As they waited to board, Olivia braided her thick mass of bleached hair in order to put it up and out of her way. There were no air conditioners on the transport, and when they got to the warmer side of the planet, she'd be glad to have it off her neck. She turned to her dark-haired friend who was fortunate to have short, straight hair, noting Annara wore the same unhappy expression she’d had since the council meeting.
"Oh, come on. Lighten up, Annara. Hernando said this is going to be the ultimate party. This year's big event on the BloodDark social calendar—and we're invited. We're VIPs, no less."
Annara's scowl grew more intense. "This is a serious matter. It's not a country picnic."
"What would you know about picnics?"
"Only from what I've read in those novels you've given me. Earthers have a lot of extra time on their hands if they can sit around and eat their meals in the grass—whatever grass is."
Olivia bit her tongue to keep from laughing. "I forget there's not much grass in these parts," she managed after a few minutes. "Still, there's no reason not to enjoy the train ride itself as a vacation. When we get to the protective device, then you can go into your serious, professional security person mode. Until then, relax and go with the flow."
Annara grunted. "All right. I'll relax as soon as I get to my seat."
"Fair enough."
The lines of travelers continued as far as the eye could see in the dim red light reflected from the ponderous gas giant rising above them. Olivia recognized at least ninety percent of the crowd as coming from Clan Alpha House. Many brought their "mail order brides" and servants. Most of the servants would be disembarking at the Alphans' farms and surrounding villages in the penumbra zone to visit friends and family; still, a good number planned to travel on from the half-lit/half-dark area to the side of the world bathed in perpetual light, especially that part known as the Mosaic Desert. They couldn't wait to see the ancient weapon the Alphans claimed would keep the dreaded Kloog at bay.
The Kloog, their long-time mortal enemies. Why would they attack now? Olivia frowned as she contemplated the timing of recent events. Of all times in BloodDark's history, why attack so soon in the period of budding Earth - BloodDark relations? Wouldn't it have been better for the Kloog to attack before Earth knew of the other world's existence—before Earth could come to BloodDark's aid?
"Annara, can you explain to me why the Alphans felt it was imperative to repair the protective device at this point in time?”
Her fellow Resistance fighter looked about the buzzing crowd, front, back, left and right. They took a step forward in the slow-moving line to board. Annara lowered her voice. "Olivia, this isn't the best place to discuss things of a sensitive nature."
"I know it isn't. Still, something doesn't make sense to me. How did NASA or the European Space Agency or whoever know for certain the... ancient foe... were on their way to BloodDark?"
"I will check my notes of the interview with Moreau's family when we get on the transport." Annara bit her lip. "It's a good question, and one which only adds to my suspicions of Clan Alpha's motives."
"The Alphans? Really? Not the Earthers—I mean Earthlings?"
Annara shrugged. "Both, the more I think about it. How would Earth agencies know what to look for in the skies? Did the Alphans give them technological details to help identify these spaceships, or did the Earthers volunteer that they saw something unusual and the Alphans overreacted?"
"Exactly. It could be a little of each, plus something else we haven't quite determined yet."
The line moved forward again, and the two friends fell into a thought-filled silence. Her fellow Earthlings’ behaviors were beginning to trouble Olivia. They just didn’t add up. Roland Grundfest had kidnapped her, Hernando, Annara, and Valori in an attempt to bring the BloodDark ambassador over to his side in the illegal Clan Alpha artwork dealings. Their quick escape from Grundfest's clutches meant they’d never found out what the billionaire's true motivations were.
Kidnapping a diplomatic representative wasn't something you do on a whim, so why had Grundfest risked it? Olivia intuited there could be one good reason—he expected an enormous payoff. Grundfest made millions from BloodDark artwork and artifact sales, but those paychecks would be pocket change compared to selling information about the Pure Bloods' scientific achievements, genetics, and technology.
Were Portal technology and DNA manipulation techniques the only things Grundfest wanted to sell? What about the weapon lying under the sand in the desert? Selling military hardware to those who made it their business to keep up with all new means of making war would fill the bombastic billionaire's pockets with more gold than even he could count.
Olivia felt sick to her stomach. She saw it all, now. While Hernando shook hands, made trade deals, and planned cultural exchanges with the smiling government representatives and business-types of Earth for the good of BloodDark, they, in turn, had tricked advanced technological information out of Clan Alpha by playing into their fears about an imminent Kloog attack.
Or was she reading too much into a standard diplomatic mission? Had she become a conspiracy theorist, complete with tinfoil hat? She needed hard evidence if she was going to bring charges of conspiracy and collusion. And what would it mean to the budding relationship between their two worlds if she did prove her theory? Would Earthlings—would she, Olivia Brown—be welcomed on BloodDark again?
"The line is moving at last," Annara announced, breaking into her painful musings.
"Thank goodness. We need to get to the Mosaic Desert—and fast."
Annara narrowed her eyes and looked askance at Olivia. "Whatever happened to your 'relax and enjoy yourself' attitude?"
"Later." Olivia exhaled a long
