The Neko's Tail - 6. The Collar

The alien backed away from the neko, holding their hands up.

“Okay, okay, we can finish this later,” they said hurriedly.

The fox growled under his breath, and the grey alien glared at him.

“Fontar, he is clearly terrified. The planet Captain Artemis discovered is clearly of no threat to us. I am sure we can afford to give Elias some time to recover.”

The alien sat in front of Elias, their voice gentle, soothing. The translator didn’t change its tone, and the effect was lost on Elias.

“I will not touch you any more. But I need you to get into the…”

The neko stared warily, refusing to move.

“Please. It is the easiest way to do this.”

The fox barked something, and the alien turned on him.

“No! We will not use that! It is…”

The neko drew even further back into himself, feeling cramped. He was just making this worse for himself.

The alien turned back to him.

“We need you to lay down in here,” they said, touching the container Elias cowered under.

Taking a deep breath, the neko uncurled slowly, cautiously. There was no point in making it worse for himself.

Standing, Elias stared at the empty container, standing at chest height. The alien smiled encouragingly as he stepped onto a stool and crawled into the container.

He heard the sound of a swarm of bees as his hands pressed into a strange substance. Shuddering, the neko rolled over and laid back into the stuff. It felt like water, but it seemed to hold him down somehow.

There was a quiet hiss, and a glass wall appeared in front of the neko, cutting him off from the universe on the other side. The neko pulled his hand out of the substance, touching the glass in wonder. The inn in Astara had one window in it, a tiny square of glass with bubbles in it. This glass was clear, and it was huge.

Sure, it wasn’t the most insane thing he had seen, but still, the glass reminded him that these beings could do whatever they wanted, and he was powerless to stop them.

His breathing quickened, becoming laboured. Elias’ head felt heavy, darkness encroaching on his vision. With no warning, Elias fell back again, unconscious.

Artemis scanned the alley nervously as he entered. The place he was heading to was legal, but it was host to many unsavoury types.

Stepping through a door, the tiger relaxed slightly in the well-lit store. He was the only one inside with the exception of the clerk.

“Welcome,” the orange blob shaped alien said.

“Hello. I’m… I’m looking for a collar.”

It was hard dealing with some creatures, like this one. With no head, or even eyes, to look at, Artemis was missing the body language he could pick up from other beings. They were reliant on words, and misunderstandings in a situation like this could very well be deadly.

“Do you have the being with you?” the alien asked.

“Um, not exactly…” Artemis said uncomfortably.

“I see.”

‘Do you really?’ Artemis thought.

“I will need a size and a type. Will the individual in question need training?”

“Uh, I need to be sure he won’t do anything inappropriate. And he’s about my size,” the tiger said.

“Is this your first time in an establishment of this nature?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Pardon me for saying so, but you don’t appear to have the temperament for breaking in a being. Nonetheless, I am happy to sell you a collar. May I measure your neck? If the individual you are buying for is about your size, your neck should be a good substitute for theirs.”

Artemis agreed nervously and a device floated through the air toward him. A holographic measure appeared from it and wrapped itself around his neck before vanishing.

The blob moved around the store, selecting a length of leather from a wall. The collar floated off the wall, a remote joining it as the alien brought them back to the counter Artemis stood at.

“This should be the right size. There is a receiver inside that will emit a shock of varying degrees when the remote is activated.”

“How much is it?” Artemis asked.

“A thousand credits.”

That seemed way too expensive, but Artemis had never bought one of these before. Given the nature of the purchase, maybe it was reasonable.

The tiger slid a card through a block the blob handed him, adding his thumbprint to it. Accepting a bag with the collar in it, he thanked the alien and left the store.

His neck was sore.

Elias’ eyes opened and he stared up at the ceiling. Why did his neck hurt? What did they do to him?

The neko flexed his fingers, making sure he could move. The glass was missing above him, and he was grateful for that.

Sitting up, he scanned the room. Most of the containers were empty, their lids open. A strange phrase entered Elias’ mind. Medical bay. He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but the neko knew that it described this room.

“You’re early.”

Startled, Elias looked down, seeing the fox alien walking toward his… pod?

“Scholar G’tara is retrieving your shirt and your necklace. They should be here shortly. There are a few more questions we need to ask you, then we will take you either back to Captain Artemis, or to a ship that will take you back to your world.”

He could understand the fox. There was no voice speaking through a bracelet or necklace. He just… understood the alien’s language.

“Your neck might be sore for a day. We implanted a translator chip in you. It will allow you to understand anything anyone says after you take a day to listen to the language. The translator needs time to sort out a language. Your chip is standard issue for any newcomer. It comes with Xanthian, the galactic trade, language already programmed in, so you should have little difficulty understanding anyone in a port.”

The neko’s head spun with the information. He closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath as the door to the bay hissed open.

“Ah, you’re awake! I trust Scholar Fontar has been discussing your translator with you?”

