by Ben Winston
Principal Rawlins had to pause again for the loud applause to die down. “There is one more thing to say about these two remarkable young people. Ian and Jenny have been best friends since the second grade.
“I’m sure it was unknown to either of them, but their romance has been the talk of the school for the last three years. Not because of public displays or anything like that, but because of the lack of it.
“To those of us who’ve known them, we could see the deep emotional attachment they shared, but neither seemed to know it. Most of us feared that they would graduate and move on to separate colleges without ever knowing how much the other loved them.
“However!” He chuckled. “I am very happy to announce, that Ian finally must have smelled the coffee, because he took his best friend to Las Vegas two days ago and married her! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ian Williams!”
He stepped back and clapped with the rest of the crowd as the superintendent handed them their diplomas and shook both of their hands. The assembled teachers and parents all stood as Ian and Jenny, once again holding hands, walked back to their seats.
Chapter Twelve
“Jeez! Did everyone but us know we were in love with each other?” Jenny asked once in the car.
“Pretty much. The cheerleaders hatched a plan to make you jealous by flooding Ian with date requests and unlimited attention during lunch and stuff. The cheerleaders were all set to do it until I had a talk with them,” Cindy said.
Cindy had been on the football team as a fullback since she was a freshman; making their school one of the first in the state to allow female players on the team. She had also been the homecoming MVP the last three years.
“What did you say to them? Once those airheads get something like that into their heads it usually sticks,” Jenny asked.
Cindy shrugged. “I just told them it would be a very bad idea. I couldn’t tell them it would make me just as jealous as it would you.” Cindy giggled. “When we got off the bus that night, two of the girls asked me out though.”
“Did you accept?” Jenny asked.
“How do you think I ended up going to homecoming with Annette and Shelly?” Cindy grinned.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Talena said looking confused.
“Sweetie, it’s pretty complicated and I’m sure you’d think it’s pretty stupid if you did understand it. Just be thankful you come from a society that is open enough to accept same sex relationships, and multiple partners,” Beth said.
“Those are not accepted here? Why not?” The girl asked.
Ian touched his earpiece. “Oly? Tonight, could you give Talena the history of Christianity and an overview of social customs in regards to the moral traditions of this society, specifically as it pertains to relationships, sex, and marriage? If she’s going to be stuck down here with us for the next couple of months, she might like to know how insane this place really is.”
“I had that already scheduled, sir, since she had asked about the customs earlier. I will be adding a few other subjects as well. It might interest you to know that, comparatively, Talena has the equivalent of a double Master’s degree; one in xeno-biology and the other in psychology. When she asks ‘why’ it is because she truly wants to know,” Oly said.
“Wow, beautiful and smart, too!” Ian said, looking at her in the mirror.
Talena blushed and smiled shyly as she turned away. “Where are we going now?” She asked Cindy.
“We’re going out to dinner to celebrate Ian and Jenny’s graduation. However, I think it’s mostly to meet the new attorney,” Cindy replied.
Talena was confused again. Though she knew the language, she wasn’t clear on exactly what an attorney was. “Olympus? Please clarify and define ‘attorney’?”
“I got this one, Oly,” Ian said. “An ‘Attorney’ you might know better as an ‘Advocate’; a person that interprets the law on behalf of a petitioner. In this case, the ‘advocate’ has specific knowledge of a specialized area of law, and will advise us on our best courses of action to accomplish our goal.”
Oly added, “That is correct. This advocate specializes in the laws governing the business practices of this planet. You will understand more after your lesson tonight.”
“Thank you, Ian and Olympus that helps. This place seems so strange sometimes,” Talena said, shaking her head.
“Honey, you don’t know the half of it, yet,” Jenny said.
“Commander, it’s great to finally meet you, and congratulations on the graduation. I’d ask what your plans for the future are, but I don’t think that’s something you really want to discuss in public,” Carla said, grinning. “I did tell Janet that we could hold off this meeting until tomorrow so you could celebrate with your family, but she insisted I join you. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all, Carla, and please call me Ian. Janet tells me that you’re ready to move up to the ship?” Ian asked grinning.
“If even half the stuff she’s told me is true, I’d still want to join. She was a little vague about why you’d need a corporate attorney though?” Carla asked.
Ian chuckled. “We can get into the details tomorrow, but we’re going to set up a corporation as a cover for recruiting people for the ship, among other things. But tonight, relax, get to know us a little, and enjoy the food, order anything you want; money really isn’t an issue.”
“I really appreciate that, thank you. Uh, if I can ask, Janet didn’t say much about the pretty silver-haired girl. Who is she?”
Ian smiled, “Congratulations Carla, you’ve actually met your first alien. Talena was born on Alpha-ca station before it was destroyed. She’s spent the last four thousand years in cryo-sleep on the ship. She’s still pretty new to the planet, and is having a difficult time with some of our more idiotic customs.”
“Like what?” Carla asked.
“Well, she doesn’t understand the bias against nudity, or same sex and multiple partner relationships. Where she comes from those things are common,” Ian explained. “Also the age of majority is sixteen across the board. There is no ‘legal age of consent’ and statutory rape is not one of their laws.”
