The Clone’s Mate by Susan Trombley

Thirty-Three

Human bureaucracy never changed, even when aliens rolled in to help our species advance. The liaison was polite enough, but it was strange to try to describe my unconventional relationship with three alien males with another human woman. Fortunately, she didn’t bat an eyelash, nor judge me as I thought she might, even though her accent placed her as firmly North American, so polyamory wasn’t a particularly common occurrence in the culture she’d probably grown up in.

At least, it hadn’t been in mine.

Upon inquiry, I learned that it still wasn’t all that common in North America, but human minds had grown more open in recent years. I also learned the terrible truth about the Akrellian “occupation” and the Menops invasion that had necessitated their intervention.

There was so much paperwork to fill out, so many boxes to check, so many plans to make that I got zero time to spend with my mates, even though the Akrellians transferred us to a larger ship with better accommodations for all of us in adjoining cabins.

Ilyan remained submerged, and Evil Ilyan implied that he was keeping him that way until it was safe, because my green guy would have no idea what was going on, and his confusion might give away the truth about Ilyan’s condition.

It was that confession that told me that Evil Ilyan’s will wasn’t as weak as he’d first implied. He could hold Ilyan back if he wanted to once Ilyan went dormant. He just couldn’t take over when Ilyan was in control.

I worried about what Ilyan would think when all was said and done, and I felt desperate to have a frank discussion with all my mates, including my poor Subject 34, who was still a popsicle, much to my frustration. He would also be confused about what had happened and where we were when they finally thawed him out. No matter how much I reassured the Akrellians that he would listen to me and not hurt anyone, they were determined not to take any chances with him.

Whoever this Thrax was that shared his genes with 34, he’d given them a healthy respect—and definite fear—of Subject 34.

The story of Thrax and the other test subjects the Akrellians had also provided sanctuary for was one my liaison passed on to me through a documentary, of all things. It was bizarre to watch an alien-made video lauding those genetically engineered beings and their human partners as heroes who had aided in ending the invasion of Earth.

I finally got to see the face of Claire with her mate in a rare photo, him looking much like Subject 34, but not quite the same. She appeared madly in love with him as she stared up at him rather than looking at the camera, which relieved me, though I hadn’t really thought she would try to steal Ilyan away from me even if she did ever learn he’d survived.

She looked like an interesting person. Probably more interesting than me. That still worried me, but at least we wouldn’t be forced into the awkward position of meeting them. Hopefully, the Akrellians kept their word and never let Thrax and Claire know that Subject 34 existed and Ilyan was alive.

All the things I needed to learn to catch up on what had taken place while I was a peopsicle for a decade nearly overwhelmed me, and both Nirgal and Evil Ilyan also had to deal with an extensive info-dump about Earth, humanity, the Akrellian role in our people’s lives, and a shit ton of other things that I felt were a bit much to take in all at once. Things were moving so fast, our time so stuffed full of crap to do that I felt like I had seen more of my mates when they were locked behind bars on the Light Step.

There was no time for making love, even if we felt comfortable enough on the transport ship to do so. I personally didn’t, still fearing that I was being monitored, despite being in the privacy of my own cabin. I hoped the sanctuary on Earth didn’t have such monitoring, or at least not in the homes.

Our liaison provided videos of our destination as we made our way to Earth, and I was surprised that the Nevada desert area we were relocating to looked inviting. The Akrellians had done extensive construction and terraforming to transform the desolate desert landscape into something beautiful while still retaining the xeric nature and almost extraterrestrial vibe of the Mojave Desert. When my liaison told me, with a wide grin, that the sanctuary was built on the former site of Area 51 I didn’t believe her at first.

Then I had a good laugh that she joined in on. It was nice to know they had a sense of humor, and clearly, so did my fellow humans, since they’d ceded the land and facilities to their new allies.

I wasn’t feeling amused when we finally landed, and I got the chance to take my first step back on home soil in over a decade. That step was taken towards a shielded housing unit that would be my new home. One that was set apart from the rest of the little settlement. The shield dome looked pretty, glittering in the good ol’ Sol light, but it reminded me that we were still on probation.

Several Akrellians wheeled Subject 34’s cryo unit in our wake as we made our way to our housing unit. I kept turning to check on it, worried that something might happen to it that could interfere with 34’s safe reawakening.

This wasn’t quite the homecoming I could hope for. We were still basically prisoners, though our prison turned out to be much nicer than the ones we’d left behind. Granted, we had the chance to earn our parole, and I couldn’t entirely blame the Akrellians for showing caution with Subject 34. As we left the airfield and took the path to our shielded house, I saw some of the other citizens of the settlement stopping in their tracks to watch us go by.

I’d seen many strange creatures while in captivity but some of these extraterrestrials standing here in the desert on Earth seemed surreal. Fortunately, they appeared more curious than hostile, even when they glanced at my Iriduans. My liaison had explained that the asylum seekers understood the enormous cost Iriduans paid to betray the empire, so tended to regard them with respect in this settlement.

There were also more Iriduans than just my two guys here, and perhaps at some point, we would meet them and their families. Maybe we could all become friends. Or at least, friendly neighbors. I would love to host a backyard BBQ for my family and friends, and I could almost picture the four of us sitting at a picnic bench in our new backyard as we neared our residence. The house itself was isolated physically from the rest of the settlement past a cactus garden that surrounded the place like a spike-filled moat.

The home had a spacious front lawn and was larger than the tract home I’d left after my divorce from Michael. In fact, it was a five-bedroom home built in a style that my liaison explained was a combination of extraterrestrial architectural design elements, giving it a somewhat different appearance from my last home on Earth.

It was lovely, in its way, but the shield kept me from fully appreciating the property as much as I might have. The fact that it was really just a temporary quarter for “guests” who might pose some threat or be threatened by other residents also didn’t make me see it as home.

A flurry of activities took place once the liaison keyed us through the shield and we entered our new—though temporary—housing.

Subject 34’s unit was set up in the front living area and the process of thawing him out began while me, Nirgal, and Evil Ilyan wandered around the house in the trail of the liaison as she showed off all the amenities and answered all my questions.

My mates didn’t ask anything, and I thought that strange at first, because Michael would have dominated the conversation with the liaison like he had with our realtor when we’d bought our house, cutting me off whenever I had a question to ask to interject his own or condescendingly brush my concerns aside.

Then I realized that they deferred to me out of respect for me, choosing to follow my lead and let me air any concerns I might have. Probably because I was their “queen” but also because I was human, and we were on my home turf. In fact, neither of them even spoke until the liaison asked if we had any other questions and I gestured for them to ask anything they felt they needed to.

They had a few, but not many. They’d done their research with all the info the Akrellians and the liaison had thrown at us on our way here.

My most pressing concern now that I’d toured the furnished housing quarters and had been shown where all the basic supplies were was to check on 34.

We returned to the living area to find that his cryo unit was in the last stages of thawing him, and the Akrellians were packing up their instruments while shooting nervous glances at the unit.

“We will leave the cryo tank here until it is safe to retrieve it,” the liaison said as they all headed towards the door. She turned to face me as it slid open behind her. “Are you certain it is safe for you to be here when he awakens? He will likely be disoriented and could be hostile because of it.”

“It will be safer for everyone if she’s here when he awakens,” Nirgal answered for me, for the first time since we’d started this tour.

I nodded, not worried that Subject 34 would hurt me, even when he was disoriented. He hadn’t hurt me when he’d first met me, his killer instincts in full gear. “I’ll be fine but thank you for asking.”

The liaison smiled brightly, waving. “Well then, I’m sure you’re all tired and would like to rest up. Don’t forget your orientation appointments tomorrow. We’ll host the first of them at the welcome facility, but once all of you are acclimated,” she shot a nervous glance at the cryo unit, “we have in-home volunteers who can help you with whatever you need during this difficult time.”

Then she left and we were finally alone. I wanted to sag in relief, but I also feared we were still being watched. Apparently so did my mates, because they left my side to do their own sweep of the house, examining everything carefully.

I wasn’t sure whether the Akrellians knew my Iriduans had circuit scanners in their optic implants. If there were surveillance electronics within the house, my mates would be able to figure that out. The ship cabins had been more difficult because of all the climate control electronics buried within the walls, though they’d told me they didn’t think the cabins themselves were monitored.

You would think I would have grown accustomed to being watched all the time, but the exact opposite was true. After being observed in a research facility for what seemed like a lifetime, I now felt paranoid about having unseen eyes on me. That was probably something I would have to deal with in the therapy the liaison had promised.

My Iriduans returned as I was checking on the status of the thawing process, irritated that it took so damned long. I needed to talk to 34. I needed to hold him and reassure myself that he was safe and well. I could barely make out his form behind the foggy shield of his cryo tank.

Arms slipped around my waist as Nirgal’s scent enveloped me while I stood in front of the tank. He rested his chin on my head, pulling my back against his chest.

“All his vitals look good. He’ll recover quickly, my queen.”