Promises to Keep

by Promises To Keep (lit) (NCP)

  The Gaians had warned them not to wander about for fear of just this sort of thing. "Are they all right? They weren’t hurt were they?" Sarah asked him anxiously.

  "The women weren’t hurt, but there has been a bit of a disturbance. Here we are!"

  They turned into a hanger bay where several shuttle-sized ships were parked. Sarah’s eye was caught by a group of people standing with Bethan. Most were men with bands, several of whom who were engaged in holding firmly by the arms four young women with angry scowls. The rest were trying to calm down another man who was holding a chair in a threatening manner. Behind him was crouched a fifth woman, her eyes wide in fright.

  She spotted Sarah as they approached, and called out to her, "Dr. Johnson, help me!"

  The rest of the women looked over at her. Sarah recognized Alison, Ellen, Anne, and Dana as those being held. The woman behind the man with the chair was Lindsey. They were some of the youngest of the NLS brides, none of them older than twenty-two. Any of them were perfectly capable of hatching a scheme like this, although she suspected Alison was the ringleader. The rest had likely gone along with the plan for lack of a better idea.

  She was particularly disappointed in Ellen Martin, who she’d known for several years. Ellen had been studying to be a nurse, but had gotten side-tracked by a young man who’d wanted Ellen for many things, none of which included marriage. She’d even quit her training to help support him while he went to school.

  Sarah had been delighted when she’d heard Ellen had gotten over his influence and had volunteered for the NLS. Ellen had deserved better.

  When they got there, Symon looked over at the men holding the women. "Take them to one of the security rooms and hold them there." The men nodded and started dragging the women along, in spite of their kicking and yelling, a couple of others going with them for good measure.

  Now he turned his attention to the enraged young man with the chair and Lindsey. "Tarren, put that thing down. This isn’t doing anyone any good."

  Tarren stared at him, still brandishing the chair. To Sarah’s eyes he seemed distraught. "Please, no, don’t let them take her. She could be hurt."

  Sarah glanced at his wrist and realized that Tarren wasn’t wearing a band. She whispered to Bethan, "Is this why you didn’t want us wandering about, because we might provoke this kind of behavior in your men?" she asked.

  Bethan took her aside. "Tarren was one of a group of men working in here. It looks like he attached to Lindsey as soon as he was near her and now he won’t let us take her from him." She looked frustrated. "Not all men behave like this, but when she felt endangered, she appealed to him and he can’t help his reaction. He thinks he’s protecting her. What we need to do is get everyone calmed down."

  "Let me talk to her," Sarah said. "Maybe if she stops being so frightened that will help."

  Sarah approached them. Tarren held the chair up but didn’t try and hit her with it. "Hey," she said to him, "I’m on your side. Lindsey, tell him that no one’s going to hurt you, I’ll see to that."

  Lindsey pulled at Tarren’s arm until he gazed at her. She smiled a little at him and he lowered the chair a bit. "It’s all right now, I’ll be fine. Dr. Johnson won’t let them hurt me." He lowered the chair more and his breathing slowed down. Raptly, he smiled into the young woman’s face.

  He glanced at Symon and began to speak, his words falling over themselves. "Captain, I’m sorry. I … I mean they came in here, the women I mean, and I saw her, and then the others came in, the guards and they started grabbing the women and one was going to grab her, and, well, she screamed." He stared, as if pleading for understanding. "I had to help her, I had to." He put the chair down then backed up, still keeping one arm around Lindsey.

  The rest of the men waited, didn’t try and rush him now that he had disarmed himself. Sarah noticed that the looks they were giving Tarren were more sympathetic than anything else. She guessed that they, too, had once felt like this young man, and in his situation could well have done something similar.

  Tarren took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to wrestle himself under control. Anxiously he looked over at the guards, then Symon, finally Bethan. "I suppose this means I’ll be disqualified," he said finally.

  Bethan frowned. "It’s possible. We will have to consider what to do." Her voice was stern and he flinched at the tone.

