Kissed on Alien Christmas

by Harpie Alexander

  We spend the next while cleaning up. It doesn't take long considering we’re only cleaning a single room, and while I'm still kind of fuming from the whole fiasco, I'm getting jittery about tomorrow.

  A short while later, I plop my ass down on my bed. Jari-ri takes the raggedy one-seater across from me as we wait for the water to boil.

  “I’ve waited long enough. Tell me now or I'll call you stalker Rena for the rest of your days,” she threatens, leaning forward in her chair, elbows on her knees and her pink eyes wide, interested and waiting for me to share the juicy details.

  “Well, Sabi-si finally gave in to me last week.” I lay back, my legs dancing over the edge of the bed, hands behind my back, eyes staring at the bland ceiling. “Under the promise that I never pull this shit again.”

  “Bah. That's her job. Besides, I bet she's had far worse. Remember Ranvy?”

  I nod my head. Ahh yes, who could forget a character like Ranvy. He’s like the alien version of some conspiracy theorist claiming the world was ending, except Ranvy was always drunk and would end up causing a bar fight.

  “He may be far worse, but I have been nagging her for almost two months now. Anyways...” I wrap my fingers around a few strands of hair, curling them with absent mind.

  Jari-ri clears her throat, and I realized that I’ve been silent for several moments.

  “His name is Aarvik, that's all she could tell me, but,” my hands push against the hard bed as I move to sit up, “he does have some strange habits.”

  She curls a foot under her buttocks, readjusting herself. “Like what?”

  “Shows up at least once a week, sits there for hours, and then leaves. No food. No alcohol. No guests.”

  “That's hardly believable.”

  “For the past seventeen lunar cycles.” I roll my shoulders, my attempt to relieve the tension built up from earlier.

  “No. That's just ridiculous.”

  “Sabi-si swears by it.”

  “That female just wanted you to leave her alone. How did she get his name if he's so quiet and everyone is afraid of him?”

  I shrug my shoulders. It was something I’d never thought to ask. Damn, what if she really did give me the wrong name? It doesn't matter. I've only seen him a handful of times at the bar, he’s so damn elusive. If by chance I should see him tomorrow, I’m going to talk to him.

  Chapter Two

  Aarvik

  Today I’ve travelled my farthest walk yet, because I don’t know how much longer I can take it. My meditative walks typically help clear my mind, but not today. It’s been nearly seventeen solar cycles since I’ve started this wasteful mission, if you could even call it that, and nothing has happened. Maybe it was just a fool’s errand, a sliver of hope that I couldn’t let go of, because if I did, I would have lost my sanity right then and there. My path requires guidance, but my ancestors have been quiet and I can’t find the reason my dreams have led me here. Their silence feels like a betrayal, and the sting of it is becoming increasingly harder to ignore.

  I see the small, wooden hut I’ve built for myself peek through the lush overgrown trees up ahead, and I contemplate turning back and walk the same way I came. The fear of falling off course is hard to shake. My head still isn’t clear and thoughts spin their webs, entangling me in a dangerous and emotional ride, I’m not willing to go down. So, I decide to head for the hut instead. Perhaps, if I’m lucky this night will bear knowledge, or worse, more shame.

  I pass the threshold of the door, entering the meager dwelling that I’ve been hiding in. I’m ashamed, and if my family was still alive, they’d be ashamed too. My world is gone, plundered down to nothing by an enemy far greater and more elusive than even known. The Ru’tah. As the Crowned Daltaka, I was destined to protect and rule my world, but instead, I led my people to destruction.

  My mind constantly replays memories of my world, my people and the duties I was charged with. I thought I had done everything possible to ensure our nation and safety. Implementing new and improved security protocols, deeper investigations on incoming visitors, harsher punishments for crimes. Yet, all my work gone down the drain as Dakasu was invaded by an alien species, nearly wiping us into non-existence. We weren’t ready for the Ru’tah’s plunder, and the responsibility was mine to bear.

