by K. L. Wallen
“Mom, they’re here. Told ya they’d come.” She wasn’t as loud on the second sentence and hoped her mom was far enough away that she didn’t hear it.
“May I ask how you know these things?” Dorn asked before Christine Shasta came down the stairs.
“My great-grandma, Maude. She’s dead. Maude spends more time with me than she does with mom, but mom has a lot of dead people anyway,” Dakota distractedly replied as she watched the upstairs landing. She continued softly rambling, “Mom only allows Nana and great-grandma to talk to me. She gets super mad when she catches other ghosts talking to me. Mom tells them she’ll send them away for good if they do it again.” Dakota shrugged her small shoulders.
She lowered her voice and added, “They still talk to me though. After all, they’re everywhere! I just don’t tell my mom unless they are bad ones. It’s better that way.”
Christine stepped out of the bedroom and immediately began cursing under her breath.
Dakota giggled and called out, “Mom, it won’t do any good to curse out Nana. I don’t think it was her. It was Maude.”
She then looked up at Commander Gharm and told him, “Nana’s my grandma and she’s dead too.” Dakota quieted and then whispered, “Mom thinks Nana’s been interfering in our lives again, but it’s not her. Maude told me. It was Maude.” She held a small finger up to her lips, “Shh, Maude doesn’t want you to tell.”
Dorn simply shook his head and responded, “Tell her not to worry. I won’t say a word.” As far as Dorn was concerned, if a ghost didn’t want him to tattle, he would respect that. He looked at Blaize who was whispering to Dakota that he wouldn’t say anything either.
“Ms. Shasta,” Dorn called out. “May we be of assistance? Do you require help with your packing?” He heard Dakota nervously giggle some more but her eyes remained focused to the second story.
Christine dropped the box that was in her hands, took hold of the railing, and looked down at her alien intruders. “No, we’re good. Fine, I know when we’ve been had.” In a low voice, she seethed, “Mom, how could you have?” She continued to chastise her mother for making such a monumental decision for her and Dakota. Christine was becoming very animated. She chose to ignore Dakota’s giggles.
Dakota whispered to Dorn and Blaize, “Great-grandma Maude thinks it’s funny.” She chuckled some more and added, “She’s letting Nana take the blame. She’s so bad.”
Dorn wondered if it was normal for ghosts to have a sense of humor. He decided not to ask in case it comes out sounding offensive. “What is your Nana saying?” He felt at a loss since he was only seeing and hearing one side of the heated argument.
“She’s telling mom that I need a dad.” Dakota quieted and listened more intently. “She says mom has to think of me.” Dakota became upset and shouted, “Nana! Stop. Mom does take care of me.”
She bolted up the stairs and wrapped her arms around her mom. “It’s okay mom. I know you think of me.”
“I do,” she replied as she embraced her daughter back. Now that Dakota was getting older, the spontaneous hugs were becoming less frequent. “You’re getting so tall,” Christine observed with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“Does that mean I can shave now?” Dakota smiled when her mom said she’d consider it.
The Commander and Blaize passed each other a glance, then turned their attention elsewhere while Christine and her daughter hugged.
Christine Shasta shook her head, kissed the top of Dakota’s head, and focused her attention back on the aliens. “So, how many suitcases are we allowed to bring? I expect the rest of our belongings to be delivered to us. Will my daughter be safe? I need to hear it from you.”
The Commander wondered if Dakota and her mother held conversations with unseen entities regularly. Deciding not to ask, he quickly moved up the stairs so he was mere inches from Christine Shasta. “You have my promise as Commander of the Guardian. You and your daughter will be safe. Leader Thalmar wishes to extend his hospitality and guarantees the safety of you and Dakota as well.” He searched her expression for acceptance. Dorn intentionally omitted the word Warship so as not to frighten the delicate human female.
“Fine. Tell Attilius I’m not happy about this,” Christine huffed.
Dorn cracked a smile and nodded his head. “I will relay the message.” He took a moment to study her before asking, “You know we’re from another planet?”
