Beloved Stranger: Gaian Series, Book 5

by Janet Miller

  Roan sat next to her but still seemed to hover protectively even when no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. On the earlier shuttle she’d noticed more than a few of the men looking at her and Roan with looks of envy, but she didn’t think that justified his proprietary air.

  His attitude was getting old. She didn’t belong to him, and she didn’t need protection. She’d been doing a pretty good job of taking care of herself for years now. If Roan wanted to be her husband, he’d have to get used to that. She really ought to tell him that…

  Sonja caught herself. What was she thinking? Roan wasn’t really her husband, at least not in her mind, and she wasn’t going to be around him long enough for him to get used to anything about her.

  When they arrived at the shuttle station, she immediately noticed that the differences between the bubbles weren’t limited to the way the occupants dressed. The bubble called Delta Residence differed from Beta Residence in that the buildings were larger and closer together with less space devoted to open landscaping.

  In between the buildings were many pockets of playground equipment, which she now realized Beta Residence had lacked. This was where couples with children lived. Young women carrying babies and men holding small children by the hand occupied many of the small parks.

  The idea that anyone would deliberately have a child while confined to a prison had surprised Sonja, but the evidence was everywhere. Obviously Gaians didn’t consider it a bad thing to raise a child here.

  Roan seemed to be reading her thoughts. “The men here have waited years to have a family, so it isn’t too surprising that after they get a wife they’d want children as well.”

  “I can see that,” Sonja said. “It isn’t that this place is unpleasant. It isn’t. But a mining colony is dangerous. And what happens when the children get older and need to go to school?”

  “By then the families will be back on Gaia. Most prisoners are only here for five- to ten-year terms.”

  Sonja absorbed that idea. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “There are some schools, mostly here in Delta Residence.” He looked over at a man throwing a ball to an older boy who looked to be about six years old, and Sonja saw his expression change and soften. Obviously Roan wanted a family.

  Too bad he picked the wrong woman to marry. She couldn’t see herself having kids, at least not for a long time. Not that she would be here that long…

  Roan turned to her, interrupting her thoughts. “As for the colony being dangerous, we actually have far less crime here than you’d expect. And no one hurts our wives and children. That wouldn’t be tolerated.”

  “What about mining accidents?”

  “Those happen,” he admitted. “And more often than anyone likes. But it is the men who are at risk. The protections on the bubbles keep anything that happens down in the mines from endangering the people up here. It is at least as safe to be in a bubble as it would be to live in a space station.”

  Sonja looked at the neatly dressed men and women playing with their offspring and couldn’t think of an argument to counter Roan’s. After all, children had been born and raised in space stations for well over a hundred years now. The deceptively fragile-looking dome over her head might not seem protection enough against the risk to a child’s life, but it was no worse than the metal and plastisteel boxes that made up most of the ships and stations that dotted the galaxy.

  Here there was adequate water, light, and while the exterior of the planet was inhospitable, it boasted a near-perfect gravity field. Kids born here had at least as many advantages as those born on a space station.

  Roan consulted the numbers on a set of nearby buildings and compared them to the one Allan had given him for Sulla’s apartment. “I think it’s this way,” he said.

  She followed him down a side path away from the main path through the bubble. Their route was surrounded with plantings, tall trees and short bushes, and in between those the ground was covered in grass.

  Here, for the first time since arriving at Ares Five, Sonja saw signs of disrepair. Bare patches marred the smoothness of the lawn, there were few flowers and the bushes crowded together, overgrown and misshapen with broken branches. At times it was even difficult to see beyond the curve in the path.

  Sonja wondered at the neglect. “Why isn’t this place as well cared for as Beta Residence?”

  “It costs less to live here so there are probably fewer funds spent on maintenance. Plus there are a lot more children here so there would be more wear and tear. However—” He pointed to the playground equipment next to the building. Three of the five swings were broken, the seats either missing or in one case dangling from one chain.

  “—that should have been fixed, for certain. We didn’t see that in the other parts of the residence, so they must only fix what is easily seen.”

  He looked about, as if uneasy. “Let’s find your sister’s apartment quickly.”

  “I thought you said there wasn’t any crime in the bubbles.”

  “I said there was less than you might expect.” He continued to eye the dense bushes at the side of the path as if he’d seen something hidden there. “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any at all. I don’t like how overgrown this place is.”

  They picked up the pace and quickly found the building they were looking for, hurried into the building and took the lift to Sulla’s floor. Again Sonja noticed the shabbiness of her surroundings, worn floors and walls that could have stood a fresh coating of sealant. Even the lift seemed slow and shook when they reached the right floor. Sonja also noticed that it hadn’t been necessary to use any kind of identification to get inside.

  Between the state of the building, lack of security and Roan’s uneasiness, Sonja knew she had to get her sister out of here. She couldn’t leave Sulla in a place like this.

  They found the apartment number matching Sulla’s and knocked on the door. After a few long moments, the door opened, revealing a woman with a far-too-slender figure, blonde hair and a familiar face. Blue eyes widened as she silently took in who was on her doorstep.

