Page 2 of The Death Striker's Partner
“Oh, I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.” He chuckled and winked at me. “I zone out for this sort of thing too. I hate being bored. It usually leads to mischief and mayhem.Want to be my wing-woman? I’m thinking we make up a game where we pick a word she says and count how many times she says the buzzword. The winner is the one who has the highest count at the end, and the first round of drinks is on the loser.”
“Sounds slightly less mind-numbing.” I chuckle with amusement. “I could go for a drink. I can’t remember the last time I actually went to a bar.”
“I do, and the answer is too long.” He widened his eyes dramatically and folded his arms over his firm chest. “And I’m not even including cryosleep.” I narrow my brown eyes up at this dude. He’s flirty, but I don’t think he’s being flirtatious? I’ve always been too jaded for the pretty boys to talk to me so I’m out of my comfort zone. I used to get told off by my old boss for not smiling enough when I was serving customers. My natural setting is cynical, and I’m okay with that.
But golden boy here seems to have taken a shine to me and I havenoidea why. We may not be on earth anymore but sure he’s not so blue balled that he would latch onto the first woman to engage him in conversation? Even I can tell I’m not his type. Charlie chuckled and leans closer to me as he catches my curious gaze. “Hannah, I feel like you’re scanning me.” Charlie whispered with a chuckle and tousled my hair like I washiskid sister. “What’s up?”
“…guys like you don’t talk to girls like me unless they are after something.” I decided that I didn’t have it in me to lie. I’d rather be myself and know if he’s put off now than later. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. My two favourite weapons are being sceptical and blunt about my opinions. Not offensively. I’m just not a fan of being dishonest or wasting anyone’s time. Charlie snorted and the lights dimmed as Allico Inc barbie began her presentation.
“Huston I have found my new bff.” He licked his lips and chewed on a grin as he slid along the back wall to whisper bymy ear. “Firstly, don’t assume that you’re not hot enough for me to just hit on you because we have chemistry, and I bet you look great in a skirt. Secondly, don’t assume I’m hitting on you because I’m a guy and you’re a girl. It’s not automatic, you know. Friendships are possible even if we have opposite ‘parts’. It is entirely possible that I might think you’re interesting enough to befriend without wanting to fuck you.” I raised a brow at him. I mean, he had a point, but both points contradicted each other, so where was this going? “And three, don’t worry, I’ll take you under my wing and teach you how to hone your gay-dar. Either you’re rusty, or a lovely camp fellow like myself has never had the pleasure of your company before.”
Chapter 3
"Bossy, I like it."
Hannah
Charlie was smirking when he turned his head and caught my blushing face. He was highly amused at how embarrassed I was, the jerk. Damn it, I like him even more now. In my head I’ve already lifted him out of the acquaintance box and up onto the probationary partner in crime shelf. I think he sensed it too because he chuckled and moved his arm to bar across my shoulders possessively.
“Fine but I’m not being your beard.” He snorted behind his left hand, the right hanging off my right shoulder, and I felt a bit better for catching him by surprise.
“Your friendship will be more than good enough Hannah. I don’t know anyone, and having another like mind to whisper on the back row with in class on an alien planet isverywelcome.”
“Ditto, though I have my sister Billie. I haven’t seen her yet…” I do another visual sweep of the auditorium and note that AI barbie is well in the swing of the talk. I chide myself, as I haven’t been paying attention and I might have missed something important. Not to self? Charlie is a bad influence.
“-incredible discovery. Thelia is populated by a sentient species who call themselves the Ucfeni.” She pronounced the c like a click in the back of her throat. Back on Earth, I shared weekend shifts with a guy called Zakhele. He wasAmerican, born and raised, but his grandfather was a proud Zulu and taught Zakhele from birth the traditions of his people. I remember hearing him talking in his grandfather’s mother tongue on the phone a few times, and the click of the c in Ucfeni was similar. There was a nice guy. Zakhele was so my type. Tall, dark, and handsome with a kind streak, but he was happily married and therefore dating him was never on the cards. “They are ruled by a Monarchy with a council of advisors. When the pioneer team arrived talks were difficult to establish due to the language and cultural barriers. They thought we were invading their home.”
“Which we are.” Charlie muttered and I smirked at him.
“Shush.” I chuckled at him.
“Thankfully we were able to observe them long enough to decipher their language and open communications.” AI barbie changed the side behind her to show a mind map that was so tiny, she might as well have not bothered. My eyesight was 20:20, and I couldn’t make it out on the back row. “It was strenuous at first, as it took time to convince the Ucfeni that we had something to offer in trade for permission to settle on their planet. As you know we don’t have the fuel to return back to Earth or is that a viable option, otherwise this enterprise wouldn’t have been proposed in the first place. With more ships on their way, our pioneer team couldn’t afford to fail.” Barbie turns to change the slide again. I turned my head without taking my brown eyes off her to address Charlie.
