Home For The Alien Warrior: A SciFi Romance

Chapter 1

Elena

I still feel a little numb as I walk into Dixon Price's office for the reading of my parent's will. It's a formality at this point. I'm the only child of two only children from wealthy families. Even though I'll be inheriting a small fortune, I'd give it all away to have my parents back. The hover crash that ended their lives was one of those one-in-a-billion chance freak accidents where half a dozen safety features had to fail for it to be fatal.

I sit at Price's desk and decline his android assistance offer for coffee while I wait. Only a few minutes pass before Price arrives. After taking his seat, he looks me up and down. I wonder if he's judging me for how good of a job I've done this morning to clean myself up. I only spent half the night crying, and while I managed to get my hair presentable, I still feel like my face is blotchy. But it doesn't matter. I'm not here to impress Price. I'm here to clear up the last bit of business.

But I also feel that there's a distinct possibility he's leering at me. As a 5'6" curvy young human woman, I've unfortunately gotten used to these kinds of looks. Still, I find it incredibly creepy since Price is old enough to be my grandfather. He might look young and muscular, but that's thanks to advanced gene therapy that keeps men like him looking perpetually young.

"Miss Voss, I want to again give you my condolences for your loss. Your parents set aside a small sum to be donated to charities, and," Price coughed, "A small amount for me executing the will. But all I need is a retinal scan, and the bulk of your parents' assets will be transferred to you," Price says, his eyes dipping to my cleavage. I roll my eyes and lean in for the scan. There's a satisfying chirp as my ID is verified.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Voss? Anything at all," Price asks.

"I want you to sell the estate near Mount Zuvok and forward all but your commission to my private accounts. I'm leaving Glimner," I answer.

Price looks shocked for a moment before recovering and saying, "Very well. I'll see that it's done. I wish you the best on your journey."

"Thank you." I stand and walk away. I'm already prepared to leave. My bags are packed, and my possessions have been forwarded to the spaceport. A short tram ride later, I find a seat at the end of a row of chairs near my departure gate. I sit for a moment, shaking off the experience in Price's office as I watch the shuttles take off and land.

A young man with sandy blond hair coughs to get my attention and says, "Sorry. Is this seat taken?" He points to the empty chair next to me.

I tense slightly but say, "It's all yours."

"Thank you." He sits, but soon his leg starts to bounce, causing my chair to jiggle.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah. Fine. Why do you ask?"

I look down at his bouncing leg, and he immediately stops.

"Sorry. Space flight makes me nervous. Or the idea of it does. I've never been off-world before."

"I've been a few times. It's really not all that bad," I say. "I get a little queasy right before superluminal jump, but I heard it used to be really bad back in the day during the war when they didn’t have inertial dampeners."

He takes a deep breath. "Well, that's good to know. Thank you, Miss..." He gives me a once-over look but doesn't ogle me the same way Dixon had.

"Elena," I offer.

"Thank you, Elena. I'm Ian. So, where are you heading?"

"I'm flying out to New Verdan," I answer. “The Dragonians opened up the uninhabited parts of the Frontier once the Centuries War was over and it seems like a place to get a good start away from the Inner Worlds.”

"Wow. That's a ways out there." Ian sounds astonished.

"I wanted to start new. Make something that's just my own. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm going to the Drayer University on Felora VI to study bioengineering."

"Really? I have a childhood friend who went there last year to do the exact same thing," I say and think about how if Mesha had stayed on Glimner, I might have a reason to remain. But with Mesha gone, there isn't anything tying me to this planet anymore. "From the way she talks about the place, I doubt she'll be coming back after graduation."

"Well, that's a good endorsement. I can understand why. It's one of the most beautiful vistas ever and the Alzhon have really opened their doors. Plenty of opportunity after graduating," he says. He seems calmer now than he was when we started talking.

"Passengers on flight 9320 B, your shuttle is now boarding," an automated voice blares over the intercom.

"That's me," I say, rising to her feet.

Ian stands. "Thank you, Elena. You've actually eased my anxiety. I wish you a safe flight and a happy life."

I smile and say, "To you as well, Ian. And on the off chance you meet a blond named Mesha Jones, tell her that you have a mutual acquaintance."

"It'd be nice to find someone else from Glimner there," he says, nodding at me before returning to his seat. I can't help but notice his leg starts bouncing again.

I wave as I head to the gate. New Verdan calls. My parents had often talked about getting out of the core worlds for someplace like a frontier planet since the Centuries War had been over for close to thirty years. It was talk that never came of anything, but now I'm not going to wait. If their sudden deaths prove anything, it's that life is too short to just talk about adventures. It is time to take one. I know it's a big step to leave my whole world behind, but I'm done with waiting and wanting.

As I belt myself in, I think about Ian meeting Mesha. In my mind, it plays out as some epic love story. A romantic at heart, I wanted something like that—the chance meeting that would lead to something like what my parents had. Though any romantic thoughts are quelled slightly as the ship's superluminal engine kicks us into faster than light speed, and I feel my stomach drop.