Of course, now that she knew he was off, she waited until he was out of the bathroom and got dressed to follow him.
She’d have to sneak past Rava, but she was pretty sure he was sitting over Gianva’s plants humming something. She’d gotten used to his little rituals and knew he probably wouldn’t notice her slipping by.
Chapter Seven
Gianva
Gianva slipped out of the house. Talia’s questions seemed innocent enough. But, since he knew they might not be innocent, he carefully watched everything she said.
He needed to talk to his friend and Sarti had been asking him to visit Notla’s new baby, so he figured it would be a good time. It didn’t seem suspicious to Talia that he was going to have lunch with a friend. At least, he didn’t think so.
He walked into the mouth of the cave. Sarti had said that they only told people where the location was, if they trusted them. It was beneath the field hidden in a thick patch of black trees. He looked all around before making his way down to the entrance and walking inside.
Sarti greeted him as he walked in. He saw the children playing in the cave’s pools; laughing and giggling. He couldn’t help but imagine his own young doing the same thing. There were human women in the cave. Gianva counted six of them. One woman was nursing two of her young. He tried not to stare, but he didn’t even know such a thing was possible since the women had always been sent back as soon as they’d recovered from the birth.
“Come, Notla and Sarah are in the back,” Sarti gestured for him to follow him.
“I’m troubled by my mate Sarti,” Gianva said as he climbed over small rocks that littered the cave. “I wasn’t’ sure at first, but now I know. She’s looking for the humans. All her questions are too much.”
Sarti stopped and turned around to say something, but his eyes went behind Gianva, and his mouth fell open, “She’s not looking for them. She’s found them.”
He pointed, and Gianva turned around to find Talia standing in the cave looking around with wide eyes. She’d followed him. His trust broke a bit then. This female was going to cause his friend pain. That wasn’t something he wanted to happen.
“So, you’ve known where they were all along?” Sarah walked up to him. He couldn’t read the expression on her face, but she wasn’t happy with him.
“I have,” he said.
“Gianva is a good man. Why would he reveal us, his friends, to the enemy?” Sarti asked her.
She paused, “We’re only here to take the humans. They don’t belong here. This isn’t their home,” she said.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Talia,” a woman’s voice traveled towards them from within the cave.
Gianva looked to see Sarah, Notla and Sarti’s mate, standing behind them. She walked towards Talia and held her arms out. He thought his mate looked a bit uncomfortable as Talia shrank away.
“Sarah,” Talia said as she was enveloped in a hug. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this is our home. This is our place with our children and our men.”
Gianva watched Talia closely. She went through a range of emotions. Finally, she opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but didn’t.
Sarah asked her to follow her, and as she walked by Gianva, she glared at him with a look he’d never seen.
“You’re in trouble buddy,” Sarti said with a laugh.
“Shut up, friend,” Gianva said knowing it was the truth. He hoped Sarah would be able to convince Talia it was okay for them to be on the planet. He didn’t want to see any of them separated from their families.
Chapter Eight
Talia
Despite knowing that it was probably true Sarah had been convinced to stay on the planet, Talia had still been actually shocked to see her. Now that she was going to talk to her she didn’t think there was anything she could that would take the label ‘deserter’ away from her. Sarah had failed them and not completed her mission, and that was bad enough. She’d also stayed on the planet against the rules of both of their civilizations. This person wasn’t part of her team; she was a traitor.
“You don’t understand,” Sarah said reading her face. “This mission of our people is wrong. There’s no reason they should want to get rid of Klaskar. It’s helping our planet. There are only a select few that believe this way despite what we were made to believe.”
“Our government put this into place for a reason,” Talia said, “They’re protecting us.”
“Talia you’ve been lied to. We weren’t working for the government the whole time. We were working for a group of scientists and religious fanatics posing as the government. From the minute we were recruited, it was all a lie,” Sarah said. The sincerity in her voice made her very believable. At least Talia knew she believed what she was saying.
“That can’t be right. The government wouldn’t let such a group exist to pose as them.”
“The people in these groups have very deep pockets, Talia. You can bribe anyone with enough money. The government wants the surrogacy to continue. They wouldn’t send us here to stop it. The religious freaks and the scientists, who believe in a pure world, would.”
Talia felt dizzy for a minute. Surely, everything she’d worked so hard for wasn’t a lie. It couldn’t be, could it? That would mean she’d been following a mission she thought would better her planet when all sides seemed to have their own agenda.
“Our government is not in support of us. They use the Klaskians. The government of the alien planet sends their prisoners to our government’s labs to be tested.” A small Klaskian child ran by, and she smiled. A crying noise in the corner alerted Sarah, and she went to tend to the infant lifting it and cradling it in her arms.
“Yes,” Sarah said, “the people we worked for have some problems with inter-race relations, but the children are wonderful. They are all Klaskian. They don't have any human traits. It's not an abomination as we thought; as we were told in training. Look at them.”
