Aries

by Enid Titan

  “I don’t have a problem looking at your face. I see no reason to change course.”

  “Where are you going anyway? Don’t you want to make a profit? If you have unique creatures, different from any others maybe your business would do better.”

  “What do you know about business?”

  “What do I know? Before you spacemen decided I was nothing more than a piece of meat, I was one of the top investors in London. I made millions of earth dollars for my company and almost as much for myself.”

  “Earth dollars are worthless.”

  “To you. But I earned respect and I can see when a man has a business that needs a bit of work.”

  X-25 growled, “Flesh is not more intelligent than alloy.”

  “I might not be more intelligent but sales don’t care about intelligence. You have to reach people. You have to understand their deepest, darkest desires.”

  “Hmph.”

  “Go to Tarfzon. Get one or two specimens and if I’m wrong… you can do whatever you want to me.”

  “Hmph. Fine. Because of that thing in your stomach my clones are failing at a faster rate than usual. I need fresh blood. 909π set a course for the planet. What did you say the co-ordinates were?”

  10

  Girls Fight

  “How long do you think we have to wait for them?” Pandora asked.

  Ariana interfaced directly with the Devoran flagship and closed her eyes. Pandora still wasn’t comfortable with telepaths, but she’d grown used to Ariana the longer they’d been friends.

  “I think his ship will be here soon. Our long-range sensors are picking something up, but they can’t tell us what yet.”

  “Good. I’m worried about her.”

  “Don’t be. Brits are tough.”

  “Yeah, with their tea and crumpets. Sure.”

  “Right, you’re a Boston girl, I forgot. You’d rather throw their tea and crumpets into the harbor.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Titan wasn’t pleased with me going alone.”

  “Why not?” Pandora asked.

  Ariana bit her lip, reluctant to admit the secret she’d been keeping from her friend.

  “I’m pregnant again.”

  “What?!”

  “I haven’t met her yet, but I think it’s a her.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. I should be enjoying it more, I know. But pregnancy has always been difficult for me.”

  “Tell me about it. I gave birth to nearly fifty,” Pandora scoffed.

  “Do you think Rory will be okay?” Ariana asked. She’d cut her red hair short, up to her shoulders and wore it pinned back with a silver head-band.

  “I think she will be. She’s tough. I did my research into her background on earth. Did you know she’s in investing.”

  “No way.”

  “She’s filthy stinking rich.”

  “Not like any of that matters up here,” Ariana chuckled.

  “You’re right about that,” Pandora answered.

  They didn’t have to wait for long for X-25’s ship to become visible on his radar.

  “What do you think of that Arietan mate of hers?” Pandora asked.

  “He’s… not like his cousin Baneb,” Ariana conceded.

  “I know, right. And can you believe they’re vegans?”

  “No! It seems… ridiculous really,” Ariana replied. From her origins upstate, she couldn’t imagine never wanting to tear into a medium-rare venison burger.

  “And isn’t he technically part plant?” Pandora whispered, her face blanching, “Is that cannibalism?”

  “You know, there are some things about aliens I don’t think I’ll ever understand,” Ariana chuckled.

  “The ship hasn’t detected us yet, has it?” Pandora turned her attention back to the approaching ship.

  Ariana closed her eyes, her hands vibrating as she interfaced with the transport.

  “No. The fleet lies in wait behind us ready to defend our cause at all costs.”

  “Good.”

  “This should be easy,” Ariana murmured.

  The ship came into view and in a flash was close enough to their position in space that Pandora and Ariana could see the red light emanating from its hull pouring through the viewscreen.

  “We’ll have her out of there in no time.”

  One moment, Rory was on the bridge, ready to face X-25’s wrath as he realized there was no planet and somehow, this tiny ape had fooled him into thinking there was an entire planet here.

  He had his steel hands around her throat and as he squeezed, Ariana and Pandora teleported Rory to their bridge. She gasped and collapsed on the ground.

  The clone master realized he’d been fooled. He roared at his clones to get to work and uncover the ones who’d done this. As he furiously slammed his hands on the panel, a hoard of Devoran ships shimmered into view, out of their space camouflage and clear into view. Ten ships. Each of the ships was five times the size of his and each one armed to the teeth.

  X-25 received a hail.

  “You are under arrest for illegally engaging in the slave trade in Devoran space. Surrender or prepare to be boarded.”

  “This is not Devoran space.”

  “As of three days ago, it is. Now, surrender.”

  Metal never surrenders to the flesh. X-25’s metal bones creaked as he clenched his functional cybernetic hand into a fist and rammed it into the console.

  “I will never surrender!”

  He screamed afterward, a loud but wheezing scream. This was impossible. No flesh could penetrate metal. Yet there were tens of telepathic Devorans imprisoning him in his mind. His circuits overloaded and X-25 collapsed into a state that could only be described as unconsciousness.

  “Did you turn him off?” Pandora whispered.

  Ariana opened her eyes and exhaled.

  “He’s sleeping.”

  “So he can wake up at any time?”

  “Yes, but by then the soldiers will have him imprisoned. Devoran telepathic techniques don’t differentiate between metal and flesh. All they need is a mind.”

