Fenfeld backs away from the door as the keys are inserted. He crosses each of his six arms over his exposed chest and grins. It's about time. Fenfeld does not expect to lock eyes with the gorgeous human female who stands to Commander Orango's left. Are they bringing him company? Cool.

  "I believe....This belongs to you!" the woman says, holding up a piece of stale bread.

  Fenfeld laughs uncomfortably. Oh boy. Here we go again.

  -

  -

  Apsuzette Prison

  Solitary Confinement Cell 2

  "Well," Fenfeld murmurs, unease slipping into his voice. "This is...Uh...Uncomfortable."

  "I'd say...You're right," Aurelia hisses back. "After all, I'm the one who got pelted in the face by a slice of stale bread. If you're going to throw food, Fenfeld Kaiser? Try throwing something a bit more...Fitting of a lady."

  "Haha," Fenfeld laughs, throwing back his head. "You have no idea the things my ancestors used to throw. Back when we were still nothing more than lab rats for you Earth people."

  "Wait!" Aurelia says. "You're from Earth? How can that be? You're nothing like the apes on Earth. Our apes don't walk and talk like men. And they don't have six arms."

  Glancing around the room, Aurelia takes notice of Commander Orango's lack of multiple appendages as well. She scrunches up her face and squints at the ape criminal in the cell before her.

  "Obviously, neither do many of the other apes and monkeys on Apsuzette. So...Exactly what are you, Fenfeld Kaiser? An experiment gone haywire?"

  "No," Fenfeld answers, leaning close to the bars. "I'm a product of your ancestor's need for control!"

  "Control?" Aurelia gasps.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Yes, control!" Fenfeld replies. "My kind were the original inhabitants of what you now call Earth. In the beginning...Before the Terrans split off into the tribes you know today. Earth was our world first. It was my kind who gave men his first taste of fire. We taught him how to plant, and how to irrigate. With six arms...And more opposable thumbs than you'll ever have, Darling...You can get a lot of work done. By and by, humans began to usurp my fellow apemen. They built traps to ensnare us. They began using us for laborious tasks and withholding our offspring from us as punishment. Eventually, my kind and the humans went to war. My kind lost. Those who could flee...Did so. Taking what little of our history they could with them. Those who remained were said to have been subjected to unimaginable horrors. The greatest of which...Being the loss of their numerous splendid arms. Through the use of experimental gene therapies...And brutal torture. The humans could not handle too many arms flailing at once. Too many right hooks can do serious damage to one's nose. There are at least three worlds where we apemen live in peace. Some have six arms. Some have four. Some even have the typical two arms that you humans are used to. Genetics had something to do with that. I was ...Lucky. Haha. So...Now, you know."

  Aurelia once again peers at Commander Orango, who stands stockstill. The commander stares at Fenfeld with an amused expression. For a moment, Captain Hilyard studies both apemen very carefully. What is she to make of Fenfeld's story?

  "That's...Interesting," Aurelia says, her brow raising. "I'd never heard that story before."

  "I'm not surprised," Fenfeld replies, gripping the bars of his cell window with one hand and leaning towards Captain Hilyard. "Not exactly a pretty little bedtime story. Is it, my dear?"

  "No," Aurelia answers, eyeing Fenfeld suspiciously.

  "And now, I assume you are here for a reason," Fenfeld says. "Have you come to keep me company, my lovely? I was so getting bored. The outfit is a bit...Over the top. But you do look exquisite in it. I'm sure you'll look even better without it."

  Aurelia's mouth drops open as Fenfeld calmly reaches for her, his eyes gleaming with mischief. Commander Orango coughs loudly, but he is too late. Aurelia pulls back her right arm and punches Fenfeld in the face. The apeman's eyes cross, and then he crumbles in a heap on the floor. Aurelia shakes her smarting hand, anger dancing across her face.

  "Ha. Just what kind of woman does this Fenfeld think I am?"

  Commander Orango shrugs, a crafty smile on his lips.

  -

  -

  Aboard the Nuvian shuttlecraft

  The brig

  Fenfeld wakes, sitting upright on the cot. He glances around the sparsely decorated room.

  "Oh boy! Another cell," Fenfeld grumbles. "Great. Just what I didn't need."

  The apeman's eyes take on a faroff look and he leans forward on the bed.

  "But what a right hook!" Fenfeld mutters to absolutely no one.