[Ben]

I didn't want to return to the cabin. If there were any more bad aliens around looking for us, that would be one of the first places they would look. But after all the action earlier today, the flyer power cells were nearly drained and it was a long way to the next charging station. I hoped what charge remained in the cabin power cells would be enough.

We had abused the flyer. The front end was crumpled and the frame bent. Persistent vibrations indicated one of the fans had become unbalanced. I needed to do a quick inspection.

Ar'ell laid across both back seats with his eyes closed. His long legs seemed to be bent in an impossibly awkward angle, but only because his knees hinged oppositely from ours. He really proved himself an ally and friend today.

Kie snoozed in the front passenger seat. I shook my head and whispered, "Who is this woman and what did she do with Kie?" I had misjudged her. Today, a true heart of courage and passion burst out from behind an introvert's shell. And I was grateful beyond words that it had.

And the way she kissed me... It felt so genuine, like her heart poured out through her lips. The woman in the seat beside me was truly beautiful. Why hadn't I seen that before?

Since the satellite global positioning system was down, we got lost on the way back. Bob became a hero of the day again. His terrain mapping function led us back. I felt guilty now for the number of times I crashed him when I was younger.

We arrived just past sunset. I gently nudged Kie. "We're here."

She yawned. "I am so tired. Could we at least get some sleep?"

"Okay. It has been an eventful day, to say the least. But we shouldn't stay here long. Let's plan to leave by first light."

Kie fell fast asleep as soon as she crawled into her sleeping bag. Part of me was glad she did not try to share mine. Keeping my gentleman's promise would have been difficult, quite hard, literally.

*****

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Her voice stung. She kept her eyes straight ahead.

She had been avoiding eye contact with me all morning. There was an old saying that the 'eyes were a window to the soul'. It's kinda cliché, but for Kie, it held true. A few times her big amber eyes did connect with mine, only to quickly turn away. In those brief moments, I saw past her reconstructed protective shell. Her eyes conveyed a swirling mix of desire, vulnerability, and fear.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the hot makeout session yesterday and your cold attitude this morning?" Oh, not a good choice of words. I should be more sensitive.

She sat in silence. I waited, giving her a chance to respond. She turned to me, her eyes moist. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"I'm not sorry. Kie, you were absolutely amazing yesterday in so many ways. And I very much did like the kissing. Did you?"

She dipped her head. "Yes. Too much."

"I'm not seeing that as a problem."

She paused again. "Ben do we even have a chance? Why would you want someone like me?"

"Why would I not? I'll admit that I didn't have a good opinion of you at first, for that I am sorry. But the more I get to know you the more wonderful you became."

She looked up again. Her eyes were as conflicted as ever, but now a bit of anger appeared. "What would I be to you? Just another convenient fling to be tossed away when another woman smiles at you? You've done that a lot."

Ouch. That one hit home. She was unlike any of the women I've had. Oh, I'm glad I didn't say that out loud.

She turned away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

I took a deep breath. She was right. I felt a tightness in my chest as a wave of guilt came over me. "No. That was fair. I don't have a good track record." I took another long breath. "Kie, I don't know if we would ultimately work out, but I think we are very much worth a try. We have such different personalities and I know I can be a little bit, well, exasperating at times."

She put a hand to her mouth but was not able to suppress a chortle. Ouch again. Deserved that one too. I continued. "I promise I will be honest with you. I have been so far."

"Yes, you have. But I want more than honesty. Someone can mislead and their words still be truthful. I also want sincerity."

I nodded. "I can agree to that." I leaned towards her and tilted my head. "So, Kie Loren, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

She leaned toward me and placed a simple kiss on my lips. "Okay, as long as you behave. And I want one more thing."

"What is that?"

"Chocolate."

I put my hand behind her head and kissed her back, this one longer and more satisfying. Her smile warmed me. "Very well, my sweet mouse. My last bar is yours."

Ar'ell let out a series of tones and chortles, speaking in song. I had forgotten he was back there.

Kie blushed a bit. "Our alien friend approves."

Yup. Just me, my girlfriend, and our alien chaperone. A classic love story.

*****

It took a bit of back and forth searching, but we finally spotted the south research station. Good thing too, the power cells were almost drained. Navigating with maps and compass was not nearly as accurate as with the global positioning system. The station had a cabin that was nearly identical to the one by the glacier. A few more buildings and a solar array surrounded it in the pine forest clearing.

I hooked up the station power cells to the flyer. I also located spare parts in one of the storage buildings and took the opportunity to change out a worn fan thrust bearing damaged by the abrasive dust thrown up during my rescue.

Ar'ell was busy eating berries from a wild blueberry patch not far away. I think he liked them almost as much as the strawberries.

Kie sat down in the grass as I took off the fan housing. "You do know what you are doing, don't you?"

"Yeah. I used to work on these with my dad."

I crawled underneath to access the old bearing. She laid down on the soft grass to watch me. I asked, "Who were those bad aliens? Ar'ell didn't seem to like them."

She shook her head. "Hates them. From what he told me, they were from a rival clan called the Em'arn. A militaristic group that shot down his ship and killed his mate."

"Oh, wow. These aliens have internal conflicts like us humans. What do the Em'arn want?"

"This world. The Av'arr sun is becoming unstable and they will need new homes. Ar'ell was trying to get here first to claim Paradise for their clan, the Orra. He described himself as a world architect if I interpreted correctly."

I grunted as I pried the old bearing off. Sure enough, dust packed it. "Hmm, a terraformer? I think my mom would like to meet him."

"I'm sure. Anyway, there are some Av'arr laws about claiming new territory. The first mate pair that settles it gets to claim it for the clan. Ar'ell did arrive first, but his mate died in the crash."

I shook my head. "No wonder the Em'arn were after him and his ship. This is alien political cloak-and-dagger stuff, and we are caught in the middle of it. Why can't we claim the planet for ourselves? We were here first."

She sighed. "I don't know. We may have no legal standing because we are not part of a clan. I do know one thing, we would be much better off with the Orra than the Em'arn."

I pushed the new bearing in place. It fit perfectly. An idea came to me. "Then perhaps we should become part of a clan. Let's talk to Ar'ell. Or rather, you talk to Ar'ell. I am still amazed that you picked up their language so quickly."

She smiled. "Well, I still struggle with some of it."

I pointed toward Ar'ell as he staggered back and forth up the slope toward us. "I think berries are an intoxicant to him."

Kie jumped up and ran to the alien. She put an arm around his waist to steady him, then helped him sit down beside the flyer. His head wavered about. She spoke to him in song and he replied.

She shook her head and grinned. "He is a bit drunk."

They conversed in song for several minutes. Sometimes Kie would repeat his tones while wrinkling her nose as if trying to understand them. Subtle shades of blue appeared on Ar'ell's face.

Kie turned to me as I reattached the fan housing. "Ar'ell approves of your idea. He wants to make us part of the Orra clan. I doubt there is any legal precedent for this but he says there is no rule against it. He also said a decider, a legal Arbiter I think, is coming here to rule on the fate of our world."

"Let's do it." I also replied 'yes' in song, which is essentially the only word I can say in the alien language.

We sat in the low grass facing Ar'ell. He raised a hand for us to see. On the back of his hand, the trace of a four-pointed star appeared across the blue-green scales of his skin. It looked like a black tattoo. He brought his two fingers and two thumbs together to a pinch, then spread them apart. He spoke in song. Kie interpreted for me.

"The star is the symbol of the Orra clan. Its four points represent four good things, virtues." She spoke in song, I think for clarification. "Okay. The first is wisdom or knowledge - actually a combination of them. The second is courage. The third is, I think, fairness and justice. The fourth is good judgment, no, discretion is a better word for it. As the appendages of the hand work together, so do the virtues."

Ar'ell removed a small vial containing a black liquid. From a metallic tube, he removed what looked like a small black twig with one end whittled to a point. He dipped the twig in the vial and spoke again.

"He said the stain and branch come from a tree on their world they consider special... no, sacred. From this comes the mark of Orra."

Kie grimaced as Ar'ell drew the four-pointed star on the back of her left hand. I offered my left hand and he repeated the process. The stain stung, but after a few moments, the pain subsided.

Ar'ell bent forward and touched his forehead to Kie's forehead. He struggled to speak in our language, but I understood. "...ie, Orra." He then did the same for me, saying, "...enn, Orra."

At that point, I believed we officially became members of the Orra clan.

The ceremony did not stop there. Ar'ell removed the two gold bracelets from his wrist and placed one around Kie's left wrist and the other around mine. With some adjustment, they fit snuggly, but comfortably. We both examined the exquisitely engraved markings that covered them. Ar'ell spoke again in song.

Kie said, "We are now a mated pair of Orra. And that gives us legal standing to claim this world. That is, if the Arbiter agrees."

Mated pair? The thought made me feel light-headed and my eyes went wide. "Kie, I think we may have just gotten married."