Headline: GOVERNMENTS SCRAMBLE TO BLOCK BANCROFT LAWSUIT
Headline: RIOTS IN AUSTRALIA OVER BORDER CONTROL, 309 KILLED
Headline: UN TO HOST WORLD TRADE SUMMIT IN PAKISTAN
Headline: CHINESE BLAME INSECT CONTROL MEASURES ON FOOD CRISIS
Headline: LOCAL CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL SEED TRADING
Arriving back in her inner city apartment after her shift, Valerie placed her hybrid plant on the kitchen island, not sure where to put it. She showered and threw her uniform into the small washer unit, and with the load full, she turned it on. Her apartment was spacious for inner-city living. The white and pale blue décor gave a clean feel, with warm overhead lights highlighting the faux wooden furniture in each room. The kitchen with its breakfast bar had all the latest appliances, just not the latest models. The bedroom led to the bathroom and the alcove next to the lounge housed her study desk and a few antique books. Personal touches, conch shells, blue vases, and simple pacific island ornaments adorned shelf edges and the kitchen island. A large, hand-blown glass fruit bowl sat on the extra deep window ledge in her lounge. There was no fresh fruit sitting in the bowl, just a potted orchid plant with large white moth-like petals.
Dinner was a microwave meal that cost her a lot, but eating out downtown cost her way more than she was willing to fork out for, so TV dinners it was. It wasn't that she couldn't cook, her mother had taught her how as a pre-teen, but she couldn't afford the fresh produce necessary for a home-cooked meal. Gone are the days of fresh food and real meals. She'd only had one of those since she'd transferred back into the state to work for the Hamilton City PD and that meal was catered for by her alien charge when she and Chan had invited to their annual Remembrance Day celebration. She had guessed it is like America's Independence Day celebrations or Chinese New Year, but with more frills and less BBQ. Talk about culture shock. Both the cops at the celebration were under-dressed along with many of the other human delegates that attended. Awkward that it was, the best thing about it was that it was held on Laupshi'i Flivve's ship in atmosphere over Hamilton City. At 8 kilometres above sea level, it made for an incredible view, and the ship itself was a marvel of alien technology and resourcefulness.
A knock sounded on her apartment door, a knock she had been expecting. She placed her half-eaten meal on the kitchen island and straightened her hair. The LED screen next to the door showed the face of the man she was looking forward to seeing that night. His dark brown hair looked like he'd been running his hands through it all day and his blue eyes matched the smile on his stubbled face. She opened the door, took his raised hand as he was about to knock again and dragged him into the apartment and into a warm hug. Releasing him she quickly closed the door against nosy neighbours dragged him further into the lounge space.
'So good to see you, Brandon.' She said.
'Missed me? Or was your day just a tad too exciting for you, like always?' His sarcasm earned him a smile and they both dropped down onto the cream fleather couch. It might be two years out of date, but the Othshali'i-inspired, fake feather covered couch was the softest piece of furniture she owned and she wasn't giving it up.
'How was your day, Valerie?' he asked. It was the same routine. She'd recount her boring day babysitting aliens while he talked about his latest court appearance.
'My day was slow, but mostly uneventful. My client thanked me for my service and gave me a gift.' She pointed to the pink and green plant on her kitchen breakfast bar. 'It was a really nice gesture. How was your day?'
'Wow. Its not everyday you get given an alien plant.' He smiled at her. 'My day was super busy.' He tucked am arm around her and she leaned into his warmth. Listening to her boyfriend talk, with his deep baritone voice was always pleasing to Valerie.
'We had a deposition in court that I was second chair for. Our client had too much evidence and the boss-man required an extra hand.' He looked to the kitchen and stood up as he continued talking. 'I also managed to score the firm a new client. Do you remember Charles Locke, the engineer who was busted for city water limit violations?' She nodded as he picked up her unfinished meal and brought it back to her. 'I knew his son from school back in the capital and managed to sign him on over lunch today. I heard Phil and Phillips were trying to get him but when I started asking about his Son's new baby boy, he was signing away over schnapps.'
She caught herself laughing as she knew there was no way Brandon was drinking anything but beer, and on the firm's account too. She renewed her eating as he finished entertaining her with his rendition of today's life in the city, enjoying his company.
'Oh, and I nearly forgot. I finished paying off my mortgage today.' It was said so casually that she almost didn't understand until he stopped talking and she had to look up at him.
'Pardon? Your mortgage? You paid it all off? Brandon that is amazing!' Her meal laid aside, she jumped into his lap and hugged him about the neck and planted a kiss on his lips. 'That's wonderful news. I'm so proud of you. You really deserve this.'
'So now we can get hitched and knock out a wall between our apartments and apply for maternity leave?' His face was so hopeful. She smacked him on the arm playfully.
'Oh babe, we're not ready for that yet. You still have to make partner at your law firm and that takes a whole lot of time and commitment. I have my own mortgage to sort out first. I started my social standing on the back foot. You know that.' Coming from a rural community into city life meant that she had no social standing before studying as a police officer. Paying off her mortgage and working for the Bureau would ensure her social standing for life, especially if Brandon would wait for her, something she was certain he would do.
'I bet Mr Laupshi'i could put in a good word for you that would increase your social standing.' She wriggled out of his arms and off his lap and picked up her finished meal. Walking to the kitchen she tried to keep a scowl off her face.
'I'm not doing that, Brandon. Its wrong on so many levels and it goes against everything we stand for.' It wasn't a new discussion and that wasn't his first proposal either. Her reply was always the same, she needed to pay off her mortgage and increase her social standing so that if anything happened to him, she would be able to stand on her own two feet.
