

# Second Contact

### Book Two of the Resident Alien Series

### by

### Christine Taylor Rees

Smashwords edition copyright 2018 Christine E Rees

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either originate from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons or aliens, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental and unintentional.

British spelling is used throughout this book.

### Cover Artwork by Daf Puw

### Also by Christine Taylor Rees

Resident Alien (Book One of the Resident Alien Series)

Far Gone Guy (Book Three of the Resident Alien Series)

### Dedication

This book is dedicated to Anju, who kept us safe through many adventures.

With special thanks to Fiona Waddell and Daf Puw.

###  Prologue

A catastrophic screech of metal striking metal at high velocity sent them plummeting into a wild tail spin. Trinn screamed as her companion battled with the controls before him, desperate to bring the ship back under control before they hit the planet's atmosphere.

Sweat poured from his forehead as he struggled to correct the problem. His task would have been easier if he'd strapped himself in when Trinn had suggested it. The mere act of bracing his body at the controls was taking almost all of his energy.

An eternity seemed to pass while they continued to spin. If she hadn't been so terrified, Trinn may have vomited, but the horror of her impending death made her afraid to even open her mouth and scream again. Tensely she held her breath hoping the Captain would have the strength and skill to stop this nightmarish motion.

The unfamiliar planet below hurtled towards them at startling speed. Were they spinning more slowly now, or was she imagining it?

The Captain regained control of the ill-fated vessel. Although their speed was still alarming, their movement returned to being one-directional.

" _What happened?"_ Trinn cried with concern.

" _We must have hit something,"_ was all he had time to reply before they were engulfed in a wall of flame and plunged into the planet's atmosphere. It was a rough ride and the heat in the cockpit became almost too much to bear. Now Trinn's brow was soaked too. Would this old crate of a ship even hold together long enough for them to reach the planet below?

Just when Trinn thought she could no longer endure the heat, the flames surrounding them disappeared as suddenly as they had started.

Before her was a beautiful sight; rich blues and greens. They continued to career onwards. Her companion desperately flicked switches and turned dials as he tried to restore full function to the console.

" _This isn't going to be pretty,"_ he apologised. _"We only have one thruster working."_

Trinn had no understanding of the implications of this statement, but if she was going to die after all, at least a magnificent vista lay before her eyes.

Their descent continued at frightening speed. Below was only a vastness of water which would perhaps offer a survivable landing, but allow them only minutes to recover from the impact before being submerged and drowned. She peered anxiously through the window in hope of spotting a more solid landing place.

" _That way!"_ she yelled. A faint dark line was appearing over the horizon. The Captain tried urgently to reduce their speed. If he didn't succeed they would be dead no matter where they hit.

Having only one thruster to steer wasn't helping his battle. To turn towards the land, he had to circle the ship in the opposite direction until it finally appeared directly in front. This manoeuvre had the added bonus of slowing their approach a little. They were close enough to begin to make out some detail. The Captain scanned the area, searching for a spot large enough for a landing.

" _Do you see anywhere to put down?"_ he shouted at Trinn. She gazed ahead, studying the rapidly approaching skyline. Some kind of structure occupied every spot of solid ground ahead. Making another turn could end in disaster. She held her breath and squinted desperately before her.

" _There!"_ She pointed. A small green area was becoming visible behind the buildings.

" _OK, here goes. I'm sorry Trinn."_

### Chapter One

"Zhaan, we have to go back. The search is being called off for today." Despite his worries about the missing man as darkness fell, Jesse wasn't sorry to be headed back to the prospect of warmth, dry clothes, and hopefully a hot meal at home. However did he allow Police Officer Andy Callaghan, his close friend and now permanent next door neighbour, to sign them up as volunteers for their local Montana Search and Rescue Team?

"One minute." Zhaan held up his hand to stop his friend in his tracks.

Jesse shuffled impatiently. He shivered for a couple of minutes before trying to encourage Zhaan to turn around. "We have to go or they'll be searching for us too."

Zhaan stood resolutely planted to the spot. It was amazing Jesse's sister, Alice, and Zhaan didn't argue more often. They both had a wicked stubborn streak.

"I have something," Zhaan finally stated.

"What have you found?" asked Jesse, who had come to think of Zhaan as a brother. His dream of warmth was becoming more distant every second.

"It not thing. It smell," responded Zhaan. "I smell something strange." Zhaan's acute olfactory skill, a relic of the time when his race had lived by hunting alone, was not to be sniffed at. Jesse couldn't help but smile at the terminology his thoughts had chosen.

"Let me call Andy." Jesse stepped away a little to allow Zhaan more breathing space for his scenting trick. He relayed the information and their position into the radio. It was more than lucky that his GPS was giving him a fix in the dense forest; it was a miracle.

He turned back to face Zhaan, finding him pacing slowly deeper into the forest. Running after him, Jesse protested. "Don't just wander off by yourself, Zhaan. I'll never be able to find you. It's almost dark."

"Doesn't matter," Zhaan replied. "I can find you anywhere how you smell." Realising that he might have inadvertently offended his friend, Zhaan quickly tried to fill the hole he'd dug for himself. "I don't mean you smell bad, Jesse, just I know your scent very well."

You should do, thought Jesse, you've been living in my house for over two years now. He merely smiled at Zhaan's discomfort. "OK, so what do you smell, Zhaan?"

"I don't like to say. It not good," was Zhaan's cryptic answer. He continued striding forwards with determination. Jesse trailed behind him. The gloom caused him to stumble frequently in the undergrowth. Zhaan's sense of smell wasn't the only faculty that far surpassed his own. Jesse was so busy trying not to fall flat on his face, he didn't even have time to ponder Zhaan's words.

When Zhaan paused for a second, scenting the air, Jesse had time to call Andy again, to let him know which way they were headed. He really didn't want to spend a cold December night lost in the forest. He was aware that his companion knew these woods like the back of his tattooed hands. Zhaan was frequently off exploring the forest, up to who knew what. If they got separated, however, and the GPS miracle came to an abrupt end, Jesse would be well and truly sunk.

"We go right way. Smell stronger now," Zhaan updated him after about ten more minutes of stumbling.

"I don't smell anything."

At this statement, Zhaan kept silent. He merely gave Jesse a look which clearly said, 'I didn't expect you would, Human.'

"So what is it you think you can smell with your super-alien-sniffing-powers?" Jesse teased him and grinned.

Zhaan's answer quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Death".

They trudged on in silence, having covered what Jesse estimated to be about half a mile. Jesse began to pick up the faint, sickly scent of decay for himself.

Zhaan raised a hand to Jesse's chest to stop him in his tracks. "Also, I smell bear. Get gun ready in case bear not friendly." Jesse promptly dropped his backpack to the ground and freed up the shotgun, which was tied to the back. Before putting the pack back on, he checked the gun's readiness for action.

"Smell different to my bears. Maybe big grizzle one."

Jesse would have chuckled at his friend's mistake had the thought of a Grizzly being nearby in the darkness not been so damn terrifying. He knew Zhaan had developed a strange rapport with the black bears that roamed the area near their home. He was familiar with several different individual animals but had never mentioned a Grizzly before.

Zhaan refused to carry any weapons except a pocket knife when venturing into the woods. He insisted that any animal wanting to hunt him had that right. If Jesse had Zhaan's six foot four frame, speed, and deceptive muscle strength, despite his slender build, he might feel differently, but when he was alone in the forest, a gun would always be accompanying him.

Zhaan's insistence on the gun being ready unnerved Jesse. He hadn't felt this much adrenalin in his veins since the horrifying night when his friend Claudia had called him for help after being brutally attacked and he had entered her house alone, unsure if the attacker was gone. Lost in thought, he hadn't noticed that Zhaan was speaking.

"- or man is dead and bear is alive," was all Jesse caught.

"Sorry. What did you say, Zhaan?" he asked.

"Either man alive and bear dead, or man dead and bear alive. I not sure which," Zhaan repeated. "All mix in one smell. We very close now. Be ready."

Zhaan spotted something and broke into a run, nimbly leaping obstacles in his path. "Over here, Jesse."

All Jesse could make out in the darkness was a large, prostrate form. Judging by its size, he feared they had prolonged their search merely because of the scent of a dead bear. He pulled out a flashlight to ensure the animal was dead. Sure enough, the corpse of a huge Grizzly lay on the ground. For some reason Zhaan was desperately trying to move the behemoth. "Help me Jesse!" he cried. "Man is under."

He shone his light lower down. With horror Jesse realised that Zhaan was right. The missing hunter was pinned under the mass of dead bear. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive but unlikely with the body of the bear on top of him, crushing him. Jesse headed over to assist his friend with moving the six hundred pound weight. His mind raced, as he tried to imagine how such a scene could have come to pass. A sudden moan from below the deceased beast made Jesse speed up his approach. His doctor's instincts kicked in.

"My God, he's alive!" he said in amazement. He dropped his backpack at his side and helped Zhaan to shove the huge corpse off the man, who was almost completely buried beneath it.

They succeeded in freeing the man, who groaned again. He was barely conscious. Jesse threw the radio to Zhaan asking him to call Andy while he dug out medical supplies from his pack. "Tell him the casualty is alive. We need a stretcher to get him out of here," he instructed calmly, slipping quickly back into the groove of his Emergency Room days.

As Zhaan spoke into the radio, Jesse tried to get a response from the injured hunter. "Dave, Dave, can you hear me?" he repeated several times while gently shaking the man's shoulder. The casualty began to come around.

Jesse thrust the flashlight at Zhaan. "Hold this," he said. "I'll check him over". His gentle movements further roused the patient, who opened his eyes.

"Jesse, is that you?" he asked groggily. "I'm not dead?"

"No, Dave, you are very much not dead, and help is on the way. Can you tell me where it hurts?" Jesse didn't want to risk moving the man without knowing what his injuries might be after being crushed by the huge bear. He turned to Zhaan. "Find the survival blanket in my pack and some water." Quickly Zhaan handed over the items he'd requested.

"We have to get you warmed up, Dave, and we need to know where you are injured before we move you." His patient was drifting off again. "Where are you hurt?" Jesse asked more insistently. He gently tapped his patient's shoulder again.

"I think my leg or maybe my ankle is broken. I tripped and fell. Then the bear came. I thought it was going to eat me. I had to shoot it. It landed on top of me." His voice was worryingly wheezy and he was short of breath. "My chest hurts," he added before his eyes began to close again. Jesse continued carefully running his hands over the patient to examine the damage.

"Zhaan, I think he has some broken ribs and I don't want to move him more than necessary, but we need to try to warm him up; he's hypothermic. Can you put the survival blanket over him and lie next to him? Try to warm him with your body heat. I need to check out his leg."

If looks could kill, Jesse would have been a dead man. Reluctantly Zhaan unzipped his coat and moved to lie alongside the injured man.

"Always lying down with sick Humans. What is that about?" Zhaan muttered grumpily, making obvious reference to the time he'd spent caring for Claudia in the past.

Efficiently Jesse located the break in the hunter's leg and began to immobilise the limb with a splint from his pack.

The radio crackled into life. Help would arrive in about twenty minutes. Realising that the trip out of the forest was going to be a painful one for the casualty, Jesse rummaged in his medical bag, preparing to give the man a shot of morphine to deaden the pain. If only he had the equipment, he'd be setting up an IV too. The man must be really dehydrated by now, after two days and a night in the forest trapped beneath the dead animal. On reflection, however, that was probably the only reason he was still alive. The corpse must have kept him warm enough to survive through the bitterly cold night. Jesse knew there was little more he could do until help arrived, and he looked lost.

"You should lie with man too," Zhaan suggested with a sly smile. Frustrated that there was nothing else he could do to help his patient, Jesse took up the suggestion and joined them on the ground beneath the silver blanket.

They waited tensely in silence until Zhaan spoke. "If you tell people I lie with Human man, you will regret. It bad for my image with girls!" he joked, trying to keep his friend's morale up.

Minutes later help arrived in the form of a half dozen others including Andy, who was Search Coordinator. They loaded the casualty onto the stretcher, and the team began the long walk out of the forest. Andy slowed to join Jesse and Zhaan, who were hanging back behind the stretcher.

"How in the hell did you find him?" Andy asked. "The spot where he was lying wasn't even in your search area."

"It was all Zhaan and his amazing sniffing powers," teased Jesse, his relief at being able to head home obvious.

"I knew you'd be invaluable to my search team, you weird-ass alien freak!" Andy laughed and gave Zhaan a friendly slap on the back.

### Chapter Two

As they arrived home in the Patrol Car, the lights burned bright at Jesse's house, but Andy's stood in darkness.

"I guess the girls are hanging out together at my place," Jesse suggested. "Why don't you come over Andy, have a beer and something warm to eat?"

It was Clare's idea that Andy and Claudia should move into her father's old place, next to Jesse's house before the arrival of Claudia's child. With Claudia's questionable past, they had experienced problems with the neighbours at Andy's former home.

Clare convinced them, not that much persuasion was required, that it made sense to keep Claudia close to her physician in case of any medical problems. Nobody except Zhaan had any experience of delivering a half-alien hybrid child, but Jesse's medical knowledge would be her best bet if something went awry.

This turned out to be a good move when the birth ran into difficulties. Hardly able to bring Claudia and her secret Human-Guy child to a hospital, Jesse had enlisted Zhaan's help to calm the unborn, distressed child using what Zhaan called his "natural frequencies". Meanwhile Jesse and his fellow doctor, Zach, eventually managed to deliver the boy, with both mother and child surviving the ordeal.

Claudia seemed happy based right next door to her friends, rarely venturing out. Once Andy managed to sell his own property in town, they purchased the house. Clare wasn't living there anyway since she'd officially moved in with Jesse, and it had been on the market for a while. It was an excellent solution for everybody. It certainly made sense to keep the two hybrid children close together and near to Zhaan. He was the only one who could help with problems relating to the Guy race.

Andy had grown to love his 'home at the end of the world,' located twenty-some miles down a road to nowhere, deep in the forest. It felt like a safe place to raise the unusual children away from prying eyes. The closeness meant that the six were in and out of each other's homes all the time just like one big family.

As the weary men approached Jesse's cosy, warm, wooden home, they saw that the girls were enjoying a movie. Andy came through the door behind Jesse and Zhaan. He smiled with relief, noting the girls were watching a romantic comedy he'd been avoiding like the plague each time Claudia had suggested it. Apparently he would now be off the hook.

Abruptly Zhaan stopped walking, causing Andy to pile right into his back.

"What the hell, Zhaan?" said Andy. He noticed that his alien friend's nostrils flared as he sniffed at something. Zhaan's shoulders rose higher as he took another deeper breath. Turning to his two male friends, Zhaan put a hand to each of their chests. He looked at them sternly. This would have been more effective without the customary dark glasses, worn to protect and hide his sensitive, golden-speckled alien eyes with their feline-style pupils. A peculiar rumbling noise had the now alarmed Andy wondering if Zhaan growled threateningly.

"Oh shit! Not again," Jesse said, raising his eyebrows. "Alice, can you come over here? We have a little problem." Jesse tried to keep his face straight, realising the distress Zhaan might be in, but failed miserably.

Andy was now pinned against the wall next to Jesse. Both of them were held there by one of Zhaan's strong hands, and his face now contorted with a snarl.

"Alice, now please," Jesse called more insistently, looking over to Alice, who was rising from her seat and handing her child, Seren, to Clare.

"What the hell is wrong with him, Jesse?" asked a bewildered Andy. He was taken by surprise at this sudden aggression from his generally placid alien friend. In the two years they had known each other, Andy only remembered one incident where Zhaan had resorted to violence, and that was purely to seek vengeance on behalf of Claudia.

Jesse gave Andy a reassuring smile. "Every few weeks Alice exudes this scent, probably a release of pheromones, which makes Zhaan lose logical brain function and turn all 'alpha dog' on us."

Luckily Alice picked that moment to arrive. She grasped Zhaan firmly by one arm and pulled him away from his friends, liberating them. Gently she wrapped her arms around him.

"Zhaan, stay calm. Everything's OK." She tried to reassure him while he held her tightly, repeatedly rubbing his own neck up and down along the sides of Alice's.

Andy was standing, open-mouthed, looking to Jesse for further explanation.

"I believe he's marking her with his scent. It must be instinctive I guess. He's marking his territory. The first time he did it even he didn't know what he was doing or why. Talking it over later, all we could conclude was that his scent is supposed to repel any other males from touching her. Fortunately though for Alice, it seems that the only person with a sensitive enough nose to pick up the scent is Zhaan himself.

"Talking of smells, what is that deliciousness emanating from the kitchen? I'm starving." Jesse walked over to Clare. Her arms were full with Alice and Zhaan's wriggling child, and he planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Maybe this possessiveness is catching!" he joked, before asking, "Is that wonderful smell edible? Is there any left for us?"

"Sure," Clare explained. "We waited to eat until you were all safely home. I fixed a big pot of stew. I figured you'd need a hearty meal after traipsing around in the damp and cold all day." In response to his kiss, she planted a peck on Jesse's cheek and blushed, still bashful about public displays of affection, even though they had been together for over two years.

Zhaan seemed to restore enough brain function to walk up to Clare and take his child lovingly from her arms, giving Seren a big hug and kiss. Evidently not enough logic was regained for him to remember to speak to his child in their own tongue.

"So, you not go to bed without kiss from Daddy, huh? Well, we see about that. Bed time in few minutes. First Daddy go upstairs with Mommy for something."

Without a word he handed the child back to Clare, grabbed Alice by the arm, and dragged her up to their attic room.

"I guess they'll be late joining us for dinner!" Claudia laughed from the armchair where she'd been watching events unfolding. "Kevin is sleeping. Do you want me to take Seren so you can fix the food, Clare?"

"You can pop her in the playpen while we eat. I'll just reheat the stew."

While they ate and discussed the rescue mission, the four friends tried to pretend they couldn't hear noises of passion coming from the room above their heads. Eventually Clare started to giggle, inducing a major attack of hysterics around the table.

The noises upstairs stopped abruptly and now they heard muffled voices.

"Alice, stop. We have company," Zhaan said sternly despite being out of breath from his exertions.

Alice's head popped up from below the bed covers, her hair unkempt. The look on her face turned to horror as she spotted their child at the foot of the bed. One little hand was clamped firmly on Zhaan's bare leg. A look of amazement was on Seren's face.

Zhaan was busy trying to cover himself while looking angrily at his daughter. "Let go my leg, child. It not polite to touch without permission. What are you thinking?" In his shock, again he didn't think to speak to her in the Guy language. The expression on his face would have provoked discomfort in grown-up Alice, but Seren was oblivious.

"I want to bounce on the bed too. It feels like fun," Seren replied innocently. Her touch allowed her to sense her father's feelings directly. Her comment brought a smile to her cross father's face.

"You can't. It time for sleep. I put you in bed while Mommy eat food," he offered.

Seren nodded eagerly. The story books Alice read to her at bedtime were never as entertaining as Zhaan's tales from his home planet or lessons in the Guy language.

"Are you sure, honey? You've had a hard day," Alice queried.

Kissing her passionately on the lips and reaching to the floor to pick up a discarded robe, which he passed to her, Zhaan said, "Go eat."

Heading downstairs more than a little embarrassed at the thought of what her friends must have been hearing, Alice decided to go on the attack before the ribbing she expected could begin. Walking into the dining room, she faked a worried expression. Turning to the four adults she asked, "Where's Seren?"

All four heads turned immediately to the empty play pen and a look of consternation passed between them. As horror began to cross their faces, she had to put them out of their misery.

"It's OK. She's upstairs. She's a damned Houdini that one. She definitely gets her climbing skills from the other side of the family. I need another glass of wine. Zhaan will be down shortly once he works out how to explain the feelings Seren picked up from touching his bare leg while we were, well, distracted. After that he just has to stop her from bouncing on the bed all night and justify why she's not allowed to, even if Mommy and Daddy can."

Laughter broke out again and the wine was passed around the table.

Ten minutes later Zhaan appeared down the stairs looking a little embarrassed and flushed.

"Feeling better now, Alien Freak?" joked Andy.

"Much, puny Human!" Zhaan laughed, grabbing a bowl and filling it to the brim with stew.

### Chapter Three

There was pandemonium in every direction of his home that Jesse looked, but it was the kind of chaos he relished. Seren had already performed the obligatory toddler-birthday-party-over-excitement-meltdown. Now she was now happily enjoying an airplane ride high on Zhaan's long legs where he lay on his back on the lounge rug. She was making raspberry noises with her mouth in an attempt to mimic the noise of an aircraft.

Jesse's partner from the medical practice, Zach, was headed to the kitchen in search of more beer for the two of them. His wife Ann and Jesse's own lovely Clare were chatting over a bottle of wine at the dinner table.

Mikey, Zach and Ann's seven year old, who was normally very introverted and withdrawn in the company of others, a factor of his moderately severe autism, was remarkably in the thick of things. He jumped up and down in excitement near Zhaan's head as he watched Seren fly.

Jesse noticed with surprise that Mikey was speaking or attempting it. The strange noises the child was making were, however, incomprehensible. Zhaan turned his head towards Mikey talking quietly but intensely as though he didn't want to be overheard. Jesse realised in shock from Zhaan's words that Mikey had been speaking in Zhaan's own Guy language.

"What we say, Mikey? You must speak English," Zhaan reprimanded the child. Zhaan became aware that Jesse was observing him and met his eyes with a worried shrug.

"Good speaking, Mikey, but say again in English," Zhaan insisted.\

The boy's bottom lip jutted out stubbornly. He refused by grasping hold of his fair hair with both hands and shaking his head. At the refusal, Zhaan turned his attention back to his daughter above him in the air.

"Me too, my turn," Mikey finally said, reluctantly but with determination.

"Seren, Mikey's turn now. Get down." Zhaan bent his long legs low enough that his agile daughter was able to shuffle down safely to the ground. He positioned Mikey for his turn at an airplane ride.

Ann was mid sentence in her conversation when she noticed what her son was up to. She frowned at Jesse, who moved over to the table to reassure her.

"It's great to see him enjoying himself like that, isn't it?" A peal of laughter from Mikey interrupted him, making Ann smile. Jesse continued, "You know, he even asked for his turn."

It was amazing how much progress the child was making in his interactions with others. Jesse suspected that, even though Mikey had specialist therapists visiting him at home two days each week, most of the boy's progress was due to the time he spent with Zhaan, with whom he had developed a unique bond. Since the arrival of their second child, Zach had been paying Zhaan to help Ann with childcare a couple of days each week. In reality, to keep things legitimate with the taxman with Zhaan's legal status being uncertain, Zach was actually paying Alice for the hours Zhaan worked by adding it to her salary from her receptionist job at the practice. This didn't bother Zhaan at all. He had little interest in money and Jesse was sure his friend would go over and help out with Mikey without any payment.

"I find it incredible the way Zhaan is with Mikey," Ann commented. "He always seems to know what's wrong when Mikey is upset and how to calm him down. I'm his mother and often I feel totally clueless. It can be so frustrating," she added a little bitterly. "Sometimes it seems like Zhaan is able to read his mind."

Jesse couldn't tell her how Zhaan had confided that he could read Mikey's feelings by touch, as he would with people of the Guy race. Ann was the only person in the room who didn't know that Zhaan wasn't from Earth. Besides, it didn't make any sense to Jesse when Mikey was Human.

Eager to drop the subject, Jesse turned his attention to the floor where Claudia sat, watching her child, Kevin, and Ann's daughter, Emma. The two children seemed to be happily occupied alternating between trying to eat and dismantle the remote for Jesse's TV.

"Hey Claudia," Jesse cautioned, laughing. "Don't let them eat that. There's a movie on later I want to watch!" He squatted to join her on the lounge floor. "Did you decide yet what you want to do about Kevin's eyes?" He asked quietly, hoping not to spoil Claudia's party mood. She shook her head, turning her attention back to the children in a clear sign that she didn't want to talk about it right now.

Her half human, half Guy child, a surprise product of her one night with Zhaan's friend Khevn during his time on Earth, was born blind like all Guy children. However after a couple of weeks, when his eyes finally opened, they were covered with some kind of thick film which prevented him from seeing clearly. Jesse consulted with Zhaan about it when Kevin was still just a baby. Zhaan's opinion was that the child's 'third eyelids were sealed shut'.

His alien friend had explained how Guy eyes were designed for the lower light levels on their planet, Guyara. If exposed to bright light for an extended period of time, a protective third eyelid would cover the eyes to protect them from permanent damage. Jesse, fascinated, had asked Zhaan if he could demonstrate but he couldn't as the reflex was totally automatic and not controllable. Zhaan's hypothesis was that this protective film, which would have been over a baby's eyes before they were ready to open, was incorrectly formed in Kevin and permanently fixed in place. The only suggestion he could make was surgery to remove the film.

Zhaan was unable to answer Jesse's question about whether this was a common problem, as he had little experience of Guy children. Juveniles were cared for apart from the general Guy population.

Jesse was at a loss how to get the surgery done; feeling something so delicate should be done by an expert. His main worry was the consequences if the eyes revealed beneath the film turned out to resemble those of the child's biological father. How would you explain the vivid, golden eyeballs, with their black, slitted pupil to an eye surgeon?

Jesse looked around again at his bustling home. Being surrounded by so many people he thought of as family didn't quite fill the void he felt at having no progeny of his own yet. Secretly desperate for children, Jesse knew that Clare was over a decade younger than he and had plenty of time to conceive. When Clare realised how he felt, despite Jesse's best efforts not to pressure her, she explained to him that she loved him and was certainly planning a family with him. First, however, she wanted to finish the college Art courses she was taking.

Clare had concealed a major artistic talent. Living under the control of her over-bearing father, who had kept her home-schooled as a symptom of his own paranoia, she had no formal art training. When she received money from the sale of the family home to her friends, she took Jesse completely by surprise, revealing her talent to him with her portfolio of sketches and paintings. She explained that she wanted to get some proper art education.

Initially Jesse was unsettled when she gave up job-sharing with Alice at the practice and started attending college several times a week. He feared she might be attracted to one of those trendy, young, arty types. He soon realized that the most important thing to him was her happiness, so he stifled his own insecurity, afraid it would drive her away. Deep down he knew his anxiety was unfounded and just a throwback to his own miserable history with women. Finding your wife in bed with your supposed best friend would do that to a person.

Once Clare settled into her studies, Jesse noticed that even though she enjoyed the classes, she didn't socialise much with her classmates, preferring to spend time at home with him. He had become more relaxed about the situation. He loved the passion with which she talked about her art.

Claudia spoke, breaking Jesse's deep train of thought and bringing him back to the present. "Here's Andy." Sure enough, headlights shone up the shared driveway. Andy parked his car at his own house, walking straight over to the party, still in uniform.

As he entered Jesse's house, slapping stray snowflakes off his sleeves, Claudia noticed her son's nostrils flare as he picked up Andy's scent. The child pulled himself to his feet, holding out his arms, and shouting, "Daddy!" This was not strictly true, as Kevin's real father would never be back, being half way across the universe by now. Claudia was delighted how Kevin and Andy had accepted each other as father and son.

"Now everyone is here, let's eat," said Alice, bringing another couple of plates of party food from the kitchen to the dining table. "Seren, you are the birthday girl. It's your special day. You can sit at the head of the table." Quickly she glanced to Jesse, to make sure her brother didn't mind his normal place at the table being usurped.

Zhaan was dragging the reluctant child towards the table. She was more interested in continuing to play than eating.

Turning to him she asked, "Daddy, what is birthday?" Zhaan looked lost for an explanation, so Alice stepped in to help.

"A birthday is a person's special day, once every year, when we celebrate with a party on the date that they were born. Sometimes there are presents for the birthday person." Alice waggled her eyebrows conspiratorially, grabbing her child to place her in her booster seat at the table. "You were born exactly two years ago, right over there." She pointed at the rug in front of the fireplace where, cut off by snow, she and Zhaan had been forced to deliver their child without any support. "It was a snowy day, like today but with lots more snow."

It was a squeeze fitting everybody around the table. Alice was happy she'd decided on cold platters of party food accompanied by a pot of steaming soup for the grownups, making last minute preparations much easier. Candles were duly blown out and then it was time for presents.

Kevin obediently handed over the wrapped toy his parents had bought for Seren. Once it was unwrapped, he quickly commandeered it to play with himself. Mikey, however, wasn't keen to part with the shiny, wrapped parcel he was supposed to pass to the birthday girl, preferring instead to hug it close to his body with one hand, rubbing the other in fascination over the gold shiny paper.

"He picked out the paper himself," Ann said, a little embarrassed by his misbehaviour. "Come on, Mikey, give it to Seren. It's her birthday, not yours."

Seren, who sat patiently, watching her friend enjoying her parcel, suddenly piped up with a delightful sentiment but in the incorrect language. Fluently, in Guy, she spoke to Mikey, _"It's fine, Mikey, you can open it if you want to. It can be your turn. I will have other_ presents _."_ The word 'present' had to be in English, with no equivalent in the Guy language.

Crossly her father turned to her, ever nervous how Ann might react to the unusual sounding language. "Seren, speak only English when others are here."

Luckily Ann seemed more curious about what had passed between the two children than she was about the language used. "What did she say, Zhaan?" she asked.

"Seren, say to Mikey again in English, so everybody understand." Seren duly obliged, bringing a tear of pride to her mother's eyes at her selflessness. Mikey clung to the wrapped gift, still more interested in the paper than the contents.

"This is your present from Uncle Jesse and Auntie Clare," Jesse said, handing his niece their offering. Seren excitedly ripped the wrapping from the toy doctor's kit and began investigating the contents. Jesse commented quietly to the adults, "I'm hoping it will stop her trying to play with my medical bag! I'm running out of places to hide it which she can't reach, she climbs like a monkey!" He laughed.

Zhaan disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a shiny, new, red tricycle, decorated with a red ribbon, Seren's favourite colour. "This your present from Mommy and Daddy. Later we teach you ride on it."

Jesse quipped to Zhaan, "I hope she's a quicker learner than you and Khevn were!" He remembered the painful day when he'd tried to teach the two aliens how to ride bikes. Claudia glanced nervously in Andy's direction, concerned how her husband would react to the mention of her child's biological father's name.

Mikey picked that moment to distract everyone by casting the wrapped package from his arms and running over to the tricycle, now fascinated with the shiny, red mudguards. First he ran his hands over the smooth paint, enjoying the texture and then he decided a taste was in order. He licked the mudguard from one end to the other.

"Damn," Alice chuckled turning to Zhaan. "He's just like you, tasting every new thing he finds!" Ann gave her a puzzled look and she realised she should have kept the comment about Zhaan's investigations of Earth objects to herself. To change the subject she made a hurried suggestion. "Hey Mikey, come and open this parcel for Seren."

After helping with the clean up, Zach and Ann made their exit with the excuse that Mikey needed an early night, so he'd be in a good mood for his therapist the next day. Conscious about having arrived late and with young Kevin crashed out peacefully in his wife's arms, Andy decided his little family should stay a while. He joined Jesse and the girls in the lounge, while Zhaan wrestled his stubborn daughter upstairs to bed.

"Hey, mind if I take a squint at the TV, Jesse? I'm wondering if the arrest I made today is on the news yet." Andy reached for the TV remote and selected the local news channel, just in time to be greeted with a breaking news story.

'The object apparently crash landed in Central Park in Manhattan at around 4.30 this afternoon," the news anchor stated. "Eye witnesses reported a humming noise shortly before the large object appeared above them, seeming to have deployed some kind of parachute to slow its descent.

'Authorities are telling us that, amazingly, there were no casualties when the mystery object dropped right into the Sheep Meadow section of the park. Miraculously it didn't collide with any of the tall buildings in the area as it descended.

'A security cordon is now in place around the entire area and the public are being warned to keep away because of possible health risks.

'Some onlookers speculate that the object was an attempted attack by terrorists or a foreign nation, but most eyewitnesses seem to firmly believe that the object was of extra-terrestrial origin, possibly an alien spacecraft. The footage we are now showing was taken on scene by an eyewitness with a mobile phone before the area was cordoned off.'

The screen was filled with blurry image of a round, grey object, partially shrouded with shiny fabric.

The newscaster continued, 'So tonight we are left asking ourselves, do aliens actually exist, and are they among us?'

"Oh shit!" was the simultaneous reaction from the five humans who huddled anxiously around the TV, worried for their unaware alien friend upstairs.

### Chapter Four

"What shall we do?" Alice asked. "Do we tell Zhaan? He'll be worried sick. What if his people have come back for him?" Her colour was rapidly draining at the idea.

A flash of panic crossed Andy's face as he realised that Kevin's real father may be back after all.

"Well, he's going to find out sooner or later. The media are going to go nuts about this," Claudia said calmly, masking her own anxiety.

"I'm sure if they had come back for him, they would be here, not in New York," Jesse reasoned. "Besides, it didn't look anything like his ship to me, but what if, whatever that thing is, it's dangerous? There are a lot of people in Manhattan. Maybe Zhaan will recognise what it is."

"You saw his ship?" Clare and Claudia turned to Jesse in amazement. Alice glared at him, reminded of how her brother had sneaked away to the landing site when Zhaan was retrieved by the Guy, without telling her until afterwards.

Their attention returned to the image of a White House spokesman on the screen. The gist of his statement was that nobody had yet identified the mystery object. The White House was in contact with all likely foreign countries to establish if any stealth aircraft were in the area. It wasn't yet known how the object evaded detection by radar systems. The entire area was cordoned off for safety and, initially, a half mile radius was being evacuated. The public should remain calm while investigations were underway.

Half an hour passed before Zhaan reappeared, creeping down the stairs quietly so as not to wake the over-excited child he'd finally got to sleep. Spotting his friends huddled nervously around the screen talking animatedly among themselves and seeing the White House logo on the screen, he joked nervously. "What happen? You Humans shoot another president?"

The look they gave him when they turned around from the screen brought him to a complete stop.

"What? What? They know about me?" he asked, alarmed.

Unable to stand the look of fear on his friend's face for even one second longer, Jesse burst out with, "They think an alien space ship crashed in Central Park in New York City."

Zhaan sat down abruptly on the arm of the sofa and was silent for a few moments before asking insistently, "Which type of aliens?" At the blank looks from his friends, he asked again more forcefully. "Which aliens? Guy?"

"Damn, Zhaan! How should we know?" Alice exclaimed. "Most people don't even know that aliens exist. We didn't until we met you."

"Did they show on TV yet," Zhaan asked agitatedly. "Did they take them for experiments?" Realising how upset he was becoming, Alice walked over to him and placed a hand on each side of his face, gently kissing him on the lips. "Stay calm, Zhaan. We'll make sure you're OK. You know we won't do anything to endanger you, Seren, or Kevin." Zhaan appeared to be taking a few deep breaths to calm himself before he spoke again.

"Are there pictures of spaceship?"

"They're really blurry, taken on a phone I think. It looks like most of the object is covered by the remains of a large parachute," Andy explained.

"Para-chute?" Zhaan asked, frustrated by his lack of understanding.

"It's a big piece of cloth that slows your fall, like people use when they jump out of airplanes," Jesse tried to explain.

"Why people jump out of airplane? I don't understand. Did someone jump out of ship? Are they captured?" Zhaan enquired frantically.

"They think the parachute was used to slow the fall of the spacecraft, or object, whatever it is. It hasn't been confirmed. It might not even be alien at all," Andy speculated, trying to calm the tense atmosphere.

Zhaan swung around towards him. "Do you think it is alien spacecraft, Mr Policeman?" he asked the law officer pointedly.

Grimly Andy nodded. "I guess I do."

"Well, if policeman believes, then it most likely alien spacecraft," Zhaan stated now speaking more calmly. "Important question for Humans is, which aliens come and why?"

"I guess we Earthlings are really out of our depth here." Andy said, drawing another confused frown from Zhaan.

"Why you Humans always talk in puzzles I can't understand?" the Guy exclaimed in irritation in Andy's general direction.

"Just watch the TV, Zhaan," Alice advised him. "The picture will be on again soon, and maybe you'll recognise what the object is."

A frustrating amount of speculation by the news anchors kept Zhaan waiting for what seemed an interminable amount of time to get a glimpse of the extra terrestrial object. Finally the image was replayed, and Jesse paused the blurred picture on the screen to allow him to take a good look.

Zhaan left his perch and scooted closer to the TV, taking off his dark glasses for a clearer view. A few moments passed while he tilted his head first to the left then to the right, trying to make out what he was seeing. He squatted on his heels close to the screen, resting his elbows on his knees. His head dropped into his hands, as he still stared intently.

"Can you work out what it is, Zhaan?" a nervous Alice asked. "Have you seen anything like that before?"

Slowly Zhaan turned around to face his friends, his face tense with worry. He nodded but still didn't speak.

"What do you think it is, Zhaan?" Andy asked, his investigative curiosity coming to the fore.

"I don't want say. I afraid to say," Zhaan stuttered.

"Oh God! Is it the Guy? Have they come back? Do you think they want you to go back to them? Do they know about Seren?" Alice rattled off in panic.

Zhaan merely held up a hand to stop her speaking. "Not Guy ship, worse thing," he stated factually.

"What is it then? What has you so worried?" Jesse wondered.

"Alien race just land on planet which now my home. Of course I afraid. You not afraid?" Zhaan responded. The five nodded in silent agreement.

"That look like Duran ship. If Duran are here, we have big trouble. They not nice. They try to take my planet, Guyara, in war lasting very long time before we finally free of them. I remember shape from lesson of history in school. Sub-orbital fighter shuttle," he quoted from memory, his translation remarkably good.

Andy looked conflicted. As a law enforcement officer he felt somebody in New York should be given any information that Zhaan might be able to contribute. On the other hand, how would he explain the source of his information without endangering his friend and the two half-alien children?

Zhaan was now peering closely at the screen again. "If Duran come, must be more ships. Where are they?" he asked.

"It doesn't seem like any others have been spotted," Jesse said. "Let me put the TV back on live, so we can hear the latest."

After struggling for a while to understand what the presenters were saying, which was, in any case, mostly conjecture, and scrutinising the image of the craft again when it reappeared on the screen, Zhaan suddenly disappeared upstairs, leaving his friends baffled.

Expecting that he had probably gone to the bathroom, his friends were becoming concerned when, twenty minutes later, he failed to return. Sensing the mood in the room, Alice rose silently from her seat and went up the steps to check on him.

As she opened the bedroom door, Zhaan didn't notice her arrival. Alice watched him. He was engrossed with what she recognised as his communicator. He paused now and again to gently stroke his daughter's hair while she slept.

As Alice approached, she startled him. Quickly he explained what he was doing. "I write message for Malla and Khevn. I tell about ship here on Earth, ask if they know anything of this. Maybe they can detect other ships if any come. They far away so no answer come before tomorrow I fear." He turned to Alice taking her in his arms and holding her close.

### Chapter Five

Nobody slept much that night. Alice and Claudia both tossed and turned, wondering whether the events would affect the safety of their respective children and Zhaan. Jesse and Clare were talking about the events through half of the night. Meanwhile Andy and Zhaan both wrestled their consciences.

Zhaan knew if the arrival of the Duran ship turned out to present a threat to his adoptive planet, he should really volunteer to assist whomever was in charge with any information he had, but that would involve revealing his identity, endangering both himself and the two children.

Even if their safety could be guaranteed, he knew his life would never be the same again once the Human authorities knew about him, and he rather liked his life the way it was right now.

Andy's mind was running in a similar direction. He was trying to decide whether he should persuade his alien friend to offer assistance and information. Even if Zhaan agreed, how would he convince anybody on the East Coast that he wasn't a madman?

It was no surprise when the anxious six were reunited in front of the TV early the next morning. Few developments were being reported, other than confirmation from all major military powers that the device was nothing to do with them. The U.S. government was still working the terrorist and extra-terrestrial angles and had involved the United Nations. The army was deployed during the night, to assist in sealing off a larger area of Manhattan. The mysterious craft was now surrounded with assorted types of weaponry in case something should happen.

In the meantime, the unidentified object had remained stubbornly dark and silent through the night. The New York Police were appealing for anybody who had footage of the mysterious craft in flight, or any other information, to contact them immediately. Zhaan and Andy glanced nervously at one another on hearing the words.

A beep from Zhaan's pocket broke the tense silence. Taking his communicator from the pocket of his robe, he sidled into the kitchen. He was hoping for a little peace from his five scared friends, while he digested Malla's response to his request for information.

The first comment he read made him laugh out loud. That was all the permission Alice needed to come over and hang on his arm.

"What does it say, Zhaan?"

"Malla think I am...what the word...magnet for all kind of trouble." He chuckled again before continuing to read. Alice had no knowledge of his written language, although she had picked up a couple of spoken words. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but peer impatiently at the screen in his hand.

Suddenly he was surrounded by worried, curious faces. "Let me read," Zhaan insisted, holding up one hand to indicate that they should back off. The crowd was increasing his stress level. Finally he seemed ready to divulge the content of Malla's message.

"First it say Malla contact Guyara and wait for response about any aggressive Duran activity in this system but she not know of anything. Like us, she puzzle that only one ship come here.

"She say it can be old Duran ship used by another people after stolen or salvaged from Duran fleet. She heard of this before but she not know for sure.

"Malla want to know if I involve myself. She ask Guyara Government for advice on that.

"Also she say, even if not Duran people on ship, it can be dangerous. Duran fighter shuttle, when damage past repair, have automatic self-destruct. She say, if ship in highly populated area this can be very bad because of means of propulsion of ship; it very explosive. She send all information she have about this type of ship. She contact me again when she hear something from Guyara." Zhaan paused to draw breath, but immediately Andy was bombarding him with questions.

"So if the ship is damaged, it could explode like a bomb?" he asked in horror.

Zhaan's reply didn't make him any calmer. "Not like bomb. More like atomic bomb in Japan. This big."

"Shit, it's right in Manhattan!" Jesse exclaimed.

Zhaan continued, "Duran didn't like for other people to get their ships or technology. Ships used like flying bomb. If attack fail, pilot dive ship into enemy on purpose."

"So even if it's not these Duran people in the ship, it still represents a major threat to safety?" Andy's eyes were fixed on Zhaan's, which unusually weren't hidden by sunglasses at that early hour.

Zhaan nodded and after a pregnant pause started to speak. "We must tell army people in New York it not safe. Definitely they can't attack ship with all those weapons. That will bring disaster." He was thumbing through some additional information on his screen. "If ship under attack, pulse wave will activate."

"What exactly is a pulse wave, Zhaan?" Jesse asked.

"Energy wave which kill machines and weapons close to ship. For people, brain activity is disrupted. I don't know what that do to human body, but for Guy it make us fall to floor asleep like this." He clicked his fingers, indicating that the effect was instantaneous, before continuing. "During war, all Guy knew not to approach this type of ship."

"How will I convince the authorities in New York that a police officer from Middle Of Nowhere, Montana, has information that can help them with the problem? They'll think I'm crazy." Andy said in frustration.

"Maybe you must tell them of me?" Zhaan suggested. "But first, I have to have answer from Guyara that this OK."

"Right, first of all," Alice began angrily, "those guys in New York will think that you are even more unhinged, Andy, if you start talking about this alien that you know. Even if they take you seriously, then Zhaan's cover is blown. It would put all of us at risk. You know what will happen if they find out about him, if he tries to help. As soon as this is sorted out," she waved an arm towards the TV, "they will want to know all about him. God knows what they will do to him. I won't have it! It's too dangerous for Zhaan, for Seren, and for Kevin. You know it's Zhaan's worst fear. He still has nightmares about being captured!" Out of breath she stopped, waiting for Andy's reaction, but he didn't get the chance to speak.

"What will I be if I do nothing and many thousand of Human peoples die? I will be monster!" Zhaan argued bitterly. Alice just glared at him, while Andy dropped his head into his hands.

In an attempt to lower the stress level in the room, Zhaan simply stated, "I can't decide this. Guyara decide for me what I must do."

"Hell, Zhaan! They rejected you, abandoned you. Why should you do whatever they say? Those bastards nearly killed you for God's sake! Just look what they wrote on your hands!" She grabbed his hands, angrily pulling them towards her. "Exile! Rebel!" she pointed at the tattoo on each hand in turn.

Zhaan sighed deeply, turning back to Andy. "We wait until my people answer, then we decide and make plan. I hope Human army don't attack ship before this."

### Chapter Six

Not being required to care for Mikey that day, and to take his mind off events, Zhaan spent the day odd-jobbing for what he referred to as his 'Ladies'. It all started with one elderly widow, whose health was failing. During a routine visit to the medical practice, she asked Jesse if he could recommend anybody trustworthy to take care of some household tasks, with which she could no longer cope. Naturally Jesse thought of Zhaan. Even if Zhaan wasn't interested in money and seemed to have little understanding of it, he knew Alice would be grateful for any extra income they could make.

Zhaan proved such a hit with the lady, in no time at all he had three other ladies keeping him busy. That, and his work with Mikey, kept him gainfully if not legally employed on most weekdays. In the summer his 'Ladies' occupied him with yard work, but at this time of year he was busy with interior decorating and minor household repairs. Jesse suspected that some of the 'Ladies' didn't really have too much work for him but enjoyed his company and plying him with cups of tea.

When he stopped painting at lunchtime to tuck into the huge sandwich Miss Lucy, as he called her, prepared for him, Zhaan heard the distinctive beep of his communicator, but put off reading the message from Malla until the end of his work day. Now as he waited for Alice and Jesse to pick him up on their way home, he fiddled nervously with the device in his pocket, still reluctant to read what it said. He knew the Guy would be eager to know what other races were up to. They would probably instruct him to try to get involved in the situation. That could only bring change, and he was so content right now with things just as they were.

He didn't have long to dwell on the prospect, as Jesse's black pick-up drew up at the kerb. Zhaan waved goodbye to Miss Lucy, who was watching him through the window. She tried to insist he wait inside in the warmth, but he needed a couple of minutes to himself and didn't want to hear her talking about the aliens any more.

He no sooner slid into the passenger seat of the truck, than Jesse asked him, "Did you hear anything yet?" Zhaan merely shook his head, feeling bad about not being honest with his friend. He wanted time alone to digest the content of the as-yet unread message.

When they made it home, Clare and Claudia were glued to the TV which, since the incident in New York, had shown nothing else. Jesse went straight to join them, Alice too, after giving Seren a big kiss. Zhaan insisted he needed to take a shower, raced up the stairs and straight into the en-suite bathroom in his and Alice's bedroom. He locked the door behind him and pulled out the communicator.

There it was; the small blinking light which would change his life forever. He sighed deeply before pressing a button to recover Malla's message.

Hi Trouble!

Guyara has confirmed that they are unaware of any deep space exploration by the Duran people. However, they cannot entirely rule out that the craft is manned by the Duran. The possibility also exists that others have commandeered the ship and are using it to their own ends.

Command is keen to know who has landed on Earth and to understand the Human response to this invasion, to minimise the risk of inter-species war. They wish you to attempt to intercede and assist with this situation, if this is possible. They appreciate they are asking a lot of you, Zhaan, given the circumstances, but hope you will agree out of loyalty to your race and to assist your adoptive planet. They request frequent updates of developments and will provide any assistance possible.

Do your best, Zhaan, and may Guyara (and Earth) protect you.

Malla.

Zhaan's heart sank. He knew it would be the right thing to do, helping the shocked Humans, but Alice would be angry. Maybe those people in New York would listen to Andy, and Zhaan could avoid becoming directly involved. After all, Andy was a law enforcement officer with credibility. He decided to speak with Andy first and peered out of the bathroom window to see if he was home yet. Sure enough, his patrol car stood outside his house.

Not ready to face Alice just yet, Zhaan removed his shoes, turned and unlocked the bathroom door, before returning to the window, flinging it open and climbing nimbly through the opening. He lowered himself silently to the ground twenty feet below, trying not to make a noise on the siding of the house with his extended claws. Barefoot, he padded over to Andy's place, opened the door and went inside.

Andy was busy preparing food in the kitchen, one eye fixed on a small TV and didn't hear Zhaan enter his house. Like a shadow, Zhaan suddenly appeared right behind him, making him jump.

"Jeez, Zhaan, you scared the shit out of me!" Andy exclaimed, dropping the knife he was using.

"Sorry," Zhaan said, humbly. "I need speak with you before anyone else."

"What's up, Zhaan? Have you had an answer from your people?" Andy enquired, his startled pulse still trying to return to a normal rhythm.

"My people say I must help Human. I want help. I don't want many Earthlings to die because I don't help. You must contact New York people and tell all that I know, all that I explain you already and what in my new message." Pulling out his communicator he gave Andy a run down of the content of Malla's latest transmission. "I have more information about ship here, but all is in my language." Zhaan added.

"Most important, they mustn't try to get in ship. They must find out who inside first. Pulse wave will do much damage. We need travel to New York?" he asked anxiously.

"Well, I think the first challenge will probably be trying to get the authorities there to believe that the information we have isn't a hoax."

"Hoax? What hoax?" Zhaan asked, puzzled.

"You know, Zhaan, a wind up, a crank call." When his friend looked no less confused, Andy clarified further. "We have to convince them that we are not insane people who watch too many Science Fiction TV shows and are calling them for a joke."

"But it not funny situation," Zhaan stated, frowning.

"No, Zhaan, it's not, but you'd be surprised how many crazies like to screw with the authorities. Let me make some calls and see if I can get through to anybody out there on the East Coast to relay the information. Why don't you head home until I know more?" Glancing down he asked, "Where in the hell are your shoes, Zhaan? It's freezing out there you Alien Freak!"

In response, Zhaan quickly grinned and flashed all of his claws before turning and heading out through the front door, running so fast he was almost a blur, across the gravel roadway between the two houses. Forgetting that he had exited without the knowledge of the others in the house, he walked back in through the front door of Jesse's house.

"Where on earth did you come from?" Alice asked. "And why aren't you wearing any shoes? I thought you were taking a shower." A sudden realisation swept over her face as she worked out where he had been and in all probability why. The distressed look she gave Zhaan almost broke his heart. "You're going to reveal yourself, aren't you?" Silently Zhaan shrugged his shoulders, his eyes glistening, although he was physically unable to cry. Alice stood and headed over from the sofa directly to Zhaan, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"You are angry?" Zhaan asked, nervously.

"No Zhaan, I'm not angry. How could I ever be angry with you?" She kissed him gently on the lips. "I'm just afraid about what will happen. I've been thinking about what you said earlier, about not wanting to be a monster, and I do understand, but I'm just frightened." For several minutes the two stood embracing one another tightly.

Finally Jesse broke the silence. "So, what's happening, Zhaan? What is Andy going to do?"

"He try to call to New York and tell all information I have. After that I don't know what happen next," he answered, honestly.

A short time later Andy burst through Jesse's front door, his face red with rage.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed. "They thought I was crazy, I know they did. I passed on all the information and they took my details, saying they would look into it, but I could almost hear the cop on the other end of the line sniggering as we spoke. I told them about the pulse wave thing; about what would happen if they attempted to open the ship. All they said was, 'thank you sir, leave it with us'.

"Then I tried getting hold of someone higher up, but nobody would put me through. I don't know what to do next. I don't have any contacts at the military at all. God, that guy was so superior, argh!"

After Andy's initial outburst, the room was in quiet shock.

"Oh well, we tried." Claudia tried to reassure her husband, a part of her not sorry that they might not have to get involved and risk the safety of their son.

Jesse meanwhile headed to the kitchen to fetch a beer for the riled Andy, throwing it across the room to him. "Why don't you guys stay for dinner?" he suggested.

"Well I don't feel much like cooking now, what do you think, Claudia?" Andy asked his wife.

"If you don't mind, Jesse," she responded, relieved that she wouldn't be stuck alone at home with Andy while he was so wound up.

As he prepared food, Jesse suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Andy, I have a buddy from college who works at the Pentagon. I think he's pretty high up, nobody really knows what exactly he does. He's pretty secretive. Do you think it's worth me giving him a call too?" Nodding his head eagerly, Andy followed Jesse into his study to make the call.

When they returned both men looked crestfallen. Clare looked over to Jesse curiously. He explained. "After I passed on all of Zhaan's information, my buddy suggested that maybe I'd lost my mind. He was all sympathetic about the break up of my marriage and how it must have affected me. Shit!"

Dinner was over and everyone gathered around the TV again, when the bombshell dropped. The news anchor was interrupted mid sentence for some breaking news.

'We have reports that a military assault has been launched on the unidentified object in Central Park, in an attempt to identify what is inside. We will keep you updated when we have any further news.'

Zhaan leapt up from his seat, tossing Alice inelegantly from his lap onto the ground in his agitation. Storming towards the TV, he was yelling, "No, no, no! You can't!"

More than an hour had passed, with no further updates, surely not a good sign. The six friends waited nervously to see what would happen. The tension in the house could be cut with a knife as they sat in worried silence, riveted to the TV.

A sudden noise made them all jump with fright. Jesse's house phone was ringing. At the exact same moment, Andy's police radio burst into life, instructing him to call headquarters urgently. He left for his house at a jog, cursing the lack of cellphone coverage.

### Chapter Seven

They headed downtown to meet an FBI agent at the Police headquarters, as both Andy and Jesse had been instructed by phone. Zhaan was fidgeting nervously, feeling like a criminal caged in the rear of the patrol car. Alice clutched his hand tightly in her own. He'd tried to insist she stay home, to avoid being dragged into whatever was going to happen. Secretly he was glad she was so fiercely stubborn and concerned about his welfare that she'd refused. During the half hour trip Zhaan asked Jesse if he needed a lawyer.

"Whenever people talk to Police on TV, they always want lawyer. Do I need lawyer too?"

Jesse began to answer his question. "Well, as you are not a suspect for any crime, I guess not."

Andy quickly contradicted. "Really, it couldn't hurt. Give Ted Mayhew a call. He's the best around."

Jesse looked at Andy with concern. He wondered what the police officer knew that he didn't. He noticed that his friend was working hard to maintain a professional poker face. Urged on by Andy's serious expression, Jesse quickly picked up his cellphone, relieved that they had already arrived in the coverage area. He dialled Ted's number, which was saved on his contacts since his divorce.

Somehow he managed to persuade the lawyer to meet them immediately at Police headquarters without having to pass on the details. Hanging up he turned back to Andy, who was still making a conscious effort not to look at him. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead.

"Why do you want a lawyer, Zhaan?" Alice asked quietly.

"I have conditions," Zhaan replied mysteriously. "If I help with this problem, I get something in return. My language not good enough to tell people this. I need someone smart with words. On TV lawyers always fix everything."

Alice didn't want to discourage him by commenting that life on TV didn't always reflect the real world, so she managed to bite her tongue.

They were swinging into the parking lot behind the Police headquarters, and Jesse was surprised to see Ted's car already there. It was lucky he lived right in town. Perhaps it would be a good idea after all for Zhaan to talk things over with a lawyer before the Feds arrived. He realised that Ted was going to be in for the shock of his life in the next few minutes.

They walked into the deserted office and Andy hit the lights. He gestured to a conference room at the back where Zhaan and Ted could talk in private, if that was what Zhaan wanted. Apparently not, as Zhaan towed Alice along with him by the arm. They went inside and shut the door. Zhaan turned to Alice whispering, "You must help me explain." She nodded her agreement.

As they sat around the table, Alice began to speak.

"Mr Mayhew, firstly I thank you for helping so quickly. My brother thinks very highly of you. I'm Jesse's sister, Alice, and this is Zhaan, my, er, partner." She hesitated whilst working out how to describe him. Boyfriend sounded just too lightweight now for the relationship they had built.

She continued. "This is going to sound crazy, but will you please just bear with me while I explain?" Ted nodded and braced his chin on his fingers, which were steepled in a gesture almost like praying, indicating that he was listening. He'd heard plenty of crazy stories during his years in legal practice.

"You know what has happened in New York?" Alice began. "Well, Zhaan is not from Earth." Ted's head pulled away from his hands in surprise. His body fell back into the chair and his eyebrows raised. His eyes turned to scrutinise Zhaan's appearance. Wanting to convince Ted straight away because the minutes were passing quickly, Alice asked Zhaan to take off his dark glasses and extend his claws. He had done this in the past to convince others. After looking intensely into Zhaan's golden eyes, Ted glanced to Alice and back to Zhaan again. After a moment passed Ted simply said, "OK" and gestured that Alice should hurry things up with her explanation. Although nobody had mentioned the imminent arrival of the FBI agents, Ted had obviously picked up on the sense of urgency in the office.

"Zhaan has information which will help the people in New York deal with the alien craft which landed there. He has offered to help and the FBI are on their way to meet with him and check him out. Apparently they still aren't sure this isn't a hoax. No one could possibly expect that there was already an alien here on Earth before this happened.

"Zhaan has conditions upon which he insists, if he is to help them and he would like you to negotiate the terms with them. I'm also concerned about how he will be treated."

Ted drew a notebook towards him and picked up an expensive looking silver pen. "OK, so how do I write his name?" he asked.

Being prudent Alice said, "Let's call him John Guy. That's the name on his documentation and besides, I don't know how to write his name. It's in the Guy language."

Obediently Ted wrote the name on the paper. "Seems like we have to hurry, so what are the conditions you want, er, John?" He turned to Zhaan, who had obviously been giving the matter much thought throughout the course of the day. Quickly he answered Ted.

"One: no punishment for the fact that I am not legally here, for me or any friends.

"Two: it must be known that I help the whole planet, not just America. This involve every Human, so need to involve what you call your United Nations.

"Three: I offer my best possible help. If something go wrong or Humans don't take my advice, it must be understood that I have no intention to harm this planet, which now my home. The people must be told that Zhaan and his people not hostile to Earth.

"Four: if I die helping, Alice must be taken care of with money." Alice looked horrified at the thought but was impressed he'd put so much thought into his terms.

"Five: I not help humans to intentionally harm other species inside the space craft.

"Six: my people, Guy, will not be drawn into inter-species war which may occur, but can assist without taking a side.

"Seven: no experimentation upon me at any time without my consent.

"Eight: if I have to go somewhere to help, I not travel without Alice and Andy.

"Nine: in return for help, I require to be legal citizen of United States of America, so I marry my Alice and work properly here."

Ted had just finished scribbling down Zhaan's last request, when a loud bang in the outer office made all three of them instinctively look in that direction.

### Chapter Eight

The closed blinds of the Conference Room left Alice, Zhaan, and Ted unable to see what was happening in the outer office. Raised voices quickly followed the loud bang.

"FBI. Down on your knees. Hands where we can see them." What sounded like a herd of stampeding buffalo entered the office and Alice's heart jumped into her throat. More voices followed with the command, "Identify yourselves."

They heard Andy begin to speak, but his words were drowned out by the sound of more shuffling feet and another loud bang. The door of the room where they sat was shattered off its hinges and armed men dramatically fanned inside.

Once again the order followed, "FBI. On your knees. Keep your hands where we can see them."

Zhaan appeared completely baffled and looked fretfully from the armed men to Alice, then to the lawyer and back again. Alice and Ted sank to their knees, raising their arms high. Zhaan copied their actions, but made sure his body was blocking Alice's from the guns. If he had to take another bullet for her, he had no doubts, even if he couldn't understand what was happening.

The colour had drained from Alice's face and Zhaan could see her arms shaking in fright. He was impressed when she seemed to gather herself to speak.

"What the hell are you doing? We're trying to help."

Her words were ignored and feet continued to shuffle. Soon she felt the cold metal of handcuffs being placed around her wrists. She was really angry now and uttered a few choice expletives.Zhaan turned to her and was trying to calm her, when he too felt the cold touch of metal to his arm. It only took a split second for him to leap to his feet and take a defensive stance, with his claws extended. He yanked the cuffs from the agent's hands, leaving only one of his arms successfully cuffed.

"You do not touch me and you do not treat Alice this way!" he said, furiously.

Not quite sure how to react, the three agents in the room kept their guns aimed directly at Zhaan's heart where he stood fuming. One agent moved back towards Zhaan, roughly grabbed his free arm and cuffed his hands behind his back. As soon as the menacing, black-clad agent accomplished this, Zhaan wrenched his bound arms from the man's grasp in anger.

"Lower your guns," Zhaan snarled.

Alice was now terrified. The situation was quickly escalating. She swore she could see a vein in Zhaan's neck pulsing and prayed he would manage to contain his rage. She turned to him, advising him, "Zhaan just do as they ask. We'll sort this out."

Looking trustingly at Alice, Zhaan sank back to his knees on the floor but stated again, even more forcefully, "You still do not touch me!" The three armed agents looked jumpy, as though not quite sure how to react to Zhaan yelling back at them.

Fortunately, at that moment, their superior entered the room, not sporting the oppressive black Kevlar of his subordinates. Instead he was dressed in a plaid shirt with a bullet proof vest over the top. He immediately looked with interest in Zhaan's direction, having obviously worked out that this was the supposed alien life form. Zhaan returned his stare with aggression, although the effect was hidden by his dark glasses.

"I'm agent James Jones, FBI." He flashed his ID badge. "Identify yourselves."

Ted, switched into defence lawyer mode, speaking on the others' behalf. "I am Ted Mayhew, lawyer to Mr Guy here." He indicated in Zhaan's direction as best he could with his arms chained together, "and this is Alice Williams, sister of Doctor Jesse Williams, whom I believe you have already identified out there. My clients are not under suspicion of any crime, so can we please get up off the floor and dispense with the cuffs, Agent Jones?"

"That remains to be seen," was Agent Jones' cryptic response. Turning to his men, he instructed, "Let the lady and the lawyer up and take the cuffs off them both, provided Miss Williams doesn't get feisty again. Keep Mr Guy cuffed and covered until we have established some facts." He turned to Zhaan. "Please sit in the chair, Mr Guy."

"How you expect me to sit with arms tied behind like this?" Zhaan asked indignantly.

Agent Jones turned to his men with a sigh. "When you are finished with those two, uncuff Mr Guy and recuff his hands in front of his body, so he can sit." The agent was already wondering whether, if the facts they had been told were indeed true, they were approaching things too aggressively. However, this was what the boss had ordered. They needed to make sure this "Mr Guy" wasn't responsible for, or involved in the events in Manhattan. The whole world would be watching him if he made a mistake. It wasn't often that an agent from the backwoods of Montana got so much attention. If Jones didn't mess this up, his promotion chances would improve dramatically.

He sat down opposite Zhaan at the conference table. Alice and the lawyer flanked Zhaan on either side. Alice supportively held his cuffed hand.

"Why you treat me like criminal? I try to help. I not understand," asked Zhaan in an irritated tone. "Why I help if you keep me in this chains?" He shook his hands angrily banging the cuffs on the table top in annoyance.

