A SURPRISE FOR REX

‘YOU'RE very quiet, Rex.’

Rex Clinton looked up with a start. His father, Group-Captain "Tiger" Clinton (Retired) was looking at him with concern. 'In fact, you've been like this quite a lot lately. Is something wrong?''

Squadron-Leader "Toby" Paul nodded. 'Tiger's right, Rex. What's on your mind? Is it going into space again?'

Rex shook his head. 'No, it's not that.' In that he was not quite speaking the truth, as every time he and his friends left the Earth in the Tavona, the spaceship provided by those they had met on other worlds, he was conscious of a strange chill, as he wondered if he would ever see his fair home world again. But now, something else was bothering him far more. He didn't really want to discuss the matter, but decided that he ought to explain the reason for his unusual behaviour. 'It's Morino,' he managed to say.

'Oh!' Tiger raised his eyebrows. 'Have you two fallen out, or something? You and Morino always seem so happy together. I was under the impression that Borron - '

'Borron wants us to get married,' Rex finished the sentence for him. 'It's very difficult, you see. I think about Morino a lot, and, well, she makes me happy. Borron is a good man, I certainly wouldn't mind him as a father-in-law, but I don't know whether marriage would work for us. Morino comes from Mino, which is about as different from Earth as you could imagine. Admittedly they live on Mars now, but it's still very unlike this planet.' He smiled worriedly. 'We've talked about this a lot, in fact we spent hours talking about it last time we saw each other, and yes, to be honest, I really do want to marry her. But I don't want to live on Mars. It's not my home.'

'Glensalich is your home, my boy,' came another voice. Rex turned to see Professor Lucius Brane in the room. Dressed as always in a stained frock coat, soft-collared shirt and flannel trousers, he seemed an unlikely space traveller. However it was the Professor who had first invited Rex and his father aboard a spaceship , and in later years, the Professor, along with Rex, Tiger and Toby, had been to more stars, and seen more marvellous sights, than any other person born on Earth.

''If you and Morino were ever to be married, I would be honoured for you both to live here. There's enough room, you know.' Professor Brane swept his arm round vaguely to show the size of Glensalich Castle, and added, 'I moved here quite a few years ago, as you no doubt remember, to carry out my experiments into space travel, and do you know, I still haven't explored all the rooms I have.’

Tiger stepped in. ‘We’ve moved all our things here from where we were living, Rex. I would think you would be used to living here now. I know I am.’

‘Exactly.’ The Professor beamed. ‘You have treated this as your home, and quite rightly, for I have valued your company on our voyages. And there's plenty of space for all of us, isn't there, Judkins?'

Judkins, the inscrutable butler, who was helping arrange their luggage into a pile, nodded slightly. 'Indeed, sir.'

'I think getting married would be good for you,' put in Tiger. 'After all, Rex, I was about your age when I married your mother. I'm all for it.'

Rex flushed, rather embarrassed at the whole conversation. 'That's very good of you, sir. But to be honest, I don't know if it can happen. Morino can't come to Earth, the Council on Mars forbid women making journeys in spaceships. That was why I was thinking I would have to move to Mars.'

The Professor's eyes twinkled. 'I'm sure everything will sort itself out, Rex. Don’t worry about it now.’

Rex as baffled by this last statement, but couldn’t think of anything to say.

‘And now let's get everything ready. It can't be long until Vargo arrives.' The Professor smiled.

Rex nodded, and helped his father check their bags.

They were waiting for the Tavona, due to arrive that evening. In charge would be Gator the space captain, along with Borron the navigator and the rest of the crew, and of course Vargo, the Martian whom they had rescued when the Professor made his second journey to Mars in a spaceship of his own construction . They had learnt about the past history of Mars; how a great civilisation had been almost destroyed when Kraka, the planet that once circled the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, had exploded, following experiments by scientists upon its surface.

Only the asteroids now remained as remnants of Kraka, but Mars itself was being resettled, thanks to the Professor. He had destroyed the insect pests that had almost wiped out the survivors of the Kraka disaster, and he had also introduced new crops and animals that were now a staple part of the Martian economy. The Council that had once had to exist on Mino, a small asteroid, had now returned to Mars, and both the Council members and the general populace held the Professor and his friends in high esteem. The Earth people had made many trips in the Tavona, and Rex supposed that once again they would soon be exploring unknown planets and constellations.