  A dying beep comes from an old comm that lays hidden somewhere in this room. There were several messages left from the Daltaka guard, distant members of the Royal Daltaka family and various others the last time I had enough nerve to check. I’m ashamed to say I never responded, and that it’s been several months since I’ve listened to the damn thing. My people don’t need me, not anymore. They’re better off without me which is why I chose to part ways with them and live in isolation for my failure. It wasn’t until I started dreaming of this cold place that I felt a shift in my destiny. As long as I stay on task there may be hope for my people, but only if I can figure out what it is before it’s too late.

  I pull my ceremonial robes off a hook, slinging it over my shoulders before kneeling down on the center of the floor, pausing for a moment to think of Dasaku and the remaining Daltakeu. My people are now scattered across the galaxy, aimlessly wandering around without a home to go back to, and even if we could, who would follow a fallen Crowned Daltaka? And even if my people would follow me, I don’t think I’ll have the strength left with the shame I carry on my shoulders.

  Assuming the ceremonial position of ancestral connection, I kneel on the floor with head bowed down between my hands as I reach out to my ancestors, silently begging them or forgiveness and guidance. My stomach growls in thirst and hunger, yet I ignore my bodily needs. My path still unclear and vastly more important than anything I could ever place between my lips to satiate survival.

  Hours come and go, my body straining from lack of movement, but I’m not ready. There hasn’t been a moment of clarity, no sudden realization or understanding. My mind is still full of pain and regret, and until I can clear the way and find clarity I will stay here, even if it means I take my dying breath.

  Eventually something comes. A memory of the day our world collapsed. It has been haunting my sleep before I even stepped foot on Delarou Valdani. The memory dims, and it takes all my strength to wash away my pain, hatred and jealousy, otherwise I’ll lose the message my ancestors are trying to send me.

  Brightness filters over my closed-eyelids and a vision forms. It’s the one that led me to this forsaken excuse of a planet, filled with vile beings looking or credits or pleasure. It’s a pitiful excuse for an existence. It pains me to see such a world violated, plundered, and abused by its own people when my own world, beautiful in all its glory, was destroyed. Is it harsh that I wished the Ru’tah came here instead?

  It takes great effort to ignore my disgust at the way these people waste their lives, but eventually my mind calms and the vision continues.

  I see a bar. It’s Shakaat’s, the one I travel to once a week, where I wait for destiny to make it’s call, but to no avail. This time, however, the vision changes. It’s slightly different. The place is crowded with species from various parts of the galaxy, drinking, eating and laughing. Sounds begin to echo through my mind and I know my moment is coming. What I’ve been begging for, a revelation from my ancestral guide.

  “Tonight is the night it all begins.” The masculine voice is loud, surrounding me as I bask in the warmth of a long since passed member of my family. “You will be crowned again, bringing forth a new era for our people, ending the darkness of many generations.”

  “Wait!” I call out in the empty dwelling I now call my home. “There must be more.” I beg, but the vision has faded away, signifying its end. Even if I tried to reach out again, it would be fruitless. I heard only what I was meant to hear. No more and no less.

  My people, the Daltakeu, believe in strong ties to the past, so much so that over the centuries we’ve developed a close relationship with those passed over. Unfortunately, the dead can be vague in their guidance, an
d not always willful with their words. There’s a saying from my world Dakasu, ‘Vut ki tuuk sul la vigidia’ and it means the living are ruled by the dead. I feel like those words couldn’t be any truer at this moment.

  Standing on shaky legs, I head outside to the beautiful wilderness on the outer city of VadCurah. It reminds me of home with its wild growth of varying lifeforms. Tangled, dangerous and beautiful.

  As if my vision wasn’t enough, the world suddenly begins to shake beneath my feet and the ground rumbles an angry roar. I glance up, unafraid of anything more this existence could throw my way. In the distance, I spot a massive volcano erupting its fiery spirit into the air, bathing the world at its feet, washing it anew. It’s a sign that life is changing. That my life is changing.