"Mr Guy, please understand this is a very delicate situation. Before we can accept your help, we need to establish some facts."

"What you want know? Maybe I decide I not help if you treat me this way. For this, I can stay with my own people." Alice squeezed his hand tightly trying to calm him down so the situation wouldn't get any more strained. It was in his best interest not to reveal anything about his status with the Guy people.

"Mr Guy, I apologise for the actions I am forced to take. I hope you can understand given that the origin of the object in New York, which you claim is an alien spacecraft, has not yet been established. There is, however, still the possibility that this may be a terrorist attack by someone here on Earth. I really need to be sure, before we discuss this further, that you are not personally involved. Please have a little patience."

"Why would I terrorist attack New York, Mr Agent?" Zhaan asked. "I never even visit to New York."

"Mr Guy, why would anybody carry out a terrorist attack? Officer Callaghan and Doctor Williams are currently being questioned in the other office and hopefully their statements will remove my final doubts about you. Meanwhile, you claim that you are not from Earth. Can you verify this claim?"

Zhaan sighed impatiently, tired of having to prove himself to a second Human within an hour. "You look in my eyes, or maybe I scratch this table with my long sharp claws. You can try to cut my skin with a feeble human knife or shoot me with bullet. Maybe I call Guyara and tell my people that Earth Humans are a big threat to be destroyed, and together we watch fire rain down from space. Which you prefer, Mr Agent?" he suggested insolently.

"Mr Guy, please try to keep calm. Let's not go as far as your last suggestion. How about you show me your eyes? Let's go from there." Zhaan raised his cuffed hands, grabbing hold of his dark glasses.

"If I show my eyes, those men stop to point guns at me." Agent Jones nodded his agreement. This so-called Guy didn't seem too dangerous in himself, despite the irate outbursts. In any case, there were fifteen more armed men just outside. Zhaan looked to Ted, almost for permission, and was reassured. "Go ahead, Zhaan. It's OK."

Slowly, with his eyes firmly closed, Zhaan lowered the glasses. Then, making sure that he would be staring at the agent threateningly, directly in the eyes, he quickly opened his eyelids widely. He leaned forward aggressively towards agent Jones, who instinctively reeled back into his chair.

"What you think?" Zhaan asked cheekily.

Alice was beginning to understand how the Guy people had tried to beat Zhaan's lack of respect for authority out of him during their interrogations. This was a side of him with which she was unfamiliar.

Agent Jones walked around the table to take a closer look and pulled a flashlight from his pocket to examine the eyes which had shocked him.

"Do not shine light in my eyes. You damage my eyes." Now Zhaan sounded anxious about the possibility. Without using the flashlight, Jones peered closely at his alien eyes. Zhaan obligingly moved them left and right, up and down. Maintaining his professionalism, the agent remained expressionless as he walked back around the table. He instructed his men to lower their guns.

"How about those claws?" Jones asked.

"You want hands or feet? Maybe both?" Zhaan responded mischievously.

"Hands will be fine Mr Guy."

Zhaan extended his claws, lay his hands on the table and pulled his sharp talons forcefully across the wooden surface, leaving a series of deep gashes. At that moment, Chief Stevenson burst furiously through the door.

"What the hell is going on in my offices?" the Chief asked. "Did nobody have the decency to call me before bursting in and wrecking all the doors? It looks like I need a new table too!" His face was vivid scarlet and his teeth were gritted so tightly in anger, that Zhaan feared that the veins protruding from the Chief's neck and forehead might explode. He was about to open his mouth to apologise to the Chief; he had no argument with him. Agent Jones jumped in first, steering the irate Chief out of the room, to talk to him privately in the main office; not really possible with the door off its hinges.

Alice, Zhaan, and Ted looked at one another a little bemused, as the two arguing law officers left the room.

"Chief...Stevenson," began Jones, hurriedly glancing at the name tag on the man's chest, embarrassed that he wasn't aware of his name beforehand. "We received a call from Officer Callaghan informing us that he had someone who might be able to assist with the matter of National Security which is currently on-going in New York. He suggested we meet here. I'm sorry that I didn't have time to notify you in advance, but I'm sure you can understand the urgency."

"I have no problem with Officer Callaghan. He is perfectly justified in arranging a meeting here. I doubt, however, that he expected you and your heavy-handed mob here to kick in the doors and trash the place. We'll discuss the damages later. Please fill me in on why our friend Mr Guy is being interrogated and, in the process, wrecking my oak table."

Jones began to fill in the background for the Chief. He reminded him that one possible field of investigation was that the object in Central Park was of alien origin. He continued to explain that Callaghan had contacted New York, stating that someone had approached him, who claimed to be an extra-terrestrial with information that could help the investigation.

"You are telling me that John Guy believes he's an alien?" the Chief laughed. "He must be delusional. If you'd called me first, I would have looked into it for you. I could have saved you all this trouble."

"Chief Stevenson, Mr Guy has convinced me that in all probability his claim is true. If you don't believe me, go in there and take a look at his eyes for yourself."

The Chief strode back through the devastated doorway. He was muttering to himself about how Andy hung out with John Guy all the time, and surely would have noticed something that odd. He turned to give his subordinate a puzzled frown before re-entering the conference room. He strode purposefully, trying not to look fazed by events taking place within his territory, yet completely out of his control.

He stood opposite Zhaan at the table. "Show me your eyes." Once again Zhaan was forced to remove his dark glasses, revealing his secret. This time he looked a little sheepish. "Sorry about table, Mr Chief," he said quietly. "Agent man make me really angry. I fix it after." The Chief let out a breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding and turned to leave the room in search of Callaghan who, it seemed, had some explaining to do.

More minutes passed before Agent Jones returned. This time he was bearing the key to the handcuffs and accompanied by another senior colleague. After removing Zhaan's cuffs, they took a seat opposite him. The second agent nervously introduced himself to Zhaan. He tried not to stare at his uncovered eyes, and then looked down in wonderment at the score marks across the table.

"I am agent Matt Parker, also FBI." He held out a hand to shake Zhaan's. For a moment Alice wondered what would happen, but apparently Zhaan remembered this human custom.

Jones began talking. "Mr Guy, I must apologise for the rough treatment you and your friends have received. You will be pleased to know that based on the statements by Officer Callaghan and Doctor Williams, you are no longer under suspicion of involvement in the attack in New York."

"Why you call it attack?" Zhaan immediately queried cheekily.

"A lot of equipment was damaged, and soldiers were injured when we tried to approach the object."

"It seem to me that you are aggressors. Spacecraft only defending from your attack."

"Well, pedantics aside, I am as convinced as I can be without any scientists to back me up, that your claim is true, and that you are not from Earth. Therefore if you are able to assist in this matter, my Government has instructed me to arrange your urgent transportation directly to New York, to join a panel of experts there.

It was all becoming too much for Zhaan and his concentration was failing with all the stress he'd been put under. He turned to Alice, asking her to explain what Jones had said. She obliged immediately, "He knows now you are alien and needs your help. You have to travel to New York right now."

At her words, Zhaan frowned in Ted's direction and his lawyer began to speak.

"If my client is to provide assistance, in view of his treatment so far, he has some terms and conditions which he requires you to accept before he will comply. I apologise for the hand-written contract; obviously I have been unable to get a type-written copy prepared in the time available." Alice was amazed how Ted had found time to convert his roughly scrawled notes from his conversation with Zhaan, into a tidy, neatly written sheet of legalese while everything had been going on.

### Chapter Nine

It had been a struggle to convince Jones and Parker that Zhaan, Alice, and Andy should be allowed home to pack a few things before heading to the private charter jet, which was waiting on the runway for them in Missoula. In addition to Zhaan's conditions, Chief Stevenson had then added his own. The FBI would need to provide cover for Officer Callaghan's job, if he was gallivanting off to New York for who knew how long.

Confirmation of acceptance of the terms was going to take a while, an hour or so they had been told, but the authorities were aware, in no uncertain terms, that Zhaan was not getting on the plane without it. Alice wondered if the President was being dragged out of bed specially.

At Zhaan's insistence that he needed some things from the house, Jones had initially told him that everything they needed would be provided. Finally Zhaan had convinced him, stating that he needed some of his alien equipment for the mission. Alice knew the real reason behind Zhaan's determination was that he wanted to see Seren before he left, as did she. They also needed the chance to discuss with Jesse how she would be taken care of in their absence without alerting the agents to her existence.

When Jones finally acquiesced, telling them that they were allowed no more than an hour and a half before leaving for the airport, Jesse and Andy piled quickly into Andy's patrol car for the trip home. Parker and his backup insisted that Zhaan and Alice travel with them. Alice prayed that Jesse would have the foresight to warn Clare and Claudia.

As the same thought crossed his mind, while the cellphone still worked near town, Jesse gave Clare a call, asking her to talk to Claudia and make sure Seren and Kevin would be out of sight when they arrived, but ready to see their parents in private before they left. Alice was worried about leaving her daughter, but knew Zhaan would be adamant that they should try to keep the two hybrid children a secret. She reassured herself that Jesse would care for Seren as though she were his own.

The cars drew up half way between the two houses and Andy ran off towards his own, while the others headed to Jesse's. They hoped that Agent Parker's moment of confusion about whom to follow, would give Alice and Zhaan the head start they needed to disappear upstairs before he came into the house. Jesse offered the agents coffee to try to stall them downstairs, and succeeded.

Alice and Zhaan entered their bedroom, where Clare held Seren who was battling to stay awake at this late hour. First Alice took her, holding her tight, whilst Zhaan raced around the room gathering his belongings. They hoped Jesse would manage to keep Parker downstairs until they were ready.

Alice told Seren that they would be back soon, but had to go away for a while for something very important, and that she should be a good girl for Uncle Jesse and Aunt Clare. It was then Zhaan's turn to say goodbye. Instead of speaking, he simply held their child close and by the intense look in both of their eyes, Alice could tell that some silent message or feeling was being exchanged by touch alone, in the Guy way.

"Come on Alice, you need to get going," Jesse yelled up the stairs, trying to alert them that Agent Parker was getting impatient down there.

Before handing Seren back to Clare, Zhaan finally spoke softly to her in his own language.

"You understand that, for your own safety, you can't come with us, Seren?" he asked quietly. The child nodded. After holding her tight one more time, he passed her over to Clare, gently kissing both Seren and Clare on the forehead, grabbed his backpack and headed out of the bedroom.

On the ride back to Police headquarters, Alice began to fuss about things she'd forgotten, asking if they could return to the house.

"We don't have time, Miss," Parker responded. "Don't worry, everything you need will be provided, as long as Mr Guy has the equipment he insisted he needs." Zhaan merely nodded his head as Parker watched him in his rearview mirror.

Alice was still fretting. Suddenly she whispered to Zhaan, "I forgot my birth control pills."

She didn't want to bring it up with the FBI agent but didn't have a choice when Zhaan blurted out, "Alice need birth control pills. You get for her?"

After a moment of shocked silence Parker replied, "Sure no problem, just write down the brand and dosage and I'll pass it on to New York." Alice was relieved but a little embarrassed.

Parker mulled over the relationship between Alice and the strange alien, glancing at them occasionally. He found it hard to believe that theirs would be a relationship that would require birth control pills. He speculated that Alice must be in a relationship with someone else. After all, John Guy was supposedly a totally different species. Imagine if they did manage to breed together, what a mess that would be! Quickly he reassured Alice again, "Don't worry Miss, it will be fine. I'll personally make sure of it."

In the same whirlwind manner they had arrived, the FBI agents left town with Andy, Alice, and Zhaan. The bewildered Chief was left standing in the wrecked doorway of his offices, holding the keys to Andy's patrol car in his hand, and wondering what to do next. Apparently a local FBI agent was to be seconded to his staff, arriving later that day to stay for the duration of Andy's absence. He knew exactly what the agent's first job would be when he arrived, sorting out the mess the FBI guys had left behind!

As they neared the airport, Alice noticed Zhaan's head hanging down. He looked exhausted. "Are you OK?" she asked him gently.

"Tired," he answered abruptly adding, "Tired and little afraid." Alice wrapped a supportive arm around his drooping shoulders and kept it there until they approached the airport. She was expecting to stop in front of the airport terminal building to check in, but was surprised when the convoy of vehicles passed straight through a security gate beside the airport building and directly onto the tarmac runway. They stopped at steps leading up to a small, flashy-looking jet plane. Jones spoke as he pulled the vehicle up alongside. "Wheels up in ten minutes. Please board quickly."

Alice had no experience of private jets, having flown with budget airlines before, and only once with a nicer airline when Jesse had treated them to a trip to San Diego. Impeccably dressed cabin crew and a pilot greeted them as they boarded. Alice wondered if they knew whom they were transporting to New York, but assumed not. She noticed that the engines were already running with a quiet purr.

The crew escorted them to their plush seats, and stowed their luggage for them. The only wobble was when Zhaan was asked if he'd like his dark glasses to be safely stowed for the night flight. Alice sprung to his rescue. "No, he'll keep them on, thanks."

Once Alice, Zhaan, Andy, Jones, and Parker were airborne, the crew members were back, offering them beverages. Politely they headed to Alice first. She wondered for a moment if they would ask her for seven dollars a drink, as they did on other planes. Then, remembering that Parker had said everything would be provided, she decided, impulsively, to test the limits by asking for a glass of Champagne. She assumed it wouldn't be available and was stunned when the steward didn't even flinch and returned, what seemed like only seconds later, with a glass of bubbly on a silver tray, accompanied by some fancy looking hors d'oeuvres.

Zhaan didn't really understand the question the crew asked him; they spoke with strong New York accents. Looking over to Alice, he spotted her drink and ordered himself a beer. When it returned, accompanied by posh nibbles, he began poking and prodding at the food, trying to work out what it was. He turned to Alice to ask her.

"I have no idea what it is, but it's delicious! If you don't want yours, I'll have them." Alice was laughing as the cabin attendant swept by again heading for Andy, but was stunned into silence when she was asked if she would like any more of the nibbles. She nodded eagerly.

Andy faced a dilemma. Was he or was he not on duty? His shift had ended hours ago, and he wasn't sure what the situation was now. He didn't even know who would be paying his salary. He just hoped somebody would. Glancing over to the FBI agents, he noticed they both had an unappealing glass of juice and made a snap decision, ordering himself a beer. He'd only have one though. He needed to take care of Zhaan's welfare when they arrived. He hoped there would be no more dramatics from the authorities like those they had already experienced.

It wasn't long before the crew were back with the starter for a fancy in-flight meal. There were no plastic trays, knives and forks and paper napkins anywhere to be seen, only bone china, real silverware and linen napkins. Alice looked over at Zhaan, who had obviously worked out the tilting mechanism for his seat and was already crashed out. It was the effect of drinking beer when he was already tired; it had happened before. Alice was relieved he was getting some rest.

As the cabin crew member delivered Alice's meal, he glanced in Zhaan's direction, wondering whether to disturb him to bring him food.

"He's really tired, let him sleep. He'll eat something later," Alice answered on his behalf. She knew they had already eaten dinner but wasn't going to pass up this delicious treat.

Andy was tucking into his food too and turned to her furtively.

"This is the life! I could get used to this!" he whispered, making her laugh and almost choke on an olive.

The novelty of the luxury flight was a welcome diversion from the reality of what was to come in New York. Alice didn't manage to get any sleep, although Andy seemed to manage a brief nap. As they started their descent, flying over the suburbs toward La Guardia, Alice noticed that the city was lit up like a Christmas tree despite the early hour, in sharp contrast to the darkness of rural Montana. The pilot announced that normally they would approach over Central Park, but due to the current situation in the city, they would not be able to.

The plane began to drop, the change in cabin pressure waking Zhaan. He sat up and peered out of the window. His eyes opened wide when he saw the extent of the highly illuminated urban area. As they drew closer, Alice was able to spot the runway, which was entirely lined in flashing red and blue emergency vehicle lights. Their welcoming committee, she guessed.

### Chapter Ten

As the plane came to a standstill, Jones and Parker stood and gathered their belongings, indicating that the other passengers should do the same. The cabin crew had wrestled open the main, heavy door and steps were already in position outside. Parker led the way, with Jones at the rear, herding his charges like sheep. As they reached the doorway and the bitterly cold air hit their lungs, Zhaan stopped, pulling Jones to one side.

"I can't go out there," he stated without fuss.

"What do you mean, you can't go out there?" Jones asked, worried that Zhaan was going to return to his former combative mood.

"Lights are too bright. Hurt my eyes. They must turn off flash lights." Jones looked relieved that it was such a simple problem. Calling his partner on the walkie-talkie, he explained that the emergency vehicles would need to shut down their lights before Mr Guy could emerge. Parker was already at the bottom of the steps with Alice and Andy close behind. They hadn't noticed Zhaan's reluctance to exit the plane. While Parker headed to the nearest vehicle to pass on the message, Alice looked back up the steps in concern. Zhaan didn't seem panicked. He was in conversation with Jones.

"What happen now? You and Parker stay here with me in New York?" Zhaan was asking the agent.

"No. I guess they'll get us country folk out of the Big Apple as fast as they can." he said bitterly and noticed Zhaan looking confused. "I think they will send us back to Montana as soon as possible, to get us out of the way."

Zhaan had a glint in his eye. The events were definitely bringing out his rebellious side. Jones couldn't see the sparkle in his eyes when he spoke. "You want to stay here, be part of excitement?" he asked the agent.

"Hell yes! If I could, I'd love to be involved!" Jones said passionately.

The area around the plane plunged into relative darkness when all the surrounding vehicles switched off their lights. Zhaan peered over the top of his glasses and said, "OK." Parker was already on the radio, urging his partner to 'get his butt out of the plane'. It seemed the natives were getting restless.

Slinging his backpack onto one shoulder, Zhaan stepped out onto the metal steps, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He knew all eyes were on him. Spotting Alice and Andy, waiting patiently for him at the bottom of the steps, kept him calm. When he reached Alice, she took a firm grip of his free hand and gently whispered, "I'm here for you, Zhaan."

Suddenly the tense silence was broken. People seemed to rush at them from all directions. They were hustled into a waiting minivan, in the front of which two people were already seated. Zhaan was nervous and wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be separated from the people he knew and trusted. He allowed Andy and Parker to board first, then climbed in with Alice's hand still firmly grasped in his own. Jones brought up the rear.

The two men in the front of the vehicle turned to stare at Zhaan sceptically. Zhaan reacted by lowering his head and peering over the top of the dark glasses, giving them an aggressive stare with his golden, alien eyes. Amused to see them flinch at the sight, Zhaan's mouth twitched with a smile as he settled back in his seat.

One of the unknown men began to speak, while the other started up the vehicle. "We're taking you to the hotel we are using as our base. It's right near Central Park," he explained. Their vehicle pulled into a convoy; three black vehicles in front, and three guarding the rear. Suddenly the night erupted in light again, as they all deployed flashing lights.

Angrily Zhaan spoke and dropped his eyes into his hands to protect them. "Turn off lights," he ordered. After a call from his driver to the other vehicles, they all obliged immediately, and Zhaan's eyes were able to focus again. He was pleased to note that they finally seemed to be interested in his welfare. The vehicle directly behind them was even driving without headlights to avoid dazzling him. He could get his first look at the city.

Zhaan had never seen anything like this. The buildings, which formed a constant solid barrier along the edge of the road, appeared so tall that he couldn't even get a glimpse of the sky. There was nothing natural to be seen, just a solid mass of stone and concrete. The streets were deserted, but lit so brightly it was like midday on Guyara. He frowned and puzzled why so much energy would be wasted to light empty streets. He noticed that Alice and Andy were peering through the windows in awe. If nothing else, he was glad he had managed to bring about their first trip to this famous city.

Alice whispered in his ear. "It's just like in the movies, except the streets are completely empty." Her excitement made him smile.

As they approached their destination, there it was finally, Zhaan noticed with relief. Nature was still there, clinging on, surviving in this inhospitable environment. The trees he spotted made him sigh with relief and the open area of grass nearby made him feel like he could breathe again in the unfamiliar surroundings.

Their vehicle pulled up below an extended canopy. They had apparently arrived. Lights blazed inside the hotel, despite the fact that dawn was only just approaching.

"Here we are!" said their driver. His buddy leapt out to open the sliding door of the minivan, allowing the passengers to exit. Zhaan took a deep, calming breath. He turned to Alice, kissing her fervently on the lips, before gathering up his back pack and following her out of the vehicle.

As Zhaan shuffled inelegantly, his large frame difficult to manoeuvre in the confines of the cramped interior of the vehicle, Andy joked, prodding him on the shoulder. "Don't I get a kiss too, Alien Freak?" Zhaan was laughing as he climbed out nervously into the unknown.

### Chapter Eleven

Escorted into an empty room containing a large table surrounded by seats, Zhaan noticed what he assumed to be the local agents thanking Jones and Parker for their service. Obviously they were eager to take over and dispatch the out-of-state agents back to Montana, just as Jones predicted. What did Alice call it? Wanting their fifteen minutes of fame?

When Jones and Parker didn't follow them into the room and the two unknown Humans joined them instead, Zhaan insisted, "Jones and Parker must come, I need them." The local agents looked at one another, baffled, but finally one of them stood and called the Montana team back in.

As one of the New Yorkers began to speak, obviously trying to explain something, Zhaan acted confused. He turned to Jones and Parker. "This why you have to stay. I can't understand this people here. All talk strange, like something stuck up in nose." He could tell the men from Montana were struggling not to laugh at the comment, which belittled their New York colleagues with their superior attitude. "What he say, Jones?" Zhaan asked.

"They are going to fetch the man who is in charge of this situation," Jones explained as simply as he could. Damn, he thought to himself, this Mr Guy was quite a character. He was surprised to find himself growing to like him.

In the few moments the travel companions were alone together before the New Yorkers returned, Jones felt compelled to ask Zhaan, "Mr Guy, why do you want us to stay? I got the distinct impression that you didn't like us earlier."

"From moment you take hand chains off my Alice, I like you Jones. You want to stay, I make it possible," came Zhaan's reply. "Call me Zhaan, my name is Zhaan. When you call me Mr Guy, I don't notice that you try to talk to me," he explained, smiling the closed-lipped smile of the Guy people.

An imposing man in military uniform swept assertively into the room. The New York agents and another man carrying a laptop computer trailed in his wake. Firmly he stuck out his hand in Zhaan's direction. "Mr Guy, I presume." There was a moment of stillness before Zhaan reciprocated. He seemed transfixed by the multi-coloured medal ribbons on the man's chest. Finally Zhaan extended his hand. As they shook hands, the military man continued to talk. "I'm Higgins, and I'm dealing with this situation for the President."

"Higgins, my name Zhaan. Call me Zhaan, especially when you want me to remember to listen." The General roared with laughter, perhaps a little too forcefully to be convincing. The sudden noise of his reaction caused Zhaan to back away a little.

Higgins turned to the small entourage Zhaan seemed to be acquiring. "And you people are?"

"Jones, and Parker, FBI, from Montana. We accompanied Zhaan here to New York, and now he insists we stay." Jones said with satisfaction.

The General's gaze passed to Andy, who responded, "Police Officer Callaghan, from Darby, Montana. I was the one who called in the information."

The General nodded. "Yes, I remember your name from Mr Guy's - Zhaan's - list of conditions." He smiled, finally turning to Alice, who was feeling a little disgruntled at being left until last by the General, as though she was the least important person in the room. She boldly extended a firm hand.

"I'm Alice Williams, and Zhaan won't be going anywhere without me." For a brief moment, Higgins raised his eyebrows, impressed by her self-confidence, before he suggested that they all sit.

A younger, uniformed man bustled in with a tray containing a pot of coffee, cups, and cookies. Alice was surprised that Higgins even acknowledged the man and was more impressed when he turned to thank him. Zhaan suddenly whispered to her, "I thirsty too." She realised that coffee appeared to be the only option on offer.

"Could Zhaan please have some water and a cup of hot tea, he doesn't drink coffee," Alice insisted.

"Of course, Ma'am!" replied the young officer. He scurried away to oblige, causing her to stifle a giggle at being called Ma'am.

Higgins began to talk again. "I know you must all be tired. It seems we have caused you to miss a night of sleep, but I wanted to speak with you before we let you get some rest. The FBI agents have assured the team here that Mr Guy's claim seems to hold up, and that in all probability he is of extra-terrestrial origin. Just to make one hundred percent certain, before he is issued with security clearance, we will need to take a DNA sample from him for analysis."

Almost on cue, a white-coated scientist came through the door bearing a tray of medical equipment. Suddenly Zhaan looked uneasy.

"What he say?" he whispered to Alice, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"They want to be completely sure that you are not Human and are asking if they may possibly take a sample from you, to look at your DNA, your genetic information." She intentionally made the General's comments sound more like a request than an order.

"They want cut me?" Zhaan asked, his eyes narrowing with distrust, as he peered at the instruments on the tray.

"I think maybe they would like a small sample of your blood, but I'm not exactly sure. Perhaps the doctor here can explain what is involved, then you can decide." Alice knew that Zhaan still had the recurring nightmare about being captured and dissected by Humans and she didn't want him to start freaking out.

"Ideally, Miss, a blood sample would be best, if Mr Guy will agree." Alice wondered whether he was a medical doctor or some other kind of scientist.

"How you take blood from me?" Zhaan asked nervously.

"Using a small needle to pierce your skin, we'll fill one of these small bottles with a little of your blood." Alice could see the scientist was desperately eager to get his hands on some alien blood, but was trying his best to appear non-threatening to Zhaan.

Zhaan gave his answer to the request, "OK." Then he added cheekily, "Good luck with that. Which part of body you try to poke?" making everyone in the room wonder.

"If you could just remove your sweater and roll up your shirt sleeve, it will only take a minute," the white coated man reassured him. He snapped on a pair of surgical gloves, and proceeded to add a second pair over the top. Zhaan watched, bemused, as the man wrapped a tourniquet around his upper arm and began to tap below his elbow, searching for a vein. He obviously found what he needed and grabbed a hypodermic syringe. He placed the needle cautiously against Zhaan's pale skin. "Don't worry. It'll only hurt for a second."

As he attempted to insert the needle into Zhaan's arm, it snapped in half when the pressure he applied became too much and the point couldn't penetrate the alien's tough skin.

The scientist looked embarrassed. "Sorry about that," he said. "Let me try again." Zhaan responded by raising his eyebrows quizzically. The second attempt proved as unsuccessful as the first. Now the man looked stumped.

Andy stepped in. "Maybe a saliva sample, would that work?" he suggested.

"Yes, that would work too, I guess," the scientist responded, self-consciously, adding, "assuming that Mr Guy has saliva like a Human." Zhaan looked puzzled again, obviously not understanding what they were talking about.

"Oh yeah, he has saliva, I can vouch for that!" said Alice, suddenly blushing red as a tomato, when she realised what she'd said.

Zhaan turned to her and smiled. "Why your face red, Alice?"

"It doesn't matter," she told him, mortified. "They just want to take a sample of the liquid in your mouth instead," she clarified.

Zhaan leaned over towards her conspiratorially, raising one eyebrow and whispering in her ear, "They want to see what I can do with tongue, too?" Now Alice was wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. She hoped that nobody had heard Zhaan's words. Backing away, she gave him a playful punch on the arm, telling him to cut it out.

Finally the scientist had the sample he needed from Zhaan and, with relief, left the room.

### Chapter Twelve

They were shown up to rooms on the third floor, where they were told they would be able to rest for a couple of hours while the General waited for the scientist's verdict on Zhaan's DNA.

Zhaan and Alice were offered a room each, but Alice shocked the General's assistant by saying, "We only need one room. Zhaan likes to keep me really close," and giving him a cheeky wink. Andy was parked in the room beside theirs. Jones and Parker were in two rooms on the other side. It seemed the locals wanted everyone from Montana to be kept closely together. Later, on peeking out through the peep hole in the door while Zhaan was showering, Alice realised why. All three rooms were under armed guard by uniformed soldiers. Even the law enforcement officers were under suspicion for now. Was it for their protection, she wondered, or were they prisoners?

Zhaan emerged from the bathroom, a white, luxuriously fluffy towel wrapped around his waist. He rubbed his hair dry with another. A look passed between them, one which they both recognised well by now. Suddenly, in a move which was impossible for a human, Zhaan leapt half way across the room, landing lightly on all fours on the bed, the towel flying off in his wake. He turned towards Alice, raising one hand and with a slow movement of an extended index finger, seductively beckoned her towards the enormous bed.

Momentarily Alice tried to resist. It just didn't feel right given the circumstances, but another look at the fire in Zhaan's eyes made her resolve crumble. Shedding her shoes, she too made an albeit less impressive leap onto the king sized bed. She justified her actions to herself by deciding that it would help keep him calmer. Zhaan pounced on top of her immediately.

"You want to check my saliva too?" he joked, as he brought his lips to lock passionately with hers. When they came up for air, he rolled onto his side and gently traced the features of Alice's face, first with his finger, then with his lips. Slowly he moved beyond to her neck and then began to explore beneath the edges of the collar of her shirt. "Thank you, Alice, for being with me here," he said earnestly, before lying back onto the bed.

"So about that tongue......" she teased.

Alice felt she managed only a few minutes of sleep before being awoken by the phone in their room.

"Miss Williams, we're sending up breakfast. Do you have any preferences?" Still half-asleep, Alice answered grumpily. "Whatever, it's fine."

"We'll be meeting in the conference room in an hour," she was told.

Ugh, she felt worse than if she hadn't slept at all. A shower was desperately needed.

She emerged in search of the hairdryer ten minutes later, to see Zhaan headed to answer the door. Much as Alice was enjoying the view, she called out to him. "Put on a robe for goodness sake, Zhaan!" Obediently he turned around. His eyes searched the room for one, but instead he became distracted at the sight of Alice wrapped in a towel. He made a beeline for her. Eager to fend him off, knowing they were pushed for time, she reached quickly behind her, picked up a robe from a hook on the bathroom door, thrust it at him and made a feeble attempt to straighten his ruffled hair. It grew so fast it was almost a daily job keeping it cropped short.

The insistent knocking on the door and the call of "Room Service" resumed. Reluctant to be seen by a stranger wearing only a towel, Alice dived back into the bathroom, leaving Zhaan to sort it out.

Fifteen minutes later Andy was knocking at their door, dressed smartly in uniform. Alice invited him in while they finished breakfast. If they were going to be here long, Alice decided she would need more willpower with the fancy food, or she'd require two plane seats on the way back to Montana.

"Did you get some rest, Andy?" she asked politely.

Andy gave her disparaging look. "Not really. The walls are surprisingly thin." Alice's cheeks were bright red again. "It's Jones I really feel sorry for!" Andy indicated the side of the room where their bed was located. "Don't you guys ever get tired?" he laughed.

Right on time, which was mostly down to Andy, the three of them were seated in the conference room opposite Jones and Parker. Jones appeared weary and bad-tempered, and was giving Zhaan and Alice a strange look, as Andy had anticipated. They awaited the arrival of the General and his team.

Without so much as a Good Morning, the General launched into business on his arrival.

"It has been proven that Zhaan is indeed not Human. The details of his origins will be investigated later. Our first priority, however, is to deal with the situation here in New York and establish what information he has, which may be of use to us.

"Our recent investigations of the object in Central Park having failed, we need to work on a new strategy. Obviously public safety and the restoration of normal activities here in Manhattan will be our main priorities. I understand you have some information about the object, Zhaan; what it may be, and its capabilities. We will need to obtain that information from you as quickly as possible. I have assigned a language specialist to work with you directly on that, as soon as this meeting is over.

"In the meantime, given your expert knowledge about the situation, what approach would you adopt in our shoes?"

Zhaan frowned, struggling to keep up with the General's rapid speech, looking to Andy for help. "What he say about shoes?"

"Zhaan, he wants you to tell him everything you know about the spacecraft later, but first he wants to know what you would do if you were him," his friend clarified.

Zhaan sat silently, pondering how it would be possible for him to be the General, before he realised what was meant. He was pensive for a moment before speaking. "We need to know if someone alive on ship. If someone alive, we need to know who they are. Depend on who they are what we do next." The General nodded encouragingly at Zhaan's words.

"We have seen no signs of life from the object. How would you suggest we ascertain if there is life aboard?" Higgins asked.

Zhaan bent to the floor below his seat, pulling out his backpack. He banged it down on the table and began rummaging inside. Alice smiled. Zhaan hadn't become any tidier or more organised during his time on Earth.

After yanking a pair of socks out of the bag, which slid menacingly across the shiny table top towards the General, he found what he was looking for. In his hand was the mini medical scanner, which he called his doctor machine. "I think with this machine I can find out if people are alive on ship, but I have to change some settings. First I have to ask my people how." His head went back in the backpack as his hands rummaged again. This time it was his communicator he pulled out.

"This I need to contact my people," he stated, setting to work right away on a message to Malla. He wasn't really sure about his claim that the medical scanner would work through the hull of the ship from a safe distance, but if anybody could work out how to do it, Malla would. The room fell silent as his fingers moved, forming the message. When he finished, he explained, "It take some time to get answer over big distance."

"When you say some time, can you give us a ballpark?" the General asked, again leaving Zhaan perplexed and turning to his friends for help.

"Can I give you a park?" he asked.

"How much time, Zhaan?" Alice clarified.

"How much time it take last time?" he asked her, remembering the last message he'd sent, asking for permission to help the Humans.

So much had happened in the meantime that Alice struggled to remember. "I don't know exactly, a few hours."

"Also Malla need time to work this with engineer, so perhaps a little longer," Zhaan added.

"Then we have to wait for that information. Zhaan, do you have any idea who might be in the ship, if indeed anybody?" Higgins asked. He spoke more simply this time, but it was easy to tell that he was frustrated that progress seemed painstakingly slow. He was under tremendous pressure from above to get Manhattan and Wall Street functioning again.

"I believe somebody on ship. Ship cannot fly here and land using..." Zhaan waved his arms and looked in Andy's direction for help before remembering the word himself, "chute thing in middle of all this tall buildings without pilot to fly."

Higgins fired in another question as Zhaan paused for breath. "Do you know who might be aboard?"

"Ship is of Duran people from planet called Dura. This people very dangerous. My people, Guy, fight big war with Dura for long time. What the word? Millenia I think. My planet and my people almost destroyed."

The General looked concerned as Zhaan continued speaking. "My people check already and nobody know of any deep space mission by Dura in this star system. If Duran are here, I believe you know it already. They come with many ship and make big trouble. It possible they send few Duran people to investigate Earth, as my people did." Zhaan paused for breath. "We have to hope not.

"Also possible is that this is different race who have Duran ship, either stolen or salvaged, and they use to explore or trade. Biggest question though, where is mother ship? This craft here only shuttle ship, not able to fly across big distance of space. This ship only take people from big ship above planet down to surface. We have to work out where is mother ship. Must be somewhere close to Earth. If we see mother ship, that can help us know who land here."

Assuming this strange alien was telling the truth, Higgins was beginning to feel glad he had taken a leap of faith and had brought Zhaan to New York. He may be insolent on occasion, but they had already learned more in half an hour than they had found out in the days the ship had been here. It made him nervous to think of a larger craft, lying somewhere in orbit above them. That thought hadn't even occurred to him or anyone else. How could something bigger be above the planet without being spotted by radar or telescope? He wondered for a moment, before asking Zhaan that very question.

"Mother ship of Guy people stay above your planet for many months and nobody know," Zhaan answered bluntly. "It all about where you park it," he smiled.

If they hunted and actually tracked down some kind of ship in orbit, Higgins would be totally convinced that he wasn't dealing with a nutcase here, but then he might have bigger problems on his plate.

The General turned to his assistant. "Get as many people as possible looking for that damn ship, as a priority. Call every space agency in every country you can think of, NASA first obviously, and then start working on military satellites, radio telescopes, observatories, and so forth. Use the authorisation code we have from the White House." The assistant nodded and rose from his seat to set to work on the order.

As he was almost out of the door, Zhaan piped up. "Maybe you want to look behind your Moon first. It very good hiding place, but don't say to my people I tell you that!"

"If we can track down this mother ship, Zhaan, do you think you will be able to identify it?" Higgins asked.

"Me or my people. We need picture."

"Right then. Callaghan, you assist Zhaan with the information he has about the object. Our linguistics expert will be right with you to help. Jones, Parker, track down my assistant and help him make those calls." For a split second the General's eyes came to rest on Alice and he seemed bewildered. "Er, Miss Williams, do whatever you think best." With that, he swept out of the room.

As the door closed Alice couldn't contain herself. "Good grief, that guy is so pompous, I'm surprised he doesn't get his head stuck up his ass more often! You'd think he'd never seen a girl before!" Jones and Parker were still struggling to contain their laughter as they sauntered from the room.

### Chapter Thirteen

An hour later Higgins was back and looking antsy. "So, what have we learned?" He directed his question at the poor linguistics expert assigned to Zhaan. The man was obviously at a loss with the alien language. Zhaan and Andy had been poring over the information on Zhaan's communicator with him. It was a real struggle trying to translate the technical information for a person who had no knowledge of alien technology at all. Even Zhaan, with no technical background, was struggling to work out what some of it meant.

"Sir, to be honest," the man answered meekly, "I think we are going to need the support of someone familiar with space engineering, or at least some kind of engineering. The drawings I've seen make no sense to me at all, and with Mr Guy not knowing the words in our language, if indeed there are words in our language for some of this stuff, it's very challenging, Sir."

"Right you are." The General abruptly left the room again.

Ten minutes later they were joined by another body. Alice watched in amusement as the scenario before her began to resemble a game of charades. Zhaan was frustrated and gesticulating wildly as he tried to get his message across. Three equally exasperated people were desperately trying to understand his meaning. They were getting nowhere fast.

"Why don't you just concentrate on information that will actually be useful to you?" Alice suggested. "I mean it's not like you want to fly the damn thing out of Central Park. You don't need to translate the whole manual. Perhaps you should just think about how it could be dangerous to you, whether you can move it, that type of information." She glanced at the small engineering drawings on Zhaan's communicator. "I mean that looks like maybe -," she twisted her head a little, to get a better look. "Well I think it's an engine. You don't really need to know how it works at this point, just if the fuel is dangerous, stuff like that I'd say."

"Excellent point Alice," Andy interjected. "We should think of the questions we need answered urgently and see if Zhaan can help us find the answers to those first." He turned to the newest recruit on their little team. "I know as an engineer you're probably eager to know all you can about every system on the ship, but I believe time is of the essence here. There will be plenty of opportunity to study it in detail later." He drew out his notebook and pen. "So what do we need to know?"

Alice smiled. If that engineer had continued as he had started, in about three weeks they might be building a scale model of the damn space ship, but what help would that be? Zhaan turned to her, pulled her towards him, giving her a big kiss. "You very clever, Alice, without you this take forever."

"OK," Andy began, "what is dangerous about that type of ship, Zhaan?"

Now we're getting somewhere, thought Alice.

"First of all pulse wave shield, your people already found that. I tell them they shouldn't approach ship, but they do. Pulse wave shield is defence weapon for ship. Maybe it automatic, but probably somebody press a button to activate. I don't know for sure. You know that pulse wave will stop machines, anything with metal, and people who approach. This work on Humans too, as you find out, so it dangerous for you. If you want to get near ship, pulse wave shield must be off first."

"Didn't you say something about the fuel used by the ship being dangerous, Zhaan?" Alice reminded him.

"Fuel very explosive if not contained properly. Two different chemical which mix in very precise amount to give power. If mixture is wrong - BOOM!" Zhaan waved his arms in the air in the shape of a mushroom cloud.

"So if the fuel tanks were damaged on impact, we could have a big problem?" the engineer clarified. Zhaan nodded.

"Fuel chemicals must be kept separate and away from oxygen. This very important."

"What about other weapons?" Andy asked.

"Depend on who inside ship. But whole ship can become big bomb."

"How do you mean, Zhaan?" the engineer wondered.

"Dura people never want other people to see their technology, so for defence in battle, ship can explode itself. Sometimes this people use ship as flying bomb to damage enemy. Just fly into them, then auto destruct."

"How big an explosion are we talking about, Zhaan? What kind of power?" Zhaan's arms circled again to indicate massive, when Andy stepped in.

"He did mention to me something about our nuclear bombs in Japan." Now the engineer looked worried.

"Hell!" The engineer scribbled in a notebook. "What about weapons, guns, or whatever the equivalent would be? Do you think the people on board will be armed? Does the ship have any guns built into it?"

Zhaan shrugged. "Most people going into unknown have weapon, just like here." He began to peer at his communicator again, trying to make sense of the drawings Malla had sent. "I think ship have two energy pulse guns at front and two at back. How they are built, it is possible they cannot fire with ship lying on ground. I hope. Probably more guns inside."

"What about the weight of the ship? If we can make it safe, we'll need to move it out of Manhattan. How heavy do you think it is, Zhaan?" Andy asked. Zhaan slid his finger repeatedly over the communicator in search of the information they wanted.

"Ship built of..." he turned to Alice, "...what that metal like my teeth?"

"Titanium," she answered.

"Most things in space made of this metal. This metal light and strong. Ship must be light to get away from planet gravity. If we can make it safe, I sure Humans can move it somehow. You manage to move your crazy big rocket ships."

A beep from the communicator made everybody in the room start, Zhaan included. "That quick, Malla!" he exclaimed. A tense silence hung in the air while he read. Finally he turned to his medical device.

"This I can recalibrate to become life force detector but need more power to send signal further." He turned to the engineer. "You help me with that? Malla send me pictures. I think we work on that now. Priority is to find out if someone on ship."

The engineer nodded, looking unsure about working with alien technology. The linguistics expert spotted an opportunity to escape. "I'll go and update General Higgins." He rose eagerly from the seat where he'd been fidgeting, feeling like a spare part.

Alice was of most help to Zhaan in recalibrating the device. She studied the pictures Malla had sent, while Zhaan translated the instructions from the Guy language. "Now we just need more power, to push signal through metal of ship instead of skin," he explained, obviously happy with their modifications. He explained to the engineer. "This machine send a wave signal, normally through body, to investigate what wrong with a person. Now it modified just to detect heartbeats. We must increase power, convert to use your Earth electricity maybe?" Zhaan suggested, looking optimistically at the engineer.

"I'll need to head back to my lab, take it apart and try to understand how it works," he responded nervously. He was already studying the unfamiliar type of fastenings which held the device together.

"I trust you with this. DON'T BREAK!" Zhaan shouted the last phrase for emphasis. "All we need is more power, not broken machine." Anxiously, the man scurried away with the device.

It took half a day, but the engineer returned with a grin on his face. "I think I've cracked it!" he exclaimed with glee.

"Why you happy if it crack?" Zhaan asked angrily. "I not happy!"

"No, I mean I think I've devised a way to increase the power of the signal. I'm struggling to get my head around how it functions, but I worked out where the power source was from those diagrams you were sent. I tried it with some high voltage DC and, well, it didn't blow up!" His words weren't reassuring. "You need to test it for me, Zhaan."

"OK." Zhaan took the device, which now had a series of wires connecting it to some kind of power source the engineer had wheeled in behind him on a trolley. With a brief concerned frown in Alice's direction, Zhaan activated the device and strolled across the room with the cables trailing behind him. Pointing it at the wall, he quickly pressed a couple of buttons and waited. "There four people in next room," he said with confidence. "Andy check please." Obligingly Andy rushed next door to check, returning with his thumb held aloft.

"Only one, Andy?" said Zhaan, frowning down at the device.

"No, Alien Freak. Four people! Haven't you learned the thumbs up sign yet?" Andy laughed. "It's a wonder you've survived this long!"

Relieved, Zhaan pursued their next goal. "Now we test through metal."

The engineer looked pleased with himself. "I anticipated that would be our next step, so I had a couple of my guys source a sheet of titanium for a trial, they should be here any minute. We had to get it flown in from Virginia." Right on cue, two men entered the room, wheeling a four foot square piece of titanium between them on a dolly. Zhaan's mouth fell open in amazement. Despite his poor first impression, the engineer was proving useful.

"OK, put against wall, we try again." Once it was in place, Zhaan activated his machine again. A few seconds later he looked down, confused. "Now only three heart beat in next room." To the engineer's horror, he began tapping the device hard in his hand in frustration. Apparently this reaction to faulty gadgets was universal. Andy rushed from the room again, returning seconds later.

"Correct. Only three people in there now - somebody stepped out to the men's room," he said with a big grin on his face. The tension in Zhaan's expression disappeared. "Good. Now we go find out who on ship." He started to make his way out of the room with the device still in his hand, ignoring the cables connected to the trolley behind him.

"Zhaan, stop!" Alice urged. He looked back at her with puzzlement on his face. "You're connected to all of this stuff, so you can't just walk out of here dragging it behind you. Besides, shouldn't we tell the General what we plan to do? What about the pulse wave? How close will you need to be, Zhaan?" Zhaan turned back into the room, chastened.

"Zhaan, run your plan by me again," the General insisted. "How are you going to get that scanner close to the ship without getting your brain fried by the pulse wave?"

"Well, it dark already. First we turn off all lights near ship some time before we try, so nobody can see us," Zhaan began to explain. "If we are lucky they don't have thermal cameras. I hope that pulse wave not automatic, so in the dark I can sneak close to ship before activating this device. When I have information, I turn and come back."

"That sounds like a truly high tech approach, Zhaan," Andy said sarcastically. "For just a moment shall we think about what will happen to both you and the device if the pulse wave does activate?" He didn't want Zhaan's overeagerness getting him injured.

"Then we have to start again with other plan after I wake up from pulse wave," Zhaan reasoned nonchalantly.

"Wouldn't you be injured, Zhaan?" Alice worried.

"For few minutes my brain activity can be disrupted. Probably I fall to the ground but soon I recover," he reassured her.

"Hmm." She was unconvinced.

Ignoring her, he turned back to the engineer. "We need cables to be much longer, so you people can be far from ship." With that he left the room in search of food with the comment, "First I eat. I hungry."

### Chapter Fourteen

Alice guessed that this part of Manhattan hadn't been so dark in centuries. As planned, all lights within a quarter mile of the ship had been extinguished by the power company. She'd been eager to get a look at the actual craft that all the fuss was about, but it seemed she would be frustrated. She struggled to make out anything at all in the dark. Even the engineer's power trolley was covered with a black trash bag to hide any stray LED lights.

She smiled to herself wondering what the visitors, if they were observing them, would make of this totally polished plan. One alien, crawling along the ground in the dark, connected by a ridiculous amount of cable to a hotel serving trolley wrapped in a trash bag. We Humans are just so cool, she smirked.

She got nervous as Zhaan approached the craft, or at least she assumed he must be near by now. She couldn't make anything out in the blackout. Beside her, a uniformed soldier observed Zhaan through night vision goggles and reported to the General on the ground he had covered. It made no sense to Alice as he was measuring in metres, which no one had ever thought to explain to her in school.

"He's within ten metres of target, Sir," the soldier updated the General. Wow, imagine being important enough to have other people to look at stuff for you! "It looks like he's activating the device now."

"Yes, I see the power drain," the engineer confirmed.

Everyone turned back to the soldier who was the only one able to see. Alice couldn't make out her own hand in front of her face.

"I think he's giving us a thumbs-up sign, Sir," the soldier reported. "Yes, he's moving away now."

Andy whispered to Alice, "Quick learner, huh? I only taught him that a couple of hours ago!" They giggled, but stopped abruptly when they didn't see, so much as sense, a tingling wave of energy pass over them and fade away. For a moment Alice was giddy as, it seemed, was everybody else. Realising what it must be, she rushed forwards in the direction where she guessed Zhaan was, but Andy grabbed her arm firmly, restraining her. While she struggled, the soldier stated, "Man down, Sir."

"OK, you and you," the General pointed at the soldier and Andy, "Get in there and drag him out. Move fast. Let's hope it takes them a while to recharge that thing, or I'll be coming in to rescue you guys next." He took over the effort of holding Alice back from the danger zone, to free up Andy. In her frustration Alice snatched the night vision goggles from the soldier as he left.

Horrified, she watched as Andy and the soldier stayed low, locating Zhaan with a flashlight and rushing over to where he lay motionless on the ground. What if the aliens had made the pulse wave more powerful? What if he was dead? Her arms shook as the soldier and Andy dragged Zhaan back towards her. She should have tried harder to convince him this was an idiotic idea.

Zhaan's prone body lay before her and the General called for a medic. As if by magic, one appeared out of the darkness. Alice knelt beside Zhaan, relieved to see his chest rising and falling slowly but regularly. Zhaan began to move, shaking his head, as though disorientated. He attempted to sit but promptly fell backwards again. Alice grabbed his head, just in time to stop it cracking down with substantial force on the ground behind him. His lips were moving, trying to form words. She tried to get him to lie still and relax while the medic checked him over. On reflection, what would he know about Guy anatomy anyway?

This time, managing to raise himself up fractionally onto his elbows, Zhaan finally spoke. "Five," he said.

"Five what, Zhaan?" Alice asked.

"Five heartbeat," and with that he collapsed backwards again.

At the hotel an hour later, Zhaan seemed to be back to his normal self. Apparently the Human soldiers had taken almost four times as long to recover from the pulse wave after their attempt to approach the ship.

"It must be an advantage having such a thick head," Alice quipped to Andy as they waited for the General again. Where was he all the time when he disappeared, she pondered? Perhaps updating the President? It's funny that one minute General Pompous Ass was talking to the President and in the next breath to little old me, she thought.

Higgins' arrival was spectacular, leaving Alice to wonder whether they taught the art of the dramatic entrance at military school.

"So, you're sure you read five heartbeats, before you were incapacitated, Zhaan?" Alice was annoyed that the General launched straight in with no, 'Thank you for risking your life for us kind alien'. She huffed in disgust, causing everybody to look at her. Zhaan nodded, still wearing a baffled expression directed at Alice.

"We have to assume there are five hostiles aboard the object. We can't check again, as your device seems to be fried at the moment. Davies is working on that for you." Ah, finally the engineer had a name.

"Now we try to talk to them," Zhaan stated, as though he were in charge.

"How do you propose we attempt that?" The General seemed a bit miffed at Zhaan's tone.

Zhaan thrust the dirty, untidy backpack onto the table in front of him. He searched through the contents and emerged with his communicator.

"We try Duran language and Ziluran. We know it not Guy aboard," he said in a matter-of-fact way. "If nobody answer to Duran or Ziluran, then we try Guy language and maybe Earth languages," he suggested. "I warn you my Duran is worse even than my Ziluran."

"Well, I'm sure it is better than anybody else's!" the General attempted to joke.

"If none of those languages work..." Zhaan's sentence trailed off and he shrugged.

"Do you need to go close to the ship again, Zhaan?" Alice asked with concern, unconvinced it should be down to Zhaan to risk himself again.

"No, maybe nearer than here, but I don't want this fried." He gestured at the communicator, pleased with himself for picking up the General's terminology.

"I don't want this to be fried either!" Alice announced, poking his head with her index finger.

They were all assembled at 0800 hours, as instructed by the General. The President had wanted to use the overnight hours to have 'wordsmiths' at the White House work on what was to be said to the alien visitors. Then it needed to be run by the United Nations Security Council, as per Zhaan's terms. It was now eight forty and there was no sign of Higgins.

Zhaan looked grumpy. "By now we could be eating breakfast with the alien dudes, or better still sleeping!" he muttered, taking another bite of his croissant. "What can take so long? Probably they write something really difficult and expect me to say in Duran and Ziluran. I didn't speak Duran since school and Ziluran only many years ago. I was bad, very bad, at language class. You tell it by my English."

"Have another croissant and stop complaining, Alien Freak!" Andy said, picking one up and reaching playfully across the table trying to stuff it into Zhaan's mouth. Jones and Parker, who seemed to have become a permanent fixture in their little team, each grabbed hold of one of Zhaan's arms, to stop him resisting. That was the scene that greeted General Higgins as he made his usual sweeping entrance, with a small entourage behind him. The three men behind the General watched the antics before them, mouths open in amazement, while Higgins looked like he might blow a fuse.

"Shall we begin?" he asked pointedly. Andy shuffled back into his seat, looking mortified, and dropped the croissant in front of Zhaan on the table. Jones and Parker hurriedly let go of Zhaan's arms, and he used them to pick up the croissant and set to work on eating it, merely nodding at the General.

Alice thought she heard Higgins mutter, "Dear Lord!" under his breath, before turning around to introduce White House Man and United Nations Man behind him, whose names she instantly forgot, as she was still struggling to contain a fit of the giggles.

Higgins laid a sheet of paper in front of Zhaan on the table where, Alice noted with horror, it immediately picked up a grease stain from the remnants of the breakfast antics. Zhaan's eyes moved nervously around the room before he lowered his head to look at it.

"This is the statement we wish you to say, to the best of your ability, to our visitors." After the juvenile display Higgins had just witnessed, it was horrifying to think that all that stood between peace and a possible intergalactic war was this bunch. "It has been worded VERY diplomatically." The word 'very' was pronounced at half the speed and twice the volume of the others for emphasis.

Zhaan looked uncomfortably around the table again before focusing back on the paper. While he looked down, a nervous hush descended over the room, as everybody waited for his reaction to what he was reading. Once again Zhaan began to glance anxiously around the room. Suddenly Alice realised the problem. After over two years on Earth and despite her best efforts to help him read English, it was an awfully slow process for Zhaan. He insisted that all the letters looked the same, so he couldn't remember which one was which, or what their sounds were.

"Want some help?" she whispered subtly close to his ear. With relief he nodded eagerly, and went on to explain his predicament to the others in the room.

"If you want me to read this and understand it on my own, this can take all day. Alice must help, or perhaps you write it in Guy language," he added impudently.

The General looked momentarily ashamed that he hadn't considered that reading a language, which to him was totally alien, might be a problem for Zhaan.

"Very good. Alice, do you want to read it aloud, or shall I?" he asked humbly.

Alice took up the paper and began to read. She had a sudden fear that they may have used long words that she didn't know and she might look an idiot; after all, school hadn't been her finest hour. Yet she knew she was pretty intelligent when she did apply herself. She began to speak and was surprised at her own confident manner. All the time she spent reading aloud to Zhaan in bed seemed to be paying dividends.

"Welcome visitors to Planet Earth. We, the Human race, welcome you in peace to our home and hope there will be no animosity between our two races. Despite our extensive space exploration, we have yet to encounter a species from another world and are looking forward to meeting you. We wish to learn more about your people and to understand your reasons for this visit to Earth. We hope you will co-operate with us.

"We can provide food, water and medical assistance if required and are prepared to assist in any other way possible, provided you show no hostility towards our race and our home planet. If you are able to understand this communication, please respond to us."

As Alice stopped speaking, Zhaan looked at her in confusion. "This I cannot say. It not true. How can Guy speak for Humans, if Humans never met anyone from other planet? I know about Roswell too! Also, what this word mean, animosity?" he asked. "How much time you spend to write this?" he asked exasperatedly.

"The man, er Guy, has a point," Higgins stepped up to agree with Zhaan. White House Man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Actually there was a lot more to the speech than this when I wrote it but by the time everybody had their input, commented on it, and took out what they didn't like for some reason or another, this was all that was left," he explained with frustration. He looked fatigued at the thought of beginning the whole process all over again.

"What you want to say to these people? It not difficult, like maybe; 'Hi. Welcome. This is Earth. We want peace. What do you want with us? That is what you want to say. Maybe offer help if they need it. We just go speak with them." He began to rise from his chair.

"But this is so important!" the White House's writer insisted. "It's our first contact with aliens. It needs a lot of thought and universal acceptance by all major nations before we engage with these aliens."

"Second contact, not first." Zhaan looked pointedly at him over his dark glasses. "Also, you don't need universal acceptance, just from Earth. Little green men, you believe live on Mars, don't care!" Zhaan challenged the man, a mischievous smile on his face.

Alice picked up where he left off. "If we have to wait for all of you to go through the entire writing process again, either the aliens will have attacked us already, or died of old age," she said sarcastically. She was the only one in the room who would get away with expressing the sentiments she knew the others were probably thinking. When no one commented, she pressed on, "I mean if I'd crash landed on somebody else's planet and they just seemed to sit around doing nothing about it for days on end, I'd be beginning to wonder what kind of wimps they were." Worried she'd gone too far, Alice abruptly stopped speaking, her eyes darting nervously around the room, waiting for a reaction.

"I believe Miss Williams' opinion is very valid." Higgins stunned her by backing her up. "Let's stop bickering and just get on with this shall we? Zhaan, you need to be closer to the ship to try to communicate with them, is that correct?" He asked, pondering the logistics.

"Closer is better, I think. We can see if they react if we close by. Also I use less power from my communicator. I direct communication more precisely, then we don't tell whole Galaxy that they here, and that I here."

"Right then," Higgins turned to his assistant. "Get the vehicles around here to pick us up."

Zhaan started to speak again. "First I try Ziluran, partly because it more easy for me and I really hope they Ziluran inside, not Duran. Also if Zilurans on ship and they hear Duran language, maybe they freak out and blow up ship. Nobody like Duran people. If Durans are on ship and they hear Ziluran, probably they don't care too much."

"Excellent logic, Zhaan." Higgins slapped him firmly on the back as a sign of approval, not expecting the reaction he got. Zhaan's chair flew back, and in one fluid move, he jumped up lightly onto the table, squatting down with his claws extended towards the General. A hiss was coming from his throat. Higgins stepped back in alarm with his mouth hanging open. He looked anxiously from Andy to Alice for an explanation.

"You don't want to be touching him without prior approval, General," Andy volunteered. "Apparently it's pretty rude and threatening to his people."

Alice turned to the jittery alien. "Zhaan, for heaven's sake get off the table and put those claws away. We don't have time for this. I'm sure the General will apologise." She looked sternly in the man's direction.

"Sorry, Zhaan, I didn't realise. No offence intended," he said cautiously, his eyes fixed on the extended claws, which retracted as quickly as they had appeared. Zhaan took a deep sigh and leapt back down from the table.

### Chapter Fifteen

Everyone assembled a little further away from the ship than they had the previous night. The General was on the phone to the White House, which was giving him grief for pressing on without the approved speech. Alice heard the exasperated tone in his voice as he argued.

"There were serious flaws with the speech, Madame President. I believe we need to establish communications with the visitors as simply as possible, and go from there. Zhaan and I have discussed what needs to be said," he was insisting.

It seemed they were going to go with Zhaan's, 'Hi, welcome to Earth, what do you want?' strategy. Alice waited, not realising she was holding her breath, for the reaction from the White House.

Higgins hung up the phone with a businesslike, "Very good, yes I'll keep you updated immediately if we have a response."

Alice's eyes turned to Zhaan, who was bent over his communicator looking worried. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I try switch my communicator back to intergalactic hailing frequency. For so much time everything sent on secret Guy frequency; I forgotten how." Alice drifted away to where Andy stood nearby, giving Zhaan a little space to think.

"Are we about to be responsible for an intergalactic war?" Andy joked. "Do you think Zhaan has a single ounce of tact in his body?" Alice gave him a friendly slap on the arm for his cheek.

"Perhaps whoever is in the ship is worse," she suggested with a wink. She noticed that Zhaan was now looking more relaxed and she sauntered back in his direction, as Higgins began briefing him again.

"On instructions from The Top, we're recording what you say and any response we might get, so don't say anything stupid, Zhaan!" he said, giving the alien a friendly smile.

"What this mean The Top?" Zhaan asked, confused.

"From the President, Zhaan," the General explained. Zhaan nodded his head to show he understood.

"And your President speak good Ziluran to know what I say? Maybe she can speak instead of me?" Zhaan suggested disrespectfully, drawing a 'just get on with it' look from Higgins.

Silence fell as all eyes began to land on Zhaan. He held the communicator close to his mouth and began to speak in a language which, to Alice and Andy, sounded even more bizarre than his native tongue. Everybody would just have to trust that what he was saying was making sense.

" _Hello, hello. Can you hear me?"_ Zhaan said in the oddly sing-song styled Ziluran language. _"This is planet Earth, welcome visitors."_ He paused again, waiting to see if there was any reaction. Hearing nothing, after a couple of minutes, he repeated what he had said. The only response was an obstinate silence with occasional static crash.

Zhaan turned back to Higgins. "Now I try Duran," he said with a worried frown. He said the same words again, this time in the gruffer sounding Duran language. He repeated his message a couple of minutes later, as he had done the previous time.

You could hear a pin drop, the air was so still as the crowd waited with bated breath. A sudden crackling made them start collectively, as a high pitched voice sounded.

Shit, Andy thought, Durans after all.

Nobody spoke as Zhaan responded to the voice again with the word which obviously meant hello. This time a longer string of words was returned. The tension amongst the Humans was almost palpable, as they listened but couldn't understand.

"So Earth man, how do you speak the Ziluran language, how do you know the Duran language? Are you still imprisoning our people who came here before?" Zhaan was asked.

"My name is Zhaan, I am Peace Ambassador from Guyara. I help our Human friends here on Earth. There are no other Ziluran here," he explained. He didn't want to make his own weak position on the planet known to these strangers, and definitely didn't want to mention the fate of the previous Ziluran visitors, of whom he'd seen pictures during his visit to Roswell's UFO museum.

When he stopped speaking, Higgins turned to him. "Duran?" he mouthed, now looking really concerned.

Zhaan shook his head, "Ziluran."

The Humans surrounding him seemed to sigh en masse with relief.

"What did they ask you, Zhaan?" Higgins pressed him.

"They want to know how I speak these languages if I come from Earth." Then he added, "You must tell your President you have Guyaran Peace Ambassador here!" he grinned. He turned back to the communicator. "So Ziluran lady, what are you doing all the way out here? I never heard of Zilurans allowing a lady captain before."

If Higgins knew Zhaan was flirting with the Ziluran, the best means to get your way with that species, he would probably have a fit. If the Guy knew, they too would be horrified. Zhaan smiled to himself. He was curious about the reason she was the one speaking to him. The Zilurans weren't the most respectful of their lady-folk from what he'd heard.

There was a silence, the Ziluran seemingly reluctant to answer his question.

Finally she spoke, sounding nervous. "Captain was injured when we landed."

"You need help?" asked Zhaan, unable to remember the words for medical assistance in the strange language.

"Yes," was her straightforward response.

"Wait one moment please," Zhaan said to her, before turning to Higgins to fill him in. "I speak with Ziluran girl. She say Captain of ship is injured and need help." Now the General was all business again.

