“As you know, this will be my first child.” Kayn turned his head, his back more rigid than usual. “I have not encountered this situation in the past. I will need to think on it.”
“Kayn,” Alyssa said, her voice clouded with anger, “I will not be sent away from my family and friends. I am completely capable of caring for our baby, regardless of any special needs it may have.”
Spinning around, Kayn’s golden eyes pinned her down, flashing with rage. “You will do as I say. I am the commander. I will choose what is best for my offspring—and my species. Now, go! You may return tomorrow.”
Stunned, Alyssa gaped at Kayn.
“Send Ras in on your way out.”
Rendered speechless, Alyssa ran out of the office, choking back tears as she rushed past a smug general and a bewildered Isa.
***
Pacing back and forth between her living room and dining room, Alyssa fumed over Kayn’s unreasonable treatment, her mind so flustered she couldn’t decide what to do or who to call. “I can’t believe this,” she said to herself for the umpteenth time.
Sitting on her sofa, Alyssa stared up at an ethereal scene of Zion, another painting done by her father. Oh no, what about Zion and Asen’Sha? Her mind reeled, thinking about how different her future might be now.
Frazzled, Alyssa decided she needed to get her mind off what happened so she could return to it later with a clear head, and knowing her parents and Jess were working, she called someone outside her world of problems.
“Hello?”
“Jordan?”
“Yeah. Who’s this?”
“Hey, it’s Alyssa. We met at the café.”
“Oh yeah, hey.” Jordan’s cheery, eager tone lightened her mood, giving her a modicum of relief.
“Are you busy? I need to get away from the compound for a little while.”
“I got all the time in the world.”
“Your brother won’t mind if you leave?”
“Naw, it’s all good. I mostly just fix whatever breaks down. So far, so good today.”
“Great! Would you be able to pick me up outside the compound?”
“Can do. I can drive in if you like.”
“No, that’s okay. The front guards won’t let you in without a permit.”
“Oh yeah, I forget that’s the Command Compound.” He chuckled. “Whatever. I can be there in ten.”
“Great. Thanks, Jordan.”
“You got it, girly.”
***
Alyssa couldn’t wait at the gate without constant fidgeting, so decided to start walking towards town. She hadn’t gotten very far before Jordan pulled over beside her in his beat-up truck.
“Am I late?”
“Oh, no. I was just too antsy to stand there.”
“Okay...” He cocked an eyebrow. “So where do you want to go?”
“Um, how about we go back to the café?”
“Fine by me,” he said, with a big, goofy grin.
Jordan didn’t start questioning her, in fact he didn’t say anything the whole way to the café. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he drove along without a care in the world, a sliver of envy worming its way under her skin at his carefree attitude.
When they arrived at the café, Jordan jumped out to open Alyssa’s door. Surprised, she gave him a grateful smile and pondered his gentlemanly ways as she led the way to the booth they shared previously.
After ordering hot cocoa and coffee, they settled into the comfortable ambiance.
“You feel like talking now?” He stretched his arm along the seat back, looking completely at ease. “If you need more time, I’m good with just hanging out.”
“Well… this is pretty nice, just hanging out.”
“Sure.” He bobbed his head, gazing at her with hooded eyes. “Whatever you need.”
Alyssa snorted and shook her head. “I think what I need is a whole life overhaul.”
Jordan’s eyebrows jumped up and he leaned forward onto his elbows. “You feel like elaborating?”
“Uh, hmm. It’s pretty personal. You probably don’t want to hear about it.”
“I don’t mind. Sometimes it’s easier to talk to strangers about personal stuff, you know. Less judgmental.”
“True, but you’re not a complete stranger. We did talk once before.”
“We did, but we really don’t know each other… yet.” He winked playfully.
“Okay, okay. Don’t get too ahead of yourself now.”
Jordan held his palms up, shoulders nearly touching his ears. “What? I just meant as friends.” He gave her his signature goofy grin.
