by L P Peace
‘We’re about to go through a wormhole,’ she pointed out.
‘Yes.’ Devorak nodded. ‘And I really dislike it. Makios told me you have only been through once before and asked me to sit with you.’
Even disappointed, even pissed, he was still thinking of her.
‘I thought we might “freak out” together.’ He nodded at her.
‘Freak out?’
Devorak nodded. ‘I have managed to make some human friends on Tessa,’ he said. ‘They have taught me some of your human vernacular.’
No one on Earth had used that phrase for a long time. It appeared in old movies, so either these humans were generations removed from Earth or they were making fun of him. Rhona realised she didn’t have the heart to enquire. She wanted to believe these people weren’t mocking him.
Suddenly, Devorak’s hand shot out and grabbed Rhona’s. For a moment, she tried to pull her hand away from his, then she saw the panic in his eyes.
‘I hate this part,’ he whispered.
The bottom fell out of her stomach. ‘Oh, God,’ she cried out and shut her eyes.
‘Closing your eyes just makes it worse,’ Devorak said. ‘Trust me.’
Rhona realised he was right. The nauseous feeling in her stomach was rising even quicker than last time. Perhaps being on the bridge helped, like being above deck on a boat and keeping your eyes on the horizon to trick your brain into orienting.
Rhona opened her eyes and saw Devorak staring at her. His upturned eyes were holding her gaze. His throat swallowing over and over.
‘This is the weirdest moment of my life,’ Rhona said.
‘Tell me,’ he said, almost urgently. ‘Why?’ He’s trying to distract himself, Rhona realised. Maybe it would work for both of them.
‘I never thought I’d be on an alien spaceship, in love with an alien and holding the hand of one of your kind.’
‘Really, I’m flattered, Rhona, but I think you should know I’m saving myself for my future wife.’
‘That’s not what I—wait, you’re saving yourself? Are you a virgin?’
Devorak grinned wickedly at her. It was not the grin of a virgin. ‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m just trying to let you down gently. Besides, I think the captain’s in love with you.’
‘You’re a sly one, aren’t you?’ Rhona watched him. ‘You deflect with humour.’
‘And you confront things before you’ve had a chance to assess the situation.’ He looked at her. ‘It’s a flaw you need to overcome.’ His face was deadly serious.
‘And what are your flaws?’
‘Many,’ he said without thinking. ‘I am working to overcome each one. To be a better ruler, so that when I take my throne I can guide my people to be better.’
‘Your throne,’ she frowned at him, then yelped when the ship started shaking.
‘I’m the crown prince of my people.’
‘Were your family in power during The Violation?’ She could see the answer in his eyes.
‘My father,’ he admitted, then sighed. ‘We have not always been like this, Rhona,’ he said, as though it justified anything.
Rhona was going to snatch her hand away but remembered what he had said just moments ago. She needed to assess the situation. ‘What happened?’
‘What always happens.’ He looked at her.
The shaking was rattling the surfaces downstairs. She heard plastic pottery being beaten around inside their containers.
‘Do you know what inspires a race to establish an empire?’ Devorak asked.
Rhona searched her mind for his meaning, but she was good at art, at people, at trade. She wasn’t a politician like her dad. She shook her head.
‘Being invaded by another empire,’ he said before the shaking increased so much that they both had to clench their teeth to stop them clattering.
Devorak’s eyes stayed on hers. She could see genuine fear on his face. Rhona kept her eyes on him. Somehow, reassuring him was making her feel better.
The shaking reached the crescendo, and then everything stopped.
‘I hate this bit,’ Devorak whispered. He was so pale already, but his skin seemed to take on a purplish-grey hue.
‘The eye of the storm,’ she found herself saying.
‘Rhona,’ Makios’s voice cut through the comm. ‘Stay in your seat. We’re not through, remember.’
‘I’m not stupid!’ she yelled at the top of lungs.
‘What was that?’ Devorak was grinning at her.
Rhona frowned, then remembered what she had said. ‘On Earth, they have hurricanes,’ she said. ‘Huge storms. There’s always a calm bit in the middle. You think you’re out of it, but the only way out is to go back through.’
