Skylar's Guardians (14 page)

“I don’t know how,” Skylar pouted.

“Hand it over,” Troy said, holding out his palm. “Stand next to the machine and let me get your measurements and make the adjustments.”

Skylar fidgeted with boredom as Troy proceeded with the programming. He placed the tiny jumper inside the cylinder and turned to the girl.

“Would you like a different color or material density?”

“I like purple best and super soft fabric.” She pouted some more, trying not to appear interested as he grabbed the bar and mentally directed the reproduction.

“Um,” Skylar said, holding the item that came out of the machine up to her body. “Is the machine broken?”

Tralec stifled a chuckle and Troy grunted. “Give me a chance to learn about your colors and fabrics. I am not a tailor.”

“Obviously. Can I try?”

“No. I do not want you using the machinery until you can learn to control your impulses,” Tralec said firmly.

“Please? What kind of damage can I cause? Especially after this, uh, endeavor.”

“It isn’t that bad,” Troy argued.

“Except that it is baby-shit yellow, the seams aren’t aligned, and the fabric feels like burlap. It is both ugly and uncomfortable. Sorry.”

“Okay, I admit that it is horrendous. Let her try. Maybe then she can see how hard this is.”

Tralec hesitated. “I do not want her to be comfortable with the control. If she is, she might attempt to use a shifter again.”

Skylar’s heart sank as she was reminded of her recent betrayal, intentional or not. She stared at the floor, shame causing her to blush.

“I will lock the shifters so she cannot touch them. She needs to learn to function in our world, and all our machinery is mind-activated. She might need to learn to feed herself and perform other chores that require a device. This is harmless.”

Tralec shook his head before waving his hand with permission. He crossed his arms as Skylar was called to Troy’s side and instructed in the basics of the device. She looked over at him with hesitancy.

“Go on, child. You can do it,” Tralec encouraged, with some reluctance evident in his voice.

Skylar sighed and placed her tiny hand on the flat plate that Troy extended from the unit.

“Focus, baby… the color and texture you want. Don’t get distracted by anything except this. When you are ready, press the plate with your right thumb and hold it until you hear the machine turn off. Don’t be afraid. The worst that can happen is your dress will be uglier than mine.”

Skylar closed her eyes, her mind straining to focus on the most beautiful color purple she had ever seen. She had been five years old and was walking through town with her grandmother. There had been a window display, showing off glittering jewels against a velvet background. The jewels had looked like snowflakes on the fabric, and she remembered having never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Except the stars outside the cruiser…
Focus!
Skylar scolded herself. That fabric looked like something royalty would wear, the iridescent hues glimmering under the overhead light. The velvet looked soft and warm, and she wanted to wrap her cold little body in it like a cocoon. Slowly, she pressed the trigger and held her breath.

“Is this what you wanted, baby?” Troy asked, pulling the dress out of the cylinder and holding it up to her.

“It’s perfect! I mean, the color and the fabric… I did it!” Skylar said excitedly, slipping the dress over her head.

“You certainly did. It fits well, too. Okay, now make something to keep your legs warm. What are these?”

“Tights. I would rather not…”

“Put them into the unit and reproduce them.”

With a sigh, Skylar obeyed. Defiance led her in the direction of producing black fishnets, which Tralec immediately shot down as being ‘too much.’

“Too much? Too much of what?” Skylar demanded with a scowl.

“You are not wearing them. Repeat the exercise.”

“I don’t want to. I like these and… Hey! Put me down!” Skylar yelped as Tralec swooped her into his arms and across his lap. He lifted the hem from her naked backend and sharply struck the cheeks of her bottom. Skylar arched her back and yowled, but that did not prevent Tralec from spanking her again. And again.

“I’m sorry! I won’t argue anymore! Owie!” she cried out, unsuccessfully fighting back the tears. “Tralec, that hurts! You spank as hard as Troy! Oh God… Stop!”

“I am developing an idea of how little girls should be dressed accordingly to the descriptions in your manuals and the images I have seen from your planet’s data banks. When I tell you something, I will not be repeating myself, nor will I explain myself if I chose not to.” He spanked her again. “It is very clear that you need firm and consistent guidance, and I intend to provide that.”

