Page 4 of Her Alien Delegate
I stared at the ornaments in front of me, yet there was a weight to my head that was more than the cut across my forehead and down my brow ridge.
"This has never been done before," I regarded in wonder, but still in disbelief. My ormete were still wrapped, being held up with bandages, leaving me to imagine that they weren't sheared short because of my own actions. I thought I would have to wait many cycles to not appear like a youth with short ormete strands. "How?" Ormete strands were so fine until they were braided together, that repairing them had never been attempted.
"It's just lucky that you didn't cut too close to the scalp. The ormete absorb together, fusing—and the lower on the braid the more likely it is to be repaired as the ormete are larger and the blood vessels have become one where they've attached."
"One inch shorter and you would have had to live with that decision for many cycles," Pheyal added.
"He still may," Vaquel corrected.
There was still much healing to do before there was any certainty about my ormete's future.
"Trema is waiting to give you the first mark of suns, then you will visit every leader for their formal blessing."
Reaching for my robes, I stopped to touch the bandages on my head. It wasn't how I imagined my future to be, being responsible for the planet and its diplomacy across the galaxy.
When I entered the tent of my mother, Trema of AsunGor, she had quickly waved her hand to clear an image projected onto the pulled Isot skin. Though we had technology, including implants, we stayed close to our roots and used it sparingly for off-world negotiations, trade, and communication between the clan estates.
"I was under the impression that you were marking me today, and secrets of estate would be revealed," I said nonchalantly as I sat on the cushioned pillow on the ground of layered carpets.
"You are right," she said with a laugh. "Old habits are hard to change. I never wanted to worry you or your brothers, but we never were blessed with a sister. None of the clans wished to partwith their own female leadership, and after your stunt in dueling your brother... you've created a story they are proud to share, but it comes with a price."
I waited for her to discuss the price my display cost the planet.
"No delegates are interested in mating with you. You will be nothing more than a figurehead that protects our planet in name alone. Your brother has been offered to join the delegation of the Faust clan, and should he father a female, she will succeed you upon her first coming-of-age ceremony."
I nodded my understanding. This wasn't something I was against, and I prayed my brother would have many blessings in his new delegation.
"You have caught the attentions of Pheyal, and he wishes to grant you a delegation within his clan, but that isn't possible without a mate of your own. I've arranged for you to seek delegation through a human contract that you will pick up from Trillume personally."
"So soon?" I sat up straighter, confused about how quickly she was able to secure a mating contract when I had only just dueled.
"It was planned for whoever lost the duel long before you fought, but negotiations for a contract with no end date took time to secure. I hadn't thought it would be needed for my son that gained the support of the clans and that the one not leading would secure a mate first." She sighed with exhaustion.
My head bowed with what I knew was disappointment. I had dishonored her by trying to forfeit the duel, and winning the commission through notoriety was not what she had wanted for me.
"No human has accepted the mating contract yet," she clarified, "but Trillume has guaranteed me that the humans have accepted the terms and are simply seeking a match. Head to Trillume to be ready to retrieve her when she arrives. There have been too many mishaps with losing humans who are notescorted properly, and our clan estates are dwindling without an influx of delegates. You will lead the way for more of our warriors to apply for a commission of estate and be chosen by a delegate."
"It is unusual to have a delegate agree to mate without having met them," I said with disbelief.
I never had any choice of being a commissioner. If I had, then I would not have been here feeling the throb of my ormete healing. Being within my mother's clan meant that I was always around when she dealt with territory issues or disputes. While she was more secretive about diplomacy among the stars, she taught many lessons on getting to know our trade partners and knowing customs outside of our own.
My mother's robes brushed across the ground as she approached with a bottle of her blood mixed with crushed Grotbug to turn it black. She kneeled down beside me and patted above my chest.
"Of my heart, I give you blood of your ancestors that may guide you in leading AsunGor into new prosperity. Not only in wealth, but in health as we grow." She dipped a nail into the black ink and proceeded to mark me with AsunGor's great star cluster that holds us within its many suns each clan is named for. Only through the domes could any of us see the suns above our planet. The winds were too great to see them clearly on the surface.
"Dig deep and where we once were is greater still than the stars," I prayed as I placed my fist to her heart as I was unable to offer her my ormete.
Her claws dug into my skin, the ink burning its mark on me. The ground up shell of the hugput bug reacted to our blood, causing a hardened decay where my mother's claw carved the stars in my skin. My mark would be stronger, but it would never heal. No medpack or technology could undo it without first removing the damage.
It was a common ingredient to use if we wished to keep our scars or to stop bleeding immediately.
"You must quickly bond with a delegate before your brother succeeds with the Yukatra tribe. He was accepted by Commissioner Akili, but bonding takes time, especially since he is not officially delegated to her, and she has others that must also accept him."
"I don't understand."
What was she trying to tell me?
She stopped marking my chest to brush aside my bandage from my forehead. Clucking her tongue she then closed her eyes as if the look of what she saw under the wrapping hurt to see. "Your position as Commissioner of AsunGor is not without its dangers, and being unbonded makes those dangers greater. You're lucky that the hugput paste was already rubbed off before you cut your own ormete. Your brother's ormete could not be recovered. His blood burned up the hugput before you cut your own."
