Naomi did that hot and cold thing…

16

Marv

Naomi did that hot and cold thing again, the one where she becomes completely despondent. I wonder what it means.

I have a lifetime to figure her out.

For now, I guess I can show her around.

“Those are asteroids,” I tell her, pointing to a row of three large rocks coasting through space to our left.

She sits forward and studies them. Her attention shifts to a moon in the distance. “And that? Is that a planet?”

I smile. “No. It’s one of the many moons of Jakari. The planet is a little further, but it’ll be on the right. When you see it, you’ll realize that moon is tiny.”

She seems captivated by the scenery, and I tell her about the different tribes as we fly. “There were twelve tribes,” I explain. “A long time ago, they split into different parts of the galaxy, where they could each grow in peace.”

“What about my people?”

“Your planet is home to the Samari.”

“Samari?” Her eyes were on me again. “I haven’t heard that word before. We call ourselves humans.”

“Earthlings, Samari,” I say. “Basically, your tribe didn’t want to deal with technology. They felt like it would destroy the galaxy, so they opted to go dark. They settled your planet without tech.”

“When?”

“Thousands of years ago. They landed in that large continent that your people call Africa.”

She nods, thinking it over. “But we have tech now.”

“Not really,” I tell her. “Watch this.” I touch a keypad and say, “Nari, show my mate the solar deck.”

A computer screen pops up in front of Naomi. “What is it?” she asks.

“Oh. Right. Nari, switch to her Samari language. Which one, Mate?”

“English.”

The Narulian symbols fade away and are replaced by a string of hard looking letters.

“You may search for any of the ancient wisdom.”

“But this just looks like the Internet,” she says.

I shrug. “You’ll see the difference. Let me help.”

Naomi still looks confused, so I talk to the narrator again. “Nari, show her the agriculture of Narul.”

Sea veggies pop up on the screen, along with dozens of other staple foods. Naomi placates me by touching the screen to learn more about sea veggies.

“Wait, how come I can understand you when you talk to me?” Naomi wants to know.

“I implanted a translation device behind your ear. It doesn’t work for written language, but it works to communicate between all the tribes.”

“So, we’re basically speaking to each other in two different languages?”

“Yes.”

“Is that why sometimes it sounds strange? Like it doesn’t translate right?”

I nod.

“Interesting.” She thumbs through the solar deck, studying the foods of my planet. I watch with great pride as she studies my homeland. She moves from food to history.

“When we get there, I’ll take you to meet the King.” She seems interested. I think about the honor of bringing the first

female home. And not just the first female, but the window to bringing all the other females.

I can’t wait.

“How much longer is it?” she finally asks.

“You see that purple star up ahead?” I ask, pointing to Narul.

“Yes.”

“That’s where we’re going. We should be there in another ten or so Earth minutes.”

OceanofPDF.com

17

 

Naomi

I’m not sure what I was expecting. I skimmed through Narulian history, studied the different plant life, and even read a news update about the Badlands. But when we enter Narul’s atmosphere, I suddenly feel terrified.

This is real.

This is beyond real. This is more than being transported into a space alien’s research station dorm room. This is me traveling to a world that has never seen a human. A planet that has no females.

What if they kill me?

Even worse, what if they kidnap me and force me to mate with someone else?

Marv is sorta starting to grow on me. Although, his admonitions of love are a bit premature. It’s been two days.

The bright orange and purple atmospheric gases give way and we see the planet beneath us. Like Marv said, it’s mostly aqueous. There’s a brilliant blue colored ocean, complete with rising and falling waves that flow beneath us.

Are there whales? Or other sea creatures? I should’ve read more.

At least the water seems right. There are small island land masses

around the planet, with one large land mass in the middle.

“Where do you live?” I ask.

He points to the central mass of land. There are lakes and rivers surrounding the main city. As we approach, everything comes into clearer focus.

The trees are bushier, but similar. They have bluish green leaves on them, though. The grass has a purplish color.

Are we really this similar?

“Wait, they breathe oxygen, right?”

Marv laughs again. “We’re more alike then we’re different. All the tribes originated from one master family. Yours is just the recessive one, but other than that, you need the same air, water, and amount of food. Although, the food will be different.”

I nod. There isn’t much more I can do at this point. We’re here.

Marv talks into his radio comm device, announcing our arrival. “General Marv to Base. Incoming.”

General?

He did say that he had an important job at the space station.

“Looking for private landing. Need to speak with the King, of immediate importance.”

“Land in Zone 14.”

Marv understands where that is and takes us down. We land in a small patch of pinkish grass next to a large building.

“Let me do the talking,” Marv says as I stand. My legs feel like jelly.

Suddenly, my stomach lurches. Is this how I’ll feel after all space travel?

“I need to throw up,” I tell him.

He guides me to the bathroom on his ship, where I lose my breakfast. Once I’ve cleaned my mouth, I join him.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

“You’re okay?”

“First time entering a planet’s atmosphere. I guess I’ll get used to it?”

“That’s my female.”

“No, we say ‘That’s my girl.’”

“Mmm. As long as you’re mine, I’ll say whatever you want.”

Touché.

OceanofPDF.com