The E.T. Guy (Office Aliens Book 1)

by V. C. Lancaster

  It made Lois want to scream, but she was too tired to do anything other than her job. The news was showing a map of the world marking every country that had followed the UNE’s decree and ceased their processing of refugees. One by one, more and more of the white map turned red as the minutes and hours passed, with the USA a big and increasingly conspicuous hold-out. Her only consolation was that Zir was probably asleep and unaware of the state of the world and its treatment of his people.

  San Diego received a small, disorganised, and confused group at six-fifteen, then fifteen-thousand people arrived at 8.30. Lois and her team rushed to get them moved on before the DETI building filled up for the day, taking no information and simply telling the Community Leaders who collected them that they would be in touch for personal data in a day or two. By ten o’clock, they got the new arrivals cleared, just as the order came through from the Secretary of ETI not to process anyone else. The borders were closed. America turned red on the map.

  For Lois, it was like hearing a door slam with half her family on the other side.

  Lucia looked at them all, and simply said. “That’s it. Go home. Sleep. Come back tomorrow and we can start doing what we can.”

  Lois didn’t go to Zir’s. She messaged him to let him know that she was alright and that she had finished for the day, but after being awake for twenty-eight hours, she felt almost delirious with exhaustion. She dragged herself back to her own apartment and fell into bed. She woke up in the evening and took a long, long shower, then ate dinner. She messaged Zir again, offering to come over now that she felt a little more like her old self, and she gathered up the courage to check the news.

  The ships were still in orbit, but the ones that weren’t carrying Teissians were being vetted for landing and were expected to be okayed in the next couple of hours. Things were a lot less clear for the transporters with refugees in them. The UNE were having another meeting. No restrictive measures had been placed on Teissians already on Earth as of yet, though there was an increasing public demand for it coming from a scared minority of the population.

  Families of the Tyberius crew had been informed of their loss, and the names of those on board were now available. There were no names for the Teissian victims, as they were only taken when they were processed on Earth. There was already talk of memorials and commemorations around the world.

  There was no new information on the cause of the explosion, which seemed odd to Lois, but there was going to be a press conference at nine, and people were speculating it would reveal something big.

  Lois checked the time and put her dishes in the sink. She would watch it at Zir’s with him. She wanted to get over there now. It had been too long since she had seen him, and she needed to.

  Chapter 24

  It was the first time Lois made her own way to Zir’s apartment. It wasn’t hard, and she knew the way, but she still wondered what the atmosphere at the dorms would be like. She kept her eyes open for any sign of increased security, but she didn’t see any. No fences or guard posts being set up at any rate.

  It was almost eight as she walked through the compound. The market of improvised stalls only had a few Teissians still walking around in it, people chatting to the shopkeepers rather than buying things it seemed. They barely seemed to glance at her. There was a solemn atmosphere, as if no one wanted to make too much noise. Lois guessed most people were staying inside, watching the news.

  For once her heels didn’t click against the concrete as she walked up to Zir’s building. She hadn’t come from work this time, so she was wearing jeans and running shoes and a simple long-sleeved cotton shirt. She didn’t think she’d ever worn casual clothes in front of Zir before.

  She rang his doorbell and he buzzed her in, and she took the elevator up. She surprised herself by how normal it felt to walk down the dim wooden corridor to his door, like she was coming home. She knocked on his door, and then forgot all about it when he opened the door, wrapping her arms around him instead.

  He returned the hug, his wings unfolding as he threw the door closed behind her. He squeezed her tightly, and she knew he hadn’t had an easier time of it than she had while she’d been working and unable to see him.

  “Hi,” she said lamely, her face buried in the fabric of his shirt.

  “Hello.”

  “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too,” he told her.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I am. Are you?” At this he leaned out of the hug, tilting her face up so that he could look at her.

  “I’m fine. Sorry for working late last night. We had to get the last groups in,” Lois said, breaking away from the hug and walking further into the apartment, heading for his couch.

  “I was worried about you, but thank you for doing that to help my people,” Zir said, following her across the room and sitting next to her so she could snuggle against his side.

  “I wish I could have done more,” she said.

  “None of us can do more, not yet. We must wait and see what the UNE decide,” Zir replied.

  “Have you heard about the press conference? Do you mind if we watch it?” Lois asked.

  “I do not mind.”

  “How was the office today? I have to go back in tomorrow.”

  Zir let out a long breath. “It is… quiet. People are not happy. Some departments are working hard, but some have nothing to do, like ITS. When people call us, it is all urgent, because people have no time anymore. They do not go for coffee anymore or eat in the restaurant. Everyone is scared, for their jobs and for this world.”

  Lois took his hand and sighed. “You can’t blame them. Hopefully it will all be over soon. The UNE will find out what happened to the Tyberius, and reopen the borders, and maybe the Rhacahr will take over the evacuations until our ships can get to Teiss again. It’s the best we can hope for.”

  “I hope you are right,” Zir said, not sounding convinced. “Lois… I have been thinking…”

  “Mmm?”

