Thompson muffled an eruption of laughter against the thick sleeve of her coat. She was loud enough to capture the attendees’ attention. Selena looked at her too, pretending to share their innocent surprise at the outburst.
Thompson recovered, and everyone returned to their quieter consultations. She whispered furiously, “Asshole. I hope you didn’t sleep a wink during your first night on Risnar.”
“I slept two winks, thirty-eight shy of forty. Even that little bit barely happened. The chanting got to me, so the head cheese over there got me a dome of my own.”
“Yeah, those women and their pursuit of serenity can be over the top. At least their hearts are in the right place, for the most part.” Thompson looked at the Risnarish with undisguised affection, including Notlin.
“They haven’t tried to convert you? No one’s sent you to hand out flowers and beg for donations at the portal?”
“They don’t play that game. If you tell them you want to worship a plate of spaghetti, they’ll help you cook the noodles.” She laughed again, but softly.
Selena had freaked out over nothing, then. Thompson showed no signs of spiritual transfiguration.
As the last thread of tension unraveled, Notlin and eight of the other oldsters gathered around their crescent table. The head called the meeting to order.
“From my spirit to yours, thank you for attending. Before we discuss war preparations, I’d like to pass along what our scientists have said about the planet discovered at the secondary portal passage. So far, all seems well for us to set up a trial colony. We’ll continue to monitor the planet’s environment and climate and test the soil for growing crops.”
A man sitting at the table directly behind Selena’s motioned to speak, and permission was granted. “Are we moving forward to leave Risnar? Are the climate changes verified to continue?”
“It looks more and more that our home planet may not be able to sustain us in a few decades. The damage dealt by the Monsuda may have tipped Risnar beyond the point of no return.”
The man sitting on Notlin’s right, a fellow with tan skin striped with purple so dark that it was almost black, answered. “For now, the onus is on making sure this second portal passage we discovered is indeed stable enough for us to use, for a potential evacuation. As well as confirming we can transfer our people to this other planet and thrive, should Risnar fail.”
“There are still no signs that the Monsuda are aware of this shadow portal and planet?” Arga spoke up.
Nex answered. “No traces are present that lead us to believe our enemy has stumbled across it. On sensors, this newly discovered wormhole looks like an echo of the portal to Earth. That we found it at all was an accident.”
“Or the will of the All-Spirit,” the tan-and-purple Risnarish added.
That earned smiles and nods all around. Selena stopped breathing for an instant, but when no one broke out with prayers or hallelujahs or a verse of Kumbaya, she relaxed once more.
“On to the war effort. Arga Enrihahz Bolep?”
Arga stood, and Selena turned toward him. His body swiveled in her direction. When she realized her gaze was at the level of his sexless crotch, she twisted forward again, her cheeks burning. Damn her short stature.
Oblivious, Arga addressed the elders and audience. “From my spirit to yours, Assembly and members of the war council. All villages report that preparations to overcome the Monsudan hives are on target. We’re certain we can do so before the enemy’s planned invasion of Earth. We have our explosives expert, Boom-Boom—”
“Selena Baumer, please.” For some reason, her nickname sounded worthy of a porn star. Maybe it was the crotch inches from her cheek that made her feel that way. Turn the other direction, Arga.
“Of course. This is Selena Baumer. She is joining us for the second phase of the plan: to destroy the portal accesses on the Earth side of the vortex.”
He swiveled slightly as he spoke, but it was hardly an improvement since that put her practically cheek-to-ass cheek with the guy. The view was nice for her, but hardly the introductory vision she wanted for onlookers. His ass and her face. Compare and contrast, class.
She pushed the sides of her lips up, fighting for a smile that was no doubt more of a grimace. She gave them all a wave, rotating on her ottoman, putting Arga’s butt behind her. “Hey. Nice to be here.”
She didn’t have to hear Thompson’s snort or see her eyes roll to figure out how lame her greeting sounded. However, the Risnarish seemed not to notice anything amiss. Instead, they nodded and touched their palms to their chests.
