That meant the Monsuda could claim Anneliese at any moment. It turned her stomach. The past six months, she’d believed she could finally live without fear, that at last she was safe from the fight she’d never had a chance of winning.
“Give me two hours to get a few things done. It will be full dark here by then.” She frowned at the box on his belt. “Can that thing translate two hours?”
“Yes, it converts the interval. It is wonderful to talk to you and be understood.” He grinned brightly, and the genuine pleasure on his striped face made Anneliese’s heart warm. It made her want to reach over and touch him. Take his hand, tell him that she’d been thinking of him these last six months.
Then what?
Unsure of the answer to that, she just stood there, looking at him. The silence spun long between them, and the voltage of Nex’s happy expression dimmed with the passing seconds. The pointed tips of his ears drooped down. Anneliese shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.
Fortunately for their growing mutual discomfort, sirens sounded in the distance. Anneliese didn’t know if the police were headed that way. Maybe her bigoted buddy had decided to brave derision and report flying saucers. Perhaps Carl had peeked outside and decided he wasn’t having a pot-induced hallucination.
“Nex, you need to go before anyone else spots you. Find me again in two hours. I’ll make sure to be out of the sight of others.”
“Yes.” He stepped up on the landing circle of ship’s underbelly. It immediately began to rise in the air, heading up to the waiting pod. He grinned down at her and used the single finger and thumb his hand possessed to adjust the translation box’s volume so she could hear it. “Anneliese...I have hoped to see you again. I am so happy.”
Still smiling, Nex disappeared into the saucer. The platform melded seamlessly with the metal hull. Two seconds later, the ship shot like a bullet into the clouds and was gone.
Anneliese reclaimed her scattered tents and piled them and herself into the truck. The whole while, her heart pounded. Nex had returned. She was going to meet with him again. The fantasy of that had recurred over and over since the day she’d returned to Earth. Since the night Nex had flown her through the interstellar portal joining her home to the far-off planet of Risnar, located in some galaxy that maybe no one on her world had ever dreamed of.
A day hadn’t passed in the last six months without Anneliese daydreaming about the striped alien, the alien she’d impetuously kissed goodbye when he’d brought her home. It had been a hell of a kiss.
For me. Probably not so much for him. Not that it matters.
“He did kiss me back, though. I’ve replayed that moment a billion times now, and I know that for a fact.”
No doubt the best kiss of her life had been a one-off. The fantasy of alien sex was a fine complement to her vibrator. That was all she needed. No sense in thinking there would...or should...be anything more.
However, Anneliese couldn’t deny the anticipation of spending some time with the Risnarish man. She wasn’t happy that she’d been in danger of being taken by the insect-like Monsuda and kept as a rat in their labs. But happy that she was going to be with Nex again? Tonight? Oh yes. That made her happy indeed.
Chapter Two
Nex was flying high, a feeling that had nothing to do with being in a collection pod hurtling through an open portal between several hundred galaxies. His spirit sang with delight.
Yes, he’d been disappointed that Anneliese couldn’t come with him right away. The option of remaining on Earth with her until she could go had also apparently not been feasible. Nex had hoped to have extra time to spend with the Earthling before taking her to the medical team in Cas Village, where they’d remove the tracking implant the Monsuda had given her.
He’d been waiting for the moment he could visit her since the warriors of Cas had secured the hive near their village. Their winning of that hive and its portal to Earth had cemented the decision to leave the nearby village of Hahz, where he’d been born and raised. Nex had recently returned to his first love, biology. He’d immersed himself in engineering, as well, in order to secure a place on the science team that studied the daunting Monsudan technology.
Anneliese was as beautiful as he remembered with her blue-black shoulder-length hair and gleaming brown skin. Her dark eyes, flashing with humor and intelligence. The set of her jaw, that determined bravery she’d shown, defiant in the face of perceived danger. Her clothing had been bulky in the cold environs of her home habitat, but Nex could picture her as he’d seen her before; slender but strong, supple but fascinatingly rounded.
