarah. He smiled at me as his mental voice offered, *I’ll put those away for you Xia. Tarek came by earlier, he had some news he wanted to share with you.*

*Tarek always wants to share something with Xia,* Shappu teased.

One of the hardest things to get used to with my new family was using mind speech for everything. At first it helped me hone my abilities quicker but it took so long to get used to especially at first when I was still learning their language. Saer’khi only use their voice boxes to communicate with species who rely on spoken languages. Their own culture only has a written language and its mental counterpart, as they lack the vocal chords for a spoken one. Amongst themselves they only use mind speech and so they always know what one another’s surface thoughts are. Communicating mind to mind is so much more personal and honest than mere spoken words can possibly be, but it was hard to understand at first.

I had tried to explain the various nuances of spoken languages but my family still had some trouble with it and often found it confusing and cumbersome. The same problems were reflected in my telepathic communication from time to time, giving me a sort of mental accent that sometimes made me hard to understand. When Mom had first tried contacting me telepathically it was confusing for both of us because we weren’t thinking in the same language. Over time though, with constant exposure, I learned to think in Saer’khi as well as my native English and Mandarin and to separate the three so mind speech became easier. Although I still used mental words that were confusing sometimes, overall I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on the language of my adopted family. *Very funny,* I sent back to Shappu.

*Yes it was,* my little brother replied with a grin.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. *Remember what I taught you about sarcasm? That was it. I’m going to go next door and see what Tarek’s news is, I’ll be back before dinner.* It’s true I could have just sent out my thoughts to contact Tarek but it’s considered rude to intrude on somebody’s thoughts unless you can see them in casual conversation range or send out a ping first. I call it a ping but it’s one of those social things that really has no name, it’s just done. It’s basically just a short mental push that tells the other person that you wish to speak with them but can’t do so face to face. It’s kind of like the phone ringing and you have to wait for the person on the other end to pick up before you start talking.

Once I was back outside I walked along the garden path between our two homes, pausing only briefly to breathe in the aroma of flowers, before approaching the door and waving my hand in front of the motion sensor which would announce my presence to those inside. I could feel the happy bubbling of Tarek’s surface thoughts before he even reached the door. Tarek was kind of an open book to me and was one of the first non-family friends I had made among the Saer’khi. He also had an obvious crush on me and it had gotten a little out of hand. That was one of the reasons that we hadn’t seen much of one another since he had started his lessons at the space academy. Deep down I secretly hoped that his good news was that he had met a Saer’khi girl at the academy and had taken a fancy to her.

I wasn’t that lucky. As soon as the door opened he beamed at me and wrapped me in a hug. *Tess’rha! I have the most wonderful news!*

*I told you not to call me that, especially where one of our moms can hear,* I sent privately and groaned as I hugged him back and took a quick look to make sure nobody else was within casual conversation range. *They do not need to be reminded of that.* The fact that he was my best friend made it very hard to chastise him but I didn’t want to give him false hope.

He suddenly looked like a puppy that had been sent out to the doghouse in the rain. *I’m sorry, I was just happy to see you; we’ve both been so busy lately. Don’t worry, my mother is off running diagnostics on the first of the completed ships and she has all of my fathers up there assisting her.*

I breathed a sigh of relief. *So what is the big news?*

*I passed my pilot exams!* he replied, his mind a swirl of joy.

*Congratulations Tarek, I’m happy for you.* I was happy for him. Ever since we had first met he had wanted to be a starship pilot, and seeing him realize that dream and feeling his joy in the back of my mind made me realize just how much I had missed my best friend while he was gone. Still, I couldn’t shake my anxiety.

I was trying to keep my pondering to the deeper recesses of my mind but of course he sensed my emotions. *What’s wrong Xia?*

*I made my honey delivery today,* I replied. *One of the other humans said some things.*

*You’re always upset when you have to be around other Earthlings. You come home feeling anxious, sad, scared, or angry. Sometimes you’re all of them at once.* He placed his hand on mine and paused. I could feel his nervousness and knew what he was going to say even as his thought entered my mind. *I could take you away from them all, somewhere where you could feel safe. I could get a ship and we could go somewhere else, just you and me.*

I sighed and shook my head. *It’s not about me this time Tarek. Well not only me,* I quickly amended. *Jake may be a world class jerk but he made some valid points. I’m half tempted to take your offer, but to get as many people as I can off Saer’kah with us.*

*I could pilot a ship but we would need authorization codes for the restriction bands, supplies, not to mention a ship big enough for more than two of us. Neither of us has the authority for that. You may be Ji’turi but the Council still sees you as a youngling.*

I let out another sigh as I nodded. *And that’s hardly going to change as long as I look as young as I do. You’re right; we would need help for all of that. Besides I wouldn’t want to just up and leave my family like that.* By mutual consensus we both laid back in the cool gel garden beds to think. The beds were like long beanbag chairs that conformed to the whole body. Unlike regular gel beds these ones were filled with a cooling gel to keep the person lying in them cool and comfortable in hot weather. As we laid there I absently unwrapped the thermal paper in my hands and broke the small loaf inside in half. *Sarah gave me some honey bread toady.* I passed half to Tarek as I started to nibble on the other half. Despite my mood the sweet taste brought a smile to my face.

Tarek was enjoying it as much as I was. *It’s been months since I’ve had this. I’ve missed Sarah’s baking almost as much as I’ve missed you.*

*I’ve missed you too,* I answered honestly. He was after all my best friend, next to my sister. As I nibbled at my treat I looked over the young Saer’khi man lying beside me. He had been eleven years old when we first met and I had included him in the games I had taught my brothers. For those first few years he was just the boy next door, but when he was fifteen we started to become much closer friends. I think that was when his crush on me started to develop. I had just focused on being his friend and hoped that the crush was a temporary thing. He was eighteen now and it seemed that not even six months away at the space academy had changed his feelings for me.

Tarek’s feelings might not have changed in the past six months, but his appearance had. His golden hair was now cut short, he had put on quite a bit of muscle since he had left, and he was a bit taller, though I still had him beat by a few inches. As Saer’khi went he had matured into a very handsome young man, not at all the scrawny long haired kid that I had first formed a friendship with. I looked away as I savored the last bite of my treat and brushed crumbs off my robe as if they were my scattered thoughts. I laid there for long moments trying to think of something else to say that wouldn’t either hurt him or give him false hope. Finally I said, *I need to go home for dinner, I’ll see you later.* Then I managed to extricate myself from the bed and fled across the garden to my front door, trying to leave the hurt in his mind behind me.

I would have flown off if my damn wings weren’t held in place by my form fitting human robe. One of the reasons I hated having to be around other humans was having to hide my wings and other Saer’khi attributes. Flying would have helped me relax and think about everything that was bothering me calmly, and it was one of the best things about being part Saer’khi. I had first learned to fly just so I could control my wings better and not have them start moving of their own volition at the wrong time but I quickly learned to love it. Up there, flying under your own power, is a freedom that most humans can never conceive of.

I jammed my thumb on the access pad and once the door was open I ran inside. I was half way up to the second floor by the time that the door had finished sliding closed. *Not hungry, need to think.* I quickly projected to the rest of the family as I made my way to my room. I stepped into the one place in the universe that I was able to relax and shut the door behind me. Then I removed my goggles and bandana, kicked off my boots, and took off my outer robe to let my wings get some air as I let myself sink face down into the comforting embrace of my gel bed to think.