"We need to confirm how many people, er Zilurans, are on the ship and whether it is safe for us to send a team aboard to help." Zhaan translated the questions and relayed them to the Ziluran.

"Four Zilurans are aboard. Captain is not conscious, his head is hurt. The second is sick, we don't know what is wrong. The third, I don't know where he is, but he is here somewhere, hiding, and then me."

Zhaan was concerned at the fear in her voice, but more worried that she wasn't being entirely honest with him. "Our sensor find five heart beats on your ship but you say only four Ziluran. Who else is there?" He asked as sternly as he could manage in the lilting language.

A profound silence answered his question before the Ziluran finally spoke. "My child. I carry a child."

Zhaan turned back to the General. "She claim four are aboard. Captain not conscious with head injury. Second Ziluran sick but nobody know why. Third hiding somewhere but still on ship. Our lady friend here what Alice call 'knocked up'. That make five heart beat."

"You believe her Zhaan?" The General was beginning to value the Guy's opinion.

He paused thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "Yes, she sound afraid, like she alone and don't know what to do. Ziluran don't treat females well. Probably she clean, cook, and lover of one or maybe all men. Now suddenly she in charge." He turned back to the communicator and switched languages.

"Is it safe for Humans to come aboard to help you?" he asked, trying to express compassion in his tone.

"Air is good on the ship but oxygen is getting low. I don't know what is wrong with the second on ship, your people should be careful of infection. I will tell the third you come aboard, if I can find him. I have to read instructions on how to open the hatch. Will you come yourself, Zhaan Guy?" she asked pleadingly.

"Yes, I come. We need a little time. You have suits for space?" When the Ziluran confirmed that each of the occupants did indeed have a space suit, he told her to try to dress them and that he'd call again in a short while, when things were organised.

"I told her to try to get others into space suits. It safer for them and us, to avoid contamination. Normally Ziluran don't have clothes. I not sure how she manage with unconscious men. It can be too difficult for her. We need to take precautions. Second Ziluran may be diseased," Zhaan advised Higgins. He then speculated, "Third man might be a little crazy, perhaps space madness, if he leave her in charge. Could be dangerous."

### Chapter Sixteen

The major players were regrouped in the conference room at their temporary headquarters. The General informed them that they needed to come up with a plan for entering the alien ship. He detailed the main concerns, as he saw it; the safety of those selected to board the ship, and the risk of disease or contamination reaching the outside world.

He paused turning to Zhaan, as if for approval of his statements. He took it as a positive sign when no impertinent response was received from the alien, and continued speaking about who would be needed in the boarding party.

Firstly he turned to Zhaan. "Obviously you are a civilian and cannot be ordered to board. However from your results so far, it is apparent that you would be the greatest asset to any boarding party." Again he waited for a reaction from Zhaan, who frowned and turned to Alice for help.

"Higgins says he knows he can't force you to go, but wants you to," she explained. Zhaan merely nodded.

"There are personal risks involved, primarily the danger that the Zilurans may behave in a hostile manner, particularly this third member of the party, who you have told me you suspect may be suffering from a condition known as 'space madness'. In addition, there is the chance of contracting some kind of illness with which our immune systems, and probably yours too, are unfamiliar. I have discussed this at length with our Chief Medic and the CDC. They insist that all who board the ship and the Zilurans must be quarantined for a period of time to be determined. This will prevent transmission of any bacteria, viruses, or contamination to the general Earth population. Obviously biohazard suits and protective equipment will be used at all times during boarding."

Alice frowned. She didn't like the idea of Zhaan effectively being locked up as a result of helping her people, although she understood the logic. She wasn't sure how he would react. "Does that mean I won't be able to see him afterwards?" she asked nervously.

"Miss Williams, for your own safety, that will be the case for a period of time until it is assured that there is no risk of contagion."

Alice gave Zhaan a worried look. He took a firm grip of her hand, telling her he understood.

"So, Zhaan, would you be prepared to board the Ziluran ship under the conditions I have mentioned?"

Zhaan nodded. "I must go. I make promise to Ziluran lady. Only me?"

"Most definitely not, Zhaan. You won't be without support. I intend to keep the size of the boarding party to a minimum because of the quarantine factor. I envisage that at least three persons will be needed. I suggest yourself, one medic, and one other to provide backup, and assist with removing the incapacitated Ziluran personnel from the ship, if that is what we decide to do after fully assessing the situation."

"One must be someone I know already and trust." Zhaan was conscious of the fact that he could be taken away with the other aliens to a medical facility and never seen again.

"Anyone you would prefer, Zhaan? It's your call," Higgins acquiesced.

Zhaan looked around the room, his gaze passing from person to person. "Only people I know are Alice, Andy, Jones, Parker, and you Mr General. Not Alice, it too dangerous."

Alice almost spoke, as though she would protest, but in truth she wasn't keen to be in danger and then quarantined for heaven knew how long. She knew that Zhaan was also thinking of their responsibility to Seren. Making this point clear to her, he continued, "Perhaps, when I shut away in quarantine thing, Alice and Andy can visit home for a few days if they want. Alice and Andy should spend Christmas festival with family, I think."

Zhaan knew that the Christmas holiday, which Humans seemed to make so much fuss about, was only a couple of days away. His heart was breaking at the thought of their precious daughter spending her third Christmas separated from both of her parents, when she was just getting old enough to realise what it was all about.

Alice's initial reaction was horror at the thought of her and Andy going away, leaving Zhaan unsupported. However the lure of spending time with Seren was certainly appealing and she knew Andy was missing his little family like crazy too.

"Alice, Andy and I talk about this later," Zhaan pressed on, noticing Andy's disappointed frown. "I think I choose..." He paused, his finger waving around the room almost like a game of Spin-the-Bottle before coming to rest on Jones. "Jones, if he agree. My reason is that Jones tell me his wife throw him out, and he has no family for spending Christmas."

"Thanks for sharing with everybody, Zhaan," Jones laughed. "I can't think of a better way to spend my Christmas than locked up in a small space with you!" Laughter passed around the room. Secretly Jones was excited to be involved and relieved that Parker would be free to head home for Christmas. He knew his partner's wife was giving him grief about it and didn't want him to also end up single again.

"I think you can't go, General, you too important," Zhaan added.

"Jones, are you prepared to take the risk?" Higgins asked, brushing off the 'too important' comment.

"Yes, Sir!" Jones affirmed.

"I'll leave it to our Chief Medic to appoint one of his team to the boarding party, on a purely voluntary basis. If we can have all the preparations ready, we will make a start on our initial attempt to board at 0800 hours tomorrow. Please begin your preparations." He swept out of the room.

"Alice, Andy, we take a walk." Zhaan instructed, not even considering whether they would be allowed to leave to head outside the hotel.

Higgins' assistant began to protest that they shouldn't leave, but Zhaan insisted. "If I to be locked away for however long after tomorrow, then right now I take a walk outside in Park. You tell Higgins," he asserted.

Obediently Higgins was called and surprisingly only insisted that they be escorted by two armed guards.

"They must not be too close. I need to feel like I free and in nature," Zhaan stipulated. He was keen to be able to talk to Alice and Andy alone, where he could be sure nobody would be listening in. He was also sick of the indoors and the city, where he felt caged.

"I'll go and get our coats," Alice rushed out of the door.

Twenty minutes later, the three were strolling down the deserted streets, headed for Central Park. Initially Higgins had told them to stay within the area of the city cordoned off by the military, to give the alien ship a wide berth, and to be no longer than an hour. However on seeing the disappointment on Zhaan's face, he extended that to two hours before they left.

The city was eerie with the enforced silence, no roaring traffic, no rumbling of subway cars passing beneath their feet, no traffic fumes, and no sounds of Human hubbub. Although it was Andy's first trip to New York and he had nothing with which to compare, seeing the city so still reminded him of those post-apocalyptic movies. He half expected zombies to jump out at him at any moment. Let's hope we don't end up involved in an alien apocalypse, Andy smiled to himself as they walked.

"So what you think of my idea?" Zhaan stopped walking and turned to Alice, taking both of her hands in his.

"I'm a little conflicted, Zhaan," she said honestly. "I'm nervous about leaving you here alone in this unfamiliar place with all these military types. I worry that they could turn on you. In truth, though, I think they would probably be completely lost without your help. I am desperate to see Seren again and hold her in my arms, but the thought of spending Christmas away from you is horrible."

"Alice, if you stay, they lock me away and we can't be together. It make me happy if you spend time with Seren, and hug her for me too."

Next he turned to Andy. "I know you should be in boarding party and stay with me. Believe that you are my first choice. You have support me very well while we here. I worried Claudia kill me if I keep you from her for Christmas. That more frightening to me than visiting with aliens!" Zhaan joked before carrying on in all seriousness. "You too important to my friends. I don't put you in danger, Andy. Claudia and Kevin need you." There was a silence between them before Andy reluctantly nodded his agreement.

Just before they ordered dinner, seated at what had become known as the Montana table, Higgins swung by. "So Zhaan, I hear you spoke to the Ziluran lady about our plan. What was her reaction?"

"She want we take no weapons. I agree to this, but I worry about Ziluran number three," Zhaan said frankly. "My contact say she still try to communicate with him. Make me think he jump around the ship like crazy monkey. She tell me he have no weapon. She hide all weapon she find."

"Very good, Zhaan."

The General began walking away, before turning back to the table as he remembered something. "Provided all goes well tomorrow, I have arranged a plane to get you guys to Montana for Christmas afterwards." He indicated Parker, Andy, and Alice.

### Chapter Seventeen

"Malla." Khevn almost made Malla jump out of her skin, suddenly appearing behind her, when her mind was focused on the sneaky task she was undertaking.

"Shit! You almost made my heart jump from my body!" she exclaimed.

"I don't like when you use such language, Malla. It is unbecoming," Khevn chided.

"Then quit creeping up behind me and scaring me half to death," she laughed. "Perhaps that strange Earth custom of door-knocking makes sense after all."

"I don't know why you hide yourself away in this place, Malla. It is no bigger than a storage cupboard. I like seeing you on the bridge. That is where you should be," Khevn protested.

"If there wasn't always so much noise and commotion up there, maybe I'd be able to concentrate, so here I am and here I stay when I need to think," she explained. "What are you doing here anyway, Khevn? Aren't you supposed to be taking a watch right now?" she glanced at the time, a little bewildered.

"Our Captain is still on the bridge for some reason. He sent me down here to check for updates from Zhaan. Anything?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm just trying to edit his message a little before passing it on to the Captain and Guyara."

"You can do that? Change his message before sending it on?" Khevn was surprised that such a thing would be possible. It would mean that your intended words could be changed by another, which could be dangerous.

"Don't say anything but I just worked out how. It's for his own good, some of his comments I find very amusing, but they might not be so well received elsewhere!" Malla looked a little worried that Khevn might disapprove.

"What did he say this time?" Their friend did have a knack for making the two of them laugh. Khevn felt a pang in his heart where he missed the third member of their little team. Since they had seen him last, when he was abandoned on the Earth, they had put half a universe between them.

"I'm quoting here, so don't give me any hassle about coarse language." Malla began reading the message from Zhaan.

In about twelve Earth hours we are to attempt to board the Ziluran ship. I'm doing my best to appear courageous but secretly I am shitting in my pants.

"Now you see why I wanted to alter the wording?" Malla laughed before continuing to read Zhaan's words.

Based on my conversation with the female Ziluran, the only person aboard the ship with whom I have spoken, I have the following information. The Captain has a serious head injury, and is not conscious. The second is sick with some illness, which has not been identified as they have no doctor aboard the mothership. The third aboard appears to be suffering from space madness. He is hiding and cannot, as yet, be located. This is why we are speaking only to the pregnant female who is also on board.

Can you please ask our doctor for advice on how to deal with the case of space madness? When I have scans for the other two and the female, I will send the data to him for medical advice.

After boarding, myself, the two others of the boarding party, and all of the Zilurans will be subject to medical quarantine.

The Humans hope to move the Zilurans from the ship and check if it can be safely transported. The current location is causing great inconvenience to the local population, who have been evacuated. Any advice you can get from our engineers on making the ship safe for transportation would be appreciated. Any luck finding and identifying the mothership?

Wish you were here, Khevn (instead of me)!

May Guyara and Earth grant me good fortune.

Zhaan.

Khevn bent close to Malla, reading over her shoulder, just to see if Zhaan had actually written the comment about him for real. As his face lowered towards her, his nostrils flared, swamped by an unfamiliar and alluring scent. In shock Khevn reared back from her.

"What's wrong, Khevn?" Malla asked, getting no answer from him, other than another step back away from her.

She struggled from her seat, her crippled legs hampering her attempt to find out what was troubling her friend. Turning to face him, she asked again. "What is it, Khevn?" He wore such a strange, pained expression on his face, as if he couldn't stand to be in her presence a moment longer, and yet was being lured in like a moth to a deadly light.

"Your scent, it's different," he tried feebly to explain, overwhelmed with unfamiliar sensations.

"Oh yes, I think I'm in my fertile stage. I noticed when I dressed that there was a strange scent around me. Is that a problem for you?" she asked, mystified.

Khevn looked at a loss for words. If he admitted that her scent was driving him crazy, she would know that he'd been halving the dosage on the medication their kind took daily in order to avoid issues like this. All he wanted to do was to pin her to the wall with his own body, and make sure his scent was all over her, to deter others. Yet if he did that, everyone would recognise his scent on her, and that could only lead to more trouble. He felt torn, almost unable to control his strange primitive urges. "I'd better go," he struggled to say.

Before he could make good on his promise to leave, Malla placed a hand on each side of his face, pulling him closer. It was too much to bear.

"Khevn, look at me," Malla instructed, noticing the lack of focus as his suddenly dark eyes darted in all directions looking for a means of escape. "You have been with me all my life. We have never kept secrets from each other. We share a cabin, since Zhaan left. I know more about you than anyone else. I have seen you unclothed. I even know your bathroom habits. Please tell me what is wrong."

She attempted to close her mind off to the wave of emotions flooding from him through her touch. In her concern, she hadn't even thought of the implications of holding him like that. Suddenly it was too much. The wall she'd built in her mind came crashing down. She was overcome with his feelings, such unfamiliar emotions that she struggled to identify them. He wanted her, he needed her. What did that even mean? Her scent was driving him insane, her touch equally so. Shocked she dropped her hands from his skin and took a step back.

"I disgust you," Khevn said, dejected.

"No, Khevn. I'm just surprised. I know we are companions, that sometimes at night you hold me in your arms but this. I didn't expect this. I don't deserve this. I'm crippled. Nobody could find that attractive. These feelings will get us into trouble, Khevn. They are forbidden."

Looking into Malla's confused eyes, Khevn saw only a huge question mark.

"I have to tell you about some things which happened on Earth. Things which cause me shame, yet awoke something inside of me long dead. After my watch is finished, we will talk of it."

Malla's heart was pounding in her chest. How she longed to take Khevn in her arms and comfort him, to run her fingers through his long hair. That thought brought her up short. What was this she was feeling now? Whatever it was, Khevn was getting the full benefit as she had laid a hand on his cheek again. It was at that moment the Captain made his entrance behind them.

### Chapter Eighteen

Khevn and Malla turned to face an angry glare from their Captain, who had taken them unawares.

"I trust you both have an explanation for what I am witnessing? I wondered what was taking so long." The anger in his voice made them both hold their tongues. How could they possibly explain this behaviour, laying of touch on another Guy? It just wasn't normal. In her shock, Malla hadn't even removed the hand which still caressed Khevn's cheek.

Frowning, the Captain took another step towards them as Malla finally dropped her arm. That movement was the trigger which brought out a primeval response in Khevn, a reaction that he didn't even understand himself. In a split second Malla was thrust behind him, and Khevn's outstretched hand lay on the Captain's chest as he snarled at him. Shaken, the Captain took a step away from them, putting some space between himself and the wild-eyed Khevn.

"Easy now, Khevn," the Captain said in a soothing tone of voice. "Are you OK, Malla?" Malla merely nodded her head in confused confirmation. "I'm going to call the medic." Slowly and cautiously the Captain reached into his pocket to pull out his communicator. Khevn still watched him with distrust but when he didn't react violently, the Captain made a call. "Medic, please join me with your med kit in Malla's..." he glanced around, wondering how to refer to the tiny space, "... office. Khevn is unwell."

It was only moments later, but seemed like an eternity in the tense atmosphere, when the doctor arrived. He took one look at Khevn and realised he would need to be sedated. While the Captain briefly distracted Khevn, asking him something, the doctor was able to pull a weapon-like device from his kit, take aim at Khevn's head and pull the trigger. As Khevn fell like a stone, Malla screamed, "No! What have you done?" as she hobbled to his side.

"Malla, be calm," the doctor reassured her. "He is only sedated. He will be fine." As he stopped speaking, he gave the Captain a puzzled look.

"Please tell me it isn't space madness? Don't let it be that?" Malla wailed.

"No, Malla, it is not space madness. He'll be fine, but you and I need to talk about this." He turned to the doctor, "Have him taken to the sick bay. Keep him sedated and secured." Turning back to Malla, he ordered her, "Meet me in my quarters."

It took Malla a while to get down three decks to the Captain's cabin. She had to stop to splash some cold water onto her face and try to calm herself, before anxiously limping to the meeting. At the back of her mind was the fact that Khevn was in danger. Perhaps he'd be subjected to the same treatment Zhaan had received when the Guy had learned of his relationship with Alice. In an attempt to allay her fears, she reassured herself that they hadn't done anything forbidden, no matter what people might think.

Finally arriving at the Captain's door, she found it wide open and her superior sitting inside waiting for her.

"Malla, come in, and close the door."

It was rare that a Guy told another crew mate to close a door. Beings living so closely together for so many years didn't have many secrets left from one another. She took in the expression on the Captain's face and was surprised to note that he didn't seem angry but sad, which made her worry for Khevn's welfare even more.

He gestured that she should sit in the chair opposite him across a large, shiny desk.

"Malla, I have a problem, and that problem carries the name of Khevn. I respect him greatly. He is a great asset to my crew. However, like Zhaan, he returned from Earth a changed Guy. I never did manage to get to the bottom of what really happened down there, although I have my suspicions. I realise that Zhaan's fate hit him hard. Leaving his friend there to take his chances with the Humans was very difficult for him, but it was what he fought for, to save Zhaan's life." Nervous about where this was headed, Malla kept silent.

"You are aware that intimate contact between the sexes is forbidden for the Guy?" Malla nodded meekly and he continued speaking.

"You came to me after Zhaan's departure and asked to share quarters with Khevn, your excuse being that you were afraid to be alone at night since the attack on Zhaan. What could I say, although we all know there was more to it than that? I looked at you and Khevn and saw two very valuable crew members with exemplary records, so I agreed, despite the mutterings from the rest of the crew.

"We all see how you look at one another, how you even touch one another, with no thought for the consequences any more. Whichever way I turn my head, you are together. I realise that you two and Zhaan worked very closely together prior to the mission to Earth, and I understand that you may have developed a special closeness, unnatural to the Guy. I see from the messages between you, that you are still psychologically close to Zhaan, despite his circumstances.

"I have tried putting Khevn on the night watch to put some distance between you two, but now we find ourselves in this unpleasant situation. Do you have any understanding of the reason for his behaviour?"

Malla shook her head wondering what to say to best help her friend.

"I have been wondering for a while if perhaps he may need a higher dose of medication each day. I was going to bring it to your attention but now this has happened." At least this way she wasn't confessing that she suspected Khevn hadn't been taking a full dose each day. "Captain, I have heard about space madness. That isn't what is wrong with Khevn? Please tell me that. I know you said earlier that it wasn't, but I can't understand his behaviour today. It is so out of character."

The Captain sighed heavily. "Do you realise why we take medication each day, Malla?"

"To keep us happy and healthy, Sir," she replied, giving the answer they had learned by rote at school.

"In part, yes. The medication contains some nutritional elements essential for good health. In addition, it also helps to prevent situations like the one we had today with Khevn. I would agree with you that it appears his dosage has not been high enough. Perhaps his metabolism was affected by his time on Earth," he suggested with one eyebrow raised slightly. Malla took a deep breath, relieved that the Captain didn't seem, at least for the moment, to hold Khevn responsible for his own situation.

"I sense that you are currently in your fertile stage. Am I correct?"

Malla nodded, a little embarrassed. She knew with her disability she would never be selected as breeding material.

"Have you ever learned about the mating instinct?"

Now Malla's face was as red as the Captain's shirt. Lowering her eyes she shook her head. Of course she knew the rumours of how things were in the dark days, but had never known what to believe.

"I believe that today, partly due to you being in your fertile stage, which as you know is accompanied by a distinctive scent, and partly due to his closeness to you, Khevn was overcome by the mating instinct. This is very uncommon in the new times."

The Captain was now referring to the period of Guy history, after the war with Dura, when a new life order had been introduced for the Guy population by their own government, under the guidance of one called "Bringer of Peace". Their population had almost destroyed itself in a civil war before the Duran invasion, and the planet was almost entirely wiped out in the second war. After the eventual victory against Dura, a much more controlled lifestyle had been introduced on Guyara. All were declared equal; work and possessions were distributed equally; and breeding was transferred from the traditional method of self-selection, to government-controlled, laboratory-based, planned breeding methods, ensuring continued improvement of the genetics of the population. It was at that point that the daily medication of the population had begun.

"For a male, the traditional mating instinct was very powerful, leading to all kinds of trouble in the population. When a female he believed to be his mate was in the fertile stage of her cycle, a male Guy would see every other male attempting to be near her as a threat, fearing that they would try to impregnate his female. I believe this was the instinctive behaviour that Khevn displayed today."

The Captain's words had Malla stunned, mostly the fact that Khevn believed her to be his mate. Why would he believe such a thing? There had been no selective pairing in centuries. Deep inside, however, she felt a warm glow at the idea of being chosen by Khevn.

"Now I am left wondering what to do about this situation." The Captain mused. "I am aware of the great sacrifice you have both offered by volunteering to remain on the Delta Mining Colony, as a relay station for communications between Earth and Guyara. I realise that more freedom is granted to Guy stationed at the outpost. However, you may find this causes even more problems for you. We are still only two-thirds of the way to the Colony and you continue to be subject to the rules of the general Guy population.

"Firstly I need to ask, after what you have witnessed today, are you still prepared to volunteer, knowing that on that Colony nobody will be controlling Khevn's dosage?"

The look the Captain gave her let her know that he did suspect that Khevn was responsible for his own dosage problem.

Malla nodded in confirmation. The thought of being free to be with Khevn almost made her break out into a smile, but she managed to stifle the urge.

"You realise that the Colony has a high ratio of male to female and that the whole population are self-regulating with their medication? I have heard of problems in the past of this nature, where correct dosages have not been maintained."

"Captain, look at me." Malla gestured to her deformed, twisted legs. "Why would anybody fight for this?" she pondered.

"Khevn seemed to think you were worth a fight." His comment shocked her into silence again. "There may be risks involved in being a minority female on Delta. Do you appreciate that?" He tried to make it quite clear for Malla to understand.

"I understand Captain and I am still prepared to volunteer."

In addition to the prospect of finally being alone with Khevn on Delta, Malla couldn't bear the thought of Zhaan being left totally to his own devices on Earth. She couldn't help much just by communicating with him, but she knew it was important to him.

"So, what is to be done in the meantime until we reach Delta?" Now Malla wasn't allowed the luxury of silence as the Captain gave her a hard stare.

"My fertile stage should only last a few more days and life will return to normal then," she suggested hopefully.

"So, you believe things should go on as before? You and Khevn should share the same quarters and continue working together, despite his outburst today? You are happy with that?"

"Provided his behaviour returns to normal, which I assume will happen when his dosage is adjusted correctly, I have no problem with it. We have not behaved in any way inappropriately." She made her statement bluntly, hoping that the Captain could be persuaded to forget about those longing glances, the fleeting touches, and that he would never know about the nights she spent curled up in Khevn's strong arms.

"Very well. He is confined to sick bay until you advise us that your fertile stage is passed. Don't let me need to have any further embarrassing conversations with either of you before we reach Delta."

With that she was dismissed.

### Chapter Nineteen

They rode the elevator back up to their hotel room with Jones. Higgins had ordered them to get some rest.

"You are afraid about the boarding tomorrow?" Zhaan asked the FBI agent, while Alice looked on sympathetically. Zhaan pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her gently on the top of the head.

"A little, I guess. I mean, a week ago, I didn't even believe that aliens existed and now, after tomorrow, I'm going to be stuck in a small space with two different types," Jones smiled.

Higgins had given them a tour of the isolation unit that had been set up on the second floor of the hotel. Two suites of rooms and a meeting room had been commandeered and clad in a lining of airtight plastic. An airlock led into each area, and a complicated ventilation system filled almost the entire corridor outside. The idea of transferring those quarantined to a military hospital facility in Virginia was still under consideration, but they were cautious about moving the injured and sick Zilurans too far, too quickly. Higgins felt more comfortable initially keeping possible contamination close to the original landing site, rather than chancing travel through any other areas of the country. This way, there would be hardly any risk of exposure between the ship and this special unit.

Alice was relieved that the whole thing looked less like a prison than she feared. She had envisaged those quarantined being strapped down on gurneys. Without the strange plastic lining, the rooms would appear like normal hotel facilities, which she hoped would make it less stressful for Zhaan. She certainly didn't like the idea that Zhaan may be moved elsewhere without her and Andy present. She had been assured that this would not happen, as it was one of Zhaan's initial conditions.

Zhaan finally responded to Jones' comment, bringing Alice back to the present. "Two weeks ago I was hiding from FBI men. Now I get to be stuck in small room with one too!" Both men laughed before Zhaan added, "Get rest, all will be fine," to reassure Jones.

Jones had a comeback ready before he strode out of the elevator, "Guess I'll have to trade rooms with Parker to manage that!"

The door of their room closed behind them. It suddenly hit Alice that this was the last time she and Zhaan would be alone for a while. She felt guilty about leaving him over Christmas.

"Are you sure about all of this?" she asked him, as she took his face in her hands. He answered her by kissing her tenderly on the lips and when he finally pulled back, nodding.

"You should see Seren. I worry about her. Please explain why I cannot come," he said sadly. "Now I just make sure everything I need tomorrow is ready, then the rest of my night is for you." He was hunting through the contents of his backpack again. He didn't need to repack, as he never seemed to have got around to unpacking. Finally he pulled out what he was looking for.

"Your doctor machine," commented Alice. "I thought it was fried by the pulse wave thingy."

"This my own, the fried one I took from Guy ship before I leave, but Malla already pack this one for me too. This one has all my Alice information in, so must not get fried. I worry I leave this at home." With relief he put his pack back down and turned to Alice, drawing her in close. "How shall we spend our time together?" he asked with a knowing grin.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe we could play cards?" she suggested with a sly smile.

Zhaan obviously didn't approve of her idea. He lifted her up in his strong arms and carried her towards the bed, depositing her there and laying his body down over hers. His lips touched hers, and his tongue began to explore, gently probing inside her mouth, bringing a moan of pleasure from Alice, as she longed to feel other parts of him inside her. Her hands began to wander, frantically tugging at his clothing.

"Alice, slow, we have all night," Zhaan murmured, totally out of character for him. "I need to see, touch, and smell every part of you, so I can remember when you not here with me." His comment brought tears glistening to Alice's eyes at the thought of their impending forced separation. "Don't be sad, Alice, just enjoy now. We see each other in few days."

He was totally serious about remembering every part of her. He began tracing his fingers through her long, wavy, dark hair, raising it up to his nose sporadically to take in her scent, sometimes taking a piece in his mouth, tasting it. His gentle fingers slowly traced every contour of Alice's face, teasing her as they drew slowly across her lips. Frustrated, she took hold of his head, pulling his lips down to hers, and kissed him sensually for a while before he pulled away.

This time he brought his head down beside hers and rubbed the length of his neck against hers. She'd experienced this sensation before. Zhaan was marking her with his scent, although she could never smell anything. It made him happy and he moved on to trace the outline of her shoulders. He drew his fingers along the front of her shirt, slowly and purposefully undoing each button he encountered on the way, before pushing the shirt back to her shoulders, to reveal her underwear beneath. Alice raised up her body to allow him to pull the shirt away completely and was about to unclasp her bra for him, when he shook his head, easing her back down on the bed. Again his fingers traced each curve of her arms and chest, his nose close behind, as he allowed her scent to engulf him. His lips followed. Every inch of her skin received their full attention. Finished with the front of her, he flipped her body over and began the whole long, sensual process again with her back. Not until every part of her exposed skin had satisfied each of Zhaan's senses, did Alice feel the gentle release of the clasp of her bra, before she was rolled onto her back again.

Zhaan's attention moved to the soft skin of her breasts, which had been hidden from him before. When he eventually seemed satisfied that he would be able to remember their scent and form, he made her draw in a sharp breath by playfully nipping each of her nipples with his teeth. Alice moaned softly as her back arched up to him in response.

She tried once more to speed things along, the warm feeling in her groin eager to find total satisfaction, but it was not yet to be. Zhaan insistently pushed her back on the bed again. "Alice, I only half done, have patience." That was a fine thing for a Guy with absolutely none of his own to ask of her. He knew he was driving her crazy, teasing her this way, and the smile on his face told her it pleased him.

Naked from the waist up, except for the golden heart necklace he had given her, she suddenly realised that the lower half of her body was still fully dressed. Zhaan had the same idea and disappeared to the bottom of the bed to slide off her leather boots and the thick winter socks she was wearing beneath. A moment of panic crossed her mind that her feet might not smell too great after being wrapped up like that all day long. Evidently that was not the case, as Zhaan began giving them the same treatment her upper body had received. Deftly his long, rough tongue teased each of her toes in turn as he pretended to count them to make sure they were all present and correct.

Conclusively satisfied with the toe count, he straddled her legs, working on the button of her jeans. She struggled to assist him. She was aching for him, but he pushed her hands away and continued battling the fastener himself, provoking a sigh from Alice. It seemed like an eternity until she felt the release in the waistband of her jeans and the gentle stroking of Zhaan's fingers up and down the zip, as he teased her some more. Ten or more times his fingers moved up and down along the zip's length before he opened it, and began stroking the soft skin he found beneath. His thumbs replaced the fingers, as those fingers began exploring outwards inside the denim and slid it away from her hips.

Almost frantic with desire, Alice thrust her hips upwards to allow him easy access for removing her clothing. Again he tormented her, taking his time touching, tasting and smelling the soft skin as he gradually uncovered her. He wriggled down the bed, pulling her jeans with him to reveal her legs. Starting from the bottom, each leg got licked, kissed, and scented as Alice was driven crazy with his attentions. He worked his way up until he reached her inner thighs.

He rolled her over and Alice groaned, fearing he may be starting from the bottom of her legs all over again, this time on the back. When he straddled her legs instead and turned his attention to the curves of her bottom, tracing the line of her underwear with gentle fingers, she took a sharp intake of breath. Ever so frustratingly he worked his fingers softly beneath the lace, and began to move it slowly down her legs, before removing it completely. She tried to turn, desperate to feel his length inside her and his body lying against hers, but was thwarted when he held her down where she lay. It seemed her buttocks hadn't yet been given enough attention.

Alice sighed with relief when Zhaan eventually turned her over, but gasped as he set to work on her with his rough, dry tongue. It was too much, and Alice threw her head back on the pillow, moaning with pleasure as her body flexed beneath his. When she opened her eyes again, his body was above hers, and he was gazing lovingly down at her.

Eagerly she reached for the engorged length of him, wanting to give him some pleasure in return. It wasn't to be, as he gently pushed her fingers away, then wriggled his lower half to create more space between her clenched legs. For a moment she felt him hovering, hesitating at her entrance, and looked up into his eyes. With the quiet murmured words, "Alice, you beautiful. I love you," he thrust himself inside, taking her breath away.

### Chapter Twenty

"So, Alice, how long do you reckon he'll keep the headgear on?" Andy was watching Zhaan advancing slowly towards the Ziluran ship on the screen in front of him. They could see that Zhaan was repeatedly shaking his head as the rustle of the protective plastic around his head annoyed him. "I give him ten minutes inside the ship, tops!" Andy guessed.

"Ziluran, do you hear me?" Zhaan asked, using his communicator. He stood before the ship commandeered by the Zilurans, flanked by Jones and Gomez, the Medic. The pulse wave hadn't been activated as they approached. Perhaps that was a good sign.

" _Zhaan Guy, I hear you."_

" _Are you able to allow us access to your ship now? Did you work out the door controls?"_

" _Yes, Zhaan Guy, I think so. Identify yourself, I see three outside our ship."_ Zhaan took a step forward and pointed to his face.

" _I see you, Zhaan Guy. You are unarmed?"_ The Ziluran lady was being understandably cautious.

" _I am unarmed,"_ Zhaan confirmed in her language, adding, _"I carry only my communicator and a medical scanner to assist with your crew."_ He waved the two items in front of the ship, one in each hand.

" _You may come aboard alone, Zhaan Guy."_ With a buzzing noise, a flap began to lower below the ship, revealing boarding steps.

The General's voice in Zhaan's ear asked him what was happening and Zhaan explained that she wished him to board alone.

"Your decision, Zhaan," came Higgins' response.

Zhaan stepped forwards towards the steps muttering in Guy, _"So much for the plan."_

He cautiously mounted the steps and emerged into a larger open area, a cargo deck, surprised to find the ship untidy. It was not meticulously organised like the Guy ship to which he was accustomed. He struggled to look around, irritated again by the headgear the Humans made him wear for protection against infection. There was nobody to be seen. He was about to speak into his communicator again, when the boarding door closed behind him with a clang, making him start.

" _Oh great!"_ he said under his breath in his own language. Again he made a move to raise the communicator to his mouth, when a face appeared in front of him. The Ziluran lady was hiding, at least he assumed it was a lady, everything except her teardrop shaped face and her large oval eyes was obscured by the boxes behind which she crouched. She looked terrified.

" _What is your name, Ziluran?"_ Zhaan asked, trying to put her at ease.

" _I am Trinn. Turn around, so I can see that you are unarmed."_ For one who seemed nervous, she spoke forcefully. Holding his arms away from his body, one of his devices in each hand, he gave her a twirl. A frantic voice in his earpiece was asking what was happening, but for now Zhaan ignored it.

" _Who are the other two outside?"_ she asked him. Zhaan explained that they were Humans; one was the medic called Gomez, here to help her crew, and the other was called Jones; and that neither of them was armed either.

" _Take off your hat. I want to see your eyes, to know if I trust you."_

" _The Humans insist I wear this to protect me from disease,"_ Zhaan explained.

" _You are Guy not Human. You should decide for yourself,"_ Trinn insisted.

Zhaan knew the risks involved, but would be happy to be rid of the annoying headgear. At least then he would be able to see, hear, and smell properly.

Again the insistent voice sounded in his ear. "Zhaan what is happening? Are you OK?"

He explained to the rest of the team that he and Trinn were just getting acquainted, and that she insisted he remove his headgear. He expected a stern refusal from the General, but Higgins surprised him with his response.

"Again, it is your decision, Zhaan. You are aware of the risks." By the rustling which followed, the General concluded that Zhaan had taken off the protective mask, and he passed on the information to those surrounding him.

Behind him Andy gave a big grin, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I think that was ten minutes he lasted wearing that thing. I believe we have a winner!" Nervous laughter greeted his remark, as Higgins gave him a disapproving glance.

Zhaan stood before the concealed Ziluran, feeling exposed and vulnerable, unarmed and unmasked. He was beginning to get a little irritated. How were they supposed to help these aliens, if the only one who was sane and conscious wouldn't come out from her hiding place? _"Are you going to show yourself now, Trinn?"_ Zhaan tried to keep his voice calm.

Hearing his request, Trinn stood. At least Zhaan assumed she stood. He'd never seen a Ziluran before, and hadn't realised they were so small. He estimated she would only reach his elbow, if what he was seeing was her full height.

The upper part of her chest was now revealed, and Zhaan studied her strange appearance as she slowly emerged from behind a pile of storage boxes. Her skin had a greyish hue and she stood before him completely naked, as he had heard was normal for Zilurans. Apart from the obvious bump of her unborn child, her body was slim and wiry, making her head seem disproportionately large. He had been correct, she barely reached his elbow. Everything else about her curious appearance paled into insignificance beside her huge, dark eyes, which seemed to occupy almost her entire face. Her dainty nose and mouth were dwarfed beneath them. As she watched him, her eyes blinked with a slow motion which was mesmerising to watch.

She was observing his appearance closely, her head turning from side to side, as she peered curiously into his golden eyes. They stood in silence for several moments, weighing each other up, before Trinn spoke.

" _Such a handsome Guy, so tall!"_ she commented, leaving Zhaan lost for words. Her next comment shocked him even more. _"I know some of your Guy language,_ " she stated, before speaking a phrase in his language, which she had obviously learned by heart. _"Sir, please show me how I may pleasure you."_

Zhaan's mouth fell open in surprise, wondering if the comment was directed at him, as she switched back to the Ziluran language.

" _That's all I know."_ Seeing the expression on his face, she emitted a high pitched chime of laughter.

" _Why would you know only this phrase?"_ He was perplexed. It was not a comment one would ever expect to hear in his language.

" _I'm good, so I was always selected to entertain important male visitors from Guyara. After all, they don't get any at home!"_ Trinn giggled again and Zhaan couldn't help but laugh at her comment. She continued, _"That's why I am here. They didn't want our ship's crew to be frustrated during their explorations. I am one of the best, so I was sent along too. Space is so dark and boring. Perhaps now it will get more interesting!"_ She eyed Zhaan up and down in an almost predatory way, making him feel uncomfortable. Hurriedly he changed the subject.

" _Now we are acquainted, may the other two of my team board your ship?"_ He felt the need for some moral support. Trinn nodded her agreement.

" _Do you have clothing?"_ Zhaan asked her, conscious of the fact that the Humans may not treat her with the respect she deserved if their first view was of her naked.

" _Only my space suit, but it won't fit around here any more."_ She pointed to the large bump at her midriff.

Zhaan called Higgins. "I need speak with Alice, General." He would have liked to have seen the General's face at his request. He knew everybody would be glued to screens with images from the cameras pointing at the ship, however, nobody would be able to see inside until Jones positioned the small cameras he was carrying.

Seconds later Alice's voice was in his ear. "Zhaan? Are you OK?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Yes, it just that Trinn, the lady Ziluran, she need clothing. Can you find something and send in with Jones and Gomez? She very small, only as tall as my elbow and skinny, but with big bump from baybay. Let me know when you ready, then others can board."

He hoped Alice would quickly be able to find something suitable. Her own clothes would probably swamp Trinn, but at least she would be covered. It didn't feel right to parade her out of the ship without clothes, with all those cameras pointed at her. Besides, judging by the high temperature inside the Ziluran ship, she would be freezing in New York's December weather.

While they waited for Alice to call them back, Zhaan started the conversation again. He was curious about this strange race.

" _So, who fathered your child?"_ He realised it was an impertinent question to ask someone he had just met, but Trinn didn't seem fazed.

" _Any one of five, just like the other times. Your guess is as good as mine,"_ she answered him glibly.

" _There were other children before? Where are they?"_ Zhaan wondered.

" _This is the fourth since we leave Zilur. Nobody cares who is the father. This child will go out through the airlock like the others when it is born._ "

Zhaan was horrified, how could she speak in such a matter-of-fact manner about the death of innocent children, her own children. Trinn obviously noticed the distress on his face. _"They say it is not possible to raise children in space,"_ she added in justification.

" _Weren't you upset to have your children killed like this?"_ He couldn't imagine how somebody who had carried a child within them could feel so detached.

" _Yes, I was upset, but then it all just begins again, and repeats."_

" _It can't be pleasant to be passed around many men as you are."_ Zhaan was trying to show his sympathy for her plight. The thought of Alice being passed from man to man made him feel sick. Trinn's answer took him by surprise.

" _I experience five times as much pleasure as they do. I am lucky to have five males to myself."_ Perhaps some of those wild rumours he'd heard back on Guyara about the promiscuous Ziluran lifestyle weren't so far off the mark, he mused. He had also learned that there were two other Zilurans aboard the mothership, and was feeling quite pleased with himself.

Just then Zhaan was relieved to hear Alice in his earpiece, telling him that Gomez had the clothes she'd found, and that the two men were ready to board. Once Zhaan relayed the information to her, Trinn moved over to the door control and it began to drop open again. Just before the two Humans appeared at the top of the steps, she turned to Zhaan.

" _Do I need to learn how to say my one Guy phrase in their language now?"_ She smiled and Zhaan wasn't sure if she was serious.

" _No, that won't be necessary."_

### Chapter Twenty One

Jones and Gomez shuffled nervously just inside the door. Gomez thrust out a hand in Zhaan's direction, and he strode over to take the clothing Alice had sent. Zhaan examined the garments. It appeared Alice had raided the hotel gift shop while it was closed. He held up a long T-shirt, possibly a child's night shirt, with the logo 'I love NY' and a small hooded sweatshirt showing the same image. Comparing them to Trinn's small body it looked like they would fit, so he held them out to her. _"Please wear these."_

She looked hurt. _"My body doesn't please you?"_ she asked.

" _Being unclothed is not the human way. Please wear them."_ Zhaan insisted, avoiding her question altogether. Zhaan spoke into his headset, "Good job with clothing, Alice."

With Trinn's nakedness covered beneath the clothes, Zhaan felt happier about introducing his two team mates.

" _Trinn, this is Gomez, our medic, and Jones."_ He turned to the two Humans and switched to English announcing, "This is Trinn."

In their earpieces the team heard the General suggesting that they should find out if the ship was safe. Quickly grasping the need to ensure their own safety, Zhaan launched in.

" _Are there any problems with the ship? Did anything get damaged or any fuel leak when you landed? Is it safe in here?"_

" _You'd better ask our space crazy friend, wherever he is. He's our engineer."_ Trinn replied impertinently, embarrassed by her lack of knowledge about the ship, Zhaan guessed. He maintained his gaze in her direction and she added, _"We hit something just as we entered the atmosphere. I think one of our thrusters is smashed, some kind of debris floating around up there. There is a junk yard above this planet. As far as I know, that's the only damage, the landing didn't feel too much like a crashing, so I guess things are probably OK, except the Captain's head of course. I heard no alarms or warnings."_

On learning about the loss of one of the two thrusters, Zhaan was even more impressed with the Captain's skill at landing in this tight spot, surrounded by skyscrapers, without hitting anything. It would have meant he could only turn the ship in one direction.

" _Your Captain must be a good pilot,"_ he complimented her.

" _Would have been better if he didn't hit the junk in the first place!"_ Trinn responded, her tinkling laughter taking the two Humans by surprise.

" _If you believe the ship is safe, we should attend to the crew first,"_ Zhaan suggested, relaying the information to his considerable audience beyond the ship.

A thought occurred to him. _"Why are you here on Earth with this ship?"_

" _All by accident. We aren't supposed to be here at all. We don't want to be here. We were scouting for minerals on other planets nearby. Something broke on the mothership. We knew we couldn't get home without repair. Captain brought us here, hoping he could get supplies to fix it. Crazy really, after what happened to the last Zilurans here. Now we wrecked the shuttle too,"_ she said despondently.

" _You know the last Zilurans here crashed their shuttle in a place called New Mexico. They were killed in the accident."_ Zhaan had no idea which version of events in Roswell was actually true. Perhaps he should ask the General, but he wanted to reassure Trinn and hoped it would lessen her bitterness towards the Humans.

" _Oh,"_ was her simple response. _"We should look at the Captain first. I told him to fasten his seat restraint, but he didn't have time. When we landed, he was thrown from his seat and hit his head really hard on the control panel. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't move him, so I wrapped his head and covered him with blankets."_

As he relayed the information to Gomez, Zhaan wondered how anyone could survive being covered with blankets in the baking hot interior of this ship. Obviously Zilur was a hot planet.

Trinn led the way up a narrow set of steps to what appeared to be the flight deck. There, lying on the floor as she had described, his head wrapped in blood-stained rags, lay the Ziluran Captain.

Gomez turned to Zhaan, "Should we also remove our headgear?" Obviously it irritated him too, his face was sweating profusely in the heat behind it's protective shield.

"Definitely not!" Zhaan answered him with a smile. "It stinks here. You should wear it. The stench kills me."

The General overheard the conversation through the headsets and firmly instructed Jones and Gomez not to remove the protective gear if possible. It seemed Trinn wasn't bothered about looking into their eyes to see if she could trust either of them, so they had no excuse.

Gomez bent over the Captain to feel instinctively for a pulse. Wondering where to feel for one, he looked to Zhaan for help. Trinn showed them, and sure enough there was a regular beating. Gomez had no idea whether the speed and strength was normal. Gently he began to unwrap the grubby bandages Trinn had applied and peered at the wound. He was about to talk with the team back at base about the need to remove the casualty for further investigation of the deep head wound, when he noticed Zhaan placing one of his devices against the Captain's skin.

"Wait one minute," Zhaan instructed him. Gomez abruptly stopped speaking and watched the Guy with fascination. As they stood over the injured Ziluran, Zhaan commented, "I should calibrate this first, with a Ziluran who isn't sick." He looked in Trinn's direction wondering if she would oblige and when he asked, she agreed.

" _Ah, these magical Guy scanners! If only we knew how to work them, we have several on our mothership. Probably wouldn't help though, we have no doctor."_ Zhaan looked at her with surprise.

" _How do you have these Guy scanners?"_ he questioned her suspiciously.

" _Mothership is Guy ship, old Guy ship. Maybe you can fix it for us!"_ she laughed. As she stopped speaking, Zhaan's scanner beeped, indicating that the readings from Trinn were complete. He peered down at his machine.

" _You are healthy and apparently you are carrying a child!"_ he said looking down at the Ziluran's huge bump and smiling.

" _Very clever!"_ Trinn giggled, peering down at her swollen belly.

Now Zhaan became serious, and reset the device, laying the probe on the unconscious Captain's skin, activating it and waiting again.

Gomez was curious. "What are you doing, Zhaan?"

"This machine scan and tell me what wrong with man. It very good, very accurate," he boasted, before adding, "It even able to tell me that Trinn is carrying a child." Gomez gave Zhaan a strange look, not sure if he was joking, but Jones roared with laughter.

A voice in their ears brought them back to reality. "What's happening in there? It sounds like a damn party," roared Higgins.

"We have located the injured Captain and are waiting on the results of the medical scanner Zhaan has, Sir." Gomez spoke in a business-like manner, before raising both his eyebrows in disbelief at the General's tone. It was a good job Jones hadn't installed the cameras yet.

As if reading their minds, the General's voice was back. "How is Jones getting on with those cameras?"

His question reminded Zhaan to ask. _"Trinn, can we install cameras here, so the rest of humans can see what is happening and help us?"_

The way he'd phrased it, she couldn't object, although she wasn't comfortable with being watched by a bunch of aliens.

Jones leapt into action, positioning a camera close to their location and activating it. Zhaan turned back to his scanner when it beeped, reading the results. "Captain have too much pressure on brain from injury to head. Need urgent surgery to release pressure. Brain may be damaged."

Gomez was all business, calling his team to get prepared. Meanwhile Zhaan was busy connecting his scanner to his communicator to relay the information to the doctor on the Guy ship.

"I ask my people for advice about surgery. Maybe they know more about Ziluran anatomy. They contact Zilur for help, but it take some time. Perhaps you must just guess." He added unhelpfully.

While Gomez and Jones rushed back to the boarding steps to retrieve one of the isolation unit stretchers waiting there, Zhaan explained the situation to Trinn. _"If we don't relieve pressure in head, his brain may be damaged, if not already. Can you give us permission for surgery on your Captain?"_ He waited patiently while Trinn considered his request.

" _I can't give permission to anybody for anything. I should contact our mothership, we have two more crew, but I don't know how. You should go ahead and poke a hole in his head. I guess it can't make things much worse."_ She smiled nervously.

Gomez and Jones were already loading the Captain onto the stretcher and securing the strange bubble of plastic which surrounded it, keeping him isolated.

" _We take him to our medical facility and see what we can do to help him,"_ Zhaan explained, drawing a shrug from Trinn.

It was a struggle squeezing the awkward, bulky stretcher down the narrow and steep boarding steps, but finally the injured Ziluran was outside and passed over to a waiting team of medics. Jones and Gomez rejoined Zhaan on the flight deck.

" _OK, next man who is sick,"_ Zhaan asked, _"Where is he Trinn?"_ The Ziluran didn't speak but began walking to a door on the opposite side of the flight deck. In the tiny room they entered lay another Ziluran, strapped down to a long bench. He seemed unresponsive, and Gomez immediately set to work on checking his pulse. Turning to Zhaan, he instructed him to ask Trinn what had happened.

" _It started just before we came down to Earth,"_ she began to explain. _"First he said his stomach hurt, then he threw up everywhere. It was disgusting, and I was the lucky one who got to clean up. He made so much noise rolling around and holding his stomach that I sedated him, but we haven't much medicine left for this."_

Zhaan drew out his scanner again, laying the probe on the insensible alien's inner arm. Tense moments passed before the beep heralded that the reading was complete. Zhaan studied his scanner, Gomez peering around from behind him, curious about the machine, but unable to decipher the squiggles on the screen.

"This man have some kind of blockage in stomach, about here." After studying a tiny diagram on the screen, Zhaan prodded the alien's midriff, causing him to groan, despite the sedative. "Now there is some infection there too. Blockage must be removed urgently before his blood is poisoned, but he have no other contagion." Gomez was already on the radio, relaying the information, as he drew out a marker pen from his medical kit and marked a large 'X' on the area of the alien's abdomen Zhaan had indicated. Meanwhile Zhaan was busy translating for Trinn, who gave her permission for the Humans to endeavour to treat him.

" _He has nothing to lose,"_ she quipped.

With the second Ziluran on his way to the medical isolation unit, Zhaan, Jones and Gomez were faced with the challenge of locating and securing the third, the one who was exhibiting symptoms of space madness. As they discussed strategy, Gomez asked Zhaan for more information about the illness.

"It happen when people in space for long time, something in brain affected, make them behave crazy. Not everyone suffers, some people more likely to get it."

"Some people have an innate susceptibility?" Gomez clarified, fascinated. The long words he used caused Zhaan to stare at him blankly. Undaunted, Gomez pressed on. "Is there a treatment? Can it be cured?"

"If we catch him, secure him, take him off ship and outside into fresh air with real gravity, maybe," Zhaan clarified. "Problem is most people with space madness become afraid to leave ship."

"Agoraphobia is one of the symptoms?" Gomez asked, receiving another uncomprehending look from Zhaan in response.

"We need to make him unconscious somehow, tie him to something, and remove him from ship against his will. Then we can start to treat. If he stay here, hidden, he will get worse. Anyway, General want to move ship to other place."

Now Trinn was looking angrily at the men who were talking so much, without explaining anything to her. _"Zhaan Guy, tell me what you are saying to each other!"_ she demanded in a frustrated tone.

Realising his rudeness, Zhaan began to explain their conversation to Trinn, ending by asking if she had an idea how to knock out the rogue Ziluran.

" _We can hit him hard on the head. It worked well with the Captain!"_ she suggested cheekily.

" _You say you have sedative medicine left, but not much. Is it enough? We can try to use human drugs but don't know how they affect Zilurans."_

Trinn strode over to a wall cupboard and pulled out an untidy selection of medical supplies in a box. Picking up a bottle, shaking it and examining the red contents, she shook her head."

" _Then we must see what the Humans can find. You give your consent?"_ Trinn shrugged, indicating that she had no objection, and Zhaan relayed the information to the command centre.

" _First we must find him. This not big ship. Do you know where he hides?"_ Zhaan asked.

" _I believe around the engines somewhere, but I was afraid to approach him alone."_ She pointed downwards, indicating that the engines were located on the rear lower level of the ship.

" _You are sure he is not armed?"_ Zhaan wanted to be certain what they were dealing with.

" _He has no weapon from ship's supplies. They are all locked up. I can't be sure he doesn't have a weapon of his own, something he has made. He is an engineer,"_ she said uncertainly, not easing Zhaan's worries at all.

### Chapter Twenty Two

It felt like an eternity since his confinement and Malla was desperate to see Khevn. The ship's doctor had briefly discussed the situation with her, as they passed in a corridor, contrary to the Captain's orders. What he told her made her even more worried about her friend.

The doctor described how Khevn lay listless in his bed, although physically nothing was really wrong with him. He refused food and water. They had been forced to hydrate him intravenously, when he had become dehydrated. Learning that the dosage of Khevn's daily medication had been adjusted correctly, Malla decided it was time for action and moved purposefully towards the Captain's cabin.

Fearing it would worsen his mood, Malla was reluctant to disturb the Captain. He now had to cover Khevn's watch as well as his own, and she knew he had only just left the bridge for a rest period. It was now or never. As she shuffled towards the open door, she was beginning to have second thoughts, but was spotted, giving her no option but to continue.

" _Malla,"_ the Captain said, _"we haven't seen much of you on the bridge today."_

" _No, Sir, I've been busy relaying Zhaan's requests for support to Guyara and monitoring requests for assistance from there to Zilur. It seems the Humans are attempting to treat the injured occupants of the ship."_

" _So what brings you here to disturb my rest?"_ he asked, although he had a pretty good idea what was worrying her.

" _I wish to request your permission to visit Khevn in the sick bay,"_ she blurted out before she could lose her nerve.

" _Now why would you want to do a thing like that, given the situation which occurred?"_ he asked her, perplexed.

" _I fear for his mental well-being, Sir. I don't think he is coping very well."_ She didn't want to let on that the doctor had disobeyed the Captain's orders by discussing it with her, but he obviously suspected as much.

" _What would give you that idea?"_ he asked crossly.

" _Well, I know Khevn well,"_ she began, causing the Captain to raise one eyebrow, incredulous that she would want to highlight that fact. _"I fear he is ashamed and disgusted by his own behaviour and worried he will be subject to ridicule by the rest of the crew. He is a proud Guy and I'm afraid those feelings may damage his mental health and his ability to perform his duties on the ship. I would like to visit him to discuss this with him and believe it would be safer if I visit him alone, to avoid a similar situation to the one we encountered before."_

" _Can't this wait until your fertile scent is gone?"_ the Captain asked with exasperation. He was aware of the enticing scent around Trinn, although the medication kept its effect at bay.

" _I believe I need to speak with him before he exits the sick bay, to minimise his mental anguish, Sir,"_ Malla insisted stubbornly.

Sighing deeply, the Captain made his decision. _"Very well. I will speak with the doctor to make sure you will be alone. You will not mention this to any other of the crew and know that you will be on camera. If I detect any forbidden behaviour, Khevn will end up in a cell instead of the sick bay. If his behaviour threatens you in any way, I will intervene. Please be careful not to get him riled up. You have no idea of the strength of feelings you are dealing with."_

Muttering her thanks, Malla hobbled from his quarters as quickly as she could manage.

Nervously she stood outside the sick bay, waiting for the doctor to make a few final checks before she could enter and be alone with Khevn. Being separated from him was causing a pain in her chest which she couldn't understand. Her medical scanner found no problems with her health. It was a struggle to concentrate on the important messages she'd been relaying from Zhaan. Her brain kept bringing her thoughts back to her distressed friend. Secretly she worried about her own mental health, as well as Khevn's.

The doctor emerged, giving her a concerned look, before walking away. Taking a deep breath, Malla entered the room and closed the door behind her to avoid the prying eyes of any passing crew.

The pain in her chest worsened dramatically when she saw Khevn. Looking lifeless, he lay strapped to a bed, his eyes closed. There was no colour at all in his already pale cheeks. If she hadn't known better, she would have believed he were dead.

Another deep breath calmed her as she approached his bed. Despite his recent behaviour, he was still her friend Khevn, the person she knew so well and respected.

Silently, she took a seat next to the bed and placed her hand over his where it lay limp beside him. Shocked into awareness, his eyes sprang open and he turned his head to look at her. _"Is it really you, Malla?"_

" _Of course. I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier to visit you."_

" _Why would you want to? I behaved like an animal."_ Khevn responded despondently. His despair was making her angry.

" _Khevn, the Captain explained to me about the old times, the mating instinct."_ Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at raising the subject with him.

" _Malla, you have to believe when I cut down my medication, I had no idea. I had not even heard of this mating instinct. I would never have embarrassed you or myself in this manner. I feel so ashamed at my stupidity."_

Now exasperated Malla spoke, _"Khevn, quit feeling this way. You want to know how I feel about the way you behaved, how I feel about you? Then I will tell you. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed, if it were allowed, that one as perfect as you would select a cripple like me for a mate. If it were permitted, I would have been the happiest Guy alive."_

Stunned, he rolled his head over a little to face her more directly.

" _Seriously?"_ he asked her. _"You are not disgusted at my primitive behaviour?"_

She shook her head, bending lower to speak to him more quietly, unsure if the cameras watching them recorded sound or only motion. _"If we weren't being watched, I would place my lips on yours. When you get out of here, I will be waiting for you in our quarters."_

" _The Captain will continue to allow us to share?"_ Khevn asked in disbelief. Malla nodded her head.

" _We must be cautious to behave in an appropriate manner, otherwise he will be forced to take action, which I fear will be extremely detrimental to you particularly."_ The thought of him locked up and on trial was horrendous. _"We must be careful around the crew. I hope things may be different on Delta,"_ she added, bringing a slight smile to his face.

" _I should leave,"_ Malla said, worried about how long she could resist the urge to place her lips against his in the Human way.

" _Know that the thought of wrapping my arms around you again at night, will keep me sane until I can get out of here,"_ he whispered.

" _Khevn it will only be a few days more, be strong and, for Guyara's sake, please start to take water and eat so I don't have to worry about you."_

" _Can I request one liberty before you leave?"_ Khevn asked, his voice shaking nervously. A tilt of Malla's head showed him that she was listening, but not quite committing herself until she knew what his request would be. Khevn raised himself up onto his elbows on the bed, as well as he could with the restraints. He looked deep in thought, the palms of his hands rubbing back and forth on his neck, almost as though his neck were stiff from the confinement. Malla waited patiently for him to speak but instead, he surprised her by bringing his hands to her neck and repeating the action on her.

In an instant Malla was filled not only with Khevn's strong and reassuring scent as it transferred to her skin, but with a strong wave of warm and loving emotion conveyed by his touch.

" _I need you to carry my scent,"_ he explained, _"it will keep me calm."_

Nodding to show that she understood and glancing anxiously at the camera behind her, Malla slowly rose from the chair and left the room.

### Chapter Twenty Three

A loud banging on the metal hull of the shuttle craft indicated that General Higgins was delivering weapons for subduing the rogue Ziluran. Jones collected them from the hatch, one Taser and two tranquillizer guns. He explained their function to Gomez and Zhaan, who in turn showed Trinn.

"So how are we going to nab him?" Jones asked. "What's our plan?"

"While we wait Trinn showed me layout of engine room." Zhaan pushed a scruffy scrap of paper with a roughly scribbled sketch towards the two men. Gomez was fiddling nervously with the tranquillizer gun he had been assigned.

"These two areas each contain one engine and connect with this small passageway. Heavy door in centre of passageway here in case of fire," Zhaan offered, in explanation of his drawing. "We not sure he in one of these areas or in passage between, but seem most likely to me. Engineers always comfortable near engines."

"Can we seal off the exit door to the one engine area, then come in from the other side, try to corner him?" Jones suggested, pointing at the sketch.

Zhaan translated for Trinn.

" _I think outer door can be locked but I must check. I'm afraid to go alone,"_ she responded.

" _Do not worry little Ziluran, we all go together,"_ Zhaan reassured her.

They descended the metal steps to the engine deck with a vague plan. The door of the starboard section was successfully locked, leaving the space-crazed alien with no escape route, if indeed he were actually lurking around the engines as they suspected. The three men planned to fan out around the port engine; Jones to the left, Gomez to the right, Zhaan, being the most agile, above or below the engine, whichever was required.

Jones tried to hand one of the tranquillizer guns to Zhaan, but he stubbornly refused to take it.

"I not need. I have this," he explained, flexing his arm muscles. Jones wasn't happy and, having considerably greater weapons training than Gomez, found himself armed with both the Taser and the tranquillizer gun. Gomez carried the second tranquillizer.

Jones was hoping that neither weapon would kill the small alien being. He assumed the General had taken their diminutive size into account in the dosage for the guns.

"OK, we go!" said Zhaan, never one for patience and intensive planning.

Gingerly Jones opened the door to the port engine room, clueless about what they would find inside. As they had discussed the plan, he'd imagined a rabid orang-utan swinging from the rafters above a vividly coloured maze of twisting and turning pipework. To his surprise, the door swung open to reveal a fairly conventional-looking engine bay, of the type he would have expected to see aboard a sea-going vessel.

A flash of movement immediately caught his eye. Sure enough, their prey was here and was making a frantic attempt to scramble beneath the engine, in order to reach the passageway and evade them.

"Don't let him in there!" Zhaan cried. Jones rushed around to the left to block access to the connecting passage. He held his tranquillizer gun low, in case the Ziluran should spring out beneath him from his hiding place. Cornering their quarry, Jones thought of a rabbit trapped in his burrow by a pack of excited dogs. Gomez held his tranquillizer gun ready too, in case an opportunity arose.

Zhaan stooped down to take a look beneath the engine and turned to Trinn. _"Can you just ask him come out? I think we scare him."_

Trinn crawled to join him on the ground, her pendulous belly almost scraping along the floor as she moved. Repeatedly she encouraged her crew-mate to emerge, so they could help him. The only response she got was an angry hissing from beneath the engine.

" _OK, Trinn, step back. I must try to pull him out,"_ Zhaan advised. He didn't want the heavily pregnant Ziluran in the danger zone. Eagerly she scampered back to the safety of the closed doorway.

"You ready?" Zhaan looked to Jones and Gomez, who both nodded.

Zhaan lowered himself onto his side on the floor, groping beneath the engine with his long arms. The fugitive Ziluran shuffled around, trying to evade his grasp. Finally the Guy's fingers got a good grip on Ziluran skin and he began to heave. The tiny being was surprisingly strong. Zhaan's brow was soon soaked from the effort of his attempts to drag him out against his will in the oppressive heat.

Suddenly the resistance weakened. "Got him!" Zhaan said, sliding himself backwards across the floor to haul his captive out, his legs braced against the engine. "Be ready."

It wasn't an elegant introduction for this Ziluran to the two other alien races as he was roughly yanked into view. One of Zhaan's hands had a tight grip around his left elbow, his other held the right shoulder firmly. As they both emerged, the captive began to squirm, reminding Zhaan of the slippery fish his friend Jesse would try to release from his fly line. They too failed to realise that they were being helped, as they battled fiercely against capture.