The kiss she’d given Nex when he’d taken her home so many months prior still tingled on his lips. Some nights, its memory kept him awake, as did the fantasies of embracing Anneliese in his lonely bed. Of doing more than merely holding her.
He tried not to think too much of how unlikely it was that she assigned the same importance to that kiss as he did. It had been a moment of rescue, for which she’d been grateful. Perhaps Earthlings gifted kisses as a means of thanks. He wished he knew for sure. If she felt any of the same attraction he did...
Foolish dreams, to think anything more than the one embrace could be possible. Certainly thoughts of having her around for any length of time were absurd. Anneliese belonged on Earth, a planet that was for the most part unaware of Risnar. Even the Risnarish had not known of the umbilical portal connecting the two words across unfathomable space until a few months ago. Nex and his people had lived millennia with no knowledge of the species who had a tenuous claim to being their kin, a consequence of the Monsuda tampering with both beings’ genetics.
The Assembly had made it clear Earthlings had no permanent place on Risnar. Nex had no business mulling over Anneliese beyond someone he needed to help keep the Monsuda from. Nonetheless, his hearts refused to listen to good counsel when it came to her.
Anneliese. Anneliese, Anneliese, Anneliese.
He was doing it again. Nex had let himself become consumed with impossible daydreams of the Earthling. He barely saw the seamless silver surroundings and colorful, flashing readouts of the pod’s operational status. Not even the computer podium before him could take his gaze from his mind’s eye where Anneliese smiled.
He sighed. The sound woke him from his thoughts and he laughed at himself for his fixation. It was ridiculous to be enamored as he was.
He’d shared only a few short minutes with Anneliese, but they’d been the most profound minutes of his life. Anneliese was vital. Warm. Exciting. She radiated energy that spoke to Nex, an energy he craved to be near.
I have hoped to see you again. I am so happy. His last words to her had been uttered quickly in a belated attempt to translate some of his feelings to her. They had failed to emote the raw eagerness that had sent him to Earth early, hoping to linger with her a few seconds longer than his mission required.
The slight sensation of the ship being buffeted eased beneath his feet. Then it halted entirely, and Nex returned to the present. The control marked in Monsudan writing as Cradle flashed yellow on the computer podium. After a moment, it glowed steadily. Nex poked the green button next to it with two fingers, and the hatch behind him opened.
Nex turned and stepped out, entering the Cas hive portal chamber. As usual, Salno waited behind the podium controls just beyond the collar entrance to the portal itself. He schooled his own expression to be as placid as possible.
He could never hope to reach his fellow scientist’s aura of dispassionate calm. Nor did he want to. Risnarish females were in a class all their own when it came to spiritual connectedness.
Salno was a lovely woman, however. Her muted-gold skin, lined with reddish-brown and white stripes, reminded Nex of a bright summer’s day in a meadow beneath a sheltering tree. She possessed the perfect coloration for a Risnarish who lived in the grasslands that surrounded Cas. Her lissome body was gracefu
l, but with barely any hint of the curves that made Earthling women fascinating to look upon. She was lovely in the way Nex found all Risnarish women lovely: serene and unapproachable.
Her lilting tone gave no rebuke when he stepped out of the pod alone. “Too early in the day?”
“You were right,” Nex admitted. He managed to keep disappointment from his tone. It wasn’t her fault he’d insisted on trying to get to Anneliese sooner than was advisable.
Nex drew a deep breath and gave Salno an equable smile. His colleague led the team studying all aspects of the Monsudan experimentation program on Earthlings, from the portal to the biology of the alien species itself. Salno was easy to work with. Smart and dedicated, she surpassed him in many ways, but took no opportunity to act superior.
However, Nex missed the camaraderie of the more energetic and emotional men he’d once worked with. Salno was friendly, but she was Risnarish and she was female, as was the rest of team that collected readings on the portal. He found it difficult to forge a real connection with this set of colleagues. Where men would have hailed his return with gusto, a couple of women only nodded noncommittally as they passed Nex. Without a word, they clambered into the pod and collected the latest evaluations their instruments had gathered.
