“No. Not at all, I just want to remind you about the prime and to tell you that Darl thinks it is better if you get the mating side of your relationship out of the way before you leave.”
“You mean you want us to mate tonight.”
“Or tomorrow,” Okil said.
Malik shook his head, but said, “Very well.”
“Good, now Darl should have finished taking the blood he needs. The results will be through tomorrow and he will find you both if there is a problem. Not that there ever is, the readings from the tag tell us everything we need to know.”
“Okil,” Malik said. “I want to thank you and Darl. This has been unexpected, but I find myself liking her. So thank you for finding her for me.”
Okil smiled. “That is good to hear. And it is Darl that does all the work, although he has his program perfected now. Soon there will be a large influx of females, all correctly matched, hopefully.”
“The lottery will operate even more?” Malik asked.
“No. I think we are preparing to give up that pretence and simply take all the women we need. Those that have arrived so far have been a test. We, both the Karal and the humans, have passed that test. We seem to be able to integrate, and so phase two will begin.”
“And Elissa Sergeant is about to have her baby?” Malik said. “Is it coincidental?”
“No. We are going to ride the wave of relief that will sweep through Karal when the birth of a baby girl is announced, if she is healthy of course. To bring such hope into our world will set things in motion we could never have forseen.” Okil got up, looking weary.
“Not all good things?” Malik asked.
“That we will wait and see,” Okil said. “Now, go and find your woman, Malik.”
Malik did not need any more encouragement. Maybe tonight he and Chrissie could become more intimate, a celebration of their own. “Thank you, Okil.” And then reached for the door handle, intending to go and find Chrissi.
“One last thing, Malik,” Okil said.
“Yes,” Malik asked, opening the door, ready to leave.
“Please remember: as always, the mission is the most important thing. It must succeed.”
“Of course,” Malik answered and then left, closing the door on an agitated Okil.
Darl was not what she expected. He delighted in making references to the human world.
“I think you know more about humans than I do,” she joked.
“Really?” he asked eagerly. “It helps that I have a wonderful mate of my own. If I were a human, I think I would have got down on one knee and proposed to her by now. A ring on her finger,” he said wistfully.
“But that’s not your custom?” she asked.
“No,” Darl said, and then added, “I’m just going to take your blood. It won’t hurt.” He pressed something that looked like a gun to her arm and pressed the small trigger. He was right; she didn’t feel a thing.
“Why are you checking my blood?” Chrissi asked.
“We do this as a routine. Our technology can read your tag, but we still like to do things the old-fashioned way.” He placed the vial of blood in a small machine. “I will have the results tomorrow. If they match your tag, then there is nothing further we need to do.”
“And if they don’t?” she asked with apprehension.
“They will, I am sure. The tags are almost one hundred percent accurate. They will also tell you when you conceive,” he said conversationally, as if sleeping with an alien was an everyday occurrence. It was to him, she supposed.
“But I’ll be on the cruiser, in space,” she said.
“The computer on board can read your tag too,” Darl said.
“Now I really feel like a test subject in a laboratory,” she said.
“It’s not like that, Chrissi. We just want to keep you healthy.”
“So I can breed your new generation,” she said, trying to think of any way in which this didn’t sound creepy and sinister.
“Yes, that’s what it all comes down to,” Darl smiled at her. “But things change. You and the rest of the females have brought such hope to our planet.”
“I’m glad.”
“OK, I think I can see an eager Malik waiting for you at the door, so you go have fun and I will speak to you in the morning if I need to,” Darl said.
“Thank you,” Chrissi said.
“No, thank you, Chrissi. If there is anything we can do for you before you leave, let me know,” Darl said.
Malik opened the door and came in. “Are you ready?” he asked Chrissi, eying the doctor suspiciously.
“Yes, Darl just took some blood. Is everything all right?” Chrissi asked, seeing a flash of blue leap across his face.
“Yes, I would like us to go and get some rest now, though. Tomorrow will be a long day of packing the cruiser and making last-minute preparations,” Malik said.