  Tarren shook his head sadly, but there was a touch of defiance in his posture. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Well then, it can’t possibly get any worse."

  He turned to the young woman behind him, and reached out one hand. She stared as he stroked her cheek with the back of it, a caress that Sarah had seen Symon give Bethan. Then Tarren put his arms around Lindsey and pulled her close and kissed her full on the lips, a very long, passionate kiss. He broke off and closed his eyes, resting his forehead on hers. "It would have been nice," he said sadly.

  He let go of her and went to the waiting men who took him by the arms. Symon went over to them. "Take him to holding for now."

  Lindsey stood as if transfixed. Her eyes closed for several seconds and when she opened them she stared after Tarren as he was led away. She made no effort to escape as Sarah came over and took her by the arm, and she continued to be quiet all the way to the security room where the rest of the miscreants had been taken.

  Chapter Six

  When they arrived at the security room Alison was spewing vocal discontent with how they were being treated.

  "This is too much. First you drag us off our ship against our will, and imprison us, and then you tell us you’re going to give us to your men. One of those same men hits me with a tool and then these married bullies come in and force us to come here." She held up her injured hand, distress in her face. "I’m hurt and no one has taken care of me."

  It was quite a performance. Sarah almost felt like applauding, and might have if she hadn’t been dragged out of a nice warm bed because of these young ladies’ antics.

  The "bullying" guards who’d dragged the women into the office also didn’t seem sympathetic to Alison’s plight. One of them displayed what looked like an Alison-sized bite mark on his arm. He glowered at her.

  Symon interrupted Alison’s diatribe. "What did you think you were doing in our shuttle bay? We said you needed to stay in your area of the ship. Did you think we didn’t mean it?"

  Alison’s nose went into the air. "I don’t know what you mean. We were taking a walk and got lost."

  Sarah decided to get involved. "Taking a walk. In the middle of a sleep cycle?" She looked at each of them and decided which one was most likely to tell the truth. "Ellen, what were you doing in the shuttle bay?"

  Ellen glanced at the others but apparently decided to come clean. "Alison thought that if we could get a shuttle we could get off the ship. Then we could signal for help and a passing ship would rescue us."

  She shrugged. "When we got to the shuttle bay, we found these men there. You know, younger men, not like the ones with the bracelets. Alison tried talking to them like she usually does. But they didn’t really pay much attention to her. And one of them, all he could do was stare at Lindsey, he wouldn’t even look at Alison." She seemed impressed that some man would actually find Lindsey more interesting than Alison.

  "And one of the young men called the guards?" asked Bethan.

  "Yes, and then they all left, except for the one who liked Lindsey. He wouldn’t let the guards near her." She laughed. "I think he really thought he could fight them off with just a chair!"

  "So you never got near the shuttles?"

  "No, the men wouldn’t let us near them. All they said was that we were in the wrong place and that we should go back to our rooms." Ellen now looked disgusted with the whole adventure.

  Symon fixed his stern gaze on them. "And which of you knows how to fly a shuttle?"

  Alison spoke up. "It’s not that difficult. The mate on The Dove showed me how to make it go. We weren’t going to fly it very far, just off this ship." She
glared defiantly.

  "Do you have any idea how far off the normal shipping lanes we are?" Bethan asked. "You could have been drifting out there for days or weeks without being found." Her face clouded. "You could have died out there."

  "Well it would have been better than being forced to marry a Gaian," Alison shouted. "Besides what do you care about whether or not we die? What are a few less Earth people to Gaians?"

  Shock crossed Symon and Bethan faces, their eyes widening in horror. Finally Bethan spoke, her voice shaken by Alison’s accusation. "First of all, we care about what happens to you because we care about all human life, whether from Earth, Gaia, or anywhere else. Second, no one is going to force you to marry anyone. We told you before, if you don’t like the men we have here, you will be free to go. All we asked is that you meet them first. But we can’t have you wandering around this ship, for the very reason you discovered tonight. Our men can react very strongly when they meet the right woman, and we prefer that this happens under controlled circumstances."

