It felt a bit weird to be going on a trip … to an alien planet, no less … for a whole month with only one small bag. Gerri was so trustworthy, though. Lexi believed her when she said everything she needed would be provided for her.
“Hi, good morning!” Lexi said excitedly. She slid into the deep, soft seat, turning to greet Gerri as she slammed the door shut.
“Good morning, Lexi,” Gerri said with a little laugh. “Do you have everything you need?”
“I think so. You said not to bring much.”
“Yes. There will be clothes, accessories, toiletries, all of that available. Any food you like or medicine needed can be provided. All you need is personal items.”
Lexi nodded, glad she’d only brought a few of her favorite clothes, books, and pieces of jewelry.
“The first thing I need to talk to you about is the time frame,” Gerri said. “Nova Aurora is a bigger planet than Earth, so time is longer there than it is here. For example, four days on Nova Aurora equals a week on earth.”
“Whoa,” Lexi muttered. The idea of being on an alien planet was very different from the reality of actually going there, and this shit looked like it was getting very real, very fast.
“So, you could be gone for a while. You said you were getting kicked out of your apartment. Did you make arrangements for your things?”
“Yeah, I’ve got storage guys coming this afternoon. The landlord will let them in. They’ll put my stuff in a locker.”
“Do you have the company name?”
Lexi gave it to her, and Gerri typed furiously on her phone for a few seconds.
“There we go,” she announced. “I’ve got that sorted for you. The bill is paid for as long as you need.”
“Wow,” Lexi said. “Thanks, Gerri.”
“No problem. Okay, now we’ve got the time difference out of the way. Let me tell you a little more. Earth has shifters because a long time ago, they began traveling here. Once they found mates and settled, they became slightly different to their truly alien counterparts.”
“Different how?”
“Well … more human, basically. They have less aggression and aren’t as territorial. They usually end up just a bit slighter in physique, as well.”
“So, the guys on Nova Aurora are fully ripped rage machines?”
Gerri laughed gaily. “No! They are refined and civilized in a way Earth shifters or people never can be. It’s truly a different world. I’m just warning you that these guys literally reek of raw power. Just being around them can be intoxicating.”
“Oh,” Lexi muttered, excited and worried at the same time. Her mind was spinning with so many questions that she couldn’t sift through them to ask a single one.
"And, just so it doesn't take you by surprise, I tend to set up mates. Shifters are very serious about their mates, so he might come on a little strong."
Lexi blinked, trying not to laugh. Mates? Who said things like that? She shook that off. She was way more intrigued by a foreign planet than an overbearing guy. "Okay."
“Now, we travel by wormhole,” Gerri said as if it were as easy as taking a bus. “Ships are so archaic. It also wastes a ton of energy going that way. So, we portal.”
“Okay,” Lexi squeaked.
Gerri smiled and rubbed her arm. “Don’t sweat it. It’s easy. I promise you. There might be a little displacement, but you’ll be fine.”
“Wormhole,” Lexi echoed, wondering if she’d wandered onto a sci-fi show by accident.
“On Nova Aurora itself, we can teleport through nodes or use the air bikes.”
“Does anybody walk?”
“Of course. It’s a shifter planet, so you’ll see a lot of big animals running around. Don’t be afraid, dear. They will all be shifters.”
“So, if I see a polar bear charging at me, I should smile and say, ‘Hi’?”