by Tasha Black
“I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to escape the sci-fi lifestyle,” Kate said firmly. “I’m not about to marry into it.”
Cecily and Beatrix laughed.
But Kate was serious. There were so many reasons for her not to consider a serious relationship right now. But truly, if Kate Henderson married an alien, her whole future would be locked up. There would be no chance to define herself on her own terms, or to dedicate herself to something worthwhile.
And she’d come too far to let go of that goal.
8
Kirk
Kirk walked at Kate’s side, trying to take in all of the sights and sounds of the city.
He had never seen so many people all at once. It was thrilling to think that each had their own separate mission to accomplish, yet all worked cooperatively as if they had a shared end - moving and stopping in tandem in response to the colorful lights set on poles that beckoned them and held them off at intervals.
And yet this was no assembly line. There were cries of greeting and honks of car horns that Kate had explained meant the drivers were criticizing each other. Vendors called out to offer cups of steaming coffee.
And beneath it all, Kirk sensed a hidden rhythm to the cacophony, as if the whole city were performing a symphony, but just couldn’t decide on a key.
Yesterday, on the way to Kate’s apartment, he had been too distracted by the nearness of her small, fragrant body to comprehend anything around them.
But today he felt the weight of his mission to protect her, so he was determined to assess the world around them in order to be able to note anything out of place.
His observation led to a sense of delight in what he had learned, and he strove to find his own part in the city’s concert, even as he scanned the crowd for any threat to his mate.
“We’re supposed to meet the bodyguard at the entrance to the hall,” Kate said.
“I will protect you,” Kirk said. “You do not need an additional guard.”
“Oh,” she replied. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your offer, I do. But professional bodyguards are very experienced. I couldn’t ask you to protect me when I know there’s a real threat.”
“I will protect you anyway,” he told her. “You can have as many other guards as you like.”
She looked up at him as if assessing his sincerity.
He gave her the same half smile that made her blush yesterday and nearly growled with satisfaction when she flushed again.
As before, she looked away immediately, gazing ahead and picking up her pace.
He hoped that she wasn’t confusing his inexperience in Earth customs with innocence. Though he was new to this world of hers, he had lived long enough on his own to understand something of good and evil. He would not allow harm to come to her.
They reached the Convention Center, went through the large lobby and up the moving staircase.
The Con wouldn’t start for another hour but there was already a line at the security check-in.
Kirk watched as Kate put her bag through the machine and stepped through the scanner, then followed through himself.
It was odd how human technology could be so uneven. Solo was often impressed at their ingenuity when it came to engineering efficiency and machines, but Kirk was equally impressed with their guilelessness when it came to their own organic forms. The awkward wand waving was a woefully inaccurate way to scan a human body for weapons, in Kirk’s opinion.
But for better or for worse, they were through the checkpoint now.
Kate headed straight for a muscular man who was holding a sign that said Henderson.
“Kate Henderson,” she said, offering him her hand.
“Mac Reynold,” he replied, shaking vigorously. “I’ll be your eyes and ears, Miss Henderson. But you’ll need to trust me and do as I say. This is a two way street.”
Kate’s face twisted in displeasure. “I’m not sure what Carol told you, but you’re here because of a specific stalker. There is no general security threat.”
“That’s what they all say,” Reynold said with a bitter smile. “But it’s my butt on the line if anything happens to you. Which it won’t, if you do as I say.”
Kirk was not at all happy at the way this man was speaking to Kate. But he restrained himself from speaking for her. Besides, he was focused on keeping a sharp eye out for Spencer.
A young man came out of the checkpoint, his eyes blazing when he saw Kate.
“Miss Henderson, Miss Henderson,” he cried, dashing toward her at an astonishing speed.
Kirk stepped between the man and Kate, and took an instant to observe the potential threat.
He was tall but very young. His eyes were flashing, but the corners of his mouth were pulling up with pleasure. He had no weapon that Kirk could see. He wore a black shirt with the letters SIS on it - short for Suspended in Space.
He was not a threat. He was just an excited fan.
Before Kirk could point him out to Kate, Reynold barreled toward the boy, some sort of weapon in hand.
“He’s not a threat,” Kirk called to Reynold.
But the bodyguard had already applied his weapon to the boy, causing him to fall to the ground convulsing in agony.
“Stop that,” Kate shrieked. “He’s just a fan.”
But Reynold put his foot on the boy’s chest and did not remove his weapon.
Kirk looked from Kate to Reynold and made a quick decision.
He moved quickly but calmly to the bodyguard, stretched out his consciousness to envelope the man’s mass, sensed his weight, and shifted it until it was a fraction of what it normally was. Then he wrapped his arms around the bodyguard’s ribcage, and plucked him easily off the boy’s chest. He carried him away and put him down against the far wall.
He felt some vestige of guilt at using his gift in public, which Dr. Bhimani had warned him he must never do. But he could not allow harm to come to someone who loved Kate.