“Ah, yes, of course. You are leaving us again the day after tomorrow. Well, I hope you have a successful mission and we find the new Earth for your people, Chrissi,” Darl said. “And like I said, anything you need.”
“There is, Darl. Chrissi needs new clothes,” Malik said.
“Oh, yes of course. Why don’t I send Reja over tomorrow with some clothes, she has it all organised, and is sure to have something for you to wear. And you need overalls for the journey,” Darl said, looking at the ones she was wearing. “Something a little better-fitting.”
“Her clothes got wet,” Malik blurted out.
“Oh, of course. I thought maybe you two had already… Oh, never mind,” he said, noticing the colours flashing across Malik’s face.
“Shall we go,” Chrissi said, getting up and leading Malik out of the room. There seemed to be an elevated testosterone level in the room.
“Yes, I will show you to my quarters,” Malik said and they left together. Malik walking close to her, their bodies almost touching.
She followed him along a corridor, and then they turned left and right, the smooth stone walls a shade of cream, rough-hewn, not plastered and smooth as they would be on Earth. Everything about Karal was natural, as if they embraced nature, and the world around them.
“So you live here all the time?” she asked needing to break the silence between them.
“No, only when I am on rotation. The rest of the time, I live over by the water, what you call the ocean. I sail sometimes. Do you like to sail, in a boat?” he asked.
“No, well, at least I’ve never tried,” she said. “The water on Earth is too polluted, and the weather too unpredictable. Travel is never a good idea with the acid-rain showers.”
“Then when we return I will take you out on the ocean, I have taught myself to navigate by the stars,” he said, his body softening as he began to talk, and flashes of colour, reds and golds, swept across his face like ripples of water.
“I would like that.” She wanted to add how happy it made her to think that their child, when born, would be lucky enough to live in a world filled with wonder, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to remind herself, or him, that the son they would share had to be conceived first.
And when he opened the door to his room, which was a small suite of rooms, consisting of a bed-sitting room, a kitchen diner, and a bathroom, she wondered whether by the time she left here in the morning, she would already be pregnant.
“Food,” he said. “You must be starving.”
“Yes, I am,” she said. “I’d also like to try to dry my clothes too.”
“There is a dryer in the bathroom. It is meant for drying your body, but the warm air it blows will be equally good for drying your clothes.” He opened the door to the small bathroom, and showed her how it worked.
“And is this a shower?” she asked.
“Yes, it works in the same way as the decon’, or you can use water.”
“Would you mind?” she asked, “if I had a hot shower, and washed my hair, the decon’ has left me feeling … dirty.”
“Of course.” He stood still and then realised she was waiting for him to leave. “I’ll go and prepare our food. Is there anything particular you like to eat?”
“Everything here is different to Earth, so surprise me,” she said.
Malik smiled. “OK, I will cook something, and you can tell me if you like it.” He looked pleased with the idea, and Chrissi was reminded that this was what it would be like if they were on a real date. They would go out for dinner, and then—well, a lot of women had one-night stands, that’s how she needed to look at this.
But first, she wanted to be clean, and dry. Stripping off the overalls, she placed them on the floor, and then stepped into the shower. The water began to spray down on her, and she tilted her head back to let it wash over her face. Next, she shampooed her hair, taking her time to smell the tangy, orange-like scent of the soap. If the food tasted half as good as this smelt, it would be wonderful.
By the time she had got out of the shower and let the warm air dry her, just as it had dried off her clothes, she felt happier, more relaxed. And starving!
Opening the bathroom door, she headed along the small corridor, keeping her eyes averted from the bed as she entered the sitting area. His food certainly smelt as good as she hoped, and her mouth watered. For most of her life she had lived on sim food, never able to afford the real thing; even in Saviour, they were rarely given proper food. It was all reconstituted muck that all looked and tasted the same, but had all the nutrients and calories needed to survive.