“Anyway… You’re probably right. I need to get some stuff off my chest, but my best friend, Jess, is at work.”
“I’m a good listener and I don’t gossip, so…”
Alyssa blew out a long, slow breath. “Okay. So, you know I work with the commander.”
He nodded once.
“Well, we’ve been kind of… you know… together, for almost two months now.”
“What do you mean, kind of?”
“Kayn has a lot going on. He doesn’t really have time for things like relationships and dating.” Alyssa paused for a steadying breath. “I work very closely with him, and about nine weeks ago, we were… intimate.”
Jordan stared at her with smiling eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“It was my, um, first time.” Blood rushed to her cheeks as she watched Jordan’s eyes light up.
“Really? How old are you?” Jordan bit back a grin, his chest bouncing with silent laughter.
“Hey! It’s perfectly normal to be a virgin at my age.” She glared at him, pretending to be offended.
“Oh, sure. I’ve met lots of adult virgins.” He shook his head and snickered. “Pretty sure everyone I know lost it as soon as they got a good taste of Valene.”
“Right. That’s kind of a sore subject for me. Let’s not go there.”
“No problem. Already forgotten.”
“Anyway! Since that first time, we’ve only been together once. As I said, he doesn’t have a lot of time for things like dating, but if we have a few quiet moments at the end of the day, we’ll sit together and talk. It doesn’t happen often, but I take what I can get.”
“And you’re not happy?”
“No, that’s not the problem. The problem is—” Alyssa cleared her throat “—I, uh... Crap! I’m not supposed to tell anyone this.”
The server returned with their drinks, and Alyssa sipped her hot chocolate, hands clasping the heavy ceramic mug, using the distraction to gather her wits.
“You don’t have to tell me anything else, girly,” Jordan said. “But, if it helps, I’m great at keeping secrets. Like I said, I’m no gossip…”
“Okay, fine.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m pregnant with Kayn’s baby.”
Jordan’s eyebrows shot up, nearly touching his hairline. “Really?”
Sigh. “Yeah.”
“I’ve heard about this happening but I’ve never seen it.” He tilted his head, amusement playing at the corners of his mouth.
Alyssa flung her hands out in front of her. “I didn’t even know it was possible!”
“Yeah, it is, and unfortunately, from what I’ve heard, the women tend to disappear before the baby’s born. I’ve never heard anyone say they’ve seen an alien baby or half-breed baby… ever.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem I’m dealing with now.”
“Oh?”
“I was recently told mothers and babies go to a special compound called the Nursery.” Anger simmered in the back of Alyssa’s mind. “I asked Kayn about it today. He told me this is the way they’ve handled their ‘offspring’ on all the planets they’ve assisted.”
“You don’t say…” Jordan’s blue eyes widened as he lifted his ball cap to scratch the top of his head.
“Mm hmm. I told him there’s no way I’m going to be shipped off somewhere away from my family and friends.�
� Alyssa scrunched up her face, snorting derisively. “He didn’t react well.”
“Yikes. I’m sorry, girly.”
“It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.” I hope. “But I damn well won’t be going anywhere with my baby though.”
“Do you think they’ll try to take it away from you?”
Ice cold fingers wrapped around her heart. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Jordan grabbed her hand, squeezing gently. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. It’s the commander’s baby. Maybe he’ll pull rank and keep you both near him.”
“He better.” She looked down at his hand covering hers, and when he took it away, it left a warm imprint behind.
“I don’t know the aliens too well. Honestly, I avoid them as much as possible, but it seems to me even a cold-hearted species would have some sort of parenting instincts.”
“They aren’t cold-hearted.”
Jordan raised an eyebrow at her, his lips pinched in a thin line.
“Fine, they’re not all cold-hearted. In fact, my best friend, Jess, is dating the kindest, most generous Szu’Kara male I’ve ever met.”
“Uh huh,” he said, his eyes darkening. “The thing is, girly, I’ve been around, you know?”
