by Lisa Lace
“Long ago, there was a similar situation in the western United States. Women were scarce, and mail order brides were common. Those who married did it for different reasons, but they all understood it was for a good cause. As long as the women know what they are getting themselves into, it will work.”
“So you agree, then?” I knew Father was trying to sound calm, but there was a hint of desperation in his tone.
“Hang on a minute.” The President’s face looked like it was made from steel. “I never said I agreed to hand over Earth women into your custody. Your Majesty, we know nothing about you. Your planet is light-years away. We would need to have certain assurances.” She trailed off as if she wasn’t sure what to say next.
“We should send a few women as test subjects,” Mrs. Lynch cut in. “We would need to ensure they were safe and treated properly.”
“That’s a good idea. We can monitor an advance team for physical health, emotional health, and overall happiness.” The President nodded at Mrs. Lynch.
“But we don’t have time. We need wives right away.”
“If you need the females, you will have to make time for this.” The President’s voice was firm. “How long before you can’t reproduce?”
“The scientists estimate between one and two years.”
“We can arrange a group who will return with you as a trial. If everything you’ve said is the truth and there is no danger, we will begin scaling up. You can send ships filled with your men to Earth, and they can start living together as couples on the way to Auxem.” She stared off into space, calculating. “There will be time enough.”
My father nodded. It wasn’t like we had a choice in the matter. If they were willing to give us their women and all they required was a trial period, we would do it.
“We’ll have to run the numbers as to the exact number of women and calculate the time frames. I’m sure we can save your people from extinction together.”
Father looked troubled, but I knew he was trying to be grateful. The idea that an upstart, low-class little planet was dictating terms to us must have irritated him. But we both knew that we were out of options. We needed women without the H4T7 gene and Earth seemed like the biggest source. We just had to prove that life on Auxem was as good as we said.
JAYNE
After the startling revelations at the President’s meeting, my family sat at home trying to figure out how TerraMates could present Auxem as an incredible opportunity. Recruiting women for the initial trial would be difficult.
Mom sighed. “The volunteers are going to have to be tough and self-sufficient. We don’t know what kind of a situation we’re sending them into.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about their mental fortitude,” I said. “You’ve already received initial reports back from your scout team. They all say the Auxem are telling the truth.”
“You never know what people are up to,” Dad said. “They could be playing us. They could have an ulterior motive that they’re not disclosing to us.”
I felt irritated that he could talk about Arnon and his family as if they were a bunch of con artists. “There was nothing but honesty on their faces. I’m a psychologist. I know how to read people. They were telling the truth.”
Dad smiled at me. I knew he loved me, but he never treated my opinions like they mattered. His attitude got on my nerves.
“I don’t think the women should go by themselves,” Mom said slowly. “We need a leader to help make decisions. Maybe we can send one of the regional managers or franchise owners.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dad said. “Everyone who fits that description is either your age, which is a little past the childbearing years, or they’re in relationships and have families of their own.” He proceeded to list off all the TerraMates employees, tapping a finger for each one as he eliminated them. “You can’t expect any of them to go to another planet. You’ll be needed here on Earth. Even if you weren’t, I’m not letting you anywhere near those guys. They must be ready to fuck anything that moves.” His voice trailed off as he glanced at me.
“Yes, Khellen. All your caveman posturing aside, I definitely can’t go. I wasn’t saying I should. But who can we send? It has to be someone we can trust implicitly to both shepherd the women and be a spy for us on the ground.”
My parents stared at each other in dismay. After a moment, my mother spoke. “No one can do it. We’ll have to hire someone and hope a background check and our instincts will be enough.”
“You’d be willing to put those women into some stranger’s hands? I think we can come up with something better than that.”
When I spoke, my voice broke the silence like a crystal glass shattering on the floor. “I’ll do it.”
My mother shook her head. Her face was dark as a thunderstorm.
“Do what?” my father asked. He was always a little slower on the uptake compared to Mom.
“I’ll be your representative. I’ll go, and I’ll watch over everyone. You know I’ll tell the truth.”
“I hope you’re joking.”
“Baby, you’re much too young for something like this…”
“What about getting a job?”
“We can’t possibly let you go.”
I held up my hand, and they stopped talking over each other. “There is no one else who can do this. We just decided that. These people are going to go extinct if we don’t help them. What can be more important than preventing the annihilation of an entire race?”
“Jayne, it’s too dangerous.” My mother was getting frustrated. “It’s fine for other people. It’s not fine for you. You’re still my baby.”
“I’m twenty-seven. Weren’t you pregnant with Maria when you were my age, saving Dad from becoming nothing but a sperm donor? How is this any different from you?”
Mom and Dad looked at each other. “Think about this,” Dad said. “You’d be little more than a brood mare for these people.”
