Authors: Emma Taylor
“What are they?” Rosy said. “Where should we go?”
“Well,” Elion said. “There is this planet, Zeen-8, which is a planet dedicated entirely to learning and the mind. They have the biggest library in the galaxy. It is the size of your England. And it is all physical books. The inhabitants will accept nothing less. And then there is this planet…” He pointed to another green light. “This is a planet that is just evolving, full of dangerous wildlife. Only researchers go there, or social experimenters.”
Rosy imagined Zeen-8, tried to imagine a library as big as a country, tried to imagine herself walking through vast halls filled with books. She saw fingers on the pages and a memory of her girlhood came to her. Mom, Dad, all her friends… long dead. But there was a hint of pleasure behind the pain: at least she had Elion.
He put his hand on her arm and said: “On Zeen-8 they perform marriage ceremonies between different species. They are vocal proponents of inter-species marriage.”
“What are you saying?” Rosy said.
Elion smiled. “I’m asking you to marry me.”
***
If you had told Rosy a year earlier that she would be standing in the biggest library in the galaxy with her alien husband beside her, she would have laughed in your face and called you crazy. But here she was, walking the halls of The Grand Library. She was, at first, worried that she wouldn’t be able to read the texts, but it turned out they had software that translated the text for her (through her goggles). She put on the goggles now and started reading a text written by a being much more intelligent and evolved than any human. The ideas were big and hard to understand, but Rosy found some solace anyway. She could come to grips with these ideas, with her husband beside her. She had found knowledge and love, and, soon, life.
Elion put his hand on her bump. “We will be late for the doctor,” he said, feeling the baby within her.
“What will it be, Elion?” she asked, nervous.
“It will be a beautiful Ka-human child,” he said. “It will be the most beautiful child ever to have lived.”
***
In later years, as she and Elion found a permanent place on Zeen-8, Rosy thought of Earth less and less. Their child was a girl and her name was Joanne, after Rosy’s mother. She was worried that the other children would tease her, but she needn’t have. The schools on Zeen-8 brought a whole new meaning to the phrase
cultural diversity
. There were species from all over the galaxy. This was a haven.
She spent so much time in the library that it was only natural she began working there. At first she only dealt with software issues for translation, at which she’d become proficient. And then she decided to write her own book. It turned out that abduction and slavery were not at all uncommon in the Known Galaxy. There were several books published on it already. Rosy decided to add her voice to the issue.
She was writing a chapter one day, overlooking a beautiful vista of rolling yellow and red hills, when Elion came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “How is it going?” he said.
She blinked twice, pausing the program, and took off her goggles. “It is going well,” she said. She turned and looked at her husband. Behind him, Joanne was crouching, a mischievous grin on her five-year-old face. “If I can help just one person, I will be happy.”
“I’m sure you will,” Elion said, and bent down to kiss her.
She vaguely remembered once being surprised by his height. Now it was as normal and everyday as the intricate programs with which she wrote her book. One thing was eternal, Rosy had discovered: words. Words changed across language and were used in different formats, but they always remained. Every culture that developed beyond prehistory had words, and eventually they wrote those words down.
Rosy was not sure if she was human anymore, but she didn’t care.
She was surrounded by love and lust and happiness and knowledge.
The last sentence of her book was:
It turned out alright in the end
.
THE END
Well darling, we are glad to hear your farm, or whatever it is on Candlee, is doing well. Now once you lose some weight you can get a husband and not have to worry about business anymore. Anyway, have a great week, Love you!
“Thanks Mom. At least you did not call me fat this time.” I said out loud to the vid recording my mother had sent. Then I sighed and deleted it. I was not sure why I still bothered with the messages, or even bothered sending my own back, but I did. I got up and went through my living space to the front of the farm domicile and looked out the window. Despite what my parents thought, I was doing very well indeed.
When they had offered options to colonize the backwater world of Candlee, far from the core planets, I had jumped at it. It was a great opportunity, and I was no fool. I had a few ideas I thought would work. Fortunately they did and after five years I was growing my own barley and hops, selling my own beer, and raising my own bees for the honey.
I looked on my allotment with pride that was well deserved, I believed. I had a nice green lawn and a few shade trees with some fruit trees for variety. The barn off to the south housed my horses and wagons. When we colonists were first brought to Candlee, the Federation of Worlds promised farming machines and some tech stuff would follow. Until that time, they had left us with horses and wagons, neither of which was needed on the core planets anymore. But the Federation never sent the machinery. I had always been suspicious about whether they would, so had taken care of my horses well. Most of us had, so we were able to breed our horses. We also built more wagons and other old-fashioned, simple equipment that allowed us to prosper and even thrive.
My apiary was south next to my hops for pollination and of course the honey. People loved the honey and it had even gone well when added to the beer, once I started experimenting. I had hired some good workers, who lived in a small group of houses on the other side of the barn where they could stay and have a family even. It was a good life, not that my parents would ever see it that way.
