Devotion

by Harmony Raines

  “Sorry, that was insensitive. You have a lot to lose, Okil. I understand that.”

  “It’s not just leaving Earth, although that is our first hurdle. However, then we have to go through decon’. Now, I am willing to bend the rules, but I am not breaking them. Decon’ is what keeps Karal safe.”

  “I know.” Darl nodded, pondering the same question that had been bugging Okil for hours.

  “Although I might have a plan.” It was both simple and terribly risky, but he could see no alternative. “First, we have to get out of here.” He leaned forward and pressed a button, starting up the engines of the cruiser.

  “You are making a run for it?” Darl asked, buckling his seat belt.

  “No. Hopefully not, anyway. But I am going to call their bluff.” He pressed the communications button on the control panel and spoke. “Control we are powering up. The wormhole will only be stable for another hour and then a turbulent period of two days begins. We are on a tight schedule here.”

  “Understand. Please hold.”

  “I have had enough holding. This airport is rarely used. There are no planes in our vicinity. I request a detailed answer to why we are not allowed to leave. My leader will be most upset that we have been detained.”

  No answer came for a few minutes. Okil began to inch forward, pressing the controls for the gates to open for them to use the runway. Still no answer. Okil pressed the communications button again.

  “Are we cleared, tower? If not, you are about to have a diplomatic problem on your hands. I have my orders to leave. This will be classed as your species detaining a Karalian diplomat if we are not immediately cleared.”

  “You are cleared to leave.”

  Okil didn’t wait for the order to be repeated. He pressed the throttle forward and they took off into the night. For the first time since he had come to Earth all those months ago, he wondered if they were safe, or if they might be shot out of the sky. But they climbed steadily, and then he pushed the throttle forward to give them enough power to exit the atmosphere. The sudden stillness as they entered space was incredible; he turned them towards the moon and headed for the beacons.

  Only when they entered the wormhole did he feel truly safe. Earth, the planet he loved, was no longer what it had been to Okil. This whole episode had tarnished his view of it, or at least some parts of it. The normal everyday people still had a special place in his heart. However, the President and people like Harri were nothing to him; and given a choice, he would not save them. A new start for the human race deserved a chance to be free of corruption. Okil made a promise to himself to get to the heart of the corruption and find out what threat there really was to his own species.

  However, he reminded himself it was not all bad. He had at least got his wish. Although it was not under the circumstances he had hoped for, he was taking Tikki to Karal.

  Chapter Twelve – Tikki

  “I thought I would leave Darl in charge of things and come back here to be with you all when we entered the wormhole.” He sat down in one of the chairs, buckling his seat belt. Then he leaned forward and spoke to Charlie. “In a moment we are going to fly through the middle of space, down a long tube that connects your planet to mine.”

  “Your skin is lots of colours,” Charlie said, touching Okil’s skin.

  “Yes, and there will be loads of colours outside. Look.”

  He pointed to three beacons; they were heading straight for them. It seemed as if there was nothing on the other side other than space, but as soon as they crossed the threshold, the wormhole opened. It looked like a huge vortex about to suck them in; it reminded Tikki of a tornado.

  “Is it safe?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’ve travelled this way lots of times. It’s very safe and very stable.”

  “So that line you told the control tower was a lie?” Tikki asked, her nerves disappearing. “I thought for a moment we really were in trouble and were going to get stuck on Earth.”

  “No. I made it up. Our technology makes the wormholes very stable. Although it is stretched almost to its limit to connect our planets.”

  She looked out of the window, seeing the stars in the distance and great towering clouds of gasses. Charlie was mesmerised, his eyes big saucers of wonder. “I bet you are the youngest human to ever travel through here, Charlie.”

  “Big clouds and bright stars,” he murmured.

  “Wow, I wish I had a camera to take pictures of it all.” Reja was just as awestruck as Charlie.

  “This is not how we thought we would be spending our evening, was it, Reja?”

