CHAPTER 7
ERRO
The taste of Rachel’s lips was… magical. Erro could think of no better word to describe the sensation that now coursed through his body as he gazed upon her bundled up anatomy. In his mind, he visualized unwrapping her again – although he wouldn’t stop at the clothing she wore under the thick layer of outdoor gear.
A low groan escaped his lips at the thought, and he could feel the throb of his cock underneath his own layers of clothing. She had been laughing at him, and he’d succumbed to the desire that had been building up in him ever since he’d seen her for the first time. He knew the action had been ill-advised, but by the time he managed to get his sluggish mind to give him that advice, the damage was already being done.
She had simply looked so beautiful, laughing so happily at him, that he hadn’t been able to hold himself back.
At least she wasn’t angry with him, even though she had pushed him away. Erro decided that the move had been more about practical concerns than it was about evasion. Her face was red, but her quickened breaths and the darkening of her green eyes looked more like desire than dread. She must simply be just as eager to get outdoors as he was. At least, that’s what he’d surmised.
Rachel motioned for him to follow her as she stepped out the door. When he reached it himself, he caught his first real glimpse of the strange new world. It was completely blanketed in white, and he could feel even through his thick new gear that whatever the white stuff was, it was cold. Very cold.
He reached down and picked up some of it, and it powdered between his thumb and the portion of fabric that encased all of his fingers.
“Snow,” Rachel said as she pointed to it, and then spanned the whole region around them with a wave of her hand.
“Snow?” Erro repeated the foreign word, frowning as he continued to stare at the odd white substance on the ground. He had never seen anything like it before. And it seemed this whole world was covered in it.
Strange. Where the hell was he? He didn’t think he had ever even heard of a world like this before, but that might just be his head injury talking.
As he looked around more fully, he realized that her dwelling appeared to be the only one nearby. In the horizon, a curious lump within the whiteness sported a smoking stack, and he figured out it must be another home, but it was quite a way from where the two of them stood.
The sky above them was dark, nearly black, and it would’ve felt ominous if it weren’t for the colorful light show illuminating the darkness. Shades of green and red danced above them, glowing in the sky in a way unlike Erro had ever seen. His eyes widened in amazement, for the sight was quite beautiful.
Faintly in the distance, somewhere beyond the smoking place, Erro could hear a muted pinging sound. If he hadn’t known what to look for, he would’ve likely missed it, but as a Union pilot, the sound was etched to the back of his mind. It seemed the homing beacon on his ship had not yet ceased to function. That was a good thing. Now, if only he could transform to his other half, he could be there in moments, find those damned translators, and explain to the female beside him exactly what was going on.
Erro sighed in defeat. Of course, he couldn’t remember if humans also had the ability to transform, but he didn’t think so, and he could only imagine that if Rachel suddenly saw him turn into a huge and formidable beast, she might become quite frightened. Wouldn’t be the first time that happened with the member of another alien race. So for her sake, his inability to change was probably just as well.
But that left him with one very real dilemma. How was he supposed to follow that signal, get to his ship, and finally be able to communicate with his mate? And how was he supposed to convince her to come away with him when he managed to get hold of someone at the Union base on this world?
At least, he seemed to remember that there was an Union base here. Maybe even more than one. But the longer he stood outside, the less he seemed to be able to think as his mind froze in the cold weather that was now starting to seep through his thick layers of clothing. Even with the warm clothes, he felt almost completely overwhelmed by the icy temperatures. He didn’t just need translators, he needed some thermal shielding to help him stay warm.
Tugging at Rachel’s arm, he pointed to the sky, then brought his arms downward in a violent arc, motioning as though he’d slammed his hand on the ground. She nodded her understanding, but then looked worriedly at a strange, wheeled vehicle that was mostly buried in the snow. He could see by her expression that she didn’t believe the thing would be moving anytime soon.
Giving him an apologetic smile, she then rushed over to a small building beside her dwelling. When she tugged on the side of it, a tall door creaked open, revealing another, much smaller vehicle inside.
