I Married a Heptapod

"Ziggy can take me home, Mickey," I said, and I looked into Ziggy's eyes, and I reached out and took the tip of one of his tentacles in my hand. "I'll be safe with him," because I knew I would be.

"Long as you're sure, Stardust," Mickey said, and I knew I was.

"Be seeing 'ya," Mickey said to Ziggy. "Make sure you do look after her, or we'll be looking for 'ya, cat."

"Stardust is safe with me," Ziggy's vocoder said, and his skin flashed and rippled warm reassuring colors.

"Thanks, Mickey," I said, and I reached out and gave his hand a squeeze with my free one, and then I looked at Ziggy, and I smiled. "Let's go, Ziggy."

"I'll take care of the guitars, cat," Weird said, and Ziggy's colors rippled brightly. Excitement? That's what those colors felt like.

"Thank you, Weird," his vocoder said. "I will come to play tomorrow night."

"See you then, cat," Weird said, and just like that, we were leaving, hand in tentacle, and everyone in Bowie's was watching us as we threaded our way through the tables, and Ziggy just flowed along beside me, and I wanted to sing, and I was humming under my breathe.

But a kiss is not a kiss without your sigh

"Stardust is attractive name," Ziggy's vocoder said, as we walked down that tunnel, and it was a bit dark and scary, broken lights, rubbish, rats skittering for cover, but I didn't care, and I wasn't scared with him.

"Thank you," I said. Then, "Why are you called Ziggy? Is that a heptapod name?"

Dark shadows, shadows of sadness, that's what they were, and they played across his skin. "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, is David Bowie song," he said. "Ziggy is human name. My heptapod name translates as 'Swimmer who dares to swim paths of great fish', it is a common name for us, but for humans, that name makes no sense, and I like Ziggy, Stardust. Heard song in Battle of Zhuolu. My battle-tentacle-brother at the end was Hegemony Space Marine, he saved my life half a dozen times, took bad hit as we were evacuating. Gave me music before he died. Did not understand at time, but kept as memory of battle, and as last gift of good battle-tentacle-brother, and later, Hegemony Marines show me how to play. I played, and liked. Learnt to play guitar in memory of old friend. Never know his egg-line name."

"Oh my god?" I gasped, stopping in my tracks. "You were there? At Zhuolu?"

Because everybody in the Chinese Hegemony knew about the battle of Zhuolu. Everybody in the world knew, because that was the first big Spider attack. Three years ago, back when I was dirtside, it'd been all over the news, day after day after day. We'd had settlers on the planet, military forces as well, building space fortresses and fortifying the system as a forward base, because by then we'd run into the Spiders, and the military knew about the threat. Just, no-one understood just how bad that threat was, and the Spiders had attacked before we were ready.

The Peoples Liberation Space Navy had been fighting a desperate battle to hold off the Spiders, the media was full of it, because it'd been a horrible surprise, and the Spiders just swarmed into the system, and the Navy hadn't been able to hold them at the warp point. Their ships pushed ours back, all the way back to the planet that we were on, and their landers kept breaking through, getting down, and our Marines on the ground had been dying like flies to hold the perimeter while our transports evacuated the civilians.

I remembered how horrible it'd been to watch the media reports, and then these weird aliens had arrived out of nowhere through a warp point we didn't know about, and we had no idea who they were, and they had no idea who we were, but as soon as they saw the Spider spaceships and landers, they'd attacked, and they couldn't talk to us, and we couldn't talk to them, but it didn't matter to them. We were fighting the Spiders, and that was all they needed to know. I'd seen the clips, the way they threw themselves into the fight in space, and then their landers came down, and then these octopus things in battle armor flowed out of those strange landers and lanced into the Spiders like buzz-saws on steroids.

They hadn't turned the battle round, there hadn't been enough of them or of our own Space Marines left to do that, but they'd died alongside our Hegemony Space Marines, holding that perimeter until the Navy ships had got our surviving civilians out, and their landers had evacuated some of our civilians, and their Marines and ours had been all mixed up at the end, but they'd fought the Spiders and died alongside our men, dying to protect a species they hadn't even known existed before they popped out of warp space and into that system.

I knew all that, we all did, and I just looked at Ziggy, and honestly, I had tears in my eyes. "You were at Zhuolu?" I said, again, and I remembered how scared I'd been watching the media reports every night, and how much I'd wanted that draft exemption because I'd been so scared, and I was really ashamed of myself.

