Chapter Eleven
Lisa ran her hands lightly over the swell of her belly as she walked through the silent, dim halls. It had taken several 'standard months' for her to receive her citizenship from the United Species, so much time that she was almost ready to give birth. The first thing Zon had done once she was officially a citizen, though, was to bring her here.
A group of religious archeologists had come to this world decades ago and claimed that they had found Earth due to the high levels of geo-nuclear radiation and the DNA they had managed to extract from the fossils that scattered the planet. A museum had been built, orbiting the planet.
This particular wing was a memorial to the dead, a crypt where pieces of bone were displayed behind glass walls, besides genetic reconstructions that hypothesized what the individual would have looked like. In some cases, they were lucky enough to find a full skull, but that was rare. In very rare cases they were actually able to put names to faces and had a little information that was salvaged from long-dead computers and records.
"How right did they get them?" Zon asked, walking beside her.
They were looking for the era that Lisa had calculated would be most likely to have been the 1900s and 2000s. Very few remains had been found from that time, but she hoped that there would be at least one person she recognized.
Lisa looked over the faces. They were mostly blue-skinned, which was apparently the most common tone among species. She smiled. There were a few individuals with actual human shades, but they were quite rare. "If this really was from my time, they have the skin all wrong."
"Did all humans have your color of skin?"
"No. My white skin was actually not that common. Although Hollywood would have us think otherwise…"
Her words died in her throat. At the end of the hallway, in a position of honor, was a projection of her brother. Her heart stopped and tears immediately blurred her vision. She ran forward, ignoring the faces that she passed. She hadn't dared hope to find him!
To her surprise, when she got closer, she saw that everything about Tom's picture was perfect. The color of his skin, eyes, hair. He was even standing the way he always had, his hands in his pockets, a slightly sheepish grin on his face, his shoulders bent forwards.
"You knew him?"
Lisa nodded, leaning back against Zon, grateful for his presence. There was an explanation of who Tom was beside his portrait. Lisa skimmed over it, soaking in the translated words greedily.
"This image was recreated from ancient digital recordings," she breathed out. "This unnamed man was credited with being the first person to correctly theorize how to avoid the temporal distortions in faster than light travel, allowing our ancestors to leave their planet without suffering the effects that plagued other primitive space travelers."
"I'm not sure I believe that," Zon muttered.
"I wish they had the date," Lisa said. "He promised me he was going to figure it out before my thirtieth birthday… I'm glad he didn't give up."
Zon squeezed his hand. "Who was he?"
"Tom. My brother." Lisa wiped away her tears before gently putting her hand on the glass that separated her from the holographic photograph. "I'm proud of you, Tommy. Who knew your legacy would live this long?"
It hurt seeing his face, but there was relief as well, knowing that her brother hadn't given up after she was taken from Earth. Knowing that he had continued his life gave her the strength to continue hers as well. She pressed a kiss to the glass.
"Goodbye, Tom."
Zon kissed the top of her head.
"We should name our son Tom," she said.
They had been able to see the holographic projections of their child for several weeks now and knew it would be a healthy baby boy who looked almost exactly like his father.
Lisa was growing more impatient every day to hold him, to watch him grow up and to know what sort of personality the little person growing inside of her would have. They had spoken a little of names, but neither of them had actually made any suggestions as to what exactly they should name their son.
"Tom," Zon repeated. "After your brother."
Reluctantly Lisa turned away from the picture of her brother and towards her mate. "If you have objections…"
"No. It's traditional for T'Shav to name their children after an honored loved one. Usually, it is after a great warrior, but given the situation, I am certain that we can make an exception without being frowned upon."
He grinned to show he was joking, but she playfully slapped his arm anyway. His eyes grew heated at the touch and Lisa hurriedly shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I can't possibly. Not when I'm this huge."
"Sex helps the baby and you both. Besides, you've been saying that you want him to be born already, and it can help to speed up labor. As for this beautiful, round belly…" Zon knelt and kissed her belly button, cradling her stomach in his hands. "I like seeing you on all fours."
Lisa shook her head, despite the heat that was rising in her. "Maybe later. Tomorrow. I'm too tired right now. We've been walking around here for hours… we should get back to the ship."
Zon got to his feet again, nodding, and wrapped an arm around her while they headed back. Lisa glanced over her shoulder several times, grateful to know that they could return whenever she was feeling too homesick. Earth might be a dead, barren world now, but at least she had this place to visit.
"There's something I should tell you…"
Zon glanced at her, bumping her gently with his hip. "You're not going to tell me that you're not actually attracted to me, are you?"
Lisa's jaw dropped. "What made you think I'd say that?"
"Well… T'Shav aren't an attractive species. Our skin is too red, our build too muscular…"
"Too muscular?" Lisa shook her head in amazement. "If you were on Earth back in my day, women would chase you all the time. You're the most attractive man I have ever met. Too muscular… Nope. Not at all."
Zon laughed. "So what is it that you want to tell me?"
Lisa stopped, reaching for both of his hands so he would turn towards her. He smiled, waiting patiently while she took in the sight of him. Her heart swelled and a silly grin grew over his face.
"I really don't know why it's taken me this long to tell you, or admit it to myself. I guess I was just frightened."
"Of me?"
"No." Lisa shook her head. "Of the magnitude of what I'm about to say."
"You'd better be frightened of me if you don't tell me soon." He added a playful growl in his throat that had Lisa rethinking her position of waiting until the next day for sex.
"I love you."
Zon's eyes widened.
"I don't know when it happened, but I love you, Zon. Whether we’re starmates or not, I don't know. But I can say without a doubt that we are meant to be together. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I can't wait to explore this exciting new world with you."
Zon wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in, answering her without words. As their lips met, far out in the reaches of space a star glowed brighter.
*****
THE END