Devorak swallowed and nodded.
‘Who invaded your world?’
He looked at her, then at the ship, as though trying to gauge when they would be pulled again. ‘The Enhari,’ he muttered before the sharp lurch in Rhona’s stomach was followed by the return of the shaking.
They stared at each other as the shaking slowly subsided.
The Cealin were beautiful. She had always thought so; many humans did. There were fansites dedicated to some of the soldiers that were there that day. The internet was filled with screenshots of handsome Cealin and fanfiction, where women placed themselves as their captives. They wrote stories of how the evil alien fell in love with their human and changed, realising the error of their ways. Rhona had always mocked them. How stupid to love something that couldn’t love you back. Looking into Devorak’s eyes, Rhona could see what they saw for the first time.
‘Be careful, Rhona. Your Kathen will get jealous.’ Devorak smiled.
Rhona allowed herself to laugh. She had known insatiable flirts like Devorak before and always enjoyed their company. Nothing could make a girl feel better faster than some uncomplicated flirting. She shook her head. ‘I’m not risking what I have with Makios for you, Prince,’ she said. ‘No matter how pretty you are.’
‘From a thing to pretty,’ Devorak smiled. ‘I’ll have you in love with me unless I tame my inimitable charm.’
Rhona didn’t laugh. Thing. She had referred to him that way. How did these aliens get her to change her mind so damn quickly?
‘I’m sorry about that,’ she breathed. ‘I—’
‘We did the same thing with the Enhari on my world,’ Devorak waved her guilt away.
The shaking stopped. Devorak closed his eyes for a moment. ‘I hate this bit,’ he repeated, the blue irises reappeared as his lids opened.
‘You hate every bit,’ she said.
‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘But every bit is so uniquely unpleasant, it must be marked.’
‘What happened with the Enhari?’
Devorak frowned. ‘My people were pre-industrial,’ he said. ‘The Enhari came out of nowhere.’ Devorak licked his lips. ‘Took millions of my people and forced them to expand their Empire. They forced us to strip mine our world to feed their war machine. They forced us to pollute our air and water. They made our world uninhabitable. Then one day, they disappeared.’
‘What happened to them?’ Rhona asked.
‘The Amarans and their alliance, the founders of the IGC, defeated their attempts at invasion. The Enhari were driven back into their space and haven’t really left it since.’
‘What did your people do?’
‘Well, this was over a hundred solars after they invaded.’ He swallowed as the ship came to a stop. ‘By then, we had scientists and had discovered the third planet in our system was inhabitable, so we built ships and crossed to there.’
‘So you were okay?’
Devorak was quiet for a moment. ‘The generator’s gone off,’ he said, voice full of relief.
‘We’re here. We’re pulling out of the ring,’ Makios’s voice said.
Rhona watched Devorak and waited for him to continue. ‘Have you ever seen black plant life, Rhona?’
Rhona shook her head.
‘Cea
lis is very far from our sun and covered in snow and ice as a result. There is life there—some animals and plants. But the plant life is black so it can absorb as much light as possible. The animals can change their coats from white to white with black markings so they can adapt to both the snow and forests.’
Devorak shifted in his seat and unclipped the belt securing him. Rhona followed his lead.
‘Cealis is a hard place to live, and many died when we arrived. We had to burrow down into the ground and find the natural heat of the planet. It made my people bitter and angry.’ Devorak looked at her again. ‘The alliance knew about my people. Knew we had fought for the Enhari but never bothered to check on us. Never lifted a finger to help while millions more died of exposure and starvation. My father made terrible decisions in those rotes to preserve us as a race. When Kallis went to him and told him he could provide an army to protect us, my father grabbed at it. He should have looked harder at Kallis’s plans, but they were desperate rotes and my father was a desperate king looking to save as many of his people as he could.
‘We did a terrible thing to your people,’ Devorak said. Rhona could hear the regret in his voice. ‘One day, I intend to make it up to you. But before that, I have to heal the pain and damage to my people,’ he said. ‘Many of those who lived through that are still alive today. They are still angry and still bitter, and I have no idea how to make it better for them.’
