Page 26 of Her Alien Warrior
"So, then you're who I talk to about why I was transferred from my original group?" William asked, and General Tensel glanced at him like he had forgotten he was following us.
"It's my job to ensure the study runs as smoothly as possible. I'm sure you'll be better suited to this new group."
"That wasn't an answer," he called him out on the avoidance tactic.
"No, it wasn't," General Tensel agreed, unperturbed by the aggression thrown his way. "It is not my place to disclose private data of other participants, but I'm sure you'll speak with him soon enough to find out for yourself."
He was speaking of the warrior William was interested in. General Tensel did not rise up the ranks of warriors by epul sizealone, he was astute and knew more than he said, and he had said a lot.
I was left with my daughter, who threw her arms around me as soon as the sliding door opened to her closet of a room.
"Mom!"
I held her to me as General Tensel and William walked away. Our guide had told him he would take him to the lounge where he would find most warriors not on duty, including one of particular interest to him.
"I haven't been able to get a hold of you, and I was worried," she dragged me inside, "I stayed in my room hoping that you'd find your way here, and I didn't want to miss you."
"You know me, I get all turned around," I tried to make light of it. "My implant was replaced, and they changed my group assignment." On the tip of my tongue, I could feel the question bubble up inside me about how her day of interning with General Sou-el had gone today, or if she'd seen him?
"Request to link with H.A.R.T. Intern Becky Grady," my implant sounded in my ear.
"Accept," I said out loud, not sure if that's how it worked, but Becky's response back was enough to know it worked.
"Just tap behind your ear and say, 'comm. Becky', unless you meet another Becky, you shouldn't need to clarify more for it to message me while on the ship."
"Got it," I said while givingher another hug. It was nice to have her here, even though I was worried I'd signed up for something that I didn't fully understand.
Normally soft spoken, Becky surprised me by jumping into her day with excitement. She didn't meet up with General Sou-el today, or yesterday because she was having the most bizarre
experience with this communication device left in her room that sent her all the way to Trillume's labs to talk with the head of research in the Blue District. The unGor she had listed on her supervisory paperwork before realizing he was staying on Trillume and she'd join him when she arrived.
"The labs there are underground," she had said, but continued to describe the Blue District she saw, "They have a super filtration system through the building, and even have masks for different species to prevent them from being overwhelmed with various heightened senses. There are rooms like a high-tech brothel and aliens can sniff the sensors to see if they are a match, then the species inside will choose whether to allow them in or not. When you go there you basically get to walk down a super fancy building full of rooms, and choose which one you want to check out, and if you're allowed in then you have the night to spend time with each other, regardless of if you just talk or do more. The security is insane, and there are oncall warriors of all species, but they can literally spray the whole compound with the same filtration system used to clean the air, and balance out the room basedon species needs, to knock out the room if you're in danger or even sanitize the space after use."
"Should I be concerned about your enthusiasm for a brothel?" I laughed awkwardly.
"Mom," she groaned, "it's not just a brothel, it's a safe space for all species to seek each other out for their needs without judgement, while also allowing scientists and researchers to learn more about interspecies behaviors. Plus, you know that's where you're going, right? They explained that to you? I mean, shouldn't I be asking you if I should be concerned?"
"You're right, Little Bean." I put my hands up in surrender, caught red-handed, or... blue-handed by alien standards. "Should you be concerned?"
"The facilities looked safe from all those kidnapping concerns the activists are rallying against on Earth. To be honest, we are more likely to be attacked during transit by planets that don't agree with the galactic alliance to include humans as members. So go ahead and get laid, but..." she puffed out her cheeks like she did when she was trying not to say something.
"Go ahead," I prompted. What could be worse than my daughter already knowing I was heading to an alien planet to figure stuff out. I bit my lip, really hoping she didn't ask about General Sou-el. My body still tingled thinking about what I'd done, and the way he thrashed after I told him I was married and then sprayed himself in the face with that Elder Sleep stuff.
"It's okay, you know. You tell me all thetime that it's okay to go for what I want. That life isn't about failures and successes, it's about living. That's why it was so important that we both told you we were okay with this. Laurel is okay. I'm okay. Don't hold back your choices because of us."
I sniffled, and then laughed. I wasn't sure what I did to deserve them in my life, but it was strange hearing my own words repeated back to me with such seriousness. I had just recently said those same sentiments to them when they told me they wanted to look into schools and options away from home.
"I love you," I told her and squeezed her close before we spent the rest of the time watching Earth movies that were downloaded to the ship's database for humans to have a bit of home during the journey. There were also options for some alien entertainment as well, and we said we'd watch one of those next Thursday. There was a quiet acceptance between us, that we were both going to take chances and live while we were on this journey without thinking about whether the other would be okay about our choices.
"Mom," she asked softly before her eyes started drooping from exhaustion.
"Mmm hmm?"
"Statistically speaking, half of the humans who enter the exchange never want to return to Earth, and either never return, or immediately reapply to leaveagain."
I knew what she was asking me, without a question being asked. She felt valued being part of a team of researchers. She was excited, and it's possible at the end of her term, which would be longer than mine as an intern, she may not want to return to Earth. Her exchange was not just a temporary subject in an attraction study, she was starting a career, and she'd be on Trillume for at least a human year on planet, with a possible option to extend her contract if she proved herself.
I nuzzled my nose into the top of her sleepy head, inhaling that scent that was only possible with holding one of my daughters. It was pure serotonin squeezing her to me, and letting that feeling go, of never getting to hold her, to feel this love so deeply again, would break me. But I wouldn't hold her back.
