Page 37 of Her Alien Warrior
"Necias Prime had some more barbaric customs in ancient tribes that displaced warriors that never grew epul."
I cringed thinking of what Sou-el had gone through as a child.
"By displaced, you mean--"
"We killed them," he finished for me with a straight face, no emotion one way or the other about it, "We have since adopted customs of warrior's rites, and banish those that try to kill a spawnling before they are tested. But that is not my story.
"I have a theory that some warriors with this condition somehow made it to Earth many centuries ago. They may have been considered giants by your species being larger to accommodate epul, but not having anything beneath their second skin. Your ancient myths of gods and monsters may have included species that made it to Earth and found themselves without resources to leave once they arrived."
"Did you have space travel even back then?" I wondered about the possibility of aliens having made it to Earth in our ownancient times. History has had some strange events that were unbelievable at the time. It was possible.
"Our tribes did not," he said with disappointment, "this is why many would not believe my theories that any of our kind would have escaped being killed and somehow been found by a spacefaring species to then somehow land on Earth. Many ifs and not enough evidence, but it's been a few centuries since we've joined the Galactic Alliance under Trillume rule, and I'm firmly of the belief that the trill had come to our planet well before they invaded and challenged our king.
"Any smart ruler would observe our customs and plan whether to attack, trade, or challenge us. It is entirely possible a trill came to our planet and helped outcast warriors that might have been killed or had spawnlings at risk. I have no doubts the trill were on Earth well before they decided to trade with humans and create the exchange instead of battling your species for dominance."
"Why are you telling me this?"
It was all fascinating, and believable, but why tell me?
He was going to be commander of this ship when we arrived at Trillume, so he knew what he was talking about. I was just a human, part of a temporary research project.
General reached up and pulled a strand of his braid over his shoulder where a familiar leather trinket dangled. I gasped and stared at him.
"How did you get that?" I whispered.
"You gifted it to me," he said with a smile. The way he spoke about his planet's past and a theory about warriors having been to Earth was beginning to resemble the same speech pattern I'd heard before but through a filtered voice modulator. It wasn't Sou-el...
My whole body ached and felt nauseated. Bodies did lie. My body was a lying piece of shit, and Sou-el was not here waiting for me. This was all a delusion of a desperate person vulnerable to seeing and feeling what I wanted from coming here. You get what you look for, and when the fog is cleared you see reality once more.
That was what this was...
I was a fool.
"Renee," he brought my attention back to him and his amber eyes that were more like fire that matched his hair. "I believe some humans have trace D.N.A. of necia warriors and are more compatible with us than their own species. It's possible you have this trace D.N.A. and it would be perfectly natural for you to be attracted to more than one warrior. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and I have other theories that the warrior D.N.A. will activate more similarities when you are mated with a warrior worthy of honoring you. I would be honored to earn this right and prove to you I am a capable and worthy mate."
"I, uh—" I gaped at him.
"No need to decide this moment, the Rakturan Rites are not a rushed process. I keep your token close, but do not dishonoryou by consuming its contents until the ceremony. I do not desire to hold the ceremony on the ship, but on my home planet, Necias Prime. Let us instead get to know each other and prepare you for being my equal in commanding this ship."
"Your what?" I squeaked in panic.
He furrowed his brows, but nodded in a kind of understanding before explaining, "Mates are not the same on Earth. When a warrior mates, everything that they are is their mates as well. As future commander of this ship, you would also have authority to command what is mine. That is not to say you are forced to do so, you may defer to my second, or any of my generals, but what is my honor will also be yours. It is also my honor to provide anything that would bring you happiness, should you have a different calling to serve the tribe in your own way."
I gulped, feeling my anxiety climb with every moment. "You," I started again, "You want me to be by your side as you explore the galaxy on your ship?"
"Of course, but I do not spend all my rotations on my ship. As my mate, I wish for your happiness, even if that means taking shifts on whatever planet you wish."
"Earth?"
He cringed but schooled his features quickly enough. "Earth would drastically reduce our lifespans." Seeing that I didn't respond he continued, "But I see no reason why we could not visit."
"I wouldn't do that to you or any other warrior," I told him with a shake of my head, and I could see him visibly relax. "If I were mating with an alien, while out in space, it's unreasonable to expect them to go to Earth."
"There are tonics we can take, and filtration masks that remove the poison in your planet's air," he tried to soothe the ache of knowing mating with an alien would mean rarely seeing Earth again.
"Why me?" I asked him, while folding my arms over my chest.
He smiled, and he was certainly charming, but I had no delusions any more about this being anything more than lies told by my body to procreate with a hot alien that I might share D.N.A. in some distant way. This had nothing to do with me, or with him.