Talia looked at the children as they ran around. She peered down at the sleeping baby in Sarah’s arms. It had one hand wrapped around her finger and the other to its mouth so it could suck its thumb. Talia didn’t want to look at the baby. There was a very good chance she was carrying a little blue creature just like it.
“No Sarah, you’re wrong,” Talia cried, “They warned us of this. You're addicted to their seed; to their love. You're not thinking clearly.”
Talia feared for her fellow human’s sanity. She feared for them all. There was no way everything she’d worked for and stood for was a lie. She’d been having feelings for both her mates but had suppressed them every minute for the mission.
“You're the one who is addicted. You're addicted to the mission but why?”
Talia thought about that for a minute, “Because we swore an oath to do what we were told. We swore to our team and our leaders.”
“Yes, but to what end. Your own happiness? The death of innocent children?” Sarah put the baby back in the crib and turned to her.
“Of course not,” Talia said horrified.
“That's what will happen if we're chased out of the solar system. They'll die from the move. That's the reason this program had to exist. The move killed their females and their children.”
“You say ‘we’ as if you’d go with them.” Talia was still in shock that Sarah’s loyalty was to Klaskar and not everything they’d worked for.
“Yes, you’d be condemning me to death. My children, my family. I’m begging you to see it my way. We had to leave. The Klaskian government and Earth’s government are in alliance.”
“It’s true,” a large Klaskian woman said. She emerged from the back of the cave-like room they were in. “I work at the main headquarters of our leaders. They will be here within the next few moons. We have to run and hide. I think it’s a matter of days before they find us.”
“Talia,” Sarah said, “this is Chi.”
“Hello Chi,” Talia said to be polite, “Why? Why are
they coming?”
“Because the government wants all the deserters and their mates killed, or at the very least, detained. It looks bad when not all surrogates follow the program to their specifications. Stay for dinner and let us give you our side of things. We have spies that will tell us when we have to go.”
Talia was still very skeptical but didn’t see a reason not to give them the benefit of the doubt. She went to find Gianva, since they were obviously going to stay for dinner. She wanted him near because he was the only one she felt as if she knew; truly knew.
Her emotions continued to war with one another, and every now and again her sense of duty would tag in.
“Gianva,” she said spotting him talking to a very young alien. Her heart gave a little flutter when she saw him talking with the child. She wondered if she was carrying a baby for him or Rava already. She shook off that thought as he turned to face her.
Dinner was a family affair. Everyone sat at a long wooden table and broke bread together. The bread could literally have broken her teeth. She set it aside and sipped on something delicious while the others chattered around her.
“So, we’re planning an escape. You’re proof the humans don’t want us here,” Sarah started.
Chapter Nine
Talia
“So, tell me about this escape plan of yours,” Talia asked as Sarah bundled up her baby and they all walked across the cave to a large table.
“We simply were going to leave once we had enough supplies,” she said. “The thing is Chi says they are planning to make a move on the humans that are still here. They know we’re here and they haven’t taken any action, because the Earth wasn’t on board for the plan. They didn’t want to lose the money they got for the prisoners and Earth didn’t want to lose the money they got from the surrogates.”
“Okay, but why do they care if humans stay here. It doesn’t endanger either one of those things,” Talia was confused.
“Because we’re breaking the law,” Notla said. Sarah’s mate had been sitting at the table, and she handed the baby to him.
“The law of Klaskar?”
“Yes, and you don’t break the law and live. It’s not how our culture works,” Chi said.
“They are experimenting on your people. What are they looking for?” Talia asked. One of the Klaskian males brought out huge plates of food. Some of it didn’t smell appetizing, but she recognized different types of bread and some of the fruit her mates had fed her so she wouldn’t starve.
"What aren't they looking for?" Chi said as she put a piece of bread in her mouth.
When Talia didn't say anything, she turned to Sarah for help.
Sarah nodded, “She means they are experimenting to find anything they that aliens can do to help our race. They are doing some horrific things to the prisoners.”
"So, the bad guys on your planet you mean?" Talia said.
Sarah's face told her she'd said the wrong thing. She shook her head and looked over with wide eyes at Chi.
"She doesn't know, Sarah. It's okay. My brother was in jail for speaking ill of our council. He didn't do it, and he was sent to Earth for these experiments." Chi said.
Talia didn't have anything to say after that. She sat in stunned silence. Gianva reached over and took her hand.
“I think that’s what will happen to us. We’ll be captured, put in jail, and then sent to Earth to be experimented on,” Chi said.
Sarah nodded her agreement along with most of the scared people around the table.
”The humans will be sent to Earth too, and our fate will be far worse, if they don't kill us here before they leave. “
“I just can’t believe my people would do something so awful,” Talia said.
“What if we showed you proof that humans are indeed experimenting?” Chi said helping herself to more food. “Would you believe us then?”
Talia thought about it for a minute chewing on a nail.
“I can't really discount proof if you have it.”