  “No way. I thought we were going to sit around while you cried your heart out at letting this alien slip through your fingers.” Trust Reja to tell all her secrets.

  “I’m glad you are here, Tikki,” Okil said, reading her mind. And when he placed his hand on her cheek and she felt the colours crossing from his skin to hers, she was glad too. More than glad: she was happy and excited, although extremely afraid of what the outcome would be.

  However, when they crossed a star nursery, which Okil pointed out to them, she knew that this was an experience she would never forget, or regret, even if she was about to get sent straight back to Earth. Tension filled her body, as up ahead the wormhole opened up into normal space.

  “The space station,” Okil said. “We have a plan. Reja you will go with Darl on to the station. He will take you to decon’. Once you are in there, he will distract the guards. At that point I will escort Tikki to a decon’ room and hopefully get you in there without anyone seeing Charlie.”

  “And then?” Tikki asked.

  “Then Darl and I will go through decon’. Afterwards, I will ask the guards to check something on the controls. Darl will get you back on the cruiser.”

  “Sounds so simple. So they will know we are both there, but not Charlie.”

  “Yes. Don’t worry, there are only ever two, maybe three, Karalians stationed there. We should only be docked for an hour.” Okil smiled reassuringly. “Charlie, I will need you to be very quiet.”

  “He’s good at that, aren’t you, Charlie?” Tikki asked.

  He nodded, not taking his eyes off the stars. In one hand, he held his teddy bear, in the other a fistful of toys. Sadly, these were his only worldly possessions, but as Tikki watched him, she was just happy they were no longer on Earth. No longer in imminent danger. Although when the space station loomed closer, she realised that was not exactly true.

  Okil kissed her on the lips and then pressed his head against hers. Forehead to forehead, she could almost feel his thoughts. “I love you and no matter what, even if it means taking a cruiser and going to find a new life somewhere else, we will get through this.”

  “I love you, Okil,” she said, kissing him lightly, oblivious to Reja beside her with tears streaming down her cheeks. “But I know how much you love Karal. I would never ask you to leave.”

  “My home is where you are now, Tikki.” Then he added, “You and Charlie.”

  Tikki turned and the little boy smiled and said, “Look after Tikki Mommy.”

  “Yes, Charlie. We will.” He stood up. “Now we dock and we hope no one sees Charlie. Do you understand what you have to do, Charlie?”

  Charlie put his fingers to his lips. “Shh. Be very quiet, Charlie, so they don’t see you.” The words were so sad when his young voice said them. To Tikki it was obvious that in his short life, he had been told to be quiet more times than any child should have to.

  The cruiser banged against the space station, and Okil went to lock it into place and then pull the door open. Charlie hid behind the seat and Tikki placed her purse on it, trying to make a barricade to hide the little boy. But the cruiser had no real hiding places: if anyone came on board, they would undoubtedly see him. They just had to hope.

  Darl came towards them from the control deck. “Reja, if you are ready, we should go. If we wait too long, they may come on board to check if there is a problem.”

  “OK.�
�� Reja got up and took Darl’s hand, and Tikki saw the flash of recognition spark between them. She had worried how Reja would feel, having left Earth with only the clothes on her back, without saying goodbye to her friends. But seeing her face light up when Darl touched her left Tikki with a sense of peace. It was one less thing to worry about.

  Okil stood at the threshold of the space station, watching Darl take Reja to a decon’ room. Tikki could see two Karalians on the space station, but had no idea how big the thing was or whether there were other aliens elsewhere. Silently she prayed that Darl would manage to distract them long enough.

  “Ready,” Okil said. “Darl is coming back. Now he is leading them away. Damn it, he’s leading them to the decon’ rooms.”

  Okil went forward, peering round to see what was happening. Then he suddenly waved Tikki and Charlie forward and they went quickly onto the station, Okil putting his big body in front of Tikki, with Charlie behind. If anyone came towards them they wouldn’t see him; if they came from behind, they were sunk.