“You know we speak to ghosts?” she replied and grinned when he just nodded his head. Christine knew she made her point.
Christine turned and instructed Dakota, “Pumpkin, go and finish packing your clothes. After you’re done, dig that french-fry out from between the car seats. Kinoa is driving me nuts with her crying and digging every time I put her in the car.”
She faced the Commander and held out her hand. “I’m Christine. You’ve already met Dakota.”
Dorn heard Dakota grumble about her mom’s use of pet names now that she’s approaching her teenage years. He noticed that Christine once again chose to ignore Dakota and found this amusing. “I’m Commander Dorn Gharm. The other warrior is Blaize Pulten. He is Chief Security Officer. It is a pleasure to meet you, as the humans would say,” Dorn lightheartedly mused as he finished the introduction. He then assured her that all of her and Dakota’s belongings would follow. Dorn quizzically looked at the piece of metal she handed him.
“It’s a key. It’s to the house. So you can lock it up,” Dakota explained as she stood at the top of the stairs. “I’ll show you how to work it. Her car key is downstairs. She’ll probably want you to have that too. Come on.” Dakota turned halfway down the stairs and shouted that she’d be right back up to pack. Her mother had already reentered the master bedroom to finish packing and was having another conversation with Nana.
“How long ‘til I get to meet my new dad? Does he really have these big, weird looking horses? Are there kids my age there? I’m twelve but will be thirteen in a few months.” She scurried down the last few steps. “Do you have dogs on your planet that Kinoa can play with?”
Dorn shook his head over the one-sided conversation going on upstairs. He looked at Blaize who raised the corner of his mouth and drew his brows together. Blaize simply shrugged to convey he was in line with whatever the Commander was thinking.
He heard Dakota ask again. He gave her a kind smile and replied, “You’ll meet him within a few weeks. You and your mom will stay on my ship until Leader Thalmar’s private ship arrives. My Co-Commander will make sure you’re both comfortable. I can’t say for sure, but I believe he does have a stable full of animals similar to your horses. They are called gyoccos. There are many others on our planet that are your age. We have don’t have dogs on our planet, but we do have a similar animal called a cammor.”
*.*
Carlie kicked off her shoes and called out to Justin, “Hey, picked up dinner. Wash up.”
“I put the baked beans in the oven. What do we have with it?” He pulled a couple of glasses out of the cupboard and then a couple of spoons from the drawer.
“Turkey dogs!” Carlie cheerily told him. She actually felt like crying because she didn’t earn enough to provide a better life.
Justin looked at his sister’s expression and knew it was killing her that they might be separated, because some asshole believes he would be better off eating hamburger and chicken. “I love turkey dogs,” he told her as he pulled the cutting board out of the cupboard. “I’ll cut them up and put them in with the beans while you change.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Really.” Justin rushed to her and gave her a hug. “I love you sis. I won’t let them separate us.”
“I wish it were that easy.” She pulled back and brushed his hair off his forehead.
Justin pulled her in for another hug. Even though Carlie was twelve years older, he was three inches taller. “When we go to court, I’ll dress clean and I promise no swearing. Unless they say we can’t be together,” he shrugged.
“Who? Oh, that lady from the psychic fair?” Justin asked. “Did they catch the murdering asshole?” He held the two plates he pulled out in one hand and waited for an answer.
“Yes! And, she’s coming by tomorrow with the money.” Carlie danced a little jig. “How about cheeseburgers with the works, tomorrow night?” She stopped dancing and added, “If she pays cash. If she writes a check, the bank’s going to hold it.” She smacked her lips and put her hands on her hips. “Let’s hope she gives us cash.”
*.*
While his sister cleaned up, Justin chopped up two turkey dogs, dumped them into the beans, and finished setting the table. He moved to the front door of their one-bedroom apartment when he heard a slight rap. Before looking through the peephole, he glanced at the couch and made sure his pullout bed was tucked back inside, just in case this was a surprise inspection by the assholes downtown.
