Worth Fighting For (Little Blue Book 1) (5 page)

Benny walked over and stood behind the couch. “I’m so sick of those doomsday guys singing ‘I told you so’ all the time.”

Kaycee shook her head. “Psh, that guy’s a fraud. He comes into the diner all the time. His doomsday claim is zombie apocalypse, not aliens.”

“I wonder what they will look like,” Maggie said quietly.

“We’ll know soon,” Jeri answered. “I saw Rodger before we left. He said when the president announced they were unable to record the first meeting, because it happened as a surprise to them, they made arrangements to broadcast the second meeting.”

Maggie’s face lit up with excitement. “Do you know when that is?”

Jeri shrugged. “I think nine.”

“That would be so epic. It’s like, to get to see them, it would make me feel better about losing everything. You know? Like it wasn’t for nothing?” Maggie bent one leg up and placed the heel of her foot on the tip of her chair.

“Hey, Maggie, what is it you do?” Benny asked.

“I am—was—studying to be a court reporter.”

“Oh that would be cool. Why do you say ‘was’?” Juno asked.

“The college was burned down, along with my dorm.”

“Do you have family?” Benny asked.

Maggie looked down at her hands and shrugged. “Just an uncle.”

“Oh, if you want, you can use my cell to call him.” Benny told her cheerfully.

Maggie’s eyes got wide, and she sharply looked at Benny. “No!” Her eyes darted around, “Uh, n-no thank you.”

Juno saw tears well up in Maggie’s eyes. The body language clearly spoke to her that this uncle of hers was a bad man. “It’s all right, Maggie, you don’t have to call him. Benny, breakfast smells good. I’m starved. How long until it’s done?”

“Twenty minutes.”

Juno’s stomach seemed to have heard, and didn’t like the answer, because just then, it growled loudly.

Chapter Six

Tasid adjusted his formal garment. His conference with his father earlier that morning had brought up a valid point about presentation, so Tasid ordered his entire crew, regardless of rank or station, to wear their formal garments. Even their food preppers and engineers were dressed for this occasion. He wanted everyone to remember just how important and special this day was for them.

They had slowed their speed considerably and were passing the moon, making them about an hour away. Looking at the front screen, the little blue planet was beginning to grow larger now. It was a beautiful planet from this perspective.

They had made arrangements to speak with government leaders, but the leaders wanted it to be in private. His father warned him that could cause a negative effect on the rest of the planet’s inhabitants, so Tasid insisted it be broadcast live. They were going to speak to the people before settling into orbit.

“The entire galaxy, including your imperious father, is watching, as the fate of our alliance with this race rests entirely on your shoulders. No pressure. So, are you ready?” Errim asked casually as he continued to press buttons on the screens floating in front of him.

Tasid turned and glared at his second. “No pressure? Really?”

Errim chuckled and looked up. “Well, your mother is also watching, so maybe a little bit.” He held up his fingers and held his thumb and index fingers parallel to each other.

Tasid gave an exasperated sigh but couldn’t stop his own chuckles from escaping. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” Tasid looked forward. “Burren, make the connection.”

“Yes, sir.”

****

Juno felt her stomach gurgle around the delicious breakfast Benny had cooked. Everyone, including Paige and her daughter, had taken places in front of the TV. They sat in the same places as earlier, except now Paige was sitting on the floor with her daughter.

“With NASA being the first initial contact source, several world leaders have dropped everything to travel to the U.S. so that they can be involved with the monumental meeting, and several others have started making arrangements so they can be involved with future meetings. Large plasma screens have been erected in the room they have set aside for Earth’s first interstellar conference. Several reporters from various nations have been granted access to broadcast the event live. Other TV screens are being erected in busy places around the globe in poorer countries, bringing the estimated number of people to watch the event to rocket into the range of four billion.”

“Wow. That beats out anything else, ever,” Juno said in awe.

“It goes without saying that it is monumental for the entire globe,” Kaycee said somewhat dryly.

“The president is approaching the podium,”
the announcer said as the view focused in on the leader of the United States.

Juno yawned as she tuned out the boring greetings and pleasantries mostly directed at the higher ranked officials attending.

“Does anyone else notice there isn’t one woman representative? So much for women’s lib,” Jeri said bitterly. “Even Prince William is there without Kate. He just left her home with the kids.”

“Wow, Jeri, tell us how you really feel,” Kaycee said and chuckled. “She could have been sick or something.”