“Okay, I’ll get it,” Chi said looking relieved she was going to give them a chance. “We can meet back here tomorrow night.”
“I don’t get it,” Talia said, “Why are you here. You’re not mated to a human and most of the Klaskians in here are men.”
Chi smiled and reached her hand out to a human woman who sat across from Talia. “I am mated to a human woman. We have a male to help us with the children, but I’m in this as much as anyone here.”
Talia nodded. She shouldn’t have been surprised the Klaskian female could be attracted to human women, but she was a little taken aback by it. She hoped it didn’t show on her face.
“I know you understand the bond comes, whether you want it to or not,” Chi said smiling at Gianva. Talia found she did care for him greatly. She didn’t think it was from the addictive sperm either. These feelings were real. She took his hand and smiled at him.
When they left later, Gianva asked her what her plan was. He wanted to know if she really wanted to help them.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I need to see the proof before I entertain the idea of helping. We need to tell Rava what’s going on,” she said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea,” Gianva said.
“He’s my mate too, and part of this. If I’m pregnant, I want you both with me, no matter what.”
He nodded agreeing with her, and she let these thoughts fly around in her head. She had a feeling Rava would not be as accepting as Gianva.
Chapter Ten
Rava
When Talia and Gianva walked back into the house, they wore concerned looks. He jumped up from where he’d been tending the plants and gave them his full attention.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen to one of the elders or the children?”
It was about the worst-case scenario he could think of to explain their distress. There were so few of them now. Losing, a Klaskian would be a disaster.
“No, sit down my friend,” Gianva said, “We have something to share with you.”
He sat not sure what they could possibly tell him but eager to get the mystery cleared up.
Talia and Gianva took turns explaining to him about her mission and the humans who still lived on their planet. She told him why she’d really come to bring the humans back, but she hadn’t known about the things they allegedly were doing to their people.
Gianva interrupted her, “You still don’t believe, after they told you?”
“No,” Talia replied, “I need to see Chi’s proof, and then I’ll believe it.”
Gianva threw his hands up, and Rava nodded standing from the couch and making his way to the guest room. There was only one thing to do. He needed to pack up and get out of Gianva’s house. They were talking crazy and being in the house with them made him a part of it.
“Rava, you have to listen to us, please,” Talia came in and put a hand on his arm, but he pulled it away. She’d had bad intentions. There was an ulterior motive for sleeping with him. He found himself hurt and angry.
“It’s not going to hurt our planet if the humans escape, Rava.” Gianva said, “What will hurt us is if we keep letting the humans experiment on our prisoners. We need to end the surrogate program unless they agree to stop testing weird things on our people.”
“We don’t even know if they are really trying to do that. Where is our proof?” Rava said not wanting to take just their word for it.
“There’s a woman in the cave. She works for your headquarters. If she can show us all it’s true, will you at least agree to hear us out? I’m risking everything, my home, my job, everything because I don’t think it’s right that my government is doing this to your people.”
Rava felt a surge of anger. What did she know about their people? She had no clue about the things they’d been through when they moved. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. His nose almost touched hers.
“Was this all fake?” He said looking into her eyes.
“N
o,” she whispered, “I care about you.”
She stood on her toes and put both hands on his face. He didn’t want to be sucked into her web again, but even as he cursed himself for being so vulnerable, he pressed his lips to hers. His eyes closed and his hands found her hair. He held her small body against his kissing her deeply. She had been chosen for him, but she’d become his mate. He couldn’t imagine not being with her, but he’d believed one thing for so long he found it hard to reconcile her betrayal in his mind.
“No, you were here for the wrong reasons,” he cried pulling from her. “I need you two to leave me alone.”
They left the room, and he continued to pack. He would go back to his house at least to get some alone time. He needed to think of what she was saying. Their people had been beaten down so much. This seemed like human propaganda to make them leave the planet. He knew a woman had come to destroy them before. Sure, they’d gotten better with their security, but that didn’t mean anything. He needed to think about it.
***
Gianva
Gianva watched as Rava left his home, and he worried about how Talia was feeling. Of course, Rava wouldn’t understand. He was too attached to the old ways. The human women weren’t hurting anything. He just wasn’t sure how he would get Rava to come around.
“Come here,” he said to Talia who walked over and into his arms. He couldn’t help himself, he inhaled her jasmine and honey scent and felt content.
“I just want him to be on the same page,” she whimpered, and they sat on the couch together.
He couldn’t help himself he pressed his mouth to hers and teased it open. He liked to think he’d gotten pretty good at kissing and she always sighed with pleasure. He could listen to that sound all the time.
She pressed her body against him, and he melted into her. He found himself forgiving her almost immediately for her betrayal, unlike Rava. He knew he would take some time. Rava had actually seen the bad side of their government before the move to this solar system. It wasn’t his place to tell their mate about it, but maybe when he calmed, he would.
The Alien Paradise Page 4