I sighed again and turned to go outside. After my mother's comment I stopped in front of the mirror.
“Don't listen to her, you look good,” I told myself, giving my reflection a saucy grin. I had a heart shaped face with light green eyes and black hair that was curly, hanging past the shoulders. I wore a sleeveless red work blouse over a full coverage breast band, because my breasts were on the largish size. Snug blue cargo pants showed that my hips and ass were definitely on the large size compared to other women. My waist was not as wide as my hips so my figure was an hourglass shape, if a big one. I did a lot of bending and twisting at the waist that helped keep my tummy from expanding beyond its current bulging muffin top. Yes, I thought, overall I looked good for a 24 year-old woman.
Then I heard a distant boom that caused me to look out the window. I did not see anything but went out on the porch.
It had been the sound of a space ship entering the atmosphere. Since I was not located near a space dock it was not a regular sound in these parts. I waited and sure enough I heard the whining sound of a shuttle. I went out onto my yard to see. The rectangular, box-shaped shuttle came in from the south. I watched as it circled the property and then started a landing sequence aiming for the wide entrance to the main road from the house.
“What the hell?” I heard from the barn, and turning I saw Frederick. He was one of hands who ran the animal part of the business. He looked after the horses.
“I’ve got this, you check on the animals!” I said. Frederick saw the shuttle, hesitated a moment, then waved back at me. He went into the barn, shutting the doors.
The shuttle landed. It had the insignia of the Federation Space Service. A ‘Deep Spacer’ by the look of it. It powered down. The side door opened and a soldier came out. He looked around and then came towards me. I walked out to meet him halfway.
“Hi, I am Amanda Starling, how can I help the Federation on this fine summer day?” I asked cheerfully. I was not actually cheerful about it. I had little use for the Federation proper any more than anyone else, but it never hurt to be polite. He stopped in front of me, looked me up and down once, and then eyed my house and barn.
“A situation has developed in this part of the Federation and it behooves us to inform the residents for your own safety.” He was very formal and succinct.
“In person? Not by alpha-net or broad wave?”
“In your case, yes. I’ll get to that.”
“I see. Do you have a name?” I said. He was a young officer by the look of him; toned and handsome, if you like the iron jaw look. His hair was a bright blond that kind of detracted from his otherwise hard-ass look.
“Sorry ma'am. I am Lieutenant Korgie of the 5
th
battalion. Our patrol is on reconnaissance in the area due to an invasion that has overtaken this sector of space. The Tulians have violently expanded their holdings, including your neighboring world of Parson. Several of their small ships escaped the net we set for them. We believe they crash landed here, on Candlee; possibly somewhere not far from your farm.”
OK that was new. I immediately let go of some of the usual sarcasm I might have otherwise had to a Federation officer. This was serious, if a little confusing. I knew a few Tulians who were living on Candlee. They were some of the least violent people I had ever met.
“Were there casualties?” I asked worriedly. He nodded grimly.
“Many. It was a violent takeover and we are worried you all on Candlee are next. I would urge you to find a safe place until we get a handle on this. I do not believe they can move enough of a force here to take Candlee, but then no one believed they could take Parson either. Have you seen a downed ship or anything strange over the past week?” I shook my head in answer but then remembered something.
“Actually there was a very low object that came in from space and shot down towards the west. I thought then it might have been a meteor. You see those sometimes. But maybe it was one of your missing Tulians?” I ventured. He nodded and made some notes.
“Ok, we will check that out. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem Lieutenant Korgie. We will keep our eyes open, you can be sure,” I told him honestly. He nodded and actually found a smile for me.
“Good. If anything seems strange or out of place, let us know.”
“Will do sir. Stay safe and all that,” I told him. He thanked me and went back to his ship. When it took off, he actually went north and then west, avoiding my barn and thus not spooking the animals badly. That was nice of him. I went and found my friends and workers to tell them what was going on.
We were all having a hard time believing the Tulians had actually invaded another planet but it became intergalactic news fairly quickly over the next couple of days. The viewing was bloody and dramatic making it hard to deny. A trip to the bar soon became an interesting contrast in drunken support for the Federation and those believing that the Federation had done something to start it. And of course people speculated about the meteor. I stayed out of the debates. I could lose customers if I went either way and besides, I still was not sure myself what to believe, other than that people were dying over it.
It was two days later and I was finishing up some work on the crops. When I was done, I left for home. It was a little bit of a ride so when I came to the forest edge with the stream running out of it, I rode my mare, Lilly, over to the water and let her rest. She’d had a hard day. As she munched some grass and drank some water I thought I heard a beep.
A mechanical beep.
It was faint, and sounded like it came from deeper part in the woods. I took my weapon from Lilly, an antique gun called a shotgun. I looped Lilly's reins around a branch and made my way through the woods, following a little trail. I found my hand shaking a little. I had never pointed a weapon at another person. Or animal for that matter, and this gun left a very big hole. Unfortunately, with the invasion news we were all on edge and were going armed.