  Darl had used his head, taking the two Karalians into the farthest decon’, they could hear voices. He had told them it was broken. They were running through the controls to see if they could repair it.

  “In here,” Okil said. “Listen, you are supposed to strip. But I am going to get you some loose gowns. If you wear one and then wrap Charlie in another, we might be able to make it almost impossible to see him even if someone glanced in. Stay here.”

  Tikki nodded, and moved Charlie to the side of the room, hoping that no one came in while Okil was gone. Several long minutes passed and then she heard footsteps coming towards them. She shielded Charlie with her body and nearly cried out in panic, but then Okil appeared.

  “Right. You undress over there, Tikki. I will help Charlie and then we can get you settled.” He began to lift Charlie’s arms and take his sweater off. Then he put the robe over him and said, “Can you take the rest of your clothes off, Charlie? I know it’s a bit strange, but we need to make sure you are nice and clean before you get to Karal.”

  Charlie did as he asked, and Tikki did the same, putting the robe on and then trying to remove her clothes. She hated the thought of being naked in here with anyone who passed by able to look in. But if Okil was right, they had to go through this to help protect Karal from any diseases or bacteria they might be carrying from Earth.

  “OK, Tikki, now sit in the chair. That’s right, it tilts back. Now, Charlie, up you come and sit here.” He lifted Charlie and settled him next to Tikki; then he took a step back. “Right, I think that might be OK.”

  Behind him there were voices getting closer. Okil dashed forward, kissed Tikki on the cheek, told Charlie it would be over soon, and then went to the control panel. After pressing some buttons and turning a dial, he backed out of the room. Hitting a button, the door slid shut and they were left alone. Her eyes met his and he smiled. She felt her heart lurch, filled with love and fear. A fear that was compounded when two Karalians passed by. She lay back down, hoping that they wouldn’t pause or look in and see Charlie.

  But she could vaguely hear Okil talking to them and sending them away. It seemed they had accomplished the first part of their task; she only hoped the rest went as smoothly.

  Chapter Thirteen – Okil

  A few minutes later than he hoped, he made his way to another decon’ room. He had wanted to be finished at the same time as Tikki, so that he could go and collect them. He only hoped none of the other Karalians opened the door when her decon’ was over. It was unlikely, but his mind could not help going through all the scenarios of what might happen if things went wrong.

  His worst nightmare consisted of a vent being opened and Tikki and Charlie being sent out into space. It wouldn’t happen, the Karal were not like that, but he couldn’t be sure. He had, after all, seen firsthand what his species were capable of.

  Closing his eyes, he tried to think of the softness of Tikki’s skin and the taste of her on his lips. Later, if they made it that far, he would be able to take her to his house and then to his bed. So many years of waiting for a woman to breed with, followed by almost unbearable months of knowing how much he wanted Tikki, who until now had been firmly out of his reach. She was his heart and his soul; he would not give her, or Charlie, up without a fight.

  His mind flipped to how far they would get if there was trouble and he had to take the cruiser and escape. Would the Hier Council send a warrior ship to hunt them down and destroy them? He had not known a ship deployed in his lifetime, but he had seen where they were stored in massive hangars under the tower.

  For a race that spoke of peace, the Karalians had also amassed enough technology from other races to arm themselves for war. Earth could never know what they might start if they crossed the Karalians. The President might see Earth as powerful if they were given the cruisers they wanted. But any attack on Karal would be a painful shock, one that would put their current misery into shadow. The destruction of the human race would be almost assured if they instigated war with the Karal.

  Okil thought about all the things he loved about Earth, the people, their humour, their love of the ridiculous, so refreshing next to the dryness of his own species. But this was always countered by the slow demise of a species who could be spiteful and selfish.

  He had seen it gradually building in their President. At first, he had been happy to accommodate the wishes of the Karal, pleased that at least some of his people would be saved. Yet slowly he had begun to demand things. Food, payment, a reward for each female the Karal took.