“Look! There’s the call.” Maggie bounced excitedly in her seat as the girls watched the president greet the aliens who appeared on the large screen behind him.

“Oh—”

“My—”

“freaking—”

“—stars!” Juno, Jeri, Benny, and Kaycee said.

Juno’s heart pumped hard in her chest as she took in the appearance of the head alien. She could tell he was tall, and even though he had wings and four arms, he didn’t look grotesque to her. He wore a black, skintight shirt over his true blue skin that let her clearly see the ample dips and curves of his seriously perfectly shaped and sized muscles. They flexed beautifully when he moved. His eyes were a bright golden color, reminding her of the sun on a clear day. His hair was black and cut short. He was more perfect than any male model she had ever seen.

“I’m in love with an alien,” she mumbled to no one in particular.

“Yeah, me too,” Benny, Kaycee, and Maggie said in unison. They watched the introductions and were mesmerized by what they saw.

“There’s more than one kind of alien. I can’t decide who’s prettier,” Maggie said breathily.

Little Amanda, who had been sitting still and quiet, pointed to the TV. “Pretty,” she said in her tiny voice. She was pointing at an alien who had bright colored feathers.

“Wow, he puts peacocks to shame,” Paige replied.

“Are those … does he have scales?” Jeri asked as the last alien was introduced.

Benny bent her head to the side, as if pondering something. “They look so similar to us.”

Juno sighed wistfully. “His voice is better than chocolate.”

“Which one?” Jeri asked, and laughed. “They all sound sexy.”

“The big one, Tasid, I believe he said his name was.”

It was Benny’s turn to sigh. “What I wouldn’t give for that sexy one by his side. I love purple, and his skin is such a pretty purple. Even his eyes glow purple.”

“What brought you to our solar system?”
the president asked.

“My crew and I are Resourcers. We seek out asteroids and planets to gather their resources, mainly for our government and military. Your solar system is surrounded by many asteroids. We were mapping them, to choose the best one to start with, when we discovered your solar system. During those scans, they detected life here. It has been a long time since a new race has been discovered. There are four hundred and forty-six known sentient species. You add to that, making it four hundred and forty-seven. However, three species have gone extinct.”

“What can you tell us about all of the existing species? Are there any who could threaten our existence?”
one leader asked.

“Yes. Let me explain first that there are four factions. Three hundred and one planets are joined with the United Planetary Alliance League. It is the largest alliance, and it is the one I and my crew belong to. There are seventy-three who belong to the Confederate of World Nations, also called CROWN. We have recently ended a war between our two alliances, but the peace is fragile.

“The third is called the Triangulum Torch Union. They are ten planets in a solar system that shares three suns. They prefer to stay to themselves for the most part.

“The last has only three worlds, but they are the enemy to all other alliances. The Oblivion Pull Coalition. They are the scourge of our galaxy and are the ones we are most concerned about. They are slavers, and they destroy worlds without thought to
repercussions. The last fifty-six species are neutral, and not generally a danger.”

“You believe The Oblivion Pull Coalition is a threat to us?”
the president asked.

“Yes. Representatives of UPALE have ordered us
to guard over your planet until our diplomatic fleet arrives.”

The leaders around the room continued to ask questions, as did the aliens. Juno lay transfixed on it the entire time. Before she knew it, one of the aliens was reporting they were now in orbit. The picture on the screen changed, taking them to a view outside the window of the space station.

“Holy moly!” Benny whispered. “That thing is huge!”

Juno agreed. The slate colored ship was long, like maybe a mile long, according to the astronauts’ reports, and about as tall as the Empire State building. She couldn’t ascribe just one general shape to it as it had angles and shapes all over it with several large pods on one side and many bulky panels dotting the top of the monolithic vessel. The other half of the ship was several stories tall and angled in a low V shape. On the lower front of the ship was a huge module that was explained to be their command and living station. In the middle on the side was a large bay door, and they were informed that there was another landing bay on the other side. Glowing electric blue light radiated from all around the sides, and small turrets were stationed in a few key places. Attached to the bottom of the ship was a single cannon. It wasn’t an ugly or weird ship, but she could easily tell it was a type of cargo ship.

“Welcome to Earth,”
the president said cheerfully. The president and the entire conference room broke out into applause, and some even cheered. It was a catchy feeling. Though Juno couldn’t clap at the moment, she did feel like life as they knew it would never be the same. She hoped that would be a good thing.