"Yes," Ziggy said. "New recruit. Just completed training. Supposed to be recon training mission in new system, not expecting anyone there. Task Force was in training, not many of us with battle experience. We come out of warp space, Task Force Commander observed Spiders, and saw battle, sent alert back to our base and joined battle immediately. Could not leave anyone to fight Spiders alone. Commander tells us all our duty is to assist aliens against Spiders, and that aliens are outnumbered, asks for volunteers.

Entire task force volunteered to assist aliens, and it was my first battle against Spiders. Everyone in my Tentacle died except me. Joined one of your Space Marine tentacles and fought Spiders with them until evacuated at end. Hegemony Space Marine I am battle-tentacle-brother with introduce me to David Bowie, gave me his music when he took hit, and I learned to play guitar on Hegemony transport. Become tentacle-swarm-comrades with Hegemony Marines until repatriated."

"Oh, Ziggy," I said, and couldn't stop myself. I just turned and did my best to hug him, because I knew how brave he must have been. Like everyone else, I'd watched that endless battle, horrified by the news clips coming every day, the endless swarms of ravenous spiders, the heroism of our Space Marines, fighting on and on, knowing they were all there was between that evil hunger and the civilians they protected, and they'd fought and died in the best and most glorious traditions of the Peoples Liberation Space Navy Marines and of the Party.

They'd known who and what they fought for, and they'd fought and died beside their comrades, doing their duty to the Party, to the Hegemony, and above all, to the People.

But Ziggy, he'd been an alien, and he'd gone into battle to fight alongside a species he didn't know a thing about, except that they'd been fighting the Spiders, and he'd been a new soldier, his first action, and everyone in his unit had died, but he'd fought on, he'd found the aliens, and to him we must have looked as weird and strange as the heptapods had first looked to us, and he'd fought alongside our Space Marines, and evacuated in one of our ships with the aliens he'd fought beside.

I knew I would never have had that sort of courage. Heck, I remembered Zowie, and I actually felt real guilty now about wanting that draft exemption so badly. I mean, now, I was still scared, but I was older too, and I knew I'd do my duty now. I had the family name to uphold, and my Dad's position and everything, and I'd be an officer and they'd probably put me somewhere safe where I could inspire the troops and everything, because I didn't think I'd be much good at fighting Spiders, but I knew I could inspire guys, and I wouldn't complain about doing that, not now, and I just hugged Ziggy.

"Thank you," I said, and my arms sort of didn't even go half way round that huge barrel of a body, because he was solid muscle under that smooth skin, and his skin smelt delicious, sort of sea salt and something tangy, and it was smooth, like almost wet leather, and his tentacles slid over me and around me everywhere, spiraling around my legs and arms and back, and over my butt and around me and two tentacle tips were brushing my cheeks, and I turned my head a little and just kissed one, and it brushed my lips, delicately, gently, teasing my mouth, and my lips parted and that tentacle tip sort of slipped into my mouth and brushed my tongue, and his tentacles were massaging me everywhere.

"Ziggy?" I gasped, not quite sure what was going on. "Ziggy?"

"Stardust?" he said. "Stardust. Am I hurting you?"

"No," I gasped, almost moaning as one of his tentacles spiraled between my thighs, another over my butt, and one was sliding across my breasts, and I clung to him, his torso pressed against me. "It's okay, but I think we should stop now, because there's someone watching us."

There was, and it wasn't someone, it was a dozen someone's, and they were the sort of someone's that I'd always been a bit scared of down here in Bottom Tunnel, and it was dark and there wasn't anyone except Ziggy and me around, and I wasn't a bit scared now. I was terrified, and I fumbled for my pers-com, because bad things happened down here, and I'd rather be in trouble with my parents than be one of those horror stories you read about in the media.

"You are safe with me, Stardust," Ziggy's vocoder said.

"No she ain't, squid," one of those shadowy figures said, and I could see knives.

"You think so?" Ziggy said, and about half a second later, two tentacles held these huge knives, and one of his tentacles flashed out like a whip, and all of a sudden it was about fifteen feet long and real thin, and there was a thunk, and the guy who'd said that dropped to the ground like a rag that someone had dropped, except I sort of winced at the crack when his head hit the surface.