“That just seems like a recipe for child exploitation,” the woman said.
“Did Janet or Julie get you a set of lenses and a communit?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, they gave them to me just before we got off the shuttle.”
“You’ll understand the Talosian societal structure better in the morning. But for now, try to keep something in mind; with the exceptions of you and Beth, Talena has the most education of any of us,” Ian said.
“That little girl has an advanced degree? What in?” Carla asked, surprised.
“Oly said she has the equivalent of a Master’s degree in xeno-biology and one in psychology, She's actually twenty-four, but all the time spent in cryo stunted her growth.”
“She seems like any other young teenager I’ve ever met,” Carla commented.
“She’s acting. Oly told me on the sly that’s how she gets people to open up to her so she can study them better. She’s also one of our fighter pilots; at least the closest we actually have to one. She’s all but finished flight school, the only thing remaining is her final test flight.”
“She sounds like a very accomplished young women,” Carla said.
Ian smiled sadly, “Yeah, but she’s having a few problems too. In the attack that stranded Olympus on our moon, Talena lost both her mother and girlfriend. I’ve offered her a place with my family until she reaches her majority,” Ian said.
“Uh, I was meaning to ask, but didn’t know how to approach the subject, but when I go back to get my stuff, do you think you might be interested in recruiting my girlfriend? Since, you don’t have a problem with same sex couples, I thought I’d ask.”
Ian chuckled at her tactics. “Even if we don’t need her, she’s welcome. But I’m curious what you would have done if I’d have said ‘no’?”
“Begged?” She
said with raised eyebrows.
“Seriously, if she wants to come with you, she’s welcome. What skills does she have?” Ian asked.
“She’s an architect. I met her through one of my clients two years ago. We’ve been together ever since. What?” Carla asked because Ian was grinning like a fool, and shaking his head in disbelief.
“I just don’t believe how the skilled people that I need just seem to fall into my lap. First, Janet knows you, and she described you as one of the best in your field. Now, you tell me your wife’s an architect; someone we will desperately need within the next week.”
“It’s going to be an interesting weekend, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to hear what you have in mind.” Carla said.
“Tell you what, if you don’t mind sleeping in my old room, why don’t you stay with us tonight? That way you get to know us more, we can relax and just work things through. We have a pool, too,” Ian suggested.
Carla chuckled, “I didn’t bring a swim suit.”
“We can either go get you one, or simply not use one,” Ian admitted.
Carla chuckled. “I'll see about getting one a little later. Will Janet and Julie be there too?”
“Since we’ll be doing a lot of planning tomorrow, I’ll want them there as well,” Ian said.
“Are you going to hog our guest all evening, Ian?” Beth asked.
The rest of the evening was spent in comfortable conversation with good friends. Talena reached out and held Beth’s hand under the table. Beth looked at the girl and smiled at the happy glint in the girl’s eyes.
Although she was a little leery at first, Carla did decide to accept Ian’s offer to stay the night with them. Even though it was a strange room, she felt like she had rested better than she would have in a hotel room. Besides, after learning what Olympus had to teach her, she felt a type of comradeship with these people.
In the shower, she examining her feelings about this, she at first suspected that the camaraderie she was feeling was imposed by the learning program. However, after trying to think about it clearly, she didn't think it was.
She had always been a huge science fiction fan, and had often dreamed of going into space one day. However, after learning the history of the now extinct Talosian people, as well as the threat to Earth, she honestly felt that no matter what, this was where she needed to be.
Ian and his friends were doing the right thing in this situation. She would do everything in her power to help them. The thought did cross her mind that all of that could have been imposed on her as well, but her gut was telling her it hadn't been. She had won many cases by going on gut instinct.
“Ms. Nelson, please forgive the interruption. Would you like for me to have the drone place a cup of coffee on the counter for you when you get out of the shower?” Olympus asked via the comm.
Carla smiled. “That would be wonderful, Olympus, thanks you. But could you make it an iced latte with a shot of espresso? I usually really need the caffeine in the mornings,” Carla asked.
“I have gotten approval from Doctor Hayes-Williams to dispense that. It will be in a thermal mug on the counter,” Olympus replied.
“Why would you need approval from the Doctor?” Carla asked.
“Because of the amount of caffeine in it. Such high amounts are not healthy for humans, so I have removed it from all replicated beverages and foods. It can be replaced with approval from the Doctor, which she did.”
“That might be a problem for a lot of the folks we recruit. There are a lot of people that are addicted to it,” Carla replied.
“I understand that to be the case as well. I have requested that Doctor Hayes-Williams in her capacity as Chief Medical Officer to design a treatment schedule to gradually wean people off if it. This addiction has been commercially imposed on the people of this planet. In some cases, the caffeine has even been artificially increased to make the beverage in question even more addictive,” Olympus explained.
Carla sighed. “Okay, I understand. But what about only returning the products to their natural levels? Is that still too much?”
“In most cases, yes, it is far too much. For example, true Columbian coffee, not the coffee that is bought in stores, but the actual beverage crewed from the beans directly, has three times the maximum safe amount. However, it should also be noted that humans seem to have developed a form of immunity to high levels of that chemical. More research will be required before a new safe level can be set. However for now, I must use my original data on the subject.”