Inevitably, given his much larger size and superior strength, Zhaan got the better of the wriggling Ziluran, pinning the alien's back firmly against his own chest, one Guy arm held tightly beneath each Ziluran armpit. Zhaan cringed at the smell.

Jones finally had it, a clear shot and raised his tranquillizer gun ready to fire. The Ziluran wasn't ready to surrender just yet. With a sudden movement, he kicked out with both legs, making painful contact with Zhaan's knees just as Jones pulled the trigger. He missed his mark. Undeterred, Jones aimed again and fired, this time successfully.

The struggle subsided and there was a sudden stillness. Almost in slow motion, Zhaan dropped to his knees, pulling the Ziluran with him, and they both collapsed to the floor.

Jones and Gomez rushed to their colleague's aid.

"Shit, Zhaan. Are you OK?" Jones asked in horror, as he crouched beside the fallen Guy.

Zhaan couldn't believe what Jones had done. Had the FBI agent been ordered to sedate him too? Was he doomed? He'd felt the sting of the dart as it hit him. How had they known about the only spot where his skin would be vulnerable to the small metal spike, the delicate skin at the base of his neck? Zhaan's arms became heavy and now were no longer under his brain's control. He released the Ziluran, who lay motionless beside him.

Zhaan's head began to spin, not only with the effect of the sedative but also with feelings of anger and betrayal. He should never have trusted the Humans, never have offered his help. He ought to have known better. Suddenly everything became dark.

As he stirred, the straps securing him were the first thing of which Zhaan became aware and the horror of his situation flooded back into his mind. He was bound tightly, unable even to struggle. What was to become of him now? As sensation returned, he realised that his arms were not bound, as if the Humans didn't even expect him to resist whatever lay in store for him.

Rage filled him and he opened his unprotected eyes, searching for targets within striking range of his vicious claws. He was ready to lash out and his betrayer, noticing his eyes open, was foolishly coming close to his reach.

Zhaan spoke, bitterness evident in his tone. "Why you betray me, Jones?" Luckily for him, the words stopped the FBI agent in his tracks at a safe distance.

"Oh thank God, you're awake. Jeez, you scared me half to death back there."

"Did they tell you to do this? Will they dissect me now?" Zhaan asked angrily, willing Jones to move towards him again. Suddenly realising that Zhaan believed he had been tricked, the man wisely kept his distance.

"Guys, stop a minute," Jones instructed the medics who wheeled the gurney, clad from head to toe in biohazard suits. "Zhaan, please believe me, nobody ordered me shoot you. It was an accident, honestly. Just as I pulled the trigger, that little lunatic lashed out and you moved into my line of fire. I'm so sorry, Zhaan. How are you feeling?"

"How can I believe you? You bind me, I cannot move. What is planned for me now?" He switched to his own language in frustration, his head still fuzzy. _"Sometimes you make me sick, Humans."_ The last word he spat out with venom.

"Zhaan, listen, we only strapped you down so you wouldn't fall off the gurney. I'll release you if you'll just calm down. Nobody here wants you harmed. We're all so grateful to you. This was entirely my fault. I'm sorry. Please believe it was an accident."

Still unsure, Zhaan responded. "You release me, then I try to believe."

"Of course, but can you put those claws away first? You're freaking me out."

Reluctantly Zhaan retracted his claws while Jones and one of the medics released the straps, allowing him to sit. Eager to make sure that freedom wasn't a false promise, Zhaan leapt smartly from the trolley. Unfortunately the sedative was still taking effect and he swayed precariously before sliding to the floor. After a quick check that no claws were exposed, Jones rushed to his aid.

"Hey, you may want to take it easy for a while." He reached out an arm, taking hold of one of Zhaan's hands to help him up, but quickly withdrew it when his touch was met with a fit of snarling from his colleague. "Do not touch me!" Zhaan barked at him.

Jones dropped his arm and took an immediate step back.

"Maybe you should just lie back down?" he suggested sheepishly.

### Chapter Twenty Four

As the dark and snowy Montana countryside flew by the window, Alice turned her head to peer intently at the view. In reality it wasn't that fascinating, she just didn't want Andy to see the tears which threatened to spill from her eyes as she continued to mentally beat herself for abandoning Zhaan. She knew it was what Zhaan wanted, for her to be with Seren for Christmas. However, when she had last seen him, totally vulnerable on a gurney after that idiot Jones had accidentally drugged him, she had almost refused to leave.

Parker was in the front of the vehicle with another FBI agent who was driving them from the airport. Andy, seated beside her in the back, sensed her mood and tried to reassure her.

"It's only a couple of days. Try not to worry." He draped an arm around her shoulders. "Just think how happy Seren will be to see you," he whispered quietly.

"It was just awful leaving him like that."

"It was an accident. You have to know that. They are going to treat him well while we're gone. They need him too much."

Alice sighed and turned back to her window.

Seren's reaction when Alice swept into her brother's home eased her pain a little. Squealing with joy, the little girl wriggled out of the arms that held her and raced over to her mother. Alice swept her up, hugging and kissing her.

It was only once the little girl, who had her father's pale skin but her mother's dark hair and green eyes, calmed a little that Alice began to wonder who had been holding her. Looking up, she was greeted with a face she knew well, despite the long years since she had seen it last. Older but still familiar, Alice's own mother stood before her; the woman with whom she had broken off contact since the big bust-up with her awful stepfather, over ten years ago. Both women were stunned into silence.

Excited, Seren was jumping up and down at Alice's side. "This is my Grandma," she was saying.

"Yes, I know," Alice replied dryly. It was only then that Seren noticed her father's absence.

"Where is Daddy?" the little girl asked with a frown.

Alice knelt down to speak to the girl at her own level. "Daddy had to stay. He is doing very important work, but he did send you a present."

Reaching into her bag, Alice drew out a snow-globe with a view of New York, which she'd picked up from the hotel gift shop just before they left. Seren grabbed it in excitement and peered closely at the scene inside the glass ball. Her mother showed her how to make it snow in the little scene, adding to her joy.

"I miss Daddy," Seren said quietly before rushing over to show off her gift to her grandmother, who was silently witnessing the scene.

Alice turned, glared at her mother and stalked off into the kitchen in search of her brother.

She stood brooding silently behind her oblivious brother. Jesse was busy chopping vegetables for dinner. Perhaps sensing the harsh stare he was being given, he was finally alerted to her presence. Swinging around, he smiled in delight, embracing her in a warm hug. Then, after looking around in puzzlement, he asked, "Where's Zhaan?"

Forlornly Alice shook her head. The tears she'd been battling threatened to put in an appearance again. Sensing her upset, Jesse swiftly wrapped his arms around his sister again.

"What happened?"

"Zhaan had to stay. He's in quarantine with the others who boarded the ship. He insisted I come home for Christmas, but maybe I made a terrible mistake leaving him alone with them.

"Andy?" Jesse asked in the sibling shorthand where they understood each other without the need for full sentences.

"Andy's home too." Alice explained briefly, her thoughts returning to her main concern. "I'm worried sick about Zhaan. He was still drugged when I left, and I couldn't even talk to him because of the quarantine." Finally the tears erupted.

"What do you mean he was drugged? Was he sick?" Jesse asked with a doctor's concern.

"Jones shot him with a tranquillizer dart. He claims it was an accident, but the more I ruminate on it, the less certain I am."

"Jeez!" Jesse exclaimed as Alice gasped for air between sobs.

It took a while for her to get enough breath together to comment sarcastically, "I see we have company." She gave Jesse another hard stare.

"Look, I didn't realise you were going to be back so soon. You have to believe, I wouldn't have let her come if I'd known. I do understand how you feel." Alice continued to observe her brother in stony silence.

"She just called out of the blue, and more or less invited herself for Christmas. I didn't feel I could leave her to spend Christmas alone." He tried to justify himself. "That asshole left her, you know, went off with a younger model. She's living alone now and I get the impression that she may be regretting the direction her life has taken over the last few years. Do you want me to ask her to leave?" Jesse asked sincerely, knowing it would be awkward to throw his own mother out like that at Christmas, but Alice did look as if she might already be at breaking point. He would do it for his sister if he had to.

"No, it's fine." Alice shrugged. "I've got more important worries right now."

"Why don't you go and freshen up and I'll fix you a drink before dinner?" Jesse suggested. Alice turned and walked to the door like a zombie.

### Chapter Twenty Five

"Zhaan, are you awake?" Jones suspected he was, but curled on his side facing the wall with his back towards the rest of the quarantine area, it was hard to tell. Gently the FBI agent touched the alien's shoulder and was greeted with an angry growl, causing him to quickly pull back his hand.

"The General is wondering if you are up to doing some recon on the Ziluran ship with me."

"So you don't plan to drug me again and experiment?" Reluctantly Zhaan rolled over in his bunk to face Jones. "What does that mean anyway, do a recon? Stop talking in puzzles and stop touching. I still very angry with you."

"Shit. I can only apologise, and I've already done that a million times. You know it was an accident. What more can I say? Higgins wants us to go back on the Ziluran ship and look around, see if everything is safe, so they can make plans to move it. Do you feel OK now? We were hoping to have a quick look today, so we can see what needs to be done."

"Alice is gone?" Zhaan asked sadly. Jones nodded. "I can't even say goodbye because you shoot me, idiot!" Suddenly a smile began to creep back onto the alien's face. "To call you idiot make me feel much better. It such good word! We go now." As he raised himself from the bunk, Jones watched anxiously for signs of unsteadiness, but Zhaan seemed to be fully alert again.

"How that little Ziluran you drugged? If I feel so bad when you shoot me, like when I eat space cake by mistake, I sure he feel worse," Zhaan said with a grin.

Shocked at Zhaan's surprise revelation about his drug experience, Jones merely confirmed, "Still sleeping."

"I hope you tie him down, or we have to catch him again when he wake up!" Zhaan suggested.

"The other two are being taken care of by the medics. They already made a hole in the Captain's skull to try to release some pressure. Now they're trying to work out how to safely operate on the second one, doing scans and so on."

"Well, at least Human doctor have enough skill to make a hole in head, so maybe the other Ziluran can be hopeful," Zhaan commented sarcastically.

The conference room was buzzing with activity, but an abrupt silence marked Zhaan's appearance on the screen from the video feed connecting the two areas. Evidently several people there hadn't had the chance to see the alien before. Zhaan stared back aggressively as they watched him for a few seconds, before returning to their tasks at hand, slightly embarrassed.

"Zhaan, I hope you are feeling well now. Sorry about that little snafu earlier," Higgins said.

Zhaan lowered himself to sit on the chair in front of the camera, bringing his feet up to his backside, so he was more or less crouched on the seat, the way he often preferred to sit. In a more conventional position, Jones took a seat beside him in front of the camera, making him appear dwarfed by the alien.

"I trust Jones explained that we are keen to check the ship is safe to be moved. It is most inconvenient where it is currently located. We're getting together a plan for transportation. Before we begin, however, we need to check for the dangers you told us about, the pulse wave, fuel leaks, that kind of thing. Do you think you might be able to re-board the ship and look around for us?"

"I not engineer, Higgins," Zhaan stated simply.

"No, I am aware of that, Zhaan, but at least you might have a clue what you are looking at, and you do already know your way around."

"I think engineer man must come with. I forget his name."

"I'll have to ascertain whether he is prepared to be quarantined. You two get suited up ready. Davies, can you spare a minute?" Higgins called to the engineer, waving him over.

"Dayveez, that right," Zhaan muttered to himself, trying to commit the name to memory.

As he scrambled up the hatchway steps to board the Ziluran ship again, Zhaan was hoping the smell inside would have improved with a little fresh air. He, Jones, and Davies were clad in biohazard suits, but as soon as they were out of sight of the mission commanders, Zhaan pulled off his protective headwear throwing it to the ground. As the other two men stared at him in surprise, he explained. "I didn't wear it last time. What the point?"

Zhaan was able to pay more attention to his surroundings than on his last visit, without fear of the crazy Ziluran roaming around. The loading bay in which they stood was untidy and littered with trash; the boxes still heaped where Trinn had hidden.

"This way," Zhaan said, leading the other two men up more steps to the bridge area. Dark blood stains covered one side of the control panel, where the Ziluran Captain had been injured. Blood had pooled on the floor beneath and dried. "Don't touch!" Zhaan warned, pointing to it.

They crossed the bridge, heading out of the opposite side, back down towards the port side engine room. Davies walked towards the huge engine, his eyes wide with delight. His engineer's brain was already trying to decipher the way it functioned. Zhaan, meanwhile, circled the huge machine, apparently checking any connections and wiring he came across. His inspection complete, he turned to Jones. "You go under, check there. You are smallest."

In return Zhaan received a look of alarm from the FBI agent, which obviously indicated that he wouldn't have a clue what to look for.

"Just look if anything broken or damage down there. I not climbing down there, I get stuck," Zhaan instructed, giving the man a shove of encouragement.

Jones returned, shrugging to indicate that as far as he could tell, everything looked fine.

"Must be other engine that is broken then." Zhaan stated. "Come."

He strode towards the small passageway between the two engine rooms and then, thinking better of it, turned and paced out of the main door, taking the longer, wider route around to the starboard side. They repeated their inspection. "All look OK," Zhaan said. "Damage must be outside."

He followed the path of some pipework with his eyes. "This way is fuel." They stopped by a large floor hatch. "Fuel is dangerous when mixed," Zhaan explained. "If only one type leak is safe, but if both leak and mix, then..." He paused pondering the possibility for a moment, "then we are already dead and New York is gone too, I think."

The casual comment caused both Davies and Jones to raise their eyebrows. They backed away cautiously. Zhaan roughly pulled the hatch up and began to climb down into the fuel storage area. "I hate small space!" he commented as he descended.

Nothing seemed amiss with the storage tanks and Zhaan was keen to scramble back out, obviously relieved to leave the confined area.

"Next we try to find pulse wave control."

By the time the two Humans caught up with him, he was sitting at a low seat in front of the massive control panel, puzzling over the unfamiliar lettering on a vast array of switches and buttons.

"Duran writing very difficult," he said in frustration. He flicked a switch, not sure of its function and, at the immediate scream of a warning alarm, turned it off just as quickly.

While Zhaan scratched his head at the baffling squiggles, Jones began to take some surface swabs and air samples, as he'd been instructed by Higgins. Zhaan paused to watch him, obviously wondering what he was doing.

It was Davies who explained, through the rustle of his protective headgear. "They want to take samples to find out if it is safe in here for my engineers to work. We need to check nothing is lurking that will make them sick."

"Smell in here make me sick, this I know," Zhaan said scathingly. "I not sure Zilurans know how to wash."

Zhaan turned a switch and held down a button. Several seconds later, the continuous background buzzing noise, which had accompanied their entire time aboard, abruptly ceased, the silence a little eerie.

"I switch off main power to all systems," Zhaan explained, "Now everything is safe." He rose from his seat, striding towards the exit steps. "Now we look outside." With that, he disappeared downwards, out of the ship.

Around the back of the ship, the damage from the debris with which the Zilurans had collided was obvious. Almost buried inside the external cowl of one of the engines was a large chunk of metal, which had strange lettering on it.

"Is that Russian?" Jones asked in surprise.

Davies peered closely at the out-of-place object. "Looks like part of a satellite. Maybe it got sucked into the engine," he suggested.

Zhaan had walked a complete circuit around the exterior of the ship. "Everything OK, except that," he pointed at the distorted engine. "Now we go. I hungry." Turning on his heel, he headed back to their vehicle.

### Chapter Twenty Six

Jones sighed as he turned over for about the hundredth time in his bunk. It was impossible to sleep. Davies was snoring like a freight train and despite the dimmed light level, he could see the unhappy looking Ziluran girl, her nose almost glued to the glass between their respective quarantine areas as she watched them. Her tiny fingers pressed against the glass reminded him of the sticky toes of a gecko. She seemed fearful and desperate to join them.

After pacing relentlessly for a couple of hours, Zhaan was also tossing and turning in his bunk. Obviously sleep was evading him too. Somehow Gomez seemed to be sleeping like a baby, making Jones even more irritable. He decided that another beer might help, the General had kindly provided them with a case. Air rushed out through his mouth with another heartfelt sigh. Finally admitting defeat in his battle for sleep, he climbed out of the bunk and headed over to the cooler in the corner of the room, popping the top off a sweating bottle.

A voice surprised him. "I take one too, Jones," Zhaan said.

Grabbing another bottle, Jones headed over to Zhaan's bunk, where he lay, obviously expecting waiter service. He drew up a chair beside it.

"What's up, Zhaan? Can't you sleep?"

"How can I sleep? That man make noise like animal, what the name Alice tell me? Pig?" He pointed in Davies' direction. "Little alien girl staring in here, it make me uncomfortable. Then I start thinking of other things and that is worse."

"What's worrying you, Zhaan?" Jones asked with concern.

"Where can I begin? These Zilurans are crazy and now they are my problem. Perhaps I get some strange sickness from them. I am the only one of my species on alien planet. I live a nice, secret, happy life with my friends until three days ago. Now I don't know what will happen to me later when this is over. Alice and..." he suddenly stopped himself mid sentence, "she is not here. I don't know who I can trust. What will Humans do to a Guy on their planet? Everyone I know here is thousands mile away. I feel alone. I was never without Alice on this planet before like this. I say she must leave me here, but if I know before how bad I feel without her..." His voice trailed off. "Mr FBI Agent, what keep you awake?"

Sighing again, Jones began to speak. "Obviously Pig Boy and our peeping Tom aren't helping. I'm afraid that I've lost your trust by accidentally shooting you when we were getting along well, at least I thought so. Now it is Christmas and despite the non-too slight distraction that I'm stuck in a cell with two total strangers and an alien, with four different aliens in the next room, I keep dwelling on how I messed up my marriage and have basically self-destructed my own life. Maybe nothing matters anyway. Perhaps we're on the verge of an alien apocalypse, or I too might have contracted some weird Ziluran disease. I keep imagining symptoms and freaking out." He paused and continued candidly. "If the end were coming, all I would want would be to be able to tell my wife, ex-wife, that I love her and hold her again but I blew that one big-time."

"Why she not love you now?" Zhaan asked bluntly.

"My own fault, I was unfaithful...often," Jones admitted with shame.

"What is that, unfaithful?" Zhaan didn't know the word.

"I had other women while we were married," Jones explained.

"Why?"

Jones was taken aback at the direct question, one which he'd never forced himself to answer before. He was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "I guess I always felt like I was still looking for something."

"If you wife not enough and you need something else, perhaps she not right wife for you. You should find another." Zhaan was frank as ever.

Uncomfortable at being pyscho-analysed by the strange alien, Jones was keen to change the subject. "Tell me a little about yourself, Zhaan. We've spent all this time together, but I know hardly anything about you. How did you come to be on Earth?"

"I come on space ship, of course," Zhaan said, implying the FBI agent was simple.

Ignoring the implication, Jones clarified his question. "But why are you here?"

"Long story." Zhaan seemed reluctant to share his history with the government man.

"We have nothing but time, Zhaan," Jones pressed him.

"My people find out about Humans from signals we discover floating around in space, satellite TV. We watch this TV and see a dangerous people, always warring, murdering, violent. My government afraid that Humans may become risk to my planet. I come here to check if this impression of Humans is correct, whether they can travel in space, and how they think. I research."

"So what did you discover? Are we as bad as your people feared, Zhaan?" Jones wondered.

"During my time on Earth so far I was shot, a friend was rape and almost kill and police do nothing. I see on television news always humans explode each other with bombs and have wars, many wars in different places. Every day Humans murder, torture, kidnap, rape, starving, or sick. Situation is not good, I think. Some people have too much and many too little."

Zhaan paused for a moment before continuing, not wanting to give the impression that he didn't like the planet.

"Some things here better than Guyara; how people can love, choose friends, have family, how they help each other in bad times, the freedoms they have. Right now I think biggest risk from Humans is to own kind, until they learn how to build real space ship."

"Good grief, Zhaan, how did you manage to get shot?"

"Alice old boyfriend not a good man." That was obviously all he was prepared to say on the subject and a pregnant pause followed.

Keen to keep Zhaan talking, Jones asked more about the alien's mission. "It must have taken you forever to get here? How long are you supposed to stay."

"We have technology unknown on Earth that travel faster than light through space but still journey take around fifteen Earth years." He and Alice had done the calculation when they first met.

The beer was taking effect and Zhaan was feeling more relaxed around the agent whom, in honesty, his instincts told him to trust, at least until he had inadvertently shot Zhaan with the tranquillizer. "With beer in hand, do I talk to FBI agent for Government interrogation, or do I talk to my friend Jones?" There were things Zhaan certainly didn't want everybody to know, but he wanted to share with this man.

Jones pondered the issue for a moment before responding. "Jones your friend is fascinated and would like to know more about you, Zhaan. Jones the FBI man only needs to share with others anything which might be of importance to Earth or his country, I guess. What happened here on Earth, Zhaan? How did you end up living in Montana with Alice? I'm really curious."

"In my first minutes on Earth, already I meet Alice. Alice is everything for me. My people believe she corrupt me. They don't want me to tell Guy people about my life on Earth. Life on Guyara is very different. They decide to kill me, so I can't corrupt others."

"Wow, harsh."

"Another Guy, my boss, persuade them to leave me here instead, so here I am. In exchange for my life, I supposed to tell Guy people if Humans become threat and learn how to travel to Guyara, my planet."

A dark shadow moving across the corner of the room drew Jones' attention. Zhaan, with his back to it, didn't notice until Trinn suddenly appeared on the other side of his bed and hauled herself up into it, wrapping an arm firmly around his waist.

" _What the hell are you doing, girl?"_ Zhaan exclaimed in her language, visibly shocked.

" _I cannot sleep alone. It is not the Ziluran way. The others are sick and unconscious. I am afraid, so I come to my big, strong Guy for protection."_ She giggled nervously, drawing her arm above the blanket more tightly around him. Switching to Zhaan's own language, she added her only phrase, _"How may I pleasure you sir?"_

" _I don't want you in my bed, Ziluran. How did you even get in here?"_ Zhaan spluttered.

" _These Humans can't make a lock to keep Trinn confined."_ She looked hurt at his rejection but obstinately stayed put.

"What's going on Zhaan? How did she get in here?" Jones asked in consternation.

"Apparently she can't sleep alone, so escape. It seem that Zilurans normally all sleep together in a big heap, like baby dogs. She says she afraid and expect me to protect her, in return for some 'pleasure'."

"Jeez! Rather you than me! What shall we do? She's supposed to be kept with the other Zilurans."

"With all cameras here, they already know she out. I guess they decide." Zhaan cocked a thumb towards the closest camera. "They listen too?" he asked suspiciously, worried about his earlier confession.

"I think it's just pictures, no sound as far as I know." Jones reassured him.

Trinn meanwhile had snuggled closer to Zhaan and was fidgeting and wriggling, her arm already under the blanket with him.

" _Trinn, I said no. Get out of my bed!"_ Zhaan ordered her more forcefully. Now her hands were wandering, violating him and a rage began to boil inside.

" _I know you are pleased to have me here!"_ She gave him a provocative rub with her stumpy fingers. It was too much, his anger burst forth and in a split second, which felt like history repeating itself, Zhaan shoved the small Ziluran forcefully away from him. She rolled off the bunk and onto the ground. What was it with pregnant womenfolk who insisted on molesting him?

Jones began to panic that the beginnings of some kind of intergalactic conflict may well be starting right in front of him and turned back to Zhaan for further explanation. Zhaan was too busy yelling at the cowering Ziluran.

" _Get your hands off me. I am only for Alice! My bed is shared only by Alice! You are not welcome in it."_

Massive droplets of water began to pour from Trinn's huge oval eyes, making Zhaan feel bad.

" _Are you OK? Did I hurt you?"_ he asked in horror. The Ziluran shook her head. _"You know I will do my best to protect you and your child. You must understand that I feel as alone as you do. I am alone." He added candidly. "I know you are afraid, I am too, but this is not the Guy way and I am not comfortable with it. Besides, Alice kill me if I share my bed with another woman!"_ He smiled as he stopped speaking, trying to comfort the petite alien.

Trinn nodded her acceptance and her gaze passed to Jones. _"What about him?"_ she asked Zhaan, gesturing toward the man with her stumpy thumb.

Unable to understand the exchange between the two aliens, Jones, anxious about the way the Ziluran lady now seemed to be fixing her eyes in his direction, was saved by the bell. His cellphone began to ring.

"Jones," he answered professionally.

"What the hell is that Ziluran woman doing in there with you? How did she even get in there?" Higgins screamed down the line. "I gave strict orders for the Zilurans to be kept separately."

"Seems Trinn had other ideas, General. I gather she was feeling lonely, and it appears she is a master lock-pick! What do you want to do?" Jones enquired.

"Well, I guess it's done now, so long as you guys are happy with the situation."

"I'm not sure happy is the right word at the moment, General, but we'll work something out. Could you arrange another bunk in here for her, to protect Zhaan's honour!" He laughed and the General was reassured that the situation wasn't dangerous.

"By the way, I had a call from Alice's brother, Jesse. He was wondering if there was any way Alice could have a video call with Zhaan. She's worried about him."

"Sure, give him my details and I'll pass my phone over when they call."

"We'll brief you on our progress in the morning. Try to get some rest in there. Oh and Merry Christmas, I guess it's already Christmas Day."

"Same to you and the team, Sir," Jones responded with surprise.

Five minutes later, Jones' phone was ringing again. How did Gomez and Davies sleep through all this commotion, Jones marvelled? Trinn was still standing beside Zhaan's bed, looking like a spare part.

"It's for you, Zhaan," Jones said, connecting the video and handing over his phone.

Zhaan's eyes gleamed with delight when he saw Alice on the screen. He grinned at Jones in gratitude.

"Alice, you don't know how much I miss you," Zhaan told her.

"I was so worried. Are you feeling OK now? I hated leaving you like that, especially when you were drugged. Are they treating you OK?" she asked with concern.

"Yes, I fine. I drink beer with Jones, Trinn is here too." Zhaan went into some detail about what had been happening since Alice left, omitting the bizarre incident with Trinn. Jones knew it was impolite to eavesdrop but he was just so curious about Zhaan's life.

Suddenly what was unmistakably a child's voice could be heard, "Is that Daddy? Daddy, Daddy..."

Zhaan snapped back at the young voice in a language unrecognisable to Jones. Was he speaking in his native tongue and if so, to whom?

The voice was promptly hushed and Zhaan glanced anxiously at Jones, hoping he hadn't heard, but could tell by the amazed expression on the agent's face that it was too late. His secret was out.

Zhaan turned away, dragging the blanket over his head. Jones heard Zhaan's muffled, worried voice urging Alice to quiet the child. Wanting to give the Guy some privacy and allow him to talk with his family, Jones steered Trinn away by the arm.

### Chapter Twenty Seven

Zhaan awoke to the sounds of rustling and shuffling. Somebody in biohazard gear was delivering something to the room. Jones' phone was stuck to his cheek, where he had fallen asleep still gazing at Alice. He guessed the battery must be completely drained. Poking his head out from beneath the blanket, he took in the view in the quarantine area.

Davies and Gomez were seated at the table, tucking into a breakfast of eggs and bacon. The smell of the food made Zhaan's stomach growl. He turned, searching for Jones, who was still curled on his side in his bunk. Zhaan really needed to speak with the man about what had happened last night, to ensure Seren's safety.

Alongside Jones' bunk stood another, the one which was brought in the night before for Trinn. It seems that they had come to a compromise while he was talking to Alice that Trinn could sleep right next to Jones but not actually in his bed. Taking another closer look, Zhaan could see her tiny form curled on the bottom of the FBI agent's bed, her own vacant. Zhaan smiled, wondering how Jones felt about that situation.

"Morning, Zhaan!" Davies said cheerfully from the table. "Sleep well?"

"No. I dream about giant pig," Zhaan said, looking pointedly in the man's direction.

Oblivious to Zhaan's implication, the man gave him a jolly smile saying, "Weird! Why don't you come and get some breakfast, it's wonderful; a perk of being quarantined in a five star hotel!"

Zhaan reached for the robe which had been provided for him. He was missing Alice and needed to take a shower, a cold one, before anything else. "I wash me first," he told them.

"What's she doing in here?" Gomez pointed at Trinn's tiny body. "And why is she on Jones' bed?"

"Apparently she lonely. Maybe you two can get lucky tonight!" Zhaan joked, heading towards the bathroom.

By the time Zhaan had returned and dressed, everybody was up and around the breakfast table. Trinn was poking suspiciously at the food items which had been delivered. Zhaan knew that she hadn't eaten anything the previous night. She must be starving.

" _Hello my big Guy. Do you know what any of this stuff is? Some of it smells good. I don't know which things are safe to try."_

Zhaan thought back to his own first encounters with unfamiliar Human food and wanted to help her out. _"What do you Zilurans normally eat?"_

" _For a long time nothing but dehydrated space food; disgusting stuff."_

" _Well, if you were home on Zilur, what you would eat at this time of day?"_

Trinn closed her eyes, imagining her favourite breakfast. _"Normally I take some fruit of the darya tree, some baked trig and a glass of minar nectar."_ From the blissful expression on her face, Zhaan could tell that she was remembering the flavours and textures of her favourite foods.

" _Do your people eat animal flesh?"_ Zhaan asked. He knew so little about the Zilurans. She was the first he'd met. The face Trinn pulled in response to the question told him that the thought of eating animal flesh was abhorrent to her.

" _I guess not,"_ Zhaan said. _"In that case I suggest some of this."_ He grabbed a bowl, adding a scoop of chopped fresh fruit. _"Take a toast bread with one of these."_ Placing the bread on a plate, he slid over jars of jam and honey, finishing off with a glass of fresh orange juice.

Trinn looked at the spot where Zhaan had placed her food and leapt onto the chair in one agile bound, amazing considering her swollen belly. There she squatted on her heels and selected an item from her bowl, a cube of melon. Taking the fruit in her hand, she placed it in front of her mouth, first sniffing then tasting with a deft lick of her small tongue. Satisfied that she wanted to eat the item, she placed it against her lips, which parted slightly allowing her to suck the fruit into her mouth with an unusual popping sound. Zhaan tried not to stare, not wanting Trinn to feel self-conscious. When he looked around, Gomez and Davies were sitting open-mouthed, watching her every move. Unconcerned, and finding the fruit tasty, Trinn ignored the gawping men and delved her fingers into the bowl for another item, this time picking out a blueberry and repeating the whole ritual again.

" _This is good! I'm starving,"_ she exclaimed, diving in again for more fruit. Zhaan grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon, adding some of the fresh fruit, which did look good, and took a seat next to her.

Gomez' cellphone rang and he answered, handing it over to Jones. Higgins wanted to video-conference with them and wasn't getting a response from Jones.

"Battery died during the night, Sir," he explained. "Zhaan and Alice had quite a lengthy discussion apparently." He grinned at Zhaan making the Guy nervous about the knowledge Jones may have gained the previous night. Zhaan naively hoped that his conversation hadn't been monitored by others but feared it would have been.

The screen and cameras were set up and Higgins was busy explaining how they planned to move the Ziluran ship to the Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida. They would set up a project base there, where they hoped to be able to repair it. The plan involved two Russian-built, heavy-lift helicopters, which hopefully would have the capacity to move the shuttle from Central Park to a raft of barges waiting on the Hudson.

Zhaan was instructed to explain the plan to Trinn, as she was the only Ziluran in a position to make a decision, with the others still being sedated. Zhaan was struggling to follow the conversation himself, so Davies was forced to make a couple of sketches to explain. This turned out to be helpful in relaying the information to Trinn, as Zhaan had no idea how to explain a helicopter or a boat in the Ziluran language. The Humans sat expectantly, awaiting the go-ahead from Trinn.

" _What is a_ Cape Canaveral _and a_ Florida?" she asked Zhaan, who also had no idea. Another hasty sketch helped them out, a map this time.

" _It a place where they make their feeble attempts to build space ships,"_ Zhaan said, making Trinn giggle with delight. _"They hope to repair your shuttle there."_

" _Do you think they have the capability?"_ she asked. _"Will they find the necessary materials?"_

" _No idea,"_ Zhaan responded, _"but I guess you have nothing much to lose. You're not going anywhere with the ship damaged like that."_

" _Do you think we will be safe? What will these Humans do to us?"_

Zhaan answered honestly. _"I not sure. Do we have any choice but to trust them and hope they can fix your ship and get you on your way home?"_

Higgins was getting impatient at the to-and-fro between the two aliens and, in frustration, asked if she had given her agreement to the plan.

" _I suppose so but you know I have no real authority on the ship. You have to protect me, Zhaan, if the other Zilurans aren't happy with this decision."_

Zhaan relayed her comments to Higgins, who then asked him to take his medical scanner and check on the Zilurans in the sick bay. A medic would be sent to meet him, with a new biohazard suit.

Waiting for the all-telling beep from his medical scanner, Zhaan peered down at the Ziluran Captain. The medics told him that the alien had not yet regained consciousness, and they were concerned about his condition. He was of small build, like Trinn, his oval face heavily distorted with bruising and swelling. The Zilurans looked even odder with closed eyes. The huge eyes occupied so much space on their delicate faces, when they were closed they looked almost unreal, like blank-faced dolls. Trinn hovered nervously behind him, unhampered by the biohazard suit Higgins insisted Zhaan wore. Zhaan wanted her by his side in case any of the Zilurans should happen to wake and be alarmed by his presence.

The expected beep drew his attention and he peered at the screen of the scanner. "Still too much pressure in brain," he advised the medic. "You need operate again. Fluid is building up. I not sure why. This machine not clever enough to work out brain injuries. Otherwise he seem OK, no infection, no contagion. I send this information to my people, see what they think." With that, he quickly laid the scanner on a table, placed his communicator adjacent to it and pressed a few buttons. "We get answer in few hours, I hope."

The medic looked relieved that somebody else had made the decision for him. He suspected they had not drained enough fluid on the first surgery, but the team was very trepidatious about operating on an alien. He turned to two other medics in the room, "Prepare to perform surgery on this one again. Get the sterile area ready."

He led Zhaan to the next bunk. "We opened this one up and, like you said, his bowel was blocked. It was twisted and already infected. We had to remove a section of intestine. We've done our best. I hope it was enough. We've kept him sedated using the drug that was used in the tranquillizer darts, as it seemed to work on his species."

Giving the medic a dirty look, reminded of the unhappy drugging incident, Zhaan placed the scanner on the bare skin of the Ziluran's arm and waited. This Ziluran lay naked on the bunk except for the large dressing applied to his stomach. Zhaan tried to pick out some distinctive feature, so he would be able to tell them apart. Did this one have a bigger mouth perhaps? He was lost in thought when the beep came, and the medic had to prompt him to take a look.

"This Ziluran is well. No infection, no contagion. He have undergone recent surgery in abdomen, but all is well. No leaks. Sedation level is very high for level of pain. I think sedation can stop now, maybe just something less for pain if you have medicine that work. He eat only liquid diet for two days until we know all is well. Trinn should stay with him when he wake, to stop him from freak out," Zhaan suggested, turning to Trinn and passing on his suggestion. She seemed happy to oblige. Perhaps she wasn't ready just yet to be reunited with 'Space Crazy', as the third Ziluran had become known.

Again this Ziluran was heavily sedated, the difference being that he was also tightly bound to the bunk, unable to move. Zhaan used his scanner again. "It difficult for scanner to assess this one. Nothing physically wrong, except insufficient energy intake and slight dehydration. No infection or contagion either. Brain is sedated, so impossible to monitor. We slowly reduce sedation for this one. In my experience only treatment for space madness is gradual exposure to fresh air, normal gravity and outdoor environment. He can be a problem when he wake, but hopefully Earth environment already start to help him. We can only wait and see. You must keep him tied like this," Zhaan suggested.

The medic nodded in grateful relief. "Thank you, er Zhaan." He struggled with the alien, name but Zhaan was impressed that he'd attempted it.

"No problem, you tell me if I must help again."

### Chapter Twenty Eight

A light pressure on her chest woke Alice. It had been hard to sleep; the bed was strangely empty without Zhaan. They had talked for over an hour about nothing much, but it had brought her comfort to see his face. By the time she'd filled a stocking for Seren, it had been past two am when she had finally got to sleep. It was just luck that she'd been organised with her Christmas shopping this year. She hadn't expected to be away from home.

Opening her eyes, she was greeted by Seren's joyful face inches from her own.

"You are awake, Mommy," she said happily. "The big red man with white face hair left a sock for me with presents near the fire. Uncle Jesse told me I can't open it until you are awake. Now you are awake!" Raising herself to stand on Alice's bed, she jumped up and down excitedly.

Alice was trying not to smile as she reprimanded her child. "Seren what have we said about jumping on the bed?" She sat up and reached for her robe, following the little girl down the stairs.

As Alice walked into the kitchen, where breakfast was in progress, her brother took one look at her tired eyes and turned to pour her a strong coffee. "Late night?" he asked.

"Yes, thanks for setting up that video thing. I still haven't worked out how to do it, but it was great to be able to see Zhaan."

"How's he doing?" Clare asked, passing her the milk.

"Fine I think," was all she managed to get out before the enthusiastic child pulling on her arm distracted her.

"All right, Seren, you can go and take a look at the presents Santa left. Not the ones under the tree, though, those are for the grown-ups. I'll be right there when I get some cereal."

"Somebody is thrilled about Santa's delivery this morning, she must have been a good girl!" Alice's mother's voice came from behind her. "Merry Christmas everyone." She looked cautiously in Alice's direction, unsure what her reaction would be. No words had passed between them in a decade. Last night Alice had seemed to be avoiding her.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," Alice responded, putting her mind at ease.

"Mom and Clare are headed to church in a half hour if you're interested." Jesse stepped in to break the awkward silence.

"I think I'll just hang out here with Seren, if you don't mind, Jesse."

"I'm planning on doing the same," he said. His real motive, apart from having very little left in the way of religious belief, was to be able to speak openly with Alice about what was happening in New York and how she wanted to deal with the situation between her and their mother. "Let's go and watch Seren destroy all that wrapping paper!"

"How are they treating him, Alice?" His sister had given Jesse a complete run-down of all that had happened since they left for New York. He seemed awe-struck by her casual mention of Generals calling the White House and the United Nations, but now he knew the facts, his concern passed back to his friend's welfare.

"They seem to respect him, and basically anything he wants or needs is his, at least for the time being. The General appears to find Zhaan's eccentricities amusing. I just worry that he's being used. Nobody mentioned any kind of payment for his help, and we have no money coming in while we're out there.

"What will happen once this crisis is past? I'm sure we won't just be allowed to return to our previous lifestyle. Are they even going to let him keep his freedom? Is the government going to be happy with an alien life-form just wandering around on Earth unchecked? I think not and it frightens me, Jesse."

"I know what you mean. I'm concerned about it too; we all are. You just have to remember that Zhaan must have been aware of the risks when he made his decision to help. We'll have to hope the authorities will honour their side of the deal. Life is going to change, though, without a doubt. We'll just have to stand by him and take it one step at a time I guess. There's no going back now. He can hardly wipe the memories of everyone he's met, can he?"

Silence descended for a few moments until their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Seren trying out her new recorder. The screeching made them both cringe and laugh.

"Whose idea was that?" Alice asked.

"Mom's," her brother answered. "Talking of whom, what do you want me to do? Shall I ask her to leave after today? I don't really feel I can throw her out without spending Christmas Day." His voice trailed off, waiting for his sister's reaction.

"Don't sweat it, Jesse. It's probably time to fix our differences. It's been a long time and so much has changed for both of us. We're both older and maybe wiser. My relationship with my mother isn't that important to me any more. Besides, it was her husband I really had a problem with.

"Perhaps we should try to leave our history behind and move on. I'll be good today, at least I promise I'll try. Don't cut her visit short on my account. It is your house after all." Alice's guilt at squatting in her brother's home revisited her even though now, with her job, she was able to make a financial contribution to the running costs. She began to worry again about missing work and losing the money while she was in New York.

"You know I have to go back to New York in a couple of days. How is Zach reacting to me taking so much time off unexpectedly? How have you been managing?"

"Clare filled in, so don't worry. Her college course has a break over Christmas." Jesse's comment brought a frown to Alice's face.

"Who has been looking after Seren?"

"Claudia mostly, on weekdays. She's home anyway with Kevin and says she's happy to take care of Seren too. I think she's glad to be busy while Andy is away. We've all been having dinner together, so she gets a break that way. You know she's started that online study course in Counselling?"

Alice was surprised. So much seemed different when she'd only been away for a couple of days. "I must go over there and thank her."

"Don't worry she'll be here later with Andy and Kevin for our Christmas potluck dinner. Zach and Ann are bringing their kids and Ann's brother too. It'll be a riot! Everybody is bringing food, and I have a turkey already in the oven. I'm looking forward to it, even more so now you're home. It's just a pity Zhaan isn't here too."

"What does Mom know about him?" Alice wondered.

"Basically just that you met on a road trip, he's Seren's father, and you're very happy together. That is still true isn't it?" he frowned.

"God yes. I began to miss him before I even left the building in New York," she laughed. "I only hope that nothing will change too much for us, but I guess that's unlikely," she added sadly.

### Chapter Twenty Nine

" _Zhaan, I should speak to the others on our mothership."_ Trinn had a slight frown across her broad forehead. The biohazard suits were no longer required for the Humans who had boarded the ship when mixing with the Zilurans. Zhaan had finally convinced Higgins that his medical scanner found no problems. Higgins himself couldn't be convinced though and still stubbornly wore his and insisted that the medical team do the same.

" _Maybe they will try to leave if they think we crashed or are dead,"_ Trinn fretted. Higgins gave permission, and Zhaan handed his communicator over to Trinn, selecting intergalactic hailing frequency. It was obvious she'd never used ship-to-ship communications before, except for her few brief conversations with Zhaan.

" _Hello. Ziluran people are you there? This is Trinn calling you from planet Erp."_ Zhaan smiled at her mistake and hoped that her people would respond. _"Hey, Zilurans, anybody awake up there? Come on, answer me!"_ She added more loudly with a shrug of the shoulders. The communicator crackled into life.

" _Trinn, is that really you?"_ a cautious voice asked in the Ziluran language.

" _Well, yes, duh. Who else would speak to you from down here in your own language?"_

" _We feared you were all dead. We saw when you hit that piece of junk and our monitors told us one of the engines on the shuttle was wiped out. We heard another male voice speaking with you on comms in our language and we couldn't work out what happened. Are you really OK?"_

" _I'm fine, the others not so much."_ Trinn answered, going on to give them a run-down of events since they had crash landed. _"The Humans here plan to move our ship to their space facility and try to repair it. I don't think we have much choice, do you?"_ she asked warily. _"The shuttle can't leave this planet with only one engine and the mothership can't go anywhere until the water recirculating system is fixed. Am I wrong?"_ she stressed, when no response was immediately forthcoming. _"At least they have some kind of doctors here dealing with the sick. Tuvon is already much better, his insides were knotted apparently. Zilur only knows how he managed that."_ Trinn was now babbling nervously.

" _Perhaps you stop talking so they can answer?"_ Zhaan suggested, bringing Trinn to a sudden stop.

" _We have spent all our time working on the damage up here but we don't have the materials we need to fix the water system. I suppose our only hope is that these Humans can help and soon. We're down to emergency water rations now after that leak,"_ the voice finally responded, reluctantly. _"How did they know our language? Do they still have our elders captive down there?"_

" _There is a Guy named Zhaan. He knows our language. The Guy know everything!"_ Trinn said facetiously. _"He helps us. Our elders died in a crash, I'm told,"_ she gave Zhaan a knowing glance.

Those quarantined were told that they were being brought Christmas Dinner, but Jones wasn't expecting a gift. At each place-setting stood a small parcel wrapped in gaudy festive paper.

"I take it we have been good boys and girls," he joked. Zhaan's puzzled expression conveying the fact that he didn't understand the reference. Jones clarified. "Santa has been. That means we were good children," he laughed.

Suddenly Higgins' face loomed hugely and menacingly over them on the video screen. "There is a small gift for each of you. You have each been given..." he was about to reveal the content of the packages when Zhaan interrupted him.

"Wait! What the point to wrap the parcel for surprise, if you say what is inside? That make even less sense than wrapping things in paper, to tear and throw away in first place."

"Sorry," Higgins smiled. "I'll let you open them before I explain."

The three humans quickly tore through the wrapping paper. Zhaan and Trinn, meanwhile, regarded their gifts with suspicion.

" _What is this for?"_ Trinn pointed to the package in front of her.

" _It is a Christmas gift, apparently,"_ Zhaan explained. This being his third Christmas on the planet, he was familiar with the concept.

" _I don't even know what that means,"_ Trinn giggled.

" _Christmas is a festival on Earth. At Christmas time Humans of this religion give something to other Humans. They call it a gift. I think it supposed to show that they your friend, even if it something you don't need or even want. They put paper around it like this, and then if it is your gift, you tear paper off and look all happy to have gift from them. For children, gifts are supposed to come from a fat man who wear red and have big white hair on his face. It bribe children to be well-behaved, I believe,"_ Zhaan explained with amusement.

" _Sounds like a way to scare children to me!"_ Trinn exclaimed. _"Hair on face, ugh!"_

" _The ritual of Christmas is for the birth of a messenger of the God of one of their religions,"_ Zhaan continued, losing Trinn, who was now fixated on the colourful parcel in front of her. Taking the paper at one corner in a thumb and forefinger of each hand, she yanked her arms apart, causing the paper to shred diagonally across the parcel and the contents to spill out on the floor. She began to examine the wrapping paper closely, ignoring the gift, which had fallen beneath her seat.

" _Tell them thank you for gift,"_ she instructed Zhaan, but he was busy examining the tablet device which his package had contained.

"So, you've all opened your gifts. On these tablet devices we have installed some puzzles and games for you, in case you get bored. They are all identical. Some of the games you can play against each other."

" _What did he say?"_ Trinn asked, scrambling back from beneath her seat, the tablet back-to-front in her hand.

Zhaan was looking at Higgins's face on the screen with distrust.

" _They say these things are for entertain us, but I think they plan to make us do brain exercises, so they can see how intelligent we are compared to Humans,"_ he suggested to Trinn cynically.

" _Well, at least it's something to do. It's so boring in this room with all these dull Humans!"_ Eagerly she inspected the device until she found the switch to turn it on. As the screen began to glow with colour and lettering, she exclaimed, _"Retro, I like it."_

Zhaan reclined on his bunk, a heavy sleepy feeling numbing his brain, his belly full of Christmas dinner. Across the room Trinn was engaged in a noisy observation game of some sort on the tablet, in which she was playing against Gomez. Once Zhaan had been told the principles of the game and explained it to Trinn, she had picked it up quickly. It seemed her powers of observation rated similarly to Gomez's, if Zhaan's interpretation of the shrieks of joy or dismay after each round were anything to judge by. It was a relief to see her interacting with one of the others. Zhaan was glad to have a break from her attention. He was developing a bad case of cabin fever trapped in this room.

Jones sidled over towards him bearing an extra beer for Zhaan.

"How are you doing, Zhaan?" he asked.

"I think I go crazy if I stuck in this room much longer. I need outside. I miss outside," he responded sulkily. "I start to feel like Space Crazy in there." He gestured to the area where the Zilurans were being held.

"I know what you mean, Zhaan. Hopefully it won't be long before they decide we're not some kind of walking biohazard. As soon as that door is opened, I'll race you to the park for some fresh air!" Jones joked. "Some serious work-outs are going to be needed if they keep feeding us like this."

"I hope Alice will be here to exercise me!" Zhaan said cheekily, surprising Jones, who laughed. Pondering the subject of Zhaan and Alice's relationship for a while, Jones began to speak.

"Can I ask you something, Zhaan?" the agent asked, almost timidly.

"How can I say you cannot ask me something? Only way I stop you from asking is stick tape on your mouth. You ask anything, but maybe I won't answer," Zhaan replied, suspecting the direction their conversation was going to take.

"Does Alice have a child?"

For a moment Zhaan hoped that perhaps Jones would believe the child was from Alice's former relationship. His Guy upbringing trained him to always respond truthfully or not at all. Pausing to consider first, Zhaan nodded his head.

"I didn't realise until I heard her talking to a child when she called you. It must have been hard for her being away from her child to help us out." Jones was keeping the conversation light, so Zhaan wouldn't clam up on him.

"Yes, very," Zhaan answered sharply to his comment.

"Boy or girl?" Jones asked casually.

"Girl." Getting Zhaan to open up was going to be hard work.

"Oh lovely. How old is she?" was Jones' next question.

"Two Earth year in age."

Jones was busy doing some mental arithmetic based on what he know about Zhaan's time on Earth. "Oh, they are quite a handful at that age, aren't they? Is her father involved in her upbringing too?" Jones was really skirting around his real question, trying to get to the truth without having to ask the question directly.

Zhaan's eyes met Jones' before he answered. "Usually yes, but not right now. Now he is busy." Every day it was getting easier for Jones to read the alien's body language, and the stern look Zhaan was giving him told him everything he needed to know.

"Who do you think she looks like, Alice or her father?" Jones wondered.

"She beautiful like her mother. Her name is Seren," Zhaan added voluntarily, amazing Jones. The next statement the Guy made conveyed a threat. "Nobody know about Seren except you."

Uncomfortable at the silence which followed the veiled threat, Jones began to shuffle away from the Guy's bunk but Zhaan called him back.

"Hey, Jones, you show me how to talk to Alice with this?" He gestured to the tablet which lay abandoned at the foot of his bed.

Jones turned back around thinking the idea over. Coming to a decision, he walked close to the bed, lowering himself down to Zhaan's level and spoke quietly. "Yes I could, but I would suggest you use my phone instead." Jones knew the tablet devices were being monitored, as Zhaan had suspected. Perhaps his phone was still safe. After Zhaan's warning, he didn't want to be responsible for Zhaan's secret becoming known to his superiors.

"Thank you," Zhaan said, sincerely. "I call later. Now I need to sleep, I eat too much turkey."

Zhaan woke fuzzy headed a while later, the after-effects of too much food and beer. As he lay in his bunk, savouring the last few moments of alone time, he realised he'd been awakened by a strange grunting noise coming from the corner of the room. His thoughts immediately went to Trinn. What in the hell was she up to? Surely none of the Humans had succumbed to her charms.

He sat up quickly and looked in the direction where the noise originated. Trinn wasn't involved at all, in fact she too was napping and even in her own bunk. Instead he observed Jones, who was making strange, repeated actions at the foot of his bunk, raising his body from a lying position with his arms. Curious, Zhaan climbed from his bunk and moved closer to watch the man.

"What you are doing?" he asked the FBI agent.

"I'm working out before all this food and beer adds to my waistline."

Zhaan looked nonplussed.

"I'm exercising, so I don't get fat," Jones explained more simply.

"Oh. Can I exercise too?" Zhaan asked. He was really missing his daily run where, in the depths of the dense forest, he could let loose and run as he would on Guyara, unobserved by Humans. It would be good to burn some excess energy. "What I have to do?" he asked.

"Just copy what I do, I guess." Jones said, wondering how the alien would fare alongside a guy who normally hit the gym every day without fail. After all, he had little else to do after work since his divorce.

Jones stood from where he had been doing crunches. "First you should warm up."

"I warm already. It hot in this room," Zhaan said.

"No, I mean you should warm up your muscles. You just woke up."

"Show me," Zhaan instructed.

Jones did a few stretches and then began jogging on the spot, slowly at first, gradually building up speed and then leading into some jumping jacks. Zhaan copied his every move. Wanting to show off a little, he couldn't help himself, Jones launched into a set of fifty sit ups, followed quickly by more press-ups and some diagonal crunches. Having already exercised for about ten minutes before Zhaan joined him, he began to tire quickly after a batch of squats and thrusts, and turned to see how the Guy was getting on. He was disappointed to notice that he hadn't even broken into a sweat.

"I show you this one, look," Zhaan said, immediately bending his body in half, so his hands were flat on the floor and raising his legs into a handstand. He stayed motionless in that position for a few seconds before dropping his legs down, stretching and repeating the action.

Jones was impressed at Zhaan's muscle control but didn't want to show it. It just wasn't a male thing to do. He knew the move would be impossible for him and joked, "OK, Zhaan, if I try that my Christmas dinner will be all over the floor! Come on, let's take a break."

### Chapter Thirty

Considering all she had on her mind, it was surprising that Alice was actually having fun at the Christmas party. With everyone chipping in food, no real work was involved at all. Her brother, obviously enjoying being surrounded by family and friends, had dressed as a rather unconvincing Santa and handed out the 'Secret Santa' gifts after they had all eaten. Alice and Andy were dragged into the draw for presents, despite their short-notice arrival, and were forced to improvise presents for each other. That challenge had managed to clear Alice's mind of her worries about Zhaan, if only for a few minutes. She hoped Andy would be happy with his new dish brush and toilet roll.

Ann's brother, George, a university professor in Portland, handsome and with a quick wit, was soon a part of the friendly ribbing and teasing amongst the group of close friends. Alice was now deep in conversation with the man, whose fascination with her was flattering. She was relieved that Zhaan wasn't here, as he might not have liked the attention she was getting quite so much. Had she actually stopped fretting again for a few moments? She'd almost forgotten what that felt like after the few days she had just experienced.

A commotion in the corner of the room brought her back down to earth. Mikey and Seren were battling over the Santa beard Jesse had worn, snatching it from one another's hands and trying to run away with it before the other could catch them. The excited children were squealing and shouting. With horror, Alice realised they were communicating in the Guy language. Trying not to draw anyone's attention, she called over to the children. "Seren, Mikey, can we please have some quiet?"

In the thrill of their game, they didn't even notice her words, and Alice was forced to approach them. Squatting, she whispered to her daughter, "Please Seren, only use English when others are here."

"But Mikey likes to speak like this!" Seren protested.

"Seren, just think what your father would say," Alice stressed.

With a sulky shrug, Seren turned around and began teasing Mikey again, but this time in the English language. There was certainly a lot of her father in her attitude.

Alice worried about the frequency with which the children were using the Guy language. She was aware that Zhaan thought it important for Seren to speak his tongue, but she marvelled at the way Mikey seemed to have picked up the words of the alien language, despite his reluctance to speak the language of his own parents. Shuffling back to her seat beside the dashing George, Alice hoped that neither he nor Ann had noticed the kids' chatter.

Idly she wondered why the man was not married and was about to ask him about his life in Portland, when George suddenly spoke.

"What language was that the children were using?" he asked bluntly.

"Oh, that is Seren's father's language." Trying to evade further questioning, she continued to ramble on about how amazing it was that Mikey seemed to be picking up some language skills.

"Yes, but which language was it?" George asked with a look of puzzlement on his face. "I vaguely remember Ann telling me that your partner was one of Mikey's carers, and that he was from somewhere in Eastern Europe."

Alice felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as it would whenever she was forced to lie. "Oh yes, he's from this remote region of Latvia. They have their own dialect. It would really be much more useful for the kids to be bilingual in something more common, like Spanish." She tried to steer the conversation away from George's direct line of questioning.

He seemed unconvinced. "Well, in my twenty years as a professor of Linguistics in Portland, I have to say I've never come across any European language that sounds like that."

Typical! Alice never seemed to have any luck at all when she was reduced to outright lies.

"Oh, how interesting," she bluffed, rising and moving towards the children to escape his scrutiny. "Shall we see what's on TV, Seren? Let's see if we can stop you two from destroying that stupid beard." She picked up the remote control.

The bright colours and noise from the TV caught Mikey's attention straight away, and he rushed towards the moving images on the screen which normally didn't engage him. Now the little boy was leaping up and down frantically before the screen, pointing.

"Zhaan! Zhaan!" he was yelling.

Alice looked up, puzzled by his actions and with horror noticed that Mikey was not wrong. On the huge screen was indeed a still photograph which, to somebody who knew him, was obviously Zhaan, taken without his knowledge from a distant spot. He was standing beside a large grey mass and was inspecting it closely. Oh God, no! Somebody had managed to get a photo of Zhaan working in New York. It looked like it was probably taken from a distant building by an eager photo-journalist, who must have slipped through the security cordon somehow. It might even have been leaked by someone on the inside.

It was too late. Ann was already on her feet trying to calm her frenzied son, while looking in amazement at the TV.

"Good grief! You're right Mikey. It is Zhaan." She turned to Alice for an explanation. "How come he's involved in that alien thing in New York?"

Alice, meanwhile, was struggling to hear what was being said by the news anchor on the screen. It appeared to be one of those trashy evening entertainment shows, which she'd been unfortunate enough to stumble across when flicking on the TV. The over-dressed presenters of the show were deep in discussion, speculating about the identity of the mystery man, snapped by their photographer in a 'World Exclusive'.

"As far as we can gather from our sources, he is a specialist consultant, currently working directly with the joint White House and Military operation. We have not yet been able to establish the man's identity, but when we have more information about that, the aliens, or the action plan being undertaken to restore Manhattan to normal status, we will bring it to you straight away."

Alice, feeling overwhelmed at the way her world seemed to be crumbling around her, rose quickly from her seat, gave a beseeching glance towards Jesse and hurriedly left the room, heading upstairs to avoid further scrutiny from his guests.

### Chapter Thirty One

Malla was on edge. Through the course of the day, while she'd been working on relaying medical information about the Zilurans to Zhaan, she had managed to work herself up into an anxious state. She knew that Khevn had been released from the sick bay the previous day. By finding out his watch schedule, she had succeeded in avoiding him altogether so far. She didn't understand how her initial happiness at Khevn's revelation of his feelings for her had now metamorphosed into an abject terror of seeing him again.

She was tired, her bunk beckoned, yet she knew it was still a couple of hours before Khevn was due on the bridge, and he would be resting in their cabin.

Quietly Malla opened the door, praying that Khevn would be sleeping, allowing her to creep unnoticed into bed. She knew he wouldn't try to wake her later, if she feigned sleep. Squeezing around the door into the cramped cabin, she silently closed it behind her, and began the tedious process of removing the braces from her legs. One buckle at a time, she released her feeble limbs from their supportive frame and was almost convinced she would be able to slip into her bunk without alerting Khevn, when his voice pierced the silence, startling her.

" _Malla?"_

" _Mmm,"_ she responded, nervously.

" _Why don't you put on the light? It will make your task easier."_

" _I don't want to disturb you,"_ she whispered.

" _But I'm already awake."_

" _Fine,"_ she answered reluctantly and turned around to operate the light control behind her on the wall. She returned to her chore, avoiding meeting Khevn's eyes.

An uncomfortable quiet followed before Khevn spoke again.

" _Are you afraid of me, Malla? I'm sorry for the way I behaved. It was unacceptable and I am ashamed, but please believe I would never hurt you, or direct my anger at you."_

His question made her ponder the reason she was feeling so edgy about being alone with him. While she thought it over, she noticed that Khevn looked desperately unhappy and she couldn't bear it. He had raised himself to sit on the edge of his bunk, and Malla could no longer avoid his gaze.

Khevn continued to speak. _"Please can we act as though this upset never happened? I value your comradeship too highly to lose it. I'm frightened that you now feel the need to avoid my company. I promise not to behave in any improper way towards you. I will understand if you wish to move to another cabin. Is that acceptable to you?"_

Khevn's words felt like sharp little cuts right into her soul.

" _No, Khevn, it is not acceptable,"_ she gasped, flopping down onto her bunk, her legs finally freed from their constraints.

" _Oh, I see,"_ Khevn said glumly, looking as though someone had just pulled a rug from beneath his feet.

Malla felt bad. She knew she had hurt him and that was not her intention. She didn't mean for her words to sound so harsh. It was her nervousness which caused that.

" _I don't think you do see at all, Khevn. I need to explain, but finding the words is not easy."_ She reached across to grasp his hands which lay limp in his lap. Perhaps the flow of emotion between them would help him comprehend her feelings. Khevn's body physically jolted at the touch and the flood of sentiments. He fixed his puzzled eyes on hers. Why was she so reluctant to spend time in his company if her touch told the truth of her joy?

" _Tell me what happened on Earth. You were going to tell before all this craziness,"_ Malla said in a commanding tone.

" _You will think even worse of me than you do now."_

" _I don't care. There can be no secrets between us if we are to be confined together for the rest of time on a dusty mining colony."_ Khevn was taken aback by Malla's bluntness.

" _You have to understand that I wasn't taking my daily tablets. That was Zhaan's fault, I suspect. They mysteriously went missing when I caught up with him. I think he used me as a science experiment to see if his suspicions about the pills were true. I had no way to get hold of another supply,"_ he tried to justify himself.

" _I understand. So what happened?"_

Khevn took a deep breath before he began to speak. _"I was introduced to an Earth female at a social event."_

" _Yes, you met many Earthlings, so what was different?"_ Malla pressed him.

" _Well, the lady was of the name Claudia. Her work was spending time with males."_

Malla frowned, obviously not getting his implication.

" _She gave males pleasure in return for Earth money,"_ he explained bashfully. _"I believe that Zhaan arranged her presence. He told me he thought I should experience what he termed 'the touch of a Human woman' before we left the planet. I have to admit I was curious. He spent so much time alone with his Alice behind a closed door."_ Khevn's cheeks were flushed, he feared Malla's disgust of his actions.

" _So, what happened?"_ There was a part of Malla that didn't want to hear the answer, but deep down, she was aware that she needed to know.

" _She took me into a room alone,"_ he paused and Malla waited patiently. _"She gave me pleasure in the forbidden way. We were together through the night."_

Malla had her suspicions beforehand, but now the truth was out there.

" _Will you report me?"_ Khevn asked, fearfully.

" _Of course I won't!"_ Malla responded, surprised that he could even think such a thing.

" _Are you shocked?"_ he asked. Malla considered how to react.

" _A little,"_ she said honestly before continuing, _"more intrigued, I think."_

Khevn raised his eyebrows at her comment. _"Intrigued?"_

" _You have to realise that my entire life has been devoted to research for this mission. I have watched so much of Earth's television, where such things happen all the time. I have always wondered about love, about sex. It seems so important to their race."_ Khevn was shocked by her use of the Earth words but nodded.

" _Do I disgust you?"_ he wondered.

Malla really gave the matter some thought, making him nervous.

" _No, you do not disgust me. I believe what I feel is an emotion the Humans call envy."_ Once Khevn translated the word into his own language, as well as was possible without a direct equivalent, the surprise was evident on his face.