“I think it’s different.” I was highly insulted for myself and Arnon’s people. “Marriage isn’t the same on their planet. It’s forever, and there’s no divorce. They revere women. Did your investigators have anything to say about that, Mom? It sounded to me like they were telling the truth.”
Mom and Dad were tag-teaming me. “You’ve got to be reasonable,” my mother said, trying again. “The other women will be coming from situations where they don’t have any other choice. I’ve worked to give you options. You have your whole life ahead of you. You said yourself that you want to date and choose the man you’re going to love and marry. Why would you want to throw everything away like this?”
I thought about Arnon and his burning brown eyes. I remembered him saying that I was an angel and that I would be his. The memory gave me goosebumps all over again. Maybe I wasn’t as reasonable and self-sacrificing as I thought.
In the back of my mind, I thought Arnon would choose me if I volunteered. I wondered if he really would. Would a single kiss be enough to convince an alien to marry me?
I couldn’t tell Mom and Dad that. They thought I was foolish enough as it was.
“This is you saving the birds again, isn’t it? You have to overcome your instinct to rescue everything.” My mother shook her head. I appreciated that they were concerned about me, but I couldn’t help laughing.
“You’re ridiculous.” My voice said one thing, but my head thought something else. She was uncannily accurate with the bird reference. I preferred to think of them as angels, myself. “Saving an entire race is the complete opposite of wasting my life.”
“People, we have a plan.” My mother was pacing back and forth at the front of the room. All the executives who ran TerraMates were gathered for a meeting to discuss the Auxem project. “There are three steps. First, we will screen the women with the new mental fortitude test we’ve developed. Second, we will test them for the gene. Third, we will interview everyone and make sure they understand how their life is going to change.”
“We will choose fifty suitable women to start. Jayne will lead them. She can supervise everyone and act as a liaison between Auxem and Earth.”
A few curious glances turned my way, but no one said anything. I was certain they were glad it was me going instead of them.
“Because of the permanent nature of the Auxem marriage bond, there will be a series of parties held where the women and the men can meet and self-select a partner. It is important the pairings not be arbitrary or arranged by anyone.”
A hand raised at the back of the room. “Why is that?” It was Aretha, the European division’s director.
Mom explained that the Auxem bonded for life. “Once twenty couples have self-selected, an official from Auxem will bond and marry them according to their customs. We want to make sure each marriage will be legal and binding on both planets.”
“Sounds all right so far.”
“The women will board starships with their husbands and return to Auxem. The couple will be given a few months to conceive naturally. If they have problems, we will provide fertility assistance. After conception, the women will give birth on Auxem and begin their lives as citizens of another planet.”
Mom turned to look at me. I stood up, feeling nervous to be addressing so many people. I had to remember that I had trained for this position and I would be good at my job. I was going to take care of these women.
“That’s where I come in. The BioScans will be storing information about the brides, but we will need to send the data to Earth periodically. Along with the formal statistics, I will be gathering information about our women’s emotional and mental states. The plan is for me to report back, describing the women’s treatment and health care, as well the dynamics I see between each woman and her husband.”
“Jayne will provide essential information, helping the President to make an informed decision. Let me stress that this is a pilot program. We still need to figure out if we are going to allow more women to emigrate to Auxem.”
Aretha spoke again. “Are you are willing to take this position, Jayne? You said they. Shouldn’t you have said we? Are you going to be part of the initial program too?”
“Yes, of course. I’m willing. I volunteered.”
“Why would you do that?”
“How often does a girl get a chance to save a planet from extinction?” I shrugged and smiled at the female faces around me. Most were laughing at my joke, but a few showed concern beneath their smiles.
For the first time, I felt a twinge of fear in my heart. What was I getting myself into?
Chapter Four
JAYNE
The darkened room was set up with loud music and all the alcohol one could drink. Tables and booths were strategically placed to provide areas where people could have intimate conversations. The tables were protected from noise, letting couples talk without having to yell at each other.
There were supposed to be a hundred young, sexy Auxem men here, along with fifty pre-screened Earth women. Everyone was behaving the same way they did at a bar or a nightclub. People were talking, dancing, and getting to know each other. But there was an edge to all the interactions.
These were not people looking for a one-night stand. They were looking for life-long partners. There was more at stake here than in a typical evening encounter.
I sighed and tucked myself back into the small, dark, booth I had found for myself. Bars weren’t exactly my thing.
In spite of my love of people, I was an introvert. If I had a choice, I would rather be at home curled up on the couch with a book than hanging out here. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. Even though the table provided noise protection, I was getting a headache.
With a start, I opened my eyes as I felt someone slide into the booth beside me. It was Arnon. I was so surprised that I couldn’t say anything for a moment. I had hoped he would be here tonight, but I hadn’t believed he would come.
In fact, maybe he wasn’t available. Maybe he was keeping an eye on things as the crown prince. If that were the case, it would crush me. In my fantasies, he was here, and he chose me.
