Worth Fighting For (Little Blue Book 1) Read online

  “Fair enough. When will you reach Earth?”

  “We should be there by late morning.”

  “Contact me the first thing in the morning, before you arrive.” With that, Jurresh severed the connection, and the room went darker with the light of the screen gone.

  Tasid walked to his bed and sat heavily down on it. That was the most understanding I have ever heard my father be to me. Could what he said be true? Will our people die out soon? Do I really want to mate anyone for that reason?

  Tasid’s head swam with so many questions and not one of them could he offer an immediate answer to, but the thought of living planet-side didn’t feel right to him, and mating with a female, just to sire babes, was even worse. Females deserve a mate who will love and cherish her. And I just couldn’t love a female who wants me because of my title. I want her to love me. His heart was heavy when he finally slipped into a light and restless slumber.

  ****

  Juno lay on the couch on her good side, tucked warm under a blanket, with a soft pillow supporting her head. Her feet were draped over Kaycee, who was sitting at the other end of the couch. Jeri sat on the floor leaning against the couch next to them.

  Juno inhaled the pleasant aroma of the breakfast bake Benny had put in the oven, and she could hear her preparing some frozen orange juice. On a chair next to the couch, was Maggie, who was nursing a new burn from her attempts at helping Benny in the kitchen. That girl is such a klutz. If she keeps it up, she may just wind up taking another trip to the ER.

  Rodger had been able to get a hold of an EMT buddy to give all the girls a ride. Over eighteen hours later, they were patched up and released.

  The news was on loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to wake Paige and her daughter, who were still asleep in Juno’s room.

  “With the president’s announcement that contact has been made with the aliens, and their assurance that they are coming in peace, rioting has dropped, and authorities can finally begin to take stock of the damages. Fires are being brought under control, the dead are being counted and laid to rest, and people are piecing their lives back together. In Boston alone, there have been over fifteen hundred confirmed deaths…”

  “All they ever talk about is the aliens, and riots. Isn’t there something else on the boob-tube?” Kaycee asked.

  Jeri elbowed Kaycee’s knee. “I can’t believe you still call it a boob-tube.”

  “I don’t usually. I do it just to annoy you.”

  Jeri let out an amused grunt. “Well mission accomplished.”

  “Many have flocked to doomsday preppers for help.” The picture flashed to a man being interviewed by a reporter.

  “I’ve been saying for years we were gonna be attacked by aliens…”

  Benny walked over and stood behind the couch. “I’m so sick of those doomsday guys singing ‘I told you so’ all the time.”

  Kaycee shook her head. “Psh, that guy’s a fraud. He comes into the diner all the time. His doomsday claim is zombie apocalypse, not aliens.”

  “I wonder what they will look like,” Maggie said quietly.

  “We’ll know soon,” Jeri answered. “I saw Rodger before we left. He said when the president announced they were unable to record the first meeting, because it happened as a surprise to them, they made arrangements to broadcast the second meeting.”

  Maggie’s face lit up with excitement. “Do you know when that is?”

  Jeri shrugged. “I think nine.”

  “That would be so epic. It’s like, to get to see them, it would make me feel better about losing everything. You know? Like it wasn’t for nothing?” Maggie bent one leg up and placed the heel of her foot on the tip of her chair.

  “Hey, Maggie, what is it you do?” Benny asked.

  “I am—was—studying to be a court reporter.”

  “Oh that would be cool. Why do you say ‘was’?” Juno asked.

  “The college was burned down, along with my dorm.”

  “Do you have family?” Benny asked.

  Maggie looked down at her hands and shrugged. “Just an uncle.”

  “Oh, if you want, you can use my cell to call him.” Benny told her cheerfully.

  Maggie’s eyes got wide, and she sharply looked at Benny. “No!” Her eyes darted around, “Uh, n-no thank you.”

  Juno saw tears well up in Maggie’s eyes. The body language clearly spoke to her that this uncle of hers was a bad man. “It’s all right, Maggie, you don’t have to call him. Benny, breakfast smells good. I’m starved. How long until it’s done?”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  Juno’s stomach seemed to have heard, and didn’t like the answer, because just then, it growled loudly.

  Chapter Six

  Tasid adjusted his formal garment. His conference with his father earlier that morning had brought up a valid point about presentation, so Tasid ordered his entire crew, regardless of rank or station, to wear their formal garments. Even their food preppers and engineers were dressed for this occasion. He wanted everyone to remember just how important and special this day was for them.

  They had slowed their speed considerably and were passing the moon, making them about an hour away. Looking at the front screen, the little blue planet was beginning to grow larger now. It was a beautiful planet from this perspective.

  They had made arrangements to speak with government leaders, but the leaders wanted it to be in private. His father warned him that could cause a negative effect on the rest of the planet’s inhabitants, so Tasid insisted it be broadcast live. They were going to speak to the people before settling into orbit.

  “The entire galaxy, including your imperious father, is watching, as the fate of our alliance with this race rests entirely on your shoulders. No pressure. So, are you ready?” Errim asked casually as he continued to press buttons on the screens floating in front of him.

