Chapter 3
Zahra cracked her fingers and then her neck with a sigh of pleasure.
She'd been given some leave as ambassadors worked on allying the Khuuz’eth with Earth.
From what she'd heard they weren't anywhere close to a deal, but that wasn't her problem to handle.
Nope. Not hers at all. She only had one more week of leave before she'd be placed on another Earth warship headed straight for the front lines, so she was doing her best to enjoy every single moment she could.
When Zahra's door chimed, she groaned from where she sat relaxing as she watched some stupid show on a pad. The shows they created these days. She rolled her eyes. Clicking pause, she set the pad on the seat cushion beside her and walked over to the door. It slid open, and she immediately saluted.
"Sir."
"At ease, commander. May I come in?" General Bohler asked.
"Of course, sir." Zahra stepped aside. "Please."
"Thought you might like to know there's talk about you keeping your new rank."
"Oh?" That was unexpected. She figured it’d be taken away. She’d filled a temporary position of need.
"I know." He held up a hand as a smile turned up one side of his lips. "It's not usual, but neither uncommon. Especially now when we find ourselves losing more and more fine men and women to the Sri’thaens.”
Zahra didn't know what to say, and by the time she figured she should say something, the silence had stretched out too long.
"But," General Bohler continued, "that’s only one piece of why I'm here to visit with you.” He took a seat, crossed a leg and threw an arm over the back of her couch. "Seems you've impressed this alien you met back on that dwarf planet. Our alien affairs team have been talking to Khaazai."
Zahra rolled her eyes. "Not like I tried. I kept my head down." For the most part. The practice fight in the training room probably should have been avoided.
"The emperor of the Khuuz’eth is willing to join with us in our war but only if you agree to continue on with this courtship." General Bohler watched her as he passed along this information to her.
"What?" Zahra couldn’t believe it. They wanted the courtship to continue? Did anyone even have any idea what that even meant? For her?
"I wasn't done explaining.” He frowned at her from where he sat.
"Sorry." Zahra mumbled her apology as her mind raced a mile a minute.
“Seems the courtship period is over. So, they've proposed you marry Khaazai."
Zahra felt pretty certain her eyes couldn't bug any further out of her sockets. "Excuse me?"
"For one Khuuz’eth year. You and Khaazai will be married. After the year,” he shrugged his broad shoulders, “if you wish to leave, you will be able to divorce him."
Zahra couldn't even figure out where to start. Marriage. "I don't even know him." He was an alien from a species that’d Earth had just encountered. She had no knowledge about their lifestyle or their customs.
"You get to know him during the one year of marriage." General Bohler shrugged a shoulder unconcerned.
"Am I being ordered to do this?" Zahra felt a trickle of fear race down her spine. Earth was desperate for allies. But how desperate were they?
"We would never, well,” he scratched at his short cut beard, “there was some talk about it, but several of us agreed we couldn't force you into a marriage. This decision is all yours to make."
"If I agree, we are assured the help?"
"The agreement's already been written up and signed. All that we need is your approval."
Zahra heaved a sigh. The more assistance they received, the easier the war would be on all of them. It didn’t feel fair of her to say no when so many people were losing their lives and loved ones. All she had to do was marry an alien male and live safely on his home world.
"Here's one way to look at it.” The general sat forward and placed his hands in the air in front of him. “Imagine a yearlong vacation exploring a new, exotic planet and vibrant culture waiting to be uncovered."
"You're really trying to sell it here." Zahra laughed tightly, still uncertain this was something she wanted to do with her life.
He chuckled as he shook his head. "Can you blame me? Just think about it- you saw those warriors in action. Their weapons, and their prowess on the battlefield is nothing short of amazing. They'd be a great asset to our cause."
"Any stipulations about my safety during the year of the marriage?" Was she actually entertaining this idea? Maybe. A little. Sometimes a year seemed like a long time, but really it wasn’t the worst kind of time frame.
“It's not like we can threaten too much when we're already spread so thin with the Sri'thaen war, but we did think of your safety when the document was drawn up."
"Let me get back to you?" Zahra hoped she didn’t need to decide this today.
General Bohler clapped his large hands together. "They've given you twenty- four Earth hours to make your decision."
"Not a long time.” Zahra sighed. “But I’ll take every minute I can to think about it."
"I'll be waiting for your decision." General Bohler heaved his muscled form off her couch and then left her alone in her room.
Zahra rubbed the tension from her temple with a couple of fingers as she heaved a sigh.
"I need to speak with Harlow,” she muttered to herself.
Her mind raced with all the possibilities.
An alliance with these aliens was something that could save peoples’ lives.
Weren’t their lives worth a year of her time?
Even though she was uncertain whether her sister would be off work or not, Zahra settled into her chair as she reached out a hand and flicked on a switch. Her console whirred with life as it booted up. The screen lit up, casting light all over her dimly lit room.
Once her console finished loading, she hailed Harlow. "Please pick up." Zahra chanted as she bounced her leg, needing to talk this through with someone.
"Hey!" Harlow's beaming face popped up on the screen, smiling.
"Hey." Zahra waved, unable to meet her sister’s same enthusiasm. They looked nothing alike, but even though Harlow had been adopted, they both thought and treated each other like blood siblings. Nothing could come between the two of them.
"Why are you calling?" Harlow asked as she applied makeup to her face, squinting as she applied some eyeliner.
