Alien Alliance (4 page)

“It did but it restarted three years ago.
We’re combined now, not just Americans. Makes it easier to maintain
and fund.”

“How many?”

“Ah, That’s up in the air right now. Allow
for 20. Can you do this?”

“Done,” said Sarah. We’ll charge you later
when we even out the cost if that’s OK?”

“Done,” Steve said in relief.

Sarah phoned Alan, “We’re up to 50 and
counting.”

“We’ve got a deal going with a nearby
supermarket.” He said. “They’re open 24 hours and they’ll make up
one person packs for us so long as we endorse them. They’ll
deliver. I’ve done a similar deal with a camping goods store and
they’re busy getting equipment sent in from all over NZ plus some
shops in Melbourne and Sydney. They’re allowing for 420. They’ll
have a sale if we don’t need them. Endorsement as well. OK?”

“Brilliant,” laughed Sarah. “What are you
doing for Trade Goods.”

“Seeds. They’ve got all we want at a
warehouse here for King’s Seeds. They’ve even got tree seeds there.
They’re agents for Koanga Gardens which is a Seed Savers
organization like we have back home. We’ve also got a range of
other samples and we’re on our way back. I can’t believe how easy
this has been. We collared this old taxi driver outside the airport
and he’s been our chief resource. His fee for this is to let his
niece join us and he will sort out anything we want. No cost. She’s
on her way. He says he knows where everything is in Christchurch.
The only thing he’s still working on is the toilets, but we phoned
Nanelle and she thinks she’s got it sorted. A local plastics
factory will have a sample ready in an hour or so.”

Sarah had expected action from her Team but
this was beyond her expectations. She looked at the time. Just over
four hours and they were organised. She phoned Alan back.

“Can you get the first 50 packs over here
please. I don’t want to leave it all to the last moment and I want
to ensure everything’s suitable and we’re onboard.”

“They’re already on the way. I wanted to
check too.”

Sarah went back to studying the process of
programming an Extra-Terrestrial language into a Translator. Her
alarm rang. She took a deep breath and made the call she was
dreading. She heard the phone ring in Los Angeles.

“Mum.”

“Hi Katy.”

“You’re going. I heard it on the news.”

“Yes Katy.” There was a long silence. “I’ve
made plans for this. In case. You’ll get a letter in a day or so.
It gives you access to my bank account and all my savings and
income. Until the letter comes, the passwords are under the cutlery
drawer. Taped to it. Add one to every number. Remember to budget.
Remember to pay the bills. The income from my books might shoot up
because of all this. I hope. You know what I want for you but all
instructions stop at this point. You’re on your own till I get
back.”

“If you do.”

“Not all instructions, you…”

“I know. No drugs, no booze, no parties, no
men overnight and keep my panties on. Same to you!”

There was another long silence.

“It’s all organized Katy. Has been for
years. Just in case. And I updated it every year.”

“I know Mum. You have to go. I do
understand. I don’t like it but I do understand. It’s OK. You can
go. I will be alright. You know me.”

“I love you Katy. More than you’ll ever
know.”

“Love you too Mum.” Sarah hung up in
tears.

Jolene was looking sympathetically at her.
“How old is she?”

“Eighteen. First year at college. Social
Sciences. Not sure what she wants to do. Good kid. Bit
serious.”

“And her father?”

“Worst mistake I ever made in my life;
cheating, lying, gold digging, parasitic…”

Jolene laughed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.
Will he be any help with Katy?”

“Yeah, he will. He does care about her.
Cares a lot more about himself though. He’ll bludge off her. I’ve
left strict instructions and under no circumstances is he allowed
in the house. He’s Trespassed. He just takes things. He’d move
himself and his latest girl friend in if he could. On the excuse of
caring for Katy. Guess who’d end up paying all the bills? He thinks
he’s entitled to things. I can’t understand people like that.”

“Well you know what they say. Those that
can, create, others buy or enjoy the creations and others steal or
destroy because they can’t create and won’t work.”

“Yes. And I’ve never understood the
latter.”

Jolene smiled, thinking what that said about
Sarah. They both went back to the Translator.

