Page 105 of Alien Haven

Ilid chuckled.

She waved him quiet. “As I was saying, underneath a slight hint of irresponsibility a twenty-year-old woman is entitled to, Jennifer is an intelligent person. So be the wonderful man you are. Let her good sense tell her what a catch she’s found in you.”

“If she’s half the Matara you are, I could hardly do better.” Ilid hugged Diju, feeling how lucky he was to have lived, if merely to be near her.

“My son, you deserve the best.”

Ilid watched Diju go inside the pleasant home, smiling at her determination to find him someone special. Buoyed by her encouragement, he pulled his com from its belt sheath and scrounged up Jennifer’s frequency. He hesitated a moment as insecurity nibbled his gut.

What the hell, the worst she can do is say get lost. He clicked to connect.

“Ilid!” came the happy audio-only voice despite his having enabled vid on his end. “How was your first day on Haven?”

“Not bad. We’ve barely settled in at the place we rented, so I haven’t done much else but unpack. No vid picture of your gorgeous face? Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Her laugh made him smile. “My newly adopted little sister might come bursting in my room at any moment. There wasquitethe discussion during dinner when it comes to her dating.”

“Oh?”

“She’s twelve and not seriously thinking of it yet, but her Nobek dad is already having a coronary over the idea. If she comes in and sees me talking to a handsome Dramok, it might start a whole episode I’d rather avoid setting off.”

He chuckled. “It sounds as if Clan Amgar is all right.”

“They’re terrific. Such a sad story, though. Dramok Amgar himself died years ago saving the children from a fire. They’d clanned Sara mere months before. Sweet prophets, it’s a tragedy, starting with her first husband’s death just before her youngest was born. It breaks my heart.”

Ilid didn’t try to keep the reluctance from his tone. “I guess I shouldn’t stop by in a day or two if you’re trying to be a good influence on the younger generation. If you want me to keep my distance—”

“Are you kidding me? You’d better come visit. I refuse to cool my heels here on the ass-end of nowhere the whole duration of my sentence.”

“I hear Miss Behavior howling to break free.”

“A girl’s gotta have some fun off the farm. Just no hot and heavy where we might be caught. Keep an eye out for the inn you promised we could escape to.”

Ilid laughed, delighting as always in her enthusiasm. Also in the memory of the kissing and heavy petting they’d indulged in during the trip to Haven. Jennifer had made it plain she’d been up for more than the little they’d managed, but they’d both been conscious of his parents’ proximity to wherever they managed to be on the small vessel.

He also preferred a romantic setting rather than a quick do-me in the tight, spare shuttle quarters allotted for sleeping. He was too fond of Jennifer to treat her like a one-night stand, even if it was all they ended up enjoying.

“My parents and I are going to town tomorrow to look at the local bakery for sale. I’ll check to see what fun we can have there.”

“No pig wrestling. Or cattle branding.”

“I have no idea what those are, but I’ll stay clear of them.”

She laughed. “I miss you already, Ilid. Com tomorrow and we’ll make plans for as soon as possible.”

“Consider it done.”

* * * *

A couple hours later, Ilid lay in the large bed in the room designated for him. He gazed at the open window, through which the cool night breeze wafted drapes. An actual window, he marveled. On their home planet, Kalquorians used energy-efficient vids to give the illusion of the outdoors. Some had vents to simulate breezes.

Somehow the real thing seemed nicer. But then, everything about Haven had pleased him thus far.

Above all, there were no Darks to threaten him. The terrible entities, part of a larger alien force known as the All, had invaded from another dimension and threatened the galaxy. Ilid had been among the first to confront the terrible creatures while orbiting a planet called Bi’is. The Darks had destroyed Bi’is’ entire civilization in a matter of weeks after their arrival.

Few people could detect the Darks by sight. Ilid was among them. As an ensign on a spyship, he’d been aware of strange, transparent shadow shapes draped on the shoulders and necks of his fellow crewmates, controlling everyone around him. At the beginning, he’d thought he was going insane. The Darks had realized he was on to them and inflicted horrific experiments to learn how he was able to see them. Thanks to a fellow low-ranking crewmember who could also detect the malevolent creatures, Ilid had been set free. In his attempt to expose the Darks to the fleet, his rescuer had accidentally destroyed the spyship. Badly injured, Ilid had barely escaped alive on a shuttle, the sole survivor of his crew.

Other ships had honed in on his distress call, and he’d been able to warn the Kalquorian Empire of the Dark menace determined to wipe them out of existence. After the trauma he’d endured, Ilid had been remanded to a psychiatric hospital.He’d been unable to sleep because of nightmares, plagued by hallucinations of shadows creeping up on him, and terrorized by the knowledge the Darks were coming for Kalquor. The All and its Darks had taken control of the Galactic Council of Planets, the ambassadorial body of many worlds, including Kalquor and Earth II.

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