Page 5 of Her Alien Warrior
"What does it mean?" I whispered.
"A fist pumped out like that for a trill is like saying fuck you, for humans it's a you-get-em encouragement, but not for the trill. And for the necia warriors that guard us, don't uncross your legs because they might think you want them to service you and they aren't really into humans, but they take signs of needing to be relieved seriously. It's a life-or-death thing for them, and they forget it isn't that way for other species. I'm going to be training under an unGor scientist, and they tap fists with those that are in their tribes. Offering a fist is a sign that they wish to court you or fight you. I'll be keeping my hands to myself," she advised, and I smiled at her with pride at how seriously she was taking her internship.
"I'll try not to offend them, but there is a reason why they didn't put us through training, and I'm sure even the aliens aren't trained about humans to see how we handle the discrepancies of our cultures, right?"
"Right,"she agreed with a sigh.
I whispered back to her, "But I'm glad I have the inside scoop on a few tips to avoid having to figure some stuff out." I winked at my daughter and squeezed her hand, infusing it with my love.
The ride to the ship was faster than I anticipated, but it was the process of being transferred and all the protocols of being latched and system checks before boarding that took the longest once we were floating in Earth's orbit. My stomach was doing anxious flips and I wished I could see outside and watch the Earth from above, but there was no observational window in the shuttle. I would have to wait until we were processed on the ship and settled in first.
Several hours passed and the airlocks hissed with the change in pressure from someone finally coming to escort us aboard. The shuttle filled with murmurs of everyone's relief that we'd be starting our journey soon, an electric excitement could be felt down my arms. This was the unknown, and I had no idea what to expect. I had no expectations, really. This wasn't about being attracted to aliens for me. This was space, and time to think about things.
We filed out, large necia warriors flanked and guided us through the ship while a trill explained next steps of leading those who wanted to see the observation deck in groups scheduled throughout the rotation. They wanted us to be aware that time as we knew it on Earth would be in terms of rotations sincehours and minutes were subjective constructs based on Earth references.
Once everyone had a chance to view space then groups would be selected for who would go to stasis first and who would like to have the first phase of staying awake, if at all. Conserving resources was a balancing act, and they planned how many humans were accepted into this transport based on a certain amount being in stasis the whole time, while some rotated out with each other, sharing the same pod throughout the trip.
"Which one of you is the hooman Becky Grady?" a gruff deep voice asked, stopping us both in our tracks. I looked up to find a large necia warrior scanning the group of us, and I couldn't take my eyes off him. We had broken off into smaller groups for our tour of the ship, and he was an intimidating presence when compared to the trill escort. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and all of his muscles were on display as well as his spikes protruding from his skin that made him a literal walking weapon.
I hadn't even processed that he had been asking for my daughter as I stared at his muscles, and his white hair tied behind him, a few strands wisped across his face and I found myself captured by his amber colored eyes, like two suns making my skin burn.
Becky squeaked, "Me." And I held her hand reassuringly. The warrior watched the movement and flared his nostrils at us, making my smile faulter. I'd been staring at him like he was dessert, and Ihad an unquenchable sweet tooth, but by his demeanor, the feeling wasn't mutual.
"Did you bring your mate with you to keep your health optimal for your travels?" he asked my daughter, not sparing me another glance, but she snatched her hand from mine quickly, his eyes following the moment keenly.
"No," she snapped. "I'm happily unmated," she corrected him, but his gaze still flitted from each of our hands with curiosity at why we had been holding on to each other.
I debated if I should tell him I'm her mother, because I didn't know if she'd want people to know that we were related or not, so I remained quiet. Not to mention a small part of me didn't want him to know that I was old enough to have made a fully-grown human. There was a tempting voice in my mind that liked that he had thought I was young enough to be her mate, though directly after thinking those words I cringed, my nose wrinkling at the thought.
The necia warrior turned to me and stared as if I should be saying something, and my daughter elbowed me like he had asked a question. I grunted and just repeated what she said, "I'm unmated."
Becky's shoulders relaxed and I figured that meant I had replied correctly, and she didn't want people to know I was her mother. But it felt odd to say the words, unmated. Almost like a lie. I knew my marriage was over the moment I stepped on the shuttle instead of rushing back home to Tyler for forgiveness, but unmated…It'd been so long since labels mattered in that way. This was a research trial about attraction, so I guessed, for this trip, I was unmated.
He said nothing to me and eyed my daughter again to say, "Should you need anything for your human wellbeing, you may seek out the medbay where our medics have agreed to assist in whatever your needs are."
Becky cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. "That won't be necessary," she mumbled, and I felt my cheeks flush with irritation that I had no idea how to protect her but to cut into the conversation.
"She's an intern, and nineteen years old," I proclaimed incredulous at him potentially hitting on my daughter.
"It's okay," Becky squeaked, taking a step back from the large warrior, and instinctively she hid behind me.
I stepped forward to put myself between them and glared at the brutish warrior.
"Neither of those facts are relevant," he replied calmly. "There is no reason to defend her honor, as the medbay is available for every species on this ship. I am already aware of her human cycles and position on this ship, as I am her direct supervisor in charge of training her before we arrive on Trillume."
Becky lifts a brow in confusion and stated, "I thought my trainer was unGor?"
"On planet, you will be assigned to Pryxus of AsunGor. He rarely leaves the research facilities. Many have refused to trainyou due to the newest reports about humans circulating the base."
"Oh." Becs bowed her head, averting her eyes. Clearly, she knew what he was talking about.
"What reports?" I asked, and Becky puffed out her cheeks like she normally did when she didn't want to get her sister in trouble. I repeated it again but to the necia warrior, knowing Becky was not willing to say anything. His white hair was pulled back and I stared up at his deep amber eyes. Why was I thinking about how handsome his chiseled jaw was? "What reports?" I repeated.
He lifted a brow, a very human thing to do, before he decided it didn't matter if he told me or not. "Human pheromones have been shown to have a higher reaction in many species, triggering their barbaric ancestry, and none of the staff wants to risk interrupting their research because of a human. This, of course, is a precaution on their parts, as any researcher would know none of those claims have been verified, or even tested without bias."
"What about another human?" I asked, thinking perhaps Becky could train under someone else that was a bit less intimidating.
"None of the humans signed up to study with their own kind. If you'll follow me to your quarters," he said turning his back on us. I supposed that was the end of that conversation, I thought as my eyes trailed down his backside.
