me.
Finally, he turned to face me: “Auxana, are you pregnant?”
I nearly choked. “No!” I replied. I had good reason to know that I wasn't, and had been thanking my lucky stars for it. I'd been terrified when I realised that Efeghis and humans could procreate, but had so far been spared such a catastrophe. I had injected myself with a birth-control implant to avoid any further scares, but had no idea how effective this was with aliens.
“It doesn't matter if you are. I'll take care of you.”
“ I'm quite sure I'm not”, I insisted.
He looked completely thrown. I went up to him and put my arms around him.
“What's wrong, Olden?”
Without turning round, he said in a subdued voice: “I haven't been totally honest with you.”
Suddenly afraid he'd start telling me about his conquests – which I'd studiously ignored from the start – I interrupted him: “There's no need…”
“ No, listen!” he insisted. “You have to know…” As he paused, I realised this was about to become interesting. I took him by the hand and steered him to the bed. We sat down together and I kept hold of his hand to encourage him to talk.
“ I'm not entirely Efeghi. I'm half human.” He paused for a moment. Then sighed: “My father was an Efeghi whose job it was to infiltrate the Earth and discover anything that might be of interest to the Empire. He met my mother and made her his mistress. He thought he couldn't have children with her; otherwise he would have taken precautions. When she announced she was pregnant, he decided to take her back with him to the Empire.” He stopped.
“ Did he marry her?” I asked.
Olden gave a hollow laugh: “No. He kept her as his mistress. No Efeghi of noble blood would marry a foreigner.”
There was a moment's silence, then he continued: “I was considered an aberration. A monster. My father didn't even teach me his language. Even now, I can only speak a few words of Efeghi, in the language of the commoners.”
“ You don't know the language of your own people?”
Olden sighed: “As a half-earthling, I was never allowed to learn it. There is tremendous opposition to mixing our two cultures. I think your people call it a taboo. For Efeghis, it's very powerful, as our culture is considered sacred.”
I now understood why the Efeghis had brought so few things from their world and preferred to use earthling equipment rather than their own. It wasn't through caution. It was simply narrow-mindedness. Charming!
Olden turned towards me: “I'm taking precautions to stop you getting pregnant, but if you do conceive, the child should remain here. Believe me, it's for the best – for the child as well as for you.”
He must have been really upset to tell me all this, which was so different from the propaganda dished out to us in Afren's classes. I took advantage of this to press for more information:
“ If that's the case, why do you work for them?”
“ Commandant Amar is different”, he replied. “He considers me a friend and trusts me.”
“ Really? He seems so scary…” I murmured faintly.
Olden gave a wry smile: “He has to instil fear in his men. That's how one gains respect. And he is extremely powerful. His parents come from two of the most powerful families in the war party. His father and mother were sworn enemies and were reconciled just in time for his birth.”
There seemed to me to be a gap in the story: “How was he conceived if they were enemies?”
“ Things are done differently in the Empire”, Olden replied. “You honour your enemy more than your friends. When you declare that someone is your enemy, you're proclaiming him as your equal. It's a question of respect. Amar's father and mother came from enemy families and fought each other. They fell in love but that didn't stop them fighting, even when Amar's mother fell pregnant.”
“ And when did they stop?”
“ When it was agreed that the honour of the two families had been satisfied, they got
Finally, he turned to face me: “Auxana, are you pregnant?”
I nearly choked. “No!” I replied. I had good reason to know that I wasn't, and had been thanking my lucky stars for it. I'd been terrified when I realised that Efeghis and humans could procreate, but had so far been spared such a catastrophe. I had injected myself with a birth-control implant to avoid any further scares, but had no idea how effective this was with aliens.
“It doesn't matter if you are. I'll take care of you.”
“ I'm quite sure I'm not”, I insisted.
He looked completely thrown. I went up to him and put my arms around him.
“What's wrong, Olden?”
Without turning round, he said in a subdued voice: “I haven't been totally honest with you.”
Suddenly afraid he'd start telling me about his conquests – which I'd studiously ignored from the start – I interrupted him: “There's no need…”
“ No, listen!” he insisted. “You have to know…” As he paused, I realised this was about to become interesting. I took him by the hand and steered him to the bed. We sat down together and I kept hold of his hand to encourage him to talk.
“ I'm not entirely Efeghi. I'm half human.” He paused for a moment. Then sighed: “My father was an Efeghi whose job it was to infiltrate the Earth and discover anything that might be of interest to the Empire. He met my mother and made her his mistress. He thought he couldn't have children with her; otherwise he would have taken precautions. When she announced she was pregnant, he decided to take her back with him to the Empire.” He stopped.
“ Did he marry her?” I asked.
Olden gave a hollow laugh: “No. He kept her as his mistress. No Efeghi of noble blood would marry a foreigner.”
There was a moment's silence, then he continued: “I was considered an aberration. A monster. My father didn't even teach me his language. Even now, I can only speak a few words of Efeghi, in the language of the commoners.”
“ You don't know the language of your own people?”
Olden sighed: “As a half-earthling, I was never allowed to learn it. There is tremendous opposition to mixing our two cultures. I think your people call it a taboo. For Efeghis, it's very powerful, as our culture is considered sacred.”
I now understood why the Efeghis had brought so few things from their world and preferred to use earthling equipment rather than their own. It wasn't through caution. It was simply narrow-mindedness. Charming!
Olden turned towards me: “I'm taking precautions to stop you getting pregnant, but if you do conceive, the child should remain here. Believe me, it's for the best – for the child as well as for you.”
He must have been really upset to tell me all this, which was so different from the propaganda dished out to us in Afren's classes. I took advantage of this to press for more information:
“ If that's the case, why do you work for them?”
“ Commandant Amar is different”, he replied. “He considers me a friend and trusts me.”
“ Really? He seems so scary…” I murmured faintly.
Olden gave a wry smile: “He has to instil fear in his men. That's how one gains respect. And he is extremely powerful. His parents come from two of the most powerful families in the war party. His father and mother were sworn enemies and were reconciled just in time for his birth.”
There seemed to me to be a gap in the story: “How was he conceived if they were enemies?”
“ Things are done differently in the Empire”, Olden replied. “You honour your enemy more than your friends. When you declare that someone is your enemy, you're proclaiming him as your equal. It's a question of respect. Amar's father and mother came from enemy families and fought each other. They fell in love but that didn't stop them fighting, even when Amar's mother fell pregnant.”
“ And when did they stop?”
“ When it was agreed that the honour of the two families had been satisfied, they got
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