by Maia Starr
“Tell me what you need,” I said.
We went to work. We trained the Earth engineer soldiers as well as our own on setting up and activating the shield. It was going to take several days of work, at least ten. I was happy. I could convince Nizok to let me stay out here this entire time. It would keep me from wandering over to Nicole. The further away from her that I was, the easier it would be to not want to be inside of her again. Just seeing her beautiful face and delicious feminine figure made me feel like a weak soldier. So, staying away from her was good.
Chapter Seven
NICOLE PLIMOC
It had been ten days since I had talked to Commander Vycon Dase after he had rejected me. I was left feeling absolutely deflated. What had gotten into him? He had become a completely different alien. It was all that I could think about. How could I have misjudged him so badly? Why did I think that I could trust him? He was an alien after all. I knew that the aliens were prone to fights with our own soldiers, but I considered it to be the fault of both parties.
But now, I was seeing just how manipulative and dishonest a Grantsion Zenkian could be. He had me thinking that he was some charming alien that understood me. He had me thinking all sorts of things that I was now feeling guilty that I felt at all. He had worn a mask, and he wore it well. Was it simply to bed me? That did not make sense. He had gone against the rules of the Zenkian. If his Leader found out, he could be exiled from his own village when he returned. It was a great risk for him to take simply because he wanted to be inside me. As soon as I thought of him inside of me, flashes of his blue naked body came to my mind. Damn it, Nicole, you don't want him: remember? I found that I was getting aroused once more just by thinking about him.
But one thing was for sure, I was feeling extremely hurt and disappointed. I did not know why. I barely knew this alien; in fact, he proved to me that I didn't know him at all. I only knew an imaginary side to him. So why did it hurt me so much? Why did I think that we could continue seeing each other in secret? I have looked forward to it and I knew that it was more than just lust. He had gotten under my skin.
I knew that he was out at the copper mines helping with the new shield, the Grantsion technology. He was needed out there. But I remembered just how cold he was. He was very short with me and almost seemed annoyed. It broke my heart. He made excuses, and I knew exactly what it meant. I had dated enough on Earth in order to know when a man wanted to avoid you; an alien man was no different. It really pissed me off. So that was how I spent the following ten days: somewhere between pissed off and extremely sad.
“What is going on with you, Nicole? You have been very distracted lately,” Sheila said as she came over to my desk.
“What? Oh, nothing, it is just this Waysaw invasion that is imminent. It is taking a lot from me,” I said.
“No, I think it is something else,” she said.
“You do?” I asked, hoping that she would not find out the secret that I was keeping.
“Yes, too much work and no play. When was the last time that we even took a lunch together? You have been so busy with these meetings since those new Grantsions arrived,” she said.
“Yes, that is it,” I said lying once more.
“Especially because the last time you went out it was with awful Sergeant Banks. At least you're too busy to deal with him lately,” she said.
“Yes, that is true,” I said.
“Well, what are you doing now? Do you have an hour to spare? Let’s go to the diner and eat greasy burgers and French fries,” she said with a big smile.
As soon as she said it, my stomach grew very hungry. I realized that I had been eating a lot the last three days, and I did not know why. I assumed I was eating my feelings, as pathetic as that was.
“You are right, Sheila. Let us go and have some girl talk. I have missed talking with you,” I said.
“And I you, Nicole. After you,” she said as she formally bowed. It made me laugh. It felt good to laugh.
I followed her out of our tower base and walked through the battalion areas.
“Nicole!” I heard someone shout. I silently wished that it was Commander Vycon Dase, but I recognized the voice and knew that it was Sergeant Banks. Hearing Sheila sigh next to me only confirmed it.
“Here we go,” she muttered to me.
“Sergeant Banks? What can I do for you?” I said as I turned to him.
“A word,” he said.
“Actually, she and I have a very important lunch meeting,” Sheila said grabbing my arm.
“It will only take two minutes,” Sergeant Banks said as he grabbed my other arm and pulled me a couple of feet away from Sheila.
Sheila rolled her eyes and crossed her arms waiting for me.
“What is it?” I asked Sergeant Banks.
“Where have you been? I have been wanting to see you. You realize that it has been weeks since we have been together? The last time I spoke to you, you said you had your monthly cycle, and then I have not heard from you since,” he said.
“Yes, but as you know, once the new Grantsions arrived, I have been needed in meetings. You have attended a few yourself; you know how they take all day,” I said.
He crossed his arms and looked at me angrily.
“And what about at night? I heard you have had quite the security team guarding you in case the Waysaw show up and take the female. Why is it that Commander Vycon Dase must guard you and not Sheila or the other few females that are here?” he asked.
I tried to restrain my shock that he knew. Of course, he would know; everyone knew because it was announced in that meaning. Was he in that meeting? I couldn't even remember. Once the commander joined those meetings, I quit keeping track of who else was in the room.