Zahra rolled her eyes. Harlow's skin was lovely. She couldn't remember a single time Harlow ever had a zit or any other skin imperfection. Her dark complexion had men falling at her feet every time she went out.
"I need to run something past you."
"Okay. Shoot." Harlow said as she put down the liner and began to apply a purple eyeshadow to her upper lids.
A color Zahra could never pull off. She'd tried blue and purple once, but it'd made her look like she'd gotten into a bar fight... and lost. It was a mistake she didn’t intend to ever make again.
"I'm not sure how to start this." Zahra shook her head with a small laugh as she placed her hands in her lap, her thumbs twisting around each other. "I've got twenty-four Earth hours to figure out what I want to do with my life for the next year."
"Oh? Are you being stationed somewhere?" Harlow paused in applying her makeup to focus on Zahra through the camera.
"Umm, yes and no." Zahra figured it was sort of like being stationed somewhere.
She would live on an alien planet with her husband.
What a strange word to say. Husband. Her last boyfriend had tried proposing, and she'd freaked at the idea of being a fiancé and dumped his ass so fast. And now she might have a husband in twenty-four short hours.
She wouldn’t say commitment scared her, but it was a big deal to say yes to marriage.
Even though it almost never did these days, the vows were meant to be until death do you part.
Marriage was a monumental decision. Something not to be taken lightly.
Divorce could be ugly and nasty. She’d like to avoid it if possible.
"So, I kind of initiated first contact with an alien race and in their culture,” or so she assumed since she didn't know a whole lot about them, "they marry families as a way of sealing a deal."
When Harlow waited for more, Zahra continued, "I'm... well, they'd like me to marry one of their people for one year. In exchange, they'll assist us with the war."
Harlow blinked fast a couple of times. "Wow. That’s a lot to take in. And you have twenty-four hours to decide?"
"Yup."
"Not a lot of time, but," Harlow raised a hand with a shrug. "You'd only be committing to marriage for a year. You could think of it as a trial run so to speak."
"Trial run?" Zahra scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "It'd still be a marriage."
Harlow leaned back in her chair, a smile dancing across her lips. "Sounds a lot like handfasting, like what we did back on Earth centuries ago. Who knows. Maybe you'll have so much fun, you’ll stay married after the year." Her tone light, and a glimmer of amusement in her dark eyes.
"Maybe. But doubtful. We all know how I handled it when David proposed." Zahra hung her head as memories threatened to surface. That relationship still felt like a failure to her. David had been a sweet guy, a guy who hadn’t deserved how she’d treated him.
"Yeah," Harlow laughed. "You telling him you had to use the restroom and then leaving the restaurant... could have been handled better when he proposed. Some women stick around and say no."
"Why did he have to ask some where public?" Zahra groaned. Shame for her actions still pierced her soul. After five years of dating, he'd deserved a simple answer.
Yes or no. Instead, she'd left him high and dry.
"If it makes you feel any better, I heard he's doing really well and might be dating again."
Zahra grimaced. It wasn't like she hadn't loved him. She'd been taken by surprise and so on the spot. So much for being a soldier. Her flight response had kicked in full force, and she’d bolted. "Good. I'm glad. He deserves to find someone who is good for him."
"Anyways, what I'm trying to say is maybe this would be a good opportunity. You've been married to your job long enough. Go out there and see something new. Experience a new culture."
Easy for Harlow to say. Her sister lived life to her own tone. Trying new jobs every six months, a new man when she got tired, and overall enjoying whatever life offered her. Zahra could learn a thing or two from her sister when it came to enjoying life rather than just living it.
"Sleep on it, Zahra. But don't forget to let me know what you decide."
"Are you going somewhere tonight?" Zahra asked, finally seeing the tight, sexy dress Harlow had on.
"Oh, yeah!" Harlow beamed. "My friend somehow got us invites to a club that just opened. Supposed to be a place for everyone that is someone to party. Maybe I'll finally meet my dream man."
"Do you even know what he would look like? This dream man?” Zahra scoffed.
She might be afraid of saying yes to the wrong man, but her sister would never get married because she enjoyed men too much.
Enjoyed the attention. The gifts. Harlow would never do well as a soldier. A life of simplicity was not for her.
"Yeah, he'll be rich, tall, muscular, and perfect.” Harlow said on a dreamy sigh. “You can't rush these things, but I feel certain you'll know when you meet him. That's how it is in the movies."
"We aren't in the movies." Zahra shook her head.
Harlow rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Remember to tell me what you decide."
"Let me know you got home safe." Zahra rushed to say before Harlow ended the call. Her sister's face clicked off her screen, and Zahra sat there staring at her reflection on the black screen.
"Call General Bohler." Zahra instructed her console as it flashed back to a blue screen.
"Commander." General Bohler smiled as his face appeared on the screen of her console. "Made a decision already?"
"No. But can you send over any files or information we have about these aliens?"
"Going to do some late night reading?" He chuckled. “Not a half bad idea to study up on them before making a decision.”
"Exactly."
"I’ll get what I can sent over to you." Then the screen winked off.
With a sigh, Zahra leaned back in her seat and felt her spine pop a couple of times.
A moment later her console emitted a soft ding. Zahra straightened and open the first file with a swipe of her finger across the surface of the smooth screen. Time to see what she could learn as fast as possible.