'Independent woman, thy name is Valerie,' she heard muttered behind her. Ignoring his comment, she cleaned her dishes, recycled her dinner container then collected two stemmed flutes and a bottle of bubbly. Back in the lounge she found Brandon standing by the windows looking out at the night-scape. She knew he was sincere about his offer of marriage and could see he was a little upset about her rebuttal. She placed the glasses and wine on the table next to the couch and slipped an arm around him and laid her head on his back between his shoulder blades. They stood that way for a moment until Brandon was ready to change the subject.
He opened the bottle and poured them drinks and they toasted to the end of his mortgage-paying days. Drinking, they sat in quiet company until he checked the time on his wrist device Swatch. He kissed her on the head and stood and walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
'News is on shortly, Babe. Do you have any beer, or should I go get some from next door?' She was already collecting the glasses and nearly-full bottle of wine, and shook her head in answer to his question. As he left her apartment, she called out to him.
'Bring me some chocolate too please, and not the low-fat vegan stuff.' She heard him chuckle as he closed her front door.
Brandon preferred the top-of-the-hour news at this time of the night as it covered the stock market and government closing-of-the-day news. While Valerie waited for his return, she parked herself back on the couch and controlled the TV monitor via her wrist device Swatch. When he didn't come back in time to watch the first story, Valerie started recording it, streaming it straight to his Swatch. The first story covered one of the world's largest seed and meal production firm, Brancroft, and their bid to sue the Othshali'i race with infringement of intellectual property and theft of patented material. There was little real information on what the aliens did or didn't do, but the news was sensational enough that it made the headline story. She just shook her head at that. There was no way that would end well, not when the Othshali'i were willing to so freely trade their advanced technology with Earth. Some people were just that stupid.
The second piece was an overblown puff piece on some Bollywood TV starlet being sued by her production company for having illegal photos of herself on her home computer. The movie she just finished would likely pay off the copyright infringement fines. Valerie was about to change the channel and take a sneak peek at an alien drama show that she was interested in, when an image of her father hit the screen. Shocked at seeing his older face on national news, she quickly turned up the volume.
'...and authorities arrested him and shut down his farmers market all because he was selling locally-grown produce. There was a time in our nation's history where growing our own food was a civil right, selling or giving it away wasn't illegal and sharing with your community was a way of life...' The sound bite made him look and sound like a fanatic, his hair dishevelled, his eyes wide and crazy-looking, and the byline on the screen announced him as Mr George Terrance, Mayor of Kauaeranga Valley Community.
'Oh no, what have you done, now?' Her question went unanswered as she watched the two minute story then turned it down to make a call.
Her father answered on the first ring.
'Val, let me explain before you go and get your panties in a twist.' The timbre of his voice brought back a rush of memories.
'National television!' was all she could get in before he spoke again, quickly explaining what he'd got himself involved in.
'The bloody Corps raided the town the day Frank runs the farmers market, same as he always does. They came in with their big security guards, threatening our livelihood and took everything, all the produce, all the veggies and fruit and even stole the bloody shade cloth that covered the town square. Frank was arrested but we bailed him out and they are charging him with intellectual property infringement and violations of the Food Bill!' He finally took a breath.
'George, national television!' she squeaked as Brandon entered the apartment again. She turned and walked towards her bedroom for some privacy.
'Val, we've had enough. They are taking seed stock that belongs to us, and then they expect us to pay for their supposed subsidised energy and water costs. They are even charging us for using our own damn river!' He was almost yelling, but it was nothing she hadn't heard before.
'George...'
He cut her off again. 'And then they go and steal our livelihood, taking what is rightfully ours to share and try nail us with a god-damned Food Bill that was only ever implemented because the Corporations decided they wanted a monopoly on all the world's food stock. Val, it ain't right.' He paused to take a breath.
'Val, what the government and the Corps are doing is destroying out nation and we can't get a break.' At this last sentence he sounded defeated.
'George...' she paused to see if he'd truly run out of steam. 'You know you looked like a crazy religious fanatic, and was that Adrian Parker behind you wearing a tie-dyed shirt?' Exasperated, she flopped down onto her bed. 'I can't believe this. You dragged Parker out of retirement wearing his hippie gear and you have HIM representing Frank?'
'Parker is a damn fine lawyer. Just because you got yourself hitched to a fancy-pants city lawyer...'
'You leave Brandon out of this, he has nothing to do with you or your stupid town. This is exactly why I left. This is exactly why everyone is leaving all your god-forsaken ghost town because it is far easier and cheaper to live in the cities.'
'Cheaper my...'
'You are threatening my social standing. I don't need this.' Her beseeching voice shut him up. 'Please do not ruin this for me, don't ruin the life I've worked so hard to get.'
They sat quietly on the phone for bit before Valerie took a breath and excused herself.
'Look George, I've got someone here, I gotta go.'
'Honey, what they are doing is wrong and you know it.'
'I know, but what can you do about it? They own everything and you own a piece of land at the back end of nowhere and with few small families. It's not like you can change your government or anything.'
She ended the call without saying goodbye and scrubbed her hands over her face.
'You all right, Babe?' Brandon asked as she walked back out to the lounge room. The TV sound was off and he was standing beside the table that held a beer and a small finger of chocolate.
'You got the good stuff?' she asked, and he nodded.
'Wanna talk about it?' She smiled at his kindness but shook her head.
'There was a reason I left, and I'm not going back.' He pulled her into a hug and they settled down to watch TV on demand together.