Talk resumed throughout the rest of the day. Everyone stayed to listen to the conversation between the global leaders and the aliens, with the exception of bathroom breaks. Benny cut up some veggies so the girls could snack while continuing to watch the conference.

Tasid’s voice was deep and soothing to listen to. Juno felt like sighing every time he spoke.

“If you would like, we will be happy to invite your people in your space station, to tour our ship. We can even offer you a look at our artificial gravity, as we can see you have not yet mastered that.”

“You would be willing to share that knowledge?”
The president sounded skeptical.

“Yes. We are also aware of many contaminants your planet suffers that we can help you clear up.”

“And what would you ask for in return?”
another official asked.

“Nothing. One cannot gain friendship on bargains. They must be created by generosity and selflessness.”

Juno’s belly fluttered. “Is he for real?”

“I don’t know, but if he is, that alien is a better man than any of the men on this planet … that I’ve met,” Kaycee said.

The leaders agreed to send the astronauts on a tour of the mighty space ship tomorrow. They wrapped up the meeting, and the newscaster returned to his reports.

Juno could see the normally timid and quiet Maggie nearly vibrate out of her seat with anticipation. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m so excited they are going to broadcast the tour of the ship.”

Jeri snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up too much. Those astronauts have been in that station a long time. They aren’t used to gravity, so they will probably be spending all of their time in the aliens’ infirmary.”

Maggie’s face fell a bit, and her quiet voice returned. “It will still be better than nothing.”

Juno hated seeing her look so glum. “Cheer up, Maggie, if all they show is the infirmary, at least we will be able to finally see what all that alien probing is about.”

The room lit up in laughter and giggles.

Chapter Seven

Tasid rolled over in bed and hit the irritating beeping button. The holographic screen formed, revealing his ship’s head physician.

“Yebiri? What in thundering stars? Do you realize what time it is?” Tasid rubbed his face as he sat up.

“Sir, you need to come down here right away.”

Tasid paused. He couldn’t miss the urgent sound in Yebiri’s voice. “Can you at least give me a clue as to why?”

“It’s about those scans on the humans we took yesterday, when they visited our ship.”

Tasid could see the heightened excitement Yebiri was trying desperately to contain. The man wasn’t a droll fellow, but he didn’t usually get so worked up about something where one could practically feel it through the vid connection.

“All right, I’m on my way.” Tasid ended the call and sighed before standing, and dressing. Several minutes later, he walked through the doors to the infirmary. Yebiri was waiting for him, and quickly ushered him over to a set of holo-screens, all displaying an array of information.

“You know I don’t speak medical lingo. What’s all this?” Tasid looked at the physician out of the corner of his eye.

“This is all the information I gathered yesterday, from the humans. These,” Yebiri closed out several windows and pulled two together, to float side-by-side, “are the results from the females. What’s so amazing about them is that they’re compatible with several species.”

Tasid waited a second for him to continue, but when he didn’t, Tasid glared at the smaller man. “Spit it out. Compatible how?”

“Reproductively.” Yebiri paused, giving Tasid time to process what Yebiri was telling him before he continued. “There are only a few species that can mate with another race not their own, but it’s only with as far as one other. With the humans, they can mate with several. Sir, Zori are one of them.”

Tasid felt his chest tighten at the implications of this finding. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, sir. That’s why I called you down here, instead of just giving you the information over the vids.”

His excitement began to build up. “How many? What are the other races?”

“The computer is cycling through all of the known species in our databanks, matching their compatibility. Last I checked, I’ve confirmed over twenty species. Of the ones on this ship, the Zori, the Nanstrahi, the Malastant, and mine, the Larent. These humans are truly a remarkably adaptive species.”

Tasid’s heart pounded beneath his ribs. He could feel the pressure in his chest, and it radiated up to his ears. But after a moment, something occurred to him, and slowly he let out a string of curses.

Yebiri gave him a confused look. “Sir? This is a miracle for the races that were so badly hurt by the war and the plague, especially yours. Why are you cursing?”

“The day we first detected the humans, Errim made a comment about how we better hope these people don’t have anything worth fighting over because we’re still recovering from that last war. Yeb, not only do they have something worth fighting for, those females are now going to be more highly sought after than even the highest of commodities.” Tasid quickly brought up his hand, silencing Yebiri, who had opened his mouth and was undoubtedly going to argue with him about his choice of words. “I know they aren’t some item to be placed for sale, but for those races that can’t mate with them, they will still want these females to hold over our heads, knowing we need them. My father told me the Zori are on a course to extinction, very shortly, if nothing can be changed.”