“Ah fuck,” Justin swore when he saw the huge ass alien through the peephole.
“Justin, my name is Tyce Owynn and I would like to talk to you and your sister. Would you open the door please?” He spoke low enough for Justin to hear but not loud enough to draw attention to himself with the neighbors.
Justin heard the water shut off in the bathroom. He spoke in a low tone that matched the stupid ass alien’s volume, “No. You need to leave. My sister isn’t going with you.” He didn’t want to speak any louder in case Carlie would hear them.
“I would never take your sister away from you. May I come in? I only wish to talk.”
“Not today,” Justin replied and headed back to the kitchen. “Sis,” he called out loudly enough for the alien dumb-shit to hear, “dinner’s ready. Got enough for just the two of us.” He dug out his English test from his backpack and set it on the table for Carlie to see. Justin smiled at the C written in red at the top of the paper. We’ll take this to court with us, he thought, followed with, I should bring papers from all my classes. I wonder if the court checks with the teachers to see if the grades are real. He was worried about his social studies class.
*.*
“The young human male is very protective of his older sister. He wouldn’t allow me entrance. I need to arm myself with every detail we can find on the pair of them before I return again,” Tyce announced as he walked up to Varun and Ivanoff.
Ivanoff responded to Tyce’s frustration. “Without requesting a video conference with Olivia, we have exhausted every known online lead. We know that both are gifted and that the sister is desperately trying to keep her brother with her. We also know about their upcoming court date. You might be able to use this to your advantage.”
“How?” Tyce inquired. “My training did not focus on younglings. I don’t know what to do about her brother, nor do I have any personal experience with family units.”
Ivanoff rubbed the side of his neck. “We’re discussing a situation involving humans that I honestly have no idea how to resolve. We could contact the MacKennas, or perhaps we should ask Dr. Randall. My previous experiences with honored guests have proven that they’re happy to provide insight.”
“Ask an honored guest? Is that how Fleet Commander Scorpak would have handled the situation?” Tyce asked skeptically.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Ivanoff answered honestly. “The same applies to the Fleet Commander’s brothers.”
Dorn turned his commander’s chair to face the two warriors. “Tyce, contact Favian and ask him to bring Stacy to the meeting tomorrow.”
Chapter 7
Favian and Stacy ate a light evening meal in their room, consisting of mostly Pzian dishes with a couple of low-calorie Earth desserts Stacy selected. “I’ll introduce you to the rest of the warriors onboard after we finish.”
“Okay. This is very sweet,” Stacy remarked as she scooped up a piece of orange red fruit that looked like it had the consistency of rubber but softened as soon as her saliva hit it. Of all the pieces of fruit, meat, and vegetables, she found this particular one her favorite. So far.
Favian scooped up one for himself. “It’s one of my favorites. This vegetable increases your energy and protein levels. Yet, it’s sweet like a dessert.”
“Vegetable?” she questioned and smiled as he nodded his head. “I have a lot to learn about your world.” She eyed Favian as he licked the sweet sticky substance off his fork. “Let me.” She reached over and ran her finger through the bowl of vegetables. Stacy winked as she trailed the sweet drippings from her chin to her chest.
Favian understood and pushed the remainder of their meal to the side. “This is so much sweeter,” he whispered as he lowered his head and began slowly running his tongue over the trail. When the trail ended, he nosed aside her robe and latched onto a nipple. Favian’s heart boomed with every heavy pant Stacy made. Unable to take much more, he lifted her up and relocated them to the bedroom.
“I read some more of the instructional manuals,” he announced with amusement as he caged her under his larger body.
Stacy winked and coyly asked, “Really? What new things did you learn?” She knew without a doubt that she would have to thank this Laurel MacKenna when she eventually meets her.
“Did you know that there are over twenty erogenous zones on your body? I’d like to see which ones affect you most. I wish to explore.”