  Tasid turned and glared at his second. “No pressure? Really?”

  Errim chuckled and looked up. “Well, your mother is also watching, so maybe a little bit.” He held up his fingers and held his thumb and index fingers parallel to each other.

  Tasid gave an exasperated sigh but couldn’t stop his own chuckles from escaping. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” Tasid looked forward. “Burren, make the connection.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ****

  Juno felt her stomach gurgle around the delicious breakfast Benny had cooked. Everyone, including Paige and her daughter, had taken places in front of the TV. They sat in the same places as earlier, except now Paige was sitting on the floor with her daughter.

  “With NASA being the first initial contact source, several world leaders have dropped everything to travel to the U.S. so that they can be involved with the monumental meeting, and several others have started making arrangements so they can be involved with future meetings. Large plasma screens have been erected in the room they have set aside for Earth’s first interstellar conference. Several reporters from various nations have been granted access to broadcast the event live. Other TV screens are being erected in busy places around the globe in poorer countries, bringing the estimated number of people to watch the event to rocket into the range of four billion.”

  “Wow. That beats out anything else, ever,” Juno said in awe.

  “It goes without saying that it is monumental for the entire globe,” Kaycee said somewhat dryly.

  “The president is approaching the podium,” the announcer said as the view focused in on the leader of the United States.

  Juno yawned as she tuned out the boring greetings and pleasantries mostly directed at the higher ranked officials attending.

  “Does anyone else notice there isn’t one woman representative? So much for women’s lib,” Jeri said bitterly. “Even Prince William is there without Kate. He just left her home with the kids.”

  “Wow, Jeri, tell us how you really feel,” Kaycee said and chuckled. “She could have been sick or something.”

&nbs
p; “Look! There’s the call.” Maggie bounced excitedly in her seat as the girls watched the president greet the aliens who appeared on the large screen behind him.

  “Oh—”

  “My—”

  “freaking—”

  “—stars!” Juno, Jeri, Benny, and Kaycee said.

  Juno’s heart pumped hard in her chest as she took in the appearance of the head alien. She could tell he was tall, and even though he had wings and four arms, he didn’t look grotesque to her. He wore a black, skintight shirt over his true blue skin that let her clearly see the ample dips and curves of his seriously perfectly shaped and sized muscles. They flexed beautifully when he moved. His eyes were a bright golden color, reminding her of the sun on a clear day. His hair was black and cut short. He was more perfect than any male model she had ever seen.

  “I’m in love with an alien,” she mumbled to no one in particular.

  “Yeah, me too,” Benny, Kaycee, and Maggie said in unison. They watched the introductions and were mesmerized by what they saw.

  “There’s more than one kind of alien. I can’t decide who’s prettier,” Maggie said breathily.

  Little Amanda, who had been sitting still and quiet, pointed to the TV. “Pretty,” she said in her tiny voice. She was pointing at an alien who had bright colored feathers.

  “Wow, he puts peacocks to shame,” Paige replied.

  “Are those … does he have scales?” Jeri asked as the last alien was introduced.

  Benny bent her head to the side, as if pondering something. “They look so similar to us.”

  Juno sighed wistfully. “His voice is better than chocolate.”

  “Which one?” Jeri asked, and laughed. “They all sound sexy.”

  “The big one, Tasid, I believe he said his name was.”

  It was Benny’s turn to sigh. “What I wouldn’t give for that sexy one by his side. I love purple, and his skin is such a pretty purple. Even his eyes glow purple.”

  “What brought you to our solar system?” the president asked.

  “My crew and I are Resourcers. We seek out asteroids and planets to gather their resources, mainly for our government and military. Your solar system is surrounded by many asteroids. We were mapping them, to choose the best one to start with, when we discovered your solar system. During those scans, they detected life here. It has been a long time since a new race has been discovered. There are four hundred and forty-six known sentient species. You add to that, making it four hundred and forty-seven. However, three species have gone extinct.”

  “What can you tell us about all of the existing species? Are there any who could threaten our existence?” one leader asked.

  “Yes. Let me explain first that there are four factions. Three hundred and one planets are joined with the United Planetary Alliance League. It is the largest alliance, and it is the one I and my crew belong to. There are seventy-three who belong to the Confederate of World Nations, also called CROWN. We have recently ended a war between our two alliances, but the peace is fragile.

  “The third is called the Triangulum Torch Union. They are ten planets in a solar system that shares three suns. They prefer to stay to themselves for the most part.

  “The last has only three worlds, but they are the enemy to all other alliances. The Oblivion Pull Coalition. They are the scourge of our galaxy and are the ones we are most concerned about. They are slavers, and they destroy worlds without thought to repercussions. The last fifty-six species are neutral, and not generally a danger.”

  “You believe The Oblivion Pull Coalition is a threat to us?” the president asked.

  “Yes. Representatives of UPALE have ordered us to guard over your planet until our diplomatic fleet arrives.”

  The leaders around the room continued to ask questions, as did the aliens. Juno lay transfixed on it the entire time. Before she knew it, one of the aliens was reporting they were now in orbit. The picture on the screen changed, taking them to a view outside the window of the space station.