"Get the squid," someone yelled, and they started forward, and I screamed, and Ziggy just flowed forward, and it was like a wave of swarming tentacles, moving like lightning, and about ten seconds late Ziggy was the only one left standing, and I'd only screamed once, and I hadn't even got halfway through keying in the emergency code, and I hit cancel.

"You are safe with me, Stardust," Ziggy said, and he reached out with one tentacle and sort of wrapped it around my waist and held my hand with the tip, all at the same time.

"I am," I said, nestling into his tentacle and not looking back, because I wasn't sure I wanted to see, so I made sure I didn't, and we walked back to Bottom Tunnel, and then up the ramps, all the way up to Level Four, where my parents' tunnel was, off towards Gulou Outer Tunnel, and we talked the whole way, and it was mostly Ziggy asking questions and me talking.

Outside the hatch of my parents' tunnel, I turned to Ziggy, and I didn't know what to say, but I wanted to see him again, so I took another tentacle in my other hand, and I looked him in his eyes, and I said it, my heart pounding. "Ziggy, I want to see you again."

"Stardust," he said, and those tentacles curled around my wrists and forearms, and another one of his tentacles brushed my cheek, brushed the side of my face, and a fourth coiled around my waist and drew me closer, the colors rippling across his skin. "Stardust, I would like to see you again too."

"Tomorrow," I said, and I was smiling. "Twelve hundred hours at the Peoples Glory Mall Food on Level Two, Food Court Three." I liked the icecream stall there, that was why. "Is it a date?" I added.

"I know this location. It is a date," he said, and with a last brush of my cheek with his tentacle, he turned and flowed away.

Could a heptapod skip? Watching him flow away, it almost looked like it, and I smiled as I turned and slipped through the hatch, and into our tunnel, and Mom and Dad weren't waiting up for me, which was good, and I was still smiling and singing that song in my mind as I dropped off to sleep.

Holding hands 'neath the paddle fans

In Rick's candle lit cafe

Hiding in the shadows from the spies

Moroccan moonlight in your eyes

Making magic at the movies in my old Chevrolet

Oh a kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca

But a kiss is not a kiss without your sigh

I was there at eleven thirty, and he was already there, sitting by himself at a food court table with a Bubble Tea in front of him, not doing anything with it, and people were looking as they walked by.

"Hi Ziggy," I said, sitting down opposite him, and I said that a bit shyly, which was strange because I wasn't shy at all. Not usually. But then, I'd never, like, dated an alien before. Had anyone on Earth ever dated an alien before? Because I knew that's what it was. A date.

"Stardust," his vocoder said, and his skin flashed these amazing colors, almost too fast for my eyes to catch, but they were beautiful, and there was a pattern to them that I almost understood, and it was almost... but then he reached out with two tentacles and took my hands in them, and his tentacles curled around my wrists, and the spiraled up my arms like warm silk, delicate and smooth and gentle, and I could feel his pulse against my skin as my hands curved around the muscles and those beautiful black saucer-eyes looked into mine, and we just looked at each other, for, like, an eon, and I had to remember to breathe.

"I buy you Bubble Tea, Stardust," he said, and he flashed happy. I knew it was happy, it just felt like those colors and those patterns meant that.

"Thank you," said, but I didn't move to pick it up, and his tentacles didn't let go.

"What do we do on date?" he asked, and those color patterns, I knew he was puzzled. "Study material on humans does not include information on dating."

"Uh...we spend time together," I said, which seemed a pretty inane explanation, and then I had this flash of inspiration. "Do you like swimming, Ziggy?"

"I grew up in water," he said, and the colors rippled laughter. I was sure it was laughter.

"Cool," I said. "Let's go swimming." I knew where to go, too. Up on Level Zero, the admin office, and hotels for tourists, and all the surface industrial stuff, but there was an entertainment complex as well, and there was a waterpark. Pool, slides, private pools. I didn't go there too often, but I'd been, and I'd even taken a fascist or two there, so I knew you could get private pools, and I knew where to go, and I kept one hand on one of Ziggy's tentacles as we headed for the nearest ramps, and floated up, and I was busy telling him about the pool.

"Pets not permitted in entertainment complex," the admission robot said, and I kind of looked at it and touched the pad for assistance.

