Alien Refuge (2 page)

Iris was barely interested in the shuttle. Her eyes were all for her son, who goggled up at the Kalquorian who held him.

“Thomas. Thomas,” she choked, sobbing his name. He was alive. Unhurt. Completely secure in the grip of the man who held him. It was nothing short of a miracle.

The Kalquorian turned towards her and watched her stagger to them as he holstered his weapon on his belt. A part of Iris’ stunned brain registered the man’s long black hair, his large purple eyes, the dimple in his curved chin. His handsome face had the fierce set of the warrior Nobek breed. His body, hugely muscled like all his kind, was clad in a form-fitting armored snowsuit that blended well with its surroundings. His matching boots reached to just below his knees. He seemed somehow familiar, though he shouldn’t. Iris didn’t socialize with the alien race.

Iris held out her arms. “Please. Let me have him.”

The Kalquorian looked at her, then down at Thomas who still stared up at him. The little boy plucked at the arm holding him and imperiously demanded in his musical voice, “Here, Mommy. Give Thomas to Mommy.”

The alien man’s brows drew together. One end of his mouth twisted slightly up. Iris could understand his confusion. Usually, Earther children on Haven ran and hid from Kalquorians. Most of them were frightened as much by their parents’ stories of their former enemies as by the massive size of the aliens. Any other little boy held by one would probably be screaming his head off right now.

But then, Thomas Jenson wasn’t like most children.

The Kalquorian gently set Thomas on his feet and gave him a little push towards Iris. “Go to your mother, boy.”

Iris shivered at the deep, slightly accented voice. It was the voice of quiet thunder, full of command and strength. Thomas seemed just as impressed. He sloshed a single step awkwardly through the snow towards her, still staring over his shoulder at his rescuer.

Iris dismissed the Kalquorian for the moment, darting forward to snatch her child close. “Oh dear God, Thomas. Oh my baby, are you all right?” She patted over his body, not quite daring to trust her eyes that told her he hadn’t been smashed by the shuttle.

He simply blinked at the Kalquorian looming over them. He stared up at the Nobek, unafraid. The alien stared back, seemingly transfixed by Thomas’ blatant wide-eyed curiosity.

There was no sign of injury on the boy, and Iris managed a trembling smile for the man who had snatched him away from certain death. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving him.”

Before the Kalquorian could answer, the hatch of the downed shuttle slid open. Blaine Middleton, a local that lived only a few miles from Iris’ tiny homestead, emerged and stormed towards them. His open coat flapped around his gaunt frame. Iris tried hard to ignore the gossip that said Blaine drank most of his calories, but she’d heard plenty despite all her good intentions. She could believe it, looking at his bloodshot eyes and unkempt appearance.

The scarecrow man who made most of his living transporting goods for other colonists was shouting before he’d taken half a dozen steps in their direction. “What the hell is wrong with you, Kalquorian? You fouled up my forward vision vid feed and my navigation is offline! You coulda got me killed!”

The alien turned towards Blaine. He pulled a small handheld computer off his belt and spoke commands to it, seemingly ignoring the irate man.

Thomas brightened to see the portable computer device. “Thomas’ handheld,” he declared, reaching towards the Kalquorian. “Here, Thomas.”

Iris held him back and whispered in his ear. “No baby, that’s his handheld. He’s doing work on it. You can’t have it.”

Meanwhile Blaine had drawn near, and he halted a few feet away. His fists went to his hips and he stood spraddle-legged, as if bracing himself to remain upright. He kept yelling at the Kalquorian. “Hey, you damned oversized ape! I’m talking to you!”

The Nobek regarded him coldly. His rolling thunder voice filled the air despite the low tone. “This vehicle is registered to Blaine Middleton. Is that you?”

Blaine glared back with bloodshot eyes. “Yeah. So?”

“This is your third piloting offense in six months. I am confiscating your shuttle.”

“My offense?” Blaine screeched. “My offense? You’re the one firing percussion blasters at innocent Earthers!”

“You were flying at an excessive speed on a travel lane in a dwelling area. A dwelling area that is also clearly designated as having a child with a disability on premises.” The Kalquorian glanced at Iris and Thomas. His gaze lingered a moment, then he marched past Blaine to the shuttle. He boarded it while its owner stared after him in shock.

Finally the Earther spluttered in furious indignation. “Hey! You’ve got no right. That’s my property!” He plowed towards his craft.

The Kalquorian came back out before Blaine got there. He typed on his handheld. “The vessel’s warning mechanism that indicates the need for slower operation on this lane has been disabled. I’m assuming that was done by you. That’s another offense. Your pilot’s permit is hereby suspended pending review. I have locked out all your pass codes that enable you to use this vehicle.” He looked at Blaine. There was no threat on his expression, but it was cold enough to make Iris cringe. She felt glad that stare wasn’t directed at her.

The Kalquorian continued, “You may return home now, Mr. Middleton. You will be contacted later with information on how to file any challenge you wish to make and final judgment on your case.”

Blaine stood there for a few moments, his mouth hanging open. It took at least ten seconds before he found the sense to respond. When he did, it was in a shriek.

“And how the hell do you propose I get home without my shuttle, you stupid shit?”

Iris’ grip on Thomas tightened. She waited for the alien to crush Blaine.

Instead, the Kalquorian only lifted an eyebrow. “You can walk. As it is less than an hour until dark and your address indicates it will take you about that length of time to reach your address, I suggest you start now.”

Blaine was shaking with fury. Iris was afraid he’d say something else to anger the alien titan, or even worse, attack him. However, it turned out Blaine had a little bit of self preservation, at least enough not to tangle with a big, muscled Kalquorian twice his weight. The Earther turned away from him and leveled a black look at Iris instead.

