Chapter Five

“That’s kind of hard to believe,” Gwen said. As if any of this was easy to believe. “How could the fate of so many people be affected by one planet? Earth can’t be that special.”

Cyan shook her head, a smile stretching her face. “You have no idea how special Earth is. The diversity and abundance of life on this planet alone is unparalleled.”

“And the resources your people have…” Xan shook his head. “They’ve already attracted some…less respectful sentients.”

“Less respectful than the mod squad here who broke into my house to steal from me?” Gwen said.

She would have punctuated her statement by crossing her arms, but she was still holding the absolutely adorable kitten. And she wasn’t sneezing.

For a moment, she considered offering to give them the footage if they’d let Bandit stay with her. She’d never been able to have pets before or really enjoy animals at all because of her allergies.

Bandit’s fur was incredibly soft. He was warm and his purring was so strong, she could feel his chest vibrating against her hands. She planted another kiss on his head, then realized she’d become distracted from the three aliens standing in her hallway.

Straightening, she went back to scowling at them. Tried to, anyway.

Cyan was adorable. And Xan, with those dimples… He was something else entirely. The only one she didn’t like was Zemanni.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” Cyan said. “My friend should not have modified your people’s robot without permission.”

“Modified?” Gwen said. “How?”

“That is…complicated,” Cyan said. “But I swear to you, he meant no harm. He loves machines, and could not stand that it had been abandoned.”

“We didn’t abandon it,” Gwen said. “We sent other explorers. And as soon as we’re able to send humans to Mars, I’m sure we would have reactivated it ourselves.”

Except she kind of wasn’t. Humans hadn’t made a habit of taking care of their creations—especially of the technical kind. People had a tendency to throw out the old whenever something new and shiny came around.

“Periwinkle did not know this.” Cyan made a face. “Besides, he is an impatient sort.”

“Periwinkle?” Gwen asked.

“We call him Peri,” Cyan said.

Was it Gwen’s imagination, or did Cyan’s cheeks turn a little pink when she spoke of the lizard-man on Mars? Interesting. And even more adorable.

“Look, I would love to believe you all that you come in peace and just want to…fix our robots or something, but I’m going to need a little more than your word,” Gwen said. “Actually, I’m going to need a lot more.”

“Do you have something in mind?” Xan asked.

She had a lot of things in mind when it came to him, which was kinda weird since they had just met. It had been a long time since anyone had caught her interest the way he had. Actually, she couldn’t recall being this drawn to someone.

“I’m still thinking,” she said.

“Perhaps if we explained a bit more of what is at stake.” Cyan gestured to the air in front of her, and light burst into view. It coalesced into what looked like a holographic display of the familiar planets of the Sol system. Gwen did her best not to let her mouth drop open as she stared at it.

“Earth is extraordinary not just for its resources, but its incredible diversity,” Cyan said.

The hologram zoomed in on Earth, taking them down into the atmosphere over a gorgeous rainforest. The view flew over the trees at a dizzying speed. The terrain changed to grasslands, then savannah, then desert and tundra, before turning toward the ocean and skimming the water.

Gwen’s chest flooded with warmth as she saw so much of her planet’s beauty on display. She felt as though she could reach out and touch the surface of the waves.

“The galactic war between the Coalition of Planets and the Tau Centauran Assembly has displaced numerous sentients from their home systems,” Cyan continued.

“Galactic war?” Gwen remembered Xan’s comment about “less respectful sentients” being attracted by Earth’s resources. A shiver passed over her.

“It started with the destruction of Sadr-4 and all the habitations within that system.” Xan’s voice was rough with emotion. “My home.”

“I’m so sorry.” Gwen reached out and clasped his arm. Warmth flowed through her from the contact.

Xan smiled down at her, then covered her hand with his, holding it there. The kitten chirruped, then put his paw on top of Xan’s hand, as if giving his approval. Gwen couldn’t keep herself from laughing lightly at the thought.

She glanced at Xan, wanting to be sure it hadn’t upset him when they’d been discussing such a sensitive subject. He smiled at Bandit, then scratched the kitten’s head. Before turning back to the hologram, he cast a gentle smile at her. Heat uncurled in her belly.

The view on the hologram changed, drawing her attention. It turned to the stars, flying toward the moon and circling it.

“Our Kindred colony is the first lunar base,” Cyan said, as an image of a dome filled with greenery and beautiful, natural-looking dwellings came into range. “It is on the far side of the moon, out of sight from Earth. We have set up a nearby mining operation to assist with gathering materials needed for creating dome habitations on various asteroids and moons within the Sol system for Xan’s people and others who need new homes.”

The hologram’s view sped out toward other planets, circling their moons and showing domes similar to the one on the moon, but in various stages of completion. The environments surrounding them were just as fascinating to Gwen as the buildings themselves.

