Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Chapter 79

 

Sleep was not my exactly what I’d planned when we left the park, but by the time we got back to our quarters and Bouncer had found his spot in the corner of our room on the blanket he dragged off the bed, I was too tired to do anything else. The bed was soft, but I almost felt like I was going to float away laying on it. I appreciated the weight of one of Garjah’s arms and his legs tangled in mine. I hadn’t noticed the lower gravity while we were up and moving, but it was disturbing once I was prone. The room was insulated against the sound of the busy city right outside, and we closed the curtains tight against the early evening light.

When my bladder woke me, it was still dark outside. I padded out of the bathroom, stroking Bouncer’s head when he lifted it.  He rumbled but lay back down. Nope, the lazy beast was not ready to get up yet, probably because he didn’t sense any food nearby. I leaned against the wall, pulling the curtain open farther. Lights shimmered around the city, lighting each towering building, the beautiful glow punctuated here and there by vehicles skimming between the buildings.

“What’s wrong?”

Garjah’s voice and his arms wrapping around me startled me out of my thoughts, and I jumped, smacking my forehead against the window. “Ow!” I grimaced, reaching up to rub at the spot. I didn’t need a mark before we went back into negotiations; who knew what they might take it for?

“Why’d you sneak up on me?” I hadn’t heard him get up.

“You were not in bed. I got cold.”

“It’s too light here.” I’d never had a problem with the gravity before when I lived and studied at the Institute, but I’d never had my DNA changed either.

“The city does go on forever.”

I glanced up at Garjah, and once again, he did not look impressed. I liked the glowing lights of the city, but I also liked the natural sky above his home and the plants that were growing everywhere. The tiny park hadn’t even come close, and I knew he didn’t consider the Galactic to be good stewards of their planets.

“I meant the gravity, actually. The bed was too soft and I felt like I was going to float right off it.”

“Ahh, yes, I’ve experienced this before. Some planets are so light that it can make us sick; this isn’t quite so bad, but I’ve noticed you’re moving differently. Stiff.”

“I think that has less to do with trying to stay on the surface of the planet and not bounce like an idiot and more to do with all the idiots we are being made to listen to in that chamber.” Well, if the room was audio equipped—which went against all conventions—they’d not get anything specific out of me, but I was too tired to mince words.

“There is an awful lot of talking.”

“Your people’s system is far more streamlined,” I pointed out.

“Yet not without flaws.” He opened his mouth, and I wasn’t sure if it was to say more about the Kardoval or the resistance group, but I didn’t want to risk it. I put a hand over his lips. Garjah raised both eyebrows.

“You’re right. Everything has a downside, I guess.” I rubbed my ear with a shoulder, lifting an eyebrow. He gave an imperceptible nod. I sighed. “We should try to sleep a little longer before the morning meal.”

“Bouncer certainly does not seem ready to be awake.” He was curled into a tight ball, his tough spine ridges facing out with his thickest skin exposed while he protected his tender underbelly. A defensive posture; he wasn’t exactly comfortable here either.

In bed, Garjah and I lay on our sides facing each other. “I think they’re going to ask for an official ambassador to come with us,” I said. “I don’t think they consider me good enough, especially since I’m not trained as a first contact specialist. My mother won’t support it.”

“Do you think she will come?” Garjah asked.

I shuddered. “I hope not.” I couldn’t imagine the scrutiny she’d put us under. My father would be worse, in his absentminded way, studying me and the bond I shared with Garjah and Bouncer alike. “But she will probably nominate one of her staff. We’ll have to see who she brings to the meeting.”

“Will only your scientist types be considered for an ambassador position? I would think it’d be political.” Garjah twined one arm under my neck and pulled me close. I pillowed my head on his shoulder and breathed in his spicy musk.

So much better than the recycled air!

I stroked the hard muscles of his chest, trying to frame my response. “Yes, and no. It’s definitely a political post, and whoever is chosen will gain power both personally due to their influence, and for their backers. Those people would likely have greater status and access to your people.”

“But…?” He’d grown to know me well.

“I’m still in the picture. They can’t know if a stranger coming in will cause an issue or friction. You and I are bonded, and they will be the outsider. I can push them out. Then what do they have? A bad reputation as a failed ambassador. It’ll be interesting to see who applies, which species are desperate enough.”

“Why desperate?”

“Potential trade. Or they need allies. Unknown reasons, I guess. I’m not the best a politics, but I’ve been on a lot of stations and a lot of planets. What I have learned is that motives are hard to see, and what is presented is rarely the whole story.”

“Well, we will look beyond what is presented then.” Garjah sighed and drew me in close. “Now, sleep first.” 

