Gray Card

by Cassandra Chandler

  This felt right. The two of them together. It was how the universe was meant to be. She was sure of it—could feel it in her bones.

  They just had to convince the insane liaison to let Adam stay.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I want to see your ship.”

  When Evelyn made the request, Adam was hardly in a state to refuse her anything. A shiver flowed over his skin as he thought of the warmth of her body. There was nothing like the incredible feeling of belonging and connection when he was inside of her, arms around each other, holding each other as close as they possibly could.

  He felt like he was melting into her sometimes, a union beyond anything he’d experienced. Remembering that and enjoying the forest around him, he could almost forget about the challenges they faced.

  In the full bloom of summer, the trees overhead were thick with rich green foliage. Insects that couldn’t bite off his head chirred pleasantly around them and birds called out to each other. The entirely wholesome sound of dirt and rocks crunching beneath their boots blended in with the woodland melody. The only thing that would have improved the hike was if they could hold hands, but the trail was too narrow for that.

  “Earth to Adam.” She laughed. “I guess I should say, ‘Sadr-4 to Adam.’”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He smiled anyway, delighting in learning a new game. She was the most playful being he had ever encountered.

  “It’s an expression we Earth-humans use for when the person we’re with seems to be zoning out. I guess that idiom was overlooked when you learned English.”

  “A few were. I’m just a little distracted. Bringing you to my ship is a big deal.”

  “Why do it, then?”

  “Because you asked.”

  “So, if I asked you to throw me down on the ground and have sex with me right here and now, you’d do that too?”

  He stopped so suddenly that she ran into his back. Making love to her in the forest? Could they really do that? His body grew hard at the thought of Evelyn in a green field, the wind playing over their naked bodies as…

  “Do not get your hopes up! I shouldn’t have used that as an example.” She slipped past him, hands held up as if to fend him off, but she was smiling. “It is amazing enough that you’ve been getting me out in the wilderness so much that this hike isn’t making me wheeze. I am not ready to throw down with you in a field full of bugs and dirt.”

  “Not ready yet.” Adam grinned at her as she gave him a fake look of disapproval over her shoulder.

  His body slowly got the message that now was the time to walk, as disappointing as that was. She wasn’t too far ahead as he resumed his trek toward her.

  “It is awesome to know the actual location of another inhabited planet,” she said. “And so close.”

  “The Milky Way is much more populated than you think. There are protocols in place to keep Earth from figuring that out.”

  “What kind of protocols?”

  “There are teams assigned to all the planets with preservation status. They do what’s necessary to allow any sentient inhabitants—even ones that originated from a lost colony—to develop along their own natural progression without gaining too much knowledge too quickly.”

  “Wait, so you guys are stopping us from realizing that aliens are real?”

  “We’re stopping you from getting hard evidence. Can you imagine the panic that would ensue if everyone suddenly discovered that not only were they not alone in the universe, but they’re right next to a galactic highway?”

  She stopped to stare at him, wide-eyed. “Are we?”

  “It’s close.”

  “I’m glad you guys decided to go around the planet instead of through it when you set that up.”

  She grinned in the particular way that let him know she was referencing a sci-fi story that he hadn’t experienced yet. They had a lifetime for her to share everything with him. He couldn’t wait to get started.

  Evelyn turned back around and resumed picking her way along the barely discernible trail that led to his Skimmer. When she started to get off course, he corrected her with a gentle touch.

  “It’s still pretty shitty of you guys to decide that for us. Somebody should give the powers that be a talking-to. Maybe you could do that when this is all settled.”

  Adam was glad she wasn’t looking at him in that moment. He didn’t say anything, not wanting to lie and not wanting to let her know the truth. If the Council let him relinquish his citizenship—to become an Earthling himself—he would never be allowed to leave the planet again.

  He didn’t care. Space was cold and uninviting. Evelyn was everything he had wanted his entire life. Warmth, connection, love.

  And her homeworld was so full of life, just like her. He would gladly live out his time on Earth, perhaps have some children with her—naturally, having no idea what they would be like.

  The thought made his breath catch in his chest. Children. Natural children—not designed in a lab or ordered from a catalog. Moons, he wanted that. Desperately. Immediately.

  “You’re falling behind.” She turned to look at him, a slight crease between her eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

  “Children. I want children.”

  She smiled and put her hands on her hips. “What, like now? Because I told you, I’m not having sex in a forest. We can talk about me going off the pill after we’re married. We have other concerns.”

  “You do want them though, right?”

  “Eventually, sure. I’d love a few rugrats underfoot. But you need to keep your head in the game until we’ve dealt with the liaison.”

  She turned back to the trail, taking a few steps before he caught her up by her waist and lifted her into the air. Her laughter rang through the trees, startling some nearby birds.

  “No sex in the forest!” she yelled.

  “I know.” He set her on her feet. He wanted to kiss her, but if he did, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. “What about sex on my ship?”

  Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes widening and lips parting as if she was about to speak. Instead, she pushed his arms away from her waist and bolted up the trail. Adam followed, laughing all the way.

  Chapter Thirteen

  In the center of a clearing filled with green grass, the most beautiful vehicle that Evelyn had ever seen perched like a resting bird of prey. The exterior was black, polished to a high sheen. Two wings stretched from the ship’s underbelly, curving down toward the earth in graceful arcs. Four legs held it up from the ground.

  Adam said it was a Skimmer, but it didn’t have a name past that. She wanted to name it right then, but could only come up with ridiculous things like, Starshadow.

  She waited at the edge of the clearing as he approached the vessel. His gait changed as he grew nearer to it, shoulders more squared, spine stiff, hands curling into fists. His demeanor put off an energy of command that she found both incredibly sexy and a little intimidating.

  He lifted a hand to his ship and as soon as he touched it a line appeared in the smooth skin of the hull. The line was joined by two others forming part of a rectangle. When it started lowering, she realized it was a ramp.

  Adam gestured to the opening. “Well? You wanted to see my ship.”

  “Right.”

  He reached out to her, his smile softening. “Come on.”

  She smiled back, then ran across the clearing. She was about to go on board an actual spaceship. An alien spaceship. She’d dreamt of this moment her whole life. Still, she wasn’t sure which was causing her heart to thump in her chest, the ship, or the man whose warm hand clasped hers.

  “Is this why we never hiked in this section of the park?”

  “If I came too close, the cloak would turn off automatically. Besides, there were plenty of other places to explore.”


  “I’m only interested in exploring this at the moment.”

  “By all means.” He led her up the ramp and onto the ship.

  The interior was small. He had told her it was a one-person ship and pared down to the barest essentials. The Coalition didn’t want their technology accidentally falling into the wrong hands, after all. Skimmers had just enough to get people to their destination and back.

  The walls were white, the floor was gray, and everything was made of metal. Evelyn had a momentary bout of claustrophobia. Adam’s love of the outdoors made more sense after seeing his ship. If he spent all of his time in places like this, an open horizon would be a welcome change.

  The walls had what looked at first like designs engraved on them, but eventually she realized they were controls. Indentations that might be hand-holds seemed to accompany a few stations she could make out.

  “There are no chairs,” she said.

  “We need to stay alert while we’re on duty, so there aren’t any.”

  “Are we just going to do it on the floor, then?”

  His grin was huge. Her body began to tingle thinking of other huge parts of him.

  “There’s a sleeping chamber up that ladder,” he said.

  She turned to look where he was pointing and sure enough there were hand and footholds recessed into the wall leading up to a hatch in the ceiling.

  “How do you work the controls if you need to use your hands to hold on?”

  “We have artificial gravity. For safety, we also hook up to harnesses during shifts to keep us in place in the event of power loss.”

  “That is so cool.”

  Evelyn didn’t dare ask to take the ship for a spin. She wasn’t even sure if Adam was supposed to fly it during his vacation when he was by himself, let alone showing off technology for Earthlings. She asked one of her many other questions instead.

  “Are you going to get in trouble for bringing me here?” It was at the top of her mind.

  “The liaison is the one on the disintegration pad. I still can’t believe that he told you about us. That is a serious crime.”

  “Are you going to report him?”

  One of Adam’s shoulders lifted slightly. “I’m looking into it.”

  “What aren’t you telling me? I know when you’re keeping me in the dark.”

  “The liaison—Todd—is dangerous. Telling you about us and showing you some of our technology might be the least of his crimes. I have contacts looking into it. Until that’s resolved, I don’t want you alone.”

  “If he wants to get to me, I doubt a crowd will stop him.”

  “I was thinking I’d stay with you.”

  She finished her circuit of the ship, then walked to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “My own personal bodyguard. I like the sound of that.”

  “Guarding your body is only one of the things I have planned.”

  He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. He smelled so good—like fresh cut grass and peppermint. His hands roved to her ass, lifting her slightly and pressing her against him.

  She pushed away from him, then started backing toward the ladder that led to the sleeping chamber. “Why don’t you show me the rest of your ship?”

  He didn’t answer and didn’t follow her. In fact, he didn’t move at all.

  “Adam?”

  He was standing completely still, his face a mask of fear. When she reached out to him, a sharp pain tore through her fingers. She shook her hand, tingling jolts of energy shooting up her arm.

  “I wouldn’t try that again. Unless you’re okay with losing the use of that hand.”

  Her heart sank at the voice behind her. Todd.

  When she turned, she wasn’t surprised to see him holding the same shiny disk that he’d used on her in the park. His other hand held an ordinary gun.

  “I just don’t see the allure.” He shook his head, his gaze traveling over her body. “Unless you have certain skills that add to your worth. After I deal with the General, maybe I’ll do a few experiments of my own.”

