I Married An Alien (22 page)

Sonia didn't realize how tired she was until she climbed out of her car. It was probably also due to the early evening humidity sapping the last of her energy after the cool confines of the air-conditioned vehicle.

Since she had no idea how long she would be staying, she had crammed as she could fit into the small car, but grabbed only her handbag when she saw her father appear in the doorway of the house he had built himself from eco-blocks. He grew his own vegetables like in the days of old, kept a cow, pigs and ckickens, and had a massive store of alcohol and tinned food that would last years should he become cut off from the outside world. Roger Turner had been paying close attention to the news, considering his daughter read it most nights, and prepared accordingly. Sonia wouldn't hazard a guess he had also squirreled away a substantial personal fuel supply as well.

"Hiya Dad," she greeted him with a hug. The tall, lanky, grey haired man returned her embrace, lifting her off the ground. "Put me down, Dad," Sonia protested.

"Just had to make sure I could still pick you up," he grinned back at her, the laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. Roger had an open friendly face but his eyes were dark and shrewd like his daughter's. Yes, he liked to laugh, but he also took life seriously, just how serious, Sonia discovered after her mother died five years ago. For a while she feared her father would drown under the weight of his grief. That dreadful first year had aged him, turning what little brown hair remained into silver. But he had survived. They both had, each turning to their respective occupations to dull the pain. Roger was retired now, forced to take a redundancy because his skills as a flight tutor at the space academy were no longer required. He had been replaced by a simulator, technicians now monitoring the student's progress. Luckily he hadn't been far from retirement age, and had purchased the property out here to set himself a new goal, prove that living self-sufficiently was still possible in this modern, fast paced world of mod-cons.

As they walked arm in arm into the rambling single-story house, Sonia had to concur that he hadn't skimped any of the mod-cons. He had a huge galley style-kitchen with all the cooking conveniences, a beautiful bathroom with an enormous spa, and a room set up with computer equipment that ran on a generator set deep underground. Nothing short of an earthquake would disturb him inside his fully-monitored security compound, or so she hoped.

They headed for the living room where the com-link monitor was showing a cricket match.

Roger motioned to the lounge. "Make yourself comfortable dear, and I'll go and get the stuff out of your car. Then I'll pour us both a stiff drink. Feel free to change the channel. I know you've never been keen on the game." He motioned to the massive screen as he sauntered back out of the room.

Deciding that the commenter's barking was grating on her nerves, Sonia called; "Off." The screen went blank. She was surprised they were still playing in the current crisis, but then it could very well have been a re-run. Gratefully she sunk down into the cushions of her father's plush velvet brown lounge. She didn't realize until she was sitting down in the silent house how tired she really was.

"Heaven's above, girl! Did you bring your entire wardrobe?" Roger called, as he lugged a suitcase and another overnight bag past the living-room doorway towards the guest room.

Sonia was about the get to her feet to offer to help him, when he walked past again, grinning at her. "Glad to see you decided to stay a while."

Yes, they had seen too little of one another this past year.

Not only did Sonia drink more wine than she should have that night, Roger also prepared a virtual feast, which included her favorite desert of Pavlova, something Sonia hadn't eaten since her mother died. Naturally she made a comment about it, and their conversation drifted on to Anya Turner. Not even the most advanced modern medicine had been able to save her from the massive injuries she had suffered from having been raped, bashed and left for dead in the alley behind the building she worked at. The introduction of the healing gel from Terron hadn't become available until a few months later, an amazing substance that might have saved her life. Even now a tear glistened in Roger's eye as he talked to Sonia about her.

"I really wish you would find yourself a partner," he said at last. Both of them had probably drunk too much wine, and were now sitting back in the living room, draining the last of the bottle.

Sonia waved a finger in front of his face. "Don't start that again, Dad. I'm quite happy on my own, thank you very much."

"No, you're not, not really," he declared.

"All right, let me put it this way." This time she waved her glass, sloshing wine over the rim. "If I could find someone even halfway as decent as you, I might consider getting involved again, but it seems that all the good men are either taken or don't exist."

"Or on another planet," Roger hinted with a wink.

"I tried that, remember, and it didn't work. Besides I'm too old now. The age limit is thirty," she reminded him.

"Only from our government's perspective. I'm pretty certain there isn't one from Terron's."

"Well, we'll have to see how this dreadful oil crisis pans out. Since I can't take you to Terron, I'm staying right here, where it's relatively safe."

Roger looked thoughtful for a moment. "How long do you think it will be before they have enough of the synthetic oil in production to get everything up and running again? You would probably know more about it than I do, since you work with the media."

Sonia sighed. "Months, maybe even a year. It isn't just making enough of the new fuel, it's getting people organized enough to put up with all the shortages and get them working on it as fast as they can. Things are getting really scary out there. It's virtual anarchy in the city because of the power restrictions and inability to get supplies in. If the authorities can round up enough people to bunk down at the production plant, provide enough food for them, and motivate them to work, then it might not get much worse. I think once they've exhausted all the supplies they've ransacked, they might turn to the government for help. Calling on them via the media hasn't achieved much so far. They're all taking the 'everyone for themselves' attitude that so infuriates me."

"People can be pretty stupid when there's no one to guide them," Roger remarked.

"That's why I came here when they let me go, because I knew you'd be prepared."

"I've been prepared for years," Roger asserted.