  She seemed to recover her usual calm. "Those young men behaved correctly tonight. They knew they shouldn’t be meeting you so soon, and they knew that you were in the wrong place. They were right to worry, since they could have been disqualified from the meet in a couple of days. None of these young men want that!" She looked at them sternly. "Most of them have waited for four years or more for the opportunity to find a wife. They wouldn’t jeopardize it just to chat with you!"

  Lindsey, who had been quiet, now spoke up. "That man, Tarren, what did he mean that he was disqualified?"

  Eyeing her, Bethan spoke carefully. "We have to be very careful with a marriage meet. The men are selected for their maturity and their ability to handle themselves. Tarren demonstrated poor judgment today by fighting the guards and he could be disqualified from participating."

  Lindsey paled. "But that’s not fair, it wasn’t his fault," she cried, shock framing her eyes. "We broke in on them, he shouldn’t be punished. He was just trying to help me."

  She glared at them and set her jaw. "If he can’t participate, then neither will I!" she said defiantly

  Sarah thought she saw Bethan’s mouth twitch as if she was trying to keep from smiling. "What would you do if he was there? Suppose it was Terran who attached to you and asked you to be his wife--would you accept him?"

  Lindsey face turned confused. "You mean he really would? He’d want to marry me? Well, I guess--he did kiss me…." her voice trailed off.

  The other girls stared at her open mouthed. "He kissed you?" Ellen said.

  Eyes flashing Alison turned on Lindsey. "What do you mean? You want to be part of this now? Just because a man kisses you?"

  Equally angry, Lindsey glared at Alison. "You’re just upset that he liked me and not you, like every other man has."

  She turned to Bethan again. "Do you think he might really want to marry me?" she asked. Sarah thought she sounded intrigued by the idea.

  "Possible," Symon said, a hint of a humor in his eyes. "But you must understand, if he did ask you, he would be completely serious. He’d ask you to be his wife, hoping that you’d say yes, and if you did, then you’d be married. Really married." He was clearly trying to emphasize how important this was. "If you aren’t serious, it would be very painful for him if you refused him later."

  Lindsey stared at him then nodded slowly. "I understand."

  "And you still want to participate?" Symon asked.

  "Only if he can too," she replied firmly.

  Symon and Bethan looked at each other and Sarah thought she saw some kind of secret communication going between them, small nods and shrugs, the hint of a smile.

  "We’ll let you know later," Bethan said finally. "We’ll need to discuss what to do. In the meantime, you five need to return to your rooms and this time, stay there!"

  As the guards accompanied them out of the room, Sarah heard one of the girls say, "He kissed you and now you want to marry him? It must have been quite a kiss!"

  After they were gone, Symon and Bethan looked at each other, and burst into laughter. Sarah wasn’t sure what the joke was, but she was glad to see the tension that had been in the room dissipate.

  "If you don’t mind my asking, what’s so funny?" Sarah asked them.

  Symon and Bethan grinned at each other. "Well," Symon began, "Bethan and I have been acting as counselors for marriage meets for awhile now, since the end of the war. So, we have seen a lot of men and women in this state."

  Bethan nodded at her, agreeing with what he had said. "Yes, a lot of them."

  "And in virtually every case," he continued, "practically the first thing any of them says is ‘will he or she be interested in me?’. It is almost like they suddenly get hit with an enormous dose of self doubt."

  "So what you’re saying is that Lindsey was acting like one of your women," Sarah said. "Does that surprise you?"

  "I believe ‘delight’ and ‘amaze’ are closer to how we feel about it," Bethan said. "At one point we were concerned that women from Earth would not meet our needs. Now not only do we find that our men attach to them as readily as they would a Gaian woman, but your women seem to react as ours do."

  "Consider this, Sarah," Symon went on, "here was Tarren, trying to protect her against guards armed with stunners using a chair. Then he kisses her passionately. And after all that, she still isn’t sure if he’s interested!" He broke out laughing again.

