Hesparia's Tears Read online

  Of course, that wasn’t the only point of the mission he now undertook. But it was one of the most urgent. They also needed diplomatic alliances with other planets, an agrarian and pacific planet was always in far more danger when it didn’t have strong alliances, his father had informed him. This was their opportunity to form one easily, or so they all hoped.

  The small holographic image of Gospah, his long departed wife, greeted him on arrival in his office. His heart ached but he realised the pain had finally weathered to a dulled emotion, rather than the crushing misery he had experienced when he had first lost her to the forever realms.

  “Gospah, I hope to bring happiness to the men of our planet. But in all I do, it is in memory of your loss.” He’d said the words as he had every day of the long journey, making a deep obeisance as was required by their belief system. Today he wondered if it was time to let her go, after all these jahrs.

  With that thought still burning in the back of his mind, he headed to his desk and replayed the transmission from the Prime Minister on one of the continents from Earth. “Of course, you will need to present yourself to our facilities for negotiations and testing.” Her tone had been condescending and irritating. But he needed their help so he had to accept it. For now anyway.

  He snorted, raising his cup of hot brew. They had obviously never left their home, except to check out their small moon, but this section of the galaxy was a backwater anyway, so no wonder no other species had attempted any form of contact. Otherwise, they would have been aware that they were in no position to make such demands. No, all he had to do was check their technology to see they hadn’t evolved very far. He contained his thoughts, he needed these people as allies for their small planet, so maybe he shouldn’t focus on their shortcomings.

  He snorted again. This would be just the first of many visits from such beings as them, once their position was known. With that knowledge, he prepared a memory cube of information he would hand to them, containing specifications for ships and energy systems. He added a copy of the agreement all known planets had agreed to, showing the courtesies and acceptable requests governments could make of other bodies, with a smile.

  * * * *

  “Seth better have the coffee pot on,” Jessa grumbled as she slowed the car to a halt. She hopped out, into the cool late night air and crunched across the gravel before entering the facility. “Seth?” she yelled, wincing as her voice reverberated in the emptiness.

  “Yeah, I’m here.” A head emerged from the room beyond. He waved his hand. “Come here…be quick.”

  Filled with a mixture of excitement and misgivings, Jessa quickly stepped towards him, searching for signs of the coffee pot and on spying it, grabbed a mug. She poured a drink, before adding milk from the small fridge. “Ok. I’m here now. What?”

  “They are going to land here.” Seth jittered around, grabbing her attention with his wild movements and gyrations.

  She stared at him. Who? Who is going to land here?

  “I made contact on unsecured channels. Look!” He waved his hands.

  She watched slack jawed as the transmission auto-extracted before her eyes. The information streamed across the screen and she made some quick calculations in her head. They are going to land here. In Parkes! Near the telescope. “Holy Mother of God. What have you done?” she whispered the awed words, even as the reality of the situation hit home.

  The enforcement bodies would have known and would no doubt arrive any time now. This was worse than last time, when Jace had taken advantage of her. This time no doubt the police and officials would think she had done the wrong thing, because Seth wouldn’t have this information if he hadn’t somehow managed to contact them.

  She winced, remembering the believable information Jace had fabricated, that she had been stupid enough to allow him access to a secured location. Jessa gulped, fearing that it would be infinitely worse this time, if the authorities had the wrong idea about her and whatever actions Seth had taken.

  “Oh man…what if the police arrest us? ASIO? Jeez, I bet even the CIA and Mossad have someone on the way here right now. That’s before you even consider MI5. You’re mad! And I’m in deep shit!” She backed away even as the sound of sirens filled the air from outside. Her stomach roiled in anticipation of the scenes ahead. “I can’t afford to get in trouble again, Seth. You of all people, knew that!” The accusing words flowed from her mouth before she could stop them and he looked at her, hurt. She sighed heavily.

  “I thought you would want to be involved in this? It’s not every day we make first contact.”

  She closed her eyes. It was too late to extricate herself now. All she could hope was that Seth was more honourable than Jace had been. And told the truth convincingly enough. Head aching with the reality of his ill-conceived actions, she bowed her head and listened to the sounds of movement from outside. The door burst open with a thud and her eyes reopened. The police entered, guns held in front of them. “Freeze!”

  The policeman from her youth, Detective Inspector Chalmers, looked at her and she shrugged uselessly. What else was there to say? I’m here, someone had made contact and I have a history.

  * * * *

  The questioning just went on and on.

  “Honestly, I was in bed and didn’t know anything until I got here. Seth called me. You can see that on my phone. I wasn’t involved.” She leaned in, focusing on the hard faced man sitting opposite her. With an aching head and people coming and going constantly, she knew she was close to breaking down. Many of the officers stalked around talking on tiny mobile phones, some making angry requests for information and equipment from whoever they spoke to.

  They remained in the little office listening to her explanation with interest. Chalmers’ voice grew more strident as it became clear that the ship would soon arrive, and even with the threat of recriminations, she had to admit to a small degree of excitement building up again deep within her. To be there when first contact was made was something she’d remember forever. She gasped slightly at the thought.