Alyssa nodded obligingly.
“I’ve seen some decent aliens and some not-so decent aliens, and I have to say, the majority of the Szu’Kara I’ve seen are not the kindest of creatures. I don’t know how different things are at the Command Compound, but the other compounds I’ve been to have been run with very heavy hands.”
“Kayn can be strict, but he’s kind and generous to everyone on the compound and here in the town, and honestly, the way he reacted today is surprising. He’s never raised his voice to me before, which just blows my mind.”
“Well, I’d be careful if I were you, yeah?”
“Sure, of course.”
“I know you basically grew up here, and probably trust them like your own parents, but be aware of… everything.” Jordan tapped a fingernail against his coffee mug, producing a ‘tink tink tink’ sound. “Some of the things I’ve seen and heard about the aliens are not very nice. You’ve got to watch your back.” He looked at her with wary eyes.
“Okay.” Alyssa didn’t want to accept that her trust might have been misplaced all these years.
They both fell silent. She sipped her hot chocolate while staring out the window, aware Jordan watched her over his cup. Ignoring him, Alyssa thought back to overhearing Kayn and her mother on the phone. With the way Kayn treated her today, did Jordan have a point? Were the Szu’Kara not as trustworthy as she’d always believed, as her parents believed? Could she trust Kayn?
Can I?
Chapter 6
After spending a couple more hours with Jordan, drinking hot chocolate and talking about more pleasant topics, Alyssa felt better, but couldn’t shake the sense that Jordan might be right about the Szu’Kara. Perplexed by her conflicting thoughts, she decided to pay her mother a visit at the lab, hoping she could shed some light on things.
Traipsing through the bright-white, sterile halls of the two-story science building, Alyssa watched the busy scientists through the glass walls lining one side of the hallway, eventually finding her mother in her office, hunched over a batch of tubes filled with a strange silver liquid.
“Mom...”
“Huh? Oh, hi, honey.” Melina called to Alyssa over her shoulder.
“Whatcha working on?” She skipped over to her mother’s side.
“Hmm?”
Alyssa gestured at the silver liquid.
“Oh this...” Melina said, as if she just noticed the tubes in front of her. “This is the Key.”
“The Key?” Alyssa waited for more information, but her mom drifted again. “What is the Key?”
“Huh? Oh, right.” Melina shook her head, as if she just remembered something. “I thought maybe, since you’re the commander’s personal assistant, you already knew about the Key.”
“Nope. Don’t know a thing, other than I heard Kayn talking to you on the phone about it.”
“I see...” She touched a finger to her bottom lip. “Well, I don’t see what the harm is in telling you. You’re usually privy to confidential information anyways, right?”
“Far as I know… I’m sure there are things only General Ras knows though.”
“True enough.” Melina shrugged. “Everyone will know about the Key soon anyway.”
Alyssa watched as her mother’s attention drifted again. Melina’s absentmindedness amused and endeared Alyssa, and she felt a swell of pride for both her parents and their amazing talents.
“Mom?”
“What?” Melina jerked to attention. “Oh, right… the Key.” She snapped her fingers. “Basically, this liquid is the key to Zion.”
“No way! How does it work?”
“The Key is the Valene the Szu’Kara excrete from their pores that allows humans to experience Asen’Sha. This silvery fluid is a highly-concentrated formula of Valene. Since it’s a naturally occurring chemical in the Szu’Kara body, they’re unable to experience Asen’Sha like humans and the other species they’ve encountered on other planets.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. How is it the key to Zion?”
“When I finally get the formula perfected and tested, we will mass produce the Key. Anyone who chooses Final Asen’Sha will be injected with the Key. One of my lead chemists is working on a way to aerosolize the compound, facilitating group Asen’Sha.”
“Mom, that’s mind-blowing!”
“Yes, I know.” Melina smiled brightly. “This a fantastic project, and I’m so proud to be part of something that will someday help mankind achieve eternal bliss. Such a rewarding venture, you know?”
