Page 37 of Desperate Measures

She thought of the stand of woods behind the house. There was an activity she could get into. She could go for a hike. She’d been meaning to, but some task had always popped up to keep her from doing so. Even prior to Stacy springing the education assignment on her, Toni had had plenty to do. The woods continued to wait for her to explore.

Eager to escape the already confining home, she swapped the nice suit she’d worn to meet with the clinic’s administrator for a tank top, flannel shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. She bounced down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, her com buzzed for attention.

“Oh no, you don’t. Nature beckons, and I’m answering it, not you,” she told it even as she checked the frequency. Her mind changed in an instant. Nature could wait. She answered, bringing the vid image of Clan Imon up in front of her. “Hey, space travelers.”

Imon, Feru, and Wovir chuckled at her bright greeting. Imon answered for the trio. “Hello, Toni. You look well, I’m glad to see. Are you well?”

“Tons better than a lot of my fellow Earthers.”

Feru’s smile dimmed. “We’ve learned there’s an epidemic on the human habitations. We were concerned about you.”

“I’m quarantined at home, as of this morning. Nothing like starting a new job and going on leave before a week’s passed.”

“Sounds like my kind of work,” Imon joked. “What happens to those orphans who were supposed to be on their way? I’ve heard the GC threatened their Kalquorian staff.”

Toni brought them up to date, and they shared what little they knew, which was nothing she wasn’t aware of. “I hope they can figure out how to get the whole bunch to safety.”

“Same here. You know, there’s a new virus loose on Kalquor too.”

“Quite the coincidence, two new illnesses hitting both our worlds.”

“It can’t be a coincidence,” Wovir said, his expression dark. “If you ask me, the Darks are engaging in biological warfare.”

“Which is what we’re thinking here.” She did her best to quash the fear rising in her chest. “Are you guys able to visit family while there on Kalquor?”

“Just some of mine,” Feru said. “Fortunately, my parent clan and one of my brothers’ clans live in an isolated area, where the virus hasn’t reached. No one who tests positive for the sickness is allowed in their district. Since everybody on our transport has tested uninfected, our clan is permitted admittance.”

“We’re under strict orders not to leave the district, except to return to our ship once we test negative again,” Imon added. “Rigorous protocols are in place to keep us as healthy as possible.”

“Good.” Toni smiled at them, remembering the too-short night they’d shared. “I like you guys. I wouldn’t mind you hanging around this side of the mortal coil for a while longer.”

They laughed with her. “Make sure you keep yourself safe,” Wovir insisted. “We’re looking forward to the next opportunity we can meet up.”

“Same on my end.” Was she ever.

* * * *

Alpha Space Station

Charity strolled the promenade in the company of her aunt and uncle after dinner. She did her best to keep from ogling the Kalquorians in her vicinity in her relatives’ presence, but it was difficult. Though the vast majority of their hosts were old despite their slower-than-human aging…the youngest she’d met so far was forty-three, for heaven’s sake…the men still made for delicious eye candy.

“I just wish there were more shops catering to women here,” Aunt Ruth sighed. “I mean, you’d think there’d be something, right? Kalquorian clans have been eager to court human females since they learned of us. There are thousands of women on the planet below, so there should be a ton of options for these men to buy gifts for potential girlfriends.”

“There are some nice knives in that store,” Charity pointed out on the window vid they passed. She eyed a particularly large specimen featuring a finely carved grip and a blade as long as her forearm. “What woman wouldn’t want her sweetheart to gift her a machete to terrorize her friends and co-workers? Make a note of it to whisper in the ears of my hordes of suitors.”

“Maybe you’d attract at least one interested man if you were a bit less snarky,” Aunt Ruth breezily replied.

“Ouch, Aunty. You apparently don’t need a knife to gut a girl.” Charity glanced at her in admiration. “You could start an advice column, but half your readers would probably commit suicide.”

“Is that what happens to your beaus? Or do they hear a single word from you and run off to live another day?”

Uncle George snickered at their teasing, but he wisely avoided commenting. He had a wicked sense of humor of his own, but he was adamant he wasn’t fast enough to trade barbs with the two women. He preferred to play the audience to their act.

“We’d have plenty of shopping options if Earth wasn’t a plague ward right now,” Charity sighed. Though she had the pleasure of man-watching and flirting to her heart’s content, poor Aunt Ruth was terribly bored being stuck on the space station.

“Maybe we should go on to Haven. We have no idea when Hope and her clan will return.” The elder woman wore a distinctly mopey expression. Charity’s sympathy for her plight doubled.

Then stop being selfish and find something fun for her to do while she’s imprisoned here.

---