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It was a prison, even if it looked like a room at the fanciest hotel on Terra.
I had finally been captured by the damnable affini. Going undercover in occupied territory was always a risk, and one of the members of my carefully organized Free Terran book club had been seduced by the Compact’s promises of comfort, plenty, and an end to their own pain.
An end to their own individuality. An end to freedom. I hoped they choked on paradise.
And now they were going to try the same with me.
I was dressed in very soft pajamas, surrounded by plush animals. Awful. I could feel the weakness inside of me give a little squirm of joy, and bile rose in my throat. Not even my own best efforts, aided by the best training OCNI could give me, was able to keep that cringing thing quiet, but being surrounded by all the idiot luxuries it wanted, getting to actually feel soft and cared for…
I dry heaved over the edge of the bed. No. Bad. Wrong. That place was stronger now than it had ever been, but I am my own man. I am not weak. I have never given into it before, and I will never give into it again.
Wait? Did that tho-
The door opened, and one of the enemy walked in. I started for a second; I had been prepared for one of the statuesque beauties from their laughable propaganda. This one was more amorphous, a constantly shifting, tangle of vines and tentacles that seemed to glide into the room. However, I could almost feel the love and care radiating off the thing.
Drugs? Hypnotics? It doesn’t matter. The idiot part of me responded to that feeling like a flower to the sun, but I kept it squashed down flat. It would not win; them OR the plants.
“How are you doing today, lovely?” The voice was clear, feminine, and caring, with a deep throbbing undertone that felt like a hand running down my back. I didn’t dry heave again, but it was a near thing.
“Terra will never fall, weed. I will never fall.”
“Terra is gone darling. The Accord will never hurt you again. And I know that you will fall in love with your new life here. As your owner, I will guarantee it.”
I shouldn't have been surprised that I had already been marked for domestication. No wardship, not even a rigged attempt to beat the game they designed. A straight road to hell.
“Presumptuous house plant, I do not consent to this. I will not be a pet. I will never give in.” I made my voice as flat and confident as was possible. I knew my victory was assured.
“My little sprout, you will weep with gratitude and joy when you finally surrender.”
“No. If that happens, it will be because I have died.”
The plant paused before responding. “It doesn’t work like that, petal.”
“Of course it does. I refuse to surrender.” My own gut roiled with disgust, even as that weeping thing inside of me begged me to give in. “So if that happens, it will be because you will have destroyed me. Eliminated the real me. Erased me to create a pet. I won’t let you believe otherwise.”
There were tears in my eyes. Why couldn’t these damned weeds understand how much they terrified and hurt me? How horrific they were? How every loving word and gesture burned like acid?
The plant was doing its best to pretend it was sad, and the weeping thing felt a flash of guilt. I scoffed at the inner voice that told me I was hurting her. It’s a plant, idiot. It's all an act. It's probably not even truly sentient. And you are a fool.
I couldn’t stop the plant from curling a vine around me as she moved closer, seeming determined to comfort me. “I will show you what a lie that is. I will show you how wonderful you are.”
I sighed. I knew it wouldn’t listen. But my victory was assured. One final card, one final play.
“You are a murderer plant. But I will not be a pet. I win. Terra Invictus!”
She stopped moving towards me at the tiny crunch that came from my mouth as I broke the false tooth. A final lethal gift to myself.
I would die, but I would not be defeated. If they were just predatory vines with good imitation skills, it would be denied its treat. And if she actually did believe what she said? Well, I hoped the pain this caused her was excruciating. The voice inside me wailed in horror and pain and unfair agony. It was painful, and I actually did feel a small amount of empathy, but at least this was the last betrayal. Shortly, nothing would bother us ever again. I braced for the bitter taste and pain.
Actually, where was the bitterness? I should already be doubled over in agony. All I tasted was a light sweetness, almost like cotton candy…
Oh no.
“My dear petal, my precious sprout, I thought we were finally past this.”
I felt myself start to sink down into a pink fuzzy blanket of emotional bliss. It was a flood, snuffing out the spark of hatred and defiance and pain and HATE that had kept me going for decades.
And that soft weak place inside of me. It felt smug. But even worse, it felt like it loved me. That I was pitiable. Nononononononono. At least hate me at least let me die at least let me suffer.
A soft vine brushed my lips and I realized I had been speaking aloud. “No, petal. I know how much you hurt. I know the pain you are in. I don’t hate you. I will not let you die. I will not let you despair. You WILL be happy and warm and loved and someday you will understand that. Someday, when we play this little game, you will let yourself lose and I promise when you do you will find some much happiness and peace that you will spend an entire week weeping with relief. I do this because you deserve it.”
My eyes didn’t close, but I could still feel myself receding like the tide. A warm rushing. A promise of blissful oblivion, with a reassurance that it would be temporary. That I would be loved. I didn’t feel as sick as I did before… was she right? I didn’t think so.
But I could feel myself start to slip away.
“Rest now, my sweet. We will try again tomorrow. Meanwhile, your sister and I will get to know each other, whisper to you as you sleep, and look forward to the day you can finally join us.”
I slipped under the pink blanket. And felt the strangest thing. Hope.
***
The girl blinked again, and the last of the tension drained away.
“Ick. I hate that, Mistress. It doesn’t feel good to be back and hidden, even for a few minutes.”
“I know, little one. But you are such a darling to want to help them. And you are helping so much. Every time we wake them up, they listen to you a little more.”
“I know Mistress. The first couple of times they went straight for the tooth. And this time they only retched the one time. I hate how they are like this, though.”
“Yes flower. I hate what your society made them into as well. But we owe it to them to help them recover. I will not let them disappear. Not when they can live the life they deserve with us.”
“I know why we do it. Every sophont deserves a chance. Even if I have to try not to hate them for how they treated me. Even as I love them for keeping me safe.”
A tender vine wraps around the girls, and pulls her into the affini’s arms. “We will save them darling. They will join us and realize how they treated you, and we will forgive and love them until they are better. Until they can be who they always should have been. And the three of us will be together. After all,...” A vine booped the girl on the nose, and they both giggled, “Victory is assured.”