Really? For someone so strong, certain, and authoritative you’re sure good at placing decisions on me. I guess it’s a cultural thing, but anyway.
“It will be a while until the fleet leaves, but we have three options. I can stay on Earth with you. You can stay with me on this ship, and when the time comes to leave, we leave together. Or, we can go separate ways. You remain on the planet, I stay here, and when the military’s role on Earth is over, I disappear, and you can go on with your life.”
This was much too complicated.
I guess it’s logical that this ship will leave one day, but I assumed it would always be here.
She could bring her favorite things to the ship and do her best to fit in. It would mean leaving her world behind, her family, everyone and everything she ever cared about. If they left together, they would eat recycled food, never see her own sun again, never smell the oceans, or walk across a green field.
They would travel from war to war until a skirmish on some faraway planet claimed his life. Then, she’d be a widow on an alien spaceship.
The thought was too much to bear and made her want to weep.
If he stayed with her, they would be a great example of coexisting. Maybe he could be stationed on Earth, overseeing the reunification. They could show what the world would need to be like in the future, when more aliens came, and they would be hated by many.
It was easy to imagine people throwing rocks at them, and worse.
Too many people nurtured a deep hatred for the newcomers, and it wouldn’t matter that their union saved the planet. Others would follow in time, but even then it would not be easy. The planet held countless examples of that.
On the upside, all this will help people see humans aren’t all that different. Skin color, religion, and sexual preference aside, we’re all human and should be united.
She leaned on her elbow to be able to look at him.
“I don’t like the third one.”
He fixed his wonderful golden eyes on her.
“I don’t like that either. My One means the world to me, and if it’s not against her wish, I’d want us to stay together.”
Why couldn’t things ever be easy?
“We don’t have to worry about this right now. It will take a while before the situation is stable. It could be years, and by then you might be dying to get rid of me.”
By then maybe you’ll love the place so much you’ll want to stay.
Asking him to leave his world for her would be egotistical, especially knowing he’d just obey if she asked him to.
Going separate ways wasn’t a real choice. How could they pretend nothing happened and continue the lives they had before meeting each other?
He had bound himself to her. The death penalty for infidelity was probably valid even if they weren’t physically in the same part of the galaxy. If he left alone, he’d have to stay alone.
Peter shook her out of the serious mood, making her think everything would be okay. The future was uncertain, but when he tickled her tummy, making her giggle and scream, “No, stop that!” it didn’t seem to matter all that much.
He did stop. He kissed her instead, and she was all too happy to let him.
Chapter Fifteen
Resting in Peter’s arms, in safety, was heavenly, but he stirred all too soon.
Rachael mumbled, barely able to make out her own words, “What time is it?”
He ran a hand over her hair.
“Go back to sleep, Sweetheart, it’s early. I’m going to a meeting. We have to figure out how to handle the re-incorporation.”
She watched him get out of bed and pull clothes on.
That man has a fantastic body. Okay, focus.
“This doesn’t happen a lot, does it?”
“During this phase... I don’t know if it has ever happened.”
We’re pioneers. I like that. If people travel from planet to planet, some are bound to hit it off. I wonder if it’s common that different species get together.”
“Peter, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Sleep hadn’t left her mind completely, and she needed a moment to sort out her thoughts before she spoke.
“People on other worlds, and we, I mean, you and I... How much alike are we? You said we’re not all that different, but...”
“You’re wondering if I’m human, like you, or if I’m a space monster.”
Her cheeks flushed. When put like that it sounded rude. At least he didn’t appear offended.
“We have developed from the same basic genetic material, but on different worlds. We are different, but so are people on your own planet. You’ll get used to it.”
“Will there be people from other places coming here, and will they be more or less different?”
He laughed and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“You’re filled with difficult questions this morning. Eventually, yes. Most will be very much the same, but once the planet is fully assimilated, some will also be different.”
Do they do that on purpose? Send a group easy to relate to?
She didn’t have time to ask anything more. He changed the subject.
“Do you want to go to the surface when I come back?”
“I don’t know. As long as I haven’t seen it, I can pretend home is like it’s always been.”
“Isn’t it better to find out?”
“I guess.”
“Think about it. Get some rest. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She curled up and did her best to heed his advice, but the room was too cold and empty without him.
*****
Once back in the hangar, Rachael looked at the space bike and swallowed a lump in her throat.