  “Things might change for Teissians on Earth soon. It might become harder for us to be… as we are. It might become dangerous for you to be associated with me, depending on what happened to the Tyberius and what the UNE decide. If that happens, I understand if you do not choose me to be your mate. It would be better for you. I would end my pursuit of you.”

  Lois pushed away from him, sitting up and staring at him in shock. “You’d break up with me?”

  “What is ‘break up’?”

  “It’s when people who are dating, like we are, decide to stop dating,” Lois told him.

  “Oh, then yes.”

  Lois kept staring. “That’s shitty of you,” she said at last.

  Now he looked surprised. “Why?” he asked.

  “To break up with me based on the political situation.”

  “It would be for your own good. Being with me could make your life much harder,” Zir argued.

  “Or much better. You don’t know.”

  “It would become clear.”

  Lois held up her hand, stopping the conversation. She made a monumental effort to put her emotional reaction to one side. Logically, she knew what he was saying, but she was still hurt that he would break up with her.

  “I understand that you want to protect me. But I don’t want to break up. Right now, I feel like the only way we’ll get through this is by staying together. We need each other, or at least, I need you. I want to stay with you. I don’t want you to throw me away because things might get hard.”

  Zir growled softly and took hold of her arm. “That is not what I am saying.”

  “Yes, it is,” Lois insisted.

  “I would never throw you away. I will want you always. I will protect you always,” Zir said.

  “You can’t do that if we break up,” Lois told him.

  “But-”

  “No buts. Promise me you’ll only break up with me because you don’t love me anymore, and not for any other reason. Just like you�
�ll stay with me because you love me and not for any other reason.” Lois demanded.

  “Love?” Zir asked, his eyes flicking over her face.

  “I know, I heard it as soon as I said it. Just promise me, will you?” Lois said, fighting a blush. They hadn’t said the L-word yet. As easily as Zir talked about becoming mates, he had never said he loved her. She realised that she wasn’t sure he did, she needed to hear it.

  Zir exhaled softly as if he was giving up but didn’t mind that much. “I promise,” he said.

  “Good,” Lois replied, fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves, trying not to wait for him to say more.

  “Do you promise the same?” Zir pressed.

  She looked at him. “Huh?”

  “I will stay with you because I love you. Do you promise the same?” he repeated.

  “Oh, um…” Lois had a moment of floundering, wondering whether she really did love him, trying to find it inside herself, but really, there was only one answer.

  She needed to stop panicking, stop over-analysing, stop expecting it to be easy. It was like Susan said, she wanted the fairytale, but her story wouldn’t end when they rode off into the sunset. Pretending she wasn’t ready to keep that moment from coming would only ruin her relationship. Stalling might give her a few good days, but what she wanted was a lifetime. Double-guessing herself, and him, and them as a couple was a sure-fire way to break her heart in the end. Zir was committed. She had nothing left to wait for other than the courage she needed to just admit how she felt.

  “I promise. I’ll stay with you because I love you, too,” she said, taking his hand again, feeling the scales and the claws and the gentle care he always took with her.

  He dipped his head towards her and she kissed him.

  “But you still will not agree to be my mate?” he asked.

  “People don’t get married after dating for only a few weeks,” she said, giving him a smile. “But I’ll say yes one day.”

  “‘One day’.”

  “One day soon, how about that?” Lois conceded. She knew it was true. As long as he wanted her, if he could only wait, she’d eventually tell him yes.

  “I will accept that,” Zir said, kissing her again, for longer this time. It was only a few minutes later, when her hands were under his shirt and he had her leg around his hip that he broke away, looking at her speculatively.

  “What?” she asked, catching her breath.

  “We will miss the press conference,” he reminded her.

  “You’re right!” Lois gasped, quickly turning the news on as they sat up and straightened their clothes. For a minute there she had actually been able to forget what was going on.

  They tuned in just as the President took the podium. She started with the usual welcomes to everyone in attendance, thanking the UNE and her own staff for their hard work and cooperation, and sending her condolences to the families of the crew of Tyberius. She gave a beautiful speech about the tragedy of it, and made a few vague promises about ‘making it right’ and never forgetting and moving forward.

  It was all expected, the standard structure of presidential speeches after a disaster. What everyone was waiting for was the new information, what had to be the reason she had called the conference.

  Finally, she turned a page on her lectern and paused, eyeing the crowd of gathered reporters, and everyone waited for what she would say next. Lois took Zir’s hand.

  “Tonight we have received confirmation from the Rhacahr that the Ypex had boarded the Tyberius, and that the Rhacahr fired upon it in order to prevent the Ypex from reaching Earth. We have their assurance that this was a last resort, and that they had made certain it was a necessary measure. It is not in the Ypex nature to hide and to lie in wait; they are only capable of slaughter. The passengers and crew of the Tyberius would not have survived the journey home.”

  She had to pause then as the audience became too loud to continue. She held up a hand to wait for silence.