  The ground started to move, a shuddering beneath her feet, and the walls rattled. Things on the table shook, and a roaring sound enveloped them and grew louder. One of the policewomen hurried to the television perched on the wall and turned on the news channel. “Look, sir! They’re here.”

  Jessa watched the television, amazed as the large ship descended in the field outside the observatory. It was long and dark, perhaps best described as cigar like, with several small thrusts slowing their descent. She couldn’t see any windows or viewing ports, but perhaps they were at the top. The police had been unable to keep the media away, and the live broadcast was sure to be a winner in the ratings, Jessa mused. The deafening roar of engines stopped, the ship itself held steady above the ground while large stubby black legs deployed slowly from below, with a loud metallic screech. She absorbed each piece of information like a sponge, her eyes widening as it finally touched the earth and the thrusters stopped.

  Silence.

  The blue line of police edged closer to the reporter, backing up while everyone else waited in silence. Jessa held her breath along with everyone else in the room. At the bottom of the ship, a light shone and a platform emerged, showing fifteen people by her count. Well, they could have been people, except their skin was coloured like a weirdly shining rainbow.

  “They are coming out!” The woman reporter called in the silence, quite unnecessarily, Jessa thought.

  “Holy Mother of God,” one of the police behind her called out. She turned, observing the rotund man crossing himself.

  “We are here to meet with the one called Seth.” The voice boomed through the air. A strangled sound which wasn’t quite a gasp emerged from Seth, sitting on her left.

  “Isn’t going to happen, sunshine,” the Inspector intoned.

  She nearly laughed at the bemused expression on his face, while the woman on the television continued her inane babble.

  “Our dealings with Seth
have led us to believe that he and the one called Jessa will be appropriate go-betweens. We refuse to deal with anyone else.”

  The phone rang, it had been doing that since the police had arrived.

  A policewoman picked it up and held it out to the Inspector. “Sir? It’s um… It’s the Prime Minister, sir.”

  Jessa kept her gaze on the scene unfolding in front of her. The aliens had stepped forward, the tall one who had spoken stood in the middle, while the others seemed to be flanking him. They looked around. With a few quick, inaudible words they started towards the building. The view on the television panned showing their movements.

  “They are heading towards the facility itself.” This time the female reporter’s voice was little more than an excited squeak.

  Jessa’s fingers automatically moved as if to tidy her hair, the tug of the cuffs stopping her and she swore in her mind. The Det. Inspector had moved away, his voice low as he kept flicking looks to the screen.

  “Do you think they are looking for us?” Seth’s voice broke her concentration.

  She shrugged. “I would say that’s a fair bet, Seth. Depends on what you’ve promised.” Her gaze was now firmly on him.

  He shrugged sheepishly. “I just told them that we were astronomers seeking an extraterrestrial experience.” His voice trailed away.

  Detective Inspector Chalmers thrust the receiver back at the female and turned. “Let them in when they arrive.” He turned back, glowering. “I’ve been told you two are supposed to talk them into meeting with the government officials. Nothing more. Then once the military have arrived, you will cease to have anything to do with this.”

  The slow burn of anger coursed through Jessa’s veins. Now that she had come this far, she refused to be shut out.

  Chapter Two

  Galan strode forward, watching as the people in blue scurried out of his way. Funny, he was a peaceful Hesparian, yet these people acted as if they feared him. He filed that away for future reference, in case it meant they were a warring race. A glassed entry stood in front of him and he watched as Joras’ people moved around him, pushing at the barrier which didn’t open. They conferred momentarily before putting their hand to what looked like a handle and then stepping back as it opened in silence. They moved around the door, waiting for him to venture within. The small building was small and flat with an old fashioned bowl thing on the roof. Truly amazing how technologically backward they seemed to be.

  More people milled around, looking at him with their mouths open and fearful eyes. This could become a serious problem, he conceded edgily.

  “I am Galan, and these here are my men. Where will I find the ones called Jessa and Seth?” He watched as another barrier, this to the side, opened for him. With a nod, several of his people entered quickly and he waited for the confirmation that they were within. After a short walk they came back to the door, motioning him forward. Several steps brought him to the threshold where a big man stood watching him with an angry look on his face.

  “I’m Seth.” He heard the voice and glanced over the shoulder of the man in the doorway. He saw two people, one man and a woman, both sitting in what looked to be a most uncomfortable manner, with their arms stretched out behind them. The woman’s dainty features captured his attention. Her hair as red as the Farbian Pearls that were cultivated on his uncle’s farm, and her skin fine and pale in the harsh lighting.

  “You are Seth, and this is Jessa?” Galan indicated them and the one called Seth bobbed his head madly. Jessa, the woman, sat still, though she also inclined her head. He moved forward.

  The big man stepped into his path. “They are prisoners. You will only talk to them from here.”

  He listened to the words feeling confusion. Prisoners? “Forgive me. They have broken a law or regulation?” If they were dangerous prisoners, then he would need to cease negotiating with them—that was an unwritten rule of diplomatic negotiations. The guidelines of acceptable missions were clearly delineated. But a feeling or knowledge deep within him told him there was an inconsistency with this situation.