'Make sure that you have some tea ready, Judkins,' ordered the Professor. 'You know how much Vargo appreciates it.'

'It shall be as you say, sir.' The butler withdrew.

It was soon completely dark outside, and Rex wandered outside, walking through the overgrown garden, to stand on the familiar heather. The night was foggy, so there was no sign of the thousands of stars he knew were up above. How many of those stars had he visited? Already there were more than he could remember, some primitive, some advanced. Indeed, some of the places he had seen, such as the planet Terromagna, were far more civilised then Earth could claim to be, yet he could never imagine living there permanently. Why was that? He could only imagine it was the pull of home; he was at home here, just as Vargo was happy on Mars.

'Keep a watch out, Rex', called Tiger. 'They should be here soon.' To Rex's ears his father’s voice sounded slightly amused, though Rex couldn't imagine why. He looked up, but didn’t see the ship until the last moment. The saucer shape suddenly loomed out of the darkness, and the Tavona settled as lightly as a dandelion seed on the ground.

Rex walked towards the ship as the door opened. 'Hello!' he called softly. 'Have you had a good journey?'

'Not really!' came the last voice he would have expected to hear. 'But I haven't ever been to Earth before.' To Rex's astonishment, Morino walked out of the mist towards him. 'Hello, Rex. Are you surprised to see me?'

In the next few seconds, Rex realised that Morino had not forgotten the practice of kissing, that he had demonstrated some time before; but he was glad that it was too dark for others to see clearly. Finally, he looked up, to see Vargo and Borron smiling at him.

‘Let us go inside,’ Borron suggested. ‘We can talk about this there.’

Rex, still bewildered, nodded, and led everyone back to the castle, and to the others waiting inside. He looked at Morino in the light, and to his astonishment saw that she was wearing a long dress of a dark red colour; from what he had been told about Minoan customs, he knew that this was a wedding dress. His mind whirling, he watched everyone sit down, and accept cups of tea; he took one himself.

'What's this about exactly?' he asked, finally finding his voice, and seeing that everyone was now smiling. 'Did you all know about Morino coming?'

Tiger nodded, looking very pleased with himself. 'It's just as you said, Rex. Borron wanted you and Morino to get married, and it was what you both wanted as well. So, that’s what’s going to happen. We brought Morino, and Borron, here for that reason.'

'Interplanetary marriages have happened before', put in Vargo, in his thin, clipped voice, as he sipped his tea with obvious enjoyment. 'Multavo was originally from Mino, and he married a Terromagnan woman . And don't forget Donald Graham, whom we were looking for not so long ago . He made a home on Vallon. He, too, married a local woman - '

'I'm not disputing that, naturally. But I just don't understand,' confessed Rex. 'How you arranged this, I mean. None of us have been in touch since we were last on Mars, three months ago. Unless you sorted everything out when I wasn't around - ' he broke off, eyes narrowed. 'It was last week, wasn't it? Toby and I went into Inverness, and the car broke down - well, that's what you said, Toby. We had to stay overnight. Next day, the car was suddenly all right after all.'

'Very cleverly worked out, my boy', agreed the Professor, beaming. 'As your father says, it was obvious to all of us that you should get married, but you hadn't popped the question, one might say. So Vargo and Borron called to see us when you were in Inverness, and we arranged everything.'

Rex found himself laughing. 'I suppose I should have done something before now.’

Borron, normally a taciturn man, gave one of his rare smiles. 'I think we shall all happier this way, Rex.'

'Yes, you're right, Borron. I’m sorry. And I want particularly to apologise to you, Morino. I certainly shouldn't have treated you like this.' Rex looked at the girl from another planet; Morino had honey-coloured skin, blonde hair and the bluest of eyes. She smiled back at him. 'I'll try to make you happy, Rex,' she said quietly. 'But I won't go on any of those long voyages. I'll stay at home, and wait for you to come back, just as I've had to do with my father.'

Rex shook his head, baffled. 'Now that's something I don't understand; how you got here. Women aren't allowed - '

Vargo shook his head slowly. 'Not any more. Did you know we had a new Head Councillor elected?'

'Yes.' Rex remembered Vargo talking about this some time ago. 'I think he was called Thormin.'

Vargo smiled slightly. 'That's right. Thormin's wife had come to Mars when the Council moved; quite a few women came with their husbands, so already the rules had been broken, you could say. Thormin's mother-in-law had stayed on Mino, as she was too frail and old to make the move. Thormin's wife wanted to go back to Mino every so often to see her mother. Thormin ended up agreeing, and so the rules have changed for everyone. I think it's sensible.'

