The Queen Inmate's Pet

Eric Dormer stepped off of the transport shuttle in the docking bay, slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder and taking a deep breath. He couldn't blame himself for being nervous; it wasn't every day that one started a new job, after all, especially considering the line of work that he was in. Here he was - the first human to work as a guard at the Ascalon II Galactic Penitentiary.

It was strange for the human man to look around and see nothing but aliens of various shapes and sizes. The last prison that he'd worked at was on Earth's moon and had been comprised entirely of human males. Now, after he'd been laid off from that position, he'd managed to pull some strings and get reassigned to the far reaches of Galactic Confederacy space, where the humans were still considered newcomers by the allied alien races of the community.

Ascalon II was a prison space station in one of the farthest sectors of the outer rim of the galaxy, where only human settlement had been slow and sporadic in recent years. As such, it came as little surprise to Eric when he was told by his former captain that this station had no human guards in its staff. On top of that, there were only a handful of males on staff as well, given that Ascalon II was a women's prison. That fact in particular had initially made him uncomfortable, and his wife Sarah even more so. But a job was a job, and he had been in dire need of one after getting laid off. So he'd managed to convince his wife to move to this region of Confederacy space with him where she could work as a teacher, teaching human culture and history to the alien colony kids, while he worked as a prison guard at Ascalon.

Eric glanced around the docking bay, wondering where he needed to go. He'd been told to report to the Warden's office after arriving, but all of the lit signs on this station were in alien gibberish that he had only basic understanding of. Like all the other citizens in the Confederacy, he'd been surgically implanted with neural inhibitors at birth, meaning that he could speak his own language to aliens and they would understand him, and vice versa. But unfortunately he still couldn't read much of their words, aside from what he'd picked up along the way. The dominant alien race in this sector of space were the Noors - a species of draconic-looking aliens - and all of their words just looked like slashes and dashes to him.

"Lost, human?" a guttural voice said behind him.

Eric turned around and saw four eyes blinking at him simultaneously. The eyes were attached to burly, muscular alien body with a mottled, off-white color and with the alien's head having the appearance of an arachnid. Eric recognized this alien - likely a dockworker by the looks of him - as a Kromonid, an alien race native to the nearby arid homeworld of Syloth.

Eric shook his head in reply. "Yeah. Just got dropped here. I'm looking for Warden Hecula's office."

The dockworker grunted and pointed a thick finger to the right. "Down there and then through decontamination, then security and processing. The guard'll direct you from there."

"Thanks," Eric replied, nodding.

The alien grunted again, returning to the task of unloading cargo. "Yeah, yeah. Watch yourself inside, human. Warden Hecula's a mean bitch, but the inmates are meaner. Do what she tells you to do and this place won't chew you up and spit you out."

Eric frowned at that, looking at the alien with a raised eyebrow. If this was meant to intimidate him, he wasn't buying it. Ascalon was not his first foray into guard duty at a prison, and it would not be his last. He'd seen the worst that humanity had to offer when he'd done shifts at the prisons on Luna. How could this place be much worse, even if they were aliens that were incarcerated here?

The human shrugged and walked off, following the dockworker's directions to make his way through the unfamiliar space station. He had his bag and gear checked at the security checkpoint, where all of his clothing and items were scanned to ensure that he didn't smuggle in contraband of any kind. The alien guards at the checkpoint initially questioned the side arm that he had stowed away, but he showed them his permit and explained his reason for being there. The two guards, both females, were surprised immensely that a human was to be working with them, and a male at that.

He proceeded through and found the express elevator that would take him to the Warden's office at the top of the main overlook tower. The pressed the button and the elevator took him up to the top of the tower at fast speed. As he went, Eric looked through the glass window of the elevator and saw cell block after cell block where most of the prison's five thousand (give or take) inmates were residing. He saw figures in red prison jumpsuits walking about, but he couldn't tell which female was of which alien race from this distance.