  “They were not supposed to contact you. Especially her.” The angry man pointed to the beautiful woman, who sat straight and still in the chair. Strain lines appeared at the side of her perfectly formed mouth. For the first time in many jahr, emotions within him swirled to life when he glanced upon her face. A situation he wasn’t altogether comfortable with, Galan acknowledged privately.

  “Why her?” His interest was roused.

  “Because she has been involved in trickery and illegal behaviour before.”

  He settled his gaze once more on the woman, a turbulent look filled her eyes and he stepped forward. She said nothing, just lifted her chin a little higher, as if daring him to turn away from her. He smiled at the action. She had sass going for her, but he could swear there was a hint of vulnerability in her eyes too. He decided to take a chance.

  “We are here to negotiate. She… They will do nothing wrong. You may go now.”

  His dismissal obviously was not warmly received as the guard grimaced and extended a hand, attempting to stop him, no doubt. Galan sidestepped it easily as his security team shifted behind him. He stilled them with a quick motion.

  “Now, see here…” Galan turned, slowly. He narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, then made a deep growling sound in his throat. The large man swallowed and stepped back. Galan didn’t move.

  Galan thought he finally must have decided that the menacing action would be followed through and he backed away. Galan released a breath, thankful to finally be alone with his people and the two he planned to negotiate with. He advanced, noting that neither of them rose.

  “You do not fear me?” Irritation flashed through him as the woman watched him in silence.

  The man called Seth shook his head. “We can’t exactly get up and run away. We’re cuffed here.” He jingled something at his back.

  Galan knew a minute of icy rage, before stepping forward to the chairs and extracting a small device from his pocket. He scanned the metal bracelets, calling forth one of the specialists who looked over his shoulder.

  “Crude and unusual, Captain.” He pulled a small sonic device from the kit he carried and dealt with the restraints. Seth sighed with relief, rubbing his wrists, but the woman only moaned, slightly pulling away from him. Galan dragged forward one of the wooden chairs and sat down opposite the woman who watched him warily.

  Trussed up like a prisoner wasn’t her idea of how to meet the first extraterrestrial. And this one was hot. He was smoking really, if she could discount the dazzling array of colours that danced over his skin in quite a disconcerting manner.

  “Are you… Umm… Is that your natural colouring?” Good old Seth. You can always count on him to come out with the questions you really shouldn’t ask.

  “What?” He seemed startled for a moment then let out a chuckle. “No. It’s part of the camouflage we use when travelling to a planet for the first time.” The man dipped a hand into a pocket and his skin stopped glowing. His people did the same and finally she could see them in their true colour, a deep berry brown. “We find most cultures and planets think it off putting, not knowing what we are. Is that your normal colour?” He lifted a hand towards them.

  Seth winced.

  “Yes. This is our natural colour. You will find a range here on earth.” Jessa kept her voice even and calm as she answered his query.

  The man turned to look at her again with the piercing gaze that had made her feel warm all over. “Truly?” His grin grew and she found herself fascinated as the big alien lounged indolently against a wall. His vibrant blue eyes and white-blond hair shone under the harsh lighting of the office. Instinct told her that she probably could trust him, but right now, she was feeling quite gun-shy. Being arrested again had been torture, and to find out she and Seth were to be charged with crimes against humanity had been enough to leave her reeling. Seth of course, had treated it like a huge joke, but she knew…after last
time, there would be no quarter given.

  “Why are you here?” Better to get these negotiations out of the way and hope it would give her some leverage to have them drop the charges.

  “Our planet has lost an essential natural resource. Many jahr ago…”

  “Jahr?” The unfamiliar and guttural word made no sense.

  “Long periods of time. Used to denote the crop rotations passing.”

  Long time? Crop rotations passing? She searched through her head for a human alternative. “Umm…when the weather patterns change? Period of heat, then cool, then cold?” Maybe it’s a season?

  But he shook his head. “No. More than one set of weather patterns. Fiery sun, then cooler sun, then cool sun, then cold night, before it becomes warm once more.”

  Jessa cast her mind around. Year? Could that be what he meant? “Uh year? We have four seasons. One hot, one warm, then cold and back to warm? Then it starts again?”

  He nodded.

  Okay, that was a year or some similar rotation of time. That was handy to know, but maybe they needed a primer. “Seth, grab a notebook and we can write these words down with our translation.”

  * * * *

  Over the next several hours…or horanas as Galan informed her, a glossary of terms emerged, allowing them to understand each other with more clarity. Galan also engaged in a lightning quick exchange. He turned back to her. “I have informed my people to use your language where possible.”

  She smiled wanly. Holy hell. It was really happening. She was here in the middle of negotiations with…an alien!

  From time to time, Chalmers checked in, bringing food and other items. At one stage, even a senior military officer ducked his head around the door. As he had every other time, Galan refused to deal with him, leaving the authorities frustrated, she was sure. She noted each time she noted the angry glances were cast her way.