  “What makes him artificial and us real?” Pandora asked.

  “Don’t you think we should get Rory some help before we discuss philosophy?”

  “Of course!”

  Pandora raced over to Rory who lay on her back, eyes gaping at the ceiling as she gasped and clutched her neck.

  “Let’s get her to Dr. Omega,” Ariana said.

  Rory passed out then. When she woke up, a short dark blue-skinned man ran an instrument over her. The lesions on her neck were gone. She could breathe just fine.

  Ariana and Pandora crossed over to Rory’s bedside.

  “You’re up. Finally. How do you feel?”

  “Fine. I didn’t see you guys. I thought I messed up.”

  “You were perfect.”

  “Is he…”

  “He’s been arrested. He’s being held deep in a Devoran prison somewhere.”

  “A prison?”

  “Not a physical prison. He’ll still be able to leave. But he’ll be… watched. It’s house arrest but chained to a planet. He can live a normal life but he won’t be able to do evil.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s a telepath thing,” Pandora answered, “It’s hard to understand.”

  “Good. I need… to get up.”

  “No, you don’t!” Doctor Omega chimed in, “You’ve got to lie down.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Doctor Omega and I thought Ariana was the most troublesome human I’d come across!”

  “Well, I can be trouble if you like,” Rory teased.

  “Humph!”

  “May I ask a question?”

  “Go ahead,” Ariana replied, resting her hand on Rory’s arm.

  “Can he tell me why my baby looks like it’s so far along?”

  “Yes, that’s what’s different about you. I knew something was off!�
��

  “Doctor Omega? Can you help her?”

  “Hmm…”

  He ran instruments over Rory’s stomach and replied.

  “You’re at 38 weeks.”

  “No! I found out I was pregnant two weeks ago. This is impossible. Run your test again.”

  Doctor Omega huffed, “I can assure you, Rory, you are 38 weeks pregnant.”

  “Oh my goodness… Ramses doesn’t know! How am I going to tell Ramses?”

  The doors opened and Ramses walked through, tall and proud with spikes jutting from his military uniform and a spiked helmet that covered his face like a hoplite. He removed his helmet. Ariana and Pandora stepped aside, revealing Rory’s news.

  “Y-you’re…”

  “I’m pregnant, Ramses.”

  The room fell silent. All you could hear was the low hum of the ship in the background as everyone in the sickbay waited for Ramses’ reaction.

  “Good. This is very good,” he said slowly.

  Then Ramses turned around and walked out of sickbay without another word.

  “He’s upset!” Rory wailed.

  “He’s not upset. You know males… They’re… weird,” Pandora offered.

  Ariana offered her a glare as if to say this wasn’t exactly helping.

  “Go to him. He’s probably just processing.”

  “He hates me!” Rory sighed.

  “I promise he doesn’t hate you. Go to him…”

  “I said no leaving sickbay!” Doctor Omega huffed, “Now you two out of here! You’ll send my patient mad if I keep you around! Out, out, out!”

  11

  Return To Earth

  “Ram?” Rory whispered as she tapped on Ram’s shoulder. He sat in the ship’s mess hall alone, nursing what smelled like fermented celery juice.

  “Yes.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Rory supported her belly and sat across from him. She couldn’t stand for long and by Doctor Omega’s estimates, things would only get worse until she gave birth to the baby.

  “Are you upset?” Rory asked.

  “Yes, I’m upset!”

  Rory scowled, “Well it’s not MY fault!”

  “It isn’t. It’s my fault! I should have never let you go over there. I let you go. I let that disgusting creature have you and it was all a horrible idea! This is all my fault!”

  “Ramses, wait,” Rory replied, grabbing his hand, “This isn’t your fault.”

  “Of course it is. I promised to protect you.”

  “I volunteered for this. I knew there was a risk. We shouldn’t waste time blaming each other. We’re going to have a child together.”

  “You’re right.”

  He sighed and gulped down the rest of his celery juice.

  “I would have never accepted this if I knew that I would become a father so soon.”

  “Yeah. Tell me about it,” Rory chuckled.

  He smiled at her then and squeezed her hand.

  “I suppose we should go back to our quarters. We have much to discuss.”

  “Yes. I want to know about the mission you’ve accepted.”

  Rory linked arms with her tall, red-skinned alien and rested her hand on his shoulders. Ramses walked slowly with her, ready to have Rory Blackmore all to himself.

  Their quarters on the Devoran ship were luxurious but too hot by Rory’s standards. Ramses seemed comfortable so she didn’t say anything as they entered, even if her hair stuck to her neck. Ramses sat her on a large brown armchair and Rory sighed, fanning herself.

  “Is it too hot?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t want to trouble you.”

  “You’re pregnant. I’m not troubled.”

  Ramses swiftly moved to the panel on the wall and adjusted the temperature. Rory sighed.

  “Perfect.”

  “I’ll need a winter coat for this. I’ll get one from the panel but before that, we need to discuss what’s going to happen next.”

