“Maggie, it might even work to your advantage that you didn’t learn all the science the people on Earth believe, because a great deal of it is incorrect,” Lobo said. “It’s not the humans’ fault, of course, they’re learning by trial and error just like we did. But I’m glad that some people, like my uncle, have been down there working on setting them straight. Maybe one day they’ll even be ready to join the rest of us out here, with any luck. That would be nice.”
“Yeah, it would,” she agreed.
“Well, here we are,” Lobo said as they stepped up to one of the sets of sliding double doors. “Are you ready for your wake-up call?”
Maggie giggled. “Is it that much different?”
“I’m gonna have to go with a yes.”
The doors slid open to reveal three pristine white tables arranged over a wide expanse. Waiting by each of them stood a robotic figure equipped with view screens and gadgets galore all over their torsos. Lobo led Maggie over to the med-bot waiting at the center table.
“Med-bot, we need a full exam, human female with a blood-bond to me,” Lobo told it. “And be gentle, please. It’s her first time.”
“Please lie down on the bed,” the robot intoned in a pleasant gender-neutral voice. “Be as still as possible while I run the preliminary scan. You may wish to close your eyes as the light goes past them for the sake of comfort, but leaving them open will cause no lasting harm.”
Maggie hopped up onto the table and laid down, dutifully closing her eyes. She heard the robot beep, then it said, “Commencing secondary scan and repair. The unit will fix things along the way wherever it can. Again, it is best to lie still and remain calm during the process. It can take a while for someone who has never been helped before.”
At this point, Maggie had half a mind to get off the table and run away, but she quelled it with an iron resolve. She had come here to be with Lobo, and she needed to learn his way of life if she was ever going to make it out here in space. This was just the first step of many.
“Inquiry,” said the robot. “Do you wish to continue gestating your embryo?”
Maggie smiled and laughed, opening her eyes to look at Lobo. “We do, very much so,” she replied.
“Commencing gestational health scan, now including this pregnancy in all further diagnostics. Do you wish to know the gender?”
“No,” said Maggie.
At the same time, Lobo said, “Of course.”
They both laughed.
Lobo said, “The question requires further discussion. Please continue providing non-specific results at this time.”
“The embryo is healthy. It has begun the process of dividing in two. Estimated that this process will be completed normally, providing two identical children within the womb. Estimated that conception occurred within the past four days.”
As Maggie listened to the med-bot continue on about their babies, she couldn’t help but smile. Given a few repairs and a clean bill of health, she stepped out of the medical bay feeling better than she ever had before.
“Well,” said Lobo, practically beaming. “Shall we go tell Linnid our news?”
FIFTEEN
“You’re gestating two babies in there, and you seriously don’t want to know what they are?” Linnid asked, surprised.
“Well, I don’t know,” Maggie blushed. “I mean, there’s a lot of folks on Earth who prefer to be surprised. But I never gave it a whole lot of thought in my own case, since I never expected to make the decision one way or the other.”
“Mags, if you don’t want to know, it’s just fine,” Lobo told her. “Some of the Karrianas might think that’s a little weird because we always want to find out, but these are not their babies, they are ours. I want you to do whatever you like.”
“It’s not just about me, Lobo,” she protested. “You’ve got a say in it too.”
“And I say it’s completely up to you,” he replied. “Seeing you happy will be my greatest reward.”
“Stars, you two are so cute together,” said Linnid as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I really think Father is going to be pleased.”
“Yeah, if he doesn’t tear my head off for bringing home an unauthorized Earthling before he ever gives me a chance to explain.”
“Don’t you worry about him,” said Maggie. “I’m going to wrap that man around my little finger. You just wait and see.”
The siblings exchanged a worried frown.
“I hope you’re right,” Linnid said. “But enough of all this talk, it’s time for everyone to bed down. We’ll be in cryostasis for about six Earth months, Maggie. The pregnancy will remain just as it is now, so you won’t miss a thing.”
“And that doesn’t hurt them?” she asked worriedly.
“Oh no, not at all,” she replied. “It’s really just as though you’d been suspended in time, and it doesn’t hurt or anything. The process happens much too quickly. You’ll see.”
“Maggie, unfrozen life forms find it quite difficult to endure the effects of faster-than-light travel, most especially over an extended period of time,” Lobo told her. “You’re going to want to be asleep, trust me.”
“It’s fine, Lobo,” she said. “I’m just nervous about the babies. I’m going to have to trust you guys on this one, but that doesn’t automatically change my feelings. Call it a maternal instinct.”
He smiled gently and kissed her. “Come on then, we may as well get ourselves ready. Back to the medical bay we go.”
“Why the medical bay?”
“We’ll need to install some voiding ports,” he explained. “You can opt to have that done while you’re already asleep, and they are always removed before you’re awakened at the other end. For the most part, you’ll never even notice them at all unless you insist on walking to the cryotanks under your own power. And trust me, the experience isn’t really worth it. It’s much easier to let the med-bot wheel you there.”
“Again, I’ll take your word for it,” said Maggie.
