1
ASTRA
A s their capsule set down on the planet Sanos, Astra Jakobson rolled her shoulders and mentally prepared herself for what she needed to do.
The fate of Earth, of humanity itself, rested on the shoulders of the seven women on board this little vessel.
Their orders were to convince the planet’s inhabitants to allow humans to settle there, no matter what it took.
If humanity was to have any chance of long-term survival, failure was not an option.
Astra didn’t want to be there.
If she had her way, she’d be back on board the USS Legacy , working with her team on a natural filtration system design that could help reverse some of the damage generations of pollution and misuse had done to Earth’s hydro-ecosystem.
Hell, she’d be happier back in cryosleep than here on this island on a freaking alien planet, trying to convince the inhabitants to give humans a chance and a place to live.
Personally, if she lived here and some people who’d already trashed their own planet showed up and wanted to move in, she’d send them on their way right quick.
But she’d do what needed to be done for the sake of her younger siblings, if for no one else.
That was the deal she’d made with the higher ups to secure what remained of her family a spot on the generation ship.
No matter what happened to her down on this water-covered rock in a galaxy far from Earth, her brother and sister would be safe.
They’d have a future.
Whatever it takes.
I’ve got this , she told herself, nervously cracking her knuckles as the capsule settled onto alien soil.
Maybe it won’t be so bad.
Maybe they’ll agree to humans moving into their territory without requiring anything in return.
Like, out of the kindness of their hearts .
She huffed out a laugh at her atypical burst of optimism.
There was no point in sugar-coating this.
Of course the aliens would have demands, and it was the duty of the seven women representing the humans of Earth to give the handful of leaders who’d agreed to meet with them whatever they wanted to make it happen.
Smoothing out the wrinkles of her form-fitting uniform, she exchanged nervous glances with her fellow crew members and followed their captain out onto the beach.
A benefit of being nearly six feet tall was that she could easily see over the heads of her fellow sacrifices…
er, expedition members.
And what she saw was an endless expanse of beautiful, uncontaminated water.
Waves crashed and burbled as a soft sea breeze caressed her face, bringing with it the crisp, clean scent of salt, ocean, and sunshine.
Tilting her face towards the bright sun overhead, she inhaled deeply, infusing her lungs with the fresh oxygen, letting it permeate every last red blood cell.
Was this what Earth’s oceanside beaches once smelled like?
Because it’s utterly …
“Magical,” she breathed out, her entire body tingling in response to its first sample of unpolluted, non-recycled air.
Samantha, the team’s botanist, gave Astra a nudge and tipped her chin towards the groups of aliens that had formed in a half-circle in front of them, watching their every move.
“Showtime,” the botanist whispered as one of the massive beings escorted their captain into a large military-style tent.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she swallowed hard to keep the protein bar she’d made herself eat earlier where it belonged.
She wiped her damp palms over the moisture-wicking black fabric of her pants and pasted on a fake smile as she turned her attention to the aliens.
From here, they looked similar to humans.
They stood upright, had two arms, two legs, and a head.
In a departure from human evolution, many of the aliens shifted into water-breathing creatures.
A necessity, she supposed, considering the majority of the planet was covered in water.
According to the team’s extensive briefings, there were land-dwellers, but most of Sanos’s population lived beneath the waves.
Interestingly and despite evolutionary variations, the sentient inhabitants shared DNA eerily similar to the human race.
But what got the Legacy ’s scientists most excited was that the aliens appeared to be compatible in other ways as well.
Like when it comes to sex , her brain helpfully supplied.
Her brow wrinkled as she pondered the idea of sleeping with one of the massive aliens prowling around on the beach.
Would other bits of their anatomy match their size?
What about the ones with tails or tentacles?
Did they use those during sex?
She bit her bottom lip, her cheeks heating as her imagination ran amok.
It was too overwhelming.
She dropped her eyes and focused on the ground.
The crystalline quality of the sand beneath her feet.
The sprawling patches of bright pink and yellow flowers determinedly clinging to the dunes.
The intriguing piles of rocks she’d never seen before.
A glimmer of something green winked up at her from a band of gravel curving around the base of some tall grasses with fluffy, waving fronds.
Attention diverted, she walked over and hunched down to pick up the rock, dusting away the sand and dirt.
A layer of rime covered its surface.
She gave it a quick lick, the sharp tang of salt coating her tongue, and pulled a small hand lens from her pocket to get a better look at the stone’s structure.
It reminded her of a piece of precious jade her geology professor proudly shared with the class ages ago.
“Fascinating,” she said to herself as she admired the green rock nestled in the palm of her hand.
It would make a worthy addition to her collection.
“Find something interesting there, little human?” a deep voice asked from far over her head.
Startled from her inspection of a really cool stone, she nearly dropped her treasure.
She looked up.
Up over long legs and powerful thighs encased in leather pants dyed a green so dark it was practically black.
But her gaze got stuck on the sizeable bulge in said pants just above eye-level.
“What?” she asked the bulge.
A huff of laughter drifted down to her as a large hand appeared in front of her face.
“I asked what you found there.”
She blushed, her gaze shifting to his proffered hand, taking in the pale webbing between the proximal phalanx of his fingers and his thick, claw-like nails before her brain caught up to the reality of the situation.