I swallowed hard as seconds passed and my body began to warm up from the heat of his stare. He was wearing a suit that was fashionable on Earth, but he didn’t look comfortable in it. His jaw was square and his lips looked utterly kissable. He had short, dark brown hair that matched his mysterious eyes. I remembered that his body was exquisite. He hadn’t worn a shirt when he had sat before me on my bed. I couldn’t see any of it now, but I sensed it beneath his clothes.
“So,” I said, struggling to make small talk. “Why are you here?”
“The same reason as you, I suspect. I’m trying for one of the Earth women.” He leaned back against the booth and looked gorgeous.
“Why would you do that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? It looks good for us from a public relations perspective, doesn’t it? The crown prince should be part of the initial trial. It will give people confidence.” He paused. “That’s what my father said when he suggested it, at least. He never wanted me to be a part of the trials before. I think something changed his mind.”
I watched him carefully as he spoke. “Is that really why you’re doing it? Because your daddy told you to?” I never took my eyes off his face.
“Maybe not.” He casually ran his eyes up and down my body. “Why are you here?”
“I’m going to be the TerraMates representative in charge of this operation. I’m doing a favor for my mom.”
He stared at me curiously and shook his head. “That’s not why you’re here.”
I wondered if he could see through me. Did he know I had been thinking about him?
He grinned. “Perhaps you’re here for the same reason I am.”
My heart caught in my throat and a tingling sensation spread through my entire body. Was Arnon saying what I thought he was saying?
“Why are you sitting here in the corner, hiding?”
“I’m not.” I was hiding, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of being right.
“Were you waiting for someone in particular?”
I didn’t answer him, looking away and choosing to gaze at the sea of bodies on the dance floor. He leaned over and whispered into my ear, making me shiver in spite of myself.
“Were you hoping I would make you mine?”
I could feel my chest lift and fall with my rapid breathing. “Why did you come into my bedroom?” I asked, turning my head and looking in his eyes.
Just like that, I saw his face close off.
“I don’t know what you mean.” His eyes looked like steel. “I’m here to get through the first round of choosing. I select you, if you’ll have me. If you make the correct decision, I propose you arrange a date tomorrow to show me more of your world. If you turn me down, I’ll have to find someone else to bump and grind.”
I was shocked at his rude comment and irritated that he was closing me out again. But I felt drawn to him, in spite of his attitude. I prided myself on my ability to read people and being able to tell good apples from bad. With Arnon, everything felt like shifting sand. I didn’t know if I could trust my feelings about him. Was he a good guy, or was I being fooled by his looks and my attraction to him?
I didn’t know why he was pretending he had never come to my room. What was so terrible about his wings that he needed to keep them a secret? I didn’t like how he kept closing down on me, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to be with him. If I couldn’t choose him, I wouldn’t want any of the other aliens in the room. I heard myself agreeing to move into round two with him.
“Come to my house. We’ll figure it out from there.”
ARNON
After we had arranged the details of our date for the next day, I was at a loss for words. “Would you like to dance?” I asked.
“Of course.” I could tell she was trying to speak in an offhand manner, but there was a flush to her chee
ks that belied her apparent disinterest. “We can make a stop and let them know that we’re moving on together.”
“I guess that’s a good idea.” I was surprised to feel my heart rate kicking up a notch at the notion. We were in an entirely artificial situation, but it felt like everything was moving quickly. Saying the words ‘round two’ made things feel official between us.
It bothered me that I had revealed my wings to a human when my father had explicitly told us to keep them to ourselves. They weren’t supposed to know about them until they bore the first generation of babies. If they knew the pain and trauma associated with flight, they would never agree to interbreed with us.
My first impressions of the humans were that they were a primitive descendant of the Great Race. They had certain noble characteristics and honorable sensibilities. An intelligent savage, one might say. I doubted they would ever agree to have half-human babies that went through pain and agony in adolescence. Would the result of flight be worth the price of suffering? It hadn’t been enough for any other race up until this point.
Protocol ordered us to keep our dual nature hidden at all times. Now I had broken the rules, by revealing myself to Jayne without erasing her memories. I had been stupid enough to think we would never meet again, hoping time and rational thought would make her forget me or think I was a dream.
She was beautiful, but I didn’t know her. I had no idea if I could trust her or not. Until she earned my confidence, I would have to play a game and pretend we never met. As soon as I saw her, I started losing, though. Everything I said to her was stupid and dangerous. She was making me lose my mind.
I thought of myself as calm and in control, and in almost every other situation I was. I didn’t let people get me angry. I measured my words and spoke deliberately. I made the correct decisions and was responsible.
As soon as I kissed Jayne, something changed inside me. I stopped thinking clearly and wanted her to remember me. Instead of playing it cool when we met at the dinner, I interacted with her.