" _You ask if I am afraid. Yes, I am afraid, but not of you."_

" _What frightens you, Malla?"_

" _My own emotions,"_ she confessed.

" _Explain,"_ he insisted.

" _This sensation of envy is something that worries me. I can justify to myself why I feel like this about your experience. I am a researcher and you had the opportunity to investigate many things I can only dream of. This I can understand_.

"What truly makes me afraid, is the fact that I feel this emotion when I picture you in the arms of the Earth woman, of any female but me. This I cannot comprehend. I am afraid of my own thoughts about you, and that they will cause trouble for us both. Secretly I desperately long to try this forbidden pleasure with you. I take my tablets but still yearn for your touch, even when I know it is wrong. Yet, if another were to touch me, I expect I would be horrified. Tell me what it is like, the forbidden pleasure," she begged.

" _Malla, words are inadequate. I hope that, when the time is right, I may show you what I experienced and share it with you. Now is not the time. We must be patient. We must be careful or they will tear us apart forever."_ He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

### Chapter Thirty Two

Zhaan lay dozing, mulling over last night's conversation with Alice about his image appearing on television. Ann apparently hadn't reacted well when Jesse had explained, and now Zhaan was worried not only for himself, but also for Mikey. He feared he wouldn't be allowed to spend time with the child from now on. However, until the journalists discovered his identity and delved further into his background, he was not even going to contemplate how it would affect the rest of his life. He had too many other concerns.

"Jeez! Goddamn it!" Jones' angry words brought Zhaan back to the present. Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he picked up an unusual but vaguely familiar scent on the air.

"What wrong, Jones?" he asked, sitting up and pulling on his shirt.

"That pesky alien has peed all over the bottom of my bed. Damn! Isn't she even house-trained?" His rant continued. "I can't get her to shift off the bottom of my bed at night, even though she has a perfectly good bunk of her own, and this is how she repays me."

With sudden shock Zhaan put two and two together and raced over to where Jones stood, sniffing deeply at the soaked bed linen.

"Dear God, Zhaan! What the hell are you doing? That's gross!" he exclaimed.

"Jones, this not pee. This is birth fluid. I know this. I smell it one time before." Zhaan quickly stopped speaking, realising that he might be incriminating himself if anyone were listening, which they undoubtedly were. "Where is Trinn now?" he asked, urgently.

He and Jones scanned the room briefly, checking out a couple of spots where she could be hiding, but there was no trace of the Ziluran. Gomez and Davies now joined them, peering under the beds and inside the large closet. "Is she in the next room with the others of her kind?" Davies suggested.

A sound imperceptible to the Humans moved Zhaan in the direction of the bathroom. As he neared the closed door, he could hear grunts of pain coming from inside. When his attempt to open the door failed, as Trinn had obviously locked it, he forced the door open with one kick from his powerful leg.

Trinn lay in the bath, panting as she tried to deal with the pain, surrounded with a pool of congealing blood. Between her legs, bright red liquid still flowed at an alarming rate, and Zhaan spotted something move. Was it a tiny hand?

" _My big, brave Guy, I fear this child is killing me."_ Trinn gasped, as more blood trickled into the bath.

"Gomez! In here!" Zhaan yelled to the medic. He had requested information from Malla on Ziluran childbirth, in anticipation of Trinn's delivery, and learned that in a normal birth, the offspring's arms would descend the birth canal first, pulling the rest of its body out behind, assisting the mother in her efforts. He looked in horror at Trinn's belly. It rippled as the child was clawed at her insides with the arm which had not yet emerged.

"Baby is not turned right," Trinn explained, adding sadly, "I will die."

Gomez hurried in with his medical kit. Zhaan knelt beside the agonised Ziluran, taking her hand in his. "I will not let you die. Be brave, Trinn."

He turned to Gomez and briefly explained what he knew, advising, "We need to cut out child quickly."

"Let's get her moved into the sterile area." Zhaan was impressed how calm the man was at the prospect of another alien surgery. His training must have been good.

Zhaan scooped Trinn up in his long arms, which made her appear even more delicate and fragile. He hurried behind Gomez through their room and into the next. At the far end of the makeshift Ziluran hospital, they passed into a separate sheeted-off area. Zhaan laid Trinn on the table where the other Zilurans had undergone their surgeries.

Tuvon, the Zilur recovering from stomach surgery, was now peering around the plastic curtain in curiosity, and Zhaan quickly explained the situation to him.

" _She is losing a lot of blood, we must operate right now."_ Tuvon nodded in silent consent.

" _If she needs blood, take some of mine and his." He pointed at the prone and restrained Ziluran they had christened 'Space Crazy'. "Our blood is all the same,"_ he explained.

The surgeon who had operated on the other Zilurans entered the room, already scrubbed up, gloved and with an assistant in tow. Gomez relayed what Zhaan had translated about the offer of blood. He added, "I'm going to try to get some blood from this one for her." The surgeon nodded.

"We have to take out child, it tear her apart inside," Zhaan despaired.

"We'll do our best, Zhaan. You'd better wait outside." As Zhaan tried to release Trinn's hand, she took a tighter grip using her last reserves of precious strength.

" _Stay with me, Zhaan,"_ she begged.

"She want me to stay," Zhaan told the surgeon.

"Are you OK with that?" he asked in amazement. When Zhaan nodded reluctantly, the surgeon turned to a couple of nurses who had entered the makeshift operating theatre, instructing them to get a mask and cap for Zhaan. Trinn refused to let go of his hand, so the nurses approached him cautiously to put on his protective gear, their anxiety at being face-to-face with these aliens obvious in their expressions.

"We'll have to try the drug that worked on the other Zilurans. It's not ideal, an epidural would be better, but we don't have the time." With that, he plunged a needle into a vein on the tiny alien's arm, and Zhaan gave her hand a small squeeze. "Here's hoping," the surgeon said, not very reassuringly.

As the Human made his first tentative incision into Trinn's belly, blood squirted in all directions. Zhaan had to turn his head and stifle his gag reflex. He'd made a promise to Trinn to stay and he wasn't going to break it.

Once the incision was made, the surgeon seemed to regain confidence, his hands roaming around inside Trinn, revolting squelching noises making Zhaan nauseous again. In seconds the man pulled out a small, wriggling mass, handing it to one of the nurses and cutting the umbilical cord.

Without paying any attention to the child, he turned back to Trinn. "God what a mess, that kid was really tearing her up. To save her I'm going to have to perform an emergency hysterectomy." He turned to Zhaan, who couldn't understand his words, as if asking for permission.

"What that mean? Will she live?" he asked, horrified.

"With some luck, yes, assuming that I can perform the operation more or less in the way it would work on a human. She won't be capable of having any more children, but at least she'll have a chance of surviving," the surgeon explained.

"Do it," Zhaan ordered. "I don't think having children make her happy."

### Chapter Thirty Three

"Can you please explain to me why I am seeing pictures of Zhaan on frigging prime time TV?" Alice hadn't even allowed Jones to speak before yelling at him over the video link on his phone. He was momentarily stunned and hadn't really absorbed her words.

"What did you say?" he asked, still a little shell-shocked.

"There is a picture of Zhaan being shown on national television tonight, international too I shouldn't wonder. Can you please tell me why this was allowed to happen? You know it is important to him to keep his identity secret." She was beginning to sound more hurt than irate.

"I have no damn idea," Jones replied honestly, "but I'll investigate right away. Can you tell when the pictures were taken? It might help me find the source."

"It was definitely after I left. It looks like he's walking around the Ziluran ship. It's an outside shot. Switch on the TV, and you'll see it for yourself. The whole thing just makes me wonder if it was your people who released it." A hint of anger was returning to her tone.

"Alice, I'll look into it and get them to pull the pictures they have, if you'll let me." There was a pause while Alice contemplated his sincerity.

"Do you think it will make the story even bigger if you suddenly put a block on the pictures, though?" she wondered. "I mean, when the Government turns secretive, everybody wants to delve more deeply into everything."

Jones was distracted, searching for the TV remote in the quarantine area and selecting a channel. He was horrified to see that Alice was right. On the screen was a large image of Zhaan in his trademark dark glasses. There was nothing obviously non-Human about him in the shot, but the presenters were having a field day speculating about his identity.

"Hey, Jones, are you still there?"

"Yup, I'm looking at it now. Let me get right on it. You want to speak with lover boy, I assume." He smiled broadly at her image on the screen, trying to reassure her.

Jones scanned the room, but Zhaan was nowhere to be seen. He called out to Gomez and Davies, who were deep into a game of chess, and they pointed towards the Ziluran section of the quarantine area. Taking the phone with him, he headed through the plastic curtain that divided them, but saw no sign of the Guy. He turned to the doctor, who was checking vital signs on the comatose Ziluran captain.

"Have you seen Zhaan?" he asked. With a jerk of the thumb, the medic pointed in the direction of Trinn's bunk, where she was still sleeping after the surgery. Again there was no sign of Zhaan until, suddenly, Jones spotted something move beneath the bed. Zhaan was lying on his back beneath the bunk, tinkering with the tablet device he'd been given.

Walking over and bending down to peer at him, Jones asked, "What are you doing under there?"

"I make promise to Trinn to make sure she will be safe, so here I am."

"I have Alice on the phone for you, here you go."

Zhaan, excited at the prospect of talking to Alice, forgot for a moment he was under the bunk and sat up quickly to reach for the phone, banging his head hard on the underside of the bed.

"Shit!" he exclaimed loudly, making Alice laugh.

"Hello to you too, sweetie!"

"Sorry, I hit head," he said apologetically, while shuffling awkwardly out of the small space beneath Trinn's bunk.

"What are you doing?" Alice questioned him. "Were you under a bed?"

"I promise Trinn I make sure she safe, so I stay here until she wake," he explained.

"What happened? Is she OK?" Alice asked with concern, although she'd never met the diminutive Ziluran.

"She had baybay. It was a mess, blood all over! Look at my shirt!" Zhaan moved the camera showing Alice the gory evidence of the earlier crisis. "Medic man have to cut belly and take out baybay before it kill Trinn." The way he always mispronounced the word baby was so adorable.

"Good grief! Are they both OK?"

"Trinn still sleeping. Come look at baybay. It really weird!" Zhaan walked over to what looked like a re-purposed storage box and pointed the camera inside. Inside Alice could see large brown eyes looking up at Zhaan holding the camera. In the child's tiny head, the eyes looked enormous, with long-lashed eyelids regularly covering them with each slow and deliberate blink. Zhaan leaned the camera against something and bent to pick up the small child.

"It is boy child," Zhaan explained, a fact that was obvious just from looking at the naked child. "Look at crazy, long arms!" He took hold of the baby's hand, extending an arm which was disproportionately long by Human and Guy standards. "I think rest of body must grow to fit arm size," he laughed.

"Wow," was all that Alice could say before a commotion behind her distracted her from their conversation. "Jesse and Andy are here, Zhaan, they want to say hi."

"Don't they want to say anything else?" Zhaan asked her in confused seriousness.

Andy spoke first. "Zhaan I have a question for you. You have to know that whatever you want is fine with me. I just thought I should ask you. I know I made a commitment to you."

Zhaan frowned in frustration. "What is question? Did you ask me a question yet? I don't understand." In only three days away from Zhaan, Andy realised he was out of the habit of speaking slowly and precisely for his friend.

"Sorry, I'll get to the point."

"What you saying now?" Andy saw Zhaan was shrugging his shoulders in exasperation.

"How would you feel if I didn't return to New York?"

"How I feel?" Zhaan was still baffled.

"Let me explain. Claudia just found out she's pregnant. She's going to have a baby, and she's feeling really sick all the time."

"I not lying next to her this time, now it your job!" Zhaan said with determination, remembering her last pregnancy and how he'd had to help her carry her half-Guy child to term.

"I'm not asking you to," Andy laughed. "It's just that she's been struggling a little with looking after Kevin and Seren, taking care of all the housework and shopping, as well as taking the college course, while I was away. I'm feeling guilty. I know I made a promise to you to stay by your side during all of this, and I will, if that's what you want, I just thought I'd ask, that's all."

Zhaan was puzzled again, "Too many words. What you want to say?"

Alice stepped in to help him. "Andy wants to know if he can stay in Montana to look after Claudia, instead of coming with me back to New York."

"No problem," Zhaan answered. "If Claudia sick, he must stay with Claudia," he said succinctly.

"It's just that I feel bad breaking my promise to you. If you really need me there, I'm sure Claudia will manage," Andy told him.

"Take care of Claudia. Claudia more important to you than Zhaan."

"Thank you, Zhaan. When she's doing better, I'll be able to come back over there, if you need me."

"Don't worry. I train Jones to watch out for me. Thank you for come with me before. You are to be Daddy! Congratulations!"

Andy had handed the phone back to Alice.

"Zhaan, I'm flying back out there tomorrow." Alice's statement brought a grin to the Guy's face, leaving her in no doubt that he was missing her.

"How Seren is?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's missing you, of course. Do you want me to get her?" Alice asked warily.

Zhaan looked around and checked the area was deserted except for the Ziluran casualties. He nodded his head eagerly.

While Alice fetched his daughter, Zhaan wriggled back under the bed, the phone clutched in his hand. The truth was that his heart was breaking without Alice and Seren by his side. He decided it was worth the risk of her discovery to catch even a brief glimpse of his beloved child.

" _Hi_ Daddy!" Seren shouted in an elated mixture of the Guy and English languages.

" _I miss you, Seren. I will be home soon, I hope."_ The slight catch in his voice made him realise his concern about what the human authorities planned for his future.

" _What are you doing? I saw you on_ television," the child added with excitement.

" _Some Zilurans crashed their ship here, and I'm helping them because they can't speak English like you can."_

" _Are those the people with really big eyes and little bodies?"_ Seren asked.

" _Yes, very good, Seren."_ Zhaan was proud of how his daughter retained everything he taught her. Aware that Jones had just walked alongside the bed, he quickly instructed his daughter to hand the phone back to her mother.

"I must go, Alice. Jones need his phone."

"See you tomorrow, sweetie," Alice blew him a parting kiss, adding, "and change your shirt!"

A stirring above him alerted Zhaan to the fact that Trinn was waking. He slithered out from beneath her bed and drew up a chair beside it, waiting patiently for her to come fully to her senses.

" _You wake and you still alive like I promised!"_ he said to her with a smile.

" _Did it live, the child?"_ she asked, her voice gravelly with dehydration.

" _You have boy child. You want to meet him?"_ Zhaan asked.

" _Will they kill him, like the others? If he is to die, I don't want to see him. I wasn't allowed to see the others. I think it was best,"_ she told him bitterly.

" _Your boy is citizen of Earth and of United States of America. Nobody can kill him without big trouble. If they try, Humans won't allow it."_

Taking her silence as consent, Zhaan moved over to the make-shift crib, picking it up and placing it beside Trinn's bed.

" _He hungry, but we don't know how to feed him."_

As Zhaan lifted the child from the box, Trinn began to pummel at her flat chest.

" _I think this will bring milk for him but I've never done it before."_

Zhaan had been told Trinn shouldn't attempt to sit or lift the child herself, so he placed the boy on her chest, as she indicated. The infant latched on and began feeding greedily.

" _He very hungry!"_ Zhaan smiled to see the expression of joy on Trinn's face. _"You want me to tell to you who is father of your child?"_

" _How can you know, Zhaan? I don't know myself."_ She tenderly stroked her child's head while he fed.

" _Nosy Human doctors. They have to take blood from the other Zilurans to save you. Medic man test blood against child's blood and tell me what he found. Do you want to know?"_

Trinn thought about it for a while, unsure whether identifying the father of a child allowed to live would lead to problems amongst the Zilurans, especially if it wasn't the Captain. Finally she said, _"Tell me."_

" _Father of child is Tuvon."_

### Chapter Thirty Four

Alice had just arrived back at headquarters and rushed to the quarantine area, eager to catch a glimpse of Zhaan, even if only through a pane of glass. She was unable to attract his attention, as he stood with his back to her, apparently having a serious contretemps with a short Ziluran. Alice was startled by the little alien's nakedness and the ferocity with which Zhaan was arguing with him. She wished she knew what had him so riled up.

" _-but you know the child must die. It is better if Trinn doesn't get attached,"_ Tuvon was trying to convince an irate Zhaan.

" _What kind of race allows killing a child for being inconvenient? Do Zilurans have no morals at all?"_

" _The Captain decreed, as many did before him, that it is not possible to raise a child in space. They cannot be kept safe and given the attention they need."_

" _Space is just space. There nothing to see. It total boredom. How can you say nobody has time for care of child."_

" _Trinn has other responsibilities,"_ Tuvon stated simply.

" _Yes, I heard of them,"_ Zhaan replied with a touch of disapproval. _"I know how you all use her. Is appalling how Ziluran treat womenfolk, but that is your business. Is not possible you believe she can't perform other duties and care of child at same time,"_ Zhaan maintained, getting angrier by the second.

" _Whatever the Captain rules is law aboard our ship and he has always ruled that unintentional offspring are flushed."_

" _Well that just mean he is_ fucking asshole murderer!" Zhaan was now yelling and forced to use English, as he didn't know the Ziluran.

" _I don't know what you are saying to me, but our Captain is of the opinion that a child is too difficult on board and will only lead to problems and rivalries among the crew while they debate the parentage."_

" _Your Captain head is smashed and he make no decisions soon, if ever again. Maybe you will be Captain. For now you are Captain. Will you murder innocent child? Think hard on your decision. Maybe you kill your own child._ "

Tuvon was struck dumb, pondering the possibility of becoming Captain and having to make this and other difficult decisions in future. Zhaan took the opportunity to continue his rant.

" _You know Humans won't permit this. Punishment for murder is severe here, maybe even death. This child born in America, is American citizen, protected by their laws. Think on this Deputy Captain? And remember that Human consequences for this brutal murder will be secondary only to my punishment of killer, if I find him first!"_

Tuvon realised he was being threatened. Why was the lone Guy so adamant about saving this useless Ziluran child?

" _Life is sacred but you know the Guy way, blood for blood, punishment equals crime. I am prepared to take revenge for this small innocent, regardless of Human law. Be warned!"_ He stomped into the adjacent room to try to calm himself.

" _Zhaan, I know what you are trying to do and I am grateful, but why?"_ Trinn asked him.

" _Life is sacred, nobody have right to extinguish."_

" _You won't persuade them. Our Captain is very insistent on this point."_ She looked lovingly at her suckling son. _"My other children weren't spared."_

" _If I can do something, this one will be."_

" _I'm not hopeful, Zhaan, but it would be nice to keep one child. You tell me there will be no more."_ She looked down at the large dressing on her belly.

" _The others should have lived too. How can a person murder infant like that when they may even be father. Have you tell to Tuvon yet that you know child is his?"_ Zhaan asked.

" _Not yet, I'm saving that one for if things get desperate."_

" _To save your child you should consider to remain on Earth,"_ Zhaan suggested.

" _What is there for me here? I would be a lone freak!"_ Trinn responded. From the expression on his face, she could see that Zhaan knew that feeling well.

" _I have child, with Alice. You must tell no one. Before you Zilurans crash here, I have a good life with Alice and my little girl. Even lone freak can be happy."_ With that he turned away from Trinn.

Finally Alice had Zhaan's undivided attention. He had eventually spotted her waiting patiently on the other side of the glass and rushed over, pulling up a chair. For the last fifteen minutes or so he had just gazed at her, smiling, his eyes exposed for all to see and his head resting on one hand. His look contained so much love for her that it was taking her breath away. He reached out his other hand, placing his fingertips on the glass. Instinctively she raised her own hand, so her fingers would meet his, separated only by the thin glass.

"Good grief, Zhaan! How long are you two going to sit like that? It's creepy!" Jones had been observing them for almost an hour during his phone conversation with Higgins.

"Forever, if I don't get out of here soon."

"Well, the good news is that none of the lab results indicated any kind of contagion or pathogen. They want to take one more blood sample from everybody today, to run more tests, and they want you to check us all over with your medical gizmo again. If the results are clear, we may be released from quarantine tomorrow sometime.

"I have tell them this from the beginning, why nobody believe me?" Zhaan said in frustration, his eyes never leaving Alice's.

### Chapter Thirty Five

" _Completely fucking unacceptable!"_ Too irate to string a sentence together in English, Zhaan spoke in his own tongue. He hurled the tangled mass of wires and cameras in his hand onto the conference table, upon which he stood, dressed only in a white robe. The expletive he'd used was so outrageous in the Guy language, that he couldn't remember a time when he'd been forced to use it before.

Moments earlier, the people seated around the table had been startled when the door literally burst off its hinges and Zhaan had erupted into the room, leaping onto the large table in one agile bound.

"Zhaan, what's wrong?" Higgins asked, attempting to defuse the volatile situation. "Cover yourself, man!" he added as the towelling robe flapped around the alien after his athletic move.

The alien seemed to be struck dumb with rage after his initial outburst, his emotion causing him to lose his battle with the English language.

"Why don't you get down off the table? We can talk about whatever the problem is," the bewildered General added, looking around at his open-mouthed team in search of some explanation.

" _You perverts, you make me sick! I can't even bring myself to speak with you."_ Zhaan's anger seemed boundless, but he did manage to finally switch to a language which didn't sound like gibberish to the Humans. "I leave now, before I kill somebody."

Another nimble leap brought Zhaan back to ground level and he stormed back to his room, taking the stairs. He hoped to burn up some of the energy of his rage, anger of ferocity he had never experienced before.

He was still apoplectic when Alice emerged from the bathroom in a robe, a towel wrapped around her hair. Zhaan was already throwing their few possessions into a bag with such force that some items ricocheted right back out of the holdall as he stomped around the bed, Alice noted with some amusement. He was so sweet when he was mad, a thought she kept to herself.

She walked towards him, her hands extended to try to calm the alien's frantic arms. "What in the hell is wrong, Zhaan?"

As he turned to face her, Alice realised just how angry the imposing Guy was. His face was red, his eyes almost popped from his head, and the veins in his neck protruded in a menacing manner. His eyes were completely filled with black, something she'd only seen before if he was irate or excited with some other powerful emotion. She realised this must be something serious.

"Sit down, Zhaan. Take a deep breath. Tell me what's wrong." She sat on the bed, patting the spot next to her, coaxing him to join her. Instead Zhaan dropped to his knees and lowered his head into her lap, breathing deeply until he seemed to regain his control.

"Alice, I can't tell you. It too awful."

"Zhaan, we have no secrets. We made that promise to one another. You can tell me, whatever it is. What have they done?" She guessed that she wasn't the cause of his tantrum and suddenly feared for the welfare of the Ziluran child.

It took half a dozen more deep breaths before he was able to speak. "They watch us."

None the wiser, Alice asked for an explanation.

"They have cameras. They watch us."

It was obvious to her that her beloved alien was going to be a source of great Human curiosity. She wasn't naive enough to think that they weren't analysing Zhaan's every move, as well as those of the Zilurans. "It's only natural, Zhaan. You were the first alien they had ever seen. I'm sure they are watching to see what they can learn about you."

"You not understand, Alice. They not only watch me. They watch us together, in here." Zhaan pointed at the bed, making his point obvious.

A look of horror crossed Alice's face and quickly began to transform into indignation. "How are they watching?" she asked in fury.

"I here on bed while you shower," Zhaan explained. "I look up at roof here and I see small camera on lamp. Then I see others over there and there." He pointed at the wall lamps.

"Jesus!" said Alice, slowly re-running in her head what they had been up to the night before, when Zhaan had finally been released from quarantine, and then again this morning.

"I been to meeting room, I broke door and give back cameras. Now we leave. Come. Pack. We go home," he instructed.

Alice was livid, yet realistically couldn't think of any way the Humans were simply going to allow Zhaan to walk out of here and go home to Montana.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. A look through the peep-hole showed Alice that it was Higgins. He was alone and looking as vexed as Zhaan. Taking an anxious look in Zhaan's direction, she opened the door a crack to speak to the General, making sure he remained hidden from Zhaan's line-of-sight.

"You've got a nerve!" she said viciously. "What do you want?"

"Can I come in? I'd like to speak with you. We owe you both an apology."

"On your head be it," Alice replied. "I can't vouch for your safety." She opened the door a little more, allowing him to enter, and glanced anxiously in Zhaan's direction.

Higgins turned to face them. "I had no idea about the cameras. You must believe me, I would never have sanctioned such an invasion of privacy. I'm almost as angry as you are about it. I apologise unreservedly."

"Really?" Alice responded sarcastically. "So what happens now? Zhaan is packing ready for us to go home. I feel violated. It is an outrage!" she added with venom. Zhaan was still randomly throwing items into his bag, including the hotel robes and towels, she noticed with amusement, but managed to stifle a smile.

"How can I make this right? You know we need Zhaan's help, your help too," Higgins added as a rider to appease Alice.

"He's really mad. I am too. In what universe is it OK to snoop on people in the privacy of their bed? This is supposed to be America! Zhaan and I have been nothing but co-operative with you, your people, and the Government. This is how you repay us. It is appalling. I wouldn't want to be the person responsible if Zhaan finds out who it was."

Higgins was trying to interrupt but Alice pressed on, eager to air all her grievances at once. "You've used Zhaan. You've put him in danger, had him work as an interpreter, a nursemaid to the Zilurans, kept him locked up, exposed him to possible biohazards, and managed to shoot him with a tranquillizer dart. Has anybody even thanked him or offered to pay him? Do you know how much work I'm missing to help you guys out? How are we supposed to live? He's sacrificed the life he had and his safety, and nobody seems to give a damn. Instead they treat us like a freak show. God knows what you will do to him when all this is over. He's right, we should leave!" After her outburst Alice was, if anything, more furious than before.

Higgins was perfectly aware that, without Zhaan's help, they would be in trouble. Nobody else was yet able to communicate with the Zilurans. He would never get their ships repaired, get them off the planet, on their way, and out of his hair without Zhaan's assistance. He was desperate to placate the pair.

"How can I make this right?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't need to resort to threatening that this lone Guy wouldn't be permitted to leave and just go back to his once secret life on Earth.

Suddenly Zhaan spoke. "You bring me people responsible for watching us. First I tear out their eyes, then I rip their brains from inside their stupid heads. Then you bring me every copy of whatever they have recorded from our room, computer too and I burn it all. Then, if Alice think you should pay us money, you pay us money, and don't insult her by offer too little!"

Higgins was sympathetic to Alice and Zhaan; he imagined how he would feel under the circumstances. "Zhaan, you have to be realistic. I don't know how things work on your planet, but here on Earth you can't just tear out people's eyes and brains. Let's see if we can work something out. Stay here and give me a half hour," he pleaded, turning to sweep back out of the room in his usual inimitable style.

"You talk with my lawyer, I don't want to see you!" Zhaan yelled after him.

### Chapter Thirty Six

The knock at the door thirty minutes later wasn't Higgins, but Jones. Alice opened up, making sure Jones was on the receiving end of her most withering glare. The agent couldn't fail to notice the hostility as he entered the room.

"Look, I had nothing to do with it. All hell is breaking out downstairs. Higgins is still working on your demands and asked me to come up here and 'distract' you guys for a while, so he can sort things out.

"So, if he wasn't responsible for spying on us and now you claim that you weren't involved, just who was this mystery pervert?" she asked with vitriol.

"I'm not permitted to share that information with you until everything is resolved, for the safety of those morons involved," he responded with a wary glance in Zhaan's direction. The Guy seemed somewhat calmer than when Jones had last seen him, towering over those around the conference table in an extremely menacing manner.

"Zhaan, are you up for that race to the park we talked about?" he asked, conscious of the need to keep the couple occupied while Higgins tried to salvage the situation. "We could go out and get some air, give Alice the chance to get dressed, then maybe a spot of sight-seeing while we have lower Manhattan all to ourselves?" he suggested.

Alice looked down, embarrassed to realise that this second stranger was now in their room, and she was still in a state of undress. Zhaan was looking at her, seeking direction on how to respond to Jones' proposal.

"Sure, why don't you go get some air and exercise, Zhaan. I think I need to call our lawyer anyway." She began rummaging in her purse, in search of Ted's business card.

Zhaan turned to Jones with a smile. "Really? You want to make a race? With me?" Jones nodded.

"You know I am fast?" Zhaan tormented him.

"Well, let's just find out shall we?" Jones was already headed for the door, relieved that Zhaan had taken the bait.

Ten minutes later his relief had turned to concern. Zhaan effortlessly streaked ahead of him and was now out of sight. Jones was anxious that the alien might have done a runner and that he would be held solely responsible. Surely Zhaan wouldn't just disappear with Alice back at the hotel? He'd been running at a sprint but had no hope of keeping up.

He rounded a corner and the park came into view. Jones bent over taking deep breaths, partly to try to get some oxygen back into his system, and partly in relief at seeing Zhaan lounging on a park bench with a big grin on his face.

"Have you stop for lunch?" Zhaan laughed.

It took a minute for Jones to have enough spare air to answer.

"Very funny, and by the way, I think 'fast' was an understatement!" He paused for a few more gasps before suggesting that they take a walk into the park, to check out what was happening at the Sheep Meadow. "A walk!" he added again for emphasis. Despite his high level of fitness, his leg muscles were screaming and his lungs burning.

Zhaan stood to follow his lead.

"Is that running pace normal for your people?" Jones asked him as they strolled slowly.

"On Guyara no, but here on Earth is easy for me," Zhaan began to explain. Jones responded with a puzzled frown.

"My planet have less, what that gas we breathe - oxy?"

"Oxygen?" Jones suggested.

"Yes, oxygen is less on Guyara, so Guy people have much more efficient organ for breathing. This help with running here, also the force is much less here."

"The force?" Jones queried, with thoughts of Star Wars.

"Yes, down force." Obviously Jones wasn't getting his meaning, so Zhaan bent, picked up a small stick, and threw it up in the air to demonstrate. "Down force," he pointed at the falling stick.

"Oh, gravity."

Zhaan nodded with a look that implied Jones was a little simple.

"When I first come to Earth, this very hard for me. My head spin from too much oxygen. Then I stand too quickly, push on doors too hard, and move too fast. In beginning of my time on Earth I have to think about this all the time. Now I have become fat and lazy, so it easier."

Jones raised his eyebrows in reaction to the 'fat and lazy' comment, before turning to look at the action taking place in the Sheep Meadow.

Close to the saucer-shaped ship in which the Zilurans had arrived stood two massive helicopters. A dozen personnel were clambering around on top of the ship, apparently fashioning a lifting cradle.

"They are hoping to lift the ship over the buildings and move it to a raft of barges waiting in the Hudson River," Jones explained to Zhaan. "From there, it will head down the coast to the Space Center in Florida."

Zhaan looked sceptical. "I still don't understand how these machines even fly." He indicated the nearest of the helicopters. "Good luck with that!"

"Let's get closer and see what's happening." Jones proposed.

The members of the Army work team began to look in their direction as they approached. They recognised Jones and his mysterious companion, and all work ground to a halt. Rumours were flying about the identity of the strange, tall specialist the Government had called in to help, and the reasons for his use of dark glasses even at night. Now each soldier was closely observing Zhaan's every move. Curiosity got the better of the men's commander and he scrambled rapidly down from the roof of the ship, to take a better look. He strode towards them with his arm outstretched in greeting.

"Jones, isn't it?" he queried.

Jones flashed his ID and security clearance pass. "This is Zhaan." He glanced down, expecting Zhaan to be wearing his passes on a neck strap like his own and sighed deeply in frustration, noticing that Zhaan had left the hotel without ID.

"Do you have your ID, Sir?" the soldier asked Zhaan.

"No, it in hotel," Zhaan responded. "It stupid, everyone know who I am," he added as justification for not carrying it.

His rebellious attitude brought out the officious nature of the unit commander. "Well, I don't know who you are!" he stated bluntly. "Without ID, this is as close as you are getting, whoever you may be."

Irritated by the man's attitude, Zhaan yanked off his dark glasses and gave him a menacing stare, delighted to see him momentarily fazed by the Guy eyes he'd revealed.

"Come Jones, we go back to Alice." Zhaan turned and walked away before the soldier had time to react.

### Chapter Thirty Seven

An afternoon of relaxed touring of lower Manhattan with Jones and Zhaan had put Alice in a much better humour by the time they returned to the hotel for dinner. Somehow Jones had managed to wangle use of a Police launch, and they had cruised across the Hudson to visit the Statue of Liberty. It was spooky being alone at such a popular spot.

She forced to the back of her mind an uneasy feeling about the fact that somebody here had compromising footage of her and Zhaan.

When the receptionist handed her a message to call Ted Mayhew, she grabbed Zhaan by the arm and dragged him over to the elevator. She certainly didn't want to speak to anyone else before talking to Ted.

Alice perched on the edge of the bed. She was in deep discussion with Ted about the agreements he had been working on with the authorities during the day. The conversation was taking a long time, and Zhaan wasn't really following it. He was getting bored and was at Alice's feet pulling off her boots and socks. She paid little heed until he began first tickling and then licking her toes, causing her to become seriously distracted from her talk with their lawyer. Initially she tried shooing Zhaan away, but he was determined in his efforts to annoy her. Finally, having the gist of what Ted had said, she told him she needed to talk it over with Zhaan and, with relief, put the phone down.

She assumed that Zhaan would be as keen as she was to learn what had transpired in their absence. Instead his attention had moved to her legs, where his fingers were straying dangerously close to the top of her jeans. He placed his hands between her crossed legs and forced them apart, somehow launching himself on top of her at the same moment. Their discussion would have to wait.

On their way downstairs to eat, Zhaan insisted they stop by and visit with Trinn. Alice had yet to meet any of the Zilurans and felt distinctly nervous. Entering the Ziluran medical/living area, she was stunned to see a slight-bodied, oval-headed female, with huge, mesmerising, brown eyes. The alien sat on the edge of a bed, suckling her even stranger-looking child. Apart from a huge dressing across her lower abdomen, the Ziluran was completely naked with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

" _Trinn, how are you feeling?"_ Zhaan asked her in her own language.

She pointed at her belly. _"This is killing me, but it is worth it to be alive and still have my child. I'm glad to see you. It is difficult having nobody to talk to except the father who wants to kill his own son."_ She scowled at Tuvon, who was sitting on his own bed, pretending not to be paying any attention. _"Also I'm starving, this one is taking all my energy."_ She nodded at her son who was hungrily gobbling down milk. _"It's so cold here, don't they have heating?"_

" _Yes, but they also have clothing!"_ Zhaan laughed. _"This is Alice, my....Alice."_ He couldn't think of a word in the Ziluran language that he knew to describe what she was to him. Turning to Alice he switched languages, "Alice, this is Trinn and her son."

Unsure quite how to greet the peculiar looking alien, Alice reached out a hand and then opted for a hug instead, bringing a smile to Trinn's tiny mouth.

"Does he have a name?" Alice enquired.

"I think Trinn wait until she sure Tuvon don't kill the boy," Zhaan stated.

"But isn't the child his?" said Alice, shocked.

"Yes and he know this now, but still it seem to make no difference."

Alice pondered for a moment before saying, "I think the boy needs a name, and we need Tuvon to start getting attached somehow."

Now Trinn was looking cross at being left out of the conversation and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, tilting her head slightly to the left to indicate that Zhaan should translate.

" _Alice think the boy need a name and we should try to get Tuvon involved with him, so he will change his mind,"_ Zhaan whispered, hoping that Tuvon's hearing wasn't as good as his own.

Trinn laid her child down on the bed and waved her arms in Alice's direction, indicating that she should approach. As Alice got close, Trinn's skinny arms grabbed Alice as she returned the earlier hug.

" _Tell her I like her!"_ Trinn exclaimed.

" _You should tell her, time to learn some Earth language. Just say_ 'I like you Alice'," Zhaan insisted.

"I ike oo Aleece," Trinn's grasp of the words was remarkable, all things considered. Alice broke out in a broad grin.

"I like you too, Trinn."

Trinn gripped the sleeve of Alice's sweater, shaking it a little and then pointing at her own body.

"You need some clothes?" Alice repeated Trinn's action, pointing at the sweater and then at Trinn, causing her to nod in agreement and then point at Tuvon as well.

"He needs clothes too?" Alice asked, gesturing in his direction. Trinn nodded again. Turning to Zhaan she asked him to translate.

"I will talk to the man in charge and we will get you both clothes and the other Zilurans too." She had a feeling she and Zhaan would be doing some urgent clothes shopping too, but hadn't yet discussed with him all of the things Ted had told her.

That conversation had been cut short when Zhaan decided he was hungry. When she told him how much money they had been offered as an initial payment for their services, she could hardly contain her excitement, yet Zhaan seemed unimpressed.

Later, over dinner, she raised the topic again, bewildered by his lack of enthusiasm.

"Well, how much is that, what can it buy?" he asked, his grasp of the subject weak at the best of times.

"You know how you talk about making enough money to buy the lot of land next to Jesse's house, and build me my dream house out of logs? Well, we can start tomorrow if you like. You won't even have to do the work yourself." Zhaan peered at her over his dark glasses, and she could see the glint of joy in his eyes.

"The President also wants you to consider continuing to work for the Government in the future, in some kind of International Space Security Committee. The details aren't finalised yet, but she wants you to think it over. That would mean more money."

"What about pictures of us?" he asked her. "What about nasty people who do this?"

"Apparently the people involved are no longer going to work with us and have supposedly handed over the only copy of what they recorded."

"I not sure I believe," Zhaan remarked. "Before they are gone, I want to look in their eyes myself."

"You won't do anything stupid?" she asked.

"What you mean, Alice?"

"You don't plan to hurt them, or kill them?" she worried.

"You know they deserve this for your honour, but it not allowed here."

"OK then, I'll bring it up with Higgins." She paused, knowing he wouldn't like the next thing she had to discuss. "Also, we have to go to a big party in two days."

"I don't like to go big party, only with my friends. We don't go," Zhaan responded bluntly.

"This party we will have to attend. It's at the White House."

"White House?" Zhaan puzzled.

"The one where the President lives. She's invited us to the New Year's Eve Ball and we have to go. If the President invites you, you'd damn well better turn up!" Zhaan scowled before she added, "We will need to buy fancy clothes."

Zhaan's expression was priceless. "So we must go to a party when I don't want, and now we must buy clothes too. This make no sense. Why must we buy clothes if somebody invite us to their house? What wrong with my clothes?" He gestured at the holed sweater he was sporting with a pair of stained jeans. "How we even get to this White House? It in other city somewhere. We have to buy plane too?"

Alice reacted with raised eyebrows and a sigh.

### Chapter Thirty Eight

Higgins had worked a miracle. Jones, Alice, Zhaan, two Zilurans, and their child were in a minibus with a couple of extra security men, headed to one of New York City's famous department stores. The evacuation was still in force, as today they planned to try to move the Ziluran ship. However, the Manager and Assistant Manager of the store were being flown into the city by helicopter, to meet them for their clothes shopping trip.

Zhaan almost had to be dragged into the bus against his will. They entered the store through the main front door. Zhaan carried Trinn in his arms, while Alice held the child. Inside Zhaan stubbornly plonked himself down on a nearby bench with a huff.

The Assistant Manager whisked Jones and Zhaan away to the menswear department, eager to get away from the bizarre- looking Zilurans. Meanwhile the store Manager was eyeing the two small aliens, wondering where to start. Alice noticed the lady's hands trembling as she spoke, looking nervously from the aliens to the security guards. Wanting to put her at ease, Alice turned to Trinn instructing her to say hello.

"Ello, I Trinn," the alien offered gamely from beneath the blanket she had wrapped tightly around herself.

"Hello Trinn. Let's see if we can find you something to wear." Trinn had no idea what was being said, but smiled at just the right moment. Turning back to Alice, the Manager suggested they start in the children's section where they may find something of suitable sizing.

Alice had forgotten that Trinn was carried in by Zhaan and had to send one of the security personnel back to the bus for the wheelchair they'd brought along. "She just had major surgery," Alice explained, as though the huge dressing on Trinn's stomach wasn't enough of an indication.

While they waited, the Manager peered curiously at the tiny infant, who was beginning to fuss and flail his disproportionately long arms around.

Trinn pointed at the child. "America," she said, confusing the store's employee.

"She named her child America, after the place he was born," Alice explained.

"Perhaps we can find some clothes for America too?" the Manager suggested, wondering silently if doll's clothes would be a better fit.

Tuvon was easily satisfied with whatever was selected for him and was soon dressed in a casual style; jeans and a sweatshirt. He was hauling a mountain of bags of clothes with him, enough for Space Crazy and the Ziluran Captain too, Alice hoped. As he walked, he wiggled his body as though in discomfort, trying to adjust to the feeling of clothing against his skin.

Trinn, of whom Alice had taken charge, was pickier and seemed to have no clue what to choose. In desperation Alice took several items from the rails and held them up against Trinn's little body. At the fourth attempt a colourful woollen dress seemed acceptable and was matched up with a pair of thick warm tights and fur lined boots. They had to begin the whole process again to find more outfits for the alien fashionista.

Tuvon, meanwhile, was looking distinctly bored and began wandering the store, meddling with whatever he found with two alarmed security men following in his wake.

Eventually they were done, even America was clothed, and Alice was exhausted. She still had to find something to wear herself at the White House and was thankful when the security team suggested taking everyone else back to the hotel with their purchases before Tuvon broke anything else. This would allow Alice to shop alone with the help of the two store staff.

Two hours later Alice was happy to lie down and rest her pounding head in the peace of her deserted hotel room. She was so glad of the quiet, she didn't even begin to wonder where Zhaan was.

### Chapter Thirty Nine

Malla hadn't realised just how hard it would be keeping her feelings for Khevn a secret. That afternoon she had inadvertently laid a hand on his arm, while discussing a communications issue with him on the bridge. Her action drew disapproving and knowing looks from the rest of the crew. It was torture being so close to one she loved, but being unable to do anything about it. She now understood the Human obsession with the emotion. It was like a mental illness, taking precedence over everything else.

She sat on her bunk with her communicator, studying some new English words she had found. She expected Khevn to return as soon as he got off watch and longed to feel his arms wrapped protectively around her, as he had done nightly before the strange episode. Now he tried to keep distant and she suspected that he was wary of maintaining his own control.

The Commander had more or less told them that they could expect unannounced visits from him at any time, and that their cabin door would always be left unlocked. It was a pointless demand really, as with the exception of his cabin, none of the internal doors on the ship had a lock.

By the time Khevn returned, he found Malla dozing fully dressed with the communicator still in her hand. The opening of the cabin door roused her a little.

" _Why are you not sleeping already, Malla? Did you wait for me? Sorry, my watch overran. The Commander needed more rest. You look exhausted, come allow me to help you,"_ Khevn suggested with concern.

He spun around to grab the nightshirt she used and turned back, his eyes locking with hers. The air between them felt electric as the idea of him undressing her briefly passed between them.

Khevn passed her the nightshirt. _"Here, you should undress yourself. I'll help with your braces,"_ he said, easing the tension a little.

Malla yanked the dress she was wearing over her head, after all it didn't matter much, Khevn had seen it all before. Yet as he crouched at her feet working on the buckles of her leg braces, his fingers gently brushing her skin, it all felt very different. Hurriedly she pulled on the nightshirt and leant back, allowing him to continue unbuckling her legs. After all the years in braces, the skin of her legs was not normally particularly sensitive but today each slight touch of his fingers made her gasp like a static shock.

There were so many buckles. Each leg was taking him an eternity to free, but she didn't want the feeling to stop. His touch brought a warm sensation somewhere between her legs and she rested her head back against the cabin wall, her eyes closed.

At that moment their Commander decided to make one of his unannounced visits and did not look happy finding the two of them like that. Suddenly disturbed from her reverie by his presence, Malla quickly explained.

" _I was so tired. Khevn was helping with the braces. I must have fallen asleep."_ She turned to Khevn adding, _"Sorry, Khevn."_

Seemingly satisfied, the Captain left them alone again.

" _Tonight we must lie separately in case he returns,"_ Khevn stated. _"Besides, I'm not sure about my control after that. Were you really sleeping?"_ he asked her.

" _What do you think?"_ she retorted. _"I was working on my own control."_ She wriggled into the second bunk and snuggled down. As her hand wandered to the area which had experienced the delicious flood of heat only a few minutes ago, she was shocked at herself.

" _I may need help with the braces more often!"_ she mumbled, smiling as she nodded off.

### Chapter Forty

"So how in hell are we going to get him out of there?" Jones asked, peering under the large bush where the small Ziluran had scurried.

Higgins had insisted that they should try to rehabilitate the 'space crazy' Ziluran engineer as quickly as possible, so he could assist with repairs to the shuttle ship.

Their walk to Central Park had begun well, with 'Space Crazy', now formally introduced as Sarjek, restrained in a wheel chair. Tuvon walked by his side while Zhaan and Jones took turns to push. All seemed well. Sarjek began to interact first with Tuvon and then, reluctantly, with Zhaan as well.

He seemed quite logical, if a little bewildered at finding himself on an alien planet among different races. Zhaan allowed Tuvon to explain to Sarjek why they were there and tell him about his period of temporary insanity, withholding details of his behaviour which might embarrass him. The whole trip to Earth and a considerable amount of time beforehand was a large blank in Sarjek's memory. He did, however, have a vague recollection of being hauled from the engine room of their ship by Zhaan, and kept regarding him with distrust.

Both Sarjek and Tuvon continued to stare around in amazement during their first excursion outdoors on Earth. The walk took a long time with all the investigative stops that they required on the way. Every bus stop, shop window, and even piece of litter was thoroughly checked out.

Jones and Zhaan were instructed by Higgins to take the two aliens to the location of their ship, to observe preparations to move it.

On reaching the park, Tuvon suggested to Zhaan that Sarjek now seemed quite well, and that they should remove the restraints and try to get him walking, to promote his recovery.

For several minutes the plan seemed to be going well, with the two aliens wandering around together, examining every object they encountered, and demanding explanations. It reminded Zhaan of his first experiences as a naive visitor on the alien planet.

A loud bang from the work area suddenly spooked Sarjek and in just a split second, he disappeared under the prickly shrub where he now hid.

"Maybe you'll have to yank him out again, like you did in the engine room?" Jones suggested.

"My skin tough but I not put my arm in that angry plant," Zhaan pointed at the thorns. "If I pull him out through that, we get shredded Ziluran."

Zhaan turned to Tuvon, _"You have to tell him to come out, otherwise we have to cut down plant and Park people get really cross. If he won't come out by himself, then we have to tie him to chair again."_

Tuvon now sat cross-legged on the floor, like a young schoolboy, and was deep in conversation with his edgy crew mate. It took a while, but finally the shrub began to shudder as Sarjek attempted to crawl back out, squealing regularly as the thorns left their mark in his skin. Dishevelled, he emerged, looking sheepish, his new clothes bearing scars of his excursion.

" _We go to see your ship now. They begin to move it,"_ Zhaan told them, beginning to move away as though nothing had happened.

The Army had been unconvinced by Zhaan's attempt to convert the weight of the shuttle from the units used in the Guy information provided. In theory at least, he believed that just one of the massive helicopters should be able to lift the alien craft. He insisted they were over-estimating its weight.

The first helicopter already had its rotors turning as the work team scrambled to connect the lifting hoist. Raising the dead weight between two helicopters would be considerably more risky, so despite the Humans' scepticism about the mass of the object, the initial lift attempt was to be made with only one of the enormous Russian machines.

Zhaan explained the plan to the two Zilurans and smiled at Tuvon's reaction on first seeing the helicopter.

" _Are you sure that thing can even fly?"_ Zhaan had uttered those same words on first seeing the strange and awkward-looking Human flying machines.

Now he could only sit with Jones and the Zilurans on a park bench and hope the Humans didn't drop the spacecraft, or he'd be stuck with these small, irritating aliens forever.

As the mighty engine began to whine and the colossal machine took flight, Tuvon's tiny mouth dropped into an amazed 'O' shape. The lifting cables became tight and an eerie groaning indicated that the helicopter was beginning to take the strain of the spacecraft's weight. Painfully slowly, daylight began to appear between the larger, but evidently lighter, saucer-shaped object and the ground. The helicopter hovered in place for a few moments, the pilot apparently gauging its capability for hauling the burden as far as the river, before little by little increasing its altitude.

Jones found himself holding his breath as the lifting cradle became level with nearby rooftops and then rose a little higher to clear them, before the helicopter began its laborious journey towards the Hudson River.

The odd group of four arrived at the river just in time to witness the lowering of the shuttle onto the waiting raft of four huge barges. Tuvon seemed shocked.

" _Why are they putting our ship on the water? Why is it not moved to the Florida by this big aircraft?"_

Zhaan explained it was too far for the helicopter to haul the heavy weight, and their spaceship would be safer moving down the coast by sea.

" _How primitive!"_ Tuvon responded, indignantly.

### Chapter Forty One

At the Command Centre activity was at fever pitch as staff hurried to pack their equipment. The plan was to vacate the hotel and return it to its owners by the New Year, when the quarantine of Manhattan would be lifted. Everybody involved in the Ziluran project, including the aliens, would be relocated to Florida before the arrival there of the Ziluran ship.

As Zhaan pushed the empty wheelchair and escorted the two walking Zilurans back to the medical area, he was puzzled not to see Alice and resolved to check their room to make sure she was OK after depositing the Zilurans.

His plan was thwarted when he encountered an atmosphere of pandemonium in the medical area. A stressed doctor turned from the bed where he worked. His relief at seeing Zhaan was obvious. Abandoning his two charges, Zhaan hurried over. Trinn was clearly extremely agitated and hung on the edge of her Captain's bed.

"What happen?" Zhaan asked.

"I think we're losing him. I'm not sure what we can do. Do you have your scanner?" the medic demanded anxiously.

"Wait, I bring." Zhaan left the area at startling speed, taking the stairs to the third floor three at a time and grabbed his backpack without even disturbing Alice, whom he was relieved to find sleeping.

Back in the makeshift hospital, people crowded nervously around Zhaan while his scanner worked. Everyone waited desperately for the telltale beep and the information it would give.

" _Why it take so long? Help him!"_ Trinn screamed at Zhaan, dragging on his sleeve for attention, which was not making his task any easier. Her two crew mates pulled her away to allow the medics to work.

Somebody rushed over with an oxygen mask as the injured Ziluran's breathing began to become laboured. It seemed like an eternity until Zhaan was able to study the results from the Guy scanner.

After checking twice, praying that he'd misread the information the first time, Zhaan sagged down onto the adjacent bed with everyone looking at him in futile hope.

"He will die," Zhaan stated simply.

The medic moved over in his direction wanting more information.

"His brain is too damaged. Now it begin to stop working. We cannot save him," Zhaan explained.

Now the Zilurans were crowding him again demanding his report, and Zhaan was forced to repeat his sad message in their language.

Large tears began to flow down Trinn's petite face as she clambered up onto the Captain's bed to curl herself around him. Tuvon walked to the unconscious alien's head, prying open one of his large closed eyelids. He took a close look into his exposed eye and then simply nodded and stepped back.

A few moments of stunned silence followed while the news sank in. The medical team continued to gather around the Ziluran Captain, trying everything they could think of.

"How long do you think he has?" the doctor asked Zhaan quietly.

"It happen quickly now I think. If we stop helping," he gestured at the oxygen tank, "even more fast. I talk to Zilurans about this."

Leaving Trinn clinging to her failing Captain, Zhaan moved over towards where Tuvon and Sarjek huddled, deep in discussion.

Noticing him, Tuvon turned.

" _There is truly no hope?"_ he asked Zhaan anxiously.

" _I believe not, unless the Gods the Humans worship grant a miracle."_

Tuvon sighed wearily before Zhaan pressed on with his difficult task.

" _You will be Captain now, Tuvon? Am I correct?"_ The Ziluran nodded his affirmation.

" _Then the decision is yours. Do medics continue to assist, prolonging suffering, or do we stop interfering?"_ Zhaan inquired.

Tuvon and Sarjek looked at one another before speaking as one, _"We stop."_

"How does it work with the Zilurans? Will there be some kind of ceremony to mark his passing?" Alice asked Zhaan, who lay beside her, finding comfort in the warmth of her arms. He felt bone-weary.

"I think they all will stay beside their Captain until his heart stop. I have no experience of this in Ziluran culture, but I think they say goodbye straight away, not like Humans, who wait for ceremony another day."

"Trinn will be so upset. I got the impression he was her favourite, although I can't understand how after the way he treated her children."

"I worry that Humans want to take Captain's body for research. I not sure how Zilurans react to this." Zhaan pondered.The Guy had decided to give the Zilurans some time alone with their dying Captain. He guessed it would only be a matter of hours, if that, before he'd be called back in to establish what would happen next. In the meantime he allowed Alice to console him, while he waited for the phone to ring and herald the next difficult situation he would be required to handle.

As Zhaan predicted, three hours later he and Alice were in the medical area, standing around the bed of the lifeless Ziluran Captain. Alice was attempting to console the distraught Trinn. Zhaan had an equally difficult task.

" _What is the normal procedure among your people to mark a passing?"_ he asked Tuvon. _"Forgive me but I do not know, and Humans do not wish to offend."_

" _We will gather around to keep him company until we believe his soul is passed over. We will bid him farewell before this happens, each in our own way. We will bathe him and then when we are done, his soul will be ready to depart the body for another plane."_

" _Excuse my asking, but what will become of the body. The Humans need to make whatever preparations you require."_

" _It is unimportant once the soul has safely crossed. I am sure the Humans have some scientific purpose for what remains. All we ask is the return of his preserved heart, to be reunited with his people on Zilur."_

### Chapter Forty Two

"Thank you Alice," Zhaan said as they both stood from their seats on the private jet, which had just landed in Washington DC.

"For what?" she wondered.

"You help Trinn when she upset about her Captain, and again when I must tell her we travel separately to Florida because this stupid party. She trust you, and I think without your support Humans never get them onto plane."

Zhaan and Alice had accompanied the Zilurans to the airport and even walked aboard the military plane with them, watching them take-off, before they themselves had been swept away to DC. Zhaan could only wonder how the two races would manage together without his interpreting skills and fretted to Alice.

"Hopefully it will make the Humans realise just how valuable you are! I'm sure we're going to miss some really comical misunderstandings though," she added with regret.

As they both descended the steps of the jet, they were greeted by an enormous security cordon around the area, ringed with official vehicles of all kinds. Zhaan noticed with a smile that none had their emergency lights flashing. Jones followed close behind them. He had been assigned as Zhaan's security detail. Whether that security was for the alien's protection, or to make sure that he didn't disappear, had not been clarified.

Two burly, dark-suited men approached, each obviously sporting a weapon under his jacket and an earpiece. Secret Service, Alice thought with amazement, applying her extensive movie knowledge.

The plane had come to a standstill beside a small chopper, and it became clear to Alice that this would be their means of transport to the White House. Her stomach began to flutter with butterflies, while Zhaan stared around in amazement at being surrounded by so much security.

One of the Secret Service agents approached Alice, introduced himself and subjected her to a security pat down. A fracas behind her distracted her momentarily from the man's wandering hands and she turned to see Jones attempting to placate an angry, hissing Zhaan, whose claws were extended menacingly, as he crouched, seemingly ready to attack the second agent.

"Why he touch me, Jones?" Zhaan was shouting. "What he want?"

"Stay calm, Zhaan. Let me talk to him a moment." Jones enjoyed feeling superior as he ticked off the security agent. "Did you receive no briefing about handling this VIP?" he asked with sarcasm. "You really don't want to be touching him without his prior permission. To his people that is seen as a threat and very impolite." Duly chastised the agent turned to Zhaan.

"Sorry, I had no idea. I'm afraid I will need to carry out a brief security check though." He approached Zhaan cautiously where he squatted. "May I have your permission to pat you down?"

Zhaan looked to Jones uncertainly. "What he say?" he asked.

"He wants to search you for weapons. Will you permit it?" Jones explained.

"Why I need weapons with these?" Zhaan asked, bewildered. He waved his hands around, claws still extended. "Will they touch you too?"

"Probably," Jones responded with a sigh. "It's likely I'm not trusted either."

"Then you first. I already know you have gun," Zhaan said with his eyebrows raised.

Jones flashed his ID at the Secret Service agent. Now it had become a spectator event, as Alice and the other agent approached.

"Check me first. At least then he knows what to expect. Of course, I'm wearing a shoulder holster."

Once the agents were satisfied, they led the group towards the waiting helicopter. Zhaan looked uneasily at Alice and Jones.

"What's wrong?" Jones asked. His recognition of Guy body language was continually improving.

"He's not a great fan of our helicopter technology." Alice laughed and grabbed Zhaan by the hand to provide moral support.

Throughout the flight Zhaan had his head in his arms on the back of the seat in front. Alice was worried. He seemed exhausted and possibly not in the best frame of mind to meet one of the most powerful people on the planet.

The helicopter began its descent and Alice was excited to see the White House coming into view. They would be landing on the lawn right outside. It was her first time in DC, and she'd only seen the building in movies before, usually just before it exploded in some apocalyptic disaster or terrorist attack.

Instinctively Alice crouched a little as she stepped down from the helicopter and waited for Zhaan in the strong wind produced by its whirling blades. Zhaan emerged, glancing up at the rotors with mistrust, before moving away with Alice and Jones towards the building.

They were led through a side door into a wide corridor, where they were approached by yet more security.

"They want touch me too?" Zhaan asked, exasperatedly.

"Looks like it," said Jones and held up one hand to stop them in their tracks, while he explained the Guy protocol. Turning back to Zhaan he asked, "Is it OK for them to touch you for a security search?"

Zhaan frowned. "So, if I understand, this security don't trust that security," he pointed at the Secret Service Agents, "and they don't trust you to security check me?"

"That about sums it up," Jones laughed.

"You have a lot of people work at touching people on this planet," Zhaan stated with a sigh, compliantly raising his arms as he now understood the routine. "It dumb, I have built-in weapon," he muttered crossly, fortunately only loudly enough for Alice to catch.

Once the pat down was completed, he idly extended a lone claw and pretended to attend to an itch, which caused the latest security team to exchange a worried glance.

"Will President lady need to touch me too?" the alien asked with a cheeky grin. "She pretty. Maybe it more fun!"

"Cut it out!" Alice laughed. "Hopefully she'll only want to shake your hand."

### Chapter Forty Three

After a nervous glance at their security guards, Alice stared around the Oval Office in amazement, as they waited for the President's arrival. After a few minutes of intensive fidgeting, Zhaan seemed to have settled and moved to the second sofa, tempted to stretch out. His weariness won out, and suddenly he pivoted to lie himself down along the length of the furniture, his feet raised on the arm.

"Zhaan, you can't take a nap in the Oval Office!" Alice said in horror. Jones merely smiled, enjoying every disrespectful act that the Guy unwittingly carried out.

"But I tired," Zhaan protested. "I get up before she arrive." He stubbornly closed his eyes where he lay.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any warning before the President swept into the room and apologised for keeping them waiting. She disturbed the Guy from his brief catnap and peered in Zhaan's direction, startled to see him stretched out in her office. He shook his head, trying to rouse himself properly, as he rose slowly to a sitting position and then stood, shocking the lady even more as his imposing physique was revealed to its full extent.

"Sorry, Miss President, I tired," Zhaan muttered with embarrassment.

"I imagine you are. You've had a busy couple of weeks," the President responded, graciously extending a hand in greeting. "You must be Zhaan."

Zhaan looked from the outstretched hand to the President's eyes just long enough for it to become uncomfortable, before he realised her intent and held out his own hand.

Alice was nervous. She had no idea how to greet one of the most important people on the planet. She shuffled anxiously and was relieved when the hand was extended to her next.

"Alice?" the President confirmed. Alice's nerves got the better of her as she offered her hand, nodding, almost tempted to curtsy and feeling an idiot for being tongue-tied.

The President moved on to Jones. "Agent Jones, I assume?"

"Yes, Madam President. Delighted to meet you," he replied.

Alice kicked herself for her sudden shyness. She was in awe of this woman who won the election by a landslide after appearing out of nowhere. It would be interesting to speak with her and find out what made her tick, if only the chance would arise, and Alice could manage to get a single word out.

She had wondered at first whether it was Amanda Milroy's stunning, blond, Fox-News-reporter-type looks which made her so popular, but since her election, Alice had been impressed by many of her decisions. It seemed for once that the country had a president more interested in its well-being than in her own.

The President indicated that they should retake their seats. "Can I offer you some refreshments? Coffee?" she offered.

"Hot tea would be nice," Alice suggested and explained that Zhaan couldn't drink coffee. Lately he'd even started objecting to the smell of coffee on Alice, and she'd reluctantly switched to tea when she was around him. Jones didn't have the same concerns and ordered himself a black coffee.

The President joined them after arranging the drinks with her assistant and enquiring about the whereabouts of a package she was expecting. "Chase it up. I need it right now. It was due an hour ago," she complained.

She turned her attention back to the waiting trio. "I need to thank all of you, especially Zhaan, for your assistance to our country in this problematic matter. The whole situation would have undoubtedly been much more dangerous and difficult without your skills. We truly appreciate the sacrifice you have made by exposing yourself to help us, and to protect the citizens of Manhattan."

Alice wondered if Zhaan understood the lady's words as he merely nodded.

The door opened and the assistant entered carrying a large tray of drinks, which she deposited on the table, before passing a large brown envelope to President Milroy.

"Finally!" she smiled and moved over to her desk to open the package with a little privacy. She checked through the contents before moving back to join them.

"In recognition of your actions, Zhaan, I have a little something here which might please you." She handed over the envelope, making Alice wonder what it could be. Without ceremony, Zhaan ripped it in half, causing the contents to spill onto his lap. As he gazed down in puzzlement at the documents, the President explained. "This is your new passport and Social Security Number. You are now officially a citizen of the United States of America." Zhaan's eyes met hers and he beamed at her, his joy obvious.

He bent over the blue covered document, turning each page slowly as he inspected it.

"We used the photo from your security clearance. The spelling of your name we just guessed phonetically. I assume you wanted 'Guy' as a surname. I understand that is what you have been going by, unless of course you have another name you'd prefer."

"My real second name just a big number. After so long away from Guyara, I start to forget it. Guy is good," he confirmed, as Alice reached over to check on the spelling of 'Zhaan' that had been used. She was happy to see it as she'd always imagined spelling it.

Without warning Zhaan fell to his knees before Alice. "Alice can you marry me now?" he asked nervously.

Again Alice found herself struck dumb with surprise. Was that really a proposal?