Yebiri’s voice was much more subdued. “And we just found something to bring about that change. Tasid, I heard rumors, but I wasn’t sure how much to believe. I’m so very sorry to hear that.”

“It’s very true. Between the war and the plague, our numbers are bad. My father said he received the figures, and that they indicate we would be extinct within two generations.”

Yebiri’s face was one of horror, which then morphed into one of hope. “Then I’m glad we found the people of Little Blue. My race was affected too, as you know. Not as badly as yours, but close to it. I’m afraid we are in a terrible decline as well, but I’m not privy to any of the official numbers.”

“Several races are in a bad way. The war was brutal on both sides, then to top it off with the plague that didn’t discriminate between factions—it’s the whole reason why we were able to treaty a peace with the CROWN.” Tasid had a fleeting thought. “Are any of the races from the other alliances compatible?”

A beeping sounded, bringing up another screen. “Ah, perfect timing.” Yebiri opened it up. “The scans counting the compatible races have completed.” Yebiri’s finger swiped up on the screen, and he quickly examined the readings. “It’s confirmed there are fifty races in our alliance, seven with the neutrals, twenty-nine species compatible in the CROWN. Three in the Triangulum Torch, and…” Yebiri stopped scrolling. “Oh no. Tasid, they are compatible with two races in the Oblivion Pull Coalition.”

“Fuck! That’s a war we aren’t ready to have. Keep this quiet until we can get this planet properly guarded. Gather all of the information you have, and send it to me. I’ll make a copy, and send it on to my father.” Tasid turned on his heel and marched quickly out of the medical bay. Before entering his room, he opened Errim’s door and shouted for him.

“Errim!”

The body in the bed jolted, falling over the other side, with a loud thump
and grunt.

“Meet me in my quarters now!”

He briefly heard a muffled “Yes, sir!” as the door slid closed behind him. Entering his room, he sent a hail to his father. His father answered the same time Errim arrived. Tasid could see his father was about to scold him, until seeing the look Tasid undoubtedly had on his face.

“Tasid, what happened?” Jurresh asked carefully.

Errim sat down on the edge of the bed, but Tasid was too amped up to sit. The screen was large enough to allow his father to watch him as he paced. “I just had a meeting with my head physician, Yebiri. He found something alarming in the results from the humans he tested yesterday. As you know, they are a remarkably adaptable species.” His father nodded but remained silent. “Father, they’re mate-compatible with ninety-one species.”

Tasid waited a moment to let that information sink in. Errim commented first. “Mate compatible? With us?”

Tasid nodded sharply in response.

“That’s exciting news!” Jurresh exclaimed happily.

“Yes, but not just with us.” Tasid sat down heavily on the bed.

“Tasid, what other races are they compatible with? What has you this upset?” Jurresh asked.

Tasid sighed and stood up, looking directly at his father. “Only fifty are in our alliance. There are some in the neutral races, and The Torch, nearly thirty are in the CROWN, but two,
two
, are in Oblivion.”

Both his father and Errim cursed. His father was the first to speak. “This information will find a way to leak out, but try to keep it quiet until we can get them under our alliance so we can lay our claim on them.”

Errim stood up. “If you do that, you will start the war all over again. I hate to say this, Ambassador, but Little Blue should be neutral.”

“You don’t understand how badly we need them!” Jurresh bit out, angrily.

“Father, he’s right,” Tasid said pensively. “You’re making it sound like they are livestock to be claimed. These are an intelligent and adventurous people, eager to learn and explore.”

Jurresh’s head jerked back as if he was slapped. “I said no such thing!”

Tasid ignored his father’s denial. He had another more important point he wanted to make. “They deserve the right to choose. But I also believe if we keep them from the other alliances, then the CROWN will retaliate and start the war back up. We’ve been needing something in common to bring our alliances closer together peacefully, and perhaps these people can do that. We aren’t the only side of the battle that suffered significant losses. If the humans are interested, then this could more strongly solidify the peace between alliances. And with their new level of importance, we are going to need all the allies we can get, to properly protect them from the Oblivions.”

Tasid heard his father’s growl, and his look of annoyance wasn’t lost on him. His mother’s voice interrupted them.