Here she was, crouched on the ground like some rock-obsessed goblin when she should have been politely greeting the aliens and making a good impression.
Oh, god.
Did he see me lick that rock ?
she thought, her cheeks flaming.
Her rock-licking, while not the smartest move on an alien planet, was instinctual, a habit she’d picked up from her grandmother, who’d harbored a rock obsession and passed it and her collection along to Astra.
Sadly, she’d had to give most of the collection up when they boarded the generation ship.
Clutching her rock and hand lens in a fist, she slid her hand into his and rose to her feet.
Her fascinated gaze took in the light, white shirt covering muscled abs and impressively broad shoulders to a face that made her breath catch in her throat.
The alien still towering over her despite the fact she was finally standing was perhaps the most gorgeous male she’d ever laid eyes on.
How is it our species look so alike?
I mean, just because our DNA is so similar doesn’t mean we should look the same.
Could this be panspermia in action ?
Astra pondered the hypothesis that life was carried through the universe via a comet or space dust as she studied him.
A small smirk played over his lips.
Eyes as dark and mysterious as the depths of the ocean stared back at her.
A thick fringe of black lashes brushed against his high cheekbones as his gaze traveled down her body and back up again.
Wavy-curly dark green hair brushed against his neck.
And the longer she stood there staring at him, the deeper his smirk became.
At least he was amused by her distraction rather than annoyed.
Don’t irritate the aliens, Astra , she reminded herself.
“Who are you?” she blurted out.
He cocked his head, his hair sliding to the side to reveal a spray of green scales edged in gold.
They traveled down his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.
“I am Merrow,” he said, the honeyed lilt of his voice making her knees go a little weak.
He stroked a thumb over the back of her hand.
“Merrow? That’s your species, right? Not your name.” Her skin tingled beneath his warm touch.
She gave her hand a discrete tug, trying to free it.
“My name is Astra Jakobson,” she said, pointing at herself.
There hadn’t been much in the briefing about the Merrow.
Their ruler didn’t reply to his invitation when this whole meet-and-greet-and-beg-for-a-place-to-live gathering was set up or send along any of the requested information.
Any data they did have was from the other attendees.
So, all she knew were basic facts.
The Merrow were a species of merpeople.
Hair and skin in varying shades of green were most common.
While they preferred to live on land, they could partially shift, exchanging legs for a fish tail, and had webbing between their fingers to help them swim faster.
They were renowned artists and craftspeople, and rumor had it that their singing could manipulate emotions.
Like sirens from ancient Earth myths , she thought.
Does this guy sing?
With a deep, melty voice like his, it would be a crying shame if he didn’t.
The Merrow stepped closer, encroaching on her space, the gentle yet unbreakable grip he had on her hand making it impossible for her to put more space between them.
“I am Desburchù Ulf,” he said, his tongue rolling the ‘r’ in a way that made her spine tingle.
He bent down, the tip of his nose brushing against her neck as he took a deep breath.
“You may call me Des.”
Did he just smell me ?
She opened her mouth to tell him to back off before remembering her critical purpose here on this planet.
Snapping at one of the aliens, even if he and his people weren’t officially part of this meeting, wasn’t a diplomatic response.
After all, what if that was the Merrow way of greeting people?
The brief didn’t say one way or the other and, honestly, she couldn’t afford to take the chance.
Besides, she kind of liked how he was so much taller than her and the way the salty-woodsy scent of him teased her senses.
A series of explosions near the tents shattered the intensity of the moment between them.
Des wrapped an arm around her waist and spun her around, protecting her from harm, and barked out orders at the people standing a discrete distance from them.
She’d been so entranced by him, she hadn’t noticed them or much of anything else, for that matter.
She hadn’t realized how far she’d drifted from the capsule, the other groups of aliens, and the rest of her team.
Or how isolated and distant she was from the chaos near the tents.
A terrible thought occurred to her.
“Is this you?” she asked of the male currently cradling her in his arms.
God, I hope not .
He glanced down at her, his dark brows snapping together like thunderclouds.
“What? No. Why would you think that?” He sounded offended, which she took as a good sign that this wasn’t his doing.
“The beings attacking the summit are anti-alien terrorists. Been causing trouble since you humans first made contact. They don’t want you here. And they definitely don’t want any of us to allow you to settle in our territories.”
“We need to get over there and help them,” she said, putting a hand against his chest and pushing.
He didn’t budge.
“You’re safer here with me. Besides, if the other kings can’t protect their own women, they don’t deserve them.”
What did he say ?
“What? No.” She shook her head.
“That’s not… what?”
The weapons fire and explosions were closer now.
People were shouting, gruff voices punctuated by more blasts, but her translator wasn’t picking up what they were saying.
It didn’t matter anyway.
She needed to get to her team and help them fight off the aggressors.
All of them had gone through extensive survival training alongside negotiation tactics and, while she was far from the top of her class, she could fire a gun and still have half a chance of winging her target.
She wasn’t about to stand here and watch as terrorists attacked their first and best chance of finding a home for her people.
With a twist of her wrist, she broke his hold, wiggled out of his embrace, and ran into the chaos.