Almost like it was a physical thing, Rhona could see the terrible burden on Devorak’s shoulders. She suddenly felt a similar weight on her own.
How would it ever be possible to get the human race to forgive any alien, let alone the Cealin? Would they end up the same way? It was as though there was a line of people each holding a whip, and each time they felt the lash, they paid it forward. Worse, Earth’s government fanned the flames of humanity’s anger and bitterness. More and more, Rhona was seeing her father’s point of view.
‘Rhona,’ Makios’s voice called from the galley.
‘I’ll be down in a minute,’ she called to him. ‘Maybe,’ she started, ‘it’s not about healing them,’ she said. ‘Your people or mine. Maybe it’s about helping them to come to terms with it and helping us to view each other as,’ she paused. ‘kindred spirits?’
Rhona and Devorak watched each other for a moment.
‘Is that what we are, Rhona?’
‘Maybe a little bit,’ she said. ‘And maybe a little more as we get to know each other.’
Devorak nodded. ‘I hope so,’ he said.
Rhona stood. ‘See you later.’ She smiled at him. ‘I have to make shit up to my boyfriend.’
‘Boyfriend?’ Devorak frowned. ‘He is neither a boy nor your friend. He is your lover.’
Rhona pressed her lips together and nodded. ‘More of that vernacular,’ she said.
‘Excellent,’ Devorak grinned. ‘I shall master your language, and one day, I will speak to your people in your tongue.’
Rhona nodded. That would be something to see.
The ship was so quiet without the humans and aliens aboard. Rhona walked into the room that had been Tyne’s and found Devorak and Sidha talking. She still didn’t feel a hundred percent comfortable with the Cealin, though their talk had done her a lot of good. But Rhona was raised with strong feelings and they weren’t going to disappear overnight. Still, she was resolved to make an effort.
‘Makios called a late dinner in the galley,’ she said. ‘He wants everyone to attend.’
‘Mandatory dinner. How fun.’ Devorak smirked.
Rhona smiled. It was along the same lines as what she’d said. ‘It’s for the three of us,’ she said. ‘We’re new on the ship, and he wants us all to get to know each other.’
Devorak nodded. ‘Very well.’
‘Just point me in the direction of the food.’ Sidha smiled.
Rhona led the way. There were two dining tables in the galley. Makios had moved them together and was laying food out on the table along with Vella.
Dabin, Vanoor, Kenian and Deyuul were already sitting at one end, clustered together, watching the food pile up.
Makios looked at her and smiled. Rhona smiled back, relieved they were okay. There had been a long conversation earlier, with lots of promises made on her behalf about giving aliens a fair chance. This dinner was a part of her commitment. She would talk to them, judge each of them on their own merits.
Rhona took a seat next to the head of the table where Makios would sit. Sidha sat next to her, and Devorak slipped into the chair across the way.
Makios and Vella delivered the last of the food to the centre of the table in a free for all. Immediately arms crossed in a clash for the best-looking morsels.
‘Oh, it’s like that, is it?’ Rhona looked for a plate, but she didn’t have one.
‘Like what?’ Sidha asked.
‘The quick and the dead,’ she said, turning in her seat.
‘Looks like you’re dead.’ Devorak eyed the empty space in front of her.
‘Literally at this rate.’ She observed the masses of food, leaving the serving dishes.
‘Who do you think you’re mated to?’ Makios said, placing a full plate in front of her. He put another in front of his seat and sat down, kissing her head as he did.
Rhona looked up at him and smiled. ‘I love you,’ she said.
Makios grinned. ‘You’re just saying that because I’m feeding you,’ He said.
‘It may be cupboard love, but at least you know how to keep me,’ she agreed. She heard chuckles down the table and stifled one of her own.
‘Love you too,’ Makios said quietly and kissed her on the lips.
Rhona looked around the table at the strange array of faces. Kenian, the Mvari, was mostly orange but had green across the ridging of his forehead and cheekbones and his nose was flat to his face. He had rough lizard-like skin. His pale green eyes had a strange W-shaped pupil, Not strange, she corrected herself. Unknown to her, but normal for his people.
Vella was a giant of a woman. She had two small horns on her bald head, a long tail and digitigrade feet. Her body was covered in teal scales except for her face and chest, which were a pale jade. She had huge eyes, but the rest of her face looked almost human.
Deyuul was half-naked, a fact that always threw Rhona whenever she looked at him. He wore nothing but a loincloth and had a hump on his back she couldn’t figure out. She’d thought it was some sort of disfigurement to begin with, but the previous day she walked behind him and realised it appeared more like something was folded over his back. She suppressed a shiver, wondering what that was about. He had blue and grey striated skin, though the blue was actually tiny hairs that reminded her more of villi, the hairs on the inner ear, than actual hair. His eyes were multi-faceted black jewels.
Dabin was a strange creamy grey colour with silver hair. His yellow eyes had cat-like pupils, which made Rhona think of Decimen. She sent a little prayer up to whatever gods may exist to take care of the Aavani and help them find him again. The ship’s medic had a long, irregular nose, wide-set eyes and wide lips. His high cheekbones gave him a noble look that the ‘put-out’ look on his face only added to.
Beside her, Sidha was a strange, chirpy orange male. He wasn’t much taller than Rhona. His skin was orange, his hair a white blonde. His irises were bright orange, though they had a ring of gold around them. He wore a sleeveless shirt, and lean muscle rippled across his arms.
She looked at Devorak, who was watching her closely and turned to Makios.
There was something significant about this meal; Rhona could feel it in her bones. It was like Christmas. Rhona had spent more than half of her Christmases in space. Sometimes there would be one of their community nearby, and throwing schedules out of the window, they would hook up to share dinner. As community leaders, her parents usually hosted, her dad cooking as her mother got drunk. They all watched TV in the living room, which was really the mess but because the Audrey Hepburn was their real home, it would alwa
ys be the living room.
It was always a big affair. Families coming together in the black to break bread and thank the stars they’d survived another year. This meal had the same kind of feel to it.
‘You okay?’ Makios asked.
Rhona nodded. ‘Right, let’s get this started. I want one interesting fact about each of you,’ Rhona said.
Beside her, Sidha groaned. ‘I feel like I’m applying for my desk job again,’ he moaned.
‘No exceptions,’ she said.
There was silence at the table.
‘Oh, come on guys,’ Rhona said.
‘I’ll start,’ Makios said. ‘With an interesting fact about Deyuul that no one knows.’
‘Ooo.’ Rhona smiled at the Uunda. ‘What’s that?’
‘Makios, I’d prefer—’
Makios cut him off. ‘Deyuul’s cousin is the sovereign of his world,’ Makios said. ‘Technically, Deyuul is his only heir.’
‘Holy shit,’ Rhona’s gasped. ‘Really?’
Deyuul sighed and nodded.
‘You’re royalty?’ Dabin smirked.
‘No, I’m not.’ Deyuul glared all facets of his eyes at Makios. ‘Only the sovereign of my world is royalty. Not even his mate qualifies—if he had one.’
‘Your cousin hasn’t taken a mate?’ Devorak asked.
Deyuul shook his head.
‘Careless,’ Devorak said.
‘Have you got a mate, O Crown Prince?’ Rhona smiled at him.
Devorak grimaced. ‘Point taken,’ he said. ‘However, I will take a mate before I am king. To not have taken a mate while sovereign… That is a worry.’
‘How long has he been king?’ Vella leaned forward.
‘Sovereign,’ Deyuul corrected. ‘More than thirty standard solars.’
‘Oh, he’s really not interested in breeding then,’ Rhona said. ‘Is that why you’re out here? Avoiding the burden of the throne?’
‘Actually, the opposite,’ Deyuul said. ‘It is traditional for the heir to travel, trade, experience the world. When our world became one of many, the tradition expanded. To my people, a sovereign’s job is to represent them to the wider world. We must know how to speak to people. We must find common ground. Be able to communicate.’ Deyuul nodded. ‘So, I am here.’