  “Holy moly!” Benny whispered. “That thing is huge!”

  Juno agreed. The slate colored ship was long, like maybe a mile long, according to the astronauts’ reports, and about as tall as the Empire State building. She couldn’t ascribe just one general shape to it as it had angles and shapes all over it with several large pods on one side and many bulky panels dotting the top of the monolithic vessel. The other half of the ship was several stories tall and angled in a low V shape. On the lower front of the ship was a huge module that was explained to be their command and living station. In the middle on the side was a large bay door, and they were informed that there was another landing bay on the other side. Glowing electric blue light radiated from all around the sides, and small turrets were stationed in a few key places. Attached to the bottom of the ship was a single cannon. It wasn’t an ugly or weird ship, but she could easily tell it was a type of cargo ship.

  “Welcome to Earth,” the president said cheerfully. The president and the entire conference room broke out into applause, and some even cheered. It was a catchy feeling. Though Juno couldn’t clap at the moment, she did feel like life as they knew it would never be the same. She hoped that would be a good thing.

  Talk resumed throughout the rest of the day. Everyone stayed to listen to the conversation between the global leaders and the aliens, with the exception of bathroom breaks. Benny cut up some veggies so the girls could snack while continuing to watch the conference.

  Tasid’s voice was deep and soothing to listen to. Juno felt like sighing every time he spoke.

  “If you would like, we will be happy to invite your people in your space station, to tour our ship. We can even offer you a look at our artificial gravity, as we can see you have not yet mastered that.”

  “You would be willing to share that knowledge?” The president sounded skeptical.

  “Yes. We are also aware of many contaminants your planet suffers that we can help you clear up.”

  “And what would you ask for in return?” another official asked.

  “Nothing. One cannot gain friendship on bargains. They must be created by generosity and selflessness.”

  Juno’s belly fluttered. “Is he for real?”

  “I don’t know, but if he is, that alien is a better man than any of the men on this planet … that I’ve met,” Kaycee said.

  The leaders agreed to send the astronauts on a tour of the mighty space ship tomorrow. They wrapped up the meeting, and the newscaster returned to his reports.

  Juno could see the normally timid and quiet Maggie nearly vibrate out of her seat with anticipation. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m so excited they are going to broadcast the tour of the ship.”

  Jeri snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up too much. Those astronauts have been in that station a long time. They aren’t used to gravity, so they will probably be spending all of their time in the aliens’ infirmary.”

  Maggie’s face fell a bit, and her quiet voice returned. “It will still be better than nothing.”

  Juno hated seeing her look so glum. “Cheer up, Maggie, if all they show is the infirmary, at least we will be able to finally see what all that alien probing is about.”

  The room lit up in laughter and giggles.

  Chapter Seven

  Tasid rolled over in bed and hit the irritating beeping button. The holographic screen formed, revealing his ship’s head physician.

  “Yebiri? What in thundering stars? Do you realize what time it is?” Tasid rubbed his face as he sat up.

  “Sir, you need to come down here right away.”

  Tasid paused. He couldn’t miss the urgent sound in Yebiri’s voice. “Can you at least give me a clue as to why?”

  “It’s about those scans on the humans we took yesterday, when they visited our ship.”

  Tasid could see the heightened excitement Yebiri was trying desperately to contain. The man wasn’t a droll fellow, but he didn’t usually get so worked up about something
where one could practically feel it through the vid connection.

  “All right, I’m on my way.” Tasid ended the call and sighed before standing, and dressing. Several minutes later, he walked through the doors to the infirmary. Yebiri was waiting for him, and quickly ushered him over to a set of holo-screens, all displaying an array of information.

  “You know I don’t speak medical lingo. What’s all this?” Tasid looked at the physician out of the corner of his eye.

  “This is all the information I gathered yesterday, from the humans. These,” Yebiri closed out several windows and pulled two together, to float side-by-side, “are the results from the females. What’s so amazing about them is that they’re compatible with several species.”

  Tasid waited a second for him to continue, but when he didn’t, Tasid glared at the smaller man. “Spit it out. Compatible how?”

  “Reproductively.” Yebiri paused, giving Tasid time to process what Yebiri was telling him before he continued. “There are only a few species that can mate with another race not their own, but it’s only with as far as one other. With the humans, they can mate with several. Sir, Zori are one of them.”

  Tasid felt his chest tighten at the implications of this finding. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, sir. That’s why I called you down here, instead of just giving you the information over the vids.”

  His excitement began to build up. “How many? What are the other races?”

  “The computer is cycling through all of the known species in our databanks, matching their compatibility. Last I checked, I’ve confirmed over twenty species. Of the ones on this ship, the Zori, the Nanstrahi, the Malastant, and mine, the Larent. These humans are truly a remarkably adaptive species.”

  Tasid’s heart pounded beneath his ribs. He could feel the pressure in his chest, and it radiated up to his ears. But after a moment, something occurred to him, and slowly he let out a string of curses.

  Yebiri gave him a confused look. “Sir? This is a miracle for the races that were so badly hurt by the war and the plague, especially yours. Why are you cursing?”