Jolene wondered again what to do. And how
many other goodbyes were being said. She sighed; decisions,
decisions. What should she do? Peter said she could go. The airport
said she could go. Peter was adamant she was not to take their kids
though and she wouldn’t dream of it. Neither of them were risk
takers. And here she was thinking about going… He was reliable. So
were her parents. And his parents. She didn’t know what to do.

*

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles north in
Wellington, Li sat on the back doorstep of the Chinese Embassy and
fumed. She had been yelling so loudly her throat was sore. How dare
they think they could up and go to another planet and dump her in a
boarding school! They had promised her a fancy party back in
Shanghai for her 16
^th
birthday and they wouldn’t be back
in time. All her friends had already said they were coming. Her
parents had missed so many of her birthdays over the years as they
shuffled from one diplomatic post to another but they had promised
not to miss this birthday. But not only that, alternatively, why
couldn’t she go with them?

That would be equally acceptable. She would
settle for that.

Bella looked out at her daughter and sighed.
Where had that stubborn, pig-headed, determined personality come
from? And such a volume from such a very small body. Certainly her
personality had not come from her nor her logical, tactful,
reasonable husband. If only Li had some of his personality. Li
could not be reasoned with. She was so angry she couldn’t think
logically.

But Bella was wrong. Li was perfectly
capable of logical thought and was planning and scheming at a
prodigious rate. The results of that thinking were about to cause
some significant problems for Bella.

*

Similarly, back in Christchurch, a battle of
wills was taking place between Stella and her mother Kelly. Kelly’s
parents had promptly vacated the house when the yelling started and
left them to it.

“But everything is arranged. You agreed
happily to stay here.”

“That was when you were going to go to
Antarctica where I couldn’t go with you!” Stella yelled, “This is
another planet for God’s sake and I can come and I’m coming!”

“No you’re not! I for bid it! You stay here
where it’s safe!”

“If it’s unsafe then you shouldn’t go
either!”

“I’ve been asked to go. Officially. There
are a lot of older people going and they want two medical doctors.
SETI have sent one and they asked me to be the other. This is an
honour Stella. I have to go. I can’t pass up an opportunity like
this.”

“Fine. I agree. No problem. But I’m coming
with you. I’m packing and I’m coming. You organise all the medical
stuff and I’ll do the packing for both of us.”

“You can’t. There’s no room.”

“Yes there is. All the seats aren’t taken
yet. I checked. I added me.”

Kelly looked at her daughter in
exasperation. Of course she checked. She would!

*

Some time later, in Washington DC, as in
many other capital cities, a plethora of various groups were
clamouring to be the Official Diplomatic Representatives and
pleading their cases when a stunned President was informed by an
intern that, “Madam President it’s on CNN that the American Team
has left.”

“What? I didn’t authorise any Team from
here! What Team?”

The President held up her hand for silence
as she turned her iphone on to CNN and got the last two seconds of
the broadcast the intern had seen. She pressed ‘repeat’, flipped
the ‘magnify’ switch and watched the repeat. A well known reporter
was saying, “Mathew Western has put together the American
Diplomatic Team and they will be leaving in forty-five minutes to
join the trip of a lifetime going to another world. There are
thirty-one specialist qualifications held by the nineteen team
members, mostly in sciences. The leader and organiser, Mathew
Western, is a local businessman and will himself be concentrating
on aspects of trade and commerce.” The reporter then showed the
seventeen men and three women walking into the airport then
rehashed the story of Jolene and the three language teachers
teaching the Aliens English.

“Who authorised this?” The President asked
in a soft voice as her staff winced. They preferred her yelling. It
was safer.

“Umm, I think CNN might have been given the
wrong impression. Mathew asked if they could be the back-up Team
and given we are having so much trouble to persuade the embassy
staff in Wellington to put a Team together…”

“Who is this Mathew?” she asked the
embarrassed aide.

“A businessman. General Western’s son.”

“What else does he have in the way of
qualifications?”

“Contacts.”

“Money and lots of it,” muttered someone
else.

“They will get there in time. Maybe we could
get them and the embassy staff to combine,” said the aide
desperately trying to put things right.

The President fumed as she checked the time
on her iphone and realised that airline security would prohibit
iphone use from check in to arrival in New Zealand. They were out
of contact. She sighed. “Contact the Embassy and explain. This is
now your problem. You caused it, you sort it.”