“Have the passengers been prepped already?” Lobo asked Linnid.
“Yes, all four were prepped about an hour ago, and they are sound asleep,” said Linnid, nodding. “They were in there getting all drunk and rowdy and I simply waited for them to pass out before sending the bots to collect and prep them without bothering to rouse myself.”
“You put them to bed drunk?” Lobo smirked. “Well, they’re sure going to have hangovers when they wake. Maybe that’ll cut down on the amount of laughter for a time.”
“One can hope,” Linnid agreed. “Well, the ship is already on auto-pilot, so I may as well come along with you two. Don’t worry, Maggie. Lobo and I will walk you through. The process is pretty simple. We’ll be on ice in no time at all.”
*****
After all the jangled nerves as she headed to the medical bay, what Maggie could remember of her first experience with having voiding tubes installed was fairly benign. It wasn’t any worse than taking a sleeping pill, and then waking up refreshed the next day.
Well, other than doing so with the knowledge that six months had gone by instead of one evening. It was the psychological part of it that called for an adjustment more than anything. Out here, the stars seemed different, and the distant sun looked somewhat redder than the golden one she was used to. A world loomed in the distance that looked like Earth might if it had mostly frozen water and grew to three times its size.
“So we’re in the Karriana system?” she clarified as she gazed out the window.
“Yes,” said Lobo as he came over to place an arm around her shoulders. “This world is Arbidol, the one that Dree and her cronies come from. Our own world is a bit closer to the sun, and will be somewhat warmer than this.”
“Will we be going down there?” Maggie wanted to know.
“The ship will land briefly, yes, but it was not my intention for you to get out,” Lobo explained. “It is always unwise to allow a passenger to step out onto a world for which they have not been trained. Kno
wing the social mores and political domains of a planet before attempting to interact with its occupants is always a good idea.”
Maggie nodded. “I can see that,” she agreed. “But then shouldn’t I be learning everything I’ll need to know about Karriana itself?”
“Yes, you should be,” Lobo agreed. “I believe we should begin that training immediately. You won’t know everything that there is to know about the place in so short a time, but I’m sure we can at least make sure you avoid doing or saying anything illegal enough to get yourself arrested.”
Linnid chuckled, throwing her hands over her mouth in an attempt to hide it.
“I don’t think that’s overly funny,” Maggie complained.
“No, it isn’t, really,” she agreed. “But I just can’t imagine you ever doing anything that would get you arrested in the first place.”
“Not usually,” said Maggie. “But imagine if you were to go to a world where it’s illegal to wear blue and you stepped out in this jumpsuit.”
Linnid nodded. “Good point.”
“Lesson one. Karrianas love to wear the color blue,” Lobo teased. “But I don’t think that they particularly appreciate puce.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure I don’t either,” said Maggie.
“All right, everyone, time for the acceleration couches,” said Linnid from her vantage point at the controls. “So you know, Maggie, landing on an ice world isn’t quite as pain free as our lift-offs and landings on Earth. There might be some turbulence.”
“Good to know,” she replied as Lobo caught her hand and brought her to the couch beside his own.
“Well girls, looks like I got you back home in one piece,” said Lobo. “Sorry it was a few days early, but I didn’t think you would appreciate the alternative. I’ll have to let the embassy know what happened so they don’t allow other ships to go to planet Earth uninformed.”
“What about any ships that were already going?” Maggie wanted to know. “It has been six months since we left ourselves.
“Unfortunately, communications don’t expand to that distance, so any ship that arrived or is currently en route to that area will be on its own. Only those ships which are within the grid are able to be informed.”
The strap held Maggie tightly to her seat, and Linnid brought them down. But the turmoil caused by all the shaking was nothing compared to the turmoil Maggie felt inside herself at the moment. What Lobo said was very true. Other visitors to Earth may have been experiencing a rough time thanks to her. She made a mental note never to be so irresponsible again.
As the passengers and Linnid filed out the door, Maggie gave a heavy sigh.
“What’s wrong, Mags?” asked Lobo.
“I was just wondering about something,” she admitted. “If the entire world knew that aliens visited Earth on vacation, what would people do? Because at that point, the government couldn’t cover it up anymore. The whole planet would have to accept reality as it really is.”
“There’s a whole lot of people who think like you do,” said Lobo grimly. “But in order to make that happen, it would need to be cleared by the galactic counsel. And unfortunately, they think it would be too dangerous to let your people know.”
Maggie snorted. “I didn’t say they should start off by landing or anything. But wouldn’t it be okay to at least let their presence be known? For almost a hundred years now folks have been hearing about UFO activity, though it’s never been anything that could be proven. But there’s no way any Earth government could deny alien presence if a bunch of ships approached many different places all over the world at the same time, and announced they were there on some kind of a megaphone or something.”
Lobo snickered. “People of Earth, we come in peace. We’re tired of getting dissed by the locals, so we just flew over here en masse to make our presence known. That’s why there’s so many of us all at the same time. We promise you are not being invaded. Okay, we’re going to go now. Hopefully this clears everything up.”