“Guildmaster Tidem, are you available this afternoon to discuss explosives designs with Selena and myself?” Arga asked
“I am at your disposal, Arga. Selena.” Two tables away, a silver-maned man, gold with green stripes, rose and nodded to them.
“Excellent. Honored Assembly, my next report will include how we are doing on that front.”
When she heard soft noises behind her, Selena whispered to Thompson. “Is he down so I’m not staring at the moon?”
Thompson turned her spate of laughter into coughs. Between Nex’s worried thumps against her back, she gasped, “You’re safe.”
Notlin rose as Selena faced forward again, relieved to find that Arga had indeed sat down. He gazed at her with a confused air. She shrugged and smiled.
“Thank you, Arga Enrihahz. Our next point—”
Notlin was interrupted by a low rumble, as if a dog had entered the room and threatened her with a growl. The floor shivered, the trembles running up Selena’s legs. The tan-and-purple elder jumped up and grabbed Notlin’s shoulders, steadying her as the rest cried out.
Chapter Four
“What the hell?” Selena’s first thought was a distant explosion had occurred.
Arga stood, taking in the welfare of the startled audience—and putting his ass in Selena’s face again for a brief, eye-popping moment. With everyone calling out that they were okay, he sat. “Yitrow has been dealing with tremors for the past few weeks. Nothing too powerful or damaging thus far.”
“Shake, rattle and roll.” Thompson’s joke was weak.
“No kidding.” Selena joined her in checking the dome’s glass top for cracks.
No damage had occurred, and there wasn’t a repeat quake. They settled in for the remainder of the meeting, which dragged on too long, as most meetings were wont to. In fact, Selena caught herself dozing off a couple of times.
As long as Arga stayed seated, she had nothing to worry about.
Selena estimated the meeting wrapped up over an hour later. Thompson and Nex left to run tests on the portal access, leaving Selena with Arga, who was frowning over his CPP device.
She glanced about and saw Notlin gazing at her. The leader stood, her attention fixed on Selena. It looked as if she wanted to have a talk.
Despite feeling better about the whole spiritual issue, Selena wasn’t sure she was up for an extended conversation with Notlin. No matter how mistaken she’d been about the too-ethereal nature of Risnar’s head honcho, she still had the willies.
When another Risnarish intercepted Notlin, Selena took advantage of the leader’s distraction. “Hey Arga, any chance of you giving me a tour of the complex? Do we have time before meeting with that man who’s in charge of putting my bomb kit together?”
A tour of the temple’s environs was the last outing she would have chosen, but she guessed they would have to stick close to speak to the Risnarish armament expert. She groped for any convenient excuse to start moving.
Fortunately, Arga was willing. “I’d be glad to show you the complex. Then we can eat lunch, and I’ll fill you in on the details of what we’re hoping you can accomplish.”
“Great. Let’s go.” She slid off the ottoman seat and barely managed to keep from trotting out of the chamber. She pretended not to observe Notlin lifting her hand to delay her. Selena escaped without an encounter.
Arga followed in her wake. He appeared amused, an
d Selena wondered if he had figured out the reason behind her rush. Or perhaps he found it funny she’d asked for a tour, yet led him to the pond where he’d found her that morning rather than letting him direct their route.
At least they’d come some distance from the war council room. With no sign of Notlin, Selena relaxed. “Okay, so here we are, next to the lovely pond. Which I like. I have its location pretty well fixed in my brain, so if I ever need to locate a particular area in the complex, which you are about to show me the layout of, I can start from here.”
Arga blinked hard at her effusive explanation. “Sure. This is a good starting point. So, that way is to the females’ berths, which you are already aware of. I heard you tell Anneliese that you ended up with your own dome.”
“Yeah. Communal sleeping arrangements aren’t exactly my cup of tea. Let’s find something else to look at.”