  Evelyn glanced at Adam, took in the anguish and rage on his features, and knew she was on her own. She looked around the ship, but there were no weapons lying around. The only escape was the open ramp, which led to the expanse of forest beyond. Help was miles away.

  “Yes, monkey. You are trapped. Let the panic seep in.” Todd kept his gun pointed at her, but turned to address Adam. “Did you really think I would believe you were giving up everything for her? You arrogant glitch. I wish I could let you live to regret sticking your nose into my operations.”

  “You can’t kill him!” Evelyn stepped forward, but stopped when Todd raised his weapon higher, sighting her down the barrel. She held up her hands and said, “How will you explain his death to your superiors?”

  “When I deliver his corpse to the Council, they’re going to give me a medal for protecting Earth from conquest.”

  “You’re delusional.” She was baiting him on purpose, keeping him talking, gathering information, trying to find anything that might help get her and Adam out of this.

  “You’re the only one who’s delusional here. You really think that he’s doing this for you?” Todd’s lip curled in a sneer and he tilted his head away, as if he could barely stand to look at her. At least he lowered his gun a bit. “A General decides to suddenly leave his prosperous career, give up his citizenship, and relinquish the vast resources he’s accumulated over the years to live on a primitive world where he’ll have no access to real technology and can never leave the planet again? He’s not after you. He wants Earth. But I got here first.”

  “You can’t leave?” Evelyn turned to Adam, not believing Todd’s words. “If you stayed with me, you were going to give all that up?”

  Adam’s brow furrowed slightly and his eyes narrowed.

  It was true. And he wasn’t going to tell her. He was planning to give up everything to be with her and he wasn’t even going to let her know what he was sacrificing.

  “With the riches this planet possesses, it would be more than a fair trade,” Todd said.

  Evelyn closed her eyes, visualizing the situation, trying to find a way out. On board, there was nothing to help her. But outside the ship there were plenty of thick, heavy branches perfect for thumping an insane alien over the head with. She only had to manage to get outside and sneak back in without Todd realizing it.

  Right. Only that.

  The first step was getting out without getting killed. Playing along with Todd’s story seemed her best bet. She only hoped that Adam would realize she was acting.

  “I can’t believe you would do this to me!” Evelyn bit her fist for effect. She doubted Todd had watched any 50s sci-fi movies where the women were constantly doing ridiculous things like that. “After everything we did… And it was all a lie!”

  “Stop yelling!” Todd lifted his gun again, pointing it right at her face.

  “I’m sorry, I just… I’m so emotional right now.” As she’d hoped, Todd’s sneer deepened. He looked a little green. “I don’t want anything to do with this! Do whatever you want to him. I just want to go home. I promise, I won’t tell anyone that aliens are real.”

  Todd stared at her for a moment, then his thin lips pulled into a smile. “No, you should tell them. Waste your life trying to convince people that aliens are real. That will be so much more amusing than just killing you. Go on.”

  He shooed her with his gun. Evelyn wasn’t sure if he was baiting her, trying to get her to turn around so he could shoot her in the back—but it was the best chance she had. She turned and bolted, heart pounding in her chest.

  She could hardly believe it when she reached the trees. Pausing, she looked back at the ship, but didn’t see Todd watching her. Adrenaline flooded her system, making her lightheaded.
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  She didn’t have time for that. Focusing with all her will, she started looking for a branch that she could use as a weapon. It didn’t take long to find one solid enough to do damage, but small enough to wield.

  She wanted to run back to the ship as fast as she could, but surprise was crucial. She only prayed that Todd would do more grandstanding before killing Adam.

  Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away. Adam needed her. There was still hope.

  She picked her way through the trees as quietly as she could, approaching the ship from a direction that wasn’t easily visible from within. Reaching the ship wouldn’t be hard. Getting up the ramp without Todd seeing her—that was the challenge.

  She paused under the ramp and listened. Todd was still talking, taunting Adam. She let out a shaky breath. That meant Adam was still alive.

  The ship was small and low to the ground. Evelyn could shimmy up onto the ramp at its midpoint, minimizing how long she’d be visible from inside. Branch in hand, she practically crawled on her belly till she could see into the ship.

  Todd was focused on Adam. Even better, with her gone, Todd had moved so that he was standing near the ramp with his back to her. Evelyn had a clear shot.

  She took a deep breath and held it, rising to her feet and noiselessly crossing the short distance between them. All the while, internally she chanted, Please, please, please...

  When she brought the branch down on the back of Todd’s head, hard enough that the wood made a loud cracking sound, she could barely believe it had worked. But Todd fell to the floor, the gun skittering out of his hand.

  Evelyn kicked the silver disk out of Todd’s other hand, then ran to get the gun. She shifted her club to her non-dominant hand, and wheeled around with the gun in the other.

  “Take that, you… Oh.”

  Adam was standing with the small silver disk held out toward Todd, who was still face-down on the floor. From the looks of things, Todd wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

  The look on Adam’s face was priceless. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open. He just kept staring at her.