He headed down the ramp to the floor, moving out of their path. The portal chamber was larger than the one that had been discovered and destroyed at the Hahz hive. The floor was the only level surface in the massive room. The rest of it curved in a dull gray metal bubble. The striped Risnarish moved about, tiny bugs in the huge space.
Halfway to the computer podium where Salno stood, Nex turned to the portal itself. His scientist’s gaze scanned it, filling him anew with awe.
Like a great metal collar, the portal entrance was Monsudan-made, a gateway for the rounded transportation pod to enter and exit. Twice the size of Hahz’s portal entrance, a second pod could have easily come through and settled next to the first. Perhaps it had been constructed for that. It seemed reasonable, if unsettling. Until the events of six months prior, the Risnarish had not had cause to believe the thousands of separate Monsudan hives were working together in any important capacity. Now they knew better. It had led to Nex’s people planning an all-out war against their planet’s second sentient species.
The war was not on yet, not really. Two villages had invaded and taken two hives. There was a long fight to go.
The Risnarish scientists moved about the well-lit room, serene and safe. Did they realize the long, hard road and dangers ahead for the warriors? Nex couldn’t have said. The women were beyond his understanding. Nex couldn’t imagine any of the imperturbable women grabbing and kissing him on a whim.
Nex went to the podium, a larger version of what he’d operated within the transportation pod. Salno’s scent greeted him. Her aroma was that of a Cas Village resident; a grassy smell with undertones of a floral fragrance. Nex remembered Anneliese’s scent when she’d kissed him months ago: fresh, clean, sweet. Maybe the slightest bit woodsy. Her smell reminded him of home.
He connected his computer to the Monsudan records to study some of the destinations the enemy had gone to on Earth. In an offhand tone, he told Salno, “I’ll return for Anneliese in a couple of hours.”
“You call her by name. You have not done so with any of the other Earthlings we’ve helped.”
“I haven’t? I guess I remember her better than the others.”
“It suggests that this human is special to you. Why?” Salno cocked her head and regarded him with quiet interest.
Nex didn’t want to tell his supervisor the rush of emotions triggered by Anneliese. Certainly he didn’t want to share such feelings in a room full of Risnarish women. Even if he was comfortable doing so, he couldn’t imagine describing the electric excitement of the Earthling who filled his thoughts.
He settled for, “Anneliese is interesting to me. I find her bold, energetic, fierce...qualities I identify with, as a man.”
Salno considered, then nodded as if she understood. “Earthling women are a fascinating study. I’ve begun to delve into psychology in my spare hours, in an attempt to understand how Risnarish men and therefore, Earthling women, think. The way you described Jeannie Gardner has excited my interest.”
Nex tried to imagine Salno excited about anything and failed. No, that wasn’t fair. It was just that Salno’s brand of enthusiasm was so controlled compared to his. She didn’t jabber at breakneck speed the way he did when discussing research findings. “Yes, we’ve had several conversations about Jeannie, haven’t we?”
“I’ve wanted to speak one-to-one with an Earthling woman for several weeks now. Unfortunately, I have had no opportunity to journey to Hahz. Perhaps this Anneliese would consent to an interview while she is here? I would enjoy talking with her, provided she is not too traumatized like many of the others we’ve helped.”
A jolt of hope shot through Nex. If Salno wanted to ask questions of Anneliese, it might keep the Earthling on Risnar longer. It could give Nex the opportunity to spend extra time with her.
He was a fool. As if a few extra seconds would satisfy his infatuation! Nevertheless, the idea of those additional moments delighted him to the extreme.
Pretending his hearts weren’t pounding fast, he tried to keep his voice steady. “I don’t see why Anneliese wouldn’t agree. She strikes me as being more resilient than most. As I said, she’s strong, bold, and intelligent. I’ll be sure to bring up your interest when I go to fetch her. You’ll find she’s braver than many of the Earthlings we’ve recalled. I’m sure she’ll be glad to consent to an interview.”