  “Sonja? Is it really you?” her sister said.

  Sonja threw her arms around Sulla and hugged her like she would never let her go. “Yes, sis. It really is me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Sonja held her three-year-old niece and no longer wondered if it was possible to fall in love at first sight. The instant she laid eyes on Alice, Sulla’s daughter, she’d gone head over heels. Perhaps this business of her sister having a child wasn’t so bad after all. It certainly gave her someone new to love.

  She, Roan and Alice sat on the living-room couch as Sulla bustled around the place, ignoring their refusal for refreshments by bringing out water, javi and an assortment of snacks. Some things never changed, Sonja reflected. Her sister always loved to party and eat given any excuse.

  Not that it showed on her now. If anything, Sulla was too thin.

  The interior of Sulla’s apartment was comfortable, and unlike the grounds around it, tidy and well tended. Clearly her sister spent a lot of time caring for her child and her home.

  And probably her husband if the way she catered to Roan was any indication. Sulla seemed anxious to make the man feel at home, even serving him his cup of javi first. It was odd to see her fiercely independent sister behaving that way. Perhaps marriage changed a woman. If so, that was one change Sonja had no intention of mimicking.

  Not that she was going to stay with Roan, so there was no reason for her to worry about changing. She was temporarily married, temporary being the operative word.

  Finally satisfied her guests had been given more than they’d asked for, Sulla turned her attention to Sonja. “When did you get here? Where are you staying?”

  “I got here yesterday and am staying with Roan over in Beta Residence.” Sonja pointed to the man next to her. “He agreed to help me find you and Suna.”

  “Beta Residence?” Sulla’s eyes opened wide. “That’s really
nice. How lucky for you.” She turned to Roan. “You must be Sonja’s husband?”

  “Yes,” he answered before Sonja could. “I’m Roan Duman.”

  “For the next two days,” she added.

  Sulla looked confused. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I have three days before our marriage is legal, so Roan asked me to stay with him the entire time.”

  Sulla still looked confused. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you stay married? What else are you going to do here?”

  “I’m not going to stay, Sulla. I’m here to rescue you and Suna.”

  “Rescue me?” Sulla started. “But I’m married…I have a child,” she said hesitantly. Then her voice grew firm. “I can’t leave.”

  “Of course you can. The marriage wasn’t your idea. You didn’t agree to it.”

  Sulla shook her head. “I wasn’t willing to go to the meet, but I did find Tron there. I had time to make up my mind before the marriage was legal, and I stayed with Tron.” She pointed to the little girl now napping in Sonja’s lap. “Obviously it has been far longer than three days since I was married. Besides,” she said, a soft smile forming on her face, “I’ve fallen in love with him. I know Tron would do anything for me or our child. He loves us so much.”

  A hard knot formed in Sonja’s stomach as she realized that Roan had been right. She’d come all this way to rescue her sisters and they didn’t want rescuing. She couldn’t help letting her disappointment show. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to get to you sooner.”

  Sulla took her hands and smiled sadly. “Don’t tell me that all this time you have felt guilty about Suna and me. It wasn’t your fault, Sonja. There was nothing you could have done to help us.”

  “How else could I feel? I promised I’d keep you safe and then I didn’t. You were gone before I could work out a way to escape.”

  “You got away from the slavers?” Delightedly, Sulla clapped her hands. “Tell me all the details.”

  Sonja told her about learning how to unlock her door and then stowing away on the slaver ship’s life pod. Her sister exclaimed in horror at how easily Sonja could have died without being found.

  Roan watched and said nothing, his face showing none of his thoughts. Sonja wondered why he didn’t look happier that he’d been proven right. And he had been right. Sulla obviously cared deeply for her husband and didn’t want to leave him. Sonja looked at Roan and wondered what it would take for her to feel the same way about a man.

  She sighed. “I suppose Suna feels the same as you do. At least I can see her before I leave.”

  Sulla’s face grew troubled. “Actually, seeing Suna is a problem.”

  “I can’t see her? Why not?”

  “Because I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her in months. Besides that, Suna might be eager to leave.”

  Looking startled, Roan leaned closer. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that since her husband Miles died, she doesn’t have any reason to stay here.”

  “Her husband is dead?”

  “Some kind of mining accident five months ago. There were few details the company was willing to tell us other than the body count.”

  Roan snapped his fingers and looked grim. “Miles Gordon. That’s where I’d heard the name before. I remember when that happened. At least a dozen men were killed. I had no idea any of them had been married, though.”

  “At least two were. But why would you know?”

  Roan shrugged. “It’s part of my job. My official job,” he amended with a wry look at Sonja. “I manage the miners’ effects when they get released or when something happens to them that forces them to be returned to Gaia, like a serious injury. Or death, as in this case.”

  “So why would they tell you about the men’s wives?”

  “When a miner dies, his body and belongings are sent to his family back in Gaia. His wife and children go as well.”

  “You mean his family is considered a belonging?” Sonja couldn’t help the anger in her voice.

