Page 14 of Her Alien Warrior
"I'm uncertain of what a chaser is on Earth, but there is a spray in the medbay that can numb your tastebuds to make the meals easier," he offered, and I was thankful for the change in subject.
"General Sou-el, this is the first time I've seen you stay in the dispensary for longer than it takes to grab a pack and go," the woman warrior teased, standing behind us.
"Commander," he bowed his head to her.
I took notice of the tall woman, and her brown hair had streaks of silvery white to it, but her eyes were golden like the rest of the necia warriors. She wore a plated armor over her neck and shoulders, but spikes protruded from her shoulder blades around the armor in a curve that could stab a person if they tried to hug her. The only cover she had was a strap of leather dangling from the shoulder armor on either side that barely managed to hide her nipples. She wore a flap of leather for a skirt with a metal inlay and carved tribal design. If Sou-el hadn't addressed her as the commander, I wouldn't have guessed based on how little was left to the imagination.
"Don't be like that, brother. I came as soon as word got back to me of this rare opportunity to catch you when you do nothave your duties to distract you," she said and then eyed both my daughter and me with amusement.
"I'm still attending to my duties of guiding my intern on her first rotation, Commander Rovka. This is Research Intern Becky of Earth, and her guardian Renee of Earth."
"Of course you are, General. I'm pleased to see that you are assisting the integration of humans on the ship, but as this space is considered leisure time, you are not to discuss business, and allow your intern to have her freedom without being intimidated by her superior."
"Are you intimidated by my presence?" Sou-el asked Becky and she smiled awkwardly, shaking her head.
"Brother, for someone who observes behaviors for a calling, you are clearly incapable of seeing things in your own purview. She wouldn't tell you if she were uncomfortable, you are her superior. I'm ordering you to allow her the day to explore the ship and resume her duties next rotation." The commander turned to my daughter and smiled at her. "You are dismissed. Meet your fellow workers, check out the observation deck, or go to the lounge."
Becky pushed from her seat and picked up her tray of half-eaten bland starter gruel. I grabbed my own tray to leave with her when the commander eyed me and used a single finger in a sit motion that had me placing my butt back down with haste. She smiled to indicate I had interpreted her unspoken request correctly.
We left on a Tuesday on Earth, so today was a Wednesday rotation if I just kept track based on when I slept and woke up. Tomorrow would be Thursday for our mother-daughter date. "I'll see you tomorrow," I asked hopefully, and my daughter nodded, glancing back and forth between the commander and me. She was obviously struggling with leaving me alone, and I put my best mask of confidence on before initiating a conversation back to the commander to show my daughter I'd be fine. "I wasn't given a lot of information before joining the exchange, but is brother a spawnling relation like on Earth or a title of respect within your tribe?"
"See," she nodded between Sou-el and myself, "even Renee of Earth can have a conversation not related to work, I'm sure you can do the same with some effort," she nudged Sou-el and then addressed my question, "Brother can be used for both contexts within the tribe, a shared guardian or close bond within the tribe. This one was raised by my guardian, Elder Edilm, after his guardian was challenged for endangering a spawnling."
"What do you mean endangering a spawnling?" I questioned with concern.
General Sou-el stared straight ahead as he monotoned something he'd probably told people many times because of the commander, his sister, "My guardians were sacrificing me to the goddess before my epul could form."
"You don't have to tell me if you—" I tried to give him a way out of revealing his personal business to a stranger, but the commander interrupted.
"They did not go through the proper rituals to end a spawnling's life," she said and took the seat my daughter had vacated, and I wondered why she was telling me any of this. "Elder Edilm found him tied to the rocks just before the tide came in to swallow him up, but he had almost chewed his way out of the bonds himself. He is a survivor."
Sou-el rubbed at his shoulder and averted his eyes, not daring to look at me while his past was divulged.
"Get to the point, Commander," he said standing up from the table, but she gave him the same look she gave me, and he reseated himself.
"As I was saying," she eyed him with authority, "he survived, and his guardians were challenged. Instead of dueling, they agreed that they would be banished from Necias Prime until the death of their spawnling proves them right. He successfully completed his warrior trials, and if his guardians are ever seen by the tribe they will be forced to duel for their life. I would happily end them for claiming pride in what they tried to destroy.
"He is a strong, capable warrior in mind and body—" she stopped abruptly as she noticed where his hand was about to knead into his shoulder again and her smile faded. "General, is there a reason why you've withdrawn your epul? They are large and impressive to any warrior with eyes and a mind of youraccomplishments." She unlatched a canister from the belt of her skirt and sprayed something over his shoulders. He nodded at her and his epul pushed out slowly until they stood proudly and lethally like many of the warriors on the ship, but they were quite large and intimidating. The commander nodded at me towards his epul as if to say, aren't they attractive?
Everything about General Sou-el was attractive, but I wasn't about to admit that when he said in no uncertain terms that he would never touch me again.
I smiled awkwardly, and knew that nothing I could say would help him with whatever trauma he had as he was growing up because of his parent's mistakes that almost cost him his life. It made sense why he decided to be a behavioral analyst if he wanted to understand why his parents did what they did.
I settled on saying, "I'm glad you fought to find your true family. Commander Rokva seems to hold a great deal of respect for you."
"I do," she praised, "He's on the road to being a commander of his own research team, a prominent position among the tribe. Worthy of respect and mating." Her statement was an obvious attempt at endearing myself towards her brother, and I cringed a bit knowing she was trying to play matchmaker with the wrong girl. He had no interest in me.
General Sou-el closed his eyes and his nostrils flared in what appeared to be an exasperated annoyance that he kept locked down as his sister was also his commander. That must have beena tough balance to work through being so close with a sibling that was also a superior at work. I wondered why he chose to work on the same ship as her?
"If we are done discussing personal matters, we are both ranking officials on this ship and should allow Renee of Earth to her own free time to explore the ship and finish her nutrition," he clipped, and even with the glare he received from his commander, he pushed off from his seat and bowed before walking away.
Commander Rokva glared after him and then turned to me with a smile. "Humans value passion in their choices, do they not? He will not say so, as he is a warrior of honorable discretion, but he only avoids females that wish to have spawnlings as he can not have any. As you have already had a spawn, you will not be needing more, and he would make an excellent mate."
"Oh, I'm not—"
"No need to lie to me, I was gifted by the goddess with heightened smell, better than our greatest trackers. Many with my skill become matchmakers, not commanders, but for my brother I will be both. This ring," she pointed to the bone bar pierced through the bridge of her nose, "has holes drilled through it that if I turn it, I smell more, and turn it again and I block most of the scents. Created by the first matchmakers of our tribe," she explained, "I smell the faintest of changes in odors when I am this close to a match, and when you look at my brother, you like what you see. You are a good match, and if you wish to see thathe can be both attentive and honorable, then consider following our mating traditions and offer him a token of your interest.
"Many of our tribe start with bathing rituals to confirm there is a compatibility of enzymes to balance our gland production, but as that isn't an issue for my brother and you, a simple offering of your own fluids should suffice."
