[Ben]

I awoke with a start to find two large dark eyes peering down at me, alien eyes. A series of tones and warbles came from the slits on its neck. Was it saying 'good morning' or, perhaps, 'what's for breakfast'? Hopefully not 'what do humans taste like'. Subtle shades of color washed across its face, probably its version of facial expressions. It wore a long sleeveless green robe, fastened at the waist with a web belt, like its dead companion in the spaceship. Its left wrist carried a golden bracelet with strange markings that I hadn't noticed before. Apparently, the alien did not mind the cool temperature in the cabin.

I lifted my arm off of Kie as she stretched. "Our new friend is up. Looks like it is doing better."

She was right, we really needed to get a name for this alien, or at least a better pronoun than 'it'. I decided to refer to the alien as 'he' until we knew better.

Kie felt cold last night when she slithered into my sleeping bag, but after moving closer to me, she warmed up quickly. We did sleep well last night, although her revelation lurked in the back of my mind.

I was somewhat surprised that she did not push me away when I wrapped an arm around her. She almost purred when I did. Part of me wanted to abandon the gentleman's promise. But I also felt an unusual and uncomfortable vulnerability, this woman could break my heart.

Perhaps I should not have held her like that, but it felt so... good.

Underneath her shell, she does have a good heart, one refreshingly genuine. Our personalities were so different, though. Why would she want someone like me, anyway?

The alien sang two notes, like he sang yesterday when Kie offered a water bottle. She smiled as she recognized the word too. "I think our friend is thirsty."

She showed the alien how to operate the water tap in the kitchen. I noticed how he limped and dragged a leg to follow her. The alien filled and drank two mugs of water in quick succession. Thirsty indeed!

Kie caught the alien's attention and pointed to herself. "Kie."

" ...ie." It repeated in a sing-song voice.

She pointed to me. "Ben."

"...enn." It seems to have problems pronouncing some of our consonants.

In turn, the alien pointed to itself and sang a two-note song, "Ar'ell."

Kie repeated the name with her singing voice, matching the notes perfectly. Streaks of light blue came across Ar'ell's face, I think meaning approval. I tried to sing it and failed, but the pronunciation of Ar'ell in my own voice seemed to be acceptable.

We laid out a selection of breakfast ration packs on the table before Ar'ell. The alien rejected most of the foods, some outright and others after tasting. He did like the fruit juices, some of the fruits, and bread without crust.

I commented to Kie. "Our friend seems to prefer sugars and simple starches."

I took my container of strawberries out of the chiller and opened it on the table. Ar'ell studied them. Kie and I each took a berry and popped them in our mouths. Ar'ell picked up a berry, twirled it in his fingers as he examined it further, then tasted it. Shades of light and dark blues pulsed across his face and a high pitch squeal came from his neck slits. In no time at all, he ate the rest of the strawberries. Attempting to stand, Ar'ell legs swayed and he grasped at the table. I helped him sit down.

Kie and I looked at each other. I grinned. "I think Ar'ell likes strawberries even more than you like chocolate."

*****

The storm raged for three days. Not much snow fell, but the cold wind made the most of it. Swirls of whiteness surrounded the cabin, sometimes blocking the view entirely. At least it was warmer inside. To provide more heat, I rigged up the food warmer so it would run with its door open. Although, we had to monitor the charge on the cabin's small power cells to make sure we did not deplete them. Without bright sunlight, the solar array recharged slowly. And I wanted to save some power to top off the flyer's cells.

Kie retrieved her own sleeping bag from the alien and slept on her own bunk. I had mixed feelings about this. I missed her body snuggled up against mine, for more reasons than the warmth, but I feared my promise would become impossible to keep. Ar'ell seemed content to cover with a single blanket.

Kie spent most of the waking hours learning the alien language. Ar'ell was a willing teacher, even eager. I tried but soon withdrew from the lessons. I could not master the tones like Kie and I did not want to slow her down.

The aliens called themselves the Av'arr, as best as I could pronounce it. And apparently, they grouped themselves into different clans or something like that.

As a way of thanks for the lessons, Kie would sing for Ar'ell. Her voice still enchanted me, but it seemed more so for Ar'ell. The alien would become motionless and light blues colored his face every time she sang, even when she practiced scales. The alien had more of a pure tone in his voice, almost sounding electronic. I think the incredible resonance and timbre in Kie's voice impressed him.

Sunshine woke us on the morning of the fourth day. Finally, the storm had passed us by.

I looked up at Kie over breakfast. "What do you say we skip the rest of our bio-survey project and head back home." I tipped my head toward the alien. "I think our result so far is fairly impressive."