“What the hell?” Reynold demanded.
“You have just attacked an innocent civilian, against the wishes of your employer,” Kirk informed him sternly.
“He ran up to her,” Reynold spat. “I did my job.”
“Does she look like she’s pleased with what you did?” Kirk asked.
He allowed Reynold enough slack to look over at where Kate sat on the floor next to the boy, who was sitting up.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“F-fine,” the kid said. Kirk figured he was embarrassed to admit to being scared in front of his hero. A large dark patch on the front of the boy’s pants told another tale. Kirk was glad he did not seem to be badly injured.
“Let’s get you some swag,” Kate suggested. “I’d like to give you an official Inertia uniform. I’ll bet you’re the same size as Johnny Santos was when he played 2nd lieutenant Briggs.”
“Wow, thanks,” the kid said, scrambling up and following her.
“You’re dismissed, Reynold,” she said over her shoulder as they headed into the main hall together. “Your manager will hear from my agent, and maybe from this young man’s lawyer.”
“I don’t have a lawyer,” the boy told Kate as they went into the main hall together.
“This is your fault,” the disgraced bodyguard snarled as Kirk let him go.
“We have nothing to say to each other. I have to protect Kate now,” Kirk said, turning his back on the man and headed after her.
He was betting on the guy being too demoralized to tackle him from behind.
He turned when he got to the door and saw that he had been right. Reynold was walking away, shaking his head.
When Kirk caught up with Kate at her table, she was hugging the boy goodbye.
“Come see me later on for some more swag,” she told him. “I want to see you in that uniform.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the kid grinned back at her before trotting away.
“I’m glad you could cheer him up,” Kirk said.
<
br /> “Yeah, thank you so much for helping out,” Kate said. “I don’t know what I would have done.”
“I guess you’ll be calling for a replacement bodyguard now,” he suggested.
“No, I think I already have the perfect bodyguard,” she said, smiling up at him. “If you still want the job, that is.”
Kirk’s heart swelled in his chest.
“It would be my privilege,” he told her.
But the real privilege was seeing her eyes shine as she looked up at him.
She didn’t know yet that she was his mate. But her body was telling him as sure as his own heart told him. They would soon be one.
9
Kate
Kate expected her panic and anger over Reynold’s actions to keep her heart racing for hours, but the day went surprisingly well after the morning scare.
She hated to admit it, but Kirk’s presence was soothing. The gentle giant was so sweet with her fans.
Tex had messaged her in the morning that his hip was acting up, so his spot was open and Kirk sat right beside her again. As a result, she found herself feeling relaxed and enjoying the fan interactions more than ever, since the spotlight wasn’t entirely on her.
“Hey, Katie,” a young female fan said, sneaking a glance at Kirk out of the corner of her eye.
“Hi there,” Kate said. “What’s your name?”
“Bethany,” the girl replied with a big grin.
“Nice to meet you, Bethany,” Kate said, signing a picture and pushing it toward her. “Did you have a favorite episode?”
“I like the one where you had to figure out whether the Phylorians were good guys or bad guys,” Bethany said.
“That was a good one,” Kate admitted.
“It was a life-changer for me,” Bethany said. “I never really thought about words versus actions like that until your speech.”
“That was a great speech,” Kate said. “The writers for the show really knocked it out of the park.”
“It wasn’t just the writers,” Bethany said. “You really rocked it, Katie.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, flushing.
She had always shied away from personal compliments for her performance as Katie. After all, she had been at the audition, seen the waiting room full of other young actresses, any of whom could have played her part and been sitting here right now.
“Say, were you on this show?” Bethany asked Kirk. “I feel like I’d remember.”
“No,” Kirk replied. “I wasn’t on the show, but that is a nice compliment.”
“Thanks for coming,” Kate said quickly, before he could get into why he was beside her.
“Nice,” Bethany said, giving Kate an admiring wink. “He’s a keeper.”
She disappeared into the crowd before Kate could tell her that Kirk wasn’t her boyfriend.
A young couple was already approaching and she turned to them, pulling a headshot off her stack.
And so it went.
A few hours later, Kate was exhausted but happy.
“You’re finished?” Kirk asked, looking at the place where the line had been.
She nodded.
“Now what?” he asked.
She looked around. Spencer seemed to have left the Con, which was great news. Maybe he had finally taken no for an answer.
“Let’s do something fun,” she suggested to Kirk.
He smiled, eyes crinkling.
“Come on,” she said, heading toward the door to the hallway.
Kirk put a protective hand on her shoulder.
A shiver of pleasure tickled its way down her spine at his gentle touch.
She knew she should shrug his hand off before she got too comfortable, but the convention hall was crowded, it made sense for him to stay close, and be sure not to lose her.
When they stepped out into the backstage hallway he removed his hand.