  Sarah smiled--to them it probably was obvious. "I think you might want to remember that Earth women are more used to men being around them all the time. Lindsey has no doubt been kissed before, and while she was impressed by it, she wouldn’t normally view it as a marriage proposal." She sighed. "We are used to being used that way, it doesn’t mean the same thing to us as it does to you."

  "Still," Bethan said, "she was acting like she had matched to him, whether or not she did."

  "Matched?"

  "When a woman reacts to a man who’s attached to her. When a match happens, we are pretty sure it’s going to be a stable couple. The only problem we have now is Tarren. He over-reacted to the situation. We try and keep the meetings very secure, with a lot of married men and women around to handle problems. The men are very vulnerable when they first attach, and it can be very disturbing to them."

  "But you are thinking about letting him do it, aren’t you?" Sarah asked.

  Symon laughed. "Well, the young lady certainly made it clear that she wanted him to. And really, the rules are more guidelines than anything else," he said. "We can let him try and win her, if she is willing to go to the meet."

  Bethan joined in his laughter. "Well, that’s one down, two hundred and forty-nine to go." Abruptly the couple seemed to remember they weren’t alone. Their laughter quieted and they turned to face Sarah.

  Sarah felt the weight of their scrutiny. "You wanted me to see this, didn’t you? How a Gaian man would react to an Earth woman."

  "We didn’t plan to let your women out of their rooms and stage an unprotected attachment if that’s what you’re asking. But I’m not sorry it happened," Bethan told her. "I think you can see why we need the women. We have thousands of men like Tarren, all waiting for someone."

  "So if you succeed with us, you’ll kidnap more like us?"

  A rich red stain colored Bethan’s cheeks. "That’s not what I meant. We don’t want to stop ships, but what can we do? You can imagine how it would be if we came to Earth to recruit women. It’s too soon after the war."

  "Sure. Good thing the NLS is doing it instead. Convenient to just kidnap the women they collect."

  Neither Gaian looked comfortable now. "It is, that." Symon said carefully. He lifted his chin and spoke more forcefully. "But we still think we’re better for you than what they offer."

  Sarah waved her hand. "I know...better schools and hospitals, and that does make a difference. But to tie yourself to an enemy, one who was responsible for Earth deaths.…"

  Bethan and Symon exchanged anxious glance
s. "Don’t forget there were deaths on both sides, Sarah. There is much that happened during the war that we can’t talk about. We still think that our men should be given a chance."

  Sarah ran a finger across the desk in front of her. "Are all the men as... young as Tarren?"

  Bethan’s face lost its flush and her eyes became watchful. "Many are. In standard years, he’d be twenty-two years of age."

  Twenty-two. And she was twenty-eight, six years older. "I’m just wondering if any are more mature?"

  Bethan’s lips twitched as if she wanted to laugh and had to hide it. "We have a wide range of ages. Attachment can happen between compatible people regardless of age, but usually the man is close in age to the woman."

  Sarah knew her dream lover wasn’t a young man. His big hands held calluses from years of work. Would any of the Gaian men be tall, with dark hair? She stifled a sigh. It was too much to hope her mystery man would be here among the men at this marriage meet.

  Symon cleared his throat. "Sarah, Lindsey has already agreed to the meet. The other women look up to you and if you tell them you’ll go as well, they will likely follow you."

  "You’re asking me to agree to your marriage meet so the others will too."

  Symon nodded. He took Bethan’s hand, and they waited for her answer.

  Sarah stood and wandered around the security room. It was fairly bare, just a desk, a few chairs, empty walls. Only the artificial plant in the corner made it any different from a similar office back on Earth. She touched one of the leaves, surprised when it came off in her hand.

  Horrified at breaking it, she held it out to them. "I’m sorry. Maybe it can be reattached."

  Bethan waved an unconcerned hand. "Don’t worry, Sarah. It will grow a new one."

  Sarah’s jaw dropped. "It’s a real plant?"

  "Of course, all the plants on the ship are real. They’re part of the air-filtering system."

  There were living plants on this ship. All over the ship, she’d seen them, in every room, but she hadn’t realized they weren’t artificial.