“I’ve picked the word pioneer.” I get dibs in, remembering our game. He grins, elated that I had decided to play after all.
“Ah. I’ve gone with Ucfeni.” I pout, thinking he might have picked a better buzzword for our game than me. I hadn’t been keeping track either, so I didn’t know if I had an early lead or not.
“Now.” She resumes with the picture of what looks like a necklace. “We began communicating with the Ucfeni using computers and speakers run by sophisticated translation software. Once the pioneer team opened up lines of communication, negotiations finally began.”
“Three a piece.” Charlie chuckled and I elbowed him in the side playfully with a chuckle.
“The Ucfeni-” I grimace knowing Charlie’s in the lead. “-are sentient anddohavesometechnology, but it’s not as sophisticated asours.”I raise a brow at how proud Allico Inc Barbie sounds. I doubt she has the right to be a snob, being at most a glorified tour guide for newly defrosted colonists to bring them up to speed. “Given time the pioneer team-” Yes, back in the game. “-were able to identify their lack of medical prowess. The Ucfeni-” Shit. It’s 5-4. “-are strong warriors and have many skills and trades, including scholars and physicians, but they are very susceptible to infection. If their bloodstream is exposed they regularly suffer from sepsis and die.” Charlie was genuinely interested then and sat forward with his arms folded on the desk. I nodded, remembering he said he was an immunologist. That had to mean immune systems and stuff, right? “We have increased survival rates tremendously with our understanding of medical engineering and pharmacology expertise. The Ucfeni King hasrewarded usin exchange with permission to not only settle on Thelia but to coexist with his people.” 6-4. I’m not winning now and accept defeat to simply listen now. “Behind me is a communication collar. Anyone wearing one, Human or Ucfeni, can communicate freely.” AI Barbie swung her right hand behind her to tap the blue tear-shaped pendant on the gold chain on the slide behind her. “As long as you wear one of these you can remind within Ucfeni territories. They have GPS, of course, but that is protected information Allico Inc uses to track personnel locations for your own safety. This is in accordancewith the contract you all signed before departing Earth. This information isnotaccessible by the Ucfeni. Human translator collars have a blue stone, and the Ucfeni translator collars have red ones. They have their own servers for tracking their people, and we don’t have access to that data either. Although the collars were a joint project to allow for communication and peaceful coexistence, they are a contractual obligation on our behalf to wear.”
“Sounds like a dog collar to me with a GPS signal as a leash.” I whisper and Charlie nods beside me.
“It’s in the contract we have to allow tracking for our safety though, so we don’t get a say. At least our stones are blue. Red isn’t my colour.” Charlie winked at me and made me smile.
“Speak for yourself. My favourite lipstick shade is hotrod red.” We whisper and snicker like naughty children at the back of the classroom, rather than the mid-twenties to early-thirties adults in an auditorium we actually are.
“Most of you will remain within the human settlements, but some of you have been reassigned due to your specialisms. In the name of peaceful cohabitation, certain projects have been agreed upon between us and the Ucfeni. If you are a medical professional you are likely to be assigned to a clinic in Onra, the capital city of the Ucfeni nation. Anyone who is to live in Onra will require a sponsor for the first couple of months to ensure you settle well, and learn the rules of their society, before having free reign in Onra.” My brown eyes widened and I snap my head round to stare at Charlie.
“Did she just say we get alien babysitters?” He looked a tad pale as he nodded, so at least I wasn’t the only one nervous about this sudden development.
“Now now.” Allico Inc Barbie raised her hands to settle the sea of worried murmurs in the room. “You have been in cryosleep for the best part of a century. The pioneer unit andthe first wave of colonists have been well established on Thelia for the last ten years. You are not walking onto an alien world that will gawk and stare at you for being Human. The Ucfeni are used to us, and our people have a way of life that promotes cohabitation. Sponsors are all volunteers who know what they are doing, and in most cases, have been a sponsor already. If for any reason you are concerned about anything? You can press your communicator gem and keep it pressed to connect to our operators. We can deploy emergency services to your exact location within minutes.” That settled most of the room. I felt a lot better knowing I could basically call 999 at the press of a button if I needed to.
Yet, nothing I heard worried me quite as much as Billie and her absence did. She was already nervous about how much change there would be for her to get used to and try to adjust her routine. When we went into cryo, there was no mention of aliens. How would she take to having to wear a necklace? An alien sponsor? I don’t think so. She doesn’t like strangers. Having one tailing her around for a few months will trigger her for sure.
AI Barbie gave them a million-dollar watt smile and waved them out the far door to go on their way for deployment.