  “We are in negotiations with the Rhacahr to resume evacuations of Teiss. The ships we have in orbit at the moment will be processed and allowed to land once they have been cleared of any threat. Now is a time for unity of purpose and values, both on Earth and within the Alliance. We must stand together, not fall apart. We must protect our lands from the enemy, not find enemies in our allies.”

  She went on to make more thinly veiled calls for calm, diligence, and forgiveness, but the conference was clearly winding down. So that was it – the Rhacahr had shot the Tyberius down, over a million people, just like that.

  Lois and Zir sat in silence, watching the follow-up coverage. Lois was heartened at least that the President had reinforced, if not explicitly, that the Teissians were not the enemy, and had not called for increased surveillance surrounding them. She was glad to hear that the ships in orbit would be allowed to land in what sounded like a few days. She was going to be busy for a long, long time processing everyone.

  She still felt shaken though. The Rhacahr, their allies, had fired on the Tyberius and blown it out of the sky. There could only have been a handful of Ypex on board at the most, or the ship would never have set off. How horrible, she thought, to be trapped on a spaceship with those monsters, like fish in a barrel. She had the morbid thought that maybe the Rhacahr did them a favour by killing them quickly instead of letting them be torn apart by the giant bugs.

  She looked at Zir, sitting back against the sofa. Overall, despite how horrible it was, it seemed positive. They had closure now. They knew what had happened. The victims would be remembered. The Teissians wouldn’t be misguidedly punished. It seemed like humans and the Rhacahr would tighten their allegiance, which Lois assumed was a good thing but to be honest, she was putting a lot of that on faith. Earth and the Rhacahr had had different priorities for a long time.

  Lois pulled Zir down beside her and put her head on her shoulder. She knew it wasn’t all over with one press conference. She knew her world would change and might take a long time to get back to normal. But Zir was safe, and that was huge weight off her shoulders. As long as she had him, she could handle whatever came next.

  Chapter 25: Epilogue

  Eight months later…

  Lois adjusted Taz on her hip and passed him another piece of lemon, which he happily stuck in his mouth though only half would fit, so he just sucked and chewed on what he could. He liked to leave his hands free to hold on to her, his little baby claws very nearly popping holes in the thick fluffy sash she wore to protect her clothes after too many of her blouses had to be thrown away.

  She bounced him a little, and he gave her a disapproving frown. It was instinct to her, but she had to remember the Volin didn’t do that, and Taz preferred a smooth ride. She laughed at his little face, his expression reminding her so much of Zir. It was weird, having a child that was the size of a baby but had the mind and speech of five-year-old. Zir explained that it was advantageous for Volin to be carried by their parents for as long as possible, but once he started growing, he would grow fast, so Lois was determined to enjoy his baby-sized stage for as long as possible.

  Lois looked around at what she and Zir were calling their engagement party, but which was in fact more like their wedding reception. They had signed the papers that morning, quietly, and without ceremony. They were husband and wife now, or as Zir would have it, mates.

  It hadn’t taken long. It still felt like a whirlwind romance to Lois, though Zir obviously considered it a herculean courtship that he had suffered under before getting her to finally agree to make it official. Lois had moved into the dorms with Zir after they had been dating for three months. They had moved into a larger, family-sized apartment, and at five months, Zir had adopted Taz. Lois couldn’t put her name to any of the paperwork as she was just Zir’s girlfriend at the time, but she had supported Zir in his decision, and she relished being Taz’s mother. Now that she and Zir were married, she really felt like they were a family.

  They still thought about the other childre
n in Kib’s orphanage though, and were discussing when the right time would be to open their home to more. Taz had made a friend that he missed, and there was a couple of twin girls who wouldn’t be separated, and so stood little chance of being adopted by a single Volin male.

  Lois had told Zir she wanted to be his mate only days after bringing Taz home. They had put him to bed one night, and Lois had just felt so cosy and so at home. It felt right. She loved Zir and she loved Taz. Watching Zir be a dad to the little boy almost brought a tear to her eye. She knew she never wanted to leave them.

  So she had told Zir she was ready, and he had scooped her off to their nest to consummate the mating, which had turned into a night of probably the best sex of her life. She had told him afterwards that she wanted to get married, and he had groaned, hearing nothing but another delay, and then insisting that she couldn’t take back what they had just done. Lois said she didn’t want to.

  So in Zir’s mind, they had been family for three months already, but it had taken Lois this long to get the paperwork set up for them to sign. She had wanted to do it without attracting too much attention, since as far as she knew, they were the first interspecies marriage, and while there wasn’t a law against it, there was a law explicitly allowing it either. Luckily, when it came to the bureaucracy of human-Volin relations, she had friends in all the right places, and now she had a little piece of paper that meant that whatever was coming, it would hit them together.

  She couldn’t pretend the world hadn’t changed. It still made her sad, to think about what it was like now, compared to how it had been before the loss of the Tyberius. But that was why it was so important to her that she and Zir were legally married, and that they did everything they could to help out.