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Chapter 78

“This is not the path you were expected to take.” Mother folded her hands tight. She moved toward a set of benches along the path. I followed in her wake, much like my father and I had always done. Father didn’t really seem bothered by it; he was often more involved in his research and lab work. Mother did the bulk of their networking, but she banked on the name.

Probably why she resented his name being bandied about by those in charge. He’d been named for his great-grandfather who’d famously saved an entire continent after he came up with a cure from a plant that solved a bacteria that had been invading the eyes of the colonists settling in the northern half of the planet’s habitable land. She also disliked that biology ran in father’s side of the family too, but I’d never been into aliens.

Before Garjah, that is.

I was very into him.

Putting up with Sonez’s crap until I could land a new assignment, or get so sick of it I let him fuck me just to escape him? Nope.

Garjah came to stand behind the bench I sat on. It was less of a protective stance and more of an anti-destructive one; the outdoor set looked like it would break under his weight. I was careful how I moved on it myself. He placed his lower hands on my shoulders, and I leaned back against him.

“Expected or not, I’m happy. I am doing important work. I won’t apologize for unintended consequences I couldn’t have foreseen.” She’d just have to get over it.

“Government officials do not like it when entire planets are taken away from them,” Mother hissed.

“I cannot take away what they never had. Galactic policy is what dictates how to proceed when they encounter a species with a prior claim.”

“But you are the one who is bringing that race to them. Before, they were hidden. If not for you, they might still be, and the planet’s rich resources might be available.

“They would not,” Garjah rumbled. “We would have responded, had teams come to rape the planet.”

Mother was not impressed with that answer, but it did seem to make my father happy. He was a strong conservationist and often fought to the Galactic Council to preserve animals and rare habitat finds.

“When will you resume your studies?” Father asked. “Will you be writing a paper on your four-legged red friend?” He indicated Bouncer. “What is he again?”

Garjah’s grip tightened on my shoulders, and Bouncer rumbled, leaning against my legs. I winced and stroked them both, easing the hold Garjah had on me incrementally and quieting the rumbling vibrating through Bouncer’s deep chest. “Go play while you can,” I told him. I waved my hand at the strips of grass. “Run.”

The fact that he listened and actually went only proved the point I was about to make. “One, Bouncer is no longer a good comparison to any cerops in the wild so no, I didn’t plan to write a paper about him. And two, I won’t be returning to Sonez’s ship.”

“You have an obligation,” my mother gasped in offense. If she sat any straighter, her spine would snap.

“He’s my bonded. He will stay with me.” Garjah didn’t offer any justification and his tone said the conversation was over. I didn’t mind.

“The other reason you brought us here?” I asked. I knew they had more than to ask us about just my job.

“Bonding to an alien race has never precluded a scientist from being part of the Institute.” Dr. Vikrish had been silent up to this point, but he finally spoke up. If he hadn’t been watching us so closely, I might have forgotten he was there.

“Garjah has a lot of responsibility on his planet. It’s not something just anyone else could do.” I hedged my response, hoping he’d leave it at that and back down.

“We’d love to know more about your home planet, actually, if Essell will not return to his post,” Dr. Vikrish said. “He is an unofficial ambassador already, is he not? A trusted man who could help bridge the space between us.” He said it so reasonably, like that was the whole idea.

I could only imagine what they would really want to know. If they hadn’t grasped that my loyalty was to Garjah by now, they were the fools. I wasn’t about to make that obvious to them. At this point, I just wanted to get through this conversation. Making bland noises of agreement while Dr. Vikrish kept going on about discovering new things about each other and my mother glared down her nose at us bought us another ten minutes of Bouncer playing before he decided he was done.

“I’d like to take him back to feed him. He gets agitated when the food isn’t forthcoming.”

“We are staying at the guest quarters, the Aqnars said, so if you’d like to come see us tomorrow before the meeting.” I almost elbowed Garjah for that, but my mother shook her head.

“We will see you just before the meeting.”

Relief flooded me. I wanted to eat in the morning, and the thought of having to do it with my mother in tow was not a good idea. There was a restaurant I’d loved when I was at the Institute that I thought Garjah would enjoy. Maybe we could order in. I’d have to comm them on the way back to our quarters.

Garjah and I sat close in the shuttle on the way back to the Council building; his hands stroked my sides and stomach under the tunic.

As soon as Bouncer was fed again, we were going to bed. I didn’t care it was still light out, my system wasn’t on this time. I was tired from the long, tedious day. I wanted Garjah and the bed I’d promised myself. 

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 77

 

As if sensing my distress, Bouncer stood, his tail whipping. He bounced on his forelegs and rumbled. I interrupted Garjah before he could say anything else about the planet. “I think it’s time to break for today,” I said.

