Devotion (8 page)

Darl came towards them from the control deck. “Reja, if you are ready, we should go. If we wait too long, they may come on board to check if there is a problem.”

“OK.” Reja got up and took Darl’s hand, and Tikki saw the flash of recognition spark between them. She had worried how Reja would feel, having left Earth with only the clothes on her back, without saying goodbye to her friends. But seeing her face light up when Darl touched her left Tikki with a sense of peace. It was one less thing to worry about.

Okil stood at the threshold of the space station, watching Darl take Reja to a decon’ room. Tikki could see two Karalians on the space station, but had no idea how big the thing was or whether there were other aliens elsewhere. Silently she prayed that Darl would manage to distract them long enough.

“Ready,” Okil said. “Darl is coming back. Now he is leading them away. Damn it, he’s leading them to the decon’ rooms.”

Okil went forward, peering round to see what was happening. Then he suddenly waved Tikki and Charlie forward and they went quickly onto the station, Okil putting his big body in front of Tikki, with Charlie behind. If anyone came towards them they wouldn’t see him; if they came from behind, they were sunk.

Darl had used his head, taking the two Karalians into the farthest decon’, they could hear voices. He had told them it was broken. They were running through the controls to see if they could repair it.

“In here,” Okil said. “Listen, you are supposed to strip. But I am going to get you some loose gowns. If you wear one and then wrap Charlie in another, we might be able to make it almost impossible to see him even if someone glanced in. Stay here.”

Tikki nodded, and moved Charlie to the side of the room, hoping that no one came in while Okil was gone. Several long minutes passed and then she heard footsteps coming towards them. She shielded Charlie with her body and nearly cried out in panic, but then Okil appeared.

“Right. You undress over there, Tikki. I will help Charlie and then we can get you settled.” He began to lift Charlie’s arms and take his sweater off. Then he put the robe over him and said, “Can you take the rest of your clothes off, Charlie? I know it’s a bit strange, but we need to make sure you are nice and clean before you get to Karal.”

Charlie did as he asked, and Tikki did the same, putting the robe on and then trying to remove her clothes. She hated the thought of being naked in here with anyone who passed by able to look in. But if Okil was right, they had to go through this to help protect Karal from any diseases or bacteria they might be carrying from Earth.

“OK, Tikki, now sit in the chair. That’s right, it tilts back. Now, Charlie, up you come and sit here.” He lifted Charlie and settled him next to Tikki; then he took a step back. “Right, I think that might be OK.”

Behind him there were voices getting closer. Okil dashed forward, kissed Tikki on the cheek, told Charlie it would be over soon, and then went to the control panel. After pressing some buttons and turning a dial, he backed out of the room. Hitting a button, the door slid shut and they were left alone. Her eyes met his and he smiled. She felt her heart lurch, filled with love and fear. A fear that was compounded when two Karalians passed by. She lay back down, hoping that they wouldn’t pause or look in and see Charlie.

But she could vaguely hear Okil talking to them and sending them away. It seemed they had accomplished the first part of their task; she only hoped the rest went as smoothly.

A few minutes later than he hoped, he made his way to another decon’ room. He had wanted to be finished at the same time as Tikki, so that he could go and collect them. He only hoped none of the other Karalians opened the door when her decon’ was over. It was unlikely, but his mind could not help going through all the scenarios of what might happen if things went wrong.

His worst nightmare consisted of a vent being opened and Tikki and Charlie being sent out into space. It wouldn’t happen, the Karal were not like that, but he couldn’t be sure. He had, after all, seen firsthand what his species were capable of.

Closing his eyes, he tried to think of the softness of Tikki’s skin and the taste of her on his lips. Later, if they made it that far, he would be able to take her to his house and then to his bed. So many years of waiting for a woman to breed with, followed by almost unbearable months of knowing how much he wanted Tikki, who until now had been firmly out of his reach. She was his heart and his soul; he would not give her, or Charlie, up without a fight.

