Page 71 of Whoops-A-Mate From Outer Space
“As long as this is what’s expected, then I’ll stop worrying.”
He stepped back to look at me. “Gene, why does it worry you?”
I reached up and slid my hand to rest on the back of his neck. “I’ve never been the touching type before. I like it, I really do, it’s just a change that I hadn’t expected.”
Then, before he could ask or say anything, I brought him in for a kiss.
“I love you, E. I like touching you, and you touching me. It was just a change I wasn’t expecting. Ok?”
He nodded. “Ok.”
I kissed him again, gently, trying to make the words I didn’t know how to say clear through action.
We stayed that way for a moment, just existing near each other. I was about to start walking toward the mess hall again when a voice boomed through the hall.
“Gene, Eashai,” the general called. “I need to see the two of you in my office.”
We turned, and I swallowed. “Y-yes, general.”
He blinked. “Actually… I expected to find you in the lab. Were the two of you headed somewhere?”
“We were on our way to eat.”
“Oh,” he replied. “Go eat first. Then come to my office. I’m not going to keep a pregnant person from food.”
“Ok.”
He gave us a nod, turned, and strode back the way he’d come.
“Are… are we in trouble?” I asked.
Eashai chuckled. “I do not know, but I will not concern myself with it until we have eaten.”
I nodded. “Ok.”
Only a few stragglers were eating when we entered the mess. We got food and resumed playing footsie while we ate.
Then it was time to see the general. We were ushered into his office as soon as we arrived, and saw him focused on his computer.
“Ah, gentlemen,” he said, standing and motioning to some chairs. “Have a seat.”
My stomach attempted to twist itself into knots as we sat. Eashai and I had tried to be more discreet, but I wondered if somebody had complained about public displays of affection.
He sat again and looked at each of us. “Gentlemen, I have a special request for you.”
I swallowed. “Wh-what is it?”
He stood again, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced his side of the desk.
“We are almost ready to recruit volunteers to mate with Lalyllte men. However, during discussions to finalize the process, several people expressed concerns that we wouldn’t be properly preparing our men on what to expect.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
He turned and looked at each of us. “This is our dilemma. We would prefer men who have already mated to be the ones to provide the information. But the others are enlisted men who might not be comfortable presenting such information to officers. In addition, we would need people to cover things such as anatomical differences. Lastly, toward the end of their testing phase, we wanted to bring in one of the Lalyllte so they could ask questions directly, but an unmated man could result in an unintended mating.”
Eashai and I shared a glance as it became clear what the general was asking.
He set his palms on the desk and leaned in. “All that said, the two of you meet all the criteria we’re looking for. Doctor Wallace, as a man from outside the military, you are free to speak to bothenlisted men and commissioned officers in the manner required. Eashai, since you have mated with Doctor Wallace, we would not need to be concerned about an accidental mating while delivering presentations. Finally, both of you are accomplished scientists with more than enough medical knowledge for the level of information you’d be conveying.”