Or at least, Erro thought it was a vehicle. Unlike the one standing outside, this one didn’t look like it was made to accommodate anyone inside it. It also didn’t have wheels, but long, smooth poles instead, and he had no idea how it could carry anyone – let alone the two of them. Erro frowned in confusion. How she thought they would be able to travel anywhere in it was beyond him. Unless of course, the thing could fly. But somehow, it didn’t look very aerodynamic, and with how primitive this world had proven to be until now, he doubted that was the case.
Still, when Rachel walked toward it, he followed. Obviously, she wouldn’t own the thing if she didn’t think it was of some use to her, right? But then he thought about that weird tree she’d been hanging decorations all over, and the transmission orb that wasn’t a transmission orb after all, and stifled a derisive snort. He really couldn’t be sure of that.
Rachel patted the back of the vehicle, giving him a significant look as if telling him sit down there. Then, she walked to the ther side of the vehicle and hopped on it herself, getting behind two oddly shaped handles that were clearly meant to be used to navigate the vehicle through the snow.
Cautiously, Erro climbed on the back of the vehicle, sitting down behind her in the spot she had pointed out to him. He watched as Rachel stuck a small piece of metal into a hole on the consul. When she turned it, the sound of an engine roared to life, and a mischievous grin spread on Erro’s lips. Maybe this thing was going somewhere after all.
Somehow or other, Rachel backed up the vehicle onto the top of the snow, and they began to glide over it just like a boat over water. Erro watched with fascination as they went quickly over the white desert, heading toward the beacon signal. He frowned at the realization. Could she hear it too? He hadn’t given her any directions to the ship after all.
But when Rachel took a few odd turns, not going directly to the ship but obviously taking another route, Erro realized that she wasn’t tracking the sound. She seemed to be heading back to the location of the ship based on her memory. He found that impressive, considering it was probably buried fairly deep under the white fluff by now. How did one navigate in this environment anyway? He couldn’t see any direction guide in the front of the vehicle at least.
“Ar’eta!” he yelled out after a moment when they arrived near the vessel and almost passed it by. Fortunately, the word was one she seemed to understand, and she quickly stopped as he’d requested.
Erro scrambled off the vehicle as they came to a halt and shambled his way over to his ship – which, as he had guessed, was covered in white. The icy cold snow made his legs prickle and grow numb, but once he managed to climb inside, he knew he’d be able to remedy that problem in a short time, so he pushed on through. Starting to dig through the snow, he clawed his way to the entrance of the ship and jumped in.
Inside, Erro had enough room to yank off the crude outerwear and toss it aside. He opened a little cabinet door and tugged free two translators and a small silver disk. He pulled at a similar disk at the neckline of his spacesuit, and the black garb disappeared, temporarily leaving him unclothed except for the necklace he’d pulled the disk out of.
His whole body shivered and threatened to freeze on spot, but when he tucked the other disk into place, his covering returned – except that it was no longer black. Instead, it was a muted shade of silver, and the new clothes kept him warm and dry as he rushed back over to Rachel’s vehicle again.
She stood next to the little snow glider now, and her brows rose in surprise as he hurried back toward her. Erro couldn’t help but grin at her, happy that he would at last get to communicate with his one and only ele’a.
Popping one of the translators into his ear, he passed the other one to her. She looked at it a bit warily, but eventually took it in her hand and inserted it into her ear. Erro smiled at her, unable to contain his enthusiasm.
“Rachel,” he breathed in awe when she was done placing the translator, and took her hands into his. “Do you understand me now?”
Rachel’s eyes brightened as the words translated in her ear.
“I–yes,” she said, an look of relief overtaking her features – one that almost matched his own as her sweet words flowed into his ears. The expression was fleeting, however, as she stepped back and took in his appearance. A slight frown formed between her brows as she looked at him. “You… What happened to your clothes?”
Erro glanced at himself, having already nearly forgotten his change of gear. “Oh, this? It’s a bio-suit. Much warmer than the puffy clothes you gave me, although thank you for those. I would have frozen solid without them.” He shivered for good measure at the thought.
“But…” Rachel still seemed baffled. “How did you change your clothes so quickly?”
Erro lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. It was all normal to him, but he forgot that this planet seemed quite primitive. It was no wonder a bio-suit might seem like magic to the inhabitants.