His mind flipped to how far they would get if there was trouble and he had to take the cruiser and escape. Would the Hier Council send a warrior ship to hunt them down and destroy them? He had not known a ship deployed in his lifetime, but he had seen where they were stored in massive hangars under the tower.

For a race that spoke of peace, the Karalians had also amassed enough technology from other races to arm themselves for war. Earth could never know what they might start if they crossed the Karalians. The President might see Earth as powerful if they were given the cruisers they wanted. But any attack on Karal would be a painful shock, one that would put their current misery into shadow. The destruction of the human race would be almost assured if they instigated war with the Karal.

Okil thought about all the things he loved about Earth, the people, their humour, their love of the ridiculous, so refreshing next to the dryness of his own species. But this was always countered by the slow demise of a species who could be spiteful and selfish.

He had seen it gradually building in their President. At first, he had been happy to accommodate the wishes of the Karal, pleased that at least some of his people would be saved. Yet slowly he had begun to demand things. Food, payment, a reward for each female the Karal took.

When Okil had come here days ago, it was to lay the foundation of the mission to find a new planet for the humans. Yet instead of forging ahead, they had become embroiled in the issue of cruisers being given to Earth so that they could start their own search.

The President had simply not accepted that the space cruisers would take months to modify, because they were built to only fly for the Karal. He had thought it was a big lie, a conspiracy. It was the truth, but even if it were not, the Karal were a species that took the technology of others. They did not pass it on.

Okil started. He had dozed off, and now an alarm was sounding. Not the alarm of his decon’. But the one for the space station. An evacuation alarm.

He got up, grabbing his clothes and hitting the button to open his door. It didn’t budge. Glancing over to the computer, he saw he had two minutes of his decon’ left. The door would not open manually until that was finished, despite the alarm. It was better for one Karalian to be dead than for him to be evacuated to Karal disease-ridden.

A frustrated Okil stood and watched the countdown, occasionally turning to look out of the door. And then he saw Tikki, Charlie in her arms, running along the corridor. Darl was behind her, pointing forward and mouthing something. Thirty seconds left.

Okil held his hand over the door release button, as soon as the clock hit zero he hit it and ran out. Heading to where the cruiser was docked, he was thankful to find it waiting. Ducking inside, he saw Tikki and Reja in their seats; Charlie’s small face could just be seen peeking out.

“What happened?” Okil asked.

“I came out of decon’. I was asked why we had two females on board. I told him there had been some mix-up and that your female had been loaded and then another had been chosen by the lottery and we could not change things.”

“And the alarm?” Okil asked.

“Well, he was going to go and check again. It seemed he had orders to detain us until you had talked to the Hier Commander...”

“So I hit the alarm,” Reja said.

“Quick thinking,” Darl said, smiling at her. “I don’t think we had the luxury of time in there, do you?”

“No. Maybe not. It’s just lucky you hit the right button, Reja. Also, I hope we haven’t made it worse. What if we are searched when we reach Karal?” Okil asked.

“Well, I have been thinking about that,” Darl said quickly. “What if we take the first-aid kit out of the compartment and swap things around. They wouldn’t be looking for a child. No one would think you were stupid enough to bring a child down to the planet. So if we can hide him away, I doubt they will do a thorough check.”

“It’s worth a try,” Okil said. “Let’s see what we can do, but we have to go down to Karal as quickly as we can. We must try to maintain our calm and not put any more scrutiny on us.”

“Agreed.”

Darl quickly took out the first-aid kit; then they removed some blankets and assorted ropes. Okil stowed them away where he could until they had made a small crawl space in one of the lockers.

“He can’t go in there,” Tikki said, examining the space. It was just big enough for Charlie, but only just.

“We might not need it, but we do need to have a plan. We have raised suspicion.” Okil took her in his arms, happy that they were together and one step closer to success. “It might be nothing. They may let it pass. I don’t know.”

“Have you ever broken one of your rules before, Okil?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. I have always obeyed our rules and our laws.”