It turned out there was plenty to take in. Arga guided her through a series of covered walkways and outer garden paths, all of which connected the main temple and the outer domes that made up its complex.
Selena was surprised to learn that not only was the complex the seat of spiritual and political life, but also the hub of learning, scientific pursuits, arts, and childcare.
Arga knew little about where the children of his people were raised and instructed. “I haven’t seen the inside of a classroom since I was a boy,” he laughed as they wandered through the children’s Learning and Recreation Center. “I definitely didn’t attend advanced mathematics studies as young as some of these.”
“Oh, babies,” Selena said, peeking into another room and giving the two women and two men within it a wave. She blinked at the women’s full breasts, the first she’d observed on the female Risnarish. She guessed they were the mothers, ready to nurse. She directed her attention to the small bodies the adults cared for. “Aren’t they cute with their little stripes and extra arms.”
“Those limbs are more on the order of tentacles. The protrusions lack bones. Grabbing at all they can reach, I see. It appears the nursery is rather shorthanded. We should hurry out of here before they ask for help.”
Selena smirked at him as they wandered on. “Not into kids, huh?”
“I like them well enough. I even considered becoming a guardian at one point, but I don’t think it’s for me. I have my plate full with work most of the time. Besides, I usually care for my own guardian, who is not in the best of health. He’s staying in Cas Village with friends for now.”
“Guardian, huh? I was adopted myself.”
“Your people typically rear their own biological children, correct?”
“Yeah. I don’t know the first fact about my birth parents, other than they concocted me. As for my adoptive parents—well, we had a serious falling out. They let religious fanatics take over their lives, the world turned bad, I ran off—ah, it’s not worth explaining.” She waved the subject off with an abrupt flick of her hand.
Arga didn’t comment immediately. After a few moments of silence, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t wish to discuss it? I hear hurt in your voice, though I don’t understand some of your words. I’m no spiritual advisor, but I’ll listen if you need me to.”
“No spiritual stuff. Thanks for being willing to lend an ear, but no. I don’t even want to hear myself talk about it.” She realized how short she sounded, so she shyly touched his arm. “I appreciate the offer.”
“If you change your mind, I’m here. I’ve had a few bad things happen, so I understand how it feels to want someone to share troubles with.”
They kept walking. The sheer size of the complex was mindboggling, but Selena recognized it was the center of the community. She was enjoying learning more about an alien culture until the chanting started again.
Her heart gave a nervous flutter, and Selena realized she’d edged closer to Arga, as if he would shield her from those vocalizing their faith. She made herself walk straight ahead, squaring her shoulders.
When she glanced up at her companion to check if he’d noticed her instinctive cringing, he wasn’t watching her at all. Nor did the mantra from the main temple appear to make any impression on him. He stared at one of the outlying domes along their path instead, his starburst pupils enlarged and a slight grin pulling at his lips.
Selena studied the dome they approached, wondering what gave Arga that air of pleased anticipation. From the outside, it was similar to most of the others: circular white walls, clear pie-shaped wedges of glass domes topping them. Nothing noteworthy that she could see. Even the couple of young guys stepping inside were no more remarkable than the Risnarish coming and going from the other domes.
Yet Arga’s gaze remained riveted on the structure, his expression envious as the others disappeared inside.
“What’s that place?”
“The Mating Center.” Spoken with a familiar and affectionate sigh.
Mating? As in a brothel? Selena gaped at it, as if she could peer through the ordinary façade. “You mean, it’s a dome for sex?”
“Indeed. That is where we men go to procreate or to enjoy erotic release with the women.” He licked his lips, still not gazing at her. It was obvious Arga had fond feelings for the Mating Center.
“Where you fellows go, huh? That doesn’t sound sexist in the least. Where do I go for sex?”
Arga started and stopped, staring at her in surprise before looking her up and down. “You? You wish to—to—with one of us?”
“Why not? I wouldn’t mind trying on an alien fella for size. I assume since Thompson and Nex are a couple, compatibility isn’t a big deal.”