Bouncer insinuated his head under Garjah’s hand not joined with mine, and I leaned forward to rub his back. He’d been more than patient, but he struggled when cooped up and it’d been too long for him.

“We have space at the Institute that would be safe,” Dr. Chabney said. He stood from his seat and moved down the tiers. We both stood and Bouncer performed a prime example of his naming around me. “I can take you and your family.”

I looked behind us. My mother and father were standing with Dr. Vikrish, so apparently they weren’t done with us.

“What an excellent idea, Paell. Are you thinking about the south field?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. It should be clear this time of day.” They ushered us out, but Garjah refused their offer of a transport.

We did follow at a sedate speed behind their transport—much, much slower than what we were capable of.

“Do you think we should take off our suits?” I asked. “We aren’t going to be in front of all those bigwigs.”

“Just one. And the head of the Institute, and your parents.”

“Maybe it’s time to show a little trust.”

Garjah turned on the auto pilot. He hit the button his suit and it retracted. Large expanses of his skin were on display, his muscles no longer hidden behind the metal. Just like when I’d first met him. Maybe they should see him like this.

Then he hit the button on my suit, and I second-guessed that decision. I was not standing in front of my parents and anyone who might walk into the grounds of the park at the south field in what amounted to nut hugging fabric that went up the crack of my ass like a second skin. It hid nothing.

Nope. Not doing it. I turned to the storage cabinet that held clothing. I was getting dressed and so was he. “Here.” I tossed him a wrap. He casually crossed it around his waist and did the complicated twist fold that held it in place.

I put on some of the clothes we’d pulled out of the skimmer. The loose trousers were black and wrinkled, and the fire red shirt would never work with the second set of arms. I blinked and then smiled when the pale green tunic was held out in front of me. “Thanks.” I had to fold the front flap in on itself; even with the thicker bones and extra set of arms, Garjah dwarfed me.

“Very nice.” He ran a finger through the deep v that exposed my chest. I shivered.

“Not right now.”

“Later?”

“Yes.” I wasn’t sure where we’d be staying, but we’d be staying together and I’d make sure we’d have a nice bed. One not in a ship. Bouncer came first, and whatever politics my parents were playing. It certainly wasn’t family togetherness.

We set down just beyond the hedge that led to the field in the south garden. The trees were short, stunted compared to what I’d seen on Garjah’s planet. The field was a thin strip of manicured blue grass surrounded by pale white and yellow flowers.

There wasn’t an animal to be found, not even bugs. One of the reasons this place had always bothered me. It wasn’t natural. They called it a garden, and I guess it was that. It wasn’t right though.

Bouncer didn’t care about the lack of real nature. He brought his own wildness with him, tearing across the grass with huge bounds. He yipped, spinning and leaping back. I laughed and rubbed his head. “Yes, go have fun.”

We were not going to have as much fun. My mother’s nostrils flared as she looked at our outfits. Maybe we should have stayed in the suits. Then again, fuck it.

“He really isn’t tame, is he?” Dr. Chabney asked.

“No. His planet, the one your people are exploring, is wild. Full of animals that are out to eat or be eaten. He has armored skin, multiple eyes, huge ears, a mouth of razor sharp teeth, and claws that are tipped with poison. Yet only half of his generation will survive. Starvation, bigger predators, even prey will take its toll. They are fierce and dangerous.”

The whole time Garjah explained this, Bouncer was gleefully running around the garden. He didn’t give the grass any mind, tufts coming up as he stretched and flexed in great leaps but he landed between the flowers every time.

I took a few steps toward him, and he ran to me. Leaping up, he put his forelegs on my shoulders. Man, he’d gotten big when I hadn’t noticed. All the food we were feeding him. I stroked his head behind his ears. “Good boy.”

“Wild but safe?” my father asked.

Bouncer dropped down beside me and stared up at my father. He took a step back. I suppressed a smirk. “Depends on who you are, I guess.”

“This is not what we expected from your first assignment,” my mother said.

“Captain Sonez was biased. And a gropey bastard.” I refused to mince words for her sensibilities. We’d put enough distance between us and the Institute, though I knew Garjah’s more sensitive hearing would pick up our conversation. Just like I caught my mother’s inhaled gasp and huff but ignored it.

“He is highly decorated.”

“Doesn’t change reality. I needed to make my name.”

My father hadn’t looked away from Bouncer once. “You have done that. It’s not gone far, but those in charge have been talking about you.”

“Don’t say that like it’s a good thing,” Mother snapped.

