Page 23 of Alien Engineer's Mate

"Third form!" Kaan's voice rang out from the front of the hall, bouncing off the high ceiling.

Maax’s body moved into the pose on automatic, but his thoughts refused to settle. Eira was a mate program candidate, which meant she could be matched with any warrior. His jaw clenched hard enough to break teeth as a wave of possessive anger swept through him at the thought.

Would she even want a child that wasn't hers?

Aisha didn’t. He’d caught her voice drifting down the corridor ahead of them before they’d even reached the turn for the nursery this morning. The words had been clear and definitely meant for him:"...but taking on someone else's child... I couldn't imagine the burden... She would have to be put up for adoption.”

He'd steered Emily down a maintenance access way instead. She hadn't questioned the detour, too busy telling him about her plans for Red Dragon's newest ribbon.

Emily deserved a mother who would love her completely, who would understand what a gift she was. Would Eira understand that? Would she be the mother Emily deserved?

"Fourth form begins!" Kaan called out. "Mind your spacing!"

Warriors shifted around him, making minute adjustments to maintain proper distance. Leather training gear creaked and someone's stomach growled, earning muffled snickers from those nearby. Maax breathed deeply, trying to find his center as they moved through the complex sequence.

"Emily slept better?" Aaran asked from two rows back, his voice a whisper. The younger warrior often trained with the nursery security detail and had taken a particular shine to her.

"Some," Maax said as they flowed into the next form. "Though she had another bad dream."

A ripple of tension passed through the warriors around him, his training group. They all knew fragments of Emily's story, enough to make them all protective of the little girl.

"How does she like the nursery?" A warrior in front asked, almost stumbling as he tried to maintain the form while looking over his shoulder. "My brother’s female speaks highly of their programs."

"She's made a friend," Maax said as they held the sixth form. His muscles burned, but he ignored it. "A little human girl named Grace. They played together yesterday until Emily scraped her knee."

"Ah yes, we heard about that," Aaran’s lips twitched. "The entire medical bay heard about that, from what I understand."

"The entire medical bay needed to hear about it," Maax growled, remembering his panic at seeing Emily's tears. "She could have been seriously injured."

"Of course," V’Ash agreed, though his eyes danced with poorly suppressed amusement. "Which is why you terrifiedthree junior healers and almost gave poor Kellat an aneurysm at the chaos in his orderly medical bay.”

Several warriors lost their forms entirely, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. Kaan shot them a quelling look and they hastily resumed their positions, though grins still flickered across faces.

"Tell us more about being a father," one of the younger males asked, earning himself another glare from Kaan. "What's it like, having a little one depend on you? Does she follow you around the engineering bay? Can she already work with tools?"

"She's five," Maax replied dryly. “She tried to 'fix' my datapad with her art supplies last week."

That sparked a wave of questions from the unmated males, their curiosity about human children evident in their eager expressions. Most had registered with the mate program but were still waiting for matches. They peppered him with questions between forms… what did human children eat? How fast did they grow? Did they understand warrior traditions? How long before they could use bladed weapons?

"She tried to teach Red Dragon the warrior's salute yesterday," Maax found himself saying with a fond smile. “But she got the movements backwards."

"Red Dragon?" someone asked.

"Her stuffed toy. It needs a new ribbon every day to look 'pretty.'"

There were more chuckles, quickly stifled as Kaan bellowed, "Pair up! Combat practice begins now!"

V’Ash stepped forward to face him as the others separated into pairs. Maax settled into a fighting stance, but his thoughts kept drifting to the medical bay. To the way Eira's eyes had lit up at the mention of gardens, how her oldest son had positioned himself protectively near his siblings...

The two of them circled each other, muscles coiled and ready. The familiar anticipation of sparring hummed through his veins. V’Ash struck first, a testing blow aimed at Maax’s head. He blocked the blow and countered with a strike of his own.

They fell into the familiar rhythm of combat, moving across the mats as other pairs sparred around them. The steady thud of impacts echoed off the walls.

His mind wandered again—green eyes, that gentle smile—and V’Ash’s feint caught him off guard. Pain bloomed across his ribs as the hit connected. Both warriors froze. V’Ash’s eyes widened. He’d never landed that move on Maax before. Not since they were raw recruits training for their first assignments.

The shock on his friend's face stung worse than the blow.

"What's wrong with you today?" V'Kash stepped back, frowning as Maax rubbed his side. "You're moving like you need engine grease in your joints."

---