One was on an arctic wasteland that she thought might be Ganymede. Several others were on one of the moons orbiting Saturn. The vista from those domes would be incredible, with the planet’s rings floating above them.

Gwen’s mouth was dry and her heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to see what it was like for herself.

The hologram dove through what looked like a salt flat, giving them a view of a facility being constructed under water or some other clear liquid. It flew back up before turning and heading toward Earth again.

“My people have technology advanced enough to fend off Assembly attacks,” Cyan said. “We are pledged to protect Earth and all the inhabitants your people have welcomed into the Sol system.”

“Which is why it’s so important that we not create any kind of panic on Earth about our presence,” Xan said.

“But…you just said my people have welcomed you to our system,” Gwen said, looking back and forth between Xan and Cyan. “Wouldn’t they have to know you’re here to do that?”

The aliens exchanged a look that had Gwen’s stomach twisting.

“We Vegans have been invited to live on Earth by the human designated as our Protector,” Cyan said. “She is the link between our peoples.”

“That’s great, I guess,” Gwen said.

“And many Earthlings know of our presence as well,” Xan said. “Your Department of Homeworld Security has given us permission to settle in the Sol system.”

“So, there is a governing body working with your people on all this?” Gwen said.

Again, Cyan and Xan exchanged a tense look.

Gwen pointed between them. “You guys need to stop doing that. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“The Department of Homeworld Security is a small group,” Xan said. “My people—the Coalition—would call them the first-contact committee. It’s usually made up of carefully selected individuals from the unified planetary government.”

“But Earth doesn’t have one of those,” Gwen said.

“Yeah, that’s part of the problem.” Xan ran his hand through his hair, making the curls stand on end. Gwen wondered if they were as soft as they looked.

“It’s kind of a…” His eyes narrowed as he searched for whatever he was trying to say. “I think you’d call it a hodgepodge.”

“I would never call anything a hodgepodge,” Gwen said.

Xan smiled. “Most of the members weren’t exactly selected by us. We sort of stumbled across each other and made connections.”

Zemanni snorted. Cyan swatted his stomach again, which was just so weird to see when Zemanni still looked like Izzie.

“Do not make light of the pair-bonding occurring among other sentients and Earthlings,” Cyan said. Under her breath, she added, “Rampant as it may be.”

“Pair-bonding?” Gwen looked over at Xan. “That sounds like marriage or something.”

Xan nodded. “That is the closest Earth equivalent to what’s been happening. We’re honestly not sure why so many Earthlings are eliciting pair-bonding reactions with other sentients, but the bonds are strong and lasting.”

“They also form quite quickly,” Cyan said, one of her scaled brow-ridges arched.

Was it Gwen’s imagination, or was Cyan giving Xan and Gwen a look?

Xan must have noticed how Cyan’s gaze lingered on them and the smirk on her face. His cheeks turned red and he glanced over at Gwen, then quickly looked away.

Xan gestured toward Zemanni, and said, “Even Zemanni has bonded with an Earthling.”

Gwen looked at the gray, expecting to see his expression soften. Instead, for a brief instant, his lip curled up before he looked away.

It was odd to see such disgust on Izzie’s features. Gwen really wished the Scorpiian would assume a different form.

“The point is, we are working with Earthlings,” Xan said. “It’s just an…unconventional arrangement.”

“Don’t you have to have conventions in the first place before something can be called unconventional?” Gwen asked.

Xan smiled at her, and her insides melted. What the heck was up with her?

Wait, hadn’t they just said Earthlings kept suddenly and strongly bonding with aliens? Her stomach did a giddy lurch at the thought. The idea that she was pair-bonding with Xan was more appealing than she wanted to admit.

She couldn’t even think about that right now. Instead, she turned her attention back to the hologram.

Earth was in the view. As the image traveled closer, she saw a huge spaceship on the far side of the moon next to a mushroom-shaped space station. The station was only framed out for the most part, but she could get an idea of the final design already.

As cool as the station seemed, the ship was downright scary. It was long and spear-shaped, with many bristling protrusions that looked a lot like armaments.

“What’s that?” Gwen asked.

“That is our Outreach station,” Cyan said.

“It’s where we all hope to meet to work on furthering peace and support for sentients throughout the galaxy,” Xan said.

“Actually, I was talking about the giant ship with all the guns,” Gwen said.

“Oh, that.” Xan looked away.

“That is the Reckoning,” Cyan said.

She and Zemanni both smirked. Xan sighed.

“I am sorry,” Cyan said, covering her mouth as she giggled.

Zemanni rolled his eyes. “It’s a stupid name.”

“It applied back when the High Council was still around,” Xan said. “We had to… The name was supposed to scare people into obeying. I always hoped that it worked.”

“Why?” Gwen asked.

He shook his head, his eyes taking on a haunted look. “Because that was better than what happened if we were deployed to bring people in line.”