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 76

 

Now we were getting down to the churning core. I surreptitiously squeezed Garjah’s hand. We’d wanted to get to this point sooner rather than later without having to explain too much about who he was and why none of the Kardoval had come to negotiate on his people’s behalf. Or really explain why their culture was so strictly regimented. Treaties took trust on both sides, but trust takes time to earn.

“We are a simple people. Our culture is made of binary genders with equality between sexes. Our rulers are not elected, but they are the best equipped to rule and do so by consensus from the population. We have been space going for thousands of years, and met with older cultures, but many within your Galactic are young. This has led to us avoiding your space.” Garjah spread his upper hands. “Out of caution as we watched how your society would develop.”

“The Galactic signed the first treaties over four thousand years ago.” The disbelief in the councilor’s voice was clear. “And quite the distance away.”

“Yes. Our technology is very advanced.” Garjah’s terse answer frustrated many of the councilors. One flushed purple, another snorted repeatedly, and the robe on the Togoi was moving over his wings. Even the Cheegre males were whispering until their matriarch hushed them with a quick slash of both her front antennae. They crouched down, bowing with heads tucked inside their arms in exact unison. Strange little hive people. I wondered if they hid a similar secret, maybe a hive mind for their groups, like Garjah was trying to hide his people’s memories.  

“I mentioned how they basically considered my suit useless, right?” I was sure I’d told someone that at some point. “Trust me, if Garjah’s people have hostile intentions, nothing the forces in the Galactic could do would stop them.”

The Olnux councilor stood. Its high-pitched voice hooted across the room, creating a slight echo. “So why approach us now? If you’re so advanced, what do you want?”

“We expect sovereignty within our planets, freedom from incursion and invasion, and benefits from the protections and trade terms usually available to those holding treaties within the Galactic.” It was less about wanting something from them, and more about the ability to move freely about space that was growing more and more crowded.

Though there were people who wanted to explore the worlds and races closest to them. Until he’d met me, Garjah hadn’t understood it. He said he did afterward. Maybe the biggest changes between us hadn’t been the physical changes I’d gone through, but the mental and emotional ones he’d experienced.

I marveled that I hadn’t even really thought about it explicitly before. Of course, this wasn’t the time for it.

“We should break for a midday meal for those who need to refresh themselves and come back to this after,” Alae said. Lipros ate frequently, so they were mindful of meals.

“Thank you,” Garjah said politely, inclining his head. “We would love to return to discuss matters further.” His hand was still firmly with mine, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t be letting go until we were off this planet.

My mother and father stood behind us. “Well—” Mother’s lips were pinched, and she had one eyebrow arched. “That could have gone better.”

“It could have gone worse.” I ran my hand down Bouncer’s head and back of his neck. Most of the councilors had left by then, so I figured it was safe to walk him out.

“If you say so.”

My father was watching me pet Bouncer with fascination. “Can anyone touch him?” he asked.

“You know, I have no idea.” I realized then that no one but me, and occasionally Garjah, ever touched Bouncer when he was conscious. Was it because they were afraid of him or that he didn’t initiate touch with anyone else? “But he’s always hungry. Meat and a few vegetables wouldn’t hurt the get to know you phase.”

Smiling now, please to get to experience a new animal and gather data, my father was eager to get started. His long, lean legs lit up the distance between the council room and the dining hall we’d apparently been assigned to ourselves.

I glanced around when we entered, expecting the other people from the room, but it was just us. “Where are we?”

“Guest quarters,” my father said.

“Guest… quarters? I thought I was here to help plead Garjah’s case and face punishment for leaving the ship to fly to Ardra. Nothing was going quite like I expected it. My mother was more standoffish than my father, strange for a first contact.

I helped my dad feed Bouncer, and he marveled at his skin, his eyes, his ears, and asked to see his claws which I refused. He wasn’t a trained pet.

“Wait for a report from the planet, Father.”

The entire time my dad had been talking to me about Bouncer, and touching him, I’d watched to see if there were any signs of comprehension. He didn’t preen or lash out, not really reacting at all except to arch physically into the touch.

Sentient my ass.

 

The rest of the afternoon was a haggle. Individual points of territory, specific terms for ambassadors, and establishing a common understanding of the trade policies the Galactic upheld. No raping planets, or people, of their resources.

“Nature is preserved in all major cities and landmasses on my planet.” Garjah rolled one hand toward the window. “This level of industrial building does not happen.”

Oh no, he didn’t. He had. I resisted the urge to bury my face in my palms—barely. This was the seat of the Council. The Galactic’s pride and joy. Temperate, sparkly at night, home to millions who’d never step foot on another surface because they  loved this one.

This was the place to be. And he just waved it off, like nothing.

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes