Chapter 1
“DAISY! HOW’RE YOU DOING, my baby sister?” The image of Lily’s face filled the screen of the ship’s communication device I’d gotten permission to use.
“Um... I’m great, actually.” I rolled my shoulders back and stretched my neck.
Physically, my muscles still ached and cramped a bit after the five-months long stasis sleep. Thankfully, my journey was almost over. I’d woken up yesterday and only had one more day to spend on this spaceship that was taking me to the country Voran on the planet Neron, the home world of my potential future husband.
Emotionally, I felt even better. Expectant. Elated. Happy, even. Maybe that was the aftereffect of all the drugs and vaccinations I’d received in the past several hours since waking up, but it felt so good to be awake.
“I’m great, Lily.” I flicked a strand of my hair back over my shoulder, noting how limp and dull it had become. I should wash and curl my hair before landing tomorrow.
My heart leaped with excitement at the thought of finally meeting Colonel Grevar Velna Kyradus, the man with whom I might spend the rest of my life. Goosebumps rushed down my arms at the thought.
“Are you ready for the landing?” Lily asked.
“So ready! Honestly, I can’t wait.” I even bounced on the chair a little. Waiting for tomorrow felt very much like Christmas Eve, my favorite time of the year.
I drew in a long breath, calming myself. “How are you doing, Lily? How is everyone?”
“Oh, the usual.” She waved me off, swiping a strand of her hair away from her face. Medium reddish-blonde, her hair color was the same as mine. Unlike my long and still matted from sleep locks, however, Lily’s was neatly cut and styled into an impeccable bob. “Max and I are working. Kids are in school. Mom and Dad have just left for vacation... But please tell me more about the flight. You’re the farthest anyone in our family has ever been, sister.”
Actually, I was the farthest most people from Earth had been. The first contact with the Voranians from the planet Neron had happened barely a decade ago. There’d been a few visits by political delegations and scientific missions between our planets, but I was the very first regular person traveling that way.
“Five months is a long time to travel,” Lily went on.
“Well, I slept through most of it.” I laughed.
I’d had the choice to stay awake during the trip. The seven members of the Earth-Neron Liaison Committee, who were traveling with me, remained awake, but they had work to do. I’d just be wandering around the ship for the entire five months, anxious with anticipation for my arrival. I now had less than a day to wait, and I already felt wracked with nerves and excitement.
“We’re all so proud of you, Daisy,” Lily gushed.
My cheeks warmed with pleasure at hearing that. Normally, Lily had been the pride of the family, and rightfully so. My older sister had gone to college, got a well-paying office job upon graduation, married an amazing guy, and had the two sweetest children.
After a quarter of a century in this world, I hadn’t achieved any of that. The bakery where I’d started working straight out of high school closed when its owner, Ms. Goodfellow, retired. I’d moved back in with my parents and worked odd babysitting jobs ever since.
I loved working with children. They had the uncanny ability to make a person forget about their troubles. However, the fact that I had no career, no partner in life, and no place in the world to call my own had been harder to deal with the older I got.
When the application for the Liaison Program had been made public, I applied on a whim. The opportunity to travel to another planet, live among an alien race, and learn a new culture enticed me. Without a boyfriend, a job, or even an apartment, I didn’t have much to give up. The position on the application was stated as “Potential Spouse.” And frankly, the prospect of an out-of-this-world romance appealed to me, too.
Never in a million years had I thought I’d be the one chosen out of the thousands of applicants. I’d expected a long selection process with several rounds, but the reply came a week after the application submission deadline.
When I saw my name as the selected candidate, it felt like I’d finally achieved something.
“Has he called you yet?” Lily asked.
My smile slipped off.
Colonel Kyradus, my “Potential Spouse,” hadn’t contacted me at all. There’d been no messages, no calls, no communication, nothing.
I snapped my spine straight and plastered the smile back on my face.
“The Colonel is meeting me upon landing, and I’ll be there in less than twenty-four hours, so...”
“Hmm.” Lily pursed her lips. “It’s rather weird, don’t you think, Daisy? Wouldn’t a man be eager to talk to his bride? He hasn’t even seen you, other than the application picture.”
“Well, it’s not a typical situation. I’m hardly his bride...”
I wasn’t thinking about myself as a bride or a wife yet, though the papers I’d signed were titled, “Marriage Contract.”
Voranians’ birth rate had historically been hovering at about one girl to ten boys. In ancient times, their families comprised a wife with multiple husbands. Since all the technological advancements and cultural developments had taken place, the Voranian society had eventually moved on to a single partner marriage. Now, a wife only had one husband.
With women being so few, most men never got married. However, every healthy male could have a family on his own. Artificially inseminated, the married females carried the babies of the unmarried males.
Multiple births were a norm. As a result, the Voranians didn’t have repopulation problems. Having reached a healthy birth rate in their country, they even ensured the slight population growth required to support their economy.
They weren’t interested in human females as breeders. Scientists had determined humans and Voranians weren’t genetically compatible to reproduce, anyway. Though, physiologically, the two species could have sex.
Since Voran ended up being populated predominantly by single dads, the role of a human woman would be that of a companion as well as a child caregiver, I imagined.
And that made my heart melt.
The Colonel had two young boys, five-year-old twins, and I was dying to meet them. I had yet to see any images of them.
When I woke up, I’d hoped some kind of communication would have come from the Colonel during my five months of sleep. There had been nothing, and I couldn’t help being disappointed.
I hid it from Lily now, smiling wider than ever. There was no need to upset my sister.
“I’ll get to meet his entire family soon enough.”
Her frown of concern didn’t ease.
“I hope Voranians look better in person,” she sighed.
“Lily!” I threw my hands up in the air. “You can’t hold their appearance against them. For all we know, they’re lovely people.”
“I know, I know... They’re just so scary-looking.”
We’d all seen the footage of the official meetings of Voranians with our politicians, and the videos of scientific expeditions to Neron. In addition, I had a photograph of Colonel Kyradus. It was a head shot of him I’d received along with the confirmation letter from the Liaison Committee.