  Roan waved his hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. As I said, wives and children don’t officially exist in the prison, so when something happens to the men, they can’t be kept here in the prison quarters. As a result, we send them home to Gaia.”

  “But Gaia isn’t Suna’s home,” Sonja said. “Maybe his family didn’t want her. Or maybe he didn’t have a family back on Gaia.”

  Sulla looked troubled. “Or maybe his family wasn’t told about her.”

  A frown took over Roan’s face. “It was my job to tell them if he was married. That wasn’t in the file I was given. The family would always want to at least meet the wife, and if there wasn’t any family, the dead man would have had savings the wife would inherit. We’d send her to Gaia under any circumstances, though. But the point is I know I didn’t process any wives from that accident, and I should have if they existed.”

  Sulla’s worried expression deepened, and even though there was no one but them there, her voice lowered. “I’ve been wanting to talk to someone about this but didn’t know who. You never know who to trust, and I guess it didn’t matter that much to me until it happened to Suna.”

  Sonja reached out her hand and patted her sister’s hand. “You can tell us. What’s going on?”

  “It’s something that’s been happening for the past two or three years. Everyone notices, but no one says anything about it. There have been so many accidents, and those who are known to speak their minds often are among the dead.” She took a deep breath and stared at them. “When a married man dies here in Delta Residence, and he and his wife haven’t had children, his wife often disappears.”

  Roan shook his head. “As I said, they are sent home.”

  A bitter smile came over Sulla’s face. “Perhaps they are. But then why do they come back six months later and married to someone else?” she said dryly.

  For a moment Roan stared at her, then he looked appalled. “Sweet Gaia. Do you know what you’re saying?”

  She nodded. “Yes I do. If the woman wasn’t Gaian, and most of us aren’t, then the widow disappears for six months and reappears with another man. For some women it’s happened more than once.”

  Sonja stared at the pair of them. “What is going on?”

  Roan shook his head in disbelief. “I wouldn’t have believed it possible. It sounds like they are recycling widows.”

  “What?”

  He took a deep breath. “The company makes a lot of money bringing in women for the marriage meets. So much that they don’t care about where those women come from.”

  Sonja laughed bitterly. “You knew all this already.”

  “But what I didn’t know is that they aren’t telling anyone when one of those wives loses a husband. Instead of telling me she exists so I can arrange for her to be sent to Gaia, they just keep her somewhere until she can be attached to again and then put her back into one of the marriage meets.”

  Sonja stared at him. “You’re angry.”

  Roan jumped to his feet and started to pace the room. “Of course I’m angry. That’s a violation of everything we hold sacred about marriage. Our society is based on the couple, and both man and wife are equal. A woman isn’t just an object to be sold away over and over. If something happened to me I would expect my wife and child to be sent home.” He gave Sonja an intense look that told her he still considered her his wife.

  Sulla looked thoughtful. “Perhaps that’s why you weren’t told about Suna. They probably do send the women with children to the man’s family. None of the remarried widows were women with children.”

  She stared at her sleeping daughter in Sonja’s arms. “Again, no one talks about it, but many couples decide to have children just in case something happens in the mines. She and Miles had been trying but she hadn’t had a baby yet.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?” Sonja asked.

  “The night Miles was killed. She lived here in Delta in one of the buildings nearby,
and I went to her apartment when I heard about the accident and they posted the casualty list.” Tears welled up in Sulla’s eyes. “She and Miles were so in love, I knew she’d be devastated. While I was there some company men came and asked her to come with them. I offered to go with her, but they said I couldn’t. Besides I had Alice with me.” She pointed to her daughter in Sonja’s arms.

  “I went home and tried to contact her later that night, but she wasn’t there and she hasn’t been back since. The last time I went to her apartment someone else was living in it, and none of her or Miles’s things were there. I guessed then that she was probably being held someplace and they weren’t letting her talk to anyone. She’d never let me worry this way.”

  Roan stopped his pacing and stood very still for a long moment. Sonja saw that he was angry but couldn’t tell what he was thinking, only that he was thinking very hard. Finally though he shook his head as if to clear it and turned to her, his face grim.

  “Little wife of mine,” he said softly, “it looks like you were right. We are going to need to perform a rescue after all.”

  Sonja’s heart soared. “You’ll help me get Suna out of here?”

  He nodded. “I owe it to everything I believe about being Gaian to do so. This is beyond anything I can stomach. Someone in the company is taking advantage of personal tragedy to make a profit, and that’s just wrong.”

  Taking another deep breath, he touched her cheek gently. “A Gaian wife is not something anyone can sell.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Roan directed Sonja out of her sister’s apartment and back to the shuttle stop. After his announcement he would help her find and rescue her youngest sister, he knew they’d need to work quickly. That meant getting back to his apartment and finding Allan so they could use his computer skills to locate her sister.

  Tearfully his wife had kissed the sleeping Alice and said goodbye to her sister, promising to see her again in the next couple of days before she left. His own feelings he kept to himself, wishing he could change the way things were.