The door behind him opened up into small room with a security desk, where two more alien guards were sitting. Upon seeing him, one of them stood up from the desk and walked up to meet him as he exited the elevator. The guard was entirely covered in downy brown fur and had a catlike appearance. Eric had had relations with Kithars in the past, given that the catlike aliens had been among the first to welcome humans into the intergalactic community. Still, he hadn't quite adapted to the feeling of shaking one's hand and feeling a paw, as well as fur.

The Kithar guard appraised him for a few moments before speaking. "State your business here."

Eric handed her the paperwork. "Eric Dormer, here to meet with the Warden. I hope I'm on time."

She handed him back the paperwork and flicked on her wrist communicator. "Mam, an Eric Dormer here to meet you."

After a moment, a commanding, feminine voice echoed back from the communicator. "Ah, our human arrival. Send him in."

"Yes mam." The guard said, signing off. She looked at Eric, eyeing him up and down one more time before nodding to the door behind her. "Go on in," she said to him.

Eric nodded and stepped up to the office doors as they drew open for him. Before he walked in, he could hear the two guards speaking softly to each other, but he could make out some of what they said.

"So we got a human man working here? Never seen a human up close. They don't come out to this sector."

"Yeah. Fresh meat comes in all forms around here. He's kinda weird looking."

"I don't think so. I think he's actually...not too bad to look at. I might get used to it."

He heard snickering from both of them after that last statement. Eric felt some heat go to his cheeks, but also felt a momentary pang of pride as well. He couldn't boast, but as far as humans go, he was pretty attractive. He had a strong face and pronounced jaw, clean cut light brown hair, and an imposing height and build. Though he wasn't a bodybuilder in the purest sense of the word, he did also keep himself in prime physical condition through a rigorous daily exercise regimen. All in all, he'd gotten his fair share of compliments and more than a few friendly advances from the opposite sex when he lived in human society, on Luna and out in the colonies. And his physical appearance certainly hadn't failed him when he had first started dating his wife, Sarah, some years ago. Still, he didn't know what to make of it, having his looks assessed and even complimented by alien females.

Eric stepped into the office of Warden Hecula, the administrator for this facility. What he saw was perhaps the most opulent warden's office that he'd seen of the four prisons that he'd been to in the past. There were expensive paintings on the wall with some unfamiliar alien artwork, bronzed statues or idols of some kind lining the room, and even a glass chandelier hanging over the room, bathing it in a welcoming glow.

Right in front of him, at an immense desk, was the Warden. Hecula was a Noor, and Eric recognized the draconic features immediately. She was covered in blackish red scales beneath her clean cut administrator suit, and she had golden eyes, and a long, scaly tail draped behind the chair that she sat in. Aside from that, Eric could tell that she was tall, perhaps an inch or two taller than him even, and had an imposing aura about her.

She beckoned him with a twitch of her long finger and he approached the desk, though she didn't look up from her paperwork to address him just yet. Eric stepped up and stood before her, stoic and unmoving. Finally after a few more moments, her golden eyes peered up at him. Like the guards outside, she took a few moments to appraise him and take him in - her first human to work a guard shift at Ascalon.

"Mr. Dormer," she said finally in a husky, accented voice. She pulled up his file on a nearby datapad. "You come highly recommended by some of your superiors at Luna Correctional Facility 104. Welcome to Ascalon."

Eric nodded, pleased with the introduction thus far. "Thank you, mam. Happy to be here."

The draconian Warden gave a cursory flick of her long tongue against her lips. "You may want to rethink that once you've been here a while." Glancing down at the datapad again, she continued. "Before I clear you for duty here, I would like to know about your previous experience at Luna, and then I will bring you up to speed on what will be expected of you here."

Eric gulped. "Of course."

She nodded. "Luna 104 was an entirely human correctional facility, I take it?"

"Yes," he replied. "After our prisons on Earth started to become overpopulated, we moved the bulk of our maximum security prison populations to the facilities on the moon. 104 was the first facility built there, so by the time I started working there, the technology and security measures had become outdated. But they did run a tight ship there."