"No, you're just a naturalist by nature," she giggled at her own joke. "Oh that was just so lame. I think it might be time to turn in before I make any more silly comments like that."

Roger laughed. "You have a really good sleep now, my girl. I'll head off first thing to see to the rabbit traps."

Sonia pulled a face. "I guess that's the only fresh meat we'll be getting for a while. I'm starting to think tinned spam might be preferable. That gamy taste has never really agreed with me."

"I'll do my best to disguise it with plenty of herbs and spices. How does that sound?"

Sonia yawned. She couldn't hold her eyes open a minute longer. "Good night Dad."

"Good night, Sony."

Sonia went to sleep that night in a soft comfortable bed, listening to the sounds of nature instead of the gunshots and screams that had kept her awake into the small hours of the morning over the past few weeks.

She wished her father hadn't brought up the issue of men, because now she began thinking about how much she had gotten her hopes up on that trip to Terron.

Sonia knew she was different to most women. Sometimes her father even remarked that she should have been born a boy. Even though she looked feminine, and dressed appropriately, she was tall and strong, enhancing her prowess through an intense gym routine. Because of what had happened to her mother, Sonia had taken martial arts lessons, and carried concealed weapons about her person.

In the early days of her career, she had hoped to end up in some of the more dangerous and interesting parts of the world, but being female had always held her back. In the end she decided if she wasn't allowed to go, she would also refuse the more mundane jobs, and opted for anchor instead. At least that way she got to see what was going on even if she wasn't physically there.

Being six-foot two tall, she had hoped she could at last find a man on Terron she didn't have to look down on. Even Roger was half an inch shorter than her, and she had shot past her mother at eleven.

Sonia hadn't even gone on a date until well into her twenties, and only then because of her status as a well-known entity. No one who watched the news would ever know how tall she really was.

Her only real relationship had been with a six foot four man, someone she thought would treat her as an equal, but even he had cheated on her with a much shorter woman. They had gone their separate ways after having only known one another for six months, when Sonia found out about his two-timing. It had hurt her terribly, but also hardened her heart. She would never make the same mistake again, hence her hopes of finding a Terron mate, because their unique physiology made it impossible for them to cheat on their partners, the link that drew them together too strong for them to even consider looking at another woman with desire.

Of course, like other Humans, she didn't like the fact that choice was taken out of the equation, but from what she had seen and heard, the unions seemed to work out all right, the reluctance being only in the early days, as the couple grew to know one another, just like any couple dating one another on Earth. The only difference was that there was no divorce, no out clause should things go wrong.

Besides, Terron men were made to be desired. She had yet to come across an ugly one, and what woman couldn’t help feeling attracted to their gorgeous bodies and their handsome, masculine faces?

But even that option had passed her by, at least until she got another chance to visit the other planet, and if going by the new statistics, most of the women who traveled there didn't find partners, but work, which meant food and somewhere secure to live. Sonia had all that here, plus a father she loved and didn't want to leave on his own. She would just have to be content with her dreams, like she always had.

Eventually she drifted off, still musing over recent events, and wondering when it would all end.

She felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes when her com-tab went off on the bedside table. For a moment she wondered where she was, before remembering that she was safe and sound at her father's retreat. Why then was someone trying to contact her? Could it be her boss having second thoughts? She doubted it, and a feeling of dread washed over her as she picked it up.

It could only mean something terrible had happened back in Sydney.

But the image that appeared on the tablet was that of her father, with the bush surrouding him.

"Dad!" she gasped, suddenly remembering why he was out into the bush. "What's wrong? Did you get a foot stuck in one of the traps?"

"No. No. Sorry to wake you, but I need you to get up and bring my truck down. There's a sick man out here."

CHAPTER TWO

I was in trouble, big trouble. Not only were they going to disband my project, I had sent my most recent subject into a coma. When they came to take her comatose body away they said they would be back to dismantle my equipment, and that I wasn't to leave the building. In fact they had stationed a guard directly outside the door of my laboratory.

Yes, I was in a whole heap of trouble, not that I'd been far from it at any time over the past few years. My obsession had become my downfall. There was no way I'd be allowed to keep my position in the faculty now. They would have me hauled before the legal system and thrown in gaol for what I had done.

There was only one thing to do, I thought, as I stood in front of my failed experiment, staring glumly at what had taken me years to build. Foolishly I had thought it was ready. Instead it had virtually killed Ruth Clarke. She was now on life support, her brain waves flat-lining.

I decided to follow Ruth down the path of no return. I had built the damn thing, so I could damn well take myself into oblivion with it.

Some would say I was taking the coward's way out, but at that point in time I didn't really care. Everything I had ever worked for was a dismal failure, so why shouldn't I use it to end my own life? All those wasted years spent tinkering on it. Hours upon hours down here in the bowels of the university, skipping meals, missing sleep. I was a mess and I knew it. I was a mall-nourished, grubby fifty-five year old who had wasted his life following a stupid science fiction dream. And what did I have to show for it? A woman in a coma, my reputation in tatters, and no family to mourn my passing.

I hadn't even been a good lecturer, an even worse tutor. So what did it matter if I used my own invention to send my mind into oblivion? At least I would get one last glimpse of
her
.

So I stepped in front of the keyboard and powered the device up. I set the timer, because I'd be going on this one way journey on my own, and had no one to man the console. Then I entered the cubicle, removed my scratched spectacles and donned the red tinted goggles. Of course everything became blurry, but when the images of the future came, they were always clear.