‘Oh. Well, that’s wonderful. It makes everything so much easier.’ Rex looked at his future bride. 'Morino, I shall try and be a good husband, I promise.'

‘I do hope so,’ responded Morino, making everyone laugh.

Rex was still worried. 'Something that concerns me. Where can we live?'

'Here, of course.' Morino smiled impishly. 'The Professor has decorated a new room for us in this castle, but he couldn't tell you, could he?’

Rex felt a great sense of relief. 'Then you really will live here? My planet is very different from Mars or Mino.'

Morino looked serious for a moment. 'I used to be worried that Earth people would look at me strangely, because I was different. But I’m not really, am I?’

Toby shook his head. ‘I really don’t think anyone here would suspect the truth, Morino. Physically speaking, your race is very similar to our own. Which will help you adapt to the conditions here.’

Morino smiled. ‘I’ve heard all about Earth; I’m looking forward to seeing some of it. I must admit, I shall miss my father; but we'll be able to go and see him, won't we? We can't play wing-flying on Earth, don't forget.'

Rex laughed. When he and Morino had first met, their friendship had started, and then grown, through hours of flying with strapped-on wings in the weak gravity of Mino . 'We can go as often as you want. That is,' he added hastily, 'as long as Vargo and the Professor can arrange it.'

'It has already been sorted out', replied Vargo casually. 'Now, would you like me to marry you both?' He drained the remainder of his tea, and stood up.

'You? Now?' stuttered Rex, provoking laughter from the others. 'That is to say - can you do that?'

'Vargo now holds a high office himself', explained Tiger. 'He is permitted to marry any Minoan or Martian person to any other person. I wouldn't argue if I were you.'

The Martian wedding service was of course completely unknown to Rex. Fortunately he now knew enough Minoan to work out what was going on, and he gave his name, and correctly answered the questions he was asked. He was intrigued at the ceremony, and also pleased to find that the proceedings, though short, had their own dignity.

Rex went through the whole thing almost in a dream, but at the end of some twenty minutes, he found himself a married man. 'This has been a bit of a shock,' he asserted, 'but a very nice one. What happens now? Presumably we are going to Mars straight away?'

There was a pause, then Vargo shook his head. 'The mist is very thick outside. Just this once, I think we can leave the ship safely here overnight. So long as we leave early in the morning.'

The Professor coughed. 'You see, Rex', he said, 'as has already been said, we have prepared a new room here for you and - er - your bride. After we go to Mars, we shall be setting forth on one of our exploratory trips, and we may well be away for some time. We thought you therefore deserved some time first, to get to know each other. After all, you have only just got married.'

'Oh. Yes.' Rex looked at Morino and reddened.

Morino smiled back.

Of the events of the night, it need only be said that Rex and Morino discovered that they liked each other very much, and that the fact that they were of different physical races raised no problems at all.

Breakfast was slightly more disconcerting. Rex had been looking forward to a full breakfast as prepared by Judkins; that is, bacon and eggs with black pudding and haggis and all the trimmings. He wanted a last chance to enjoy such a feast before he settled into the routine of the small and frugal meals taken by all space travellers. Unfortunately Morino, like Vargo and Borron, refused to eat animal meat, and she made it clear that Rex should do the same as her. This meant that Rex, much to his chagrin, found himself having only scrambled eggs and mushrooms. There was more to this marriage thing than he had imagined, he decided.

'Time to get ready', the Professor said quietly as they finished their coffee. 'Sorry to leave you here by yourself again, Judkins, but you're the perfect person to look after Glensalich while we are away.'

'Indeed, sir,' agreed the butler dispassionately.

'Why does he stay behind?' Morino asked the Professor curiously, as they walked towards the moor. 'Has he ever been into space?'

'Oh yes indeed,' the Professor assured her. 'However, since we have taken up with Vargo, we tend to be away from home for longer, and somebody needs to stay behind and take care of the place. Also, Judkins likes his own company.'

'He listens to the radio apparently', Rex broke in. 'The Light Programme.'

The Professor raised his eyebrows. 'Really! Well, there's no accounting for tastes. Still, when he's on his own, we can't really complain, can we?'

The doors of the Tavona opened, and they went in.