Page 10 of Resisting the Alien Commander

These are the times when I really hate how well she understands me. “It’s rude of you to point out my flaws, you know?”

“And yet, you still love me.” She tightens her hold before releasing me.

I sigh heavily. “You make it really hard sometimes.”

Because she’s fully aware I’m only messing with her, she gives me a cheeky grin. The lift comes to a jerky halt before the doors slide open and we step out. Scattered around the spacious atrium are a few women. A brunette in particular catches my attention. Mostly because she hadn’t been on the ship.

I can’t confess to knowing all the other potential brides beyond recognizing a face here and there, but I’ve definitely never seen this woman—humanwoman—before. It isn’t even her obvious Bohnari clothing that makes her stand out. She’s glowing like she’s obscenely happy. The two lottery brides standing at her side laugh at something she says.

At our approach, the three of them turn.

“Hi, there. I’m Johnna.” The new woman sticks her hand out with a large smile and Olivia is the first to reach for it.

“Olivia. This is Quinn, Devon, and Lindsey,” she introduces all of us.

“It’s great to meet you all. Welcome to Bohna.” Johnna swings her arms out in a sweeping gesture. “Sorry I wasn’t able to greet you when you first landed, but I was helping my mate at the hospital.”

“Mate?” Devon speaks up.

“Husband, sorry.” Johnna chuckles. “The Bohnari don’t really understand the concept of marriage like we do on Earth, but it’s essentially the same thing. Except they mate for life.”

For life?

“Were you a lottery bride?” One of the other women standing with us asks. “I thought we were the first.”

Johnna shakes her head. “Oh, you are. I was part of a terraforming crew ship. We were on our way to a planet just beyond the outer rim when we were attacked. A few co-workers and I managed to get out using the escape pods before the main ship exploded. My pod suffered serious damage from the aftershocks and I crash landed here about eight months ago or so, believe it or not. My mate is the head healer and saved my life.”

“Was it your idea then for the Bohnari to reach out to Earth for women?” I find the courage to speak up. If Johnna was part of any space program, then she was definitely a resident of the upper tier. Why would she care about us bottomers?

She grins madly. “Oh no. You have my best friend Eloise to thank for that. Why don’t we head to the market square for food and I’ll tell you all about it on the way?”

Since I’m not sure I’m ready for my own personal chef quite yet—as surreal as it sounds—it might be nice to have a person familiar with the planet and its people to act as our tour guide. We all nod in agreement.

“Excellent. I’ll show you around,” Johnna says.

The six of us follow her out the door, with the two unknown women taking the lead directly behind her. My friends and I hang back slightly. The air smells fresh the minute we step outside. Clean. Far different from the heavy grime that always lingered low in the sky back on the bottom tier. It was so thick, we often didn’t even get a glimpse of the upper tier. Just one more thing to keep us separated.

I’m so focused on breathing it all in, I almost miss Johnna speaking over her shoulder.

“Eloise is my best friend. She was on Helios 3 with me when we were attacked. Only she wound up on Tavikh, which is our closest neighboring planet.” She pauses. “I’m not sure how much news reaches Earth about the various planets the government has terraformed over the last decade.”

“Not much,” Devon replies although I’m not sure it was really a question.

Johnna slowly nods. “I didn’t figure. I’ve spent the last five years traveling and don’t have any family back home, so I wasn’t really sure. Anyway, the Bohnari and Tavikhi are allies and have a close trade relationship. Not long after Vornak and I were mated, we made a trip to Tavikh, where I was reunited with Eloise. After our last trip there, she and her Tavikhi mate Zedam came back with us so she could help Alik with the negotiations with the President.”

“Why us?” The question slips out before I can call it back.

Johnna glances at me with a wrinkled brow. “What do you mean?”

I don’t look at Olivia or the others. “I mean, whyonlythose of us from the bottom tier?”

She stops in the middle of the street so we all follow suit. Johnna’s gaze bores into mine. “Because regardless of what you might think, not everyone from the upper tier agrees with the way our world is run. Some of Eloise’s closest friends on Tavikh were from the bottom tier. What better way to stick it to all those rich assholes who think they’re above everyone because they have more credits than they could ever spend in their lifetime than to give people—givewomen—a way to leave? Especially to go to a different planet where those same women will be worshipped by males and who have all the control because they need us far more than we need them. Does that answer your question of why you?”

Yes, I suppose it does.

Chapter6

Horek

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