All at once, Selena decided she liked the idea. Why shouldn’t she be curious after witnessing Arga create a tail? Besides, the Risnarish males she’d seen had great bodies, even the elders. She should sample some of the local flavor, especially when it looked as good as it did.
“You don’t need the trappings of a relationship to have sex? I was under the impression Earth women preferred it.”
“Dude. Let’s not drag in a whole lotta drama where it’s not needed. Relationship? No way. I’m not setting up house here.” When Arga continued to blink as if someone had hit him over the skull with a hammer, she quickly added, “Not that Risnar isn’t nice, but you’ve got some stuff going on that creeps me out. I’m here to do the job, then portal home.”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s fine. I mean, if you want to indulge your curiosity—”
“You don’t think any of your men would find me attractive?” She was disappointed but not surprised. Selena Baumer was an acquired taste, in many respects.
“I’m sure many would be eager for the chance. You’re cute. And feisty. You’re also—how did you put it? Super real.”
His appreciative grin set her hair on end. Mr. Gator Wrestler was checking her out, ogling her right there not ten yards from the temple and those chanting within it.
Why not? Okay, so we’re supposed to work together, and maybe that will make our relationship weird. However, he did have a nice ass. She should know. He’d waved it in her face enough at the meeting.
She wiggled an eyebrow at him. Cocked her head, as coquettish as she could manage. “You won’t find any Earthling more real than me. As we used to say in the EOD, big booms come in small packages.”
“My dome isn’t far away.” He held out his hand.
“Well hell, son. What are we waiting for?”
* * * *
Arga couldn’t deny he found Selena outrageous in many respects. Despite that, he looked forward to discovering if she was as exuberant in bed as her personality suggested. Then he’d make sure she didn’t talk about it, so Retav wouldn’t hear gossip and tease he’d known his former ward had been attracted to her all along.
One matter gave Arga pause. She was tiny, and he had concerns he could hurt her if he wasn’t careful.
She’s trained as Anneliese is, though. Maybe she’s tougher than I’m giving her credit for. At any rate, he’d err on the side of cautio
n and proceed with restraint.
His excitement was betrayed when they reached his dome and he led her straight to the bedroom. He ignored her attempt to look around his assigned dome, which had few personal items anyway. He tugged her past the visiting room and central firepit.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm. A gal wants to feel wanted.” She laughed at him thwarting her curiosity.
“I wish to spend as long a time as possible with this unexpected encounter, since we have to meet with Tidem later. Shall we start with exploration?”
“Exploration? What am I, the final frontier? Come on then, boldly go where no alien has gone before.” She swept her blouse off as Arga pulled down the bed covers and arranged the pillows. “Uh, you should be aware Earthlings don’t hide their fun parts like you Risnarish do.”
“I know. I’ve seen it. The first Earthling we discovered on Risnar showed up with no clothes.” It had been a fascinating display, and Arga looked forward to finding out how Selena compared to Jeannie.
“Oh, no big deal, huh? So much for me feeling special.” She tossed off the rest of her clothes, her expression disappointed.
She stood before him, miniature and naked, hands on her trim hips. All at once, Arga forgot how to breathe.
He wasn’t sure why he was caught off guard. After all, Jeannie had possessed fully-formed breasts, close to the same size as Selena’s—though at first glance, the contrast of Selena’s smaller frame gave the illusion that hers were larger. The strip of hair covering her sex was similar as well, though not as bushy and darker in color. Jeannie’s had been more of a triangular shape.
He’d seen his share of Risnarish women in season. Maybe more than his share. Arga had never been prone to denying himself sexual pleasure with those willing to have him. Even an unstriped cleft of ready womanhood shouldn’t have been particularly astounding.
Yet he stopped short and stared at Selena. Heat formed a ball in his groin and pushed out. There was no mistaking his eagerness, which she greeted with a pleased grin. “Hel-lo, instant penis. Is all that for me?”
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