Alien Alliance (58 page)

“We have been keeping track of Earth time
via Mahmoud. He worked it all out and added the conversion to the
Translator. Li turned 16 last month. That was one of the reasons
she was determined to come on this trip. She’d always been promised
a big party for her 16
^th
and then her parents told her
they were going to be away. She says that sounds unbelievably petty
now but it was very important to her at the time. I was 16 four
days ago. I got married the same day. Well actually the next day.
It was after midnight. Mum I’m 16, I’m allowed to marry under New
Zealand law and British and some states of USA.”

“No you’re not. Sixteen is the age of
consent not the age you can independently decide to get married.
That’s 21 if you’re insisting on using New Zealand law, not 16. You
needed my consent to get married.”

Stella blushed as she remembered that that
was true and realised that she had got it wrong. She gasped, very
embarrassed. She had got it wrong and then some. Parent’s consent,
necessary in almost all cultures? Or all? How could she have
forgotten that? But she honestly had.

“I forgot that,” she said in a small voice
and Kelly, looking at her face could see the shock and the truth in
her expression.

Kelly sighed. Now what could she do? Tell
her to forget it?

“Kaz said you don’t need your parent’s
consent in Niseyen culture.”

“You are not Niseyen.”

“Mum this isn’t Earth. I’m sorry. I got
mixed up between consent and marriage age. I thought they were the
same. Like they are for Niseyen.”

“You didn’t tell me. Any of the above. You
didn’t tell me what you were thinking or planning. We’ve always
discussed things.”

“I turned 16 the day of the War. We were
busy.” Stella said somewhat understating the fact. But she had been
considering marriage long before that. That fact remained unsaid
between them. She stayed there for a while but Kelly stayed
silent.

Upset, Stella left and went to see Kaz. She
didn’t know what to tell him. She had told him she could Choose
once she turned 16. How could she tell him she was old enough to
sleep with him without him being prosecuted but she was not old
enough to marry him unless she had Kelly’s consent. Which she
didn’t. She had forgotten the little problem of parental consent.
It wasn’t his fault. And she hadn’t meant to lie. Not knowing what
to say and how to tell him she just told him she and her mother
were disagreeing and Kelly thought she was too young to Choose and
should have discussed it with her first. That at least was true. A
few minutes later Kaz and Az bravely went in to see Kelly. They sat
down either side of her.

“Piss off.”

“OK, you’re angry. I can live with that. But
we have to talk with you about the girls. I asked you to come with
us. Az thinks it’s a good idea too. You may be surprised at the
reason. Will you hear me out?” He took her silence as consent. “The
girls are coming to an unknown planet, an unknown culture. It is
different. Very different in some regards. We are concerned. What
happens if they decide they don’t like it there? What happens if
they decide marrying us wasn’t the smartest idea they ever had?
What happens if they decide they want to leave?”

Az continued, “We are well aware you may try
to influence them against us but our main concern is for the girls.
You being there would make them feel more secure. And much happier.
We all want you to come. Family is very important to us. We don’t
yet know where we are going to live or what we are going to do. We
may come back here. Stella and Li may re think things if the
Defence System arrives. But we all would like to stay together. So
we would like you to come too. So does Li. I don’t think Stella
realized how bad alienating you would make her feel. She is far
more upset than she is letting on. She desperately wants you to
come. But she also wants Kaz. If you make her choose between you,
she will choose Kaz. She already has. Will you please
reconsider.”

Kelly burst into tears and leapt up her
thoughts in turmoil. Kaz went to comfort her and she lashed out
with a terrific punch knocking him to the floor. Kaz was dazed and
soon bleeding profusely from a cut above his eye. Kelly looked at
him in horror. “Oh God, I’m sorry,” she said.

Stella, Sarah and Li ran in as they heard
the crash. Sarah promptly left. Li stood there looking shocked.
Stella ran over to Kaz, crying. She put her arms around him and
sobbed. Az grabbed a cloth and pressed it against his brother’s
head to stem the bleeding.

“I’m alright, I think,” Kaz said.

