Page 36 of Stranded with the Alien

Damn. The SDF needs to get some of these.She wondered what ‘nanomaterial’ was. More technology Earth didn’t have.

Was it odd that a species which had been painted as war-like and uncivilized was capable of inventing stuff like this? Did her mother – the President – know?

She tried not to think about it.

Instead her mind drifted to Vahn outside in the dark, trying to make himself comfortable, sleeping fitfully with one eye open. Giving her the tent.Histent.

It was actually quite sweet.

Nineteen

They ate the last of the rations the next morning and set off before it became too hot. Vahn wore his flight jacket for a while but eventually removed it. The SDF T-shirt he wore was a smidge too small and kept riding up to reveal his abs.

He seemed comfortable with the heat and she wondered if he ever got sunburn. Unlikely. Those scales probably gave him a UV protection factor of a zillion.

He had his tentacles wrapped loosely round his body, further reducing his moisture loss. All in all, he was much more suited to the desert clime than she was.

“What’s it like on Vraxos?” she asked impulsively as they walked. “Is it hot like this?”

“Half of the planet is. That is the half where we build our cities.”

“What’s the other half?”

“Mostly agricultural. It is a peculiarity of our planet that some fifty percent is beneath a permanent cloud system which produces rainfall most days. It is where we graze animals and grow produce. The urban half is hot and arid but our technology makes it habitable.”

“Why don’t you just all live in the cooler bit?”

Vahn shrugged.

“We like the heat.”

“But don’t the cities produce massive waste products? Greenhouse gases, that kind of thing?”

Vahn shot her an amused glance.

“Like Earth, you mean?”

“We solved our global warming problem years ago,” she said tartly. “We use renewables and nuclear power.”

“So primitive. No wonder you want our technology.”

Kara frowned, unsure if he was joking.

“What? No! It’s Vraxos that wants Earth’s technology.”

“Is that what they tell you in school?”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it? Vraxos tried to invade and we…”

“That is a pile ofzift.Vraxos did not try to invade anyone. It wasyourplanet that wantedourresources.”

“What resources?” Kara was beginning to get angry. “We didn’t evenknowabout Vraxos until your soldiers dropped out of the sky one day.”

“I see. So we just happened to be passing by your little blue rock and decided to colonize it?” Vahn’s voice hardened. “Let me assure you, human, the only thing Vraxians want from your people is peace.”

“That’s not true.” Kara stopped dead. “Our leaders have tried to broker peace repeatedly and been rejected.”

“Your leaders have lied to you.”

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