She nodded her understanding. "And your dismissal from that position," she said, pausing. Eric sighed, knowing that it would come to this. "I'm told that your layoff had nothing to do with your work performance while on staff at Luna. On the contrary, your work record is spotless, if your dossier is to be believed. Why were you let go, if I may ask?"

"Like I said, the Luna facilities were falling under disrepair and had outdated technology. After the humans joined the Galactic Confederacy ten years ago, the Earth governments started relegating their prison populations and transferring them to galactic penitentiaries which had more advanced technology. Our prison staff started getting downsized bit by bit as inmates were transferred elsewhere, and it was eventually my turn to be let go. I'm fortunate that some buddies of mine were able to pull some strings and get me this though."

Warden Hecula smirked through her maw. "No doubt." She set down the datapad and her face took on a more serious expression. "I will be frank with you, Mr. Dormer. Your arrival here is obviously creating a stir. We don't get many humans into this sector of space, and we've gotten even fewer coming to this prison. I took you in due to your clean work record, and to promote an air of diversity in my guard staff. I don't wish to put you out, but I need to be honest - things are probably not going to be easy for you here, because you are human, and because you are a male."

She let this settle in, and Eric politely remained silent, though he was a bit uneasy.

"This may be a facility for female inmates, but do not let yourself think this will be a 'walk in the park.'" The Warden said, using a human analogy. "Sure, only one out of ten serious crimes in the Confederacy are committed by females, but the worst of those female perpetrators get sent here, to me."

She paused and then folded her scaly hands together on her lap, looking up at the human man. "What kind of inmates did you deal with at Luna?"

Eric cleared his throat. "Well, there was a supermax wing at Luna, but I had little contact with that sort. Mostly I watched over criminals convicted of petty theft, racketeering, drug possession. A lot acted like punks, but I knew their type and I could handle them well enough."

The Warden nodded. "I'm sure you could, but that is small time compared to what you are dealing with here. These...women are mostly sadists, sociopaths, mass murderers, rapists, drug queenpins. I've got inmates who have attempted to blow up entire colonies; I've got inmates who have sold Confederacy citizens into slavery and transported them from one star system to another; I've even got a Kithar who killed males of her own species and took their male parts as trophies."

Eric's brow knitted and he paled a bit at that visual. "I understand, mam. I will be careful among them."

The Warden nodded. "For your sake, Mr. Dormer, I hope you're right. We've had male guards in the past, the many of the inmates have not taken too kindly to them."

She let him absorb that bit of information before she clapped her hands together, taking the conversation in a less pessimistic turn. "Now, before you begin your first day of work, here are some things you should know. Firstly, you could and should keep your registered side arm with you at all times, though live rounds are not to be used unless absolutely necessary. Secondly, you will be working under Captain Ara'lak, and she will give you specifics on your patrol assignments, as well as a key for your locker in the staff quarters."

She paused and looked him directly in the eye, unnerving him with her golden gaze. "Finally," she said with a draconic hiss at the end, "as this is a female prison, it goes without saying that fraternization of any sort, either with the inmates or with your fellow guards, is not to be tolerated. Strict punishment up to termination of your contract may be in order if you disobey this rule. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Dormer?"

Eric nodded, trying not to laugh at this final rule. Fraternize with the alien females in this place, especially after he'd just been told that these were sociopaths and murderers?! Aside from that, he loved his wife Sarah more than anything else in the universe and would never consider breaking his marriage vows.

He extended out his hand, showing off the golden ring on his ring finger. "I'm married...err mated, mam. You have nothing to worry about in that regard," he said.

The Warden nodded. "Of course, Mr. Dormer. I'm sure I don't, but it needed to be said anyway."

She stood up from her chair and approached him. "One final thing." She drew out something from her pocket and held it out in the palm of her hand to him. "This is a safety precaution that all of our guards are equipped with."

Eric observed the item. It looked like a miniature computer chip, nothing special. "What is it?" he asked, frowning.