Opening his eyes, Elias saw the grey alien striding towards him, a purple shirt hung over their arm. The alien handed him the shirt and, after a moment’s hesitation, the neko pulled it on.

“Elias, we have a few questions we need to ask you, and we need you to answer with words. Okay?”

The neko nodded, then froze.

“Yes sir,” he forced out.

A troubled look appeared across the alien’s face.

“I’m not a sir Elias. My species has no gender,” they said. “I know you meant respect by it, but it is best not to use honorifics unless you know no harm will come of them.”

“Sorry,” the neko whispered.

“Here’s a tip though. If you see a person wearing a necklace similar to mine or Scholar Fontar’s, that means they have earned the designation of Scholar. That would be an appropriate honorific if you are unsure of what to use.”

Scholar Fontar cleared his throat.

“Getting back to business,” the fox pressed.

“Yes. Now, you have nothing to fear from these questions. Captain Artemis will never be told your answers. Understand?” Scholar G’tara asked.

Elias started to nod and stopped himself.

“Yes, si- yes Scholar.”

“Good. Now. Did Captain Artemis take you against your will?”

“No.”

The aliens glanced at each other in surprise.

“Let me rephrase that,” Scholar Fontar said. “Did you agree to be taken off your planet when you first met Captain Artemis?”

Elias shook his head no.

“With words please,” Scholar G’tara reminded him.

“No.”

Nodding, Scholar Fontar continued.

“When you realized Captain Artemis took you off your planet, did you wish to return?”

“Yes.”

“And did Captain Artemis ask you to wait for some time before returning?”

“Yes.”

Was he getting Artemis in trouble? Did it matter if he was? Artemis would never find out what he told them

Lost in his thoughts, Elias missed the next question.

“Elias?”

Blinking, the neko returned to the present.

“Do you still wish to return to your home planet?”

He could go back? But he didn’t want to, except to see Naia again…

“No,” he whispered.

“You wish to remain with Captain Artemis?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. You will remain with Captain Artemis. We’ll take you back to his ship now. It is early in the day; he should be there now.”

An alarm roused Artemis from his uneasy slumber. Someone was approaching his ship.

Jumping out of bed, the tiger hurried to the cockpit, bringing up a view of the outside of the ship. The scholars were walking toward the ship, a nervous neko between them.

Making his way to the landing ramp, Artemis opened his ship and stepped outside.

“Elias!”

He didn’t know what he expected. Did he want the neko to run to him? Hug him?

Elias did neither.

The neko stiffened at Artemis’ voice, his eyes staring steadily at the floor as he approached the tiger.

“Elias? Are you okay?”

“Yes Artemis.”

Artemis stopped Elias at the ramp, wincing as Elias flinched away from his touch. Kneeling in front of him, he sought out the neko’s cobalt eyes.

“You are a free person Elias,” he said quietly. “If you don’t want to get on my ship, you don’t have to.”

He was painfully aware of the scholars staring at the two of them.

“Oh, Elias!” the grey alien called. “I forgot to give you your necklace.”

Glancing warily at Artemis, Elias turned and hurried back to the alien. He took the necklace and hung it around his neck with trembling fingers, before returning to Artemis’ side.

The tiger stood beside the neko for a moment, unsure of whether he should board his ship or not.

“Um, thanks for helping Elias,” he called to the Scholars.

Turning, he stepped up the ramp, trusting Elias to follow in his own time.

Elias sat on the bed- his own bed! Staring at his master, he knew that the new sleeping arrangements would carry some kind of price.

“The new bed isn’t the only change,” Artemis said, confirming Elias’ suspicions.

The tiger picked up a leather strap and held it out. Elias’ face fell. He hadn’t worn a collar in over five years.

“This is for you,” Artemis continued, handing the leather to the neko.

Elias removed his mother’s necklace with a sigh, preparing to attach the symbol of his slavery around his neck.

“Wait, no,” Artemis said quickly. “It’s not for you to wear. It’s for you to put on me.”

Elias stared at the tiger in shock.

“You… you seem scared of me. And I understand why; I sort of stole you from your home. You don’t like talking, and I’m afraid I’m doing things you don’t like.”

Artemis lowered his head toward Elias’ hands, inviting the neko to collar him. Elias wrapped the leather around the tiger’s neck, staring at the strange locking thing- buckle, his translator provided helpfully.

“Push this end into the other end,” Artemis said quietly.

Elias did what he was told, clipping the two ends together.

“Is it too tight?” he asked, remembering the times his own collar would choke him.

“No, but thank you for asking,” Artemis smiled.

The tiger picked up a small rectangle and handed it to the neko.

“There is a button on there. If you press it, I will know to stop what it is I am doing.”

Elias touched the red button on the remote, pressing it uncertainly. Artemis winced, mouth curling into a strained smile.

“Try not to overdo it though,” he said.