by KD Jones
Ren reluctantly left the weakened female in the temporary medic room. He instructed the lead medic to inform him when the female recovered. Ren went up to his hotel suite to shower and change. He had hoped by washing his body of the female’s scent and putting distance between them, the urges he felt would fade away. It didn’t work. Ren, still, found himself obsessing over the human female with the lovely red hair and green eyes.
Dressed now in casual Katieran robes, Ren walked into the sitting area of the suite. He found his brother Kyd, still dressed in his military attire, sprawled out on his small couch. He frowned at his brother as he took the chair opposite to him. He was irritated about his attraction for the human female and did not want to have to deal with company right now.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be questioning the human females about what happened in the interview room?” Ren asked his brother.
Kyd closed his eyes as he answered. “I got kicked out of the room by Lindsey.” Lindsey Carreli was the Katieran Legal Advisor for Earth Relations. Ren had hired the Earth female a year ago when they started trade negotiations with the EWG. She had 7 years of Earth law experience and 2 years of working directly within the EWG. Also, she was a beautiful female.
Ren laughed as he imagined the tall, slim, brown haired female tossing his brother out of the room. “Lindsey is a good female. You should consider her for your mate.”
“I would except for the fact that she has her sights set on you. I question her taste.” Kyd responded with his eyes still closed.
Ren was shocked. He looked over at his brother to make sure that Kyd was speaking the truth. “Are you sure?”
Kyd smirked as he opened his eyes to stare back at his younger brother. “I take it that you didn’t know that she had feelings for you.”
Ren shook his head. “No, I didn’t. She’s lovely and smart. But …” Ren was interrupted when a soft knock sounded on the suite’s door.
Ren stood up and walked across the room to open the door. Lindsey stood on the other side. She gave him a flirty smile. This only confirmed what his brother just told him. He didn’t know what to do. “Come in Miss Carreli.”
The attractive female walked through the door. Her golden brown hair was pulled up and secured tightly on top of her head. She wore a silky blue top with short sleeves and a pencil skirt that ended 2 inches above her knees leaving a nice view of her legs. As she walked her hips swung side to side in a sexy way. Ren smelled her arousal and frowned as he turned to close the door.
Kyd sat up and made room on the couch for Lindsey to sit beside him. “Did you miss me when I left?” He asked while giving her a sexy wink.
Lindsey rolled her eyes at him. “Oh yeah, I missed having to play referee between you and GI Jane downstairs.” She turned to Ren and said, “I deserve a raise just for having to deal with all the crap your brother causes.” Noticing that Ren didn’t catch her joke the way she intended, she added “I’m just joking about the Commander. I don’t need a raise.”
Ren smiled understanding the joke was about his brother causing trouble. He felt he could relate. “Tell me what you found out from the Earth females involved.”
Lindsey got right down to business. “After I made the Commander leave the room where we were questioning the women, I found out that the brunette in fatigues that I call GI Jane, is actually Captain Jaxon Malone. She’s an active air force captain and a member of the military exchange team that will be going to Katiera for training.” Lindsey paused as Commander KydEL sighed heavily and made some kind of remark that didn’t translate over the translator.
She continued with her report. “Captain Malone says that she had convinced her friend, the redhead, to come with her and apply for relocation to Katiera. The redhead’s name is Cassandra Anne Tomlin. She is 25 years old. She had been working as a legal assistant up until 6 months ago. She quit her job and then went missing.”
“Why would she just take off like that when she obviously knew she was breeding and would need special care?” Ren wanted to yell at the female for putting herself in danger.
“Captain Malone refused to answer any questions pertaining to Miss Tomlin’s pregnancy. But, I did some digging and found out that Miss Tomlin did not apply for a special license.” Lindsey pulled her digital tablet out to verify the facts she had entered earlier.
Both men looked confused. Kyd asked “What does this special license mean?”