Despite his efforts, the words came out faster and faster, until they were spilling over each other.
Salno gave him a slight smile, the way she always did when he became too excited and talked too much. Nex snapped his mouth shut at the look, though Salno never reprimanded him or grew irritated over his exuberance. She was kind that way.
He bit his lips, determined not to go overboard again. He made himself settle by paying attention to the tasks before him. When Anneliese tried to intrude on his thoughts, he forced himself back to the present.
He and Salno worked quietly side by side for several minutes. Then she shook herself. Her ears flattened out for an instant, which Nex had learned was her lone concession to annoyance.
“My apologies, Nex. I was so intrigued by the notion of speaking to the Earthling that I let myself forget important news.”
“I’m sure if it had been an emergency, you would have told me right away.”
“It’s no emergency, but important nevertheless. Other villages are reporting movement among the hives. Drones are short-range teleporting in large groups. They may be headed this way, readying to attack.”
“Our containment fields are in place,” Nex reminded her, though his skin crawled when he visualized the hive swarming with the drones. The Monsuda used the humanoid-looking devices to fight their battles.
Salno nodded; her ears perked up again. “Yes. And the warriors are ready both here and in Cas Village. I thought it prudent to mention, in case something unexpected was to go wrong.” A light flashed on her computer, also connected to the pod and portal controls. She checked it and continued on to their next order of business. “It is after nightfall for subject Jonas Turner, male. His location is southeast England.”
Nex looked critically at the floating lab tables the enemy had used to move their subjects around on. The three in the portal chamber were lying on the floor, useless now that they could no longer maintain a charge. “Have a table ready. The males tend to need sedation.”
“They do react violently to aliens, even if we aren’t anything like the Monsuda.” Salno’s words might have been a low-key joke. Delivered in her usual conversational tone, it was impossible to tell.
“It’s that trauma you spoke of. Funny how being victimized by one species
makes them sensitive about us all.”
Salno regarded him. “Funny? You find humor in their plight, Nex?”
She hadn’t been joking. Nex suppressed a sigh. “No, there’s no humor in this. I was just...never mind.” The shared sarcasm he’d half hoped for was apparently an impossibility for Salno.
Nex boarded the transportation pod again, reflecting that Anneliese probably would have gotten the humor. In fact, he was sure she would have. It was too bad that perhaps the perfect woman for Nex was not of his species.
Chapter Three
Anneliese was so excited she could barely steer straight. She drove out of Massena, glad to put it in her rearview mirror. Several miles down the road, the bridge to Canada slid past. Minutes later, she passed the Welcome to Akwesasne sign, her official return to the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.
Anneliese drove down Route 37, noting the businesses and homes of cousins and friends as she went. As far as family went, cousins were all she had left. She had a ton of those, her relationships ranging from friendly to downright despising.
The reservation appeared cold and huddled, waiting for the first warmth of spring to finally arrive. Snow heaped everywhere except the well-plowed roads, disregarding the calendar as if it would never leave.
Consideration for the long-awaited warmth flew before the even warmer notions. Nex is coming back for me. Anneliese could hardly stand to stop by the tribe’s administration building to drop off the tents to the scouts’ den leader. Being hailed by familiar faces in the office space and having to greet people she’d known all her life, people she’d see a billion times more before she died, grated on her nerves this afternoon. Anneliese wanted to get home. She’d only be with Nex a few hours at the most. She wanted to be sure she was ready to make every moment of that brief interlude count.
For the next fifteen minutes, she was thwarted. She donated the tents, protested having her picture taken for the local newspaper as a valued contributor to the scouts, gave in badly to having her picture taken anyhow, and listened to the latest gossip on what seemed like all the residents of the reservation. She finally broke away and was on the road, driving home.
Worlds Apart (Warriors of Risnar) Page 2