Rachael had the money ready and again it was a woman cashier who seeing all those seeds started talking, ‘Oh you do like growing your own food. What’s your favourite? It’s so good to see young people gardening.’ Well, Alenna and Minty found that so amusing and were sniggering. Speaking in Alkarren I turned to them and told them not to be rude. Rachael quickly paid and thanked her, and no sooner the two were outside than they burst in to laughter. It seemed contagious as I could not stop myself letting out a chuckle and Rachael had also joined in.
We made our way back to the field and were soon climbing over the gate. As we did there was a shout from a little way down the lane, which was probably the farmer and he had seen us climbing over his gate. I told the girls to run. We quickly reached the illusion zone of the shuttle, and just as we got on board the farmer had reached the gate. Closing the door I shouted to Lumi to take off. She spun up the pods, and the farmer, having got to the gate, could not see any sign of us. He then climbed on the gate, and as the pods spun up he was looking for where that sound was coming from but before he could get off the gate we had taken off and were soon out of his hearing range.
Rachael was having a good look around the shuttle from her seat. Alenna pointed out my hiding place where she had first smuggled me aboard. Although a different shuttle it still had the same type of locker under the seat. As we approached our cargo ship Rachael remarked on its size. I pointed out that there were much larger cargo ships now being built. Ours may be old, but it did what it needed to.
We soon touched down in the shuttle bay and the outer door was sealed. The bay then pressurised. Rachael stepped out saying, ‘‘Are we really on a ship in space as there's gravity?’’
‘‘Yes,’’ I said, ‘‘its artificial gravity created by our anti-gravity pods negative below and positive above.’’ I then took Rachael with her cases and bags to the cabin we had ready for her. Alenna said to unpack later as she wanted Rachael to meet the family. I introduced her to Jenna and Perri. Rachael then remarked that she thought I had four wives. I told her that I now had another wife, plus four more children. The oldest five had now gathered around her, she got down on her knees to talk to them the oldest three could speak good English the other two were still learning the language. At this point I said that we have to star drive but before we do you must see Earth from space.
Rachael, Jenna, Alenna and I went to the bridge. Rachael gazed upon earth sort of fixated. I whispered to her, ‘‘It’s just awe inspiring to see Earth just floating there.’’ After a few minutes I told her to take a seat as we were now going to star drive, warning her of the strange effect, I explained that it only lasted a few seconds. Turning to Jenna I asked her if we were ready.
Seconds later she replied, ‘‘Now.’’ I then engaged star drive and we were on our way back to Alkarr.
Alenna took Rachael to her cabin to unpack and told her when she had finished to go to the galley, giving her the directions to take from her room. When my shift on the bridge had finished a few hours later and Lumi had taken over, I went to the galley first for something to eat. Usually music can be heard from the entertainment room, while on this occasion I could not hear anything. I was a bit intrigued to know why, so I proceeded to the entertainment room. Upon entering I could see Rachael plus all the five older children who had gathered around her. She also had two of the younger ones who were almost three years old, sitting on her lap. Rachael had a pile of children’s books she had brought with her, so no wonder those suitcases had been heavy. Anyway, she was reading to them although it was unlikely the youngest knew what she was saying, though they did enjoy the pictures. I don’t think I needed to worry about her having a family of her own, as I think she already has a ready-made family, her nieces and sister-in-laws, plus of course me.
I told her she would have to learn Alkarren, just like I had to, the best way being an education unit. I showed her one and set it up in her room, remarking that she would be surprised how quickly she would learn. Just as I was about to leave Rachael in her room Minty and Jenna arrived saying that they needed to make her an Alkarren. She looked a little bewildered as to what they meant but went with them. I also did not know what they meant either and was a bit bemused if not puzzled to what they had in store for her, but I trusted them and would find out later.
The good thing about having your own ship and only the family on board is that I could go anywhere without a chaperone. Since the cargo bay was empty I went there with the ball and badminton set we had purchased from the garden centre. I tied the net across the hold. Now we could play badminton or volley ball. After some time I went to find one or two of the wives to see if they would like to participate in some sporting activity, and on entering the galley Rachael was sitting there. She had been made Alkarren; well, sort of, she was now sporting a jump suit and her hair had been styled the same as the wives with the two ponytails. I remarked, ‘‘Have they given you a tail.’’ She looked at me in a strange way, ‘‘Oh,’’ I said, ‘‘I did not mention Alkarrens have tails.’’
‘‘Don’t be silly,’’ she said.
Then Jenna replied, ‘‘Err actually we do, I will show you later.’’
Rachael just said, ‘‘Wow!’’
I almost forgot what I came to the galley for, saying there was a surprise in the hold who wants to come and see. The five older children did along with Minty, Perri and of course Rachael who also accompanied me. Didn’t they have fun, all of them. Sometime later Jenna and Alenna came down to the hold with the four other children as they had wondered where we had got to. They also joined in with the sporting fun as well; only Lumi was left as she was on bridge duty. I could not leave her out so I went to the bridge and did an extra stint so she could join them. All that exercise! I am sure they will all be quite hungry when they had finally had enough.