“Owwwie! Pleeeeease stop. You are hurting me!”

“Further,” Tralec continued, his hard hand not pausing for a moment as it turned her tiny bottom several shades of scarlet, “you will be spanked anytime you forget to address us properly. Understood?”

“Yessssss, sir, Daddy!”

“Finally, when I am teaching you something, I will be viewing you like I would a new research assistant under my instruction.”

“Tralec,” Troy intervened. “Not that…”

“Yes, that,” Tralec smacked Skylar’s bottom four more times, satisfied that she finally began to cry freely. “She will have strict rules to follow and there will be very little leniency. I will expect her to study and practice her skills and be prepared any time I quiz her. I intend to keep her little mind and body so busy that she won’t have time to argue or get herself into mischief. I suggest you do the same.”

“Owwwww!” Skylar sobbed, scissoring her legs as Tralec’s series of harsh spanks splattered across the tops of her thighs. “I’ll be gooooooood!”

“Yes, you will,” Tralec stated, pulling her to her feet and pushing her in the direction of the synthesizer. “Now produce those tights.”

“Yes, sir,” Skylar sobbed, hobbling over to the machine and placing her shaking hand on the plate. Despite her pain-filled sniffles, she was able to duplicate a nearly perfect pair of tights.

“These will do just fine, don’t you think?” Troy stated, holding them up for Tralec to see.

“Yes. Skylar, put these on, and no more arguing with me.”

“Yes, sir,” Skylar whimpered, obeying. She winced as the snug material of the tights rubbed roughly against her bare, inflamed skin.

He turned her to face him. “School for you starts tomorrow, but your life lessons will start right now. To the corner.”

Chapter Nine

“You are so mean,” Skylar complained, her nose in the corner for the third time the following day.

“It would behoove you to remember that next time you decide to hide from me, young lady,” Tralec rebuked, tapping his foot. “When I tell you to be ready for lessons, that does not mean hiding in the supply cabinet. Didn’t you think I would find you eventually?”

“Yeah, but I thought it would take a while,” Skylar pouted, kicking the wall.

“I don’t understand, pumpkin,” Troy said, crossing his right leg over his left knee. “Why are you trying to avoid your studies? You said you enjoy learning new things.”

“I do, but this stuff is hard!”

“Stop kicking the wall of my ship. It did not do anything to hurt you.”

“I’m bored and don’t want to learn math. I loooooathe math.” Skylar banged her forehead against the wall.

“You need math to learn how to work our currency. You need to learn our language to communicate effectively. You need to learn our rules so that you don’t get yourself into serious trouble. Like it or not, you have much to accomplish, and I wish you to have a strong start before we land in two more solar-days.”

“What if I just lock myself in your house and don’t go anywhere?”

“We do not have locks, and we reside in a community unit in the science section of the city. Now, let’s go through our societal rules. You don’t have to memorize them verbatim, but at least try to understand what they mean,” Tralec suggested.

“I don’t wanna.” Skylar stomped her foot.

“This is why I am not a mentor,” Tralec growled. “My patience level is severely limited.”

“Relax, Tralec. Skylar, cooperate with us or you will be spending the rest of the day with your nose in the corner. Is that what you want?”

“You’re mean.”

“Of course I am,” Troy chuckled. “Rule #1: Respect all life forms, Calipi born and unborn, animal, insect, marine, and vegetable. What does that mean to you?”

“Trooooooy…”

“Daddy warned you about how to address us. Now, stop your whining, baby girl. Answer me,” Troy said lightly.

“Can I leave the corner?”

“No, you may not. Respond.”

Skylar snarled, kicking the wall again. “It means that I am expected to be nice and treat everything with civility.”

“Very good. Is that a difficult thing for you to do?”

“No, sir,” Skylar grumbled.

“Rule #2: we are not to disturb the lives and peace of others through disorderly and aggressive behavior,” Troy grinned, eyeing Tralec.

“This should be good,” Tralec sighed. “Especially since Papa has been embracing the human emotional state and practicing rebellion against this rule.”