“Please pass along my gratitude to Beth for letting me get my fix for the morning, and I should be finished in a few minutes,” Carla said.
“I will, Ms. Nelson.”
Ian ordered a cup of coffee with caffeine, he took a sip, and sighed in pleasure. He kissed Talena on the forehead again, and said, “Here sweetie, take a sip of this. Maybe it’ll help you remember where you left your clothes.”
Talena was wearing a long tee-shirt, and although nothing was showing, Ian wondered if she had put any underwear on.
The girl smiled softly where Ian couldn’t see it. She took the requested sip and made a face at the bitter taste. “What the fr’ell is that stuff? It tastes like recycled reactor coolant!”
Ian laughed. “It’s called coffee, sweetheart. It’s a beverage made by boiling the ground up beans of a tropical plant found here on Earth. It has a stimulant in it called caffeine.”
Ian noticed that Beth got another cup of coffee too, but Cindy and Jenny just kept drinking theirs.
They ordered breakfast as Carla walked out from the back. “Thanks again for letting Olympus put the caffeine in the morning coffee, Beth. I can get pretty grouchy without my morning dose.”
“Really? Maybe I should use you as a guinea pig for testing the program Olympus wants me to create for breaking every one of their coffee habits?” Beth asked jokingly.
Carla chuckled. “Nope, not me! I'm still not convinced doing so is even a good idea!”
“I think our brave and honorable Captain should be the test subject,” Cindy said. “At this point, it might be the only way to prevent a mutiny!”
“Whoa! I don't think I want any more of it!” Talena said. “I feel like I want to climb out of my skin, and I only had one sip!”
“Well, I guess we need to hide all the chocolate from her then!” Ian grinned.
“Nope, I'm going to make sure it gets prescribed for any female that wants it, but only for three days every twenty-eight days,” Beth said.
Ian looked really confused. “Huh?”
“He's male alright. Ian, she was joking about making sure that women get the chocolate for their periods.” Jenny said taking pity on him.
Ian looked like he'd been slapped. “Uh, okay.”
All the women got a laugh, and Ian blushed, but was grinning as well.
Chapter Thirteen
Around ten o’clock, the Laskars’ came over, and everyone gathered in the backyard.
“Okay,” Ian said standing to speak to everyone. “We need to come up with some ideas to form this corporation, as well as a location.”
“Excuse me sir, perhaps I can assist with that last issue. I did some research and found large, relatively isolated tracts of land in Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. The New Mexico location is the least expensive per acre, but it is also the largest. All three properties are in excess of fifty thousand acres,” Oly said.
“Well, I think Nevada’s laws are more suited to what we want, but it might be better to consider the New Mexico property. There are so many ‘secret’ government installations there that we could be easily over-looked as just ‘one of the boys’,” Carla suggested thoughtfully. “Of course, we could form the corporation in Nevada, but still have the main facility in New Mexico.”
The discussion progressed all through the morning. Carla had gotten a legal pad and was taking copious notes. Finally, around four o’clock, Oly interrupted them. “Ms. Nelson, your cell phone is ringing. Do y
ou want me to put it through to your communit?”
Carla looked a little surprised. “Uh, yes please. Thank you, Olympus.” When she heard the ringtone in her ear, she touched the earpiece and said “Hello?” She paused for the other person to answer. “Paula? I thought you had to...” The other person must have interrupted her.
“That dirty rotten bastard! We’ll sue those fuckers for every damn dime they have!” Carla said, instantly livid with what she was hearing. “You did what? Love, haven’t you...”
She paused to listen, “Oh! I didn’t know, are you alright?”
Pause, “They did? Well, I hope the son-of-a-bitch is in the hospital for a week!”
This was a longer pause while the other person spoke, “Sweetheart, relax. I got the job out here, and they really would like to talk to you too. Why don’t you pack up our clothes, and personal stuff, tell Jacobs that we’re moving, and he can have our furniture, and I’ll see if the jet can come and get you?”
She listened to the answer. “Honey, they’re a very liberal corporation, they have no problem with us. The owner even referred to you as my wife,”
She listened again. “No, I think you’ll like them, they’re not like rich snobs at all, besides, don’t you remember I said they wanted to talk to you as well?”
While the other person spoke, she winked at Ian. “Yes, they have need of an architect. Actually, from what I’ve seen of their plans, they could use three or four.”
Pause. “Really? Do you think they’d be interested?”
Pause, “How about we do this, we get you out here, you can see what’s going on, and you can either recommend the others, or not?”
Pause to listen. “Okay sweetheart, I’ll give you a call as soon as I find out about flight arrangements. I love you.” Carla smiled. “Bye.”
She looked at Ian, “Well, it seems my mate was fired from her job for kicking her boss’ son in the nuts. Of course, he was trying to rape her at the time. She said she would be happy to get out of New York for a while. She might even know of a couple more architects that work at her old firm that would like a change as well. I don’t know them, so I’ll leave it up to her to decide.”