Since nothing could be damaged in the cargo bay when empty I thought I could paint a goal on each side wall at the narrowest direction. We could all play other games as it was good exercise for everyone. Also we were always looking for something to occupy the children when they were not on their education periods; to add to that, it was good use of wasted space as so very often the hold was empty on return trips.
The sporting activity did help to pass the time. Soon we were ready to come out of star drive, so everyone was called to the bridge to take their seats. Rachael was eager to see another world for the first time so we let her sit on a seat at the front for the best view. Jenna counted down and as she said, “Now,” I brought the ship out of star drive. Jenna was very good at calculating our position and this was one of her best. As we dropped out of the star drive we had the moon on the right of us, the sun of to the left and Alkarr directly in front at a safe distance away. I told Rachael that once you get used to the different light from the sun, many things would seem familiar to her, even though the light was more orange it was still much like Earth on a sunny day, just not as yellow.
We now got near to Alkarr’s atmosphere and Rachael asked how good the heat shield for re-entry was. I said that although the ship could withstand around one and a half thousand degrees for a short time it did not need one as you could now see we were slowing before re-entry, unlike Earth spacecraft, which use the atmosphere to slow down and in doing so create a lot of heat. We have powered re-entry and doing that was not necessary. As we got lower she could now see all the fields as I had when first arriving at Alkarr. I pointed out the landing port as we got closer, informing Lumi that her mother’s ship was on its bay she replied, ‘‘Good and if you don’t mind I will go straight there when we have landed.’’ I also noted Elma was there as well but the rest of Alenna's and her sisters family's ships were not.
Alenna said, ‘‘I have to get the seeds to the ministry first, then we can visit them.’’
I then turned to Perri saying, ‘‘
I will fly you and our daughter Isabel to the moon later to see yours. I am sure sis will like to come along for the ride in calypso.’’
Several months passed and Rachael had settled in well and was learning Alkarren. She was definitely quicker than I had been but I was not going to admit to it though. We had a regular cargo run to do but on this occasion the journey was not going to run without a hitch. We were a couple of days into a journey and as usual someone had bridge duty; this was in case anything happened when in star drive. I can honestly tell you nothing had ever happened to us and that time was usually spent reading or listening to music.
Now on board is a system that if it picks up a distress signal, will register the rough position and then sounds an alarm on the bridge. As on earth it is one’s duty to offer assistance. I was doing my shift when the alarm sounded. Apart from making me jump out of my skin I quickly brought the ship out of star drive. This had to be done without delay or you would overshoot by billions of miles. Now the rest of the family would have been aware that we had dropped out of star drive due to the strange effect. Alenna, Jenna and Lumi had dropped what they had been doing and were on their way to the bridge, by the time I had called them to come to it. As they entered I informed them I had received a distress call. Immediately, Jenna started to coordinate the direction and distance it had come from.
We made our way towards that position; it would take us about an hour travelling at sub-light speed to reach that point. As we got closer the distress signal got stronger. We used our long range viewer and could see a beacon light flashing. Jenna was trying to make contact but she had not received a response, and as we got closer, Alenna, who had been observing the long range viewer, proclaimed the ship was Lusianian. The Lusianian species were Alliance members, slightly reptilian in appearance. They had a large mouth, two forward facing eyes, tiny ears, their nose consisted of two small holes, no hair but their skin was scaly green/brown and shimmered. They also walked on two legs and had arms and hands with three fingers and a thumb; their feet – like Alkarrens – were webbed but their hands were not. They could be described as Alkarrens or humans in a different package. Like us they could laugh when happy or cry if sad, and are very kind and considerate. While mostly vegetarian they did like to eat some fish.
As we got close up we could see a large hole blasted out from an explosion on board. This was a ship built by the Dregg. As mentioned previously I had heard about the star drives exploding on a Dregg built ship but this was the first time I had actually witnessed one. When we finally arrived at the ship we circled it. At first Jenna was scanning for Lusianian life forms but like our ship it was well shielded. We were going to have to attach to the hatch and go through the airlock. I said it would be best if I went aboard along with Perri to assist me, as she was used to wearing environmental suits from living on the moon. Alenna wanted to come along too, but I persuaded her to stay.
We entered the airlock and opened the doors between the ships closing them behind us; but instead of opening the internal door to the Lusianian ship, we wanted to see if anybody responded to us hammering on the hatch as the display read there was atmosphere on the other side of the door. The internal airlocks must have shut and isolated the damaged areas of the ship. We hammered for some time on the door, and just as we were about to give up, two bedraggled occupants came into view through the airlock window. We now opened the door and took the pair a mother and daughter aboard our ship. They were very cold and very hungry. Alenna and Jenna were asking them questions in the intergalactic language Zeln. They were the only survivors on board; the rest of their family had perished. They were taken to the galley to warm up and have hot food. If we had not come along when we did I doubt they would have lasted much longer as their fusion reactors were off line. They had also just about depleted their reserve energy banks and had absolutely no idea on how to operate the ship. Those who did had perished in the explosion.
