Alien in the Family

now?”
    “I have no idea,” White admitted.
    Martini slammed his phone closed and turned around. “I do. And it sucks.”

CHAPTER 5

    MARTINI RAN HIS HAND THROUGH HIS HAIR and leaned against the wall. “My father figures there’s some kind of issue with succession back on the home world.”
    “How so?” White asked. “There were plenty of other children and grandchildren.”
    “When you left. Maybe not now.” Martini managed a weak grin in my direction. “You wouldn’t like the succession rules.”
    “Male lines, male children only, right?”
    “Right.”
    “Similar to Earth, Jeff.”
    “Only, on Earth, if there is no male child, they’ll allow a female to rule.”
    “Not so on the old home world?” I asked White.
    “Not so far as we know.”
    “And since Christopher’s male, there’s a chance he could be involved in the succession issues.” Martini was so upset he could barely talk. “So they’re coming here. But it’s not to attend the wedding, most likely. At least, that’s not the main goal.”
    I got a funny feeling. “What are they coming for, then, Jeff?”
    He looked straight at me, and I could tell how much he hated what he had to say to me. “To pass judgment on whether or not you’re appropriate royal marriage material.”
    The room went quiet. Then Reader laughed. “So what? You’re not going back there, what do you care what they think of Kitty?”
    I looked at the A-Cs and thought about the PPB net. “They wanted you kept here, to the point they put up the barrier. We have no idea of how closely they’re monitoring us. Could be minor, or we could be scrutinized under an A-C microscope daily; again, we don’t know. So that means we don’t know if they can or can’t force Jeff, or Christopher, to do whatever they want.”
    Martini nodded. “That’s what my father’s afraid of.”
    Chuckie cleared his throat. “Okay, then that makes it official. I’m in charge of Centaurion Division until further notice. Alpha Team will be reporting directly to me, and all activities will have to be approved by me before being put into action.”
    A-Cs normally went very quiet when they were thinking. But when they were upset . . . not so much. The room erupted. Everyone was shouting, snarling, arguing. Chuckie ignored it. He leaned over to me. “You want to get them under control? Before I lock them up?”
    I looked at Martini and caught his eye. He stopped in midargument with White. I raised my eyebrow. “SHUT UP!” Ah, the Martini bellow—perfect for stopping hysterics, starting avalanches, and causing windows within a mile radius to rattle.
    “Thanks,” Chuckie said. “Let me make this clear. You didn’t have a choice in the first place. As the C.I.A. feared, we have hostile visitors from space coming. As the C.I.A. is relieved to learn, our own aliens did not intentionally call them over for a visit. As I see I will have to explain, the best thing in the world for Centaurion Division right now is for all of you lovely people who are unable to lie to be able to admit, truthfully, that you are not the ones giving the orders.”
    He and Martini were having a staring contest. They both looked angry, and they both looked as if they weren’t going to back down for hours, if ever.
    “Jeff, he’s right.”
    Martini didn’t blink or look away from Chuckie. “How so?”
    “You can’t lie. We’re about to be invaded, and you, Christopher, Richard, probably Paul, all your families, are all going to be put into compromising positions. We don’t know if this is a legitimate visit or an excuse for invasion. And if you’re put into a position where someone from the home world gives you an order they expect you to take to the rest of the A-C population, the only thing you may be able to use to refuse is the fact that you don’t make the final decisions.”
    Chuckie was also still staring Martini down, and he shrugged. “She’s right. You don’t have to like it. But by the original agreements your people signed when the United States government agreed to house you here as displaced refugees, you have to agree, or you have to vacate.”
    “We’re not in a state of emergency.”
    Chuckie barked a laugh. “Like hell. You said it earlier and even if you hadn’t, it’s obvious. Best case scenario is they come and approve Kitty, and we have to do a massive cover-up. That would make our lives hell, and that would be the easy scenario. But let’s be honest—no one thinks