Her silence was obviously stressing him. "I know I must be on my knees to ask. The ring I buy for you is in Montana, Clare help me choose it, but I can't wait until we home. I have to ask you now."

The room began to spin around Alice, as Jones and the President looked on in stunned silence. She took a deep breath before speaking. Her voice was shaky. "Of course I want to marry you, Zhaan." Alice felt a little embarrassed that this emotional moment was being witnessed by the President. "That is allowed isn't it?" she asked the surprised woman. "I mean he's an alien. Am I allowed to marry him?" Now she was feeling anxious about Zhaan's reaction if the answer wasn't positive.

"I don't see why not. I'll look into it but if you two wish to be married, I personally see no reason against it. Obviously you must already have considered the consequences of your relationship, Alice." She was hinting that they would be unable to procreate together.

Zhaan missed the reference, but picked up on it when Alice gave him a knowing look.

"In that case, yes, Zhaan, I would be so happy to marry you," she assured him.

"Can we marry now?" he asked, impatient to ensure they would be together forever.

"Zhaan, there will be arrangements to be made and people I want to invite. Can we talk about this later?"

Zhaan shrugged reluctantly.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order!" The President said, with Jones adding, "Yes, congratulations to you both."

Once the shock of Zhaan's proposal was past, President Milroy brought their minds back to decisions even more important for their future.

"Alice, Zhaan, as you are aware, the media are in a frenzy, speculating about Zhaan's identity. They are like rabid dogs when they get their teeth into a potential story and won't let this go. We need to decide how we are going to approach this matter.

"I understand that ideally you would prefer to remain secretive about Zhaan's true identity, but I'm afraid that soon that won't be an option. The harder we try to clamp down on information, the worse those people get with their investigations. Unfortunately, you have already been traced to your home. I hear that your brother, Jesse, was forced to call the Police when a reporter turned up at his house yesterday. A local officer has now been posted to protect him."

Alice was horrified to hear how close the press had got to her daughter and surprised that Jesse hadn't called her. He was probably trying to avoid extra worry for his sister. She suspected that the 'local officer' was Andy, who had reasons of his own to keep the media away from their formerly peaceful enclave.

"What is reporter?" Zhaan asked Alice quietly.

"You know the people on the TV news, the ones who go to places where things have happened and tell everyone about it?" Alice explained. "They were at our house annoying Jesse." Zhaan looked alarmed, as his thoughts also passed to their innocent daughter.

"So, we need to give it some thought," the President continued. "We're giving a press briefing tomorrow about the whole situation, to explain about the Zilurans' crash landing on our planet and the actions we're taking, although most of that information is already in the public domain somehow. It's going to be on live TV. What we need to know is how we approach the subject of your identity, Zhaan. It is bound to come up."

"We should tell them about me, maybe then they leave other people alone," Zhaan stated reluctantly, thinking of his daughter and soon to be brother-in-law again. It would be better for him to suffer any problems the revelation may bring, rather than them.

"I'm not sure that will happen, Zhaan," Alice countered. "It might just make things worse as they try to find out more about you - about us."

"Well, if that happen, we must be in control of information, not them. Better I think for reporter to talk to me direct than go around ask lots of questions." He thought about some of the more questionable events in which he'd been involved during his time on Earth and how bad it would be for those to become public knowledge.

Alice wasn't convinced that the dogs would be so easily put off the scent and shrugged.

"Alice, damage is done already, when I come to New York, when people see me, talk to me. I make this choice. Humans can keep nothing secret. Somebody will spread information about me. My picture on TV already. To keep them away from Jesse house, we need to agree to talk with them I think. Humans should know what is happening on their planet. If they know only little, they make up stories and things get worse. People more afraid."

"I've got my press team working on the briefing right now, but be aware that tomorrow your secret may no longer be safe," President Milroy warned.

### Chapter Forty Four

In their guest bedroom at the White house, Alice and Zhaan were supposed to be resting prior to getting ready for the party. Instead Alice wouldn't stop fretting about the consequences of the next day's revelations.

"I don't want reporters hounding me, you, or our family," she complained, becoming almost hysterical.

"Alice be calm. Let it be my problem. I must protect my family. Please, don't think about it any more today. It is time we must get ready for stupid party. Maybe tomorrow never will come. Perhaps more aliens crash land and everything change."

Alice knew he was trying to distract her and at that moment, decided not to let the threat of tomorrow spoil her one chance to party with the President at the White House.

"I'm going to hit the shower first," she said, moving towards the en-suite.

"I think no." Zhaan smiled, chasing her, squealing, into the bathroom.

When Alice finally emerged from the bathroom, fully made-up, hair fixed and resplendent in the silken, emerald green evening dress, which perfectly matched the colour of her eyes, Zhaan was bent over, pondering the bow tie which should accompany his tuxedo.

"Alice what the point of..." He was still waving the red length of cloth around, as his words trailed off when he stood to face her.

"What?" Alice asked, wondering why his mouth had fallen open.

"We can't go to party. You look too good in those clothes, make me want to rip them away from your body."

"Don't even think about it buddy!" she laughed, holding her arms out ready to push him away as he headed towards her. "At least until later," she added, flattered by the impact her outfit had on him. "Even then, don't tear the dress, it was expensive!"

"I can at least kiss you now?"

She nodded, impressed by how he looked in his suit.

As their lips parted, Zhaan started waddling up and down in a comical fashion. "I feel stupid in this clothes, like one of those birds I see in Zoo, walks like this." It was definitely a penguin impression he was attempting as Alice burst out laughing. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Zhaan continued his waddle to open it.

"Oh, look, Jones is penguin too!"

As the agent stepped into their room, to accompany them downstairs to the party, his gaze was drawn to Alice's beauty.

Zhaan didn't miss his reaction and placed a hand on the man's chest, pushing him backwards into the wall.

"Don't think about my Alice this way!" he threatened light-heartedly. "I like you, but still I could kill you!"

### Chapter Forty Five

"Tell me about Guyara, Zhaan. Did I pronounce that correctly?" President Milroy asked him. Zhaan was feeling intimidated, seated next to the President at dinner as guest of honour. Somehow Alice and Jones were spread out around the table, making Zhaan feel even more antsy with a stranger seated on his other side.

Trying to conceal his anxiety, Zhaan responded. "You say it almost right, only the beginning sound is more stress. Guyara," he repeated for her to copy. "What you want to know about?"

"If I were to suddenly arrive there right now, what would I notice straight away that was different?"

"You find it dark," Zhaan stated.

"At night?" she asked.

"No always. It more like evening light here, even in midday. More red colour too, our star is more red, less white. Your planet is very bright for Guy. Night time on Guyara is very dark. We don't light everything up like here. Day and night both last longer time than here. Each day on Guyara last about thirty Earth hour, half daytime, half dark.

"Next you wonder why it more hard to breathe. Air have less oxygen. Everything make you tired and need more effort. It bigger planet with more of down force called, I think, gravity." He looked towards Alice for reassurance and found her smiling at him, looking a little bemused at the attention he was getting from the President, who had shuffled her chair closer to his to better catch every quiet word he uttered.

"When I first come here, I feel drunk from too much oxygen, and it very hard not to break things, I use always too much force. Now it easier for me."

"How many Guy live there?"

"I think about half so many as Humans here, but planet much bigger and everyone more spread out."

"Talk a little about your society. Who is in charge? Are there different countries?"

"No countries any more. All Guyara is one since the new times. All Guy is equal everywhere, they say."

"You don't sound too sure?"

"I don't think it ever possible for everyone to be equal, no matter what we told. We have one government we call council, with one leader. Not all Guy get to vote for who in power, like here. Only few Guy select council members, so that already make everybody not equal in my opinion."

"Sounds like you have some issues with your style of government, Zhaan."

"My view of things not important. Guy system work well. We have no more war since the new times. Guyara at peace."

"You make me think that maybe the 'old times' were not so calm," she pushed him.

"Old times bad for my people. Things better since new ways of living are introduced, but not perfect. Perfect is not possible."

"I heard that your planet was almost destroyed by another race. Is that true?"

"Long time before. First we try to destroy Guyara by ourselves with big war between different Guy, then Durans come and nearly finish what we start. You should be happy it not Durans who visit Earth."

"Why?" President Milroy asked, a little alarmed.

"Duran come and try to take planet for themselves, put Duran people to live there and kill other races."

"Do we need to worry about Zilurans?" she asked her voice serious.

"Zilurans are annoying. They like to take things for themselves but not whole planets. They not this organised. They don't plan to be here, only arrive by accident. Watch out for valuable Earth things though!" He laughed, lightening the tone.

"Are there other races we Humans don't know about yet?"

"If so, Guy don't know about them too. Six planets have life in our sphere of knowledge, Guyara, Earth, Zilur, Dura, Codal and Delta. Delta belong to Guy; it a mining colony inhabited by Guy. Codal have only animals so far. All are very far from Earth."

"What are the Guy people like?" the President asked him, keen to learn more about his own people after hearing his opinions of other races.

"Like me," Zhaan answered, puzzled.

"But as a people, describe them to me." Zhaan paused to ponder just what about his kind he should reveal to this important alien.

"Guy are peaceful but if you make us fight we are able, strong, and fierce. Everything is organise very good on Guyara. Most people are obedient to rules, but nobody very sociable like on Earth. Guy quite solitary, usually alone in free time."

"You all live alone?" she wondered.

"No, we live together maybe twenty Guy in one big house. Each have their own room. We must work together to grow food and hunt. Elders cook, make laundry and clean house. Each Guy must spend half of work time on community work, rest of work time is for talent work."

"Talent work? What does that mean?"

"If you are President on my planet, only half of your time is for government, even you must contribute to food production other half of time."

"What was your talent work on your planet?"

"Already that is long time ago. All my life since school, I train to come to Earth. This my work. When we begin our journey, I spend all my time research and prepare for this visit, only because it not possible to produce food in space. Before we leave Guyara I spend half my time hunting or farming."

"Why were you chosen for this mission?" She couldn't help noticing how often Zhaan glanced in Alice's direction and how his face would light up when he managed to catch her eye, making him even more physically attractive.

"I not typical for Guy. I think this why I am chosen. Most Guy don't want to go on this mission."

"How so?" Again she pressed for more information.

"Most Guy genes engineered in laboratory. This not true for me, so I look more like Human than most typical Guy.

"How do you engineer genes?"

"All reproduction take place in laboratory from selected donor sample. It great honour to be selected. Only perfect Guy baybay are implanted for development."

"You're telling me that every Guy is a test-tube baby, created in a lab?"

"Except me and few others. Other type of reproduction is forbidden. My parents were bad Guy and were punished."

He hadn't been able to bring himself to drink the wine provided with dinner. To him the taste of wine was just like mouldy fruit juice. The President had noticed and ordered other drinks for him. Now the third beer was really loosening Zhaan's tongue and he had to remind himself that he should be careful about what he revealed.

"No Guy child is raised by parents, all young Guy are nurtured together in special place until school is finished and they placed in a community house. Nobody know their parents, brother, or sister Guy, even their own children."

"Is it because you are such solitary people that you dislike being touched by others?"

"No, if I touch other Guy, I know how they feeling inside." He pointed at his head for clarity. "It very rude to do this without permission and quite threatening. Imagine I shake your hand and I know everything you feel. You know all about me too."

"Wow, that would make my job even more difficult!" she laughed. "Are you in regular contact with the rest of the Guy?" She was wondering what type of information he might be passing along.

"Since Ziluran come here, every day. Before not so much. Only if they have question about something they see from your TV signal or if I need information."

"They watch our TV?" President Milroy exclaimed, surprised.

"This how we find your planet, all these satellite signals for TV. Malla monitor mostly only news programme, now we understand that much television is fiction stories. We don't realise this at first."

"Malla, is that a person?"

"Malla is most important of Guy, in my opinion. She main researcher about Earth. She somehow learn your language just from TV and internet. She teach me and Khevn."

"Khevn, who is he?"

"Khevn my boss for this mission. He visit Earth too but now he gone with my people."

"Are there any other Guy still here?" she enquired.

"Just me."

"Wow, that's a big commitment for you to make for your people, being alone on an alien planet."

"It not so difficult if I have Alice. Alice make it worth to do this."

"Will your people come back?"

"No, unless I report that Humans become dangerous to us. Then they probably return to enforce peace. It take much time to travel here from Guyara. I am just become adult when I leave."

"I did read from Jones' report that on your first meeting with him, you threatened that your people could make it rain fire on our planet. Is that how they would enforce peace?"

"At this time Jones treat me bad and I say this because he make me angry. Maybe it possible. Guy are clever, but they peaceful. I tell you this already." A tone of irritation entered his voice. "Probably my people enforce peace by talk with you until you die from boredom. It more likely!" He laughed, realising that perhaps it was time to stop talking about his people and slow down on the beer!

"What are these marks on your hands?" The President reached out about to touch the back of Zhaan's hands, which lay on the table, suddenly realising the error of her ways and pulling her arm back.

"This mark traditional for some of my people."

"Is it writing in your language? Both are different."

"Just art," he lied. There was no way he was revealing that the tattoos were placed there as marks of shame, to indicate that he was a convicted criminal among his people.

"Enough talking now, this is party, aren't we supposed to dance?" The surprised President allowed herself to be grabbed by the hand and led to the dance floor by the alien. Perhaps it was allowed for him to touch Humans without invitation, she mused.

### Chapter Forty Six

Alice awoke to a pounding sound. Someone was at the door. Her head felt a little fuzzy. Peering down, she realised that she and Zhaan were tangled in expensive-feeling sheets in an unfamiliar room. Oh God! They were in the White House where they had partied into the New Year before Zhaan finally got his wish to peel her out of the fancy dress, which now lay in an unglamorous heap beside the bed.

"Sir, Madam, I have breakfast for you," came a voice from outside.

"Er, can you just leave it outside the door?" Alice asked as Zhaan began to stir, bleary-eyed beside her. He started to wrestle with the sheet wrapped around his legs.

"Of course, if you are sure." With relief Alice heard footsteps moving away.

She turned to Zhaan. "The party wasn't so bad was it?" she asked him.

"Party alone with you was best!" he grinned.

"I think Madam President has a little crush on an alien!" Alice teased.

"What mean that, Alice? I do something wrong?"

"No, silly, but I think President Milroy has good taste in men! I saw how she looked at you last night.

"Aha, did you feel, what that human thing...jealous?" Zhaan suggested.

Alice pondered the matter. "I guess, a little. She did kind of monopolise you last night. I was forced to dance with Jones." Now she was amused to see colour coming to Zhaan's face. "Now who's jealous?" she laughed.

"Well, I don't want to peel Miss President from her clothes, and Jones not allowed to see my Alice unclothed, so all is fair," he laughed. "Like I say, end of night was best."

"Who is going to climb out of this luxurious but crumpled bed to investigate the breakfast outside?"

"You hungry after all food at party?" he enquired, amazed.

"I was too nervous to eat much, at least until the wine kicked in, around dessert," Alice giggled. Sharing the President's table for dinner had made her conscious of each move of her knife and fork and every table-manner disaster which could happen. Then she had worried for a while about what people would think, as Zhaan gradually loosened and finally abandoned the bow tie, complaining it was strangling him. During the course of the evening the buttons had begun to mysteriously undo on his shirt, as he complained he was too hot. Finally Alice had been forced to do them up again and suggest he take off his jacket instead or face arrest.

With a wicked glint in his eye Zhaan threw out, "So, Jones is good dancer?" He moved to the door to check out the food left outside. Alice hoped nobody was waiting outside as she admired the view.

As Zhaan wheeled the food trolley past the bed, Alice idly grabbed one of the newspapers provided and was stunned to find the front page filled with a picture of Zhaan dancing with President Milroy.

Zhaan had agreed to make a short appearance at the briefing that morning, and he waited nervously with Alice just outside the door of the Press Room to be called inside.

The President was telling the whole story of events, to finally eliminate any speculation. She moved on to detail the plan from this point on - assisting with repairs to the Zilurans' ships and helping them on their way.

As she drew to a close, Alice heard her begin to speak about an important person, without whom the situation would have been much more dangerous. She felt her heart sink as she realised that Zhaan was about to be introduced to the world and his secret exposed. As the door opened and a Press Secretary ushered him inside, Alice pondered with despair that Zhaan's life would never be the same again.

As Zhaan entered the room, a sudden hush fell. It was obvious that his identity was about to be revealed to the Press and they waited with bated breath.

The President continued speaking, introducing him.

"The entire planet should be grateful to this man. Yet, appearances can be deceptive. This man is not a fellow Human but a traveller from another planet named Guyara, many, many light years away from here. He is a member of a race named Guy. Zhaan has risked everything to help us Humans with his specialist knowledge and to save Manhattan from potential destruction in a very dangerous situation. I introduce Mr Zhaan Guy, and request that he is treated with the respect he deserves."

A moment of stunned silence followed, replaced almost immediately with a cacophony of questions being shouted by journalists and a blinding barrage of flash bulbs. Alice watched on the monitor in front of her as Zhaan became dazzled and then angry. Finally he placed his hands over his dark glasses and made a dramatic exit through the door by which he'd entered, straight into her waiting arms.

"Well, that went well!" Alice comforted him, half-listening to the President trying to explain his sudden exit with an explanation of how the Guy senses of hearing and eyesight were far more acute than those of humans, and that the noise and lights had overwhelmed him.

"Now people think I idiot alien." Zhaan stated bitterly.

### Chapter Forty Seven

Before their departure to Florida, Zhaan was summoned to the Pentagon for a 'meeting'. When this had been announced in the Oval Office, Zhaan had glanced out of the window at the waiting chopper.

"How far away Pentagon?" he asked. "Is this same Pentagon where live Jesse's friend?"

Puzzled by the alien's second question, the President stuck to answering only the first. "Don't worry, not very far. We'll soon have you on your way to Florida."

"Then we travel in car," Zhaan stated, as though it were already a fait accompli.

"Very well, if you prefer."

As they were led by Jones into a conference room at the Pentagon, one of the suited men left his seat to introduce himself as Jesse's college friend.

"Well, thanks so much for telling my brother that he seemed to have lost his mind. So helpful." Alice stunned the man with her vitriol.

"Sorry, but what he was telling me seemed so outlandish. I'd heard through the grapevine about the hell he's been through, so I had to wonder."

"Well, if you're such a good friend, you might consider paying him a visit and apologising in person!" Alice said crossly.

"How's Jesse doing now?"

"Great, fantastic, better than ever now he's rid of that bitch Imogen." Alice shocked him again with her forthright attitude.

"Yeah, never did understand what he saw in her. She didn't seem the right type for him. Talking of right types, I understand you and our alien friend here are something of an item. How's that working out for you?" he smirked.

"His name is Zhaan, we're engaged, and he's way superior to any Human man I ever met. Thank you for asking."

Sensing Alice's hostility, General Higgins came to her rescue. "How did you two enjoy the party last night?"

"It was lovely. Even Zhaan managed to have fun with the President flirting with him all night, although he told me he thought he looked like a penguin." The General roared with laughter.

"Shall we get started?" He gestured to the seats around the table and Alice moved protectively towards Zhaan. He was being bombarded with introductions, although she noticed everyone was being careful not to try to shake his hand. She took a firm grip on his arm to ensure they would be seated together and whispered to Jones. "Make sure you're on his other side," She knew it would be less threatening for Zhaan to have a trusted person each side of him in this potentially intimidating situation.

"So, Zhaan," Higgins began, "thank you once again for your valuable input to the current situation. We won't keep you long and you'll be on your way to Florida. My colleagues here are ladies and gentlemen very important to the security of this country, which is now your country too, I understand. Congratulations on your new citizenship!

"The purpose of this meeting is to give them and myself a briefing about your history on Earth. With all that has been happening, even I know very little about you. So we'd like to ask you some questions, so we have the full picture."

Zhaan merely shrugged in the Human way he'd learnt to mimic so well.

"OK, so we'll launch right in."

"What we launch?" Zhaan asked, baffled.

"I mean we'll start now. What was the purpose of your journey to Earth? Was it specifically Earth your people had selected?"

"My people find signals from your TV. We watch them and then worry about what we see. I come to Earth to see if Humans are threat to my planet." He was obviously planning to keep his answers succinct.

"What did you see which worried your people?" a uniformed woman asked.

"Guyara a peaceful place, at least now. Have you seen TV? News always bombs, wars, murders, terrorists. Then there are other programmes and films. My people watch these too, and it unclear to us that these are fiction. We have no experience of fiction stories."

"So what did you report to your people about the Humans?"

"Humans make danger to themselves mostly, unless they get better space technology."

"How long did you travel to reach Earth?"

Zhaan turned to Alice to be reminded of the calculation they had made in the early days. After conferring with her, he responded, "About fifteen long, boring Earth year."

"I understand, like the Zilurans, your journey was made using a larger mothership and a smaller shuttle which brought you to the planet's surface. Why did we not detect these vessels in our atmosphere?"

"I not know, why did you not find us? Guy are clever, if they don't want to be seen, probably you won't see them."

"After you arrived on Earth, you were travelling in an alien version of an RV and met Alice almost immediately. Alice, when did you realise Zhaan was of extra-terrestrial origin?"

"He told me after a few hours travelling together," she answered nervously.

"What were your reasons for not reporting his presence to the authorities?" Alice began to look flustered.

"Alice do nothing wrong, leave her alone." Zhaan was becoming irritated at covering all this ancient history when there was so much to be done. In fact, Zhaan realised that everyone in the room was making him feel uneasy, more so than usual. What was going on in his head today?

Ignoring Zhaan's grumpy response, Alice answered for herself. "He didn't seem like a threat to me. I was in a crazy place at the time. He offered me a free holiday and a means of escape from a bad situation. I also convinced myself I could be useful to the Human race, and learn something about him on their behalf, if I had his trust."

Zhaan was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat next to her, seeming disproportionately agitated and Alice glanced at him with concern. What she saw ratcheted up her own anxiety level. His face was turned towards her, his nostrils flared, his eyes completely turned to black. His head was creeping close to her as he inhaled deeply. Oh no, not now!

Jones realised something was amiss with his friend. "Zhaan, are you OK?" he asked, worried.

In response Zhaan leapt to his feet snarling and pushed over Jones' chair, dumping him on the floor.

"Zhaan, look at me!" Alice pleaded, taking a grip on his arm. "It's OK, try to stay calm, look at me!" she insisted.

Zhaan's head was snapping back and forth, looking with animosity from person to person around the table. Suddenly he extended his claws, and Alice noticed people trying to look casual, but checking their weapons. This was bad and could quickly spiral out of control. She had to do something. Even Jones, staggering to his feet in a daze, was reaching beneath his jacket. Decisive action was urgently needed. She got to her feet.

"Zhaan, get on your knees, now!" she gestured to the area directly in front of her. Trusting her, he did as she asked. "Everybody else freeze where you are, right away." Consternation flashed around the table as Pentagon staff began to wonder if this was some kind of attack.

"Every person in this room please remain calm. I can deal with this situation safely, if you will let me." Glances of uncertainty passed from person to person but nobody moved. Alice breathed a brief sigh of relief before Zhaan began to squirm, trying to turn his head to look around at the crowd. Quickly she grabbed his head and inelegantly thrust it face-first into her groin. "Stay there, you!" she instructed him.

"Right, here's what is going to happen. Every person of the male gender is leaving this room right now, preferably distancing themselves from Zhaan as much as possible. As the delegates looked at one another uncertainly, Jones began to edge towards her.

"You too, mister!" Alice insisted. "Listen, everything will be fine, you just have to trust me."

Jones realised she was serious. "OK guys, let's get out of here," he ordered. Now the couple of women still seated began to look nervous.

"You girls will be fine, but I need to explain to somebody what is happening here before anyone gets an itchy trigger finger," Alice pleaded.

As soon as the testosterone levels in the meeting room dropped, Zhaan seemed to calm himself but continued to gaze at Alice with his dilated black pupils, taking deep breaths of her intoxicating scent, as though inhaling a drug.

The uniformed lady resolved to take charge. "OK speak, quickly," she instructed.

"God, this is so embarrassing," Alice mumbled, bringing a frown to the other female's face. "We're only just getting to grips with this ourselves."

The officer began making circling motions with her hand, indicating that Alice should move her explanation along.

"Every month there is a period of time where apparently my scent becomes irresistible to Zhaan and he briefly appears to lose control. My brother, who is a doctor, believes it is a pheromone response." Alice's face was now tomato red. "Zhaan's people have told him it is an ancient mating instinct. Basically he won't calm down until he has marked me with his scent. Until then, every male will be a threat to him."

"OK." The officer thought for a moment and turned to the woman to her right.

"Patrice, make sure those men don't come back any time soon." Turning back to Alice, "I guess we'd better find you two somewhere private, where you can sort yourselves out." Alice smiled with relief at the woman's understanding, as she left the room to scout a location for them.

She returned a few minutes later. "The closest thing I can find is a large disabled toilet along the corridor. Not very romantic, but will it work?" she asked, obviously having worked out what the scent marking might involve.

"Sure, no worries. Just make sure we don't run into any men on the way there," Alice pleaded. Could this be any more uncomfortable? She was about to have sex in a toilet at the Pentagon and everybody would know.

As soon as the bathroom door was locked safely behind them, Zhaan's muscles seemed to release instantly from the tight knots they had become.

He looked at Alice almost apologetically.

"I know," she responded, waving her hands for him to come close.

"Something is different," he moaned, taking another deep breath. "What is different?" Before he could even wonder, his physical impulses overtook him and Alice found herself bent over the sink as her lover shoved her skirt up to her waist and roughly tore away her underwear. Momentarily he caught her eye in the mirror, checking she was OK with it, and received a reassuring smile, before thrusting himself inside her, making her gasp in surprise. As they rocked together with their eyes locked in the mirror, the desperation seemed to slowly subside and he withdrew, turning her to face him. Now tenderly he rubbed his neck along hers, scent-marking her before kissing her passionately on the lips.

"Alice, I sorry. I can't control..." She placed a finger across his lips to quiet him, letting him know it was fine. Grabbing him by the shoulders, she lifted herself and wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to back her against the wall and take her again.

The intense passion was flattering in a way, if the timing perhaps unfortunate on this occasion. She knew that soon she'd have to fess up that she'd stopped taking her birth control pills. During her time at home with Seren, the realisation had hit her like a bus that she wanted another child with Zhaan. She hadn't yet found the courage to tell him, knowing how he'd react by worrying about her health. Yet, she wanted nothing more than to bear him another child, no matter how difficult.

Why his instinctual reaction was so much more extreme this month was unclear. Could he really tell that something had changed? She may already be pregnant by the time he worked it out. She should really talk to Jesse, to see if there was a way to help Zhaan with his control when necessary.

A loud banging on the door broke her chain of thought, and a male voice yelled, "Security, Miss, are you OK in there? The alarm is going off. Do you need assistance?"

With horror, Alice realised that in his passion, Zhaan was pushing her up and down the wall with the emergency pull cord caught behind her back, and a bright red light was shining above her head.

"I'm fine. Could you please move away from the door?" she asked desperately, realising that Zhaan had begun growling at the hidden voice. "We'll be out in just a minute."

A minute turned out to be nearer fifteen by the time Alice was sure Zhaan was calm enough to emerge, and they had rearranged themselves.

"Alice, I can't do this meeting now. My control not good enough. Too many man, somebody might get hurt," he confessed.

She held him close, comforting him. "Let me go, talk to them, and see what we can do. As she cautiously opened the door, horrified about what people were thinking, she turned to Zhaan. "They will just have to postpone their interrogation."

"Sorry I embarrass you this way," he said with regret. Alice responded with a tender kiss.

Finally she moved through the door leaving him standing there alone, muttering to himself, "Never was I like this before, why?"

### Chapter Forty Eight

Alice had never felt so embarrassed in her life, as when she explained to the important people of the Pentagon, why their questions would have to wait. She was rewarded with raised eyebrows.

As a precaution, she requested that she and Zhaan be driven to the airport by a female driver. Her uniformed life-saver from earlier immediately volunteered. Higgins wasn't so sure, asking whether the woman officer would be safe. Alice reassured them both, explaining that Zhaan's strange behaviour only related to the person he considered his mate, and his threatening actions only towards other males.

She did suggest, however, that Jones should travel in a separate vehicle.

"Am I going to be safe on a small plane with him?" Jones fretted.

"Just keep your distance, it will be fine, but please don't tease him," Alice begged, knowing that the relationship between Jones and Zhaan had moved to a friendly place where they liked to taunt one another.

"You've got it!" Jones reassured her.

By the time their jet was descending towards Kennedy Space Center, Zhaan seemed more like his normal self and even walked to the back of the plane to apologise to Jones for up-ending him earlier. After initially looking panicked at Zhaan's approach, Jones soon realised the crisis was past. Returning to his own seat, Zhaan stopped close to Alice, taking another deep breath of her scent. A puzzled frown lingered on his brow, as his eyes immediately transformed into black pools once again.

News travelled fast and they were greeted warily on arrival and guided to a waiting travel trailer, which apparently was to be their accommodation for the duration. It was lined up alongside four other trailers, one for Jones and one each for the Zilurans.

"God, I'm back to living in a trailer!" Alice quipped, referring to her pre-Zhaan history.

"What these?" Zhaan pointed at the row of trailers.

"We are to live in one, one for Jones and one each for the Zilurans."

"They never will live in separate boxes," Zhaan stated. He was eager to check on Trinn and America's welfare during his absence and asked to be directed to her trailer. Knocking on the door in the Human way, he was greeted by her cheerful voice and welcomed inside.

The three adult Zilurans lay together naked on the large bed enjoying the warmth of Florida. The heat inside the trailer with the air conditioning switched off was too oppressive for the Guy.

"Told you," Zhaan said to Jones and Alice.

"Do you want to join us?" Trinn offered cheekily. "I can tell you have strong urges today!"

Ignoring her comment, Zhaan turned and climbed down from the trailer, returning to their own. Alice stopped to give Trinn a hug and fuss over her baby before following him.

Jones was used to being disturbed by strange noises in the night originating from Zhaan and Alice, but this was the first time he'd heard raised voices. He strained to hear what was being said, which wasn't difficult in the thin-walled trailers. He turned off the air-conditioning for a moment to help him eavesdrop on his neighbours.

"So you decide this alone? You don't think to talk about with me?" Zhaan was yelling. "I not prepared to lose you for this, Alice. You too important to me."

"But it is what I want. I knew you'd react like this, that's why I haven't brought it up. It's my body. I can do what I like."

"You forget how sick you were? I think you die. If you die, I can't live any more."

"It worked out fine last time, and now we know a whole lot more about it. Don't worry so much."

"Maybe I won't give you baybay!" Zhaan growled threateningly.

"Maybe you already did!" Alice replied cheekily.

Hell, Jones realised, she wants another child. Great timing!

As if mirroring his thoughts, he heard Zhaan speaking, now in a lower, calmer tone. "Alice, it not just about you. You think this good time to make baybay? You trust these people? What happen if they know you have baybay with me? They want to poke and prod you, then they find Seren and experiment with her. It really bad idea, especially now. Last time we have no idea. It was mistake, but now we know more."

"Excuse me, but did you just call our daughter a mistake?" Alice screamed, irate.

Zhaan was momentarily struck dumb by her rage. "You know to me she next most important thing after you, but would I choose this life for her? If I knew she was possible, would I choose to have child? Maybe not."

Alice could only respond by screaming in frustration.

Finally she spoke. "I don't want to be with you right now, get your alien ass out of my trailer." This was followed by a loud thunk, possibly a pillow being hurled, as Jones waited silently to see what would happen next. After all, he was responsible for the alien's whereabouts and safety.

He didn't fret for long before hearing a quiet knock at his door.

"Jones, you wake?" Zhaan asked.

Jones padded over to the door in his bare feet and flung it open.

"Come in, Zhaan."

The Guy began trying to explain what had brought him to the FBI agent late at night, not realising that the trailers were far from soundproof.

Jones waved his hand, indicating that Zhaan didn't need to explain and gestured to the empty sofa. Joking he added, "I see you already have a pillow!"

By two am, there was no disguising that neither man was sleeping. Jones was thinking over the fight he'd overheard and what he would do if he were Zhaan. The Guy was deeply upset about his first real fight with Alice. He'd never believed they would ever disagree so strongly about something so important.

"Can't sleep?" Jones asked. "Want to crack open a beer and talk about it?" He flicked the light on to see the alien nodding in agreement. Luckily the trailers had been stocked up by NASA personnel, and Jones pulled two bottles from the fridge.

"So, you two had a fight?" Jones stated, attempting to get Zhaan to open up.

"I so mad with Alice, never before have I feel this way. Always we decide things together."

"Want to tell me about it, see if I have any advice?" Jones offered.

"She decide to have baybay and she stop to take pills without tell me. It so dangerous for her. Last time she nearly die."

"Wow, I didn't realise it was so hard. What happened?"

"I was with my people," Zhaan pointed up at the sky. "Nobody know that Alice have my baybay in her. She really ill. She can't eat, she always sick. Baybay half Guy and half Human not very compatible with Human mother. If I didn't come back, I fear she dead.

"Even when I allowed back by the Guy, it take long time to work out how to help her, even when her brother is doctor. He afraid too that she will die and want to take away baybay, but she won't allow it. My people don't know about our child, only our friends, you, and Trinn.

"I tell her I won't make baybay with her and she say probably I did already, after today." Briefly Zhaan looked embarrassed.

"Do you enjoy being a parent, Zhaan?" Jones asked, having no experience of his own.

"I love Seren. After Alice, she is best thing in my life. You will meet her soon and agree."

"Do you think maybe Alice sees the joy in your expression when you talk about your daughter and thinks having another child will make you even happier? I know she loves you. I'm sure she just wants you to be happy."

"How can I be happy if my alien child kill her?" Zhaan said, exasperated.

"Will you be happy if Alice is unhappy?" Jones wondered.

"Never can I be happy like this."

"Perhaps you need to think about it some more, Zhaan," his friend suggested. "I can't believe your child would kill her this time, if she survived the last pregnancy. As you say, her brother is a doctor. He's not going to let that happen. He loves her as much as you do, I'm sure."

"But now people know about us. If we have baybay, everyone will want to experiment on Alice, on child, on Seren."

"Zhaan, you are an American Citizen now, Alice too, and Seren. You all have rights. People can't just experiment on you willy-nilly!"

Zhaan looked sceptical.

"Life is short. Don't let something you want slip away because of your concerns about other people. They should never be more important than Alice, than your family. Sure, it is a really bad time for you guys to think about having a child, but when is it ever a good time? Who knows what's around the corner? How about last time, was that perfect timing?"

The Guy shook his head. "There was big chance that Alice would be alone with half alien child and I would be dead and never have know it."

"Well, the current situation is better than that surely? Take some advice from a man who screwed up everything he ever really cared about. Put your own lives first and to hell with anybody else. I'm not saying that the timing is ideal, but if parenthood will make Alice happy and makes you happy, think about it some more Zhaan. Don't end up regretting what you haven't done. Life has no guarantees." Jones started to laugh.

"What funny?" Zhaan wondered.

"I'm telling a guy who has travelled half way across the universe to shack up with the love of his life, to make sure he takes chances in life!"

About four am, Jones stirred to the sound of his trailer door closing quietly as Zhaan headed back to Alice. Their voices were quiet now, he couldn't make out what was being said, but the rhythmical rocking of their trailer a while later gave him the impression that their differences had been resolved.

### Chapter Forty Nine

" _I told you it was a primitive means of transport, unsuitable for moving a highly sophisticated space ship."_ Tuvon was yelling at Zhaan, who had just broken the news to him that their ship's arrival was to be delayed due to an Atlantic storm.

" _The ship is perfectly fine. It just has to stop half way here in town named Charleston, until the storm is gone."_ Zhaan explained.

" _How do we know they are any better at predicting the weather than at transporting things?"_ Tuvon asked, sarcastically.

" _Tuvon be nice, they are doing their best and they are helping us. Things could be much worse."_ Trinn tried to calm her new Captain while her baby fussed in her arms. _"All will be well, just have patience."_

" _But Sarjek, what about the water? Will it damage the hull? The thing is designed for space not for having water thrown over it."_

Nobody except Zhaan was able to follow the discussions and he was left no time to translate between comments. Alice's eyelids were beginning to droop after her disturbed night and the other Humans at the meeting were equally jaded by the conversation they couldn't understand. Alice had that miserable feeling of desperately trying to battle her own body to stay awake. The ringing of her cellphone made her jump.

She glanced around, embarrassed at disturbing the meeting, but nobody seemed concerned. Reaching into her bag, she saw it was Jesse calling.

"I really need to take this call." She excused herself, heading out through the meeting room door, glad to escape.

"Hi Jesse, what's up?" She asked her brother.

"Alice, Seren is sick. I don't know what to do. I can't work out what is wrong. I think Zhaan needs to see her and check her out with his scanner." Alice was momentarily shell-shocked by Jesse's flood of words.

"Seren is sick? In what way is she sick, Jesse?"

"Claudia was looking after her yesterday. Seren seemed a little quiet, not her usual self. About lunchtime Claudia called in a panic saying Seren was sleeping and she couldn't wake her up for lunch. I rushed straight there. Nothing obvious was wrong, her temperature was a little high and her chest wheezy, so I wondered if it was just a cold.

"I remembered how you said that the Guy sometimes kind of 'shut down' when they need to heal, but it has been almost twenty-four hours now and there's no change. I'm really worried. She must be getting dehydrated. I know Zhaan showed me where to insert a drip once, but I'd prefer he were here, to be honest. Is there any chance he could get away?"

Alice was already banging on the window of the meeting room, gesturing to Zhaan to come outside. Seeing the concerned expression on her face, he stood without hesitation and left the meeting.

"What wrong, Alice?"

"Seren is sick. Jesse can't work out what is wrong and needs you to see her. What are we going to do? How are we going to go to Montana without them finding out about her?" Alice fretted.

Zhaan snatched the phone from her hand. "Jesse, what wrong with Seren?" he asked.

"I wish I knew, Zhaan. She's been unconscious for twenty-four hours now. I know that is the Guy way of healing sometimes, but I'm afraid. I have no idea what is wrong with her."

"Thank you, brother. We call you back."

Now Zhaan was banging on the window, indicating that Jones should come out too.

"What's going on Zhaan? Alice?" he asked.

"Our child is sick. I need to go to her in Montana with my doctor machine right now. How will I get out of here?"

Jones looked from one frightened face to another, realising the seriousness of the situation. "We're going to have to tell Higgins about her," he stated. He suspected the General was probably already well aware of her existence in any case.

"Fine," Zhaan replied, Alice not seeming quite so sure. "I must go to my child."

Jones put his head back into the meeting room. "General Higgins do you have a minute? We have a situation."

The General stood, looking relieved to get a break from the squabbling Zilurans, especially now nobody had a clue what was going on without Zhaan to translate.

"General, this is on a need-to-know only basis." The General gave him a curious look, unfamiliar with being talked down to by FBI agents. "Zhaan and Alice have a child. Their child is sick and Zhaan is needed to go to her with his medical device."

There was a long silence as Higgins looked from Alice to Zhaan, pondering the possibility of them having a child. Perhaps he hadn't known after all.

"Is she your biological child?" he asked in surprise.

Zhaan didn't understand the question, but Alice nodded.

"Your brother - the doctor - was it he who called?"

"Yes, Sir." Alice's desperation was driving her to be polite, and it made Higgins realise just how concerned she was.. "He wouldn't call unless he was very worried. He knows we wanted to keep Seren a secret from the authorities. We really need to get to her, to find out what is wrong. Only Zhaan has the knowledge."

Higgins pondered the matter for a moment.

"Jones, arrange for the child and her uncle to be brought here by air ambulance immediately. It will be just as quick. We have excellent medical facilities here, and it will be safer for the child. We have a multitude of doctors around if we need to treat her. Keep it as quiet as possible."

Jones began to move quickly down the corridor in search of a phone.

"What happening?" Zhaan asked frantically.

"Zhaan, they will bring Seren here in an air ambulance. Their doctors will help us," Alice explained. "They will only tell people about her if absolutely necessary."

"Jesse must come too, so she not alone," he emphasised. "She must be with someone I trust. How long it take?"

"Zhaan, it will be just as quick as getting you to Montana, probably quicker. Trust me," Higgins reassured him. "Jones will let you know the details."

Alice was already on the phone to her brother.

### Chapter Fifty

It was dark when the plane touched down on the runway at Cape Canaveral. Zhaan had been standing, waiting expectantly, for over an hour, asking Jones every ten minutes when his child would arrive.

As soon as the air ambulance came to a stop, the ground crew rushed over with steps and before they were even placed against the body of the plane, Zhaan was half-way up, taking them two at a time. Alice glanced behind her to see a medical team walking across the tarmac.

When the door was opened, Zhaan sprang inside, startling the medical team on board. He rushed directly to where Seren lay, looking tiny and vulnerable in a quarantine bubble. He was pleased to see Jesse beside her, holding her hand.

Ignoring the medical precautions which had been taken, Zhaan tore the protective plastic open and scooped his daughter into his arms, pushing back her hair to take a look at her face, and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"She have much pain." Zhaan said, sensing what she was feeling by touch. "It like she burn inside and her chest hurt. She need pain medication. Do you have?" he turned to Jesse, who was hugging his sister.

Zhaan delved into his pocket and pulled out his medical scanner. One of the medics suggested they move the child to the quarantine area first, but Zhaan just ignored them.

While he held the sensor against Seren's damp, feverish skin, Alice took her turn to kiss her daughter.

"We never should have left you," she mumbled quietly.

Behind them a heated discussion was underway about the consequences of the quarantine tent being opened and whether everybody present would have to be isolated.

Jesse butted in. "Let's just see if Zhaan's scanner can tell us what is wrong first, before we start panicking." This brought a hush to the team.

Finally the anticipated beep sounded. Despite his inability to make sense of it, Jesse bent over the machine with Zhaan.

The Guy began to read the results. "Seren have infection. Inside her skin is very...what the word...it thicker than normal with lumps and painful. In her lungs too she have same problem. Here is picture of infection. Do you know it?" he asked Jesse nervously.

Jesse peered at the image the scanner had produced of the virus. How much easier his everyday job would be if Humans could adapt this technology. He racked his brains, thinking back to his medical training, pondering the scanner's screen.

"Chickenpox. This is the Chickenpox virus, but there are no spots on her skin. Normally somebody with Chickenpox would be covered in red spots, as well as feeling unwell."

"Perhaps Guy skin too tough?" Zhaan suggested. "Spots stay inside on softer tissues. This explain pain and swelling inside."

Jesse pondered the matter for a moment, thinking back to how Zhaan had shown him that even drawing a sharp, Human-designed knife over his skin would only leave a scratch. Certainly a hypodermic needle stood no chance against the tough epidermis, unless used in one particular soft spot on the neck.

"You could be right," Jesse mused.

"What treatment is for pickenpox? How we make her better?" Zhaan asked in despair.

"Well, really, there is no treatment as such; normally some analgesics for pain, and some lotion on the spots to ease the itching. The disease usually just runs its course in a week or two. We perhaps could try anti-virals if she doesn't improve."

Zhaan looked crestfallen that there was no miracle cure for his daughter who was in so much pain. "Then we must give her medicine for pain."

With all the other doctors present, Alice sent Jesse to get some sleep in their trailer. They wouldn't be using it, as neither she nor Zhaan would leave Seren's side. Jesse looked shattered and he'd told her he'd sat up all night with the child. She was so grateful to her brother for his support and care of their daughter.

### Chapter Fifty One

Seren was in a medical area, where the doctors were considering the different pain medications available. Zhaan insisted they try their selection on him first, to check its effectiveness and in case of adverse reaction in his species. Alice now noticed that he was starting to look a little spaced-out as the medicine began to take effect.

"I think it works," she suggested.

"Seren need much less than this," Zhaan slurred. "Try smallest amount possible first." It was fortunate that he'd already assisted them in fitting her with an IV at the base of her neck. "I need lie down."

"Jones, can you take him back to the trailer, keep an eye on him? I'll stay with Seren." Alice suggested.

"Sure," Jones responded, grinning, as he helped Zhaan sway out of the room.

"Jones did you ever catched the pickenpox?" Zhaan asked him.

"Yeah, I think so. Most people have it as a child."

"She catch from my friend Mikey, I think. Jesse tell me last week he sick but I didn't understand what is wrong. I miss Mikey. Mikey is fun. Mikey is special. He different to other Human."

Worried that the medication was making Zhaan overly emotional, Jones guided him as quickly as possible to the nearest vehicle, in which he drove back to the temporary trailer park, as Zhaan began to doze.

He was surprised to see the door to Zhaan and Alice's trailer standing open. He realised that, inside the high-security compound, a security breach was unlikely and remembered that Jesse was there. "So much for the air-conditioning," he commented, to himself more or less. He pulled the dopey Zhaan from the vehicle to his feet. Those trailers were like a hot baking pan if you didn't leave the cooling on all the time.

Shoving Zhaan up the steps into the trailer, Jones was surprised by the sight of Trinn bending over the sleeping Jesse, peering at him.

"Trinn, what are you doing here?" Jones asked, not expecting an answer. He didn't think her language skills were up to it. On the sofa, Jesse stirred and opened his eyes, coming face-to-face with the curious Ziluran hovering right over him. He yelped in shock in his half-awake state.

"What the hell?" he mumbled.

"I see you have a visitor, Jesse! This is Trinn. She's one of our Ziluran friends." Trinn was still bent close over Jesse's face, giving him a thorough inspection.

"Well, hello Trinn." Jesse said ironically.

" 'ello, who you?" Her response startled him.

"I'm Jesse," he answered.

" 'ello Yesse." Trinn held out a hand as Alice had taught her and Jesse placed it in his own, giving her a handshake. Trinn looked delighted at this result and squealed. She turned her attention to Zhaan, her expression puzzled, obviously wondering what was wrong. Jesse hadn't even noticed Zhaan slumped on the bed in a semi-drugged state.

"What's wrong with Zhaan, is he sick too?" he asked Jones.

"He was a guinea pig for the pain meds they are trying on Seren. I think they found one that works, perhaps a little too well. It seems they overdid it. He needs a nap." Jones laughed.

"Jeez, I should have been there," Jesse piled guilt on himself.

Trinn rushed over to Zhaan, poking his face and peering into his eyes as he struggled to open them.

" _Are you stoned?"_ she asked him with glee.

Zhaan managed a brief nod before sliding onto his side and falling asleep.

"It seems you make a habit of drugging him, Jones!" Jesse smiled. "I hope they gave Seren a lot less of that stuff. Should Trinn really be in here?" Jesse pointed at the small Ziluran. "We may be on the verge of an intergalactic chickenpox epidemic." Jones suddenly became serious and began to shoo her from the trailer back to her own before Jesse thought to stop him.

"Well, if she is infected, I guess they all are now!" he mumbled as he lay down again.

### Chapter Fifty Two

The delay in the Ziluran ship arriving gave Higgins the chance to organise some English lessons for the Zilurans. The poor teacher, although used to teaching English as a second language to foreigners, had been completely bamboozled by the aliens at first. Now, with a little help from Zhaan to get them started, she was finally making some slow and nervous progress.

Able to leave them to it, Zhaan rushed down to the medical area to check on Seren. Alice had hardly left her side since she arrived a few days earlier and she deserved a break.

Ignoring medical protocol, Zhaan lay down on the bed, his arms wrapped around his sick daughter, surprised not to register feelings of pain from her. Finally, he thought, the medicine must be adjusted correctly.

Alice was dozing in the next bed and looked exhausted, so he didn't disturb her. His own fatigue wasn't long in catching up with him and soon he was sleeping next to his child.

An irritating prodding sensation on his cheek roused Zhaan a few hours later. On struggling to open his eyes, he was overjoyed by the sight of a wide-eyed Seren, excitedly poking him and calling out, "Daddy, Daddy."

Delighted, he hugged her tightly in relief.

"I miss you, Daddy. Where am I? I'm hungry."

Allowed a half-day of freedom before Zhaan would be busy with the arrival of the Ziluran ship, Alice and Zhaan wanted to make the most of it, taking their now fully recovered daughter to see the sea for the first time. Her uncle tagged along.

After taking care to protect Seren's pale skin from the intense Florida sun, Alice packed a picnic, and Jones drove them to the nearby Atlantic Ocean beach in a borrowed Jeep. Another security team followed at a discreet distance, despite the fact that the beach lay safely within the compound.

There was no point in trying to conceal Seren's identity. The child had been seen by so many people on the base, and with one look, it was obvious whose child she was. Alice's piercing green eyes and dark hair accompanied Zhaan's deathly pale skin, gave Seren a truly exotic appearance. Now that she had her back, Alice wasn't prepared to pack her back off to Montana with Jesse.

Despite Alice's misgivings about the authorities, Jones was beginning to feel almost like family; he spent so much time with them. He seemed to know when to give them space. Alice was grateful for his intervention during her recent fight with Zhaan and trusted him. She realised he'd kept their secret about Seren for as long as possible.

With her thoughts on family, she lay back, enjoying the sensation of sun on her skin and thinking about how happy she was to spend time with Jesse again. She really missed his calming influence and was glad he'd decided to stay in Florida with them for a few days. She suspected his curiosity about the on-going alien situation played a large part in his decision, but she didn't care. He'd always been curious, that was what made him such a good doctor.

Alice turned on her side, watching Jesse encourage Seren to attempt her first experience of paddling in the sea. Jones was lurking at an unobtrusive distance.

She rolled over to watch Zhaan, who appeared to be napping, his skin safely protected from the sun by a beach umbrella. Despite everything, she was feeling really happy.

Moments later, Zhaan shattered that contentment when he groaned and hoarsely uttered the words, "Alice, I think I sick." Seconds after he spoke, his chest began to wheeze with an alarming gurgling sound, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Jesse!" Alice screamed.

### Chapter Fifty Three

Back at the medical unit, Zhaan's condition was deteriorating rapidly. He'd been given oxygen and now the doctors were discussing placing him on an artificial ventilator, as his breathing became more and more laboured and erratic.

Alice was struggling to deal with the sudden turn of events. She clung to Jesse's arm terrified of losing Zhaan. Her daughter was balanced on her hip.

"Mummy what happen to Daddy?" the frightened child asked, as Jesse dashed away.

"Daddy is feeling poorly, Seren."

"Will he die?" Seren asked nervously.

"Of course not, he'll be fine. We think he has the chickenpox like you did, and just look at you, you are all better." As she spoke, Alice looked over her child's head and, in horror, spotted the expression on Jesse's face as he pored over the scan images of Zhaan's lungs which had just come back.

"Shall I take Seren to play next door?" Jones suggested, sensing the anxiety in the room.

"Thanks, Jones."

"His lungs are so inflamed they are almost entirely closed up. It looks like small chunks of the lining are even breaking off," Jesse explained.

"But it's just chickenpox. Chickenpox can't kill you!" Alice sought his reassurance.

"Normally not, if you're Human. Look we're doing everything possible. We're moving him to intensive care, putting him on a ventilator and pumping him full of steroids, anti-virals and anti-inflammatories. He's been sedated.

"But Seren was fine," Alice pleaded.

"Remember that Seren is only half Guy, the other half is Human. I know the virus has an uncanny talent for producing much worse symptoms in grown adult Humans; perhaps the same is true for Zhaan. You also have to realise that the virus is completely alien to his physiology. His immune system will have no experience of this type of virus."

Alice's mind was still reeling with the fast developments of the day and the fear of losing Zhaan, when she was distracted by a beep from her phone. E-mail? She hardly ever got e-mail, not even spam. She rarely sent any, and very few people knew her address.

She was following in a daze behind the medical team, who were wheeling Zhaan on a gurney to the Intensive Care Unit. Glancing back at the phone, she pressed the 'open' button, mostly as a distraction from her disturbing current reality, and began to read.

Alice,

You don't know me but I am Malla, friend of Zhaan. Forgive me for writing you like this. I have nobody to speak with. I find your e-mail address and hope I can talk with you, so I don't become crazy.

I have done something terrible. I have kill another Guy and I am in bad trouble.

Please tell Zhaan.

I hope you and he can reply me to this address. I am afraid. Tell him he must not use the Guy communicator to reach me. It not safe.

Your friend,

Malla.'

Malla, was that even possible? How did a person e-mail from half a universe away? From what Zhaan had told her of Malla, the confession seemed out of character. Alice half hoped it wasn't a genuine e-mail. Why would Malla write to her? What was she expecting her to be able to do to help?

Thoughts swam around in Alice's head. Moments later the whole world began to spin, as a severe wave of nausea swept over her. She had no time and threw up inelegantly right there in the corridor.

That second she knew without a doubt that she was pregnant, and sank to her knees. The knowledge brought her to tears, tears which should have been joyful, not the result of the dark despair which now engulfed her.

### Chapter Fifty Four

Jones was pretty sure that child care didn't feature on his FBI job description, yet it seemed to have become his main occupation over the last two days. Initially he'd been reluctant. Kids really weren't his thing, yet Seren was no ordinary two year old. His remit was to take care of Zhaan's security, but there was little he could do on that front right now. Zhaan's survival was in the hands of the doctors.

It had become obvious that Alice was in no frame of mind to take care of her daughter for the time being. She refused to leave Zhaan's side, making herself physically sick with worry while she lay alongside his unconscious body, as though the two were glued together.

Jesse had asked Jones if he could keep Seren busy and out of the way. He didn't want her upset by seeing her father so ill and her mother distraught. The doctor had confided to Jones that he wasn't sure he could see a way for Zhaan to survive whatever was happening inside his lungs.

Jones, with no experience of babysitting, had panicked at the prospect of dealing with diapers, the thought making his stomach retch.

"Is she, er, house-trained?" he had asked Jesse nervously.

Jesse had laughed, the first time Jones had seen his expression change since Zhaan had been taken ill. "I think the word you're looking for is potty-trained. New to this are you?"

Jones had nodded meekly.

"Don't worry, no diapers to deal with, although sometimes she will forget to visit the toilet if she's too involved in what she's doing. Keep an eye on her. We couldn't keep her in a diaper after the age of about three months, she would just rip them off. Boy, are you in for an adventure!"

Left to his own devices for two days, Jones had struggled to think of ways to keep a two year old happy. His current idea was to find a suitable TV show to entertain her. It seemed to work for most babysitters. Flicking through the channels, with Seren beside him on the sofa in his trailer, he finally settled on the cartoon channel. Seren seemed quiet and nervous in his company and kept glancing in his direction, as he pretended to be enjoying the show. Finally she spoke.

"You like this?" she asked with a tone of surprise in her voice.

"Well, it's quite funny. I thought you might enjoy it."

Without a word, she took the remote control from his hand and began skimming through the channels. His heart was in his mouth as she came to a couple of channels unsuitable for a child, but Seren kept on flicking through. She came to a stop on a documentary about lions in Africa.

"I like this," she told him, as the pack of lionesses tore apart an antelope.

"Doesn't it make you sad to see the poor antelope dying?" he asked in amazement.

"It is nature. The lions eat the antelope," she stated.

When the documentary finished Seren turned off the TV. "Enough TV, that's what Mommy always says."

While Jones racked his brains to think of another amusement, Seren inspected his face closely.

"Your face is prickly," she placed a tentative hand on his cheek. It was true, he hadn't managed a shave today. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I work for the Government. My job is to keep your Daddy safe," he explained.

"Can you make him better? It's my fault he is sick. Have I killed him with my disease?"

Jeez, this kid is only two, Jones pondered. What should he say?

"Well, I can't make him better because I'm not a doctor."

"But you have to keep him safe. It is your work. Why are you sitting here, watching TV?"

"The doctors will do a much better job. Your uncle Jesse is very clever. He'll make your Daddy better if it is possible. Just don't be blaming yourself Seren. It isn't your fault. People catch diseases all the time. Nobody is to blame."

The child looked a little reassured.

"I want to see my Daddy. Can we visit him? He didn't give me a goodnight kiss for two days now."

Jones called Jesse and explained Seren's request. The situation in the Medical area hadn't changed much, so Jesse agreed.

Twenty minutes later Seren was scrambling onto Zhaan's hospital bed, which was already crowded with Alice. She placed her hands on his cheeks and lay down beside him, her mother's arm wrapped protectively around her and her father.

Suddenly Seren sat up with a look of panic on her face.

"Where is he? Where is Daddy?" she yelled.

"Seren, he's right there, honey. He's just sleeping."

"He's not sleeping, he's not there," she insisted, moving her hands to make contact with another section of her father's skin.

"Uncle Jesse gave him some special medicine to keep him asleep, Seren, but he's still right there."

"No, he's not," the child responded angrily. "He needs to wake up." Crossly Seren slapped her father on the cheek.

"Seren stop it, you'll hurt him," her mother chided her. At that moment Zhaan's whole body twitched, as it had been doing regularly over the last two days. It was as though he were trying to fight the sedative.

"He needs to wake up. The medicine is hurting him, not me. You ask his people."

Jesse grabbed the hysterical child, trying to explain why they needed to keep her father asleep, to let his body try to fight the infection.

"Jesse, she's right," Alice realised. "We need to ask his people."

"Just how are we supposed to do that?" Jesse wondered. "Nobody can use his communicator, we can't understand the Guy language, and Seren doesn't know how to write it yet."

"Jesse, can I borrow your laptop," Alice asked excitedly, "and do you have a file with a copy of that latest scan?"

Nodding, Jesse walked to the desk and collected his computer, handing it to his sister.

"You're sending them an e-mail?" he joked.

The serious look Alice gave him cut his laughter short. She beckoned for him to come closer, so nobody else could hear what she whispered.

"Right when Zhaan got sick, I got this really weird e-mail. It said it was from Malla, one of the Guy on his ship. I tried to put it out of my mind because it seemed like trouble, and I didn't think I could cope with more stress. I wasn't sure how Zhaan would want to respond. I'm not even sure it's genuine, but it's worth a try. It's time to reply."

Jesse peered over her shoulder, reading Malla's message. "I know I've heard the name. Can we trust him?"

"Malla is a woman and, yes, if it is genuine, I think she is one of only two Guy that Zhaan would trust with his life. It's got to be worth a try, right?"

Jesse nodded eagerly as Alice began to write.

Malla,

I am sorry I couldn't reply to your message earlier. It is terrible to hear that you are in trouble. Zhaan talks about you often and killing doesn't seem in your nature. I'm sure you must have had a very good reason. Please tell me about it, if it helps you.

I need your help. Zhaan is very sick. He has contracted a Human disease called Chickenpox, which is not very dangerous for Humans, but Zhaan has big problems with his lungs and a machine is breathing for him right now. Attached is a scan of his lungs our doctor took this morning.

On his medical scanner device, the Guy one, there is an image of the virus. I don't know how to send it to you but I'm going to connect the machine to his communicator, as I have seen him do. Hopefully you will be able to upload the information.

Please, please, if you are able, can you ask your doctors what we can do to save him. At the moment all we can do is keep him sedated and try Human medicine, but it isn't working.

Please help. Alice.

As she hit 'send', Alice said a silent prayer.

Jones had taken Seren to the beach, with clear instructions from Jesse to keep her pale skin covered from the sun and not to allow her off the wrist strap he'd given him. In warning, Jesse had recounted to Jones the story of a day when he'd told her she couldn't leave the dinner table without eating all her vegetables. Rebelling, she had run outside, climbed to the very top of a tall tree and stayed there. Jesse had managed to talk her down about an hour later, when darkness began to fall, by telling her that if she didn't come down, he'd have to call the fire station for help.

"She's willful, she's fast, and very agile. She's also not in a very good mood right now, so keep her attached to your wrist at all times."

"Are you sure this kid is only two?" Jones had asked in amazement.

"Yup. I guess at two a Guy child is very different to a Human one."

Alice failed to make it to the bathroom in time again. As he returned from lunch, Jesse caught her cleaning up after throwing up in the sink in the IC unit. The penny dropped, and Jesse slumped down into the nearest chair, his head in his hands, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"Alice, are you pregnant?" he asked his sister in despair.

Nodding, she answered. "Seems so."

"Fabulous timing! So the alien seed can even defeat the birth control pills now?" he asked in amazement.

One look at his sister's face gave him the true story. "Oh, Alice..." He sighed deeply and his shoulders dropped. "Couldn't you have waited a while?"

Unable to answer, she turned back to the sink and vomited again. Jesse went to help her clean up, and found tears streaming down her cheeks. "I wanted us to be happy."

Her brother helped her back to the bed, to curl alongside her alien lover, hoping that being close to the Guy's 'natural frequencies' would help her, as it had in the last pregnancy.

"Jesse, Seren is right. It's like Zhaan's not in there. Being close to him makes no difference to me. I'm terrified. Have we lost him?"

Jesse perched on the edge of the over-loaded bed, deep in thought, before speaking.

"I'm going to talk to the other doctors to discuss if we should stop the sedative. I was going to wait and see if you got an answer to that e-mail first, but maybe we should just go ahead. Seren was so adamant that he needed to be awake and now what you are telling me makes me wonder if we're taking the wrong approach. I'll be right back."

He rushed from the room in search of his medical colleagues, leaving Alice staring desperately at the screen of the laptop, hoping against hope that an answer would come from the Guy and Zhaan could be saved.

Alice was dozing when the doctors made their decision and stopped the sedative. The violent jerking of Zhaan's body as he began to rouse, dragged her back to sudden consciousness. Turning to face to him, she saw with horror that dark purple fluid was dribbling from his mouth as he twitched again.

"Jesse!" she yelled anxiously.

Her brother raced into the room and began to examine Zhaan's throat.

"Jeez, what is that?" she heard him utter, as he pulled a chunk of purple matter from the Guy's mouth.

### Chapter Fifty Five

Malla pored over the contents of Alice's e-mail, happy to have some form of contact with another being. Since the incident, she'd been kept in solitary confinement. Her only Guy contact was when food was delivered. Even the Commander refused to speak with her, unless she had important news. She considered herself lucky that she wasn't in the cell. Her people needed her to continue her work, perhaps that was her only hope.

The crew had placed a portable bunk and latrine in the cupboard she called her office. A heavy duty lock was fitted to the outside of the door, but all her computer equipment was left in situ. Was there a chance that Khevn still lived?

Her joy quickly turned to horror as she translated the message. Using her only means of onboard communication, a direct link to the Commander for emergency use only, she asked urgently for the medic to attend her.

" _Are you sick?"_ the Commander had asked. It would have been simpler to lie and say that it was she who was sick, yet her Guy upbringing made her stick to the truth.