“One of the things the EWG implemented in an attempt to control the population problem was requiring special licenses for all pregnancies. No license means that you are guilty of an unauthorized pregnancy. You can resolve the issue with a government mandated abortion. If you do not consent to the abortion, you are then arrested and still may be subject to a government mandated abortion. Anyone aware of a woman in violation of an unauthorized pregnancy is required to turn them over to the EWG or will face serious charges for aiding a criminal.” Neither of the men said anything as they thought about what Lindsey revealed about the EWG. Lindsey continued to relay the information she had gathered. “I had a friend of mine check the databases for special licenses, Miss Tomlin is not registered.”
Ren cleared his throat, “So … she has broken the EWG law and is now a wanted criminal?” He ran a hand through his dark hair. His stomach turned at the thought of being forced to hand the female over to the EWG.
Lindsey shook her head, “That’s what has me confused. Miss Tomlin was never reported to the EWG for being in violation of an unauthorized pregnancy. If I had to take a guess, I would say that the father of the child is someone with political connections and wants to contain the situation.”
Kyd’s comm link beeped. He stood and walked into the dining area to answer the call. “Commander KydEL here.”
Ren sighed. “What can we do for the female that won’t leave us in any kind of violation with the EWG?” Personally he didn’t care one bit about what the EWG said. But he was the Prime Leader of the Katieran Nation and had to act in the best interest of his people.
“The Katieran Nation can offer Miss Tomlin political asylum.” Lindsey offered.
“What is this political sylum?” Ren asked leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“Political asylum. It is a type of protection and safe passage that a nation can offer to refugees.” Lindsey added. “The EWG can do nothing if Miss Tomlin accepts the offer of asylum.”
“Do it. Offer Miss Tomlin this A-sylum. Is there anything else that needs to be done?” Ren could already see his beautiful redheaded goddess standing under the twin suns on his home planet. He was imagining that the bright red strands of her glorious hair would stand out and sparkle. Her ivory skin would shine with health and happiness. He couldn’t wait to get her home. Wait a minute. She wasn’t his. What was he thinking?
Lindsey looked at Ren and had a sinking feeling. He seemed way too protective of Miss Tomlin. She saw her chances to win over Ren for herself diminishing by the second. But, she was a professional and would do her job no matter what her personal feelings were. “Miss Tomlin needs to get off the planet … immediately. Tonight, if possible. The longer she remains on Earth the more chances that the EWG will discover her presence.”
“I understand. I was planning to leave in a couple of hours in my personal shuttle to join with our transport ship orbiting the planet. I will take the female with me. Is there any official paperwork required for this A-sylum?” Ren reached for his own digital tablet on the table beside his chair to make changes to his flight plans. A 3D image of the flight plan displayed.
“The official paperwork will take a little time for me to draw up and then it has to be submitted to the EWG. Miss Tomlin’s situation is one that cannot wait for the ‘red tape’ to be cleared. With your permission, I can verbally offer her political asylum by the authority of the Katieran Nation. As long as I have 2 witnesses present to testify that Miss Tomlin accepted the offer of her own free will, that is all that is required at this
time. I can later have the official papers drawn up and submitted after Miss Tomlin is aboard the transport ship.” Lindsey puts away her tablet.
Ren nodded his agreement to the verbal offer of political asylum. He then stood, indicating that the meeting was over. “Thank you so much Miss Carreli for the great job you’ve done here for us.” Ren waited for Lindsey to stand and walked her to the door. “Would you do one more thing for me regarding this matter?”
“Of course, what do you need?” She gave him a gentle smile.
“The male. I want to know the name of the male who abandoned Miss Tomlin and her young.” Ren could not help but sound angry. It was unacceptable to him the treatment of this delicate female.
“I will do my best Prime Leader.” Lindsey walked through the open door. She hoped that this Miss Tomlin was deserving of Ren’s attention. It was rare to find a man of worth. And Ren was very much a man of worth.