Bert hurried in a few minutes later, fetched
by Sarah. He surveyed the scene. One in shock and one down and
bleeding. He’d deal with the latter first. He reached up and took
down the medical kit he had put in the kitchen. Without saying
anything, he sewed Kaz up putting 7 sutures in. Stella held his
head in her lap, still crying.

“Have you got any ringing in your ears?”
Bert asked as he routinely checked Kaz’s pupils.

“What’s ringing?”

“Any funny noises?”

“Yes. That noise you get when your brain
gets a pounding. Bloody Hell!” He said the last two words in plain
English. He reverted to Universal. “I come through a couple of wars
with hardly a scratch and then get laid out by my mother.” He sat
up, holding his head and groaning.

Az laughed. He realized Kaz was putting on a
bit of a performance. Kelly moved towards Kaz and Stella leapt up
and stood in front of him glaring at her mother her fists clenched.
There was blood all over her front. Az looked at the guilt and
anguish on Kelly’s face and the fury on Stella’s and grabbed Stella
figuring Kaz was safe. Kelly might not be though. Stella started
crying again and Az cuddled her. As Kelly was also crying, he put
his other arm around her.

“Bloody Hell,” Kaz grumbled. “I get punched
out and he gets to cuddle both the girls.”

Bert and Az laughed and even Li smiled.

*

The next morning as Kelly came in for
breakfast her embarrassment was clear. Li, Stella, Kaz, Az, Mahmoud
and Donny were sitting together as usual.

“Hey Slugger,” Az called out in English to
Kelly, “Come and join us.”

Kelly winced and blushed as titters and
gasps went through the room. She collected her breakfast and
courageously walked over with all the dignity she could manage and
sat beside Az. She stared at her breakfast and began to eat the
usual goop and fish fritters.

“We hope to leave in a day or so. Kaz and I
have to do some shopping and finish our checks. Is that enough time
for you to pack up? You can be trained as an officer by the time we
get there.” The others held their breath, hoping.

“How long is the trip?”

“I don’t know. About two or three months. I
don’t know how fast the ship will go.”

“Are you sure you can fly it?”

“We’ll be struggling a bit for crew. And we
need a doctor. Kaz doesn’t feel well.”

“Are you being manipulative?”

“Yes. Am I succeeding? Kelly we need you on
so many levels, doctor, Mum, another crew member. That’s another
reason I’d like you to come. Usual crew for these is 25 absolute
minimum. That’s cargo only and short trips. This is not a short
trip. We have so far 11 coming, three won’t be able to help though.
Another ship is going to Terra as soon as they can, with a second
one following in a sort of tow but we won’t be able to tow because
I don’t feel confident enough to try. Just flying this one will do
me.”

“Is this safe?”

“Yes Kelly. As we get near to Petislay, I’ll
take a pilot on board to help me dock. Landing is the trickiest
bit. For some reason, they don’t want people landing spaceships
around cities unless they are qualified to do so.”

“How confident are the other pilots?”

“We have three experienced enough to
confidently fly these starships and land them. All the pilots know
how to navigate. On Oberterk you had to know. Mathew decided to
send the two Niseyen medics with the ships going to Terra. If
anyone gets sick he said it’s a bit too far for an ambulance. Our
ship needs a doctor. He said to try to talk you into coming with
us.”

“Are the Niseyen slaves safe to go?”

“Oh yes. Mahmoud came up with the solution.
Kaz and I between us know all these pilots. Their names, their
planet, usually their city of origin.”

Kelly looked blank.

“Blackmail. Kaz and I got them all together
and told them they would be going to Terra, we would be going to
Petislay, and if those ships don’t make it to Terra and back, all
Niseyen worlds will know where they have been and what they have
done. Their families will be shamed, there will be no Niseyen world
or world known to the Niseyen that they can go to. Interplanetary
arrest warrants will be out for them. They are very rare but in
this case are appropriate and would be honoured. The consequence of
that is a huge reward if they are turned in dead or alive. By any
Person anywhere or any police or military force. Think about it.
But if they complete this trip, and teach us how to fly the ships,
we will drop them off on a Niseyen world, clothed. They all
promised to be loyal and I think they will be. Anything else would
be idiotic. This is a lot more than they deserve! At nine pilots on
the lead ship and two in the towed one, they will be much better
crewed than us.