  Tonight, I will go back to that bar and await my new destiny, whatever that will be. I will embrace my new responsibility as all Crowned Daltaka’s, and if there is a life even to be had for my people, I will forge with my dying breath. Nothing will step in my way now that my ancestors have finally breathed words of life to reignite my soul.

  Chapter Three

  Rena

  I'm lying in bed, unable to sleep. I'd blame it on the hard mattress that came with the apartment that I had to wrap in the alien version of plastic just to feel safe enough to sleep on, but I'd be lying. My stomach is twisting and churning in gentle knots, and my mind is racing over every possible scenario.

  What if he doesn't want to talk to me, flat out ignores me or is a complete ass? All these months, pining over some male I've seen once and yet I can't get him out of my head. He invades my thoughts and dreams, like he's put me under a spell and I'm some secret minion ready to do his bidding.

  I clutch my stomach. Laughter bellows from my throat, loud and deafening as it bounces off the plain metallic walls of my apartment. A few tears escape from the sheer force, and my muscles begin to ache.

  Bam. Bam. Bam.

  My breath hitches, and I realize it's just a neighbor trying to shut me up. It's late and I probably woke them up. Whoops.

  Suddenly, the room shakes. Gradually at first, and then the speed picks up. The tiny vibrations grow thicker and wider causing everything in the room to rattle from the intensity.

  It’s a fucking earthquake.

  What the hell do I do? I'm on the seventy-seventh floor of a building. My blood turns cold, and I freeze. I wasn’t prepared for this at all.

  Think.

  I dash for the pathetic excuse of a bathroom. A small hole on the floor with a rubber lip to park your ass when you need to sit instead of squat. I don't know how an alien calls that sitting, it's pure squatting for me, and I’m fairly short in comparison to many of the beings I’ve seen on this planet so far.

  The filthy water sloshes around, spilling out of the sides of the lip that's only a few inches from the floor. Hell, to the fucking no.

  Death by earthquake or death by toilet water. I'll take my chances.

  There's nowhere else to go. And I'm certain the hallway isn't a safe option. I’d call for help, but the clattering of belongings and rumbling roar of the earthquake is so loud it’s hard to hear jack shit. I vaguely remember something about staying where you are.

  Lights flicker and I scramble between my bed and the small table next to it. This will have to do.

  I snatch a pillow and place it behind my head. Guess I wasn’t getting any sleep anyways.

  Heavy knocks at my door jolting me awake.

  “Hold on,” I croak.

  What time is it? I glance to my clock. It's not on the wall. In fact, it’s smashed to pieces on the floor.

  What?

  It takes me a moment to remember the night before. The earthquake, the rumbling, the fear. I don't remember falling asleep in that heap of chaos, but all that's left is the shattered remains of my life and the little bits and bobs I brought with me. It's not that I had much, most crap can be replaced.

  “Get your ass out of bed!” my friend yells through the door.

  A tired yawn turns into a full sigh as I stand up to unlock the door while still in my nightwear. I’m all full of kinks from sleeping like a stuffed animal shoved into a tight place to look neat and tidy. I have no idea how I even managed to fall asleep during that chaos, but I’m glad.

  “Good grief, Rena. Your rooms a mess. Figured you'd have been tidied already and set for work.” She's frowning.

  I head over to my cooling unit, pull out a tasteless protein bar, and bite into it. “I’m not going. Not today.”

  She rolls her eyes.

  “Not after that damn earthquake!” I take another bite.

  “It wasn't an earthquake. That was Goddess Valdani. Get dressed, I’ll wait.” She plops down on my sofa, looking at me expectantly.

  I take another bite, slowly, so the crunch is louder and more annoying. “I'm good. I'll be heading downstairs in a bit to call off. I don't care what that was, I’m not going in.”

  “Fine. If you’re not going, neither am I.” She huffs.

  Jari-ri used to work alone in the crystal mines. She told me it was an even shitier job back then, but since meeting me, we only go in together. She knows I won't go in after crap like this, but she tries anyway. Her defeat was inevitable.

  I head to the bathroom. Toilet water is still puddled on the floor. I grab a towel, clean it up and dump my clothes down into the receptacle before quickly washing up and getting dressed.