  Ramses paced before her, uncomfortable with the idea of announcing to Rory what should happen next.

  “We need to go back to earth and… stay there for a while.”

  “How are you going to blend in on earth?”

  “You didn’t realize I was an alien until I had you on my ship.”

  “It was a dark nightclub. I had a bit to drink.”

  “I’d hate to see you with a lot to drink.”

  “Oi! Focus here,” Rory replied.

  “I need to blend in and stay holed up in your apartment for a while because I’m in charge of a mission on earth by a group of planets who have decided to join The Alliance.”

  “The Alliance?”

  “It’s a new thing. There have been meetings for all the days you were gone and I’ve been determined as the best fit for leading the mission.”

  “So it’s like a job? I thought you didn’t need money.”

  “I don’t. Our plan worked and Ogneb has patched things up with me more or less. I just want to do this.”

  “Right. But it’s not a job?”

  “No. I’m going to oversee the mission. I’ll be on the surface with a camouflaged ship if anything goes wrong.”

  “And what do I do?”

  “Whatever you want to. You can live like a princess, or a queen, or an empress.”

  “Alright, I get the picture.”

  Rory rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around Ramses. He shuddered as her stomach touched him. She was so beautiful like this with her pale stomach protruding forward and her lithe arms wrapped around his neck.

  “So you’ll go to Earth with me?”

  “I don’t see why not. I think you’ll love London. We’ll have to set some ground rules though.”

  “Fine. State your demands.”

  “You can only go out at night, you can’t let anyone see you like this, and you have to promise that whatever this alliance does, no one on earth will be harmed.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good. Then let’s go, Ramses. It’s been hard for me to admit, but I miss home.”

  “I can’t wait to see your flat. Isn’t that what you call it?”

  “Yes. I can’t wait for you to run my heating bill up!”

  Ramses chuckled and kissed Rory, pushing the hair out of her face and then lifting her off the ground, pressing her body against the wall.

  “I love you,” he murmured.

  “I love you, too.”

  “This time I mean it. I’m never leaving you again.”

  12

  The Flat

  Saying goodbye to Ariana and Pandora was more difficult than Rory thought. Her newborn Arietan baby was a sweet little thing, despite his purely alien appearance. The little bundle was about the size of a human baby, except he’d been born with a full head of black hair and short little horns. His tail was a tiny stub sticking out of his back and his horned shoulders. Rory kept him strapped to her stomach often but Ramses enjoyed carrying his son.

  They’d argued about what to name him but eventually agreed on a traditional Arietan name and a human middle name. Osiris Gilbert Blackmore of Ramses.

  Their ship arrived on earth in the dead of night, parked in the same London alley where they’d first met. The night club where they’d met had a wooden sign nailed to it.

  Foreclosed.

  Nobody noticed Rory and the tall dark stranger at her side as they meandered through the streets to her apartment. The man at the door hardly looked up as he buzzed her in until her ID card flashed her name.

  “Rory Blackmore…”

  He gasped and looked up.

  “You’ve been missing.”

  “No, I haven’t. I’ve been traveling.”

  “For over a year? No one knew where you were. I’ve got to call the cops.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’m exhausted. I’ll see them myself in the morning.”

  “A lot of people have been worried about you,” he chide
d, “That friend of yours with the son has come here once a week to see if you’ve come back.”

  “Oh…”

  Rory bit her lower lip guiltily. She hadn’t thought about Candice much recently. She didn’t realize what hell she’d put her through.

  “I’m sorry,” Rory mumbled.

  “And what, you’re back with a baby now? And a husband I presume?”

  The hoodie covering Ramses horns and face worked sufficiently.

  “Strange bloke. How’d you do?”

  “He’s… not from around here,” Rory said quickly, “Now can we go? I promise I’ll call Candice.”

  “And call that bloke David. I think he’s sweet on you.”

  Rory blushed.

  “Thanks.”

  She hurried away towards her building’s elevator. Ramses followed with Osiris strapped to his chest.

  “What was that all about? Who’s David? I’d like to have a word with him.”

  “Oh don’t tell me you’re jealous. He’s human.”

  “So?”

  “I think now that I’ve had a taste of something different, I’m never going back,” Rory teased.

  She pressed the button to her floor. Ramses grumbled, “This is an inefficient way to travel.”

  “Oh, hush. We’re only here for two years.”

  “Two long slow years filled with taxes…”

  “…and nightclubs,” Rory interrupted.

  “And waiting,” Ramses continued.

  “And summer.”

  “And humans…”

  “And watching humanity change right before our very eyes,” Rory finished.

  Ramses sighed, “Fine. Maybe I’ll get used to it.”

  “I can’t believe David came here every day.”

  Ramses eyes narrowed again.

  “What! I’ve got no interest in him. It’s just… Well, he got me fired. He was the reason I went to the club. We have him to thank for our chance encounter.”

  Ramses grimaced. Rory unlocked the door to her apartment. As she’d traveled through time and space, she’d never let go of those keys, always hoping that at some point, she’d come back. Her rent and bills were all paid via direct deposit and she could have afforded to stop working for five or ten years without issue.