A New Reason To Fight: An Intergalactic Romance

by T. J. Brandow

  “Stop trying to cheer me up,” Diana chuckled. “I still need to torture Meko some more, and I can’t do that very well if I’m smiling in anticipation.”

  Alara giggled, throwing a hand over her face. “You two are so cute! But then again, as I understand it humans are a really romantic race. Meko won’t know what hit him. Oh yes, and a few suggestions for the party? Andarian males love it when you rub them behind the knee. But I don’t suggest doing that unless you are definitely ready to mate.”

  Diana chuckled. “Hmm, good to know. Thanks.”

  “Not a problem,” she grinned. “If you need any more ideas, feel free to ask me any time. For now, though, once we’ve fed the livestock I will return you to your new home.”

  The livestock visit was just as educational as the threshing job, with Diana discovering that it was not just the humanoids who tended to favor white or off-white hair, but their animals as well. Something that could pass for a cross between a cow and a goat needed to be milked, and then they collected a bunch of fluorescent green eggs from beneath white hens, though the bird was like nothing Diana had ever seen. The closest thing it resembled, as far as she could tell, was a Dodo.

  Before heading home, she offered to help prepare the meal, which took the pair of them about another hour, but meant that dinner would be ready when she stepped through the door. She may not know much about Meko personally, but a man that large and active would certainly be glad to get a meal after being away for so many hours.

  “Okay, the commander is texting me to bring you home,” Alara said as they finished up with dishing out the meals and setting them into the pre-programmed trays. “We’ll just go ahead and carry your meals up ourselves, all right?”

  “Sure,” Diana agreed, grabbing two of the trays and setting them onto the floor of the transport. The two women took the vehicle back to the lifts and were soon inside, zipping their way to the top again.

  Alara brought one meal while Diana brought the other into the room, each of them setting their trays onto the table. Before she left, the Andarian woman gave Diana a big hug. “Good luck with the evening, my friend,” she said. “If it’s okay with you, Meko, I’d like to kidnap her again tomorrow.”

  Meko scoffed at her choice of words. “I think Diana has had enough kidnapping for one lifetime. However, she is welcome to continue helping you if she wants to.”

  “Yes!” Diana practically shouted as she fist-pounded the air. “I’d like that very much.”

  Alara grinned, nodded, and hurried out of the room, leaving the two of them alone. Diana’s butterflies started up almost immediately as Meko stepped up behind her and tugged her backwards into his arms.

  “Did you enjoy your day, kitar?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.

  “I found out what that word means,” she said, smirking. “I may be small, but I’m no mouse.”

  “What’s a mouse?”

  “A very small animal, like your kitar,” she replied. “It’s often the plaything of cats.”

  “Ah, cats,” he smiled. “I know what those are. The owner of the hotel had three of them. Yes, I could see how that animal might like to play with a kitar. But in my language, that word is also an endearment. It means, ‘one who is able to fit inside my heart’.”

  “That sounds suspiciously like a ‘love’ word to me,” she replied.

  He thought about that for a moment. “Yes,” he agreed. “I suppose it does.”

  “Well, let’s eat,” she said then. “After all the work I did today, I am absolutely starved.”

  NINE

  After a good day of work and a wonderful meal, Diana’s stress level felt decidedly less extreme than it had before, but she was still anxious about what might happen between her and Meko now that they’d both gotten some sleep and the mayhem of the day before had settled down. So when he got up from his place at the table and tugged her to her feet, she bit at her bottom lip nervously.

  Chuckling softly, Meko put an arm around her waist, drawing her closer still, and ran a thumb over the lip teasingly, back and forth, until she sucked in a breath, which effectively made her stop. Once her lips parted, he deftly slid the tongue inside, running it over the bottom row of her teeth instead.

  Feeling slightly wicked now, Diana grabbed the thumb between her teeth and bit it, hard enough to feel it but not enough to hurt. Meko laughed and tugged it away from her.

  “You seem to be in better spirits now,” he said in her ear as he wrapped the other arm around her as well.

  “Of course I am,” she said. “I just spent several hours putting the last four years of my life to good use. When I was headed home the other day all I could think about was how I’d spent those years training for a job I might never actually get to do, and the first thing you did was helped me fulfill my dream. Thank you.”

  “So you’re not mad at me anymore?” he asked hopefully.

  “No way, I can’t let you off the hook that easily,” she scolded. “What kind of a message would that send, if I let you think it was okay to just kidnap somebody?”

  Meko laughed. “Maybe I was just using the credits your father owed me as an excuse because I saw a beautiful woman I wanted, and I didn’t think there was another way I could get her. Ever think of that?”

  Diana backed up a bit and looked up into his eyes speculatively. “No. I don’t believe that. It was all about honor, what you did. I understand that. But one man’s honor is another man’s vice, and in any case you didn’t ask me what I wanted. That’s why I’m still mad.”

  “And if I asked you now what you wanted, what would you say?”

  “I’d say I want to kick back with a big bowl of buttery popcorn and watch a movie,” she chuckled. “But somehow I don’t see that happening.”