I moved as silently as I could down the trail. After a minute I heard another soft beep and stopped. I crouched, and peering through the branches I saw a little hollow. It had been shielded from view when I was standing, but now I could see it. There was a Tulian hidden in the hollow. He had a small pack with his stuff spread around him. His leg was in a splint and a bandage was on his head. I could see the pink stain from his blood on it. The Tulian looked pretty well beat up, probably from the crash. He had a picture leaning against his pack and his back faced me as he reached forward and touched the picture. It showed two older Tulian.
“I am sorry, I tried to come home. I hope you are safe,” he whispered to the picture. I felt a hitch in my chest and my stomach knotted. It was a sad scene and I must have made a noise because he stiffened and spun, scattering gear. I stepped up through the brush, leveling my weapon at him. He froze. He was a tall person, fairly well muscled with slightly elfin features. By that I mean a slight tilt to the eyebrows and a slight point to his ears. His eyes were an amazing turquoise that shone in the light coming through the trees. I could see the fear in him. He looked tense and ready to attack.
I knelt, and while keeping an eye on him, I reached out and picked up the picture that had fallen near where I was standing. He looked annoyed but did not say anything. A quick glance at the photo made me wince inwardly. It was two older Tulians. One of them had evidently written on the picture in the Tulian language. I could read enough of that language to know that it said, ‘Love Mom and Dad’.
I looked back at him and couldn't decide what to do. I knew what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to kill him. That had been implied by the recent news that all legal prohibitions against killing Tulians had been lifted; another sign of the depths the Federation had sunk to lately. And the reason for it all was because the enemy was supposedly so dangerous.
Except he did not
look
dangerous. And there was that picture. I may not have been positive what my final action should be with this alien, but I knew one thing. I tossed the picture back at him. He caught it surprised. I was just as surprised with myself.
*****
We stood facing each other, neither of us saying anything. I imagine my gun pretty much closed his mouth for him, and I was not sure what to say. Then there was another beep and he glanced at what I saw was a radio receiver.
“Leave it,” I told him. “Let's hear what it has to say.” He turned back to me arms out to his side. After another announcement beep an announcer came on the radio.
“The Federation has upped their response to the Tulian aggression and has begun arresting Tulians on Candlee. They will be moved to camps until the government decides what to do with them. It is reported that Federation troops just made a sweep through Brushen and picked up the Tulian who have been living there. It is considered a good move by the people of Candlee, who only want to stay out of the conflict and live in peace as they deserve. More on this as it develops.” There were another two beeps and it turned off. The Tulian had apparently set it for automatic announcements. His tan skin paled at the news and sighed. He turned back to me and put his hands behind his head with a painful grimace.
“Do what you wish, human woman. I no longer care,” he said.
That startled me.
“Why not? You are the Tulian who crash landed south of here?”
He nodded.
“It does not matter anymore. Why should you care? I am the enemy, correct? The “populace” wants me rounded up, correct?”
I did not respond. I did not like the idea of rounding all Tulians up. It made no sense. Most of the Tulians on Candlee were like me. They were colonists who had come looking to make a start. Most of them did not even have contacts off-world. Some of the rumors about why the Tulian invasion had started were sounding more plausible to me.
“Maybe I am just curious,” I told him. “Or maybe I actually care about who gets put in jail and who doesn't. Gather your things. If you try anything, my safety is then in jeopardy and I will use this. It makes a really big hole, by the way.”
He narrowed his eyes but did as I asked. I had a hard time watching him because his injuries made it obviously painful. When he almost fell over I motioned him back with my gun and told him to sit on a log. He did in pain and confusion, so I gathered his stuff up instead, tossing it into his open pack. There was not much, so when I slung it over my shoulder it was not a burden.
“This way, down the trail,” I said.
He obeyed, hobbling slowly. By the time we got to Lilly, he was panting and barely able to walk. When we were closer to Lilly she moved over and put her nose against him. She liked him! Lilly had an acute sense of who to trust and who not to. In the past, she had warned me of strangers that I otherwise might have done business with. I felt better about my sudden decision. The alien sagged against Lilly and I had a feeling he was barely conscious.
“Look, do you think you could get up on the horse?” I asked.
He started to turn towards me and collapsed at my feet.
“I guess not,” I said dryly, wondering how I was going to move him.
With great effort, I got him draped across Lilly's back. I walked back home, leading her. It took about an hour and by the time I got back, my homestead was pretty deserted. Thankfully it was the end of the week, so everyone was off to town or visiting friends. No one was there to see me haul him into the back room. Once there I laid him out on the bed and used my Candlee med unit to patch him up. It had the information on Tulians that I needed, so the work went quickly. Throughout this I did not allow myself to think about what I was doing. Once the first aid was done, he was comfortably sleeping and should remain so until morning. That bought me some time to figure out what the hell to do. After that I cleaned myself up, changed out of my blood stained clothes and went around making sure the house was locked up.