Maggie laughed. “God, Lobo, you make it sound so stupid when you put it like that. But then again, I’m the first one to admit that humans, as a population, can be pretty dense. What you just said there would definitely get the point across.”
“Yeah, and create mass hysteria and rallied military forces with big guns who would want to shoot us out of the sky, capture a ship and its crew alive, and start dissecting us to see how we are similar and how we are different.”
“They don’t have to dissect you to find that out,” Maggie grumbled. “Not with your technology. You could always just offer the data freely, for that matter. It isn’t like you don’t know already.”
“But would they trust it, or would they want to double-check everything?”
Maggie sighed. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Makes me embarrassed to come from that society.”
“Well, this isn’t what we should be talking about anyway,” said Lobo then. “Forget Earth and all of its difficulties. It’s time to teach you more about your new home.”
Maggie followed Lobo back to their quarters, where he pulled out a wafer-thin tablet and turned it on. After setting up the learning files that she needed, he set it into her hands. “You study this. I’ll go see about finding some food.”
“Sure,” Maggie agreed, tilting up her face as he bent to kiss her good-bye.
SIXTEEN
As she waded through all the data she found in the tablet, Maggie was beginning to wonder if coming to another planet had been such a great idea. Some of the laws she was expected not to break seemed kind of stupid. She could understand the one about not being intoxicated in public, but where was the point on one that said they could never eat glibnoss in the winter?
Still, she was feeling optimistic about the future anyway. She had Lobo, and the two of them would be having twins. These were two things about her new life she looked at in a very positive light. She may not get to drive delivery trucks anymore, but Lobo had promised to teach her how to fly. She could easily envision the four of them traveling around making galactic deliveries, and her own children would even be doing the same one day.
“Well, hey, what’s with that dreamy, far-off face?” Lobo teased as he came in again carrying a tray.
“Just future-tripping, I suppose,” she admitted, grinning.
“The main planet of Karriana sector is only about six hours away, now that Linnid has returned us to orbit and begun the traveling sequence.” said Lobo. “I hope you intend to use that time well.”
“Hey, don’t worry, I’ll be just fine,” Maggie told him. “I think instead of studying all these stupid laws, I’d be better off with lessons on how to behave myself. I mean, what topics are taboo? What gestures might tend to offend somebody, or make then think I am much more interested than I would want them to?”
“So you’re saying you don’t want to accidentally proposition my father when all you meant to do was say hello?” he chuckled.
“Something like that.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, you are glowing,” Lobo said, kissing her on her cheek. “There’s not a man on Karriana who would mistake you for flirting. They’ll already know very well your heart belongs to me.”
“Lobo,” she smiled happily. “Do you suppose I could take a break from studying? I was never a straight A student anyway. I think my brain is melting.”
“I suppose at the very least, you could stop while we eat,” he agreed.
Maggie sighed, not sure if she was grateful for the reprieve, or willing to eat very slowly while she waited for her eyes to uncross. But she knew how important it was for her to learn these things. More to the point, she wanted to seem smarter than the average human. Because she would be a representative of Earth there, wouldn’t she?
“Hey, this sandwich is really good,” she said. “What’s in this thing?”
“Glibnoss,” Lobo said with a smile. “It’s one of the most popular foods among the people on the main world.”
“Really? It’s really good,” she said. “Plus, I was just reading about it. Why are you not supposed to eat it during the winter?”
“Because that’s when the plants are hibernating,” he explained. “Some people were continuing to harvest them even as they slept, and the next spring they were unable to produce new seedlings. It’s kind of like a fruit tree.”
“Really? But this stuff tastes like a meat.”
“Yeah, it’s weird that way,” he agreed. “Though the closest thing I would have said it was to an Earth food in taste was devilled ham.”
“Kind of looks like it, too,” Maggie agreed.
“Hmm, maybe I grabbed the wrong can?” he teased.
Maggie’s mouth fell open. “Lobo? You’re so mean!”
He laughed as she punched him in his gut, then caught her hands. “Come on, Mags, I’m only trying to make a point here. If you would have been studying, you’d already know that a glibnoss is a bearlike animal that becomes much too dangerous to hunt during the coldest parts of the year. Now, I know I told you to learn not to break any laws, but we need to make sure you have an idea of the flora and fauna you’ll encounter too. Don’t worry, now that we’ve eaten, I’ll be able to help you, okay?”
“You better,” she grumbled. “All this reading is giving me a headache.”
Lobo rolled his eyes. “See this button here? You can learn the data by watching videos too.”
*****
Karriana was a whole lot bigger than Earth, but even from orbit it was easily apparent that the percentage of water to land mass was greater, too. Almost everywhere she looked Maggie could see archipelagoes rather than continents, but the island networks appeared in larger clumps in some places more than they did in others. Large polar caps at the top and bottom of the world were the only larger land masses she could see.
“It’s so pretty,” she said appreciatively.
A New Reason To Fight: An Intergalactic Romance Page 27