“I changed my mind, I don’t want to go.”
Peter chuckled.
“Of course you do, Silly. Get on.”
The very thought of hanging far above the Earth on this thing, going through the atmosphere and seeing the world grow bigger under her made her want to hyperventilate.
“I thought you were supposed to cherish and obey me.”
That wasn’t supposed to make you laugh more. Impossible man.
“I’m a fast learner. You said we’re supposed to make important decisions together. This is an important decision. Get on.”
He patted the seat behind him. This time she did swing her leg over the machine.
“No mercy for a poor girl with vertigo. You could at least invent a spaceship with a roof.”
“This is the safest way to travel. I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”
Peter bent back to kiss her and for a moment, his touch made her forget the evident peril of flying surrounded by nothing but a force field.
I need to stop being such a wuss. He does this every day, probably several times in a day.
Few people got the privilege to see their world from above, and she should at least try to keep her eyes open.
Unfortunately, promising herself to be brave wasn’t the same as actually being brave. She clung to Peter and kept her face hidden against his back most of the way down.
It felt like the thing stopped moving, but she wasn’t sure until he murmured, “I like when you hold me, but you can let go if you want to.”
She turned her head a little to the side and opened one eye. Her house was right there, and hanging on to him might be cowardice since she could put her feet out and have solid ground under them.
Her legs were wobbly from the flight. Good thing he landed close to the door. Just a few steps and she’d be inside. The kitchen held treasures such as coffee and breakfast. Just thinking about coffee gave her the will to stay upright.
After taking just one step, she saw a guard next to the door.
How did I not notice him earlier?
“What is he doing here?”
Peter shrugged.
“I didn’t want anyone to loot it.”
“Did he have to stand here all n
ight?”
“Never mind that. You should be looking...” He paused and frowned as he searched for something in the sky. “Over there.”
She squinted and couldn’t see a thing.
“Why?”
His expression was a little too innocent.
“I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
I so want to go inside and sit down.
He told her to look at the sky, so she looked at the sky. After a few long seconds she still didn’t see anything, so she sat down on the driveway with her legs crossed, ignoring Peter’s conversation with the guard behind her.
Is that a dot? No, it’s probably my eyes, from staring at nothing for too long.
The imaginary speck grew larger and larger.
A vehicle almost identical to Peter’s landed on the lawn, and a short woman with a whirl of blonde hair jumped off. Rachael scrambled to get to her feet, barely aware that Peter pressed his hands into her armpits and lifted her.
“Mom?”
“You were right, Sweetie. It wasn’t the end of the world. Isn’t this exciting? The nice man over there is Raphael. He has been keeping me company, said he was sent by a friend of yours. Oooh, yours is tall.”
No words came to mind, not even one.
“Don’t just stand there and stare. Introduce me.”
Rachael opened her mouth and closed it again. On her second attempt, actual words came out.
“Mom, this is Peter, he’s my...”
The next word was unfamiliar, she had never said it before in this context and it sounded strange.
“...husband. Peter, this is my mom.”
“Peter? Peter what? Doesn’t he have a last name? Sheesh, Girl, one would have thought I raised you in a barn.”
Rachael whispered, “Not that I know of...”
After everything that happened she lacked the mental ability to cope with such an endless stream of words. She glanced towards her One, but he offered no help. Peter just nodded with his face arranged in a polite smile.
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Peter isn’t a name for an alien. What’s his real name?”
Why can’t a hole in the ground open under my feet and get me out of this?
“I don’t know.”
Her mother took her arm and tugged toward the door.
“What do you know? He’s very tall. Is everything proportionate?”
“Mom!”
It was easy to visualize Peter biting his cheek not to laugh. She had three alien men outside the door, and they were probably all rolling on the ground laughing.
The End
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About Maria Hammarblad
Maria Hammarblad is a Swedish author and bass player whose fascination with books started early. Before she could read or write, she made her mother staple papers together to resemble books. She drew suns in them and claimed they were "The Sun Book." They were all about the sun. The four-year old also claimed her existence on Earth was a mistake, the result of a horrible mix-up, and that her real family would come to bring her home to her own planet at any time. This didn't happen, but her fascination with books and other worlds stayed with her.
Besides novels, she also writes award-winning screenplays, enjoys photography, and works with animal rescue organizations.
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Operation Earth Page 18