Kate felt a momentary stab of sadness. But she ignored it and moved quickly across the carpet with its concentric circles. They arrived at the green room without bumping into anyone.
“Stay here, I’m just going to change,” she told Kirk.
“Okay,” he said.
He planted himself in the center of the room with his feet slightly apart, looking as if he might gladly stay there until the convention center crumbled to dust, if she needed him to.
She smiled and scurried into the bathroom with her backpack.
Kate stripped out of the Inertia uniform and slid on a pair of leather jeans, cowgirl boots, a white t-shirt and a purple cardigan.
She looked in the mirror as she twisted her long hair into a bun and pinned it into place like a ballerina.
The bun was smooth and perfect. The face it perched on was utterly ordinary. Kate had nice brown eyes and symmetrical features, but none of them were particularly beautiful. She’d been a cute teenager with baby fat still rounding her cheeks and making her look younger than she was when they cast her as Katie Bly. And the producers had described her look as “approachable”. Maybe they figured it would be easy for other girls to put themselves in her shoes - an ordinary girl having extraordinary adventures.
Kate had no argument with her looks. But it was hard not to wonder what Kirk must think of her. Maybe he would like her better if she were a fog or a fine mist or whatever women looked like on Aerie. Or maybe he had learned to appreciate human beauty since watching all those 80s movies to assimilate before his arrival. If that were the case and he compared her beauty to his, she knew she would come out lacking.
Snap out of it, Kate, she scolded herself. You’re not looking for a boyfriend. You’re looking for a new life.
But it was hard not to think about it a little.
She pulled on a short purple wig and slid a pair of sunglasses over her eyes, then checked herself out again.
It was a good disguise. Hiding the hair was the key, and covering up the eyes.
She emerged from the bathroom to find Kirk precisely where she had left him.
“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised. “What happened to your hair?”
“I’m wearing a wig,” she said.
“I see,” he said, still sounding confused.
“It’s pretend hair,” she explained, lifting the wig slightly so he could see her hair underneath.
“Ah,” he said. “This is a good disguise. Like the doctor who was disguised as you.”
“Exactly,” she said. “I’m disguised as a comic book character I like. It’s called cosplay. You get to pretend to be someone you admire. Or at least one that looks cool.”
“Oh,” Kirk said. “This is excellent.”
She could see the wheels turning in his head and suddenly wondered what the Con had looked like through his eyes if he hadn’t been aware of even that simple concept.
“You can ask me anything you want, Kirk,” she said. “If you’re confused about anything, just ask.”
He opened his mouth, closed it again.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Why do you not wish to have a mate?”
Oh. Not exactly the kind of question she had in mind.
“It’s not that I don’t wish to have a mate,” she said slowly. “It’s only that the timing isn’t right.”
“You are of age,” Kirk said. “Your body is ripened.”
Kate blushed and bit her lip, trying to think of a way to respond.
“I have said something wrong?” he suggested.
“No,” she said. “You’re right, my body is mature. It’s my… position in life that isn’t ready.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
He sounded curious, not resentful.
“I want to get my education, learn to do something that matters in the world - not just be an actress playing the same part all the time,” she told him. “I want to help people, make the world a better place.”
“So you wish to delay your mating until your studies are complete,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed.
“I understand,” he told her. “I did not wish to make you uncomfortable by asking you this question. Was it impolite to ask?”
“It would not be polite to ask someone you don’t know well why they aren’t married,” Kate said. “But since we’re friends, it’s okay that you asked me.”
“Friends,” Kirk echoed, in a pleased way. “So what do we do now that you are dressed in your cosplay?”
Kate tried to hide her smile.
“Let’s go explore Comic Con,” she suggested. “You’ve spent two days here. You ought to be able to see what it’s all about.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said with a smile.
They headed back down the hallway. Though Kirk looked carefully before beckoning her out, Kate still scanned the hall behind her before heading back toward the Con.
So far, so good - Spencer was nowhere to be found.
When they entered the Con, Kirk put his hand between her shoulder blades again.
Kate was surprised to feel the tautness leaving her ribcage. She hadn’t even realized she was tense.
They stopped at a booth where a man was making a drawing of a superhero.
Kate watched the shape of a woman appear out of nothing but pencil and paper. Her supple muscle and rippling hair seemed to leap off the page.
“Buck would like this,” Kirk murmured.
“This is what Beatrix does,” Kate told him.
“Beatrix Li?” the artist asked, looking up from his work.
Kate bit her lip. She shouldn’t have said anything that might give her away.
But it was too late.
“Hey, you’re—” the artist began to say.
Kate put a finger to her lip, hoping he would get the hint.
“Oh,” he said, cutting himself off. “Gotcha.”
She smiled gratefully.
“Your drawing is beautiful,” Kirk said. “This woman looks so strong.”
“Well, she’s an alien,” the artist explained.
Kirk nodded, the corners of his mouth turning upward slightly.