We did a quick reconnaissance of the ship before closing the hatch and releasing our ship from it. Jenna now had to perform some very difficult calculations before we could attempt to star drive and continue our transport run. I can say this is why it was so important to file your departure and destination details, if you don’t turn up they can at least come looking for you.
The two Lusianians, the mother Yarkeli and her daughter Pooky, who happened to be the same age as our oldest three, now had nowhere to live. So, for the time being, Alenna said they could live on our ship. This was the Alkarren way; always willing to help those in distress. I didn’t need a chaperone as they were a non-compatible species with humans or Alkarrens; in fact, their young hatch from an egg.
Over the next two years we had been doing well financially. Alenna had been looking to acquire our own residence on Alkarr for some time; we wanted a place within a couple of minutes walking distance from the landing port. The problem was that they did not come up for sale very often and when they did they were too big or too expensive. By chance Alenna mentioned that she was looking out for a residence to one of her friends, who then informed her of a possible place coming on the market. The first time she had mentioned it to me was over a meal at the local café, when she told me that she was in negotiation to buy a residence. I remarked that as long as it didn’t come with a wife, looking around me to see if I was being observed as before. I could not pinpoint anyone in particular as girls are always looking at me, perhaps because I am human so it would be hard to tell, I also suspect they look at all males anyway.
I moved on and left it for now, that was until Alenna announced that we were all going to view the place. I was a bit cautious as any big deal would result in a new wife. After we returned from our next cargo run we all went and viewed this residence and thought it would be very suitable. To my relief there were no young unmarried women around. Later I asked Alenna how the purchase was proceeding; she just replied that it was work in progress.
A few days passed and we went off on another cargo run. Then nothing was heard further about the residence for a few weeks. Then one day when back on Alkarr, having walked into the galley by myself, I turned round to find a young woman was standing right behind me all alone, so that’s an eligible girl at marrying age alone with me, that could only mean one thing: I was married to her. I first asked what her name was, to which she replied, ‘‘Luka.’’
I then asked her, ‘‘Did Alenna tell you to come in here?’’
She continued with, ‘‘Alenna said go in there and meet your husband. I thought she was behind me but she seems to have vanished.’’
I apologised to her saying, ‘‘Give me a few seconds,’’ going to the door and shouting in English, ‘‘Alenna you chicken!’’ She knew what I thought about extra wives. Anyway it’s done. After some time talking to her and making her feel at ease in my company I asked her who she had met of my wives.
She replied, ‘‘Jenna, Minty and of course Alenna.’’
‘‘Well,’’ I proclaimed, ‘‘It’s time for you to meet Lumi and Perri and our daughters plus my sister and the two Lusianians all who I expect are in the entertainment room along with the other three who are probably cowering in there.’’
I held her hand and led her to the entertainment room. As soon as we entered the door, there was the look of shock on my family’s faces apart from Alenna and her two sisters. I said to Alenna, ‘‘Haven’t you told anyone else that Luka was on board?’’
She then said, ‘‘No, only that everyone must wait in the entertainment room, we concluded you should know first before the rest.’’
I said, ‘‘At least I thank you for that, but running away and leaving the girl without introducing her to me first shame on you.’’
Humbly Alenna said, ‘‘Sorry I was a bit chicken wasn’t I, but I knew you would see that she was made to feel at home.’’
‘‘Well never mind now,’’ I said, ‘‘I now need to introduce her to the others.’’ It would be considered very odd or strange for an Alkarren sister to live with her brother and his family. However, I explained that on Earth it was different. Luka was also intrigued about how we came to have the Lusianians living with us, but when I explained how and why she felt their grief and was visibly upset at what happened to them, as we had all been.
I asked Alenna, "Does this now mean that we have a residence on Alkarr.'' While all the others looked at Alenna for a response.
She just smiled and replied, “Yes of course.” I think the children were the most excited as all their friends on Alkarr had a residence, and now they could have them come to visit. I can have a man cave with my own men’s forum membership. This residence was Luka’s home so it seemed a little strange to a human that you should purchase a new home and all the previous occupants have moved out, all but one that is, anyway Luka liked her home and was very pleased to stay. The rest of her family had moved as they had brought a new residence part of a large farm quite some distance away, but only a short ride by shuttle so she can visit them when she wishes, a bonus for her, she still had her local friends.
Now I have decided without Alenna's permission in advance that our three oldest girls and Pooky the Lusianian girl who by the way now calls me uncle should be given the chance to learn how to become pilots or navigators. Now they are ten years old I cannot see any reason why it cannot be included as part of their education. Having spoken to Jenna who was also willing to give her time to the task, I now mentioned it in passing to Alenna who did not have any problem, I took that as her permission given.
Chronicles of Jake 1: My Return to Planet Earth Page 7