“My clothing is generated using this device around my neck,” he explained. “The clothes are there while it’s turned on, and disappear otherwise. I’m no engineer, I don’t know the mechanics behind it, but that’s just how it works. You’re lucky it didn’t get broken in the crash too, or you would have gotten quite the eyeful.”
He winked at her teasingly and a deep crimson color rose onto Rachel’s cheeks. She quickly looked away from him, as if trying to regain her composure before she spoke again. After a moment, she asked, “So… It’s clear that you crashed. But what were you doing around Alaska, anyway? The Union troops rarely come this far to the north, and most especially not directly from the sky.”
Erro shook his head. He had no answers. “Unfortunately, with this head injury, I’m finding it too difficult to remember the details,” he said. “Surely, I must have been sent to this world to help protect it, but somehow I crashed instead of being dropped off at the proper facility. By the look of my ship, though, I clearly must have been in a battle. I just can’t seem to remember who it was with, or why.”
“Hmm,” Rachel said, a thoughtful expression on her face. She had sat back down on her snow vehicle and rested her hand absently on a dial on the consul. “Maybe we should see if there’s any mention of it on the news. Normally, I get my intel while I’m at work, but since we’re out in the middle of nowhere, my little travel radio is about all we’ve got at the moment.”
“Work?” Erro frowned at her curiously. “Where do you work?”
“The Observatory,” she explained, pulling her hand back without twisting the little radio knob in favor of talking first. “I went to college to become a Communicator, but so far my boss hasn’t let me anywhere near the comlinks, and rarely even lets me touch the telescope either. He said it’s a privilege I haven’t earned.”
“Sounds like a really great guy,” Erro grumbled, annoyed that anyone would treat his mate in such a callous manner. This definitely explained why she knew bits of the Union language though. But the boss guy was lucky he wasn’t in front of him just now, or Erro would likely bite his head off.
“Are you kidding?” she scoffed, shaking her head. “The guy’s a total psycho. I can’t stand it up here. I’m stuck in a dead-end internship, working on call twenty-four-seven, and worst of all, I don’t even get to spend the holidays with my family.”
“Holidays?” Erro asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at the word. “You’ll have to help me out here, Rachel. The truth is, I must have been briefed about all of this before being sent here, but after that nasty bump on my head, I can’t seem to remember any of it.”
“Yes, I get that,” she said with a worried frown. “I knew that you were hurting, but I wasn’t about to try giving you a medication that might just make things worse. I have no idea if you could ingest any of the pills I’d have used.”
“Thanks for that,” he said with a grimace. “I know the ones you had sitting out on the table sure didn’t do the trick.”
“I had pills sitting out?” she asked, her eyes widening as if she hadn’t realized she’d left her medication lying around.
“Yes,” Erro said. “On the table, near that strange indoor tree you were decorating.”
Rachel chuckled, shaking her head in clear amusement. “Silly, those weren’t pills,” she said. “They’re peppermints. It’s a type of candy.”
Erro belched in horror. “That’s what passes for candy on this world?” he gasped. “But they’re terrible!”
“Well, I don’t think so,” she told him pointedly. “They’re actually one of my favorite kind, and they’re traditionally served at Christmas time. Although… I don’t suppose I was expecting a guy from another world to be eating the things.” She rolled her eyes now, fortunately not seeming to have taken his insult to the so-called candy too seriously.
“Christmas?” Erro frowned at the strange word that didn’t seem to translate in his ear. “What’s that?”
“One of the holidays I was talking about,” she said. “A time when families and loved ones come together and share good wishes of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.”
Erro’s eyebrows rose a fraction, surprised by her answer. “Goodwill toward men?” he asked, a teasing smile spreading on his lips. “That certainly sounds promising. Does that mean you’d be willing to share some goodwill with me?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Why do I get the feeling your interpretation of goodwill and mine might be differing slightly?”
His eyes innocent, Erro replied, “I really don’t know. Were you not going to check the news?”
“Oh, yeah,” she nodded, and this time she twisted the dial of the small box on the consul. A red light came on, and sounds emerged from the device.