"The Captain will have this installed into your personal wrist device and communicator. Every inmate that is incarcerated here has had a corresponding device implanted into their nervous system. Press the red button on this device, and it will deliver a short range pulse that will shock any nearby inmates with those neural implants. The shock is not fatal, but it will put the inmate in her place in the event that your life is threatened or an inmate is becoming hostile."

Eric took the device from her hand and observed it one more time before pocketing it. "Thank you."

"Keep it close. You may need it."

The Warden returned to her desk. "Now, I have other matters that I must attend to. The guards outside will direct you to the staff quarters, where your Captain will be waiting to give you further instructions. Again, welcome to Ascalon, Mr. Dormer."

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After being introduced to Captain Ara'lak and several of the other guards that he'd be working with, Eric began to make his rounds in earnest, hoping to prove himself and show initiative early on. It was midday, and many of the inmates would be in the mess hall to sit down for one of their meals, so he started on his patrol duties there. The Captain and several other guards accompanied him to patrol the cafeteria itself, though there were also armed guards on the catwalks to support them from overhead in the event of a riot.

Captain Ara'lak had programmed the neural shock device into his wrist communicator as a precaution and began to explain to him the ins and outs of the prison. She gave him a layout of the station and Zeta Wing, the cell block that he would be patrolling after lights out. She also gave him a rundown of which inmates were particular troublemakers in the past and which he should watch out for.

Eric decided that he rather liked his new Captain, who was a Kithar. She spoke quickly and he initially had a hard time picking up everything that she instructed him, but she seemed empathetic to the fact that he was a sole human male amongst alien females. To quell any insecurities he may have had, she explained that the residents of the station, guards and inmates alike, seemed more curious about him rather than angry that he was here.

Eric had smiled at her and nodded when she said that, but remembered keenly how some of the female guards had taken a peek or two at him when he was first changing into his new uniform in the locker room. He remembered the Warden's rule against fraternization, but he hoped that his fellow guards knew about that rule as well. Already he could tell that some of the looks that he was getting were suggestive and extended beyond mere curiosity.

He and the Captain arrived at the mess hall and the doors opened for them automatically after the Captain swiped her keypad.

Captain Ara'lak grinned at him with her feline muzzle. "Welcome to the hive, new meat," she said, stepping aside to let her new human colleague see into the mess hall.

Immediately, he was accosted with the color red, as each inmate wore a red prison jumpsuit. The mess hall was bustling as they lined up to collect their metal tray of food at the lunch line. Small groups of inmates were getting rowdy over something or another, but for the most part the inmates kept to themselves and ate their meals.

Eric also noticed that there was a general pattern of female members of different species mingling mostly with their own kind, though there were exceptions to that. Nearby, he noticed the Noors, of which there was a large number of inmates since they were the dominant species in this region of space. The draconic Noors were ravenous carnivores, and tore into their meat with gusto, seeming not to take notice of him or care at first. Beside them were the Kithars, the catlike aliens of which Eric was already familiar. Then there were the tall, slender, praying mantis-looking aliens called the Lithopes, whose females looked practically identical to the males that he'd seen in vids, much to Eric's amusement. Then there were the big, bulky aliens with the multiple eyes and arachnid features - the Kromonids. Then there were the short residents with green and grey skin tones - the Gelbins - which given their height and features looked similar to goblins that Eric had read about in fantasy literature. Finally, there were the two species who had the most human-like traits of all the alien species present - the Arzuri and the Jil'thal.

It was a lot to take in for him at first, but Eric had to admit from the start that the Arzuri were the most pleasing alien species to look at, given their physical similarities to humans. The only differences were the purple skin tones, pointed ears, and taloned fingers. The Jil'thal bore similar human qualities as well, but had darker skin tones and oily skin, pronounced ridges above their eyebrows, and slitted pupils, like the eyes of a snake. The other species in the room were entirely alien to him at first glance, though it mattered little either way since he would be seen as an outsider by all of the inmates here.