“Do I get to do some exploring also?” She grinned when he told her she could after he was done. Stacy hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of last night, when he thoroughly exhausted her with one orgasm after another. “Favian?” She tugged on his hand. “I’d really like to explore first. Please?”
*.*
The next day, a very happy Favian decided it was time to give Stacy the tour and introductions he’d promised her. “I’ll take you to the medical center so you can check on young Cory Hendrix, after you meet the other warriors. Commander Gharm has called a meeting for this afternoon and would like you to attend.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure I’m quick so we can be back in plenty of time for the meeting. Am I expected to participate? I know nothing about space.” Stacy accepted his outstretched hand and followed his lead. Soon, they were on the bridge where she had the pleasure of meeting a couple more warriors.
“Favian, I wanted to ask you about this Laurel MacKenna. You’ve mentioned her several times. Did you meet her?”
Favian cracked a smile. “No, I haven’t met her but I’ve seen videos of her. Laurel MacKenna is Sherry and Nolan’s niece. Her parents are Bridgett and Conall. The Commander plans on picking up most of the MacKenna clan soon.”
“So, tell me about Laurel,” she prompted.
Favian scratched the back of his head. “Honored Guest Laurel is to be life-mated to our Fleet Commander. I heard that their life-mating was postponed but don’t know the reason. She is reputed to be spirited, creative, and attentive. I heard tell that the Fleet Commander had a great deal of difficulty with her when he first took her to his transporter. In fact, she escaped back to Earth.”
When he paused, Stacy prompted, “Go on. This is getting interesting.”
Favian laughed. “I can only tell you what I’ve heard. Well, it seems that while Laurel was on Earth she came across what you call a mountain lion. Fleet Commander Scorpak transported down to rescue her and she refused to leave. She held up some sort of twig and tried to help him. In fact, as I recall, she tried to rescue the Fleet Commander from a poisonous snake the first time he met her.” Favian laughed again.
“She’s very stubborn. So, the Fleet Commander got rid of the lion and took her back to his ship. Her cousin, Moira, went to pick her up from her location on Earth and wo
und up getting picked up by one of the twins, Breneem or Bolano, and Gorgo, the ship’s healer by mistake. One of them, along with their ship’s healer, transported down and were pursuing her in an attempt to bring her back to their ship. However, the Fleet Commander was the one to recapture Laurel. When Moira ran past the pair of them, and not knowing their commander already intercepted Laurel, they grabbed Moira. It was because of her red hair, and they obviously didn’t take the time to look at her closely. The two cousins tried to find another way to escape, but our Fleet Commander made sure that didn’t happen.
Moira is now life-mated to the twins and they are expecting twin daughters. I hear they are very happy. I also hear that the twins are overly protective and threaten every warrior who even glance in Moira’s direction. I also heard that she gave the Fleet Commander a bloody nose.” Favian shook his head and raised his hand to the back of his neck.
“I can’t wait to meet them. Were there other honored guests? Will I always be dubbed an honored guest?”
“Once we life-mate you will no longer be referred to as an honored guest. You will be a Pzianian citizen. There were a number of other honored guests, in fact, one of them is returning here and due to arrive soon.” He took her hand and led her to the door. “Let’s go. I’ll tell you about the rest of them tonight over evening meal. I’ll invite Ivanoff. He has met them all.”
On their way to the cafeteria, Favian found they had a few minutes and addressed her concern of earlier. “My love, the Commander will expect you to participate. Don’t worry though. All you will have to do is answer questions about earth culture and hopefully provide insight our warriors might use when seeking their honored guests. You won’t be in there for the entire meeting.” He was glad that she didn’t object to the meeting or helping the other warriors.
They entered the cafeteria for a specialty coffee. He introduced her to Warriors Obard Bylt and Ninjk Mrirux. “They provide technical support,” he informed her. Their final stops were the entertainment center and training room. Favian was pleased that she felt relaxed enough to let go of his hand, even though he was quick to recapture her soft hand after she shook the other warriors’ hands. Favian ignored the knowing grins and kept close to his chosen life-mate.