“What about the other ships?”

“We forgot a small problem. We have only 80
odd fit people left. We don’t have enough to crew the ships. We
also need some people here. There is so much to do and so few to do
it. There are survivors who need finding. But before we do anything
else, we need people. Our instructions are to return with as many
as we can persuade to come. And Niseyen military if possible to
take over the prisoners. We also had another problem. No one knew
where Terra was. We found Paswalda’s ship. We boarded and found his
log and the location of Terra.

“How?”

“How what?”

“How did you find his ship?”

“The kids of course. Tasha and Harsha this
time. Both saw the ship at Christchurch. Both went exploring and
saw it again in the spaceport in the city where you landed. I flew
there and Harsha took me to it. It was unlocked. Someone must have
been on board when the city was attacked or maybe some were living
on board to save costs. Crews often do, especially during a long
layover. Hotels are expensive.

We also did a quick detour and picked up
some Zeobani that we found when stealing the planes. I wanted to
take them with us as crew. Mathew and I are still discussing that.
The Cats now know what Zeobani look like and are searching for more
and for any Okme or Niseyen. I’m trying to persuade Mathew to let
the Zeobani fly some planes around and pick up survivors. Even if
they all go to another Island. Or at the very least drop off some
supplies. I do see his point though. There are so few of us and so
much to do. And we are so very vulnerable.” He sighed.

*

Mid afternoon, two of the Flying Fortresses
left for Terra, one in the lead and the second in a tow. Az had
tried to explain how that worked but he didn’t fully understand the
technology, just how it was used. The technology sounded like a
type of tractor beam but more substantial and sturdy. The second
ship was controlled from the computers of the lead ship.

Later that afternoon, another Flying
Fortress left for Petislay. As they passed the Keulfyd
communications satellite, Az and Kaz between them were going to
turn off the ‘warn off’ and replace the message with one they and
Sarah had worked out. It stated that there had been a war and the
planet was under different management. All the People, mostly
Ridianit, who had made contracts and ordered goods were dead,
except for the Priskya. They were still present and were part of
the new ruling coalition. Only their contracts would be honoured,
but there might be a delay as communications and air traffic
control had also been disrupted by the attacking force. The message
concluded with directions to one spaceport only; the only one in
use. This one.

Sarah watched, along with everyone else, as
the Flying Fortress flew out of sight towards Petislay. “I wonder
what they will find when they return,” she said softly.

“Us,” answered Alan. “With tea cooked.”

“Five months return trip, Az estimated for
the ones going to Terra. About four for the ones going to Petislay.
And we have to hold the planet.”

Alan shrugged. “Stay armed, be careful and
hope no group has a flight mechanic.”

“We have prisoners, refugees, injured—and
the power’s usually off.”

“You forgot the ‘no money’ bit.”

Sarah laughed. “But we have another planet.
Another four if you count the Niseyen worlds. I think the human
race’s survival chance has vastly increased. But if Helkmid is
right about his conspiracy theories, it’s a worry. I wonder what
the Niseyen did to piss the Keulfyd off.”

“Well, whatever if was, I think we just
upped the ante.”

“Yeah, that’s the bit that worries me.
Helkmid reckons we should get ready for the Keulfyd to attack us
officially.”

“So is he leaving?”

“Not a chance, I gather. Hidden talents,
that Okme. And his people, he says, really need this planet.”

“As do we,” Alan added softly as they looked
at each other.

“As do we,” she agreed.

THE END (of this book)

(To be continued…)

Akira Yanagisawa, 44, Japanese, Diplomat and
Architect, brother of Miyuki.

Alia Kashlin, twin of Ali, 10, Saudi Arabian, father
Mohammed, Diplomat, Saudi Arabian Embassy, Wellington, NZ.

Ali Kashlin, twin of Alia, 10, Saudi Arabian.

Alan MacKellar, 68 retired business man, SETI.