  When Okil had come here days ago, it was to lay the foundation of the mission to find a new planet for the humans. Yet instead of forging ahead, they had become embroiled in the issue of cruisers being given to Earth so that they could start their own search.

  The President had simply not accepted that the space cruisers would take months to modify, because they were built to only fly for the Karal. He had thought it was a big lie, a conspiracy. It was the truth, but even if it were not, the Karal were a species that took the technology of others. They did not pass it on.

  Okil started. He had dozed off, and now an alarm was sounding. Not the alarm of his decon’. But the one for the space station. An evacuation alarm.

  He got up, grabbing his clothes and hitting the button to open his door. It didn’t budge. Glancing over to the computer, he saw he had two minutes of his decon’ left. The door would not open manually until that was finished, despite the alarm. It was better for one Karalian to be dead than for him to be evacuated to Karal disease-ridden.

  A frustrated Okil stood and watched the countdown, occasionally turning to look out of the door. And then he saw Tikki, Charlie in her arms, running along the corridor. Darl was behind her, pointing forward and mouthing something. Thirty seconds left.

  Okil held his hand over the door release button, as soon as the clock hit zero he hit it and ran out. Heading to where the cruiser was docked, he was thankful to find it waiting. Ducking inside, he saw Tikki and Reja in their seats; Charlie’s small face could just be seen peeking out.

  “What happened?” Okil asked.

  “I came out of decon’. I was asked why we had two females on board. I told him there had been some mix-up and that your female had been loaded and then another had been chosen by the lottery and we could not change things.”

  “And the alarm?” Okil asked.

  “Well, he was going to go and check again. It seemed he had orders to detain us until you had talked to the Hier Commander...”

  “So I hit the alarm,” Reja said.

  “Quick thinking,” Darl said, smiling at her. “I don’t think we had the luxury of time in there, do you?”

  “No. Maybe not. It’s just lucky you hit the right button, Reja. Also, I hope we haven’t made it worse. What if we are searched when we reach Karal?” Okil asked.

  “Well, I have been thinking about that,” Darl said quickly. “What if we take the first-aid kit out of the comp
artment and swap things around. They wouldn’t be looking for a child. No one would think you were stupid enough to bring a child down to the planet. So if we can hide him away, I doubt they will do a thorough check.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Okil said. “Let’s see what we can do, but we have to go down to Karal as quickly as we can. We must try to maintain our calm and not put any more scrutiny on us.”

  “Agreed.”

  Darl quickly took out the first-aid kit; then they removed some blankets and assorted ropes. Okil stowed them away where he could until they had made a small crawl space in one of the lockers.

  “He can’t go in there,” Tikki said, examining the space. It was just big enough for Charlie, but only just.

  “We might not need it, but we do need to have a plan. We have raised suspicion.” Okil took her in his arms, happy that they were together and one step closer to success. “It might be nothing. They may let it pass. I don’t know.”

  “Have you ever broken one of your rules before, Okil?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No. I have always obeyed our rules and our laws.”

  “I can see why your Hier Council don’t want too many humans on your planet. We will breed disorder and dissent.” She smiled up at him. “I have always been a bad influence.”

  “Get a room, you two,” Reja said, laughing. “And just FYI, she has always been a bad influence over me. That’s why I’m here.”

  Tikki almost laughed too. “Thanks, Reja. Spoil the moment, why don’t you.”

  “What is FYI?” asked Darl.

  “For your information,” Reja said slowly.

  “Ahh,” Darl said, storing it away for future use.

  “Reja, I think you and Darl are going to have some fun. He soaks up anything to do with your Earth culture.” Okil let go of Tikki and went round making sure everything was secure, while Darl went to the control deck and started the engines.

  “I think we will have plenty of fun,” Reja said blushing.

  “Now who needs a room,” said Tikki quietly.