Chapter 2
Cassie woke up disoriented. She could barely lift her head up. She glanced around at the small room she was in. It had no windows. A small desk sat in the corner, a filing cabinet sat beside it. It was probably used as an office of some sort, except that someone had brought in a portable bed to put her on.
She jumped slightly when the door opened. A human woman that looked vaguely familiar came into the room. Recognition finally hit her. It was one of the women from the interview room that tried to protect her. The woman stood about 5’5” with very short blond hair and kind honey brown eyes. She was followed by a tall handsome man wearing something similar to a blue smock. Cassie was shocked to realize that this was one of those alien’s from Katiera that she had seen news reports and photos on T.V. about.
There had been many news reports and photos shown on television over the last year. The alien race showed up offering the EWG assistance with the overpopulation problem. They, also, had advanced technology that would help restore Earth’s natural resources.
The man was tall, at least 6’6” and probably weighed around 230 pounds. He had bronzed skin. His hair was dark brown. His skin color and facial features resembled that of Earth’s Native American. But it was his eyes that clued Cassie in to his nationality. He had soft brown eyes with yellow, almost gold, pupils. It made him stand out. He was very attractive.
The woman reached out to shake Cassie’s hand. “I’m Dr. Katrina Morris. I didn’t get to introduce myself with all that happened earlier.”
“I’m Cassie ...” She hesitated in giving out her last name. She glanced nervously at the Katieran.
“I am Medic JadEN. I am lead medic for this mission. I am similar to what you humans would call … doctor.” He didn’t reach out to shake hands. Hand shakes seemed to be a custom only observed by people on Earth. But he did smile at her warmly.
Cassie watched as the two doctors looked at a digital tablet and discussed something medically related. It was almost like they had their own special language that only another doctor would understand. She felt uncomfortable knowing that they were discussing her. The Katieran looked her way several times. She gave him a shy smile before she turned her attention back to the woman doctor.
She cleared her throat to get their attention. “Um... excuse me. I need to leave. Do you know where my bag is?” Cassie was sitting up now trying to move her legs to slide off the side of the bed. Both doctors rushed to her side to ease her back onto the bed.
“Please Cassie, lay back in the bed. You are suffering from mild malnutrition and lack of sleep.” Dr. Morris placed a blanket across Cassie.
“Is my baby okay?” Cassie grabbed onto Dr. Morris’s hand. She had tried her best to eat as much as she could for the baby’s sake. She hadn’t been able to seek medical assistance while on the run. She couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself or the fact that she was illegally pregnant. She prayed to God for the health of her child.
Dr. Morris sat on the bed beside Cassie. “Your baby is doing fine. In fact, I think you will start to feel a difference in your body. The Katieran medics implanted microscopic biological nanos to repair any damages that are done to the body from the inside out. They also direct nourishment to parts of the body in need; in this case, they will be directing the appropriate nourishment to your baby. By the time you reach the Katieran home world, you will be looking like a happy, healthy 7 month pregnant woman.”
“They put nano things inside my body? Will it hurt my baby?” Cassie sat up and clutched her slightly rounded tummy protectively as she gave the Katieran doctor a suspicious look.
“No no Cassie. The nanos are helping you and the baby. I promise. I was present during the entire procedure.” Dr. Morris turns toward the Katieran. “Medic JadEN, would you use your medical scope so Cassie can see for herself how her baby is doing.”
The Katieran medic grabs a silver stick from the counter behind him. It was about as long as a pencil and had a rounded tip. He brought the instrument with him as he approached Cassie’s bed. The poor man acted as if he thought Cassie was going to suddenly attack him like a mama bear protecting her cub.
“What is that thing?” Cassie asked tensing up. She didn’t take her eyes off the instrument or the Katieran.
It was Dr. Morris who answered her. “It’s what the Katierans call a Medical Scope. It performs many different tasks from taking vitals, administering medications, and acts as a type of scanner for x-rays, and, in this case, ultrasounds.”