" _Zhaan is very sick. The Humans need our help, or he will die."_

Moments later Malla heard the heavy bolt outside her door being pulled back and sighed with relief. She already had the scan of Zhaan's lungs displayed on the screen, and had successfully uploaded the image of the virus from his medical device on Earth. Glancing over the other data from Zhaan's machine, she was glad to have a few seconds to copy the virus image to her own computer. There was other information on the scanner she didn't want the medic to discover, until she understood it herself.

" _Zhaan is sick,"_ she explained. _"The Humans are asking for help."_

" _How did they do that?"_ the medic asked. Malla had been hoping he wouldn't ask. She didn't want to reveal the e-mail communication route she'd established with Alice.

" _Does it matter?"_ she asked impatiently. _"I don't have time to explain the technicalities. Let's spend our time seeing how we can help!"_

Frowning, the medic began to study the images Malla had prepared.

Alice,

Zhaan must wake. He cannot get well if he is forced to sleep. Our medic says that the damaged lining of his lungs must be expelled and to do this, Zhaan must be conscious. It is not a pleasant experience but is common for our kind, if lungs are infected. All damaged tissue will be expelled, and new tissue will replace it.

If he stays asleep, the damaged tissues, when shed, will stay in his lungs and slowly stop him from breathing. You must also remove the breathing machine, Zhaan must do this by himself.

May Guyara and Earth be on your side and please tell me what happens.

Malla.

"Thank God!" Alice exclaimed, as she turned to her brother. He was crouched over Zhaan, who lay in the recovery position. Jesse was busy removing yet another piece of the purple matter from his mouth.

"What? What did it say?" Jesse asked in anguish. "Is he dying?"

"No, he's trying to get better." She smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "Read it for yourself." She passed over the laptop.

By the time Seren raced into the medical area the next morning, Zhaan's body had spent much of the night convulsing in an effort to rid itself of the diseased tissue. Jesse and Alice had sat with him through the night. While Zhaan was exhausted, his chest muscles were in agony from the constant coughing and he was unable to speak yet, Alice could tell that her touch was bringing him comfort. As soon as he became fully conscious again, Alice immediately began to feel better, as the nausea from her condition subsided. The revolting spectacle of watching Zhaan expel lung tissue had, however, stifled her appetite. Zhaan's face was stained with the rank purple fluid.

Hearing Jones begging Seren to stop outside in the corridor brought a concerned Jesse to the door of the intensive care unit.

"Jones, I don't think she needs to see this," Jesse pleaded.

"Well, you stop her then. I've been chasing her all the way from the trailer." He bent double, trying to catch his breath. "She's damn stubborn, strong, and fast!"

Seren pushed past Jesse's legs, forcing her way into the room and didn't seem in the least bit fazed to see her father's purple stained face and the apparent carnage in the room.

"Daddy!" she squealed, laying her hands on his arm. "You are getting better."

Zhaan managed a brief smile before hacking up some more vile tissue.

Switching to the Guy language she said, _"Yuck, that's disgusting!"_ Her father chuckled as he struggled to drag air into his lungs, wheezing.

### Chapter Fifty Six

At the insistent beep from Jesse's laptop, Alice managed to drag herself away from the comfort of Zhaan's arms. It seemed the worst of the d.i.y. lung replacement was over, but he still sounded worryingly wheezy.

Malla's message had Alice perplexed, and she immediately called Jesse, who had been getting some much needed rest in a room down the corridor.

"Sorry to wake you, Jesse, but I have some new information from Malla," she explained to her brother.

Seconds later he appeared in the room, looking dishevelled, to find her deep in discussion with a breathless Zhaan.

"What you mean, you have information from Malla?" Zhaan said hoarsely, drawing a gurgling breath. "How can you speak with her?" The lines between his brows were a clear indication of his confusion about what had been happening during his absence from consciousness.

"Zhaan, I'll explain in a moment, but first I need Jesse to read this." She turned to her brother. "The Guy seem worried by the last information we had Zhaan send them from his scanner, but I can't work out what it is they mean. Can you take a look?"

Jesse began to read.

Alice,

Lung tissue regeneration seems to be almost complete but we worry about the small lung volume. Our medic believes that because air on Earth is richer than on Guyara, Zhaan's new lung tissue is 'lazy'. That is the word he used in our language. The lungs only expand to the amount needed and in your richer air, this is not enough to stretch new tissue to the correct volume.

He suggests that you must give to Zhaan air with component eight reduced to only ten parts per hundred, and increase component seven or other constituents, to make new lungs work more hard. Otherwise his lung volume will be too small once the new tissue ages and becomes less flexible.

Zhaan must also consume much high protein to compensate for lost tissue.

I hope you understand me, and I wish you good fortune.

I must tell you that my trial will be in two days. In case it doesn't have a good outcome, I am curious for the answer to a question which has puzzled me since you tell me to upload data from Zhaan's medical scanner. Even if it is to be the last thing I learn, I must know. What is meant by Small Star? This word I have seen often on Zhaan's medical device alongside some strange data.

Please tell Zhaan not to worry about me, but I know he will.

May Guyara grant me fair justice.

Your friend.

Malla.

Alice put aside her guilt at not sharing the news about Malla's misfortune with Zhaan, instead asking Jesse if he had any idea about the meaning of the message.

"Well, it seems to me like those numbers she used referred to are the atomic numbers of the components of air. I think the Guy are telling us that if Zhaan's lungs are to become fully functional, we need to reduce the amount of oxygen in the air he is breathing. I guess we can sort that out, but it will mean he'll be breathing with a mask for a while. I wish they had told us how long." He was already pondering the practicalities. "What she meant with that bit about 'Small Star', I have no idea." He wandered distractedly from the room to consult with the medical team.

Zhaan was looking at Alice agitatedly. "What Malla say about 'Small Star'?"

"She wants to understand something about 'Small Star' that she saw on your medical device. I had to hook it up with your communicator when you were sick, so she could read the information."

Zhaan's face turned to horror. "Who else see this information?"

"Nobody else, just Malla I believe." His expression was giving Alice butterflies.

"You know already what is Small Star in my language," he stated, causing Alice to frown, thinking about it. Suddenly the penny dropped.

"Seren!" she exclaimed with dismay. "I'm sorry Zhaan, I didn't even realise that there was information about Seren on the machine. Oh God, I've told your people about her. What will happen?" She slumped down onto the bed and began to cry.

Shuffling across the bed, Zhaan placed a concerned arm around her shoulders. "Please don't leak Alice, all will be well. We can trust Malla."

Even through her tears, Alice was struggling not to giggle at his turn of phrase.

"Zhaan, sweetie, the word is cry, not leak." She explained, sniffing loudly.

"So, now you must explain how you are talking with Malla. You must read her messages to me," he instructed sternly, ignoring Alice's previous comment.

"OK, but first I have to tell you that Malla is to stand trial with your people in two days. She is in a lot of trouble."

Zhaan shook his head in disbelief. "Malla? No! I cannot believe this." His head tilted to one side as he pondered the possibility that the feelings between Khevn and Malla may have got them into difficulties with the Guy.

"She told me she has killed another Guy, but I have no other information."

Zhaan's head fell into his hands, and Alice noticed that he was trembling.

"You know my people believe in 'Blood for Blood' justice?" he asked her, his voice raspy. Alice nodded. Malla had implied that her punishment might be harsh. "This mean, if it is true that she have killed other Guy, then punishment will be her death."

When Jesse returned, wheeling a couple of gas cylinders behind him, Alice had already read all of Malla's messages to Zhaan. He still wore a stunned expression and was having Alice recite them again. Zhaan was so focused on Alice's words that he kept absent-mindedly pushing Jesse away and shaking his head, as the doctor attempted to approach with the breathing mask, eventually irritating Jesse to snapping point.

"Zhaan, listen to me. If you won't breath using this mask while your lungs fully reform, you may well lose all your Guy super-powers." Jesse said, loudly and with exasperation."

He finally had the alien's attention, even if Zhaan was baffled by his comment.

"Look, you have to breathe less rich air for a period of time, to force your lung capacity to increase. Our air here on Earth has too much oxygen. This is what your people have told us. If you don't, you'll spend the rest of your life with small, lazy lungs."

Irritated, Zhaan snatched the mask from Jesse and placed it over his nose and mouth, while still staring at Malla's e-mails in shock. He briefly pulled the mask away, to utter to nobody in particular, "I don't understand. Who have she kill? Why Malla would kill another?"

Now Jesse was annoyed again and, pushing the mask back onto Zhaan's face, made a point of stretching the elastic over his head and releasing it with a ping, making the alien jump and glare at him before nodding contritely. Jesse noted with satisfaction that Zhaan immediately began to draw deeper breaths, as he struggled for oxygen in the weaker air mixture.

"I've ordered you a big steak for dinner," he added.

Alice was preoccupied on Jesse's laptop. Zhaan lay next to her, his fingers racing over the keys of his communicator.

Commander,

I have heard some distressing news. Malla is to stand trial before our people. I do not know what exactly has happened on the ship, but it surprises me that she is in trouble.

I am told that she killed a fellow Guy. As one who knows her character well, I affirm that Malla would not commit such an act without a justifiable reason.

Her involvement is essential to my work here on Earth, and I humbly beg the Guy High Council to show her mercy. I survived the recent Human malady only due to her advice to the Human doctors. Guyara knows I need her and the Guy need her too.

May Guyara grant the Council wisdom to make the right decision.

Zhaan.

Sending his message, Zhaan put his communicator aside and turned to Alice. He glanced around to check that Jesse was not lurking nearby, and pulled the mask from his face to speak with her.

"You are writing to Malla again?" he asked.

Alice looked uneasy as she closed the lid on the computer and responded. "I sent her a picture of Seren."

Zhaan gazed at her sternly, and Alice felt obliged to justify her actions.

"Look, if she's going to be killed, I want her to know about our child. It's not like she can tell anybody if they murder her."

Sensing Alice's distress at the fate of the friend she'd communicated with for only a few days, Zhaan pulled her close, nodding in approval.

"Alice, you tired. Bed small and it hard for you to rest. I not need you by my side every minute. I get well. You must go to box house with Seren so you sleep in comfort."

Alice knew he meant well, trying to persuade her to return to their trailer, but was nervous about leaving him, if not for the reasons he believed.

Hesitantly she admitted to him, "Zhaan, it is not that you need me by your side. The fact is that I need you by my side right now, to keep me well."

Indicating his instant comprehension of her meaning, Zhaan breathed deeply and sighed. This led to a severe coughing fit, resulting in the expulsion of more purple lung tissue.

Jesse came running, disapproval evident on his face at seeing Zhaan without his breathing mask.

Zhaan wrapped his arms around Alice, glanced briefly at their daughter curled at the foot of the bed and, before replacing his mask, he said, "We take rest now."

"Good," Jesse commented. "I have plans for you to exercise those lungs tomorrow, so save your strength."

To allow his sister and Zhaan marginally more comfort in the crowded hospital bed, he scooped up their sleeping daughter in his arms, taking her back to sleep in the trailer.

### Chapter Fifty Seven

Malla knew time was fast running out, but couldn't drag her eyes away from the image of the child on the screen before her. Who would have believed such a creation was possible and could be so beautiful. The female child was striking with her Guy paleness of skin, complimented by her sparkling Green Human eyes, reflecting the joy of her Human-toothed grin. Her hair tumbled below her shoulders in dark-hued waves of a type Malla had never before seen, except on Human television. She longed to meet the child, to know her character, but rued that this was impossible even if she were not facing imminent death.

Sounds from the corridor drew her attention and she quickly ensured that the image would be untraceable amongst her data files to anyone but herself. She longed to be able to share the knowledge of the hybrid child with Khevn, if he had survived.

The bolt on the door was pulled back and two hefty crew members entered. _"We are to escort you to the Commander,"_ one said, reaching out to take her arms, allowing the other Guy to place a restraint around her wrists.

Am I such a threat? Malla wisely kept her thoughts to herself as she was marched from her room, appearing tiny and vulnerable as she hobbled to try to keep up with their rapid pace. I couldn't outrun them, she pondered, and if by some miracle Guyara allowed it, I have nowhere to go.

As she approached the bridge, crew members lined the walls of the corridor, staring. Malla was unsure whether they were looks of disapproval, disgust, or perhaps sympathy. The door slid open and she stumbled as her escorts pushed her inside. Regaining her composure, Malla raised her eyes to the three officers facing her.

" _Despite your physical impairment, you shall submit to the authority of this judgement panel of the Guyaran High Council."_ The Commander spoke quickly and Malla sensed his anger, knowing she deserved it. Feeling pitiful, she bent, using her bound hands to release the knee braces on the frames which supported her crippled legs. She flopped to her knees bowing her head.

" _I submit to the authority of the panel,"_ she said quietly.

" _In view of your disability, you shall be allowed to be seated for your trial."_ One of her guards brought a seat and roughly shoved it behind her, but with her arms bound and her legs worse than useless in their unsupported state, she was unable to raise herself up into the chair.

" _Help her up,"_ the guards were instructed and complied, using more force than was necessary.

" _Malla, you are charged with the killing of a Guy, an offence for which the recommended punishment is the death of the perpetrator. However, before such a sentence is passed, it is necessary for us to understand the events which led to this crime, to ensure that such a punishment is the correct course of action."_

Malla drew in a deep breath in an attempt to stop her body from trembling. She had known this was coming and was the treatment a killer deserved. However, when the words were spoken aloud, they still shocked her. If only she could make them understand that she had no choice.

" _You must describe to us, in the greatest possible detail, the events which preceded the death of the victim."_

As she began to speak Malla's voice was shaky, but she drew strength, knowing that this was her only chance to explain herself.

" _I was resting in my cabin. There was a problem with the lighting. I was studying and the light kept flickering on and off. I called for assistance from Maintenance and was waiting for someone to attend, when Khevn returned at the end of his shift to the cabin which we share."_

One of the panel members raised his eyebrows indicating his disapproval of this arrangement.

" _What was Khevn's demeanour on his return? Was he in any way agitated or threatening to you?"_ she was asked.

Malla answered bluntly, irritated that they were attempting to pass on some blame to Khevn. _"No, Khevn has never acted in such a manner towards me. It is not in his character."_

" _There was the recent incident requiring his sedation,"_ the third panel member suggested.

" _I have never felt threatened by Khevn, even under those circumstances._ " Would somebody please put her out of her misery and tell her if Khevn still lived?

" _Continue,"_ the Commander insisted.

" _It is in Khevn's nature to assist me with my disability in whatever way he can and on this particular evening, as was his custom, he was assisting me in removing my leg braces prior to sleeping. I was sitting on my bunk, with my legs before me. Khevn knelt beside my bunk, unfastening the buckles."_ Malla gestured at the clasps on her braces in explanation.

" _Was there ever any inappropriate contact between the two of you at these times?"_ the Commander pressed her.

" _No Sir!"_ Malla insisted.

" _Please continue, Malla."_

" _This was the situation when we were visited by Maintenance, in the form of Pag. He entered our cabin, bearing a tool set. I began to explain to him the problem I was having with the light, but he didn't appear to be listening. I asked him if he heard me. His only response was to drop his tool bag to the floor and bend to retrieve an item from it._

" _When he turned back towards Khevn and myself, he had in his hand a sharp tool with a serrated cutting surface, I believe it is called a saw, but I am unfamiliar with tools like this. I remember feeling concerned. I could see no purpose for this item in repairing a faulty light fixture, but Khevn was speaking to me at the time and I was distracted_.

" _Pag moved behind Khevn, and I had no time to warn him. Pag grabbed him with one arm around his neck, and pulled Khevn to his feet. The saw was in his other hand. Khevn was taken by surprise, his back was towards Pag, and he was unable to avoid the situation. Pag insulted Khevn, calling him a 'pervert'._

" _Before Khevn had time to react and struggle, Pag drew the saw across Khevn's face from below his eye to his mouth, causing a serious injury to the skin and immediate massive bleeding. At this point Khevn was struggling to free himself from Pag's grip and in the course of the struggle, I believe Khevn was struck two further times with the tool, causing deep gashes across his chest and stomach._

" _Blood was running quickly from Khevn and I panicked. Without my leg braces, I was unable to rise to assist in his defence. I believed Pag would attack me next_.

" _As they continued to struggle, I dragged myself from the bed with my arms. Pag placed the saw against Khevn's neck, and I knew he was going to kill him with one stroke, unless I could prevent it. I grabbed a large, sharp tool from his tool kit, I believe it is used for rotating fasteners."_

" _A screwdriver?"_ the Commander suggested and Malla nodded.

" _I pulled myself, using my arms, along the side of Khevn's bunk to where Pag stood with his back to me. His arm was still tightly around Khevn's neck and the saw blade was beginning to cut into the skin there. This cut would have killed Khevn without a doubt._

" _Somehow, I managed to drag myself up high enough onto the bunk and thrust the tool I held into Pag's back, using my full body weight. I believe I struck his heart and he fell to the floor almost immediately. Now I was able to attend to Khevn's injuries, applying pressure to his neck wound, and to call for assistance._

" _I have since learned that Pag was killed from the blow I struck to his heart. I am unaware of Khevn's fate."_ She finished speaking with sadness in her voice.

" _You swear that this is a true version of the events. That Pag did not discover you and Khevn acting inappropriately, and that you were in fear for your life and for that of Khevn."_

" _I do so swear. I would also add that Pag may have mistakenly believed that some inappropriate activity was taking place. Given his history with the attack on Zhaan, this is the only reason I can comprehend for this vicious attack. However I confirm that no type of forbidden activity was occurring. I swear it on my life, with which I will probably pay for my actions. If I was able to save Khevn, it was worth the price."_

The three officers held their heads close to one another, consulting quietly about the next course of action. The Commander turned to one of the guards, instructing him, _"Bring in the witness."_

Malla's heart skipped a beat. Was this witness to be Khevn? He lived? She held her breath, hardly daring to hope.

As Khevn entered the bridge, Malla gasped in shock, horrified to see his beautiful face so damaged, his body so violated. His neck was still bandaged but the wound on his face was uncovered and still an angry shade of red. His eye was partially closed with the resultant swelling. Despite the medic's best efforts, there was no doubt that he would be disfigured for the rest of his life. He wore a loose medical gown over his shoulders, open at the front. It was obviously too painful to place clothing next to the vicious wounds on his chest and abdomen. Malla noticed that Khevn drew breath cautiously, each attempt to inhale painful. Nothing mattered; Khevn lived! Even if she were to die for her actions, now she could die content in that knowledge.

" _Malla, you will not communicate with the witness in any way. We will hear his version of events,"_ her Commander instructed sternly.

His attention turned to Khevn. _"Bring him a seat."_ Malla was pleased to see that the guards were less rough in their treatment of Khevn, helping him ease him down gently into the chair.

" _Khevn, you understand that this is a judgement panel of the Guyaran High Council and that Malla is being tried for the murder of Pag? Do you submit to the authority of this panel? You may make your submission seated in view of your injuries,"_ the Commander added with compassion.

Khevn spoke quietly, _"I understand this situation and I submit to the panel's authority."_ He attempted to lower his head but his neck wounds made it difficult. The Commander realised his pain and immediately indicated that his submission was acknowledged.

" _Khevn, you must tell us in your own words everything you remember about the events which led to your current injuries and answer any questions we have, as well as you are able. We realise that you became unconscious at some point before the medic arrived, due to loss of blood, but must know all the details you recall."_

Khevn paused, closing his eyes to compose himself. His hands were shaking, Malla noticed. She wondered if he had been so traumatised in the attack that his customary courage had failed him. When he looked up, briefly meeting her eyes with his own, she realised that his heart was breaking, seeing her on trial for saving his life.

The Commander had noticed the look that passed between them, but fortunately the other officers were consulting their notes.

" _Khevn, begin in your own time,"_ their Commander said sympathetically.

" _I don't recall which day it was."_ Khevn stopped speaking, drawing a calming breath. _"I returned from my shift on bridge watch to the cabin which I share with Malla."_

One of the officers interrupted him. _"It is unusual for two Guy of different genders to share a cabin aboard ship. How do you feel about this arrangement?"_

" _Malla is a very pleasant cabin companion,"_ Khevn answered and anticipating the continued line of questioning, he continued speaking. _"Recently we had experienced an unfortunate situation, when my dosage was incorrect, of which all here present are aware. I was concerned about continuing to share a cabin with Malla, worried that she may be afraid of me. She insisted that we should continue to share, once my dosage was adjusted. The Commander approved this decision and I was content with the situation."_

The officer wasn't going to let up. _"Rumours circulate on board, particularly after the incident of which you speak, that there is an inappropriate bond between yourself and Malla, and that there may be forbidden physical contact. How do you respond to these accusations?"_

" _It is unnecessary to answer to rumours which have no proof to back them up. There can be no evidence of inappropriate behaviour, as none has taken place. I would comment, however, that due to the nature of the research we carried out prior to the Earth landing and the amount of time we worked closely together, the companionship between myself, Zhaan and Malla was very comfortable, probably more so than is usual for our people_.

" _Malla was distressed after the attack on Zhaan by Pag and anxious for her own safety. She was shocked to realise that a fellow Guy could do such a thing. This was the reason she requested to be assigned to Zhaan's berth in my cabin once he left us, rather than stay in her previous cabin where she was alone. Perhaps other crew members connect these two factors and make more of the situation than is actually the truth. If so, we should find them other amusement to fill their time,"_ he finished, bitterly.

The Commander interrupted at this point. _"Khevn is not the one on trial here, can we please stick to the events of the attack?"_

The officer who had been questioning Khevn glared in the Commander's direction but sat back in his chair.

" _Let us return to the moment you returned from your shift to your cabin. What was the situation you encountered?"_

" _Malla was reading something, seated on her bunk. I believe she was continuing her studies of the English Earth language. The light above her bunk was faulty, flashing on and off intermittently and was obviously annoying her. She told me she had called for Maintenance support but was still waiting for them to attend._

" _I asked if she was preparing to sleep and if I should assist in removing her leg braces, as I do most nights. It is much easier for her with assistance from another. She requested my help and I knelt beside her bunk, unfastening the buckles to release her legs. We talked of something, I cannot remember what, something about the situation on Earth perhaps. I was almost finished undoing her braces when we were joined by Pag, who had been sent to work on the light fitting. He carried a tool bag with him._

" _I remember Malla explaining what was wrong with the light but paid little attention. I was still occupied in removing the braces, which were now fully unfastened. I continued speaking with her but remember that she seemed uneasy. Her eyes kept moving in Pag's direction._

" _The next thing I recall is being grabbed from behind around the neck and pulled roughly to my feet. I could not see my attacker but it must have been Pag. I was taken by surprise; it took me a while to react."_ Khevn seemed embarrassed about this fact.

" _I could not see what my attacker was doing, but caught a glimpse of silver from the corner of my eye just before he cut me for the first time, right here."_ Khevn pointed to his disfigured face.

" _How did you react, once you realised you were under attack?"_ an officer asked.

" _I believe I was still shocked but sensed the blood running from my wound. My arms were not restrained by my attacker, and I believe I began to struggle to escape his grip. At some point I recall his knee making painful contact with my back as we fought and I was momentarily winded. It was then that he raised his weapon. I believe it was a saw from his tool kit. He sliced me again across the chest and then the stomach, causing me to slump forward in an attempt to protect my injuries."_

" _What was Malla doing at this time?"_

" _I have no idea. She was behind me and to my regret, I had no time to be concerned for her."_

" _By now you were losing large amounts of blood from your wounds, were you still conscious? What do you recall?"_

" _I remember the touch of metal to my neck and that I believed I was about to die. After this I can recall nothing more until I awoke in the medical area."_

" _The medic reported that you were very distressed on becoming conscious. Why was this? Was it residual trauma and shock from the attack?"_

" _Only partially. My greatest source of agitation was for the welfare of Malla. I feared she may have been attacked too, after I blacked out. The medic quickly set my mind at rest, telling me that she was well but giving no other details of the events which had taken place. I had no idea she was under arrest. The medic merely informed me that my attacker was dead and I mistakenly assumed he had been tried and executed for his crime."_

" _Why such concern for another Guy, Malla in particular? Is it because you have inappropriate feelings for her?"_ the insistent officer interrupted him.

" _All our Guy upbringing teaches us concern for the safety of others. My space training taught me that each crew member is as important as myself. Would you have had no concern for the welfare of another crew member in the same situation?"_ Khevn looked at the Guy with disgust. Humbled the officer ceased his questioning.

" _You are now aware that Malla attacked Pag with a screwdriver. A well-placed thrust pierced his heart."_

" _I am aware of this now, but was only recently informed."_

" _Given your personal knowledge of the situation,"_ the Commander asked, _"what form of punishment would you consider appropriate for her actions?"_

" _I believe no crime was committed. Knowing a little of Malla's character, she is probably already punishing herself enough for the actions she was forced to take. I know that if I had been able to defend myself and had acted more quickly, her actions would not have been necessary. I feel myself responsible for forcing her into this situation."_

Malla made a sound, as though she was about to contradict Khevn, but a harsh look from the Commander silenced her.

" _Khevn you believe that although another Guy was killed, that no actual crime was committed?"_

" _I believe the only crime was committed by Pag. Had Malla failed to defend herself and protect me, he would be the one standing in her place today. Two important crew members would have been lost and he would without doubt, have faced execution. Malla had no choice but to defend a fellow crew member from attack and, taking into account her disability and lesser female strength, she took the best possible course of action. I am of the opinion that Malla deserves a commendation rather than a punishment. If I could take punishment in her place to repay my debt to her, I would."_

Another gasp from Malla drew a silencing glare from the Commander.

The panel conferred again then the Commander spoke.

" _There is one further submission to be considered in this case. I have here a communication from Zhaan on Earth, which was addressed directly to me. I will share some of its content with the panel. Zhaan refers, of course, to Malla._

_"I am told that she killed a fellow Guy. As one who knows her character well, I affirm that Malla would not commit such an act without a justifiable reason_.

Her involvement is essential to my work here on Earth and I humbly beg for the Guy High Council to show her mercy. I survived the recent Human malady only due to her advice to the Human doctors. Guyara knows I need her and the Guy need her too."

The Commander added, _"In view of Malla's role aboard the ship, Zhaan's comments will also be placed on the record in this matter. We shall now retire to reach our decision but first, please clear the room. I wish to speak privately with the defendant and the witness."_

This was highly irregular and drew raised eyebrows from the other panel members.

As the others left the room Malla became anxious about what the Commander intended to say. She could sense his anger throughout the proceedings. Her nervousness led her to speak.

" _Commander, I am sorry to have angered you."_

She was cut off abruptly. _"The defendant will not comment before I have spoken."_ His tone made Malla more afraid.

The Commander looked from Khevn to Malla and back again. His gaze rested on Khevn, obviously regretting the condition of the best of his crew.

" _Malla, you have sensed my anger. This I can tell. However rest assured that my anger is not directed at you or at Khevn. I am furious that we find ourselves in such an unfortunate situation._

" _If Pag had been executed for the attack on Zhaan, as was the initial judgement, this would never have happened. I had serious misgivings when Zhaan made his decision to allow his attacker to live. I realised how unstable Pag was and his bitterness at missing out on the Earth landing. However, in Guy law, the victim of a crime is allowed this right, so I couldn't overrule Zhaan's decision._

" _You must both believe that I will do everything in my power to convince the High Council and the panel members that Malla should be spared."_

Without allowing either of them to comment, the Commander called the guards into the room and instructed them to return Malla to her makeshift cell.

### Chapter Fifty Eight

Jesse was amazed at the improvement in Zhaan's lung capacity. After spending the overnight period on the weaker air mixture, the volume had increased by a third, and now he was pushing him hard on the exercise bicycle, while still breathing the reduced oxygen.

Alice was hovering nervously nearby, not able to get close enough to feel the benefit of his 'natural frequencies' needed to calm her stomach.

Jesse approached with a meter in his hand. "OK, Zhaan, you can stop now and blow into this, like you did the last time. Let's see if there is any change."

Zhaan slumped on the bike seat and reached out an arm in Alice's direction, wrapping it around her and pulling her close, as though able to sense her physical discomfort. Finally he took the meter from Jesse and exhaled with force into the device.

"Your lung volume has doubled since yesterday. I'd like to test again in a while, to make sure it doesn't drop back down again when you stop using the weaker air and quit exercising. Perhaps you should take a shower in the meantime," Jesse suggested subtly, observing that Zhaan's hospital pyjamas were damp with sweat following his exertion, not to mention the vile blue staining from the lung tissue regeneration which was beginning to stink. "Can you go with him, Alice, to make sure he's OK?'

"Where's Jones got to with Seren?" she asked, helping Zhaan up to his feet.

"I last saw them on the assault course in the physical training area. I think he's trying to wear her out. He's the one looking tired though!" Jesse laughed. "I'll find some fresh clothes for you Zhaan, while you clean up."

"Now is time for day clothes, Jesse. I better. I should return to work."

"Let's just see what the meter tells us after your shower, before we decide what to do next."

Zhaan frowned and sulkily allowed Alice to lead him by the hand into the bathroom.

Jesse was confident that Zhaan would no longer be contagious and had compromised that he would be allowed to work for a couple of hours, to catch up on developments, provided he got some rest in the afternoon. Only because they were all billeted together in the trailers, Jesse finally agreed to discharge him from the ICU unit fully, knowing it would be easy to keep an eye on his patient.

Making their way slowly to the Command Centre, Alice and Zhaan came across Jones and Seren in a break area, where Seren was attempting to coerce Jones into getting her a snack from a vending machine. They might have missed them both, if it weren't for Seren's over-excited shriek.

Alice stopped walking and pulled Zhaan back towards the door by the arm, peeking around the corner to find out what was going on.

"Jones, I want this one!" the child insisted.

"Seren, you already had one of those chocolate bars earlier. We only came in here to get you something to drink."

"But I want this!" she shouted, stomping a foot angrily.

Alice observed Jones about to weaken, reaching into his pocket to see if he had any more change and was compelled to intervene.

Alice stepped into the room followed by Zhaan. "Seren, please come over here." She crouched down a little closer to the child's level. "Do you remember when we talked about what will happen if you eat too much candy?" Seren nodded meekly.

"My teeth will be bad, it will make me in a bad mood, and I'll get fat," she recited. "But Mommy, I'm hungry."

"Didn't I hear that you already ate a chocolate bar this morning?" Alice asked, glancing at Jones for confirmation.

"But I'm still hungry. I want more!" Seren objected.

The effect of the sugar on her mood was already obvious.

"Well, you can't have it, Seren. If you're hungry, we'll get you some proper food to eat, but no more chocolate."

Jones held his breath expecting a toddler meltdown at any moment, yet suddenly realised he'd never heard Seren cry.

Obviously irritated by the delay in getting back to work, Zhaan spoke brusquely to the child in the Guy language. _"Child there will be no more chocolate. Comport yourself in an appropriate manner."_ Turning to Alice he asked her to take Seren and find her something nutritious to eat.

Subdued by her father's words, Seren allowed Alice to take her by the hand and lead her out of the room. As they headed for the canteen the child turned to her mother, "Sometimes Daddy is very strict with me. I don't like it."

"Well, honey, you have to remember that Daddy wasn't lucky like you. He didn't know his parents and was raised with lots of other children. He had nobody to love him, hug him, or kiss him goodnight. Just imagine how horrible that must have been. Perhaps he snaps at you because that is how the people who looked after him talked to him when they were cross. You have to understand that it's the only thing he's known. He doesn't know Human children either, so I think sometimes he is confused by things you do. You know he loves you, even when he's cross, don't you?"

Seren nodded silently, obviously pondering her mother's words.

"Good to see you up and about!" Jones exclaimed. "Your daughter has been doing her level best to kill me," he joked but noticing a concerned frown on Zhaan's face went on to clarify his words. "She's a real bundle of energy, that one. I hope that new set of lungs are working well if you're planning to keep up with her."

"Is no problem for me," Zhaan responded, still uncertain about whether Jones was serious in his comment about his daughter.

"Good," Jones grinned, "because I'm exhausted."

"Come, we go to Command Centre, find out what I missed," Zhaan instructed. The meaning of their conversation seemed to finally sink in when he added with a smile, "If you not too tired, Jones!"

Somehow Davies and his team seemed to be managing to work with the two Zilurans, mostly using sign language, to establish what was needed. Trinn sat off to the side of the enormous hangar where the alien vessel was suspended, holding her child tightly. He nursed at her exposed breast, drawing glances from the bemused engineers.

Davies and Sarjek were buried in the damaged engine up to their elbows and several components had already been removed and lay beside them on the floor, including a large chunk of Russian satellite. Catching sight of Zhaan, Davies waved him over.

"Thank Goodness you are up and running again. I have no idea what this little guy is trying to tell me. We've done pretty well so far, I think, all things considered. We've already managed to partially disassemble this damaged engine, thruster, whatever you called it.

"I have to say, working with these alien components is a trip! Before we can undo anything, we have to design and build a tool for the job. I'm in Engineer Heaven!"

He glanced over to where two engineers were busy recording dimensions and sketching a piece that lay on the ground beside them. "As far as I can gather, we need to repair or replace all the pieces on the ground. Now he keeps jabbering excitedly about this red section and pointing, but I have no clue."

Zhaan was struggling to follow Davies' garbled speech but getting the gist of the problem, tuned in to what Sarjek kept repeating. He bent down to take a worried look for himself.

"Fuel leak. We must evacuate people to fix. He think only one component of fuel leak which safe but if both parts are leaking..."

Recalling previous conversations with Zhaan about the fuel, Davies didn't hesitate, instructing everyone to leave the area except himself, Sarjek, and Zhaan.

The engineer tried to ignore Zhaan's mumbled protests about not wanting to be exploded, and asked what needed to be done. Before Zhaan could translate, Sarjek was gone, scrambling up the companionway into the ship.

"I guess he turn off fuel supply," Zhaan stated. "I surprised it not already off."

Sure enough, minutes later, Sarjek returned, jabbering quickly and gesticulating. Zhaan listened patiently to what he was saying while Davies shuffled nervously.

"Only one fuel chemical leak. Shut-off broken, so you need to close off supply and repair cracked pipe. Is OK for people to come back. One fuel component alone is safe, Sarjek say." Zhaan added his own comment. "You should find something to collect fuel. Chemical will damage your pretty floor. Besides, if Zilurans haven't enough fuel left, we stuck with them forever!" As Davies switched into engineer-in-crisis mode, Zhaan was fairly confident that the problem could be solved.

Jones wandered back into the hangar. "If these guys can spare you, Zhaan, Higgins wants to see you."

The General waved them into the office he was using, indicating that they should both sit. The way he was looking at Zhaan was making him nervous. Perhaps he was cross about Zhaan's absence, the Guy considered.

"Zhaan, it's so good to see you on the mend. As you have seen, we are making good progress in repairs to the ship, although communicating with the Zilurans has been a struggle without you, and we're relieved to have you back on board." The General stopped talking and Zhaan wondered if he was supposed to respond.

"I not bored," Zhaan stated, confusing the General and reminding him that he needed to get back into the habit of speaking clearly to the Guy. Moving right along, the General launched into what he had to discuss.

"We'd like to continue what we attempted to start at the Pentagon, to talk to you and find out more about your people. We were hoping this would be an ideal time, while the engineering repairs are on-going. You'll be right here if they need a translator but we can make use of the time when you are not required, to ask you some questions."

"Do I need lawyer?" Zhaan asked, still unsure if he was in trouble.

"No, Zhaan, of course not. We'd just like to learn a little more about the Guy, that's all."

"Who ask me these questions? All those people from before?" he demanded, reminded of the embarrassment of the previous Pentagon interrogation.

"No, I thought you might prefer to speak with just two people, perhaps Jones and someone we've flown in from the Pentagon. Do you remember Jesse's friend?"

Zhaan was suspicious. He would never be convinced that anybody interrogating him could be considered as a friend, yet he did like Jones. It would certainly be less intimidating to be questioned by just two Humans instead of a panel.

"Alice can be there if I want?"

"Of course, Zhaan. Once we have learned more about the Guy, we'd also like you to help us find out something about the Zilurans too."

### Chapter Fifty Nine

"Alice, when can we marry?" Zhaan was curled on his side, his arm wrapped protectively around Alice's midriff, taking his doctor prescribed afternoon rest. "All this time when I sick, when I throw up my lungs, I think, 'now I die and still I didn't marry my Alice'. It make me sad. I worry what can happen next. Maybe I get sick again or the Humans take me away from you. Whatever happen to me in future, I only happy if I know I married to you first."

Alice had been half-asleep when he'd started speaking but by the end of his heart-felt declaration, she was wide awake.

"Oh, Zhaan. I was so scared I was losing you when you were sick. It seems I'm always frightened of losing you one way or another. It's just that I wanted to wait until we get home to Montana, so all our friends and family can be with us to celebrate.

"I can't wait Alice. We marry us here in Florida, soon as we can. Our friends can come here or we have other marriage party back in Montana later. I don't want to risk that it never happen."

"You're right, being married to you is more important that my stupid party. Let's do it as soon as we can."

"What we have to do to be married? We must go in a church? We can go now." Zhaan began to wriggle free of Alice, as though about to leap out of bed, dress and head out in search of someone to marry them.

"Zhaan, it's not that easy."

"It very easy, I want marry you, you want marry me. What is difficult?"

"First we need to get a marriage licence from the state. I'm not even sure of the rules in Florida. I've never been here before. I need to look it up on the internet." Sensing Zhaan's urgency, she scrambled out of the bed and retrieved Jesse's laptop, which lay on the table in their trailer.

As she researched, Zhaan was leaning over her, breathing down her neck. "What it say, Alice?" His struggle with reading English was a constant frustration to him.

"OK, first we need to go to the office to apply for our licence. We both need to be there and we have to take some identification and our Social Security numbers."

"Do I have this?" Zhaan asked, worried.

"You do now, with your shiny new American passport and Social Security number given to you by your presidential admirer!" Alice joked.

"Then we go!" Zhaan bent to reach for the jeans he'd discarded next to the bed.

"Hold your horses!" Alice exclaimed, drawing only a confused look from her lover. "Today is Friday, the office is already closed for the weekend. We have to wait until Monday when they open."

"Then we can marry on Monday?" he asked eagerly.

Alice continued to read from the internet. "Apparently we either have to take some kind of 'how to be married' course, or wait three days, once we have the licence, so that would be Thursday. If we made it Saturday, maybe some of our friends could come. I'll call them this evening."

"Aargh, already more than one more week I have to wait! You Humans try to kill me!"

Saturday morning brought a rude awakening when Seren hurled herself onto their bed, on top of them. She'd spent the night in one of the other trailers, which the Zilurans weren't using. Jesse had commandeered it for himself and his niece, to allow Alice and Zhaan as much rest as possible. So much for that plan.

"Mommy, Daddy, come on wake up. I'm hungry. Let's go for breakfast."

"Uncle Jesse can take you," Zhaan groaned, coming slowly to his senses.

"Uncle Jesse told me to wait until he comes back from running but I'm too hungry. Come on!" she insisted.

As Alice woke, nausea overcame her and she rolled to retch into the bowl she'd had the foresight to place beside the bed.

"Mommy, you're sick? What's wrong? Did you eat too much candy?" Seren asked with concern. At the mention of the word 'candy' Alice threw up again and moaned. Seren leapt down from the bed and examined the contents of the bowl. "Doesn't look like candy," the child commented. "Remember when I was sick after Mikey's birthday?"

"Child this is different. Come. I find you something to eat." Zhaan climbed from the bed with a concerned glance in Alice's direction, before leading their child to the trailer's kitchen and handing her a cereal bar. _"You eat this for now and watch some TV. I need to talk with_ Mommy _."_ Absent-mindedly he flicked on the television and handed the remote to his daughter. "Sit down here and wait."

Returning to the bed, he stopped at his backpack and dug around inside it, pulling out his medical scanner.

"OK, Alice. Enough time is passed, I try the scanner. Maybe Jesse need to fix you a drip like last time."

Alice tried to fob him off. "Really, I'm OK. It'll pass soon." Zhaan wasn't convinced. Activating the device, he placed the sensor against the damp skin of her forearm and waited for the telltale beep. After reading the results, he repeated the whole process.

Alice sighed on hearing the noise a second time. "What is it telling you?" she asked, dreading the thought that she might be hooked up to an IV.

Zhaan was studying the screen on the device, frowning, as though trying to make sense of what he saw there. Alice waited a while, but still he didn't speak. Eventually her patience gave out. "So?" she asked.

"You short on some chemicals like last time, some iron and two others, I have to ask Jesse the names. You dehydrated and need to eat more food. I ask Jones to bring us something from canteen. You must try to eat."

Right on cue, Jones knocked at their trailer door, asking if anybody wanted to go to breakfast with him. Seren immediately jumped to her feet, shouting, "Me, me!"

Zhaan walked to answer the door, the medical device still in his hand, a worried frown on his brow.

"Jones, you take Seren and bring breakfast for Alice and me?"

"Sure, no problem. Am I taking her in her pyjamas?" the agent joked.

"No wait, I dress her. Come, Seren." Zhaan led her back to Jesse's trailer in search of the previous day's clothes.

Zhaan almost had Seren ready, when Jesse returned from his run. His T-shirt was soaked with sweat. It was going to be a hot day. He took a look at his niece. "Couldn't you find any clean clothes? Looks like she painted her dinner on those."

"Jones take her for breakfast. Probably breakfast end up painted on too. I change her later."

"I'm starving. Guess I need to shower before I join them though."

"Jesse I must speak with you. One minute, I take Seren to Jones." Zhaan's serious words caused Jesse, who had already drawn his soaked T-shirt off over his head, to come to a complete standstill.

As he returned, Jesse asked him, "What's up?" From the Guy's manner, he knew it was serious.

"I use medical scanner for Alice. She sick this morning again."

"Do you think we need to get her on an IV? Is that what's worrying you?" Jesse asked.

"Worse thing," Zhaan responded abruptly then paused, not wanting to speak the next words. "Something very wrong, Jesse."

Jesse had great respect for the Guy's medical scanning devices and dropped into a chair with a worried frown.

"What did your device tell you? Is the baby OK?"

Zhaan shook his head before lowering it into his hands.

Jesse shuffled closer to him. "What do you know?"

"I use my scanner two times, same result each time. What is inside Alice cannot be a child. My machine describe it as 'bad cells need removal'. I know it very early to use scanner, but I believe it accurate. What grows in Alice not formed correctly to become child. Cells not arranged right. Whatever formed just use Alice energy to grow. It increase size too quickly for child. Already I feel bump on her belly. We need to take it out before it make her more sick. Her body immune system try to fight already."

"Are you sure about this Zhaan?" Jesse asked in disbelief. Zhaan didn't need to answer, the look on his face was enough.

"It's too early for a sonogram, to double check." Jesse was wondering how to proceed. "Did you mention this to Alice?"

"Only that she need more water, food and chemicals like last time. I am afraid she don't believe me. She know I afraid for her health when she want make baybay with me. Maybe she think I just want to take it away to make her well again."

"Oh, Zhaan," Jesse sighed, "I'm sure she'd never think such a thing of you. Let me get cleaned up and I'll come over and examine her."

"So, let me get this right," Alice screamed, "our last child you called a mistake, and this one is some kind of parasitic monster. Is that what you are telling me?"

"Alice, please try to stay calm. Zhaan is only telling you what he knows from his scanner. I'm sure he meant no such thing."

" 'Bad cells which need removing' sounds pretty clear to me." Tears began to fall in a mixture of fear and rage.

Jesse's examination had shown that, as Zhaan suspected, Alice's belly was already swollen far more than normal for such an early stage of pregnancy.

"Alice, you so sick. What is growing cannot become child, we must remove it," Zhaan stated.

"Zhaan's right, Alice, we can't risk your health. You have to think of Seren, too. Look, what you are attempting, you and Zhaan, when you try to have a child, is a kind of genetic experiment. Creating hybrids is not without its problems."

"Oh, so now I'm a mad scientist too! Great! Thanks for the support."

"Alice, it's not your fault." Jesse tried to reassure her.

"I never thought it was!" Alice replied angrily, before sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking some deep breaths to calm herself.

"So suppose you are correct, and this 'thing' keeps growing but I refuse to let you rip it out of me. What will happen?"

"I can't know for sure, maybe your health will fail as your immune system fights it and we'll have no choice but to remove it, or perhaps your body will deal with it itself."

"What do you mean? A miscarriage?"

"Well, technically I guess it would only be a miscarriage if it were a child you were carrying but fundamentally yes, your body may reject the cells." A few moments of silence passed while Alice processed the information.

"I still can't believe that we can be sure it won't become a child. Like you say, nobody knows anything about this. It may just develop differently from a Human child. You can't think about tearing it out before we can even be sure. If you say it's already too big to be a child, can't we do a sonogram now, so we know one way or another, Jesse?"

"Alice, the swelling of your belly is larger than normal. I think it's due to your body reacting to what has implanted. I have no idea whether we'd be able to make anything out clearly on an sonogram yet."

"Then we should wait," she said decisively. Jesse pondered her decision. The idea of destroying an unborn child, even if in error, was abhorrent to him.

At that moment Jones and Seren returned with some food but, sensing the atmosphere of tension in the trailer, the food was placed hurriedly on the table and they left, Jones saying, "Seren and I are just going for a walk."

When they left, the three sat in silence for a while, Zhaan sliding across his seat to wrap an arm around Alice's shoulders. At first she attempted to resist, but finally took a firm grip of his hand in hers and began to speak.

"OK, so here's what is going to happen," she said. "We will carry on as normal until one of two things happen, either enough time has passed for a sonogram to give a definitive result and we can make a decision based on actual facts, or as you say, my body eliminates the problem. In the meantime, we won't talk about this again. Nobody else will be told. We'll carry on planning our wedding for next weekend. It will be a wonderful and happy occasion. I'll be just fine and we'll wait until Earth and Guyara decide what should happen." She looked into Zhaan's eyes and saw his surprise that she should speak in such a manner.

### Chapter Sixty

It was time to head out for their appointment to pick up a marriage licence. Jones was antsy about making their way through the crowd of media, semi-permanently installed by the gate to the compound, clamouring for more information about the aliens. He insisted another of the security team join the three of them in the car, and two additional teams follow ahead and behind them in separate vehicles. Alice had managed to keep from Zhaan the level of press frenzy about the situation, and as he hadn't previously left the compound, he had no idea about the hoards of news hounds waiting at the gates.

Jones was aware that with so little information forthcoming to the public about the alien visitors, journalists were desperate for any little scrap of detail. Despite serious security measures, photos had already been smuggled out; it was impossible to avoid in an age where digital photography was available on any mobile device. What information the press had, Jones suspected, had come from a source or sources within the secure compound.

If a convoy of vehicles were now to leave containing one of the aliens, he knew without a doubt they would be tailed and harassed.

Perhaps some mis-information might be of use. He called the gate guards and suggested they start a rumour that the vehicle convoy was headed to the airport to collect a very important visitor. Meanwhile Alice and Zhaan curled up together in the back of the car, a blanket over them, in an attempt to conceal themselves.

As they approached the electronic gates and they swung open, it seemed the ruse might just work. The first car swept out of the gate, its path cleared by the waiting photographers. Jones held his breath as their vehicle passed safely through the crowd, followed by their support team.

After an intensive session of form filling and handing over their IDs and Social Security numbers to the County Official, Alice and Zhaan sat quietly before her. Zhaan's eyes wandered the walls of her office, lined with religious symbols and sayings. The woman took her time, poring over the documentation and he began to feel anxious. What was so difficult about reading a few forms, at least for a Human?

Zhaan noticed Alice's knees jigging up and down and sensed she too was nervous for some reason. The grey-haired, serious-minded woman kept them waiting a further ten minutes before leaving the room to consult with a colleague.

Twenty minutes later she returned with their documents. "Sorry for the delay. I had to verify the authenticity of these items, particularly as some were so recently issued." She looked pointedly at Zhaan. "Now I need to check your identities against the photos." She turned first to Alice, quickly satisfied that she looked like her Driver's License photo.

She turned her attention to Zhaan. "Mr Guy, could you please remove your sunglasses." Here it was, the moment Zhaan had been dreading. Slowly he lowered the frames, and gazed at the official as unthreateningly as possible with his fiery eyes, which now were emphasised by the narrow dark slits his pupils had become in the bright fluorescent lighting. Looking into Zhaan's eyes, the woman drew in a sharp breath.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said, promptly disappearing for another extended period.

Jones had endured more than his fair share of bureaucracy in his time at the FBI, but even he had his suspicions that this wasn't going well.

Finally the lady returned, looking stern, with a broad and tall male colleague backing her up. She took her seat facing them, with her moral support standing behind her.

"Mr Guy, Miss Williams, this County is unable to issue you with a marriage licence," she stated.

"What do you mean?" Alice stammered. "We were told we needed ID and Social Security numbers and to pay a fee. I don't understand."

"Miss Williams. We have reason to believe that Mr Guy is not Human, and as such, we are unable to issue a licence for your marriage to him."

"But we were told by the President herself that it would be possible. Now you are saying we're not allowed to get married. Why?"

"Miss Williams, I am not saying that you are not permitted to marry. I am merely stating that this County will not issue you with a marriage licence. We do not permit marriages between Humans and non-Human species. This would set an alarming precedent, and in our view would amount to condoning bestiality, which in our County and in the eyes of the Lord is a sin against humanity. For this reason we will not grant a marriage licence."

"Excuse me, but I don't recall reading anything in your regulations about such things, only that we needed ID and to pay a fee. Can you show me in your legislation where it expressly states such a thing? Zhaan is a citizen of this country." Alice was getting angry, and Zhaan was completely lost.

"Alice, what happening?" he asked her.

Fuming, she tried to explain. "The people of this County will not issue us with a licence to get married because you are not Human. They are telling me it would be as bad for me to marry you, as to marry an animal." Zhaan's expression moved from hurt to crestfallen before he gathered himself to speak.

"Alice we need no piece of paper to marry. We marry anyway. Miss President say it will be OK."

"Zhaan, it doesn't work like that. If we are to be truly married, we need a licence." She turned her attention back to the officials, who were waiting to speak with her.

"Miss Williams, issuance of marriage licences is at the discretion of the officials of this County, and on this occasion we refuse to issue a licence."

Alice was now rising from her chair as she became irate at the stupidity of these people. Worried about what she intended, Jones stood and walked behind her, placing a hand on her arm.

"Alice, come on. Let's go. We'll sort this out. Getting angry here won't achieve anything. When we get back, I'll make some calls."

She took a look at the hard resolve on the faces of the officials and realised he was right.

On the trip back to the compound, Alice was still in shock and began fretting.

"Andy, Mom, Clare, Zach, they've all bought air tickets to see us married on Saturday. What will we do?"

"Alice, I marry you Saturday on beach, like we plan, with or without stupid piece of paper. It don't matter to me. If we believe we are married, we are married. If Humans can't allow it, we ignore them."

### Chapter Sixty One

"Why do you sometimes walk with a slight limp in your right leg?" Jesse's Pentagon friend, now known to Zhaan as Murphy, was asking. After five days of questions, mostly about himself, his character, opinions, and physical attributes, Zhaan thought these two Humans must know him better than he knew himself. He'd undergone a full set of body scans and extensive pictures had been taken of his exposed body. The Guy was beginning to feel violated, as Murphy stared at one of the photos in front of him.

"When do I see naked picture of you?" Zhaan asked with irritation, causing Murphy to shuffle the photo back behind a pile of papers. Jones worried that they were pushing Zhaan too far. He'd learned that the Guy valued his privacy. They were risking losing his co-operation, especially after the fiasco about the marriage licence.

"Do you want to see naked photos of us?" Murphy asked sarcastically, calling the Guy's bluff. A curl of distaste in Zhaan's upper lip was the only answer he received.

"You ask why my leg is bad?" Zhaan clarified, getting back on topic. Murphy nodded. "I tell you already how my people come back to Earth to collect Zhaan and Khevn. This happen earlier than they plan, because I was in trouble."

"Why were you in trouble, Zhaan?"

"Alice." The one word answer was obviously considered by the Guy as an adequate explanation. "When I am back on my ship, I await trial for my crimes. One crazy Guy can't wait for trial. He decide I should die and come into my prison. There he hit my body with his feet until I badly injured, then he start with my head until I die. From this attack my leg is still bad and, if I don't exercise enough, it become hard to bend."

"But you're not dead, Zhaan. You say you died?"

"I did die. Other Guy save me and bring me back to life, so they can hold trial and then kill me again. Make no sense to me at the time." Murphy jotted down notes to ask some more about the trial.

"What about the two scars you have on your abdomen?"

When Zhaan didn't understand his meaning, Murphy dragged out the photo again and pointed at the marks, annoying the alien some more.

"This one from attack by Guy on my ship. My chest injured and medic must make surgery to fix it." Pointing to the lower scar, he continued, "This where angry ex-boyfriend of Alice shoot me. This Jesse fix for me."

"You were shot? Here on Earth?" Murphy asked with surprise.

"This is what I tell you, isn't it?" Zhaan's irritation was obvious.

"What happened to your attacker?" the man asked with concern.

"I not know." Zhaan answered honestly.

"What about the Blood for Blood justice, of which you spoke? Didn't you take revenge on him?"

"This not Guyara, this Earth. Is different here." Zhaan was decidedly uncomfortable with this line of questioning. "To stop man from killing me and hurting Alice, we must hit him on head with big lamp. After this I not know what happen to him, we left."

"Where did this take place?" the man probed.

"Someplace, in motel. I don't remember where."

"What was the man's name?"

"I not know."

It was obvious that this line of questioning was leading nowhere at the moment, and Murphy had to remind himself that the purpose of the interrogation was not to make Zhaan feel he was being judged, but to gain information about Zhaan and the Guy. Much to Jones' relief, he dropped the subject.

"Your people subjected you to a trial. What were your alleged crimes?"

"They have big list of crimes, but I don't believe I deserve to be prisoner. They send me to Earth to find out about Humans. I know much more about Humans than Khevn when they take us back, but not always I do things how they want. Guy people don't like this."

"In what way didn't you do things the way they wanted?"

"I come to Earth, after few minutes I find pretty Earth girl. I take her in my vehicle, tell her I am alien, travel together with her, allow her to use Guy technology. I take her in my bed. Together we do things forbidden by my people. I become more interested in Alice and my other Human friends than my mission. I don't answer Guy communications. I stop working on my research because I believe that to know a few Humans well is more important knowledge.

"Finally they send Khevn to find me. They take me back to ship but I show no remorse for my actions. For all these things which they call crimes, they punish me."

"What was your punishment?" Jones asked, determined not to let Murphy take over the entire process, with his lack of people skills.

"This is my punishment." Zhaan gestured around him. "I must come back to Earth and keep contact with my people if Humans become a threat. I must wear marks of shame, but otherwise I consider I very lucky. Alternative was death."

"What do you mean by 'marks of shame'?" Jones enquired.

In response Zhaan held up the backs of his hands, where his crimes were displayed in tattoos for all to see, if they could read the Guy language. Some of this was ground that Jones had already covered in private discussions with Zhaan and the Guy frowned at him, knowing he already knew about the marks. Jones subtly gestured towards the device that was recording their conversation. "Mr Guy indicated that the tattoos on his hands are the so-called 'marks of shame'."

Zhaan was weary and Jones wasn't unhappy to notice Trinn outside the window in the hangar, waving her arms at Zhaan in a frenzied manner. "Looks like you might be needed, Zhaan," Jones said with relief in his tone.

Zhaan turned to face the window, looked at Trinn and then peered more closely. "Trinn have red spots. I think Zilurans have pickenpox." Remembering his own recent brush with death at the hands of the virus, he sat glued to his chair in horror for a moment, before reminding himself of Jesse's assurances that he would now have immunity to the virus.

"We need Jesse," Zhaan insisted, as he watched Trinn scratching at the angry red spots. Zhaan had a feeling that Jesse would be happy to have another excuse to stay and help out, so that he would be able to keep an eye on his sister, without letting on the reason for his prolonged stay. Lucky for him and Zach, the Government was picking up the tab for the temporary doctor and receptionist working with Zach at the practice in place of Jesse and Alice.

Work was able to continue, despite the renewed outbreak of Chickenpox, when it transpired that apart from the itchy, red spots, the Zilurans were unaffected by the virus. They took plenty of breaks from work, to spend time scratching one another in a way the Humans considered inappropriate, but were happy to continue repairing their ship.

Trinn felt compelled to tease Zhaan. "My big strong Guy nearly died from this little sickness with the itching spots. You Guy are not so strong as you think!"

As everyone working on the project had already been exposed to the virus, the team decided to press on regardless, meaning Zhaan's questioning continued. Alice busied herself, to keep her mind off her own ill-health, with preparations for the 'fake' beach wedding at the weekend.

"Will the Guy come back to Earth?" Murphy asked Zhaan.

"Only if Humans are threat to Guyara, and then it take long time to get here. I think it too much trouble for them, so long as Humans can't reach our planet."

"What about the Zilurans? Do you think any more of them will travel here?"

"I can't believe these ones manage to travel here in their old ships. They travel very long time to get here, and only come to Earth to search for parts to repair their ship. They had no choice. I think it unlikely."

"What other lifeforms are there, which we need to know about?" Jones inquired.

"I tell you already of planet Dura. If Durans come to Earth, then you must worry! They are angry, violent species who like to find new planets, take everything they want and then move on. They can't care if other species live there already. The Guy and Durans fight for very long time.

"My people know of no exploration by Dura in this sector of space. If we learn of it, we tell Humans, to prepare them. Dura far from Earth, much more far than Guyara, Delta our colony, or Zilur, even Codal."

Murphy picked up on that comment. "Is Codal another planet?"

"Codal have only primitive life-forms without ability to travel in space. Humans don't worry for Codal."

"The ships the Zilur arrived in, are they their own technology?"

"No, they tell me mothership is old Guy transport ship. Shuttle craft is from Dura. You know this already."

"How do you think they acquired these craft?"

"It can be Guy sell them old craft. We trade between our planets. How they have Duran ship, I have no idea. Perhaps they find it crash and repair, perhaps steal. You must ask them."

At that moment Alice burst into the room, a huge smile on her face. Striding over to Jones she placed a large kiss on his cheek, taking him and everybody else in the room by surprise.

"Jones, how can I thank you?" she asked. Alice's actions made Zhaan unhappy as he waited for the man's response.

"For what, Alice? What's going on?" Jones asked perplexed by the whole incident.

"I know you pulled some strings. I just received a personal call from the Governor of Florida, telling me that somebody from Tallahassee was on his way here, to issue us with a marriage licence, on special instructions from the President. I can plan a real wedding after all. Where will I find an Official to preside with only three days' notice?" After kissing Zhaan on the lips, she rushed from the room.

"What just happen?" Zhaan asked Jones in bewilderment.

### Chapter Sixty Two

Malla had just finished sending an email to Alice, telling her that the judgement was pending, when she was interrupted by her prison guards.

" _Get up. It is time to hear your judgement."_

Malla's heart jumped to her throat. She knew if she faced execution, it would be carried out quickly. At least the Guy showed that mercy. She still held out some hope that the Commander might be able to convince the High Council of the value of her work and keep her alive, even if imprisoned. Just knowing she was aboard the same ship with Khevn and that he still lived would keep her going.

As she hesitated, the guards approached her, pulling her roughly to her feet. They hadn't noticed that the supports on her leg braces were unfastened, which made sitting more comfortable. As they dragged her up, she promptly crumpled to the floor. One of the guards at least, showed some compassion helping her back into her chair to secure her braces.

On this trip to the bridge, she passed only a couple of crew members. Although she was aware they didn't yet know the outcome of her trial, she couldn't help herself in trying to gauge the meaning of the looks they gave her as she was swept past.

The same panel of three officers faced her on the bridge. Her eyes were drawn to the Commander. Knowing his sympathy for her, she tried to second guess the outcome by gazing at his face to assess his mood. Suddenly she realised her scrutiny was making him uncomfortable and quickly lowered her eyes.

" _Despite your physical impairment, you shall submit to the authority of this judgement panel of the Guyaran High Council. Then you will be seated."_

Whatever the outcome, the Commander planned to save her the misery of anticipation.

" _Help her,"_ the Commander instructed the guards, hoping that with their help, the ritual of getting Malla down on her knees, to bow her head to the floor in a display of submission, would be over quickly.

As she unfastened the braces which held her knees straight, two strong Guy assisted her in lowering herself to her knees. She placed her hands on the floor beside her legs. In this position, with her legs bent, she was otherwise unable to support her upper body. Sliding her hands slowly forwards, she finally reached a point where her forehead was able to make contact with the floor, facing the panel, her act of submission complete. The guards yanked her up by her arms and placed her onto the chair behind her.

Seated, she looked around, hoping to see Khevn on the bridge but was disappointed.

" _Malla, we have received word from Guyara in the matter of your trial for the killing of Pag. I will read your judgement to you."_ Malla gulped at the Commander's words.

' _It has been proven and confessed that Malla was solely responsible in the matter of the killing of Pag, fellow crew member. Such an act is punishable by the death of the perpetrator.'_

Malla felt the blood drain from her face, and the Commander must have noticed too, because he hurried to continue reading.

' _The circumstances of this matter are singular, in that the victim was killed in an act of defence of another Guy, who was unable to defend himself, while under attack by the victim. In this difficult situation, Malla took up arms to prevent his death and an attack upon her own person. As such, this matter is not considered as a murder and is treated as a killing without pre-meditation_.

' _Representations have been made and witness reports have observed on the character of the defendant. In addition, the importance of her work to this mission by the Guy people has been taken under advisement._

' _However, a killing was still committed and punishment must be served.'_

Now Malla's hopes were fading fast.

' _In the matter of the killing of Pag by Malla, the judgement of the Guyaran High Council is as follows....'_

Did she imagine it or did the Commander's eyes close briefly in regret?

' _The defendant Malla will bear the marks of shame of a killer. She will remain in solitary confinement for a further period of ninety days. At the end of this period, on provision that her behaviour is proven satisfactory, she will resume normal duties aboard the vessel - Such is the judgement of the Guyaran High Council.'_

Momentarily confused, Malla shook her head to clear her thoughts. Had she heard right? Was she to be spared?