“I can see why your Hier Council don’t want too many humans on your planet. We will breed disorder and dissent.” She smiled up at him. “I have always been a bad influence.”

“Get a room, you two,” Reja said, laughing. “And just FYI, she has always been a bad influence over me. That’s why I’m here.”

Tikki almost laughed too. “Thanks, Reja. Spoil the moment, why don’t you.”

“What is FYI?” asked Darl.

“For your information,” Reja said slowly.

“Ahh,” Darl said, storing it away for future use.

“Reja, I think you and Darl are going to have some fun. He soaks up anything to do with your Earth culture.” Okil let go of Tikki and went round making sure everything was secure, while Darl went to the control deck and started the engines.

“I think we will have plenty of fun,” Reja said blushing.

“Now who needs a room,” said Tikki quietly.

“Oh my goodness. Yes, please,” Reja said, as they buckled themselves into their seats.

“Come and sit down, Charlie. Let’s get your seat belt on.” Okil watched the young boy, now no longer afraid of him, as he climbed into his seat and helped put the seat belt around him. “There, how does that feel?”

“OK.” Charlie looked up into his face, and Okil couldn’t help the colours that flew across his face. This boy was a reminder of how high the stakes were for Earth and Karal. He was the symbol of how their planets and their people needed to work together. For Karal, he was a reminder of the children they would never have if they did not mate with humans. For Earth, he made it obvious why the Karal had to help humans find a new home, or there would be few children like Charlie born again.

Tikki was sure she was going to be sick. A mixture of nerves and excitement overloaded her already frazzled senses. In the far distance, she could see a beautiful planet, not unlike Earth. It had a violet tinge, making it look stunning against the darkness of space. Behind it, much further away, she could see two vast suns orbiting each other.

“Wow,” Charlie said, his face lit up with excitement, pointing to the planet. “Is that where the aliens live?”

“Yes, it is.” Tikki caught on to his excitement, which grew the closer they got.

“Is that where we are going to live?” Charlie asked.

“Yes. Well, for a while at least, they might not let us stay. So let’s think of this as a holiday.” Tikki prayed Karal would be their new home. It was obvious that Okil would never let them go back to Earth, unless he knew it was totally safe. She doubted that would ever be the case, since she had no idea exactly who it was who was chasing them or how deep the conspiracy went.

“Sienna Mommy said that bad men wanted to come here and kill the aliens,” Charlie said as though he was telling what he wanted for dinner, his voice belying the threat of his words.

Shocked, but trying to regain her composure, Tikki asked calmly, “She said that?”

“To Funny Daddy.” Charlie was gazing, enraptured, as they entered the atmosphere and began their descent to the ground.

“Did she say anything else, Charlie?”

“Look! Elephants,” he cried, and Tikki didn’t like to push him for more details. She couldn’t risk upsetting him, not when he might have to hide when they reached the ground and he had to stay quiet. If he began crying at bad memories, they would all be in trouble.

So she looked down at where he was pointing, with Reja craning her neck to look too. He was right, they were some kind of elephant, but they had the longest necks she had ever seen. “What other animals do you think we will see, Charlie?”

“Hippopotamus,” he cried. “And crocodiles.”

“They might not have the same animals here on Karal. But I but they have something like that.” She stared in wonder at the vast plains below them, green grass, and tall trees. So many trees. Tears welled in her eyes: this was like coming home after a long journey. Okil had told her so much about his planet; she recognised the great mountain he had described. And the ancient forests.

A sadness enveloped her; it should have been like coming home. This was supposed to be her home, after all, the man she loved belonged here and so did her sister. If things had been different, she would be about to land on Karal, excited for her new life and the adventures ahead. Instead she saw her first glimpse of the tower that housed the Hier Council and wondered if it was like the old Tower of London. Would they all end up in prison there, with an executioner waiting to chop their heads off?

That was ridiculous, but as they came into land, she knew she would never live a peaceful life until the problem that was Charlie was solved. Why were people after him? What secrets did he hold? And was there any way he would be welcomed on Karal?