by Ava Louise
“Yes, I understand the importance. But I also feel this approach is too clinical. And I am not sure we Nordonians can find soul mates in other races, especially humans. Take this latest human, Maggie Cline. She seems to only want security, not a life mate. She could find the same thing in a bodyguard!” exclaimed Daxon. “She comes with too many complications for us.”
Ambassador Pacer sighed. He really wanted this program to work and he wanted to see his friend’s son happy. He is too serious for his own good, thought the ambassador.
CHAPTER 10
Maggie was nervous about the meeting the next afternoon. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was willing to be open to such a new experience; a matchmaker. At lunch, she mentioned the meeting to Shirley.
“A matchmaker service? Are you sure that’s safe?” asked Shirley. She didn’t have the best track record when it came to choosing men herself, but she wasn’t sure about using a matchmaker to make a romantic connection either.
“Of course it’s safe. I’ve met the matchmaker, her name is Claire, and she is a very professional person. I’ve even had a physical that was paid for by her company.” Maggie was happy there were no problems with her test results. Good news in any form was always welcomed these days, considering her daily anxiety. The Snake gang members were continuing to watch to her apartment. “I promised to keep you in the loop, so consider yourself informed,” said Maggie with a smile and a laugh.
The teachers made their way to their respective classes to finish out the afternoon of teaching. At the last bell, Maggie escorted her students to the bustling loading zone for the buses and parents picking up the children. After the last student was safely on his way, she returned to her classroom, collected her belongings, and headed home. This trip home each day was not as enjoyable as it used to be. She no longer noticed the beautiful Cascade Mountains to the east, and she no longer looked forward to the Tulip Festival in the spring. All she could think about was what she would find at home. The knot in her stomach seemed to tighten and turn the closer she got to her block.
The same three Snake members were on the street corner, watching her pull onto the cross street and then into her alley. Maggie rushed inside the building and down the long hallway to her apartment door. She felt lucky there had been no further acts of vandalism against her.
“Mamzell, I’m home! How was your day?” asked Maggie as she engaged the door locks.
“Mrawr!” called Mamzell as she dashed into the entryway, blinking sleepily.
“Let’s get your dishes settled, then how about a nice quiet evening of TV, hmm?”
Maggie continued to tell Mamzell about her day, while she took care of the cat’s food and water dishes. After seeing to the cat’s dinner, she decided she only felt up to making soup and a sandwich for her own dinner. Maggie took her food to the living room, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and turned the TV on to watch the news while she ate.
“The police have identified the body that was found last week in the Mount Vernon Cemetery. The young woman was 20 year old Jessica Middleton. She was scheduled to testify this week in a trial against three known Snake gang members. Funeral services will be held this weekend. The police are asking for help from the public in identifying who murdered Jessica. If you have any information, please call the number on your screen.”
Maggie sat staring at the TV in shock. She couldn’t help but think about how she would be expected to testify against Juan Santiago if the police were ever able to bring him to trial for the shooting Maggie witnessed. That could be her that was found in the cemetery. She was upset the detectives had not called her personally to warn her about this discovery. Is this why the Snake gang members were hanging out on her block? To intimidate her to the point she would not be willing to testify against their leader? Maggie wanted to do what was right, but she also realized how alone she was here. She had isolated herself by ignoring her personal life. There was no one for her to share her fears with; no one to hold her when she was scared. She had spent so much energy in furthering her education and career, she had no emotional support network.
Maggie held Mamzell to her chest and cried. She cried for the young woman who had lost her life while trying to do what was right and she cried for herself; scared that she wouldn’t be able to do the right thing herself without ending up like Jessica Middleton.
After the tears were all cried out, Maggie set Mamzell aside and took her dishes to the kitchen. Coming back to the living room, she walked to the living room window. She didn’t even try to hide behind the curtain this time, she knew they would still be out there watching her apartment; she only wanted to confirm it. Sure enough, the three youths were still there. Maggie realized her home was beginning to feel more like a cell every day.
With another evening of grading papers and watching TV behind her, Maggie made her way to the bedroom. She wished she had someone to hold her tight as she drifted to sleep.
CHAPTER 11
Wednesday morning came bright and early. Maggie was slightly surprised she had been able to sleep at all. She had expected to be haunted with nightmares of the shooting and the young woman from the cemetery. After her usual morning routine of readying herself for school, and seeing to Mamzell’s needs, Maggie headed to school. Today was going to be busy; the students had projects to finish for Halloween, which was the next day, and she had her meeting with Claire after school.
Maggie wasn’t surprised to find the Snake gang members watching her alley as she drove out of it to school. She wasn’t even surprised when one of them made the sign of a gun with his hand again. How sad was it, she thought, that she couldn’t even be shocked by this any longer? She didn’t want this to be her new normal. Oh well, she just needed to get through her day with her students and then come home and meet with Claire O’Donnell.
Maggie arrived home a few minutes before four o’clock and dashed through her usual greeting with Mamzell and got the cat situated with dinner. Just as she put the water bowl down, the doorbell chimed, causing Mamzell to dash off to the bedroom. The cat was not usually comfortable with strangers, so more often than not she ran to the bedroom when the doorbell sounded. Maggie looked through the peephole and saw Claire. She unlocked all the door locks and waved Claire inside.
