Page 9 of Her Alien Warrior
He continuedafter seeing I wasn't going to divulge more than necessary. Some more youthful warriors might take the pause in conversation to fill the silence with their own voice, but that was not me. General Tensel chuckled and it unnerved me how informal he was being. "I want you to be comfortable around me. We're both generals here, and I don't want to spend the whole trip back listening to people blow dust up my ass because they know I'm being promoted when we get back."
He wished to be friendly as equals it seemed, and he had yet to address the female I held in my arms fully. I was still apprehensive to drop his title or to confess that I had tried to bathe her only for her to collapse after distressing her body.
"I have no intention of giving you dirt of any kind," I finally settle on for a response.
"Good, because I fully intend on using your research to help our tribes integrate with humans more, as there are a few warriors on Necias Prime as we speak that have found not only successful mating with humans, but have claimed the mate markings of a Pulsunne. The implications of humans being that compatible with our species lead me to believe that perhaps a few of our kind have broken galactic laws to hide themselves on Earth many years ago, or humans are a rare universal species. I want you to find out which it is, whether it's only certain humans that might have had contact with our species before, or perhaps they are compatible with all species."
"And how do you suppose I discover this? I am a researcher of behaviors, not a scientist of biology."
General Tensel leaned in, his epul coming uncomfortably close to my human, and a growl rumbled from deep in my chest in warning. I blinked in confusion at my own reaction and he merely smiled at me like I hadn't offended a ranking tribe member with my actions.
"As I was saying before, Sou-el, I'm glad you've found an interest in humans." His eyes pointedly roamed over Renee, and how the shirt she wore was stretched and hanging from her shoulder revealing her tender flesh normally used to mark a mate. When the epul were withdrawn the skin around our necks is more vulnerable than the rest of our body, allowing for our fangs to sink into it with more ease.
But Renee wasn't a necia warrior, she was human. Every part of her body was vulnerable and susceptible to harm.
Did the general not read my file? Did he not know that marking a mate was not a possibility for me? My fangs hardly ever lengthened, and I had no need to drink blood to calm my glands.
"I'd like for you to work with Medic Valmeh should the human show signs of compatibility with you or any other warrior. We have representatives from different planets onboard with us who you should allow to have a chance with any compatible human to confirm our theories for or against universal or previous interspecies contamination."
"General, are you ordering me to disregard cultivating a bond to see if one forms with another before the bond is accepted?"
"You're a warrior of science, the goddess will forgive us for helping confirm our theories that humans with a certain gene marker are meant to mate with necia warriors and no other species."
"Are you telling me the whole pool of humans in this study have already been preselected for a known marker?" I held Renee closer to me and a soft whimper fled her lips, reminding me to be gentle.
"I didn't think it would be so successful that even someone such as yourself would be effected, but I'm pleased to see even if you are not mates that it's clear she has an effect on you. A few humans have been cross-checked after displaying their mate's marks, and our scientists have found a commonality that we used as a basis for accepting applicants regardless of their other qualifications or lack there of. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to seeing your reports as the experiment progresses. Take the human to your quarters if you think there's a chance she begins bonding with you. If not, put her back in the communal quarters to try with another warrior."
"As you request, General," I said, remaining as calm as I could while feeling my blood boil. I would not be placing Renee in the communal living quarters knowing that the observation of her group had different parameters than the others. I was not in charge of her research group, and it was clear that only warriorswith active glands would have been assigned to it. It was strange that there were so few from other planets aboard, and now I knew why. I would bet all of my credits that the humans assigned to stay in stasis until we arrived on Trillume were the ones that didn't have the genetic marker they found in the humans who had bonded with warriors.
It was against the goddess to not honor a bond between mates. If one formed, even partially, it was not our place to deny the bond, only the mate should choose to accept or not. I cannot imagine the other warriors would so easily allow a potential mate to begin the bond and then seek the comfort of another without challenging the other to death.
Did the other warriors know this was the plan for this study? I had no place as Renee's mate, and I certainly wasn't capable of forming a bond with anyone, but after seeing her cry from my touch, I didn't think this was the right placement for her.
This was bound to cause her more pain if she bonded with a warrior, only for her mate to be taken from her to see if she could bond with another. I was sure that if she did bond with another, they would snatch that mate from her too, only to start the painful process all over again with another species.
It was unconscionably cruel, and I couldn't bear to see those tears again. She was one human, and I'd be doing right by my intern to keep this one safe, I reasoned with myself. I'd take her to my quarters as the general requested and find a way to get herinto the next available stasis pod so she can participate in the study she signed up for in the Blue District.
My quarters were big enough to have a guest due to my title and the type of assignment I have, but they were both my room and my office. Eventually, I will have to explain to someone why I had a human in my quarters if I couldn't get a stasis pod right away.
I activated my comm., to contact medbay. They had access to the stasis pods and could prepare one for my human.
"Medic Velmeh, speaking," the comm. was answered and I paused. They repeated themselves upon only hearing my silence. This was the medic that knew the truth behind the study and I doubted they would allow me to place a human in stasis that was part of their experiment.
"My apologies, I was expecting someone in charge of stasis pods," I said, risking revealing what I needed in hopes that General Tensel hadn't spoken of involving me, and that I would be transferred to another medic. The humans from my group are most likely not involved in their genetic theories.
"I can assist you," they replied, and I debated if I should ask, now that I wasn't being transferred.
"One of the humans is showing signs of distress. It would be best to place them in stasis and then transfer to a health pod upon return to Trillume," I explained. It wasn't a complete fabrication, she had been distraught, and my action wouldsave her from further distress caused by being torn from her future mate many times over.
"Can you describe the human's distress? I have been trained on human health and it is a common thing for them to have periods of adjustment during travel. It can be more stressful on their fragile forms to place them in stasis during this time of flux. Emotions can also trigger physical responses that will pass with time. If their eyes are leaking, this is merely a sign of sadness at leaving their homes," the medic rambled.
"Yes, there was considerable eye leaking," I admitted.
"I will prepare a stasis pod just in case but give the human a few rotations and let me know if it persists, or new symptoms occur. What was the name of the human?"
"Thank you for your assistance. I will inform you if it worsens," I said and ended the transmission without naming Renee. The door to my rooms closed behind me and my human stirred in my arms, but only to press herself deeper into my hold, her head resting on my shoulder. I won't enjoy when I release my epul again, but I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't enjoy the feel of her softness against me. The feeling of knowing a female had allowed herself to sleep in my presence filled me with a pride I never thought I would experience, if only for a short while.
She would leave, and once she woke, she would realize her mistake in allowing me to protect her, a male with inactive glands, and enzymes that caused her pain. I didn't dare lick her skin again, thoughmy gums ached like her taste would ease them.