“I feel human again,” she said, and was pleased when he looked up and a green shadow crept across his face. Yes, she could imagine this was just a date, and they were a normal couple. Malik took a leisurely look at her body, his face showing his approval of her generous curves, while she took in an approving glance at his toned body encased in casual clothes that made him look as if he was from a hippy commune.
But man, did he carry off natural cotton fibres in a way that made every piece of fabric flow with his muscles. She could see his abs rippling as he reached up for plates, and his biceps bulge when he pulled the cork out of a bottle, which she hoped might be wine, or anything vaguely alcoholic that might give her some courage.
“Sit, please,” he said, and she did as he asked, while he placed a plate in front of her, filled with what looked like root vegetables and some kind of meat. Leaning forward, she inhaled. “Oh my goodness, that smells so good I hate to eat it.”
“But that is the point of food,” he said sagely.
Her smiled widened. “Yes, it is. But sometime the anticipation can be better than the actual event. And I want to spend a long time anticipating this.”
“It will get cold,” he said.
He was right, and anyway, her taste buds were about to explode. So she picked up her fork and scooped up a small amount of vegetables, aiming to make the meal last as long as possible, just so she could savour it.
“Oh my goodness,” she said as the perfectly cooked vegetables filled her mouth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t have anything more adventurous to try.
Palao
are our staple food, so they become a bit boring.”
“There is nothing boring about this,” she said, scooping up another, larger forkful.
“Would you like some
fetu
?” he asked, holding up the bottle he had uncorked.
“Yes, please, what is it?” she asked, eager to try everything at least once.
“It is a drink made from
fetualla
, a delicate flower that grows in abundance over in the east. The fetualla is mixed with fruit and fermented to give this liquor.” He offered her a glass. “It might make you dizzy.”
“Dizzy?” she asked, laughing. “This I have to try.”
Chrissi took a sip, and felt nothing, so she took another bigger gulp, and then let the warmth of the fetu thread its way through her veins. “That is nice. So smooth.”
And no dizziness. Malik sipped his fetu slowly while he ate, and she decided it was wise to do the same. Just in case the dizziness was more of an after-effect. As they ate, and drank and talked, they both began to relax. She smiled, and he laughed. For a species she had thought so hard, so uptight, Malik was something more than she had expected: intelligent, fun, with a love of the outdoors and space. She could almost believe he was her perfect match, her perfect man.
But was this all a dream, all unreal, a mixture of her first journey into space and good food in her stomach, plus the fetu, which made her brain buzz.
“That was amazing,” she said at last, as he got up and cleared the plates away. “I’ll help you.”
However, as she got up from her seat, the room did indeed spin, as did the floor, and Malik seemed to be doing a dance around and around on the inside of her brain.
Then the world tilted, and she began to slip towards the floor. Malik placed the plates back down and reached out to catch her. She looped her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up, cradling her against his warm, hard chest.
Now he would kiss her and then take her to his bed. She had fallen into his trap, and under the influence of the fetu, she would be his to do with as he pleased. Poor, stupid human, she thought as he scooped her up and carried her to his bed.
Gently he laid her down, and then to her surprise he pulled the covers over her body, and said quietly, “Goodnight, Chrissi.”
“Goodnight, Malik,” she said and as he moved away she caught hold of his hand and added, “Thank you.”
And then he was gone. All she heard as she fell asleep was him humming to himself while he cleared the table and washed the dishes.
Oh my goodness, he would make a perfect husband
.
Did he know the fetu would put her to sleep? Yes, he probably did. It had seemed like the best solution. Neither of them were ready to consummate their relationship. They were tired, and the day had been long, and he still wanted to know the truth about the bruise on her face.
He could ask her now, while she was half awake and half asleep. She might have told him, but that was a little dishonest. Washing the dishes and putting them away in the small kitchen, he thought about his house away to the south, and how the
fushkil
would be jumping right now as the suns warmed the ocean. He longed to be there, to walk on the beach, feeling the sand between his toes
and her hand in his
.