“It’s a rule, not a law, brother. And laughter is neither disorderly nor aggressive.”

“Can I sit down?” Skylar asked.

“No!” both men snapped.

“So you think that having humor and joy is destructive?” Troy asked.

“I think it has the potential to be.”

Skylar rolled her eyes as the two debated the second societal rule. Annoyed, she spoke up. “Will you two shut the fuck up? There is nothing wrong with laughing as long as you don’t make an ass out of yourself or do it when it’s inappropriate. For God’s sake, let it go!”

The men stared at her in disbelief. Tralec finally cleared his throat.

“It appears that she understands the rule after all. No more swearing, Skylar. You may sit down now.”

“You both are total jerks, you know. This crap is common sense.”

“When we land, you will be surrounded by a race that has never seen a human before and whose knowledge is limited to your planet’s governmental structure and not the people. You will be the spokesman for your species, the example of what your people are like. Don’t you want to show them that you are something special?”

“I suppose,” Skylar frowned, looking down at her hands.

“There will be things that you won’t understand and might disagree with. Along with respecting one another, we also make an effort to practice Rule #3: not to criticize the behavior of others, nor to interfere in their lives or force an opinion upon them. It is considered rude to confront someone in the presence of anyone who has not been involved in the offense. We also present the issue in a questioning format, rather than in confrontation. I suspect this rule will be the most difficult one for you,” Tralec said, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at her.

“Are you saying I’m judgmental?”

“No, but you are opinionated and don’t always filter your words. Calling us jerks and assholes because you don’t get your way is disrespectful and critical. Our people offend easily if they are slapped with negative comments about their choices. Just remember that, okay?”

“I should probably just keep my mouth shut and not say anything,” Skylar sighed.

“You are fortunate that your language is not known well yet and the time it will take for the councilmembers to learn it will buy you time to get to know us. Just be on your best behavior,” Troy said.

“I’m gonna screw this up, I know it,” Skylar sighed, turning her eyes to look out the porthole at the stars. “I should just apologize ahead of time to this council of yours so I don’t make you two look like blooming idiots…”

“Our people are very forgiving, honey. Like you said, our ethics are common sense. Don’t waste resources and keep your environment in good order, consider others when you do something and how it might affect them, don’t steal, treat everyone fairly and honestly, give 100% of yourself to everything you do, take care of your health and safety, and conduct yourself in a way that you know makes us proud.”

“I have a headache. Can I go lie down?” Skylar grumbled.

“Do you really have a headache, or are you saying that because you are tired of the instruction?” Troy asked with a grin.

“I dunno.”

“Let me rephrase,” Tralec stated. “Do you really have a headache, or did you just lie to us about having one?”

“I’m getting a headache, okay? Please, let me go lie down.” Skylar rubbed her temple.

“Go ahead, brat. Wait a second.” Tralec lifted his hand as she started to zoom away. “Aren’t you going to thank Papa and me for teaching you how to be a respectable citizen?”

Skylar groaned, croaking out her thanks before running to the back chamber. The sound of the men’s laughter followed her. She grumbled to herself… so much for Tralec’s objection to loud bouts of laughter.

* * *

“Get into the cubicle, young lady. I am not going to repeat myself,” Tralec ordered.

Skylar stood behind Troy, peeking out at the other man. “But Papa said it would be okay if I wanted to make the landing with you. I’m not scared. Please!”

“I said I would be fine with you staying if Tralec approved. He has not,” Troy corrected her.

“But why? Just because you’re afraid of landing doesn’t mean I am.”

“Whoa!” Troy pulled Skylar out from behind him. “You just crossed a line, little one. Tralec is not afraid of anything, got it? It makes him ill, and that is not his fault. Apologize this instant.”

“Sorry,” Skylar muttered, staring down at the floor.

“Let’s get this clear. He is, and always will be, in charge of your personal health and safety, and I will support him in anything he says. Except for actual airtime, the council views him as my superior. You will do the same.”

“Geesh…”

“Answer correctly, young lady. Your behavior these last few days has left me with an itchy palm,” Troy warned, his finger once again in her face.