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe we can keep this between us though? I don’t want to upset the commander.”
“No problem. My lips are sealed about your super-secret heaven juice.” Alyssa pretended to zip her lips and winked.
“So, how long before the Key will be ready?”
“Well, you know how it is…these things take time. We have lots of testing to do before we can determine how safe it is. We have to be sure everyone gets to heaven the right way not… the dead way.”
Laughing at her mom’s joke, Alyssa crouched down to inspect the silvery liquid.
“My educated guess would be within the next five years. I know the commander would like it finished this year, but I don’t believe that’s a feasible timeline.”
“Why so soon?”
“I don’t know, honey. Maybe he’s concerned about getting as many people as possible to Zion. Our population is much smaller than it used to be, but the overall health of humanity is not great. We’re very blessed to be here with access to highly developed medical facilities. In general, communities that are located near a Szu’Kara compound are relatively healthy. The same cannot be said for humans who live too far away from the compounds.”
Melina carefully placed the group of tubes inside a metal cabinet at the back of her office while Alyssa pondered everything she’d learned that day, little seeds of doubt creeping into her mind.
“Mom?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Have you ever noticed anything—” Alyssa paused to search for the correct wording “—deceitful about the Szu’Kara?”
“What?” Her mom scrunched her face up, shaking her head. “No, never. I mean… they can be secretive, of course.”
“Secretive?”
“Mm hmm. They do have a more developed intellect than most humans. Their technology’s far more advanced than ours. They have to be careful things like the Key don’t fall into the wrong hands. We’ve had a secure life here with the commander. Unfortunately, there’s a rebellion going on out there that’s hit many of the compounds. Rebels have killed both humans and Szu’Kara alike.”
“You’re right...” Alyssa recalled the hundreds of documents that crossed
her desk each week. “I handle so many damage and loss reports for Kayn, but the reports of Szu’Kara deaths are the worst. Kayn tends to take every death personally.” She sighed, feeling sympathy start to crowd out her doubts. “He gets very quiet and contemplative, usually refusing to see anyone besides me. General Ras gets very grumpy when that happens.”
“Yes, well, their numbers weren’t very high when they came here. Some of their ships were running with only skeleton crews.” She shook her head, eyes sad. “I don’t know if they’ve been working on replenishing their population though. Not really my department, if you know what I mean.”
Alyssa forced a laugh, hoping her mother couldn’t sense how off kilter that comment made her. She hoped Kayn would let her tell her parents about the baby soon, since she never could keep a secret from them.
“Anyway, I met this guy, Jordan, at the café the other day.”
“Jordan, eh,” Melina said, eyes bright with amusement. “I thought you and the commander were an item?”
“Mom, seriously, of course we are.” Alyssa sighed, rolling her eyes. “Jordan is just a new friend.”
“Hmm…okay then.” She snickered, hiding a grin behind her hand.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Alyssa said. “Listen, Mom, Jordan’s traveled a lot. He told me today that we shouldn’t be so completely trusting of the Szu’Kara.”
Melina snorted, waving her hand in the air. “Why would he say something like that?”
“He says most compounds aren’t like ours.” Alyssa crossed her arms, uncomfortable with the topic. “He claims many Szu’Kara aren’t as kind to humans as they are here.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem right...”
“My other new friend, Kora, comes from a community that sounds very backwards.”
“Another new friend? Where are you meeting these people? Maybe they come from the same area, and it’s just an isolated occurrence. My experience with Szu’Kara has—” Melina fluttered her hands in the air “—always been pleasant, or at least polite.”
Alyssa shook her head, adamant. “No, they’re from completely different places. Kora comes from Florida, and Jordan traveled around all his life.” Alyssa leaned against her mother’s desk. “I get the impression Kora comes from a community of Szu’Kara that treat humans like property. I’m a little worried her mate might be abusing her.”
Broken: The Discordant Earth Series 1.0 Page 7