“When are you going to teach that damned kid of yours to be normal, Iris? Or at least put him on a leash! You and your retard son—”

There was that blurring motion again, and the Kalquorian suddenly stood right in front of Blaine. His voice came out in a growl. “You are in the wrong here. You will speak with respect to the woman or I will pull your filthy tongue from your mouth.”

Iris gasped and Thomas laughed, no doubt delighted by the alien’s amazing feat of speed and not his words. Blaine stumbled back in shock. His gloved hands came up in a defensive posture. When the Kalquorian only stood there, not increasing his threat, the Earther walked around him, giving him a wide berth.

He still couldn’t resist running his mouth. His voice a grating whine, Blaine said, “You’d better believe I’m talking to Governor Hoover. You can’t threaten me like that!”

The Kalquorian simply watched as Blaine stomped away, muttering under his breath. When the man had gotten several yards up the lane, the alien turned his attention to Iris and Thomas. He approached them carefully, as if concerned he might frighten them.

“Go fast!” Thomas encouraged. He watched the nearing alien with a big smile.

The man offered his own slight smile at the boy, then bowed slightly to Iris. “Your child is unharmed, Matara?”

Iris swallowed to see those cat-slitted eyes trained on her. “I – I think so.” Mostly to get away from that intense gaze, she gave her attention to her son. “Thomas, are you hurt?”

“All better,” he said. Since the Kalquorian was apparently not going to run fast again, the boy’s attention turned to the inoperable vehicle resting on the lane. “Shuttle broken. Fix shuttle, Mommy.”

Iris buried her face in Thomas’ overlong hair, smelling the sweet shampoo scent of it. “Don’t worry. Someone will fix the shuttle,” she whispered.

The Kalquorian still stood there, watching them. Iris slowly straightened to her full height. Heavens, she only came up to the man’s chest. A throb that felt more like anticipation than fear spilled in her stomach. “I’m sorry you had to rescue him. My snow blower broke down and made an awful noise. It scared him and he ran and I couldn’t catch him.”

All at once, the vision of the shuttle bearing down on Thomas assaulted Iris. She remembered the terrible knowledge that she was about to lose him and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Caught by surprise, she sobbed.

Thomas looked at her, his expression startled. Then his little face crumpled, and he began to wail. “Don’t cry, Mommy! Don’t cry!”

Iris tried to get herself under control. Thomas couldn’t handle it when she cried, becoming so upset that sometimes he vomited from the stress. But the realization that he’d been within a second of dying, her baby had almost been killed, was too much. She shook all over, hot tears cascading down her frozen cheeks, burning trails that dripped off her chin.

A band of iron wrapped around her waist and gently turned her towards her home. Through tears that trebled her vision, Iris saw the Kalquorian pick up Thomas in the crook of his other arm, simultaneously guiding her to her front door.

That voice of gentle thunder accompanied the strong arms holding them. “You both need to go inside and warm up. Come.”

Iris didn’t question the order. It never even occurred to her to resist letting the Kalquorian push her and Thomas into their tiny home.

Stumbling into the domed dwelling was like entering safety. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Thomas wriggled from the Kalquorian’s arm and ran through the den to the kitchen. It was all one big open space, shared with a small dining area. Closed doors led to Iris and Thomas’ bedrooms and the bath facility.

The Kalquorian guided Iris to the main room’s battered lounger, a long sofa-like seating piece. Iris had picked it up in the warehouse when she’d first gotten to Haven a year prior. It had been donated, along with other furnishings, by the planet Plasius to be used by Earthers displaced by Armageddon. At the time it had appeared brand new, its velvety chocolate brown surface showing no signs of wear at all. Nothing stayed new looking in the Jenson household, however. Iris felt the habitual flush of embarrassment over her belongings’ shabby appearance and how it must look to a stranger. Thomas was rough on furniture, climbing and bouncing all over it with neverending energy.

Her brain was still mostly focused on the close call they’d had. She would have fallen to the lounger if Thomas’ rescuer hadn’t carefully lowered her onto it instead. Her whole body continued to shake, and her knees were wobbliest of all.

Thomas shoved past the Kalquorian with a dish towel in his hand. He scrubbed at Iris’ cheeks, his lower lip protruding out and tears streaming down his own face. “All better. Wipe eyes. Mommy all better,” he sobbed.

Iris forced herself to stop crying though she felt an ocean of terror waiting to flood from her eyes. She stretched a weak smile across her face. “Yes, sweetie. Thank you. I’m all better now. See? Mommy’s smiling. All better.”

Thomas wiped his own eyes dry with the towel and then dropped it on the floor. His expression abruptly placid, he walked off. His gaze darted over the room as if seeing it for the first time in his life. He worked at the fasteners of his coat.

Iris lifted her gaze to the silent Kalquorian who watched her. She couldn’t even imagine what he thought of them, of the whole situation. She said, “I’m sorry.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I do not believe you have anything to apologize for, Matara.” He took his handheld off his belt again and consulted it. “You are Ear-is Jenson?”

“Iris,” she absently corrected, noticing what her son was busy doing. “Thomas, please leave your clothes on. We have a guest.”

Thomas had dropped his coat and sweater on the floor, and was working to add his shirt to the pile. Ignoring Iris, he let that drift down too. He sat down and yanked his boots off.

Iris took a breath. This was Thomas’ home, his sanctuary where she let him relax and be himself. She offered the Kalquorian an apologetic smile. “He won’t wear anything more than his underwear in the house. Clothes are uncomfortable for him. He’s very sensitive to touch.”

The alien’s face betrayed no emotion as Thomas peeled off socks and snowpants. The boy began fumbling with the snaps of his jeans.