  “Maybe not the popcorn, whatever that is, but I can certainly provide the movie,” he said, grinning. He walked backwards, dragging her with him, through the bedroom door, the set her onto the bed. He stepped over and dragged a hand along what looked like solid wall, and it disappeared, revealing a viewing device that had to be about a hundred and twenty inches wide.

  Diana laughed delightedly as she settled back into the pillows. Meko set a controller into her hands, and she realized he had called up a list of all the movies in the system for her to look through.

  “Wow, there’s way too many to go through,” she told him.

  “Say the name of a movie you like, and if it’s in there, it will call it up for you,” Meko said.

  Grinning, Diana called out several movie names, and most of them appeared on the screen and started to play before she called out another to replace them. “This is awesome, Meko,” she told him.

  He laid on the bed behind her. “Pick something we can watch together,” he suggested as he draped an arm around her. She asked for The Day the Earth Stood Still just to mess with him, but then he curled around her, holding her against him, and actually seemed interested in the story. The next thing she knew, the ending credits were playing and Meko’s lips had claimed her ear, making her giggle.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting you used to me,” he said with a casual shrug. “But I do not believe I’ve succeeded quite yet. It may require another bedtime or two.

  Diana groaned inwardly. The anticipation and the dread were warring in her enough already. She didn’t know if she could take another two bedtimes before he put her out of her misery. Of course, there was no way she was going to tell him that.

  “I don’t want your first time to be just so you can get it over with,” he said, rightly reading her expression yet again.

  “How do you keep doing that?” she asked him with a shake of her head.

  “A lot of it is just probability,” he explained. “What would be the most likely thing you’d be feeling right now. But most of it is just seeing the look on your face, kitar. Looking there is like reading a large interface. You don’t have to look too closely to see the words.”

  “I
t’s weird how many of the concepts you talk about mirror our own,” she told him. “You don’t sound nearly as different as our government wants us to believe you are.”

  “I’m glad that you think so,” he said, smiling. “That’s a step in the right direction, anyway.”

  Meko located the blanket that had fallen onto the floor when Diana had abandoned the bed that morning—or whatever they called wake-up time on a spaceship--and pulled it over the top of them. Diana willingly curled up against him, enjoying his warmth and his scent, which she still couldn’t seem to get out of her mind. She inhaled deeply, and then sighed. Being like this was something she could get used to. She’d never been more comfortable in her life.

  *****

  Michael King stood waiting for a final decision of the board at the general hearing, where he had been directed to go upon hurrying to report Diana’s kidnapping.

  “It’s not easy to get a person back once they’ve been taken beyond deep space,” the liaison was explaining. “I know that you’re upset, but it’s more than just a matter of funding. Our planet simply doesn’t have the resources to invest in such a venture.”

  “So what you’re really saying is, no money, no luck,” he growled. “Well then, thanks for nothing.”

  He stormed out of the assembly hall, red faced and uncertain what to do, but apparently he did not come out alone.

  “Mr. King, is it?” called a man’s voice from somewhere behind him.

  Turning, he saw that the person calling out was one of the alien ambassadors. Frowning at the man, he asked, “What is it? Don’t you think I’ve been humiliated enough?”

  The man rolled his eyes. “I’m not here to humiliate you. I want to help. I am Sim Qatrall, a Sinkat Ambassador here at your embassy. I agree with you that the Andarians should not be allowed to get away with this outrage. However, unlike the people of your own world, I happen to have the resources to get you where you need to be. And, I’m even willing to take you there myself. My term here is expiring this week. I’ll be returning to the same quadrant where Commander Meko is taking your daughter. Perhaps working together we might help the two of you reunite.”

  “You’d do that for me?” asked Michael suspiciously. “What’s in it for you?”

  “Honestly?” he chuckled. “I just want to make an Andarian warrior cry.”

  “Mr. Qatrall, you sound like my kind of guy.”

  “Call me Sim,” said the alien as he laid an arm over Michael’s shoulder. “I insist.”

  TEN

  Alara and Diana were taking a break the next day after threshing the second field of grains, when she remembered a question that had been in her mind as she drifted off to sleep the night before. Chuckling, she said, “Say Alara, this might sound weird to ask, but what to you call night and day hours on a spaceship, since there’s no sun as a reference point. Obviously they must be something else, right?”

  She chuckled as well. “Well, we call the hours before bed but in the cabin downtime, bedtime is a sleep cycle, and what we’re doing now is called the work cycle. Though, time outside the cabin but not working has its own name too. It’s an entertainment cycle.”

  “Weird,” said Diana with a shrug. “But I suppose that makes perfect sense though. And also, since I’m sure not everyone is doing these things during the same hours, it might make things easier to sort out. And I don’t suppose you use a twenty-four hour day either?”

  “Of course not,” she chuckled. “Andara doesn’t have one, first of all. Our rotation takes thirty-six hours, and because of the tilt the skew of day and night hours is broader as well. The area that will most concern you is in the eastern portion of the southern hemisphere. It is quite warm in summer months, and very cold in the winter. The kingdom of Lazar, where Meko lives, is built right into the side of a great mountain, much taller than any you have on Earth, and is most reached by shuttle, though it also can be accessed through numerous lifts that are set at ground level in the valley below. Also, Andara does not have cars, but only flying vehicles, and none of the population is forced to live beneath a dome.”