*

An hour later SETI members were sitting in
the airport cafeteria when Angus the taxi driver came over with his
niece Simone. She was a stunner; with long blonde hair, blue eyes,
pale, flawless complexion, tall and with a figure a model would
kill for. In her arms was a baby! She sat down.

“I’m all ready to go. I’ve ordered
everything but should I bring disposable nappies or cloth? Can I
wash his nappies on board?”

“Are you sure you want to bring a baby?”
Asked Gina, “this could be risky and we don’t know what the
stresses will be.”

A grim look passed between Angus and Simone.
“I think they’ll be safer with you,” said Angus sadly.

“Simone looked up, “I’ll pull my weight. I’m
a Biologist and I guess a linguist. I speak four languages
fluently. I’m German and I’ve notified my Embassy. They’re happy
for me to go.”

“Better bring cloth nappies. I know we can
wash things. We have organised washing lines, pegs, detergent and
large plastic bins to wash things in. We have a manual plastic
washing machine coming and we’ll order more if we like it.” Tina
thought the baby would be a PR coup; maybe. It could backfire if
anything went wrong.

A teenage girl had been nearby and
listening. She dragged a woman over.

“This baby’s going?”

“Yes,” Simone replied a little
defensively.

The girl turned to the woman behind her who
looked like she’d rather be anywhere else.

“The baby’s going. I’m going!” She turned to
the others. “I’m Stella Black. This is my mother Kelly. She’s a
medical doctor and with Deep Freeze. Well, that’s where she was
going.”

Bert held out his hand to Kelly, “I’m Bert.
British. With SETI and the other doctor. Personally, I think we
should be top heavy on medical staff,” he smiled at her. He was
thoroughly amused. The two looked rather alike, both were easy on
the eye, both with long wavy brown hair, both slim, both about 5’7”
but Kelly had blue eyes and Stella had brown. Where Kelly looked
European, Bert wondered what race Stella’s father was. He couldn’t
quite figure it out. Eurasian? With a surname of Black?

Stella looked at Sarah, “We will get the
standard pack and our personal stuff. What else would you like us
to bring? I have several electronic games and Mum and I play Bridge
and 500 and just about any other card game. We’re from Vermont. We
get housebound.”

“Electronic games and cards would be great.
I play Bridge too. ACOL or Standard American?” Sarah decided she
liked this kid.

“Both,” said Stella. My grandparents are New
Zealanders and taught me ACOL.” She grinned, an ally.

Kelly looked at her daughter and opened her
mouth to protest again. She saw the steely glint in Stella’s eyes
and decided she wouldn’t win this one. Stubborn, independent,
determined…just like her mother. She gave up. Maybe Stella was
right. Maybe they should stay together. Stella would be useful. She
would be on her best behaviour for at least a few days if she won
this one.

Alan suddenly yawned which became
contagious. He looked at his watch and said, “Do you realise we’ve
been awake nearly 22 hours? How about we work the four shifts (Four
hours on, four off). Geriatrics to bed first?” He looked hopefully
at Sarah who nodded. “I think half of us should get some sleep and
get back in four to eight hours whenever you wake up,” he said and
headed off. He turned back, “Ah,” he said looking for Nanelle.

“We’re in The Airport Hotel and the motel
over the road. There’s a shuttle that goes every few minutes, over
there. It’s only five minutes away,” and Nanelle pointed. Moving
quickly, he was out the door and off to bed. Alan was one of those
people who was surprisingly light on his feet considering he was
rather overweight. Roughly half of the SETI Team disappeared over
the next few minutes.

Not much happened for the next four hours.
The Deep Freeze team were organised and off to bed. They were ready
too. About 80 odd nations were still arguing as to who would go.
Sarah thought at this rate they’d miss the boat. As her SETI
members straggled back a few hours later, she reported, “No
decisions yet as to any official diplomatic team going, but a deal
has been struck with the trade goods. The alien arranging the
barter loves the seeds and some of the other goods, but wants
pictures, translated details as to how to grow the seeds,
description of colour, size, growing conditions needed etcetera. I
promised these would be written up during the voyage. Apparently
the Translators can attach to a printer and print out written
language too. Now you lot are back, I’m off to bed.” She left to
find the hotel and her room.