Page 61 of Roping Her Alien Ranchers

Imoved through the darkness with practiced efficiency, each step precisely calculated to maximize coverage while minimizing noise.

The dual scanner and immobilizing wand hummed softly in my grip, its alien technology disguised as the primitive Earth weapon known as a rifle. Tammy had shown me one on a monitor which opened and folded closed again. She’d called it a laptop, before laughing that it had been “top of the line” ten years ago. The second Kalith had seen the device; he’d grabbed it and hyper fixated on the wealth of information that could be channeled through its diminutive monitor.

The cool night air filled my respiratory chambers with unfamiliar scents: decomposing vegetation, nocturnal animals, the lingering char from the deliberate fire. My tentacle twitched beneath my human disguise, responding to the memory of flames that had nearly claimed what I now felt compelled to protect.

Reaching the next perimeter point, I allowed one tentacle to curl outward. Its tip rooted into the pocket of the human jeans, pulling out the next security node. I spilled downward, body pooling into boneless folds. It made it easier to push the sensor into the soil. I should practice doing these things in my human guise, but I did not feel the need to hide myself under the cover of Earth’s night sky.

I pressed the top of the node, activating it. Two pale lights shot out, their rays connecting with other placed sensors. I lifted my body again, skeleton pushing into place giving me rigidity. That was the last necessary connection. Now the ranch existed within the boundaries of a protective field which Kalith had calibrated to recognize human signatures. We would not let the likes of Derek Morgan trespass on Tammy’s property without warning again.

Slowly, I flowed across the ground, tentacles pulling me forward. At a section of charred fence posts that still carried traces of accelerant, I paused. Pressing my palm against the blackened wood, I closed my eyes and focused my sensory receptors. I wanted to remember this smell, so I knew how to identify it quickly later. Using Tammy’s Earth knowledge, we were sure it was a substance called 2-propanone.

“Derek Morgan,” I whispered, the name leaving an unpleasant resonance in my vocal chambers.

The human male represented a tactical threat that could not be ignored. His territorial aggression toward Tammy and her property triggered my defensive instincts. I had not felt this way since the Thalassar conflict involving four worlds.

I stood, scanning the horizon with vision that penetrated the darkness far more effectively than human sight. The fence line stretched before me, parts I’d repaired, and parts the fire had damaged. The primitive wooden structure was weak, barely more than decorative. But now, it was joined by technology that would warn us of danger, so we could repel most Earth-based threats before they could do harm. If the human male returned, he would leave with pain and regret.

Giving myself an all-over, boneless body shake, I continued my patrol, moving counterclockwise around the property’s perimeter this time. The scanner swept invisible arcs before me, monitoring for bio-signatures, heat patterns, movement anomalies—anything that might indicate an approaching threat. My body maintained perfect posture, the discipline of my training falling into place easily.

The scanner in my hand beeped suddenly, the sound sharp in the quiet night. I dropped instantly into combat stance, my free hand transforming partially into a defensive tentacle. My other tentacles arched around me, ready to hit outward with maximum force. The scanner’s display illuminated my face with a pulsing, red warning: movement detected, twelve Earth meters ahead, approaching the back of the dwelling.

I moved silently toward the intruder’s location, each step precisely placed to avoid creating sound. My weapon arm extended, the scanner reconfiguring into immobilizer mode. My three heart rates accelerated to combat readiness.

Rounding the house, the creature that triggered the alert emerged from the darkness.

Small quadruped, ringed tail, masked facial markings.

My translator, which Kalith had recently upgraded with data from Earth’s wireless information network, supplied the Earth designation: “raccoon.” Non-threatening omnivore, nocturnal scavenger. The tension in my body eased fractionally, though I maintained vigilance. False alarms often preceded actual threats, a lesson taught through tasting blood in many worlds’ waters.

The raccoon sensed my presence despite my stealth, its primitive eyes reflecting moonlight as it turned toward me. We regarded each other for a few Earth seconds. It moved closer, head cocking back and forth.

“I will not hurt you, small creature, unless you seek to harm me.” I spoke as if it could understand me, despite its lack of translator.

It sat back on its haunches, upper body raising, small hands grabbing at air.

“I have nothing to offer you,” I told it.

The raccoon gave a huff before it scurried away, apparently off to find a different food source.

I lowered the scanner, allowing myself exactly four seconds of reduced alertness before resuming patrol. The night stretched around me, stars visible in unfamiliar patterns overhead. On my world, stars were viewed through layers of ocean, their light diffused and scattered by azure waters. Here, they burned with fierce clarity against the black void.

My gaze drifted to where Tammy slept inside the house. Her upper window glowed with faint artificial light. She’d mentioned “keeping a lamp on” for comfort after the fire incident. The structure appeared fragile from my position, vulnerable to countless threats this primitive planet might deliver. For a moment, I worried our technology was not adequate protection.

Protection against the likes of Derek Morgan, if he chose to escalate beyond fire. Such behavior patterns rarely diminished without intervention. He would return, and when he did...

Nothing would breach this perimeter. Nothing would harm what—and who—was contained within it. Not while my lungs continued to expand and my triple hearts continued their beating.

It was an oath formed silently in my mind. Until our ship was once again flight worthy, I would protect this ranch. I would protect her. Not because duty demanded it, but because something deeper required it of me.

I squared my shoulders and continued my patrol, eyes piercing the darkness beyond the fence line, scanning for threats that would inevitably come. And when they did, they would find me waiting.

21

KALITH

How could such a primitive structure be so challenging to fix? I was dismantling and repairing complex energy systems by the tender age of fifteen star cycles. This should be a walk in the water park.

The stables would be slightly harder to repair than the supply barn, but not an impossible feat.