  “I’ve never lived with a dome before,” Diana commented with a curious light in her eyes. “I can’t even imagine what that will be like.”

  “Unlike your people, ours did not find it necessary to destroy our environment during any of our wars,” she said. “Likewise, we did not continuously pollute our environment to the point where the planet was on the brink of death.”

  “My ancestors had their faults,” she had to agree. “Even now, Earth is probably not all that it should be. I’ve heard Meko call it a universe-forsaken world.”

  “Well, Meko does enjoy labeling things,” she chuckled.

  “Yes, I’ve noticed,” Diana nodded. “He keeps calling me ‘kitar’”

  “That’s so sweet that he thinks of you that way,” she grinned. “You’re such a lucky girl!”

  “I’m beginning to feel that way too,” she admitted with a rueful smile. “But you’d better not tell Meko I said that.”

  “Your secret is safe with me,” she chuckled. “Come, let’s get the animals fed so I can bring you to the meeting.”

  “What meeting?” asked Diana, surprised.

  “Meko intends to introduce you to everyone today,” she explained. “It is customary on an Andarian starship for the commander to present his woman to the others, so that they will recognize who she is. He especially wants to make certain that the men are well aware.”

  Diana scoffed. “So Andarian males get jealous too, huh?”

  “It only makes sense, Diana,” said Alara with a smirk. “An Andarian warrior is meant to protect his lover, and to care for her. A woman who is perceived to be single might be approached in a way that might offend her otherwise. You certainly don’t want all the men trying to convince you to mate with them, do you?”

  “No way,” she agreed. “Not that I’ve ever had that problem before.”

  She chuckled. “You were not the only woman of your species on a ship mostly filled with males before, either. Counting you, our current number of females on board is only eight.”

  “Wow,” Diana said. “And how many males?”

  “Forty-seven,” she supplied.

  “Which means there are usually about three thousand,” Diana nodded, doing the math.

  “And Meko told you that too?”

  “Not exactly,” she grinned. “He just said there are usually fifty times more people aboard than there are right now. I did the math.”

  “You have a very quick mind, Diana,” she smiled. “I’d say Meko must like that about you as well. Intelligence is one of his preferences.”

  “It’s nice for you to keep telling me what he likes,” said Diana with a smile. “Only I also want to know what he is like. Kind or cruel, harsh or gentle. Is he a good commander?”

  “The best,” she replied. “In times of peace, he is a great leader of the people, and in times of war, he is easily able to determine what must be done to quickly bring a battle to an end with the least loss of life for all parties. You won’t find a better man than him anywhere.”

  Diana shrugged. “I don’t believe I was going to try. Considering that he bought me, I didn’t know I could if I wanted to.”

  “I don’t suppose it would be wise,” she agreed. “However, you are not Meko’s slave, if that is what you think. He will not force you to remain at his side.”

  “Can I ask you something, Alara?”

  “Of course,” she chuckled. “Haven’t you been?”

  “Did Meko ask you to teach me all of these things? To tell me more about him?”

  “He did,” she confirmed with a nod. “He felt that hearing it from another person might offer a better perspective.”

  “Maybe, but if he really wants me to get to know him, he needs to talk to me himself,” she pointed out. “Not that I mind having a like-minded friend, but I don’t think you’re the one I am supposed to be ‘getting used to’ in that way
.”

  Alara grinned. “I don’t think so either,” she replied. “Besides, I already have a mate. And he probably would not approve. And we both know Meko would not approve either.”

  Diana bit her bottom lip mirthfully as she visualized the probable look on his face. “No, I don’t think he would.”

  “Well then, now that that bit of awkwardness is settled, I suppose we should get going,” said Alara, puffing out her cheeks.

  “Yeah,” Diana agreed.

  *****

  Meko glared at Doban irritably when the Private asked if he could speak to him. Since they had left Earth orbit the other day, the man had been telling every person who would listen to him that he was afraid that Michael King would attempt to get his daughter back, and that the presence of Diana King on board their ship could get them into a great deal of trouble. He was fairly certain that since the meeting about to be held was concerning the girl that Doban was about to express the same opinions to him.

  “If it’s about Diana, you had better be about to congratulate me, Private Doban, or I do not want to hear what you have to say.”

  “Sir, it’s just that we pretty much kidnapped her, and I was on the ship as well,” he said with an uncomfortable sigh. “I don’t want to get in trouble too.”

  “Don’t worry, private,” Meko scoffed. “If the Earth authorities do bother to help King in his attempt to retrieve his daughter—which I highly doubt—then you won’t be held personally responsible for the crime. I believe in such cases we all go down together.”

  “Great,” he complained sarcastically. “You’ve made me feel a whole lot better.”

  Meko clapped him on the shoulder roughly. “Good, then. Carry on.”

  ELEVEN

  When Alara brought her into the room full of people, Diana didn’t see Meko right away, and she cast her eyes around nervously as the crewmen of the Gamalan looked her over curiously.