“I am not the one that assigned that team to guard me. I am sure that you have heard that. I am at the mercy of my superiors, just like everyone else here. Now if you'll excuse me, I am on a time crunch,” I said walking away from him.
He grabbed my arm one more time and whispered. “I better not hear that you are doing other things with that filthy alien. I don't know what I will be capable of if I heard that.”
“You have nothing to worry about. And I am not yours, Sergeant Banks. I have never belonged to you.”
“Yes, you have. You were to be my wife; the two of us together with our positions, we would be a power couple,” he said.
I yanked my arm from him disgusted. “Is that all you think about? Your military status? Get away from me,” I said and walked away from him.
“This isn’t over!” he shouted. His words brought goosebumps. Normally I wouldn't care, but now I had something to hide. He could not find out that I had bedded the alien. He would make things very bad for me, and very bad for the commander.
“What was that all about?” Sheila asked as we walked toward the diner.
“The same old crap. You know Sergeant Banks and his selfish ways,” I said.
“I won't say I told you so,” she said.
“Let's just eat,” I said.
When we sat down at the table, and the menu was in front of me, I went wild with it.
“I will have a strawberry milkshake, a cheeseburger, an order of chili cheese fries, and maybe a couple of chicken strips on the side,” I said.
She looked at me with wide eyes. “I will just have the cheeseburger and fries and water,” she ordered.
The waiter stepped away from us.
“Wow, you have such an appetite. I have not seen you order like that before in my life. The last time I saw a woman order like that, she was pregnant.” Her eyes grew wide.
“No, I am not pregnant. As you can see, Sergeant Banks was very angry that I have not been with him,” I said as I hid the panic inside of me. I grabbed my glass of water and drank it down in order to distract her. Could it possible? Was my appetite growing out of control because I was pregnant? It had only been ten or eleven days since I’d slept with Commander Vycon Dase. Was that enough time to tell? I didn't
know how these things worked when you were dealing with an alien baby.
I sat there listening to small talk with Sheila while I was in a complete panic. It had been a long time since my last monthly cycle, as Sergeant Banks had reminded me outside. The last time I was with the sergeant, I had my cycle a week later. That was more than a month ago, at least a month and a half. So that meant if I were with child, it would belong to Commander Vycon Dase, no question. I quickly shoved the food in my mouth, in all honesty, I was very hungry. I ate practically all of it to Sheila's surprise.
After we walked back to the tower, I waited for Sheila to go back to her workstation before I snuck out. I quickly made my way to my apartment. I had a stash of pregnancy test; almost all of us females did. It wasn't easy getting supplies out to this base, so when they came, we tended to hoard things that females needed in our own apartments.
I took a test; it showed positive. I was in shock. Maybe it was an old test and broken. I grabbed another and took it a few minutes later after I had chugged an enormous amount of water. The test once again showed that I was pregnant. Crap.
“What am I going to do now? You have really gotten yourself into it thick, Nicole,” I said to myself as I left my bathroom. I walked back and forth in front of the windows of my apartment. I would have to get back to work soon before I was missed. But I needed at least twenty minutes to process this. What the hell was I going to do? I could not be pregnant with an alien baby. There were so many things wrong with that prospect.
It was sort of forbidden for humans to be with the Zenkian in any way, even the Grantsions. It wasn't exactly a hard rule, but it was definitely frowned upon. The human females sort of had a choice in the matter, but as far as the Grantsions were concerned, they would be punished. The Grantsions had told Earth over and over that they did not want the human females the way the Waysaw did. It was a major point in the pact between us. This baby could cause all kinds of trouble. but that wasn't my biggest problem: at least not now.
The biggest problem was that the father of this child would be leaving across the Galaxy billions of miles away to another planet. I would never see him again. He would never know that he had created a child inside of me. What was I going to do? I did not have a lot of time because he would be leaving soon, once that shield was completed. I had to do something.
Chapter Eight
COMMANDER VYCON DASE
I had returned from the copper mine. I wasn't happy about it. The work was almost completed. I had left Lieutenant Yata to do the rest of the work. I had to return because Leader Nizok had summoned me. But a part of me was happy to return to the base. I had been itching to set my eyes on Nicole, even if just for a second. But I knew that I could not speak to her. I still needed her to hate me. I was sure that the Leader would want me to take care of preparations for our departure that would be imminent. Because of this, I could not lead her on. It was all too dangerous.
“Leader, I have returned. You have summoned me?” I said as I boarded our ship.
“Yes, I believe the lieutenant is far enough along to work without you. I need you here. We will have a few more meetings in the tower, and I also want you working with the battalions here. I particularly want you working with this Earth sergeant.”
“Sergeant?” I asked hoping that it wasn't who I thought it was.
“Yes, he is called Sergeant Banks. I want you to train him in hand-to-hand combat in the way that we would fight a Waysaw Soldier. Show him how the Waysaw soldiers fight, the way they make sport of it. These humans do not know how the Waysaw have war games and fight differently. I want you to teach him so that he can, in turn, teach his soldiers. I want them to be ready. I want them to get the most of our presence here before we depart.”
