Page 1 of The Accidental Omega
Chapter One
Elizabeth
“Absolutely the fuck not. That was a... ajoke. A dare!” I stammer into my cell phone.
I turn, waving my co-worker, Kyle, away from my desk.
Why did I answer an unknown number?I ask myself as I stare at Jerry, my blue beta fish who is undisturbed by this awful news, swimming happily among the roots of his spider plant.
“I assure you, Miss Hudson, this is not a joke,” the comforting voice on the other end of the line responds. “And if I may remind you, Earth’s status as an undisturbed sanctuary for near-intelligent life is dependent upon our participation in the Omega Concord. I’m quite sure the testing center went over all of that before you had to show your ID to sign the legally-binding paperwork?”
I don’t recall what the fuck I signed.
“That was over ten years ago!” I hiss, turning away farther, panic growing.
I hesitate, fingers tapping on my cluttered desk nervously; my eyes landing on a flyer for an upcoming fundraising event I’m helping with.Surely there’s a loophole somewhere? Contracts and government bullshit always have loopholes. How much money do I have in savings?
I cringe. Damn non-profit-pay scale.Probably not enough to buy my own ass.
“Is there no way out of this?” I ask, trying to sound pathetic.Not hard, given the lump of fear in my gut.
“Well...” there’s some clicking on her end of the line, “Since the records database doesn’t show that you have legally married or become a parent, I’m sorry, there is not.”
I feel like I’m about to pass out. I bend over, head between my legs.Probably a position I’m about to be in a lot.
The voice drones on, “You’re expected for processing at the facility nearest your registered address, over on Fir Avenue, on the ninth at eleven am. Please keep personal affects to the standard flight carry-on size. You have a nice day, dear.”
Yeah, I’m about to pass out, I realize just before my vision fades to black.
Chapter Two
Elizabeth
“It was adare!” I moan before taking another drink of wine. “I was barely legal, for fucks’ sake, Sasha!”
My best friend calmly sips her wine. “Uh huh.”
I had been twenty-three and some of the guys in my friend group had dared me to do it. Having just broken up with my girlfriend since freshman year and imbibing in more than my usual share of illicit substances, I told them sure, as long they did it too.
“We all went together, me, Josh, Ezra, Dan, Owen. It was just for fun! Didn’t you do it? You were in college at the same time as me, when the Federation first made contact?”
Sasha shakes her head. “No, I didn’t, Libby, becauseI’mnot self-destructive. I can’t believe Ezra and Dan...?” She trails off, surprised that the level-headed guys she’s known the last few years would do something as monumentally stupid as sign binding contractual paperwork to be alien omegas. Assuming that is, if their bloodwork showed the protein that had been dubbed by us humans as ‘alphabet soup,’anda compatible alien pack was matched. Again through the bloodwork, and the questionnaire packets. Seemed like an astronomically small chance. Guess I was wrong.
Oh shit, what the hell did I say on that questionnaire? It asked about sexual preferences and...oh shit, shit, shit.
I drain my glass, shaking my head. “The chances were so low.So low!”
About two years before I had been asinine enough to do the testing, an alien confederation had landed in Europe. They promised they would leave Earth more or less alone if we would join the Omega Concord. It was the same peace treaty they had agreed to with almost twenty other planets. A peace treaty that got them humans who had tested compatible with three planets in their star system. A human that didn’t have the matching blood would be free to stay here. One that did, though? They would be sent to one of those planets to be ‘resettled’ with an established ‘pack’ on one of the home planets. That human would likely never return, though holo-calls and communications were allowed.
The aliens were obviously stronger and more advanced than us, so world leaders made a few concessions, namely for the first twenty years that blood testing would be voluntary, but our leaders signed pretty quickly to avoid the aliens forcing the issue.
“They told you you were compatible?” Sasha asks, pulling me from my memories.
“They called a few weeks later. Made me do some more personality and medical tests and told me they’d be in touch if a matching pack was ever found for me,” I recall. We had had to sign the legal paperwork before they took our blood. A quick blood draw and we were sent on our way. Only one of the guys tested as a match, like me. I struggle to remember who.
Sasha brings the wine over and fills both our glasses before settling back into the couch in our apartment. “You never mentioned it.”
“Fuck, I had practically blocked it out!” I whine. “I had just broken up with Amelia–” a grumble emerges from Sasha, “Andwas not in a good headspace. When they dared me, I said ‘fuck it, I’m down if you’re down’.”