“Hello, Claire, it’s good to see you again.”
After seating Claire in the living room and making the usual small talk, Maggie decided to get to her mental list of questions. Hopefully tonight she would find out about the word intergalactic!
“Can you now tell me about the word intergalactic in your business name, Claire?” asked Maggie.
“Of course, Maggie, but I have one request, please. I ask that you keep an open mind while I do my best to explain more about our service. First I have a question for you. Do you believe there are other life forms in the universe?”
Maggie smiled and laughed. “You mean like little green Martians in UFOs?”
Claire smiled, too, but for a different reason. That was the same question every candidate asked at this point in the conversation. “I’m serious, Maggie. The Intergalactic Matchmaking Service is operated under the supervision of the U.S. government. The U.S. became aware of a race of aliens about three years ago. These aliens, the Nordonians, have been searching for other races that would be compatible with them for continuing their race. You see, about thirty years ago all of their females, both adult and children, were wiped out by one of their enemies in a chemical warfare attack of their planet. This means there have been no new Nordonians born for thirty years. And never will be, unless they can find other races of humanoids they are reproductively compatible with.”
Maggie didn’t know what to say. Surely Claire was joking! She just blinked, staring at the matchmaker.
“I know this is a shock, but I promise you it is all true, Maggie, and I can prove it.”
“So you are looking for human women to breed with aliens!” exclaimed Maggie.
“Not just for mating, Ma
ggie. The Nordonians also understand the need for companionship and they share many things in common with us. They build families like we do. They form monogamous relationships just like we do here. With no women of their own race, they no longer have females to share their long lives with.”
“This can’t be real,” said Maggie as she rose from the couch. She began to pace back and forth in the small living room. “You’re telling me the U.S. government has teamed up with aliens, for heaven sake, to allow them to use humans like breeding cows? And you want me to buy this story? Unbelievable! I thought you were a legitimate matchmaker, not a nutcase!”
Maggie knew her voice was raised, but she couldn’t help it. This was just too much of a shock considering everything else that had happened to her the last few weeks. She really thought Claire was there to help her find someone she was compatible with, someone to share her life with.
“You are focusing too much on the reproductive part of this equation, Maggie. It isn’t all about that, I promise. Remember, they want the companionship and caring that comes from relationships, too, the same as you. They believe in soul mates, and hope they can find them among other races.”
“This can’t be true. Little green men don’t exist. This isn’t Roswell!” exclaimed Maggie. “What does the U.S. government get out it? Why would they agree to something like this?”
“The Nordonians are teaching us about other races, some that would want to harm us and some that would not. They also use their technology to help our government locate natural resources, which you know is a major concern for most governments. I meant what I said when I said I could prove this, Maggie. Would you like for me to do that now?”
Figuring Claire would pull out doctored photos of little green men, she said, “Sure. Prove it to me.” Maggie resumed her seat on the couch, crossing her arms.
Claire rose from her chair and went to the apartment door. She quickly opened it and waved her arm to someone standing outside the apartment. At this gesture, Maggie rose from the couch. Claire stepped back from the doorway, and in stepped two other people, dressed in black pants and wearing short cloaks. They had hoods over their heads, and their arms were tucked into their cloaks.
Indicating the person in the dark blue cloak, Claire said, “Maggie Cline, I would like to introduce you to Ambassador Pacer of the Rion clan. He is here to meet you and answer any questions you may have that I’ve not covered. The Ambassador speaks English, so that will make things much easier for you.”
Maggie’s eyes widened as she took in the stranger. He had pushed his hood back to reveal a face similar to a human’s but it was also different. He had no hair that she could see, and wore a black tattoo that wrapped around the sides and to the top of his head. The ambassador’s skin was a combination of light orange and pale green. It was hard to tell where each color left off; they blended seamlessly into each other in a slightly mottled effect. His eyes seemed to be a solid black and were a little larger than a human’s eyes. He held his hand out to shake hers. It was automatic to shake his hand. As she did, she noticed he had large hands. His handshake was surprisingly gentle. Well, I was right…there are no little green men; but there are definitely big green men, she thought to herself.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Cline. Claire has told me a lot about you. May I introduce the Starrays’ Security Chief, Daxon of the Flame clan?” He indicated the individual standing directly behind him. As he did, this person also removed his hood.
Maggie gasped as she took in this new person. She found him to be quite beautiful with his light blue and light green mottled skin. Again, the colors joined seamlessly, fading from one to the other. He, too, wore a black tattoo wrapped around his head. The markings looked like stylized flames. His eyes were a dark blue, allowing Maggie to notice that his pupils were vertical, like a cat’s. The effect was quite startling. The Security Chief was almost a foot taller than Maggie at about six and a half feet in height. His nose was a bit broad and somewhat flat. She could see his nostrils flaring as he breathed. He didn’t say anything, just nodded his head in her direction. Maggie felt like she had been zapped with an electrical charge; she was speechless.