The Katieran medic waved the scope over Cassie’s abdomen. A few beeps sounded, and then Dr. Morris told her to look up at the wall in front of her. An image appeared. At first, Cassie didn’t understand what she was looking at. And then....
“Oh my God! Is that my baby?” She couldn’t take her eyes off the image she was looking at. Without being able to seek medical assistance, Cassie had never had the means to get an ultrasound of her baby before. It was incredible. It wasn’t just a still image, her baby was moving. She could even see little fingers and toes. Tears of joy started to fall down Cassie’s face.
The Katieran looked accusingly at the female human doctor. “I don’t understand. I thought this would comfort her. Why is the female crying?”
Dr. Morris smiled at the Katieran’s discomfort. Males were all the same when it came to not being able to handle a crying woman. She reassured him as she handed Cassie a tissue. “It’s okay Medic JadEN. It’s probably the first image she has seen of her baby. She’s just a little bit emotional.”
Dr. Morris turned her attention back to Cassie. “Do you see the area right there?” She pointed to a spot. “That shows us that your baby is a girl and not a boy.”
Cassie smiled brightly. A little girl. She was going to have a sweet, innocent little girl to hold, to love, and to protect.
JadEN was still feeling very confused. These human females were strange creatures. Beautiful, but strange. He shook his head as he stepped away from the bed. He answered his comm link which was beeping. “Medic JadEN here. She is awakened. No, the human female medic is here with her. Yes Commander.”
JadEN ended the communication line. He turned back to the two human females who were watching him intently. “The Katieran Legal Advisor for Earth Relations will be coming here to speak with the breeding female.”
Cassie sat up and again looked around for her missing bag. She thought that if they were sending a legal advisor to see her, then the situation could not get any worse. She tried to pull the covers off of her when a small female hand reached out to grab her, stopping her from doing anything else. Cassie looked up into the kind brown eyes of Dr. Morris.
“Wait ... Just wait and see what this legal advisor has to say. You can always run afterwards. I will even help you. Just … wait.” Dr. Morris was afraid if Cassie left now things would only get worse for her.
A knock sounded on the door, causing both women to jump. JadEN opened the door and allowed the person on the other side to enter. It was another Earth female. She was a tall, attractive brown haired woman. She paused to say some
thing to JadEN before she came over to the side of the bed.
“Miss Tomlin, my name is Lindsey Carreli. I am the Katieran Nation’s Legal Advisor for Earth Relations.” Cassie thought the woman sounded friendly, but was suspicious over how the woman knew her last name. She was worried that the Katierans were going to turn her over to the EWG.
Lindsey saw the fear in the young woman’s eyes and felt compassion for the woman who only wanted to keep her baby. “Miss Tomlin, let me reassure you that you are safe here. I represent the Katieran Nation who has authorized me to offer you political asylum.” She gave Cassie a warm smile.
Cassie looked confused. “Political asylum? What does that mean?” She looked over at Dr. Morris who also looked confused.
“You will be offered safe passage to Katiera. You and your baby will be given living quarters just like the other refugees and you will have the best medical care.” Lindsey waited while the young woman processed what was happening.
Lindsey looked at both Dr. Morris and Medic JadEN as she asked them to stand witness. Then she asked Cassie, “Do you accept the offer of political asylum from the Katieran Nation?”
She couldn’t believe it! She and her baby would finally be safe. “I accept.” Cassie said with a tearful voice.
Chapter 3
Cassie was nervous as she boarded the small silver shuttle that was to take her up to the Transport Ship. They gave her only 25 minutes to talk to her friend Jaxon and explain the whole political asylum thing. Her friend was relieved and excited for her. They both cried a little when Cassie told Jaxon that she was going to have a little girl.
Unfortunately, Jaxon had to stay with her military unit as they were being oriented to Katieran Warrior duties. So, they would be starting the journey to a new world apart, but planned to find time to reunite later on.