"To say the least. But we should ask Ar'ell first. He is not a bio-sample."

I nodded. "Of course."

Kie and Ar'ell conversed with each other in alien song, as we came to call it. How she picked up the language so fast, I did not understand. I could only attribute it to her incredible musical ability.

Kie turned back to me. "Ar'ell agrees, but he wants to go back to his spaceship to pick up some things."

"He didn't say 'take me to your leader', did he?"

She pinched her eyes shut and put a palm to her forehead. "No."

"Okay. We can swing by his ship first."

I sang the whistle that I thought meant 'yes'. Ar'ell repeated it.

Kie smiled at me. "The pitch could use some work, but not bad."

I had expected a covering of snow on the flyer, but it had already melted in the sunlight. After packing up, we flew off. The weather was perfect for flying. Windblown ripples of fresh snow glistened on the glaciers.

I let my mind drift, thinking about the acclaim we would receive when we came back home with an alien. I imagined cheering crowds, awards, and beautiful women swarming around me...

"You know, Kie, we will be famous for making first contact with an alien race. Maybe even on Earth."

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't want fame. Besides, other aliens may have already landed in Paradise City. And we still don't know if they will be as friendly as Ar'ell. The satellite communications are still down, you know."

"Wow. Ruin my fantasy."

She sighed. "Why don't we stay in reality? Let's get home and let it all sort itself out on its own."

I landed about one-hundred meters from the downed spaceship this time on an area of ice that I knew was safe. Ar'ell was quiet as he limped to his ship, a faint hue of green came over his face. We followed as he made his way to the front control room. He knelt before the dead alien and gently brushed away a thin layer of ice crystals. A haunting cry, like that of an owl, filled the room as Ar'ell touched his forehead to that of his companion. Deep green colors came over his face. After a few moments, Ar'ell removed an identical gold bracelet from the deceased and slid it on to his left wrist next to his own.

Kie's eyes watered. Ar'ell spoke slowly in song. Kie responded in song, then traced her fingers down Ar'ell's arm, stopping at the gold bracelets. A sob escaped her lips and tears freely rolled down her face. I held out my arms and she fell into them, her head against my shoulder.

She whispered between sobs. "He grieves for his mate."

A chilling wave of guilt pulsed through me. I had speculated on my own fame and selfish desires, but Ar'ell had lost someone very dear to him.

Ar'ell placed various items at the ship doorway and we carried them to the flyer. These included several grey hard-sided cases, some kind of electronic device, and a case of translucent bottles containing various colored liquids. Ar'ell took a drink from one. Good thing he had some of his own nourishment. He had finished off the last of our food that he could consume this morning. The final item he insisted on carrying himself, a dark lance-like object. With his grip, it came to life, flashing multi-colored lights. He inspected it, then turned it off.

Kie and Ar'ell packed the items into the flyer while I returned to retrieve the last case. A sound in the sky caught my attention. From the distance came a ship, one very much like the one that brought Ar'ell, but smaller.

I pointed and yelled. "Kie, another alien ship!" I waved at it.

Ar'ell jumped out of the flyer waving his arms wildly, facing me then Kie. He shouted an escalating series of tones in alien song. Something was wrong.

Kie cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "Ben, run! It's hostile!"

It took a second for the warning to register. I took off in a run as the alien ship circled closer. Within three paces the front end of the wrecked spaceship exploded. The rest of the ship recoiled upward and then crashed back down again onto the ice. The blast knocked me off my feet and sent me tumbling across the ice. I threw my hand up to protect my face from the shower of ice and debris. The ice-sheet rumbled and, with a series of sharp cracks, opened a huge fissure nearly beneath my feet. I scrambled on hands and knees to prevent it from swallowing me up. But now the fissure separated me from the flyer.

Kie ran three steps toward me. "Ben!"

I jumped to my feet. The alien ship landed on the ice not far away, throwing up clouds of snow and ice particles. A number of aliens jumped out, each carrying a lance object like the one Ar'ell had. They looked like Ar'ell but wore long black robes and helmets. It was clear that I was not going to make it to the flyer.

I waved my hand at Kie and shouted. "Go! Get Ar'ell out of here!"

Desperation colored her voice. "Ben, no..!"

"Just go! I will find a way!"

I sighed as I watched the flyer zoom away. I turned to find four black-robed aliens facing me, each pointing a lance at me. Even I could figure out what those were now.

Oh, crap...

I raised my hands. "Hey, guys. Nice day, huh?"

Something hit me and my body convulsed violently. I slumped to the ice as darkness engulfed my consciousness. I wished I would have said something more original.