“Mrawr,” came Mamzell’s voice from the bedroom doorway.
“Aha, this must be the pet Claire told us about, is it not?” asked the ambassador. He spoke so formally it reminded Maggie of older British movies she sometimes watched.
“Yes, this is my cat, Mamzell. She doesn’t normally come out around guests.”
At this time Mamzell sauntered out of the hallway and went directly to the security chief, wrapping herself around his ankles, rubbing along his pants legs. As he picked up his foot, Maggie called out, “Don’t kick her! She is only checking you out. She doesn’t normally go up to strangers, so I’m surprised.”
“I wasn’t going to kick her, I was just going to try to get her off of me. She is leaving her hair on my clothing,” said Daxon. His gravelly voice brought to mind Sean Connery; deep, rich, and a bit of a brogue.
“Well, cats shed a little. It won’t hurt you or your uniform. Come here, Mamzell, let’s put you back in the bedroom for now.”
“Mrawr,” answered the cat. She really didn’t want to leave Daxon’s legs, though. Maggie had to resort to scooping her up, walking her into the bedroom and placing her in the middle of the bed. Maggie left her a couple of cat treats as a bribe.
“You stay in here; I’ll let you out once our company has left,” Maggie said, as she closed the bedroom door.
The two Nordonians looked at each other, each raising an eyebrow in query. “I didn’t realize cats were sentient beings, Claire. Ms. Cline talks to her pet as though it understands her. Do all humans talk to their pets like this? And do the pets understand them in return?” asked Ambassador Pacer.
Maggie had walked back into the room during this question and laughed out loud. “I talk to my cat all the time. And while we don’t understand each other like you and I would understand each other when we talk, I do know what she wants usually when we ‘talk’. Think of it more like a mother being able to understand the different cries of a child.”
“Ah, that makes sense then. I was afraid my research had been severely lacking. Ms. O’Donnell said you would not consider relocating without your pet, so we had to do some research on what exactly humans considered pets and how they dealt with them.”
Just like that Maggie was reminded she was talking to aliens. Real life aliens. How could she forget why these two exotic-looking males were in her home?
“You don’t need to worry about that, Ambassador, I have no intention of leaving Earth to live with aliens. I think this has been one big mistake. I’m not interested in being used as a breeding machine for the U.S. government or for aliens.”
This seemed to surprise both gentlemen for they each raised a hairless eyebrow ridge. It was a very human-like gesture. “Ms. Cline, I assure you, we are not looking for human females strictly for breeding purposes. While it would be great if the pairings between humans and Nordonians were to prove fruitful, we also value the emotional side of relationships.” The ambassador looked to Claire at this point.
“I told Maggie she was focusing too much on the reproductive side of the equation,” said Claire with a frown. “Perhaps if we all sat down we could continue this conversation more comfortably.”
“Fine,” Maggie replied shortly. She wasn’t really sure what else to say. She didn’t want to be rude and she was curious about what the aliens truly wanted from her. It was just hard to get past the fact they were wanting to mate with humans for the continuation of their race.
The security chief stayed in the entryway, his hands crossed behind his back, as the ambassador draped his own cloak over the end of the couch and sat.
“We Nordonians are used to forming relationships and family groups much like you humans do, Maggie. We have been missing that these last thirty years since the females of our race were exterminated in warfare. Tests have shown tha
t humans are quite compatible with us not only for the continuation of our race, but for emotional balance, too. A society of only males will not last long. We need the balance of having a society with males and females. Otherwise, we would risk not only extinction, but risk falling into a warlike life. We have no desire to be constantly at war with other races until the last of us has died off. While no children have been born to date since one of us first paired with a human female, we still have hope that it will happen someday. It has only been about eighteen months that we have tried this program called the Intergalactic Matchmaking Services. There have only been six women so far that have agreed to leave Earth behind after meeting a suitable mate among our men.”
“What happens to the women who decide not to go with you,” asked Maggie. She wasn’t sure she was going to like the answer, but she had to ask the question.
“A fair question, Maggie. After they come to our starship, whichever one is in orbit above Earth at the time, they are given a chance to meet the Nordonian males that are interested in participating in the program. Not all of the women find someone they are either attracted to or compatible with. A couple have found a likely partner, but for reasons of their own they decide they cannot leave Earth. The women then have their memories wiped of all encounters with our species and of the matchmaking program. They are not harmed in any way. The memories are removed and they wake up back on Earth in their towns with no idea what they were doing for the previous couple of weeks.”
“Is that what you will do to me if I don’t leave with you tonight?” squeaked Maggie. Her eyes were huge as she imagined herself waking up with a huge gap in her memory.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? Your tests results were quite favorable.”
Maggie looked over to the security chief. Again she felt that zing along her skin. He just stood there quietly, not saying a word. Maggie could tell he was listening to the conversation, however, since he never seemed to take his dark blue eyes from her. She was torn. She had had such hopes for the matchmaker finding a match for her, and while she had been willing to relocate, she wasn’t sure she wanted to become a space adventurer! It was one thing to move to another country; but to move to another planet was totally crazy. Right?
