Chapter 4
Chapter four
Mia
“Are you sure about this?” My brother Logan was worried, I knew. And rightfully so, but what else was I going to do? This was the chance of a lifetime to save the life of the only family I had.
“There’s one more interview today, with a human who works with the alien,” I said. “You can see what you think of him. He’s going to advise me and answer questions, supposedly with brutal human honesty.”
“So, you’re not allowed to leave once you’re in there?
That sounds dangerous.” Logan’s voice was quiet and lacking its usual forcefulness.
He didn’t look his normal self at all. He had always been larger than life — a big, robust, athletic man — and now he looked fragile and sickly.
His tan skin was pale and had a grayish tint that worried me.
“They’re worried about how communicable diseases might impact them, since the Aunga’ri and humans are thought to have common ancestors. But I’ll be in touch with you via video chat every day. And your treatment will start next week. So exciting.”
I tried to look upbeat and cheerful, but I was so nervous that I could barely control my hands.
I covered it by preparing for the meeting, moving my suitcases close to the door, making sure the living room of our home was neat and clean.
Logan was all I had for family, and I was going to miss him like crazy. Worry about him like crazy.
Logan sighed. “All right. I think this is completely nuts, but I know you. I know when you can’t be talked out of things.”
“It’ll be fine, Logan. The man I’m helping seemed nice.
” Nice was not a description I should have used to describe the massive Aunga’ri warrior, but it was better not to be completely honest with my brother.
Finally, when I couldn’t possibly fluff the pillows any more without drawing suspicion, I heard a car door slam outside.
I pushed the curtain aside and peeked out, spotting a big electric truck in the driveway.
Straightening the skirt I was wearing, I took a deep breath and swung open the door, spotting the same man who had been in the prince’s office the other day.
He was tall, a white man with dark hair, bright green eyes and the build of someone who was career military, along with a stiff military bearing.
He was dressed like he was in the human military, but not in a formal dress uniform, which surprised me.
His outfit was more combat gear, down to the boots and fatigues and the gun strapped to his belt.
Alone, he was almost as intimidating as the alien had been. He was wearing a high-tech- looking transparent mask that covered the lower half of his face. Some kind of quarantine protocol, I assumed. The Aunga’ri were wary of human germs.
“Hi, Mia Chang? I’m Axel Mason. We weren’t formally introduced the other day.” He held out his hand and I shook it. His big hand engulfed mind, his handshake firm and confident.
“Yes, I remember you.”
“Great. I’ll be your human interpreter and liaison, I suppose. I’m here for your protection, including in matters of health and consent.”
“You’re British.” And that was an embarrassing thing to say.
He smirked, and his smile had a wicked edge to it. “Clever girl. I hear you study particle physics.” Behind me Logan snickered, which was a good sign. “Can you step outside? I need to maintain quarantine as best as possible. For the prince’s safety.”
“Do you not interact with humans?” Logan asked.
Axel shook his head. “Not other than the other military personnel who are also maintaining quarantine. We will try to avoid it until the Aunga’ri are prepared to integrate. There have been a few serious illnesses and deaths.”
Eyes widening, I followed Axel outside, squinting at the bright sun. I gestured towards Logan, who had stood and followed us. “This is my brother, Logan. Sort of the reason I’m doing this.”
“Her brother who does not approve,” Logan said. “Is that hard? Never seeing your family?”
Axel laughed, his eyes sparkling. “It’s not exactly my dream job, but I don’t have much family, and I follow orders. It’s not so bad there with the Aunga’ri. I like T’ukka, the alien your sister will be assigned to.”
I watched Logan’s shoulders relax a little. “That’s good to hear.”
“The Aunga’ri doctor who will treat you sent along some paperwork and information on the treatment.
She’s quite brilliant, but be aware that she has no sense of humor.
Believe me, I’ve tried to activate it.” He set the papers down on the table on our porch and stepped back, maintaining an intentional distance from us as we talked.
“Do any of them have a sense of humor?” Logan asked. “I’ve heard they’re pretty uptight.” He sat at the table with a sigh and began flipping through the papers, frowning.
The corner of Axel’s mouth ticked up again. “That remains to be seen. They’re fun to fuck with, though.” That Axel seemed so easygoing about the aliens helped me more than he could have known. I remembered the sparkle in his eyes in that room, and I saw now that he seemed full of humor.
“Can you tell us more about why this program is being put into place? Ms. Davis was not very forthcoming. She seemed to think I should ignore all questions in the face of such a large sum of money.”
Axel tucked his hands behind his back. “The official story is that they want to understand how their people will integrate into a sexually active culture. Their culture hasn’t been sexually active for over a century, at least not openly.
I’m pretty sure some of them still fuck for fun, but it is taboo. ”
“Why not?”
“They believe it’s a baser instinct, one that leads to negative consequences, so they pursued scientific methods of reproduction.”
“Ah.” I frowned, wondering if the aliens didn’t experience desire the way humans did.
Axel grinned. “But if you want my guess, I think their commander wants to fuck a gorgeous human woman who works closely with him. He ranks higher than T’ukka, so he volunteered the prince to give it a trial run.”
I nodded. “That’s a little insane.”
“They’re an interesting people. And T’ukka isn’t super thrilled about being volunteered, so you’re aware.”
“So they’re not interested in sex, but they want to try it anyway?”
“As far as I can tell, humans are pushing buttons they didn’t know they had,” Axel said, shrugging. I had a feeling there was more to the story than he was revealing, but I didn’t want to push matters. “Did you have more questions?”
I took a deep breath and glanced at Logan, and he sighed and nodded. And then I met Axel’s bold green eyes. “You’ll keep me safe?”
“I promise that,” he said, his voice firm.
“Okay. I think I’m ready then.” I glanced at his truck and shivered, a strange mix of fear and anticipation racing through my veins.
I turned and hugged Logan tightly, promising that I’d see him as soon as they brought him in for treatment.
My heart thumped hard as I imagined the treatment not happening soon enough, and I felt sick to my stomach over leaving my brother behind as I followed Axel into the car.
He had me sit in the back, a glass partition between us as he headed for the palace.
There was an intercom button, and I pressed it. “Why did you come get me?” I asked. “Instead of sending someone else. A lower ranked soldier.”
He hesitated, then met my eyes in the rearview mirror at a stoplight. “I need to protect him. It’s a weird impulse I can’t control.”
“So coming to get me protects him how?”
“By controlling the situation, I guess?” The light turned green, and we started winding up the mountain valley that led to the remote area the Aunga’ri palace was located. “I’ll send for your brother as soon as we get back.”
“I thought they said it would be a few weeks for paperwork.”
He shrugged. “That was the commander’s orders, intended to keep you compliant. But we’re going to override that and send for him, okay?”
“You have that kind of power?”
“T’ukka has that kind of power, and T’ukka listens to my advice.”
I sagged back against the seat, relief flooding my mind. “Thank you. I know what a big deal this is. I know their medical technology will take forever to be widely available to humans, and I was afraid...” I trailed off, unable to complete that thought.
Axel met my eyes in the mirror. “I get it. We’ll save him, okay? No matter what happens, T’ukka will throw his weight around. And I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I don’t want you to feel forced into this. He decided to help your brother the moment you spoke, and your actions from here on out will have no bearing on that decision.”
I nodded, tears of relief pricking at my eyes as I sat back in my seat and watched the familiar buildings of Boseman zip by.