“I understand, Leader. I will get right on that task,” I said.
I saluted the Leader and left his presence. A part of me was feeling happy and cocky in order to go around or two with this sergeant. I hated him, and I had a lot of energy to dispel.
I grabbed a few Grantsion soldiers and walked out into the path between the Earth Battalion and the Grantsion battalions.
“Human!”
“Private Martinez, sir,” the soldier said as he scrambled over to me. I had seen him before inside the tower. I knew he worked with Nicole. I quickly looked around to see if she was anywhere nearby, but I did not see her.
“Private Martinez, go into the Earth Battalion to deliver a message. I am seeking Sergeant Banks. Tell him Commander Vycon Dase waits for him out here for our training sessions,” I said.
“Yes, sir, right away,” he said as he scrambled into the Earth Base building.
I waited with my soldiers telling them what our mission was in training this Earth soldiers today.
“Well, if it isn't Little Boy Blue!” Sergeant Banks shouted as he came out of the base with a few of his soldiers.
I did not know what he was referencing, but I assumed it was an insult.
“Yes, that is the spirit, Sergeant Banks. I am here to fight with you, but it is not what you think.”
“Yes, I know. Your Leader has informed me that you are here to show us how the Waysaw fight. We are very aware; it is not the first time that we have come across them,” he said with arrogance.
“I understand, Sergeant. But I am here to show you how to defeat them in hand-to-hand combat. They fight differently, and therefore you need different moves in order to defeat them. Or are you too scared to take me on?”
The sergeant’s face grew dark. The fact that my soldiers were laughing at him did not help. It was easy to get this human worked up. I knew exactly which buttons to push to do it. I only had two wound his ego in order to get him to make mistakes and be sloppy.
He unbuckled the belt around his waist with his guns and handed it to one of his soldiers. I did the same. Then we met each other in the middle. A crowd was starting to gather. I could hear bets being placed.
“Now, I am going to do some moves that the Waysaw do, and Sergeant Banks is going to try to block them and hit me back,” I said to the soldiers that were gathered.
“Go ahead, Sergeant Banks; come at me,” I said putting my hands in the air motioning for him to come to me.
He shouted and ran straight for me as though he was going to tackle me with his shoulder to my belly. With one swift motion, I moved out of the way and had my hands around his waist and flipped him over, hitting his back hard on the ground. The wind was knocked out of him.
The crowd cheered, and the Earth soldiers let out remarks of pain sympathy for the sergeant.
“Do you see that? Did you see that move? Do you know why it works? It works because the Waysaw are expecting you to charge at them like that. Not only are they expecting it, they want it. Because then they can use that perfect swift move that I just showed you. They are not scared of you. They are not scared of me. They make sport of fighting. For every move that you have coming at them, they have a move to not only guard themselves, but to take you down at the same time,” I shouted, giving my lesson.
I stepped over the sergeant, adding humiliation to his defeat. He slowly got up and faced me again.
“I am ready,” I said with a grin.
He swung a right hook at me. I caught his hand mid-air and twisted it around his back; I could snap his arm like this. He squealed in pain.
“Did you see that? Right now, if I were a Waysaw, I would snap his arm in two. I was anticipating his swing and already knew that I was going to catch it and twist him around. Now, that is enough show!” I said pushing the sergeant away from me.
“Right now, I want all of you to line up, and I am going to show you how to do these moves. I want you to master them and spread them throughout your camps,” I said.
I watched as every soldier enthusiastically lined up in order to learn this move. The sergeant was staring at me with hatred in his eyes. I knew hatred very well. He came over to me and spat on the ground, close to my boot. Then he leaned in and whispered, �
��This isn't over yet, Commander.”
“Oh, I hope not, Sergeant. I hope to meet again in the same light soon,” I said with a grin.
He slowly limped away. It felt good; it felt damn good. I continue to watch him walk away as I waited for the soldiers to line up and for my soldiers to assist me in the training. I watched him and noticed that he was not heading back inside the base building. Instead, he was heading off to the corner of it on the outside. It was then that I saw her. It was Nicole. She was staring directly at me. I felt an enormous amount of guilt and regret flood my body. The triumph of making a fool out of the sergeant went away. But as I looked at her, I noticed that the sergeant grabbed her arm. She yanked it away. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was obviously a heated argument. Wait a minute, was she involved with him? I did not know her life before I arrived. I hated him even more in that second. I wanted to go to her and defend her, but I did not want to give away that I was in love with her. Crap, I love her. I knew at that moment when I saw another man touching her. I was repulsed by his hands on her. She yanked her arm away again and stomped off. He just laid against the wall, catching his breath. I had really done a number on him, and I was glad because he would probably follow her if he wasn't feeling so badly and injured.