The Commander added his own comments. _"Malla, you will return to the cabin where you have been isolated. Here you will spend a further thirty days alone. At the end of this initial time period, solitary confinement will continue, but meals will be taken with the rest of the crew. However you will not be permitted to interact with others for a further sixty days. We wish that your presence aboard the ship should not become a matter of discomfort for the remaining crew. They should be accustomed to seeing you prior to your release from solitary confinement._

" _Based on my enquiries amongst the crew, they bear you no ill-will over the matter of the killing of Pag and the majority praise your quick actions in saving Khevn's life and your own. It seems Pag had made himself unpopular with his outbursts and unpredictable behaviour._

" _If you should encounter any hostility from fellow crew once your punishment is served, you will inform me immediately. The guards will now return you to your cabin. The marks will be applied tomorrow."_

It would have been inappropriate for Malla to speak directly to the Commander to thank him for his support, yet the look they exchanged said enough.

### Chapter Sixty Three

Early afternoon the day before the planned wedding, friends and family from Montana swept into the secure compound. Alice started to feel nervous as the wedding was beginning to feel like a reality. She was happy to see Clare, but surprised that Claudia and Ann weren't with the group.

"Hope you've all had Chickenpox!" Jesse welcomed them. "We seem to have a small intergalactic epidemic going on here."

"Where's the bachelor boy? What do we have planned for his last night of freedom, boys?" Andy asked with a grin.

"He's down in the hangar working. He'll be up later," Alice explained. She turned to Andy. "Where's Claudia? Couldn't she make it?" He glanced around and after ensuring that the rest of the crowd were pre-occupied, chatting excitedly with one another, he led Alice a small distance away to explain.

"Obviously she had concerns and didn't want to bring Kevin here but, to be honest, since she became pregnant, she's been suffering from some other issues."

"What do you mean, Andy? Is she feeling unwell?" Alice asked, concerned for her friend.

"I've been talking with Zach about it on the way here and he reckons she is suffering from delayed post traumatic stress after the attack. She refuses to cross the bridge onto the highway, and seems to be avoiding the 'real world'. She hardly leaves the house, except to visit with Clare across the road. When she is home, especially alone, she'll become very anxious. I understand that she wanted to keep Kevin away from here, but when we were getting packed up to leave, she had a full blown panic attack. Zach arrived to pick the rest of us up for our flight and managed to get her calm. I couldn't leave her alone like that."

"So what did you do? How are you here?" Alice wondered.

"Claudia was determined I should come, that me staying with her would just make her feel guilty. Luckily my friend in the Forest Service, Cindy, who was house-sitting and feeding the animals, was able to stay with Claudia for the weekend. Everybody insisted on waiting until everything was sorted. It's a miracle any of us caught the plane.

"I feel really bad about it. I know I should have stayed behind with Claudia but she refused to let me and I had to make a snap decision. She insisted that she would be happier if I didn't miss the fun and Kevin was kept safe at home. I'm still trying to convince myself that I shouldn't be headed right back to the airport, that I'm not the worst husband ever."

"Have you called Claudia to see how she is?"

"Yes. They are getting along well. Apparently Cindy is keeping Claudia busy, teaching her to shoot. They've decided it's a girl power weekend. Cindy wants to teach Claudia skills to defend herself, to help with her anxiety. We may find bullet holes all over the back yard when we get home! Later they are going to order pizza and watch some movies. Claudia tried to appear OK but I could tell she was still anxious. It's ironic when she's taking that Counselling course to help others. I think we need to get her some help as soon as I get home."

"I'll give her a call later." Alice looked around. Jesse was working on allocating the available trailer spaces to the group and settling them in.

"What about Ann? Zach is here and Mikey. Zhaan will be so pleased to see him. He was afraid that he'd never be allowed to spend time with Mikey again, the way his mother reacted."

"Not sure what's going on there. Zach and Ann are having some problems. Since she found out about Zhaan, there have been lots of issues surfacing. Zach doesn't say much, but he's spent a couple of nights in Jesse's guest room already this week."

"It seems like the whole world is crumbling while we're away," Alice mused.

"How are you doing, Alice? You look like shit by the way. I haven't seen you looking this way since you were knocked up."

"Always the charmer, Andy Callaghan!" Alice joked. "Let's not talk about it right now, I'd prefer not to."

Jones wasn't sure about the plan to take Zhaan out on a bachelor night when Jesse mentioned Andy's hare-brained plan.

"Look Jones, I'm not sure it's a good idea either. I worry that he won't be safe. I'm also concerned about what Andy has planned. I'm not sure it's appropriate."

"Well, we should ask Zhaan I guess, technically he's free to come and go from the compound if he wants."

Jesse was surprised when Zhaan agreed. "Party for boys only?" He'd shrugged his shoulders at the idea initially. "It is Human tradition before wedding?" Jesse nodded. "Then we go, but I need to go one place when we are out. We must go early enough."

Alice had given her brother a strict warning. "Don't get him shit-faced, and don't get him into trouble."

"Wow, first stop is a tattoo parlour! This could turn out to be a hell of a night!" Andy joked. "We haven't even started drinking yet. OK, who's for getting a tattoo? Are we all getting one?"

"Not me," Jesse insisted, his doctor's mind thinking through the health risks.

"Well, I know Claudia is partial but what shall I get?" Andy pondered.

It seemed Zach was keen to let off some steam too. "I'm in, hell yeah!"

Jones was relieved that he was working and couldn't be put on the spot. Otherwise he knew he'd easily have been roped in too.

Next stop was a bar where they planned to eat.

"Nobody told me how much it hurt getting a tattoo!" Zach joked, "Hell I need a beer!"

Andy too was nursing his right biceps. "What did you get, Zach?"

"A howling wolf; fits right in with the way my wife makes me feel at the moment," he laughed. "What about you, Andy?"

"I chose this Celtic thing, for my Irish ancestry. It's like an arm band, wraps right around my biceps. I hope Claudia will like it. I should have used my brain and picked something smaller. It's really sore."

"What about Zhaan?"

"Something small on his hand. He's keeping it covered for now. Perhaps he added to his existing tattoos."

"Andy, I'm really not sure about this. I don't think Zhaan is going to enjoy it," Jesse told him.

"Look he's a guy isn't he? This is a bachelor party, so it's practically compulsory."

In truth, Jesse had never visited a place like this before and looked up nervously at the gaudy flashing neon images of dancing girls as they went inside. Zhaan seemed oblivious, assuming they were headed to another bar. Jones in his sober state was curious to see how the alien would react to what was planned. The other security guards were left outside, just a radio call away.

Andy was at the bar, ordering drinks and deep in conversation with a busty barmaid, when music began and a girl entered the stage in front of their seats. As she began to gyrate, she caught Zhaan's attention. He watched with interest as the woman skilfully contorted her body around the shiny steel pole. Occasionally Zhaan would look in Jesse's direction, with an expression of puzzlement. His face changed to astonishment as Zach moved forward and slipped a bill into the girl's limited clothing.

"Jesse, why she dance like that? Why Zach touch her?"

"Zhaan, this is a bar where girls dance like this to entertain men. He gave her some money because he was enjoying her dance."

"Do I have to give her money? Then I have to touch. I don't want."

"Don't worry, Zhaan. This is your night out. You don't need to worry about money."

Two rounds later, Andy approached his friend. "Zhaan, come with me." He led his friend by the arm to a curtained off area and shoved him inside. When he returned to the table without Zhaan, Jesse was concerned. "What the hell, Andy?"

"Just got him a little bachelor gift." He looked around the table and saw the consternation on the other men's faces. "Don't panic, it's only a private dance."

"I'm not sure that was such a brilliant idea, Andy." Jesse, worried, was getting to his feet.

"Jesse, he's a big boy. He'll be fine. Don't sweat it."

Zhaan hadn't realised Andy had abandoned him when he was initially confronted with the scantily clad woman until he turned around for reassurance, and saw only the closed velvet curtain. Now he felt decidedly uncomfortable. What was happening here?

The dancer before him sensed his awkwardness. "What's your name, honey?" she asked.

Nobody called him 'honey' except Alice, and thinking of her back at the compound, unwell, made his discomfort greater.

"I am Zhaan," the alien responded, his Guy manners bringing the answer to his lips, although he wasn't sure he wanted to reveal any information in this place.

"Well, Zhaan, take a seat. I won't bite," she joked. "That would cost extra."

"What happen here?" he asked, obeying her instruction to sit.

"Well, I heard it's your bachelor night, and your friend paid me to give you a private dance." Zhaan sighed with relief. Dancing, he could tolerate that.

"What your name?" he enquired.

"OK don't laugh, everybody does." Zhaan looked puzzled. "It's Mary, like the famous virgin."

He had no idea what she was talking about. "Mary, if you dance, my friend is happy that the tradition is fulfilled, and I can go home to my Alice. Dance!" he commanded.

As Mary began to gyrate, Zhaan fidgeted nervously in his chair. She wiggled towards him, thrusting her breasts threateningly at him and then backing away, allowing him to breathe again. The idea that she might touch him generated anxiety. Now she was coming close again, swaying with the rhythm of the music, leaning over him. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol on her breath made him recoil a little. She bent towards him again, tracing a finger across his forehead and before he realised what was happening, she'd slipped off his dark glasses. "Let me see your eyes, I love to be watched."

"Don't touch me!" he said sternly, as she backed away in alarm.

"Hell! You're that alien dude!" she exclaimed, staring hard at his eyes. She retreated from him in fear as he reached forward to recover his sunglasses.

"They don't pay me enough for this shit!" she said, yanking the curtain back and stomping angrily from the area.

Jesse raced over, to check on his alien friend, who was still seated in stunned silence. Zhaan smiled as he approached, reassuring him that nothing sinister had occurred.

"That went good!" Zhaan laughed, relieved at the opportunity to escape from the curtained area.

"Your mother will sleep well tonight, I think!" Clare commented to Alice, as they watched her running after a badly thrown ball from the game of catch she was attempting with Seren and Mikey. "Are you OK with her being here? I wasn't sure, but she's still staying with us, and I felt obligated to invite her."

"Sure, no problem," Alice reassured her. "She should be here, besides she's making herself useful."

"I wonder what the boys are up to?" Clare mused.

"I dread to think," Alice giggled. "I just hope they bring back my fiancé in one piece. I have plans for him tomorrow."

"What is the plan for the wedding? Do you need some help setting up? I'd love to help; I know Jesse will too. He told me you're not doing so great at the moment."

The small show of concern from Clare was the final straw and Alice burst into tears. Clare wrapped her arms around her in comfort. It was a while before Alice managed to speak.

"Sorry, Clare. This is not turning out to be the most exciting bachelorette party in history."

"Alice, don't worry. You want to talk about it?" Without answering, Alice raced from her beach chair into her trailer and vomited into the sink. She was determined to prevent her condition from spoiling the wedding, but sometimes it was impossible to hide.

Clare moved behind her, holding back her hair and handing her a paper towel to clean up.

Once Alice had recovered herself, they moved to the sofa. Alice didn't want Seren to see her suffering.

"Are you happy about the wedding?" Clare asked with concern. "You know you could put it off until you're feeling better."

"I can't see Zhaan agreeing to that. He's already cross that he had to wait a week! Besides, he's right. Life is short. We have no idea what is next around the corner for us, and we want to be married. The thought makes me really happy. I just hope I can survive the ceremony without yakking up my lunch though."

"Alice, Jesse told me about the situation." Clare glanced at Alice's belly. "I'm sorry for what you are going through."

"We don't know anything for sure yet. They can't persuade me to give up on it just yet. Who knows what will happen?" Alice placed a hand protectively over her belly.

"Well, if there is anything I can do, just say."

"I would really appreciate some help setting up the beach. I'm just feeling so wobbly at the moment and Zhaan has to work. I have this idea of how I'd like things to be. Hopefully with your artistic talent, we can make it work. We have all day tomorrow, as the ceremony will take place at sunset. I wanted Zhaan not to have to be hidden behind his dark glasses.

"Perhaps we'd better check on Mom, make sure those kids aren't giving her a heart attack!"

### Chapter Sixty Four

The conditions were perfect as the small crowd waited on the beach for the bride, bridesmaid, and flower girl to arrive. The sun was setting, bringing a warm glow to the archway that Clare had fashioned from drift wood, as a focal point for the wedding. Rugs covered the sand and the waiting guests relaxed on the ground, enjoying a glass of Champagne.

Like every bridegroom in history, Zhaan paced nervously, looking frequently towards the road which led to the beach from the compound.

"Don't worry Zhaan! Girls always like to keep us waiting." Andy joked. Zhaan was barefoot, his unusual feet on show for all to see. He wore the dress pants from his tuxedo, rolled up slightly, with the white shirt loose and untucked over the top, the collar unbuttoned. As he spotted a jeep heading for the beach, he removed his dark glasses and handed them to Andy for safe-keeping. Today he had no reason to hide who he truly was.

Zach was racing after Mikey, who was fascinated with the sand and kept hurling himself into it to make sand angels. He managed to apprehend the boy and return him to the seating area before the bride arrived. Mikey, however had other ideas and promptly ran to Zhaan, grabbing hold of his leg. Sensing that the boy was becoming over-excited, Zhaan squatted down to his level. He still had no idea why he could read the feelings of the autistic boy by touch, as he could with Guy.

"Mikey, I happy to see you again." Zhaan said. "We play later but now you must sit with you father while I marry Alice." Giving Zhaan a big toothy grin, the boy released his leg and obeyed.

Jesse was giving away the bride and Andy was assigned as Best Man for the occasion. As Jesse moved towards his sister when the Jeep came to a stop, he marvelled at how she'd found the new age hippie in multi-coloured robes, to officiate at the ceremony. When he was first introduced, he'd been sceptical about her suitability. Now, as he looked at the beautiful beach setting and the relaxed on-lookers, he realised she would be perfect.

Clare climbed from the Jeep. God how he loved her. He was so proud of what she'd created on the beach in only half a day. She walked around the vehicle to help Alice out of the other side. Seren held a small basket in her hand and looked like she was about to make a run for it, so Jesse hurried over and grabbed her by the hand.

"How you doing, sis?" Jesse asked Alice.

"Not great. Sorry we're late. I had to make an unexpected vomit stop."

"No worries. You look beautiful, by the way, in a sickly kind of way."

Alice closed her eyes and chuckled.

"So what's the plan here?" Jesse asked.

"Seren is supposed to walk ahead of us, scattering the petals, if she didn't eat them all on the way here. You can hold me up as we walk so I don't keel over, and Clare will follow behind to catch me if I do."

"Are you happy, Alice?" Jesse asked, conscious of his responsibilities in giving away his sister to be married.

She nodded, adding, "Just hope I don't throw up on the ceremonial hippie!"

They began to walk across the rugs to the driftwood arch. Jesse paused momentarily when he felt Alice falter, but after a couple of deep breaths, she was able to continue. Their mother was busy snapping away with the digital camera. She'd been assigned to record the events. Alice wore a simple sun dress. When she'd first seen herself in the mirror, she realised the design emphasised how bony her shoulders had become in the last two weeks. She had added a wrap borrowed from Clare and was glad of it as a cool breeze blew off the ocean.

Seren scattered some petals as she'd been told, but soon began to lose interest and dropped the basket, running to sit beside Mikey, making everyone laugh.

Alice hesitated a moment, looking up to catch sight of Zhaan. He looked gorgeous and was gazing at her with such intensity that nobody present could fail to appreciate how much they were in love. As she approached, Jesse placed her hand into Zhaan's grip and stepped away to take a seat on the ground. Alice turned to face her soon-to-be husband. She loved to be able to look directly into his uncovered eyes, especially when she could discern such joy there.

Sensing a brief wobble, Zhaan wrapped an arm around her waist for support and the officiant began to speak the words of the ceremony.

Zhaan struggled with some of the phrases the celebrant needed him to repeat. Andy fumbled in a pocket for the ring at the appropriate time and Zhaan slipped it gently onto Alice's finger. She knew he'd refused to wear a ring, saying it would irritate his skin and she thought the ceremony was almost over, with the exception of the 'kiss the bride' part. However, Zhaan raised a hand to interrupt the officiant's words.

"Alice, you know I can't wear a gold ring, it irritate my skin. Instead I bear this mark for you, as sign that I love you for all time." He peeled back a small dressing, which she'd failed to notice, revealing a brand new, sore tattoo in the form of a wedding ring. She pulled his hand close to inspect it and realised that, between the two solid bands of colour around his ring finger, her name was permanently inked. Twisting his hand to inspect the back, she discovered the word 'forever'. She launched herself into his arms and kissed him passionately. Finally the bride and groom separated to hear the words, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride, Zhaan." Although their lips had only just parted, they met again.

### Chapter Sixty Five

Despite the heat of the beach bonfire, Alice shivered in Zhaan's arms. "You OK, Mrs Guy?" Zhaan asked, smiling.

"Just cold." It was clear from her pained eyes that the discomfort she felt was more than just cold, but Zhaan stood and approached Jones, asking if he could spare his jacket. Jones slipped the coat off, revealing his shoulder holster beneath, bringing Zhaan back from his place of delirious happiness for a moment. He returned to Alice and placed the jacket over her shoulders.

It was the perfect end to the day. The friends sat around the bonfire, the buffet food was demolished and a serious dent was being made in the drinks supply. Darkness had fallen. Zhaan had moved Alice onto her side and spooned her in the warmth of his body beside the fire. Zach and Andy were working on a bottle of whisky.

Jesse shuffled closer to Clare, wrapping an arm around her. His mother was involved in whatever sand-flinging game his niece and Mikey had invented. He was unsure if it were the effect of the alcohol, but Jesse felt his eyes glisten with tears. As though he had a sixth sense, Andy reached out to hand him the bottle of bourbon. Jesse held up a hand to show he wasn't interested. He rarely drank spirits since the night when he'd lost control and could have wrecked his life for the second time in a year.

Clare turned to him, "Are you OK, Jesse?" He couldn't answer. Something was eating him up inside and he knew what it was.

"Take a walk with me," he said to Clare.

"I think Zhaan and Alice are headed back to the trailer. We should wish them goodnight first," Clare answered.

They rose and walked to the Jeep where Zhaan was helping Alice climb in. Jones was taking them back. Jesse hugged his sister. "We won't be long."

"Take your time, enjoy the beach." Alice told him, "I'm just exhausted. It was all so beautiful, Clare. Thank you."

Clare and Jesse walked about a quarter of a mile along the beach, the only light coming from the almost full moon. Jesse sat on the sand in a dry spot above the high tide mark, patting the sand beside him, to indicate that Clare should join him. He knew what he wanted to say, but the words just wouldn't come. His frustration finally brought him to tears.

"Jesse, what's wrong? Are you worried about Alice?"

Jesse could only manage a stifled sniffle and a shake of the head. Clare realised she would need patience to discover what ailed him. She laid her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight, feeling nervous. Jesse knew what he wanted and needed to say but his lips just wouldn't co-operate. His throat tightened as though somebody had wrapped their fingers around it to throttle him.

For a half hour the two sat there, watching the waves, no words forthcoming. Eventually Jesse managed to croak, "I'm afraid."

"Jesse, please tell me what's wrong. You're worrying me."

"Nothing is wrong," he responded. "Everything is perfect. I just feel scared that I'm going to mess it all up." Clare puzzled at his words.

"I want to say something, lots of things, and it's like my mouth won't co-operate. I'm terrified and even I don't understand why."

Jesse wasn't making a lot of sense, but Clare opted to take the route of patience, waiting for him to speak again. He didn't speak.

"Jesse, darling, I'm not sure what's upsetting you but if you have something to say which is causing you this much distress, it would be better to put it out there I think."

"But, what if everything gets screwed up again?"

"OK, Dr Williams, let's make a deal. Whatever you say to me in the next few minutes is in complete confidence. If necessary we'll forget the words were ever spoken. Deal?" Now she was really on edge. Did he want to break up with her?

Jesse drew in a deep sigh. "I love you." Clare held her breath, waiting for the 'but'. Her heart was in her mouth when Jesse began to speak again.

"I know I don't say it enough. I'm not so dumb that I don't realise it's because of all the baggage I'm carrying from my marriage. I just hope you can understand."

Clare tightened her arms around him, "I love you too, Jesse."

"I can't explain; it's like I put up this wall after my last relationship almost destroyed me, and I'm struggling to get past it."

"I know, Jesse. It's fine."

"There's this little voice in the back of my head telling me to be careful, not to expose my feelings, not to care too much for somebody because it will only end in heartbreak." Clare was wise enough to allow him to speak in his own time.

"I worry that you only put up with me, Clare, because you have nowhere else to go."

"Well that's just not true. You'd better believe it."

He turned his head to lock eyes with her for a moment.

It was Clare's turn to share. "I worry that you are stuck with me because you felt sorry for me, took me in when I was desperate, and now don't want to ask me to leave."

"Clare, that was never true," he answered indignantly, pondering the words he really wanted to speak. Just thinking about it made his chest tighten, and he was on the verge of hyper-ventilating. Clare, hearing his breathing becoming ragged, kissed him gently on the lips, telling him everything was fine.

"Give me a minute, I can do this, I know I can," Jesse said cryptically, breathing deeply a few times. His voice almost failed him again as he turned on his knees to face her. Hoarsely, he managed to croak the words out. "Clare, will you marry me?"

### Chapter Sixty Six

Zhaan crept into the trailer Jesse and Clare were using. The scent of sex on the air was almost overpowering to him. He hated disturbing them when they had been together so little lately, with Clare due to fly out later today, but he had no choice.

He moved towards the bed, peering hard to work out on which side Jesse was lying. He didn't want to wake Clare if he could avoid it. Sensing him move, Clare sat up suddenly and yelped at the appearance of a shadow shuffling towards where she and Jesse lay, naked and vulnerable. She was grasping for the bed sheet which lay crumpled at the foot of the bed and Zhaan, realising her discomfort at being seen naked, averted his eyes, grabbed a chunk of bedding and thrust it out towards her. At that moment the moonlight shone through the open trailer door, revealing Zhaan's silhouette to her. Clare sighed with relief.

"Zhaan, you scared me half to death! What's up?" she exclaimed.

"I must wake Jesse. I sorry to disturb you. Alice need him," Zhaan explained.

They both looked at the sleeping doctor, his face a picture of relaxed contentment, a look he so rarely wore. It felt cruel to wake him. Zhaan and Clare looked briefly at one another, as though debating who would perform the evil act.

"I'll wake him and get him to come over right away," Clare offered. "Get back to Alice."

When Jesse arrived, he found Zhaan perched on the edge of the bed, cradling Alice in his lap. Her face was contorted with a mixture of pain and fear.

"Jesse, I'm bleeding," she told her brother.

Jesse glanced down and noted with horror that a pool of damp blood was rapidly soaking into the leg of Zhaan's pyjamas, where she sat.

"Shit!" He was still only half-awake and a little hung-over. It was taking a few moments for him to kick into doctor mode. "Let's get you to the medical unit, as quickly as we can."

Jones, ever vigilant, had been disturbed by the lights from Zhaan's trailer and, as he strolled around the side to check everything was OK, he spotted Jesse rushing inside. He knocked at the door and entered moments later.

Jesse turned to him. "We need to get Alice to the medical unit right away. Do you have a vehicle here?"

Jones took in the scene before him with horror. "Yup, right outside, I'll grab the keys. See you out there."

Zhaan took a tighter grip on his wife, scooping her up into his arms as he stood and carried her to the door. Alice gasped in anguish as another wave of pain surged through her belly.

Zhaan lowered Alice onto the examination table and Jesse approached. He wondered at the amount of blood she was losing. Surely for such an early pregnancy, this couldn't be right. Perhaps the significant swelling in her belly was caused by her own body's reaction rather than the 'rogue cells'.

Alice bent double as another pseudo-contraction pained her, managing to throw up on herself a little at the same time. "Jesus!" she cried.

Jesse called for the duty doctor. Since the chickenpox outbreak, the Zilurans had been under observation during the nights in the medical area, just in case of complications. The white-coated man came running, a little bleary eyed. He quickly assessed the situation and the two doctors got to work.

Zhaan wouldn't release Alice from his grip without a lot of persuasion but was finally convinced it would be easier for them to work if he sat beside her and held on to her hand.

Alice groaned again, bending to a half-seated position, as the pain wracked her body. Without realising it, she gave Zhaan's hand a fierce squeeze, bringing a gasp of pain from him too.

"Sorry," she apologised.

Zhaan didn't speak, merely placed a tender kiss on her damp forehead.

Two hours passed like this until it was over. Zhaan and Jesse cleaned Alice up and Jesse found Zhaan a set of scrubs to change into. They moved to a hospital bed and Alice lay curled in Zhaan's arms. When the bleeding subsided, the sobbing began.

Scared at noticing that next to Zhaan's pale skin, Alice's looked almost transparent with exhaustion, Jesse added a little sedative to the central line which ran into her hand, in the hope that she would get some proper rest while she recovered from the ordeal.

Zhaan whispered, "Is it over? Will she be OK, Jesse?"

"Seems like it. I'll take her to a hospital tomorrow to get her properly examined but we should let her rest." Nodding in agreement, Zhaan lowered his head back to the pillow and kissed Alice on the back of the head, carefully, so she wouldn't wake.

As daylight began to make its presence felt, Zhaan was surprised to notice Trinn creeping into their room. She took a look at Alice and quickly assessed the situation. Pulling up a chair close to Alice's head, she tenderly took her Human friend's hand in her own blunt-fingered one and looked at Zhaan.

"What is wrong with my friend?" she asked Zhaan in her own language.

"She was with child but it is lost," he explained solemnly. Trinn laid her other hand on Zhaan's hair, stroking it gently to comfort him. He closed his eyes but was unable to sleep, being still too upset.

Jesse finally relented and allowed Alice's concerned friends to visit her before they headed back to Montana, although she was very drowsy. Seren raced into the room first and on spotting Trinn nursing America, rushed over to play with the child. Tuvon, seeming at last to have acquired some paternal instincts, had brought the child to his mother when he became hungry and began to fuss.

Seren didn't seem to notice the pale forms of her parents curled in the bed for a few moments, but when she did, she bent close to Alice's face regarding her with unease. Alice struggled to open her eyes on hearing her child.

" _Mommy is still sick?"_ she asked Zhaan in the Guy language.

" _Now she is getting better. Do not worry Seren,"_ her father comforted her.

Seeing her anxious friends surrounding her, Alice struggled to speak. "Well, this wasn't how I imagined spending my wedding night!" Their expressions transformed briefly from frowns to sympathetic smiles.

Nobody seemed to know what to say, so Jesse interrupted the awkward silence. "I've asked Mom to stay on, to help take care of Seren while you recover. I hope that's OK with you."

Alice nodded and then turned her head, distracted by the children. Trinn had handed America to Seren, who rocked him back and forth rapidly in her arms. Alice glanced at Trinn in alarm, fretting that Seren may drop the child. Trinn was being examined by Mikey, face-to-face, at very close quarters.

" _This one is different,"_ Trinn said to Zhaan, hoping for an explanation.

" _He is named Mikey,"_ was the only response she received. Instead, Zhaan instructed Mikey to say 'hello' to Trinn.

The boy shyly backed away a little, stubbornly mute, before his curiosity overcame him again and he extended a hand to touch the skin of the Ziluran's cheek.

" 'ello Mikey," Trinn said, causing him to giggle and run away to hide behind his father.

The eyes of all the Humans were now fixed on Trinn, making Zhaan suddenly realise that they had not previously encountered the Zilurans.

Zhaan decided they should be introduced. "Clare, Zach, Andy, Mom of Alice," Zhaan struggled to recall her name, "...Margaret, this is Trinn. She one visitor from Zilur."

Instantly the adults became shy too, each mumbling how it was nice to meet her.

" 'ello. I Trinn, friend of Alice and Zhaan." It was apparent that something was being learned from the English lessons. "This my child, of name 'America'."

"He's beautiful," Clare commented, overcoming her nerves and then, sounding the words of caution that Alice hadn't managed, she turned to Seren. "Be careful Seren. Don't drop him. He's very tiny."

Seren appeared to be losing interest in playing with the Zilur child and thrust him out in Clare's direction, expecting her to take hold of him. Clare, uncertain, moved her eyes rapidly from Trinn to Jesse and back again. Trinn nodded her approval that it was fine and Clare awkwardly took hold of the child. The infant's long arms seemed to be in the way, however she tried to hold him, as he waved them around in frustration at being passed around from person to person but failing to be returned to the source of his milk. She thought she'd finally got him settled, when a tiny hand pinched her angrily on the breast.

"I sorry," Trinn apologised on seeing Clare jump at the sudden pain. "He very hungry today." With relief Clare handed the child back to his mother and she pushed his face roughly to her exposed breast.

### Chapter Sixty Seven

Jesse went to the hospital with Alice. Zhaan was busy translating between the NASA engineering team and the two male Zilurans, when Jones told him that Higgins wanted to speak with him. Approaching the General's office, Zhaan wondered what lay in store. Was the man displeased at the amount of time he'd been absent through one crisis or another lately? Did they have new plans for him, and if so, what?

He didn't have to wait long. As soon as Higgins entered the room, he launched right in.

"I know you are busy, Zhaan, so I won't keep you long. Congratulations on your marriage and my sympathy about the recent situation with Alice, by the way." Zhaan nodded, to indicate he'd got the gist of the man's words.

"There are two things I need to discuss with you. Firstly, payment for your services. The agreed funds are ready to be deposited for you. I'm just a little concerned that the bank details we have are in Alice's sole name. Currently, we have been unable to make the deposit for that reason. I thought I should check that you are actually aware of this situation."

Zhaan was frustrated. Every time the General spoke to him, he struggled to understand. In despair he turned to Jones for help.

"Zhaan, they want to pay you the money they promised." The Guy confirmed he understood so far. "They can't put money for you into a bank account belonging to Alice."

"What is account?" Zhaan puzzled.

"It's the number the bank gives you, to identify where they keep your money."

"I haven't such account," Zhaan stated. "You must pay money to Alice."

"Zhaan that's not possible unless your name is also shown on the account," Higgins sighed.

"I speak with Alice on this when she better. Maybe I need to get me account. She will know."

"When you sort it out, let us know."

"On another matter, as you know, the public and press are very anxious to find out more about our work here and what we are doing and to learn about our alien visitors to Earth. A lot of speculation is circulating currently, and we'd like to give people the true facts to prevent any panic-inducing rumours. We have been instructed by the White House to work with a TV company making a special documentary about the situation here. The aim is to inform the public about you and your people, and give an insight into the Zilurans too, as well as explain what is happening here."

Zhaan interrupted with a sigh. "Higgins, I never can understand what you say. Always I am confused. It make me crazy."

Higgins looked taken aback to be spoken to so bluntly, and Jones quickly stepped in to diffuse the situation.

"Zhaan, they want to show the people of Earth the true situation here and to tell them about the Guy and the Zilurans. They want to make a TV show with real information, to stop people imagining bad things." Zhaan was momentarily stumped by the word 'imagining', which had no equivalent in his language, but worked out what Jones was saying. "I guess General Higgins wants to know if you will help them and are happy to be on television."

"Yes, I help. No I am not happy, but still I help."

"Very good, Zhaan." Higgins smiled, showing that he wasn't still annoyed with the Guy for his earlier tone. "The TV crew are already here actually. They are filming some background footage of us working today and when you have more time, I'm sure they'll want to interview you."

At that moment, a peculiar wailing noise drowned out any further comments. A look of panic crossed Zhaan's face as he pulled his backpack from under the table, delving inside in search of something. The sound grew louder still as he opened the bag.

"What the hell is that?" Higgins asked, noticing that the noise was not only coming from the Guy's pack but could also be heard more faintly coming from outside.

Zhaan pulled his communicator out and peered at the screen, pressing something to silence the noise. The same sound continued beyond the room.

"Zhaan?" the General prompted him. The Guy was already jumping to his feet and headed for the door when he turned to the other two men. "Intergalactic distress signal." With that he left the room and ran to the hangar.

" _Is it coming from your shuttle?"_ Zhaan asked the confused Zilurans as he sprinted towards them.

" _I don't think so, I'm sure the source is elsewhere but let's check."_

Zhaan and Tuvon disappeared inside the Ziluran's ship. Seconds later Jones appeared behind them on the command deck.

Tuvon switched off the sound, but continued to peer at the instruments on the panel before him.

" _Not a malfunction here,"_ he informed Zhaan.

" _Then we must answer."_

" _What can we do to help anyone from here?"_ Tuvon protested. _"What if it's somebody we don't want to tell that we are here."_ He was obviously referring to the Durans.

" _It could be your people on the mothership, which is much more likely. Even if it is a false alarm we should check,"_ Zhaan insisted.

"Zhaan, what the hell is going on? What's the panic? What was that noise?" Jones demanded.

"We receive distress signal from space. Now we argue what we do."

"Don't you have any more information?"

"Not unless we respond. Tuvon worry that it can be Durans and he don't want them to find us. I explain that most likely it come from his mothership, and we must check."

"Will others in space be receiving this signal?" Jones fretted, the thought of the Durans making him nervous.

As if in reply to his question, Zhaan's communicator began to wail again.

"Signal was repeated. This won't happen if it an error. We must respond." The Guy was insistent. It was drummed into every space traveller from Guyara that distress signals were to be answered, regardless of the source, even if they originated from a bitter enemy. They were only ever used as a last resort.

"One second, let me speak with Higgins." Jones dialled and explained the situation. To Zhaan's surprise, the General asked what he thought should be done.

Seconds later Zhaan was on his communicator, sending a response with a request for further information.

Such details would be sent automatically by the distressed vessel's control systems. Words began to scroll across the screen of the communicator in his own language, which took Zhaan by surprise, inducing a momentary frown. Were the people he'd travelled here with in danger? Holding up a hand to indicate that everybody should let him concentrate, he scanned the message for a vessel identification code, dreading seeing one he recognised. How could he do anything to help his people from so far away?

As he read the information, his mind pictured the horrors being endured by the people who activated the message.

Fire on board vessel, unable to contain, crew in life pod. Preparing to vent oxygen from mothership to extinguish fire.

Desperately he scrolled in search of the ID code and on finally locating it at the bottom of the message. He yelled at Jones to bring him a pen and paper and began scrawling in a language unintelligible to Jones. After a surge of relief at not recognising the number, the sudden realisation came to him that the Zilurans had travelled to Earth in a Guy built ship.

Thrusting the paper at Tuvon, Zhaan asked, _"Is this ID code of your ship?"_

Tuvon shrugged.

" _You don't know ID code for your own ship?"_ Zhaan asked incredulously. _"OK, then plot this position. We find out where signal originate."_

Tuvon complied quickly and on recognising the location, began transmitting on the shuttle craft's communication system.

" _Alb, Cho, do you hear me?"_ he asked repeatedly.

Zhaan was relaying the situation to Jones, when a frightened Trinn appeared on the bridge.

"Jones, we think message from Ziluran ship. It say fire on board. They cannot control, so sit in life pod and prepare to open ship airlock to vent all oxygen to space. This should stop fire but then they only have oxygen left in life pod."

Despite Trinn's demands to Tuvon to know what was happening, he continued urgently trying to call the crew of his ship.

" _Alb, Cho, come in."_

Tuvon repeated his call, over and over until finally he received a crackling response.

" _Tuvon, we are in the life pod. We must lose the oxygen from the ship, it is our only hope. Cho is badly burned. I have him aboard and we wear our suits, but maybe he won't make it."_

Tuvon seemed surprisingly calm, perhaps he did have the character to make a good captain after all.

" _Alb, ensure the pod is ready to disengage before you open the airlock, just in case."_

" _I'm working on that right now."_ At that instant the transmission was broken off with a loud crackling noise.

Zhaan was listening to the conversation but kept quiet, his eyes closed. He was deep in thought, trying to recall his disaster training.

" _Alb, come in!"_ Tuvon repeated desperately, ignoring Trinn's frantic pleas to know what was happening.

Finally, Zhaan spoke. _"What the designation of your ship? It would be a word, a name, marked on the front of the hull on both sides in my language."_

Tuvon glared at Zhaan, obviously wondering why he was asking such a stupid question at a time like this. _"I don't know. It was just some kind of squiggle to me. I don't know Guy language."_

" _Draw it,"_ Zhaan insisted.

" _We don't have time,"_ Tuvon protested.

" _Draw it!"_ Zhaan commanded forcefully. _"If I have knowledge of the designation, I believe I can connect to ship's systems. There is a way, if I can remember from my training."_

At these words, Tuvon grabbed the pen and began attempting to remember. His first three attempts were gibberish and he was about to try again, when Trinn snatched the paper and pen from his hands. Finished, she handed the paper to Zhaan and he was able to read the word 'Peacebringer' in his own language.

" _Well done, Trinn,"_ he praised the tiny Ziluran.

A crowd, including the TV crew, was now gathering on the bridge of the Ziluran shuttle. Taking up his communicator again, Zhaan said, _"Everybody quiet. I must think."_ He repeated his message in English. As an afterthought he turned to Tuvon. _"Not you, you keep trying to reach them."_

Zhaan's fingers moved rapidly as he battled to recall the emergency protocol. He'd made it as far as the manual override menu, now he needed the passcode. Was it last letter, first letter, third letter of the ship's name? Maybe third letter, last letter, first letter? He knew he only had one shot before he'd be disconnected. With a silent prayer to Guyara for wisdom, he made his guess, last, first, third.

As the image on the screen of his communicator changed to a ship's system access menu, he sighed deeply. He hadn't realised he'd been holding his breath while he guessed and felt a little dizzy.

He scrolled eagerly up and down, searching for a system status report option.

For the mothership, _Peacebringer_ , all fields stood empty. There was no data feedback, which didn't bode well. He continued scrolling in despair until he spotted the words _'Life pod status'._

' _Hull integrity - good. Oxygen levels - good, supply for ninety six hours at current crew levels. Current crew level - Two. Thrusters - inactive, fully functional. Trajectory - uncontrolled spin, urgent course correction necessary.'_

Entering the directional control menu gave him a visual representation of the movement of the life pod, which seemed to be rotating rapidly in a clockwise direction. As he attempted to access the thruster controls, Zhaan regretted that Dimensional Vessel Control had been an epic fail of his at the Space Academy. Once he'd been assigned to the Earth project, the Guy had refused to let him learn anything more about space travel technology.

Taking a wild stab in the dark, he powered up the port side thruster for a short burst of energy. In horror he watched as the spinning increased in velocity.

"Shit, shit!" He swore in English as he scrambled to repeat the process, this time with the starboard thruster. With relief, he watched the spinning begin to slow. Lacking the confidence to get the motion of the life pod completely under control, he turned to Tuvon, rapidly explaining the controls and handing him the communicator.

Zhaan watched over Tuvon's shoulder, impressed, as he eventually managed to stop the wild motion of the life pod. Thankful, Zhaan collapsed into the seat behind him, placing his head in his hands.

Trinn was instructed to keep trying voice communications, to see if the crew could be reached. Meanwhile Higgins loomed behind Zhaan, demanding a report on the situation. Everybody was too busy to pay any attention to the cameras which kept rolling.

"General, fire was on Ziluran mothership." He lowered his voice to avoid Trinn overhearing. All they needed now was a hysterical Ziluran to deal with. "I believe it was destroyed. Crew of two are in life pod. One is badly burned. I manage to access life pod control because it Guy technology. We stopped life pod from spinning and now try to talk with crew, if they live. They have air for 96 hours, Guy hours, so maybe one third more in Earth hours."

Higgins was impressed with the succinct status report. "What are our options?"

"If mothership still exist, it has no oxygen, so cannot support life. I believe, with sudden loss of communication, it probably have exploded. If I guess, I say life pod has no chance to return to it. We have three options, I think, if crew still live." Zhaan paused and Higgins nodded.

"Humans must go to space and rescue them. I not even sure this possible, unless you have ship already prepared for space.

Second option is that they die in space when oxygen runs out.

Third option, we try to fly life pod down to Earth. Either crew do it themselves, or we try."

"Is that even feasible, Zhaan? Would the life pod survive re-entry, or is it just designed for space?" Jones butted in.

"Life pod is designed for survive most things, if it in good condition. With this crew, I not sure about that."

Trinn squealed in excitement as she spoke, _"Alb, you live!"_ Tuvon snatched the microphone from her hand.

" _What is your status, Alb?"_ he asked.

Alb reported how the mothership had indeed turned into a massive fireball as he attempted to open the airlocks. The life pod had been thrown free and was intact, other than debris of some kind, which seemed to be trailing from one of the wings. They had been thrust away from the ship by the force of the explosion and gone out of control. With the violent spinning he was unable to restore directional control. For some reason he couldn't understand, the ship was no longer spinning and was headed in the direction of the Earth, but he still couldn't regain control.

" _Tuvon, our ship is gone,"_ Alb concluded sadly.

" _Alb, stay calm. The Guy has control of your life pod from here. Be hopeful we will save you,"_ Tuvon tried to reassure him.

Higgins had just finished summarising the situation for a panel of specialists which had been hurriedly assembled, and asked for opinions.

"We have nothing ready to go to space right now. I think the Russians are weeks away yet. Even if we could get up there, the manoeuvre to retrieve the life pod in space would be like finding a needle in a haystack. We have no idea about their technology. I don't believe the option of mounting a rescue is feasible, Sir."

"Well, if we don't want to leave them to die in space, I guess we need to work on the option of bringing the life pod to Earth. I am assured that the craft is designed for such situations." Higgins glanced at Zhaan.

"If we do manage to bring them down, Sir, they might land anywhere on the planet, again we'll be searching for a needle in a haystack."

"Zhaan, what do you think?" Higgins asked.

"I think I don't understand, what is 'haystack'. If Zilurans have not already used fuel out of life pod," he looked pointedly at Tuvon, "should be enough fuel to travel back to Earth orbit from Moon. From Earth orbit, if Guyara and your planet favour it, we can bring them here."

"Zhaan, do you mean here to Earth or here to this location?" Jones queried.

"Here, here." Zhaan poked the table several times for emphasis. We can send life pod signal from my communicator for target location." Zhaan explained, quickly adding, "We need some calculations about how far from signal and in which direction we want them to arrive. I need help with this. If we don't offset, life pod will land on top of communicator, wherever it is."

"Right, so first we need to work on plotting a course to get them back to Earth orbit as soon as possible, especially as we don't know their fuel status. Get to it, once they are on course, we'll proceed from there." Higgins left the table.

### Chapter Sixty Eight

"What they have done to my Alice?" Zhaan wailed as he crossed her hospital room at a run. Jesse had whisked him away with Jones to the hospital, as soon as he'd completed his calculations in preparation for the next day's attempt to bring the Ziluran life pod to Earth.

Jesse had held back the information that the doctors insisted Alice stay in the hospital, until after Zhaan's work was done, knowing that the Guy needed all of his concentration to be focused on the crisis in space.

Now Zhaan scrambled onto the hospital bed with his wife and threw his arms around her comatose form. "What happen? She smell different!" He moved his nose up and down her neck. "She smell like other people!" He was close to becoming hysterical, when Jesse took a grip on his arm causing his head to turn.

"She had to have a small procedure, just to make sure all the bad cells were gone from inside her, Zhaan. Alice is fine, just feeling the effects of the anaesthesia. She'll wake up soon."

"No!" Zhaan insisted. "Something is wrong." He drew back the blanket covering her and began to sniff further afield along her body, drawing a curious look from the nurse who had just entered the room.

"Zhaan, stay calm. Really, she's fine," Jesse attempted to reassure him.

Zhaan knelt beside Alice on the bed, having completed a thorough examination by smell. "She smell like man," he insisted. "This is not right."

Abruptly the penny dropped. "Zhaan, they gave her some blood, from a donor, another Human. They were worried about her blood count. You have to believe me, she will be fine. It will help her recover more quickly. Remember how Trinn had to have a transfusion of blood from the other Zilurans after she had the baby? Well, it's just the same."

"No it not," Zhaan said sulkily. "Zilur blood all the same, each Human different. I recognise each of you by smell of your blood. Now Alice blood smell wrong. It can make her sick," he panicked.

"Zhaan, listen to me. She will be perfectly fine. The drugs will wear off and she'll wake up soon. I'm sure, in no time at all, she will smell just like herself." Jesse was stunned by Zhaan's revelations about his powerful sense of smell.

"Then I lie here too, so she smell like me and less like other man," Zhaan said grumpily, wriggling to lie down alongside his sleeping wife. The nurse took umbrage.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but we can't have you climbing in the bed, please get down," she said sternly. "It's unhygienic and you will disturb Alice. She needs to rest."

"Unhygienic is to take blood of one Human and pump into skin of another," he retorted, ignoring the woman and wrapping his arms firmly around his beloved Alice.

"Could I speak to you in private for a moment?" Jesse asked the nurse, gesturing to the corridor outside. Glaring at Zhaan, she followed Jesse outside.

As they were left alone, Alice began to stir in Zhaan's arms. Sensing the weight of his arms around her, she turned her head to face him as she opened her eyes.

"Hi," she greeted him, still a little dazed from the medication.

"Alice, I will take you away from here." Zhaan spoke excitedly. "They put blood of other Human in you and this room stink like chemicals. I take you home."

Finding his tirade too much on first waking, she laid a finger across Zhaan's lips to quiet him. "Shush, Zhaan. Be calm. Everything is fine." Her head rolled away from him again and her eyelids drooped closed.

Jesse's attempts to persuade the nurse to allow Zhaan to remain where he was were failing, and the determined woman strode back into Alice's room.

"I really must insist, get out of the bed, Sir, or I'll have to call security. Alice must rest."

Raising himself up onto one elbow, Zhaan allowed his dark glasses to slide down his nose a little, revealing his determined, golden eyes. "I not move from here." Stubbornly he plonked his head back down on the pillow. Shocked on seeing his alien eyes, the nurse fled the room.

Sighing, Jesse tried to coax Zhaan into submission. "Zhaan, you won't be able to stay with her all night and definitely not in the hospital bed. It's just not allowed."

"It allowed when I sick and Alice stay with me."

"Yes, but you weren't in a hospital then. We were at the Space Center and you were under my care."

"Then we go there now. You take care of Alice."

Jesse glanced at Jones in despair.

"It would make sense, especially if we're going to have a problem here," the agent reasoned. "Besides he needs to get back there soon, he's got a damn life pod to drive out of space in a few hours and two lives to save. You know his head won't be in the game if Alice isn't there. Is she well enough to travel?" Jones enquired.

Jesse had been forced to sign a waiver, accepting liability before Zhaan was able to scoop his dozing wife up in his muscular arms and stride purposefully from the hospital to the waiting vehicle.

Lying beside her in the medical unit at the Space Center, Zhaan knew he needed rest but was just too anxious to sleep. Jesse bustled into the room now and then to check on Alice, and his last visit, to check her blood pressure, woke her up.

Once they were alone, Alice spoke quietly.

"What's wrong, Zhaan? Can't you sleep?"

In response he gently ran his lips up and down her arm, relieved to notice that her scent was slowly returning to its normal intoxicating fragrance. "I too stress. You are sick and I worry about you. I sorry for what you go through because of me," he confessed. Alice hugged him tighter while he carried on talking. "In few hours I must fly ship from space and try to save two life. I never have done such a thing before. I afraid I will kill Zilurans, maybe some Humans too."

"Zhaan, you don't need to be concerned about me. I'm going to be fine. I'm so proud of you for trying to save the Zilurans. I know you have made the calculations carefully, the Human scientists have helped you. You have done the best you can. Those little guys are in a much better position than they would have been, if you hadn't been here to help. Just do your best. It's all you can do. I'll be right beside you."

Somewhat comforted by Alice's words, Zhaan laid his head back down beside hers on the pillow, but sleep continued to evade him.

### Chapter Sixty Nine

In the Command Centre, all eyes were glued on screens as the team nervously awaited any sign of the life pod's entry into Earth's atmosphere. The anxious Zilurans were corralled at the back of the room. Zhaan sat silently, all of his concentration focused on the display of his communicator. The image was too small for others to watch, and Davies had failed to find a way to relay the images to the large overhead screen at Mission Control. In any case, the Humans would make no sense of the rapidly changing readings in the Guy language and numbering system. Alice's hands lay reassuringly on his shoulders.

Alb's voice crackled over the communicator. _"Nearly there, the heat is increasing."_

Zhaan responded in the Zilur language. _"May Guyara wish us all luck and Earth be with you. Speak to you again soon."_

Zhaan was concentrating too hard on the data being received to explain that the pod was about to enter Earth's atmosphere. He knew communications would be impossible for a few minutes. The Humans keeping watch would know soon enough if his attempt was to be successful.

Alice placed a gentle kiss on the top of Zhaan's head when she sensed him tensing up. How his hair had grown while she'd been sick. It almost reached his shoulders.

A controller approached with an inquisitive expression on his face, but Alice knew it would be dangerous to disturb Zhaan right now and held up a hand to keep him at bay.

Moments later someone spoke. "I think we have a visual." Silence followed for several seconds. "Yes, we see it, more or less in the position we anticipated." A cheer went up around the room but was rudely interrupted as Zhaan leapt up from his seat, grabbed his communicator and sprinted from the room. Alice knew nobody could catch him and she, in her weakened state had even less chance, but she was desperate to find out what was wrong. Grabbing Jones by the arm, she yanked him towards the door.

By the time they reached the Jeep, Zhaan was about to disappear out of sight over a line of dunes. He seemed to be headed for the ocean.

Alice eased her aching body into the passenger seat as Jones jumped in and turned the key, speeding after the racing alien. The wheels of the Jeep were spinning in the white powdery sand as Jones tried to catch up with Zhaan. As they neared where he stood, now motionless and transfixed on the output from his communicator, Zhaan raised an arm to halt them at a safe distance. Glancing skywards, he gently laid his device on the ground where he stood. He turned back towards them and began to run.

"Drive!" he said as he scrambled into the vehicle.

"Zhaan, what the hell is going on?" Jones asked, speeding away as instructed.

"Life Pod automatic system now in control to bring it to land. I can do no more. I worry that calculations are wrong and life pod will land on communicator in Command Centre. I bring it out here, where no people to be harmed." He gestured to the machine, lying in the sand.

"But Zhaan, if you have moved the device from where it was supposed to be when you did your calculations, won't that mess things up?"

The alien shrugged. "I don't want Humans to die if my calculations are bad. I not very good at numbers."

"It's coming in really fast, Sir. At this speed it will be smashed to pieces on impact."

Higgins grimaced. "Zhaan said the automatic control would kick in once the pod had entered the atmosphere. I guess all we can do is pray."

Worried faces watched the small dot on the display as it appeared to grow in size on approaching their location.

"Has it slowed at all?" Higgins asked.

"Negative, Sir," was the response.

The team collectively held its breath waiting for what seemed to be an inevitable disaster.

"Distance two hundred and twenty miles, speed 630 miles per hour, sir."

Moments later, "two hundred miles, 630 miles per hour."

"One hundred and sixty miles, 630 mph...one hundred and thirty miles, velocity constant."

"Fire crews stand by," ordered Higgins. "Be prepared to evacuate."

"One hundred miles, velocity..." The man's words broke off as he peered closely at his screen and then continued in excitement, "velocity five hundred and fifty and falling, sir." A sigh passed around the room as the team gathered around the man's position, watching the data for themselves.

"Sir, it is definitely slowing, four hundred and twenty now and looking good. Trajectory indicates touch down east of planned position. Speed now three hundred and seventy, distance fifty miles."

"Where will it end up?" Higgins yelled, concerned for the rescue teams located on the beach.

"On current trajectory, 800 metres east of planned position."

"Where is that?" Higgins demanded.

"Just off the beach in shallow water, Sir," another man yelled.

"Warn the boats and fire crew," the General ordered.

"Twenty miles, now two hundred and sixty, constant approach trajectory. Fifteen miles, one eighty. Ten miles, one thirty. Eight...six...four....velocity now only one hundred and still falling."

The approaching silver, oval-shaped object was now clearly visible on the overhead screen as it hurtled towards them. "Two miles, speed seventy five. The team watched in stunned amazement as the object continued to decelerate, coming to a hover at a complete standstill before delicately lowering itself down to the waves of the shallow water.

The rescue teams remained motionless, awaiting orders on what to do next. Zhaan hurled himself from the Jeep, and sprinted towards the ocean, stopping for a fraction of a second to recover his communicator from the sand. Running into the shallow water he approached the position where the life pod lay. Alice watched in horror, "Jones, he's not good at swimming!" she fretted.

"Don't panic, it's shallow for a long way. I've been out there with Seren on my back."

Zhaan was now scrambling onto a wing of the pod where it lay motionless, the small waves lapping against its metal shell. Clambering onto the roof, he approached the escape hatch and hammered on the roof with his fist, yelling in the Ziluran language, _"Alb, are you alive?"_

All was still for a moment then vehicles and boats began to approach from their safe distance. Zhaan, desperate to know one way or the other, banged on the roof again, _"Alb? Alb?"_

The converging vehicles and vessels stopped at a distance of around two hundred metres away. The silence from the capsule was eating Zhaan up inside. Was that a sound? He began inspecting the door for an emergency release but before he had a chance to recall his training, the door sprang up with a hiss of air pressure.

" _You must be Zhaan,"_ Alb said, his face lighted with a smile of relief.

" _Welcome to_ Earth _."_ Zhaan replied.

### Chapter Seventy

The excited Zilurans had congregated around Alb, hugging and kissing him and jabbering excitedly, leaving the rescue of Cho from the life pod to a bewildered assortment of Human emergency workers in biohazard suits.

Alice remained some distance away, not wanting to impede the rescue efforts and briefly lost sight of Zhaan in the crowd. A sudden pang of concern hit her. Where was he? She spotted Jones on the edge of the activity and rushed over to him as quickly as possible in her frail state. Wherever Zhaan went, Jones was never far away. He was responsible for watching over her husband and now she had grown to know Jones a little better, she had realised that the agent took his remit to mean looking out for the safety and well-being of the Guy.

"Where is Zhaan?" Alice asked Jones nervously.

Jones had obviously been distracted by the goings-on around him and his first sighting of the extra-terrestrial life pod. Panic momentarily engulfed him as he began to search the crowd, desperately seeking his ward.

"Over there!" Alice cried, watching Zhaan disappearing rapidly down the beach on foot, alone.

"What the hell?" Jones was perplexed. "Where's he going?" He turned and raced for the Jeep, Alice trailing more slowly behind him.

On the rough sand surface they struggled to catch the Guy in the vehicle. Even during their race through Manhattan, Jones had never seen the alien move this fast. Zhaan had already covered a couple of miles on the sand and was showing no signs of stopping or slowing.

"Can't you go any faster?" Alice screamed, drawing a dirty look from Jones. It was almost two miles later before they caught up with Zhaan, purely because he had stopped and was sprawled in the sand on his front, his head turned towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Jones brought the Jeep to a dramatic halt. A cloud of sand dust swirled around the vehicle. Alice stepped out, covering her mouth with her scarf and moving towards the spot where her husband lay. She could see his back rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to get his breath back. She hoped he hadn't damaged his new set of lungs with his crazy sprint.

"Zhaan, are you OK?" She placed an arm gently on his shoulder as he gasped for air. He was still too breathless to answer, and she grew concerned as he lay and panted before her.

"Zhaan?" She pressed him, more concern in her voice. "What's wrong?"

He flopped over onto his back, his eyes meeting hers, but still not speaking.

"Zhaan?" her voice was raised in a questioning tone. Jones came a little closer but remained at a distance. He realised Alice would have the best chance of working out what was going on. With no response forthcoming, Alice lay down beside Zhaan and placed an arm around his waist. For ten minutes they lay silently together on the damp sand.

"Sorry, Alice," Zhaan finally said.

"You have no reason to be sorry. Just tell me what's wrong. Why did you run away?"

"I not run away," he insisted. "I just run."

"OK, so why were you running and moving so fast?" Alice asked him more tenderly.

"Too much," was the only cryptic answer she was given, causing her brow to wrinkle in worry.

"Too much what?" she enquired.

"Everything." Getting to the bottom of this was a challenge. Alice decided to let Zhaan explain when he was ready. More quiet moments passed, the only sound the gentle lapping of waves on the shore. Alice glanced at Jones. She didn't really want him to become involved. She knew Zhaan was more likely to open up to her. With relief she noticed that Jones was still by the Jeep, leaning back against the door.

"Now I wish I can leak my eyes like Human." Zhaan stated. "It must feel good."

### Chapter Seventy One

Thirty six hours had passed since Alice had curled up beside the exhausted Zhaan in their bed. The whole time he'd slept heavily, his breathing barely discernible. Now he began to stir, feeling beside him for Alice's warm body and finding the other side of the bed empty. He felt refreshed but was reluctant to open his eyes and face reality again, knowing from the stiffness in his arms and legs he'd been sleeping for a long time.

" _You are awake, Zhaan! I know it!"_ Trinn's shrill voice disturbed his reverie.

" _Why you here, Trinn? Where Alice?"_ Zhaan asked.

" _Alice wouldn't leave you alone. I suggested I sit with you for a while, so she can get some fresh air with your daughter on the beach. She is all better, I think."_

Zhaan smiled, feeling glad that he hadn't woken alone and relieved to learn that his beloved Alice was recovered from what he had inflicted on her.

" _I must thank you for saving my friends from death in space. We are so happy to be reunited. Sad that we are stranded here without our ship, but relieved that Alb and Cho both live. I guess now we are all freaks together on this planet!"_ Trinn's tinkling laughter brought a grin to Zhaan's face.

" _Zhaan, we owe much to you. We can never hope to repay you for your actions. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know."_ Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively. Trinn's head moved closer to his, which still rested on the pillow, and she kissed him on his lips before he had time to recoil.

" _How may I pleasure you, Sir?"_ She spoke in the Guy language before switching back to her own language and whispering in his ear. _"Our Captain orders me to show our gratitude by pleasing you in any way you desire."_

Zhaan was suddenly extremely annoyed and shoved her away roughly. _"Did I not tell you last time you offered yourself to me, that you can please me by never asking that question of me again, by never expecting that I will accept your offer. Did you not listen?"_ he demanded.

" _Of course I remember how you insulted me last time, but Tuvon gave me an order,"_ she protested.

" _Well, in addition to never raise this subject with me again, I have other way you can please me."_

" _How so, Zhaan?"_ Trinn enquired.

" _Stop allowing selfish Ziluran males to control you. Tuvon is no Captain now; he has no ship; he has no authority. You his equal or better. I expect they treat you so. You tell them this how they must repay me. That my demand."_

" _This is not the Ziluran way; females are never allowed such status,"_ Trinn retorted.

" _This is not Zilur, this is_ Earth. _Your ways must change."_

Their confrontation was cut short by Alice appearing in the doorway, giving the Ziluran a chance to escape from Zhaan's lecturing.

"Typical, after all those hours, you manage to wake up when I'm not beside you," Alice laughed. "How are you feeling? You must have been exhausted."

"I fine, Alice." Zhaan was still stressed following the intense discussion he'd been having with Trinn. Alice was desperate to know what they had been arguing about, but nothing more was volunteered.

"So, it sounded like you were having some kind of disagreement with Trinn. Is everything OK?" She was really curious.

"Maybe I offend her," he pondered. "Tuvon order her to offer herself to me again, as payment for help to rescue Ziluran crew. It make me angry. They think they better than Trinn, and that they can offer her like this as trade goods."

Alice kissed him gently on the forehead. "A beautiful alien woman throwing herself at you. I can see how upsetting that could be! Are you sure you don't want to take up her offer?" she said with a sly smile.

Alice's expression of fun relaxed Zhaan. "I respectable married man. Why? You want to join in? Must I renegotiate?" Zhaan raised his eyebrows and grinned.

Punching him playfully on the arm, Alice smiled. "Come on, get dressed. Let's take a walk." She hoped that the peace of the beach at sunset would relax Zhaan enough to reveal what lay behind his meltdown.

They sat in damp sand, their toes being lapped by rippling wavelets on the breathless evening.

"Alice, why we sit here? We become wet from ocean," Zhaan protested.

She didn't answer, shuffling behind him to massage his tight shoulders as the water tickled his toes.

"Are you sure you are all right?" she asked. "We were so worried when you took off up the beach." She hoped for more of an explanation now Zhaan had rested, and after a pause he obliged, drawing air deep into his lungs before he began to talk.

"Too much time I am worry. First I afraid about Humans finding me. Then space ship crash and I have to think of Earthlings in New York who need my help. I have to worry about little aliens stuck in ship in park and rescue them. Trinn get sick with baybay and Seren has pickenpox. I nearly die and you are sick. I have concern for Claudia, and that Jesse is so long away from home just for me. Next I am responsible to try and save little Zilurans floating in space.

"All of this time, in back my mind, I wonder what will become of me after. What will Humans do to me now? I worry my best friend from Guyara will be killed or is already dead. Will we ever know?" He paused. "When I see that little Zilur man, Alb, safe but stranded like me, everything is too much. If I don't run like this until I drop, then my head will explode.

"I want my old life with you, Seren, and our friends in forest. I long to see my bears again and roam through trees like wild animal, breathing cool air of Montana. I miss this freedom you brought to my life. I want Malla to be safe." Finally, the outpouring stopped and his head flopped back as he gazed up at the sky, where stars were beginning to appear.

"Malla is safe," Alice was able to reassure him immediately, and he did not question how she knew. A wave of relief crossed Zhaan's face and the light which seemed to have been temporarily extinguished in his eyes suddenly returned. He lay silently holding Alice in his arms for a while, both of them deep in thought. His voice interrupted her contemplation.

"Alice, what happen to us now? Can we go home soon? I miss home," he said.

Alice felt the full weight of these simple questions. She had spent the last thirty six hours mulling over what lay in store for them in the future. She couldn't envisage a world where they would return to normal life. There was no chance that the authorities would allow them and their half-Human, half-Guy child back to their old way of living. She couldn't even think about what might become of the Zilurans. Her only hope was that the worst of the nightmare scenarios she had pondered would never become reality.

Unable to give Zhaan the answer he desperately sought, she kept her thoughts to herself and placed a gentle kiss on his lips by way of reply. Whatever destiny awaited him, she would be right by his side.

### ***

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review at your favourite retailer. Thanks so much. Christine Taylor Rees

### Next in the series

### FAR GONE GUY

### by

### Christine Taylor Rees

Book Three of the Resident Alien Series

Life is complicated when your husband is an alien, the Government micro-manages your life, and you are constantly watched. Her life is perfect but temptation beckons.. Alice is restless and her reckless behaviour is a threat to everything.

When Zhaan disappears in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind only a pool of his blood, she is plunged into a desperate race to save him.

### ***

### About the author

Now a landlubber again after fourteen years exploring the Atlantic and Caribbean with her husband while living aboard their sailing boat, 'Anju', Christine Taylor Rees continues to explore Planet Earth.