"I don't know," the girl said, after she arrived, and I could tell she was a bit freaked by Ziggy. "It might scare the children."

"How about a private pool," I said. They were meant for groups, and parties, they weren't cheap, but the allowance from my parents would cover it.

"Let me check, Comrade Citizen," she said, and I didn't push it while she commed her team lead, because she was actually doing pretty good. I mean, big blonde fascists were one thing, and I'd brought a couple here, but Ziggy was a real alien, and I could see she was sort of freaked out by him, and maybe a bit scared by me, coz it was obvious I was a Level Four girl, and I could make trouble if I wanted to. I'd dressed that way today, thinking I might have to push it, because, well, Ziggy was an alien. I could hear her, too.

"Yes, it's a real alien," she said. "It looks like a sort of octopus. It would scare the children I think..."

"Yes, she's one of those fuerdai, you know the sort. She looks like she could make a lot of trouble..."

Well, she was right about that, but I didn't smile, although I didn't want to call my Dad. Maybe I could call Chewy. It wouldn't take him long to sort it out.

"Okay, yes, I understand..." She turned back towards us. "Management override Check-in Three," she said. "Complimentary Admission for two." She smiled happily. Someone else had made the decision for her. "Here's your card for your Private Pool, Comrade Citizen Wong, unlimited time. Please enjoy your swim with your..." She did hesitate, but only for a second. "...friend."

"Thanks," I said, smiling back, coz it looked like her team lead wasn't taking any chances, and I slipped her a big tip, and her smile grew when I slipped her a second note. "Please thank your team lead personally for me, Comrade Citizen." Still cost way less than the admission and the private pool would've, so I was ahead, and one should reward the workers for good decision making. To encourage the others, as my Dad said.

"Wow!" Ziggy's vocoder said, when we were in that private pool room, and hey, it was really nice. I hadn't been in this one before. Last time, with that big blonde fascist, we'd just got a Jacuzzi, because I hadn't had swimming in mind, and neither had he, and we hadn't worried about swimsuits either, although I'd had to explain about not bringing shame down on my family, but when we got down to the alternatives, he was really enthusiastic, but with Ziggy, really all I was thinking about was, he'd probably enjoy swimming, and there wasn't anywhere else to swim in New Beijing.

Here, we had a pool big enough to swim in, and the décor was actually rather nice, all that lovely old antique Maoist décor from the mid-twentieth century, all retro from before the Hegemony, and I kind of liked it. Heroic workers with bulging muscles, cute working girls admiring the guys, and of course the Peoples Flag, which always made me feel all patriotic and everything, and Ziggy just flowed into the water without even a splash, ignoring all the glorious and heroic peoples décor, and then he was darting around underwater like a torpedo, raising his head now and then as I looked around.

Jacuzzi, showers, a dry area to change in, and I sort of kicked myself, because I hadn't brought a swimsuit, but then I shrugged. Ziggy didn't wear clothes, and he was an alien, so why was I worrying, and I started undressing, and I only stopped when I was naked, and then I turned around and slid into the warm water, not at all gracefully, because I'd never really learnt to swim that well, and I'd never, actually, been to a swimming pool to swim, just to look good in a bikini, and Ziggy was right there beside me, streamlined and graceful as he slid up to the surface, his tentacles tucked in tight.

"This is almost as good as being home. Thank you for bringing me here, Stardust." And he was off again, like an underwater rocket.

I kind of kicked off from the edge of the pool and splashed across, a bit nervously, because the water was deep and my toes could just touch the bottom, watching him as I swam, and he slowed, slowed and turned beneath me, those great black eyes looking up at me, unblinking as he flowed through the water, and he was in his element, I could see that, and one of his tentacles slipped towards me, sliding over my skin, and his skin rippled colors, and now we swam together.

It didn't take me long before I was tired, and Ziggy flowed up out of the pool in a fluid movement that I almost envied, although one sixth gee made it easy for me too, and his colors rippled so happily I was smiling as my eyes followed him.

"I am enjoying date, Stardust," his vocoder said, and he was looking down into the Jacuzzi.

"Would you like to sit in the Jacuzzi?" I asked, because I wanted to as well, but I wouldn't if he'd rather do something else. I did like jacuzzi's though.

"Yes," Ziggy said, and he flowed into the Jacuzzi, his tentacles spreading across the surface, and his vocoder made this weird noise.