  “You’re not wearing that tonight, are you?” She has a look of incredulous shock on her face.

  “I plan on getting something new for tonight. Maybe we can have a girl’s day instead.”

  Jari-ri jumps up and down, squeeing. It makes me chuckle. Guess girl time must be universal as well.

  A few urgent clanks on my wall tells me my other neighbor is still sleeping. Screw him. If I must listen to his loud ass pounding into whoever several times a week, he can tolerate a few excited women having a women's day. On second thought…

  “Let’ roll now.”

  We head downstairs and I borrow the public comm to inform my supervisor, Kukad, at the mine that we’re not coming in today. He doesn’t force the issue, instead giving me rather horrifying news that makes me want to vomit.

  Jari-ri is standing near the front door, and I head over to her.

  “No work for several days. There’s been an incident.”

  “What the hell happened?” Worry flashes over her face.

  “A few people from the night shift died in the shafts and a few more on the elevator. Apparently during the quakes, one of the cables came undone and smashed the lower levels.”

  “Hell! That could have been one of us.”

  “I knew it was a deathtrap. I don’t think I ever want to go back there after this.” I hold my stomach.

  “Neither do I.” She opens the door of the apartment complex.

  Leaving my apartment and jackass neighbor behind, we head for the city by cab. The driver is waiting in his hovering vehicle. It’s a mix of metal and glass and resembles a car, but much bulkier. More like an army tank, but sleeker and sportier with its deep curves, vibrancy and glossy black color.

  It’s much safer than ground transport, but cheaper than air transport. The city is so large that it could take days to walk the entire span from one edge to the other. It’s not feasible and definitely not safe.

  “Downtown shopping plaza,” Jari-ri tells the driver.

  Our cab zips in and out of side streets, passing main traffic routes blocked by large groups of pedestrians.

  “What’s going on?”

  “It's Bruqukvik. The Awakening,” Meetu responds, his name and registration number plastered behind his seat.

  “Not sure what that means…” my voice trails off as I ponder the universal translator in my brain. I paid a hell of a lot extra for the reading and writing chip, but there was nothing for nuances and so many things that still get lost in translation.

  “It’s a celebration of the Goddess Valdani, waking
from her slumber,” Jari-ri adds, looking aimlessly out the window at the filthy streets filled with beggars rushing to our windows for handouts.

  Meetu speeds away after the traffic clears, and I grab onto the side of my seat where I’m strapped in.

  Back on Earth, I’d help anyone who needed it, including people posted with signs asking for money or help finding a job, but here it’s not safe to do such a thing. Opening a window and gifting something as small as even a hydration pack or a ration could cause a swarm of beggars, and before you know it, you’d be drowning in a pile, picked apart for every piece you had.

  It’s hard not to help, but it’s even harder doing it, knowing the dangers.

  “So…does that have anything to do with last night?”

  “Yes. Bruqukvik,” Meetu repeats, as if I’d understand his meaning the second time.

  I sigh in exasperation.

  “I’ll show you tonight on our way to Shakaat’s. You have to see to understand,” Jari-ri explains.

  “Why tonight?” I lean to the side, looking out the window towards the sky. It’s barely visible, with such towering architecture.

  “Because you can’t see it within the city limits.”

  “Ahh.”

  “We here. One hundred devals.” Meetu points at his meter and the cost flickering in beside it.

  For a moment I think of Earth and speedy cabbies driving around almost causing wrecks, getting people to their destination as quick as possible. Of course, it was so they could also pick up more clients and make more money.

  Jari-ri pays Meetu and we both jump out of the vehicle. He speeds away to his next client, leaving us at the shopping plaza.

  I felt overwhelmed staring across the shopping plaza that seemed to never end, spanning for what must be miles. Hundreds of tall blue-grey buildings consumed the sky, filled with various shops and restaurants accessed by the staggering number of elevators to handle the sheer amount of customers. The streets are filled with stalls manned by aliens selling random bits, goods and services forcing transports to weave through their crowded mess.