“Tasid, is it true?” Adonna’s hopeful face appeared next to his father. “Are they really mate-compatible?”

Looking at his father, and after receiving a small nod from him, Tasid answered his mother. “Yes, it is true.”

Adonna’s face lit up, and she clasped all four of her hands together. “That is blessed news. Perhaps both of you will be given the right to claim a mate amongst them, since you were the ones to find them.”

Tasid wasn’t surprised when Adonna included Errim. They had always been close, and since Errim’s parents’ deaths, Adonna treated Errim as one of her own. He chuckled and looked at his second.

“That means I’m not the only one she’ll harass on making grandchildren.”

Errim smirked at Tasid before turning back to the screen. “Adonna, I will emphatically enjoy providing you with grandchildren to adore, should I ever be given the honor to mate.”

Before Adonna could respond, Jurresh spoke up. “My dear, I need to finish this conversation. You can heckle them for grandchildren later.” His voice was gentle, so Tasid’s mother wasn’t offended.

“Oh, right, I’m sorry. Don’t be too long.”

Jurresh looked lovingly after Adonna as she left the room, but then he focused back on Tasid and Errim, becoming serious. “I’ll speak to the other representatives.” Jurresh’s look turned sour. “I hate to admit it, but you may be right. We need to offer to share this race with the CROWN. If the humans are compatible with two races from Oblivion Pull Coalition, with our dwindled numbers, we will most definitely need their help to properly protect the humans.”

Tasid quickly remembered another bit of information relevant to this discussion. “There is more, Father.”

Jurresh paused before letting out a heavy breath and nodded for him to continue.

“The females here are dying from illnesses they have yet to develop cures for. Most are caused by the poisons they are polluting their planet with. I have learned many are hurt by their mates, and they willingly put their females in battle alongside the males. I do not believe they view their females as precious as we do ours.”

Tasid felt a cold chill run through his body at the angered look on his father’s face. He rarely saw this level of rage from his father.

“Get me all the information you can gather on their females, and if what you say is true, I will personally see to changing their priorities. With this new information, I know I can get whatever authorization from UPALE I need, to do whatever is necessary to protect those females.”

The screen disappeared as his father disconnected, and both Tasid and Errim blew out a relieved breath.

“Great stars! There’s intimidating, and then there’s terrifying. I hope I’m never on his bad side. I don’t think I have ever seen him that angry.”

Tasid grunted. “I have. I might have to hide behind my mother when I tell him how many humans, including females, were killed during the recent riots caused by our arrival.”

“But that wasn’t your fault.”

Tasid gave him a grim look. “I’m not certain he’ll see it that way.”

“We better make sure nothing else happens to them.”

****

Several days later, Tasid sat with the crew eating the first meal of the day when a high-pitched alarm blared through the ship. Everyone leaped into action. He and the others assigned for the bridge ran along the corridors together, passing other crew members who were rushing towards their own destinations. Explosions could be heard thundering outside of the ship, the vibrations causing sparks from various places on the walls and ceiling. As soon as the doors to the bridge opened, he shouted at the crew as he made his way to his chair.

“Horo, report!”

The crewmember on duty hastily leaped up out of the captain’s chair. “Oblivion ships detected. They’re attacking the planet. I’ve already sent orders for the flyers to prep the talons for launch.”

Tasid glanced over the floating holo-screens as he took his seat. Horo stood on one side as Errim took his own seat on the other.

“Sharrow, target the main ship. Don’t hold anything back, and launch the talons.”

Sharrow didn’t hesitate following his orders. Tasid continued to bark out orders, and even though he knew some of them were a shock to his crew, he was proud not one hesitated. More explosions battled against their force-shield causing power-surges, shaking them in their seats. At one point, Tasid’s holo-screens flickered. He held his breath for a moment, ready to make the call to go manual, but the screens stabilized.

On the main screen, Tasid watched the enemy’s leading ship explode. The concussion and debris took out two of its own smaller ships, and streaks of fire and smoke rained down onto the planet.

The
Sunderic Stardust
’s fighter ships flew through the floating wreckage, chasing and firing at the remaining Oblivion fighters.

“I don’t want any Oblivion survivors,” Tasid ordered to his flyers. The final enemy fighters exploded as the talons targeted them. The space above the planet was quiet once again, but Tasid knew the fallout from this was going to make for a very long day.