Nash: Trekkers (A SciFi Alien Human Military Romance) (4 page)

“
Y
ou brought
a female back to the ship?” The commander was towering over Nash, his black gloved hands resting on his hips. Nash knew he was pissed, but there was nothing he could do about it. The mission was to get the microchip, the girl just happened to be part of the prize.

“What would you have had me do Sir? Leave her there?”

He turned around crossing his arms, Nash hated when he put his back towards him. It also meant he was in some serious trouble.

“Follow me into my office.”

Nash took a deep breath and tried to avoid the eyes of every member on the bridge. Raelor was the only one who didn’t look up from his station. He knew what danger that girl had been in, he knew that they couldn’t leave her there. He was only completing the mission. The fact that she made him want to take her back to his quarters and get into her pants hardly played into his decision-making. He had never turned on a mission before, why would he do that now?

The metal door in front of them slid open after the commander punched in his code. Nash stepped in right behind him and watched the commander walk around his desk. He didn’t even hear the door shut.

The commander’s office was a mix of old and new. He had a wooden desk that had been made by humans nearly a century ago, but his was the only office that had a three hundred sixty degree view of space. Nash watched the stars as they streamed by, they looked like twinkling light fixtures in a dark room. There were no other ships out this far, the Titan was one of the few that could handle the pressure of space. When they were so far away from the planets, there was nowhere to dock for fuel. The Titan had fuel reserves that could last nearly a light-year. Nash loved this ship. And he admired the commander’s office.

“You know it’s only the second time I’ve ever been in here. The first was when you assigned me to this ship.”

The commander sat down on the squeaky wooden chair and pulled up to his desk. “I don’t like bringing you in here.”

Nash turned to face him. “Why not Sir?”

“Because this is where I bring people before I get rid of them. You know that I care for you. I’ve taught you everything I know lieutenant. Eventually I want you to take over my post, for this all to be yours.” He raised his hands as if displaying his office and the space behind him. “When you defy one of our most basic rules…”

“I wasn’t trying to!” Nash said exasperated. “My job was to get to the microchip, it’s in her body. Once we get out what we do with the girl is up to you. I completed my mission.”

He pulled off of his black gloves and pinched the bridge of his nose heaving a sigh out of his great barreling chest. “Yes you did complete the mission lieutenant.”

“I thought on the Titan we didn’t hurt civilians. I couldn’t just kill her and cut it out of her. Besides I have no idea what it’s like near a human heart. Not like Lazio gave me that information. He wasn’t so willing to give anything up as his men were shooting at us when we escaped on a pod. You already know that.”

“Do you know why we don’t allow females on the ship?”

The truth was, Nash didn’t. It wasn’t that there weren’t women in the galactic forces. There were many female military operatives that were just as high up as he was. But the Titan had always been strictly no female zone. “No Sir.”

He extended his hand to the seat across from his desk. “Sit. I’ll tell you.”

Nash nodded and did as he was told.

“The ship was built nearly a hundred human years ago. But it has always been run by men of all the alien races. The Trekkers only took it over about ten human years ago. Before you joined us. But the only way to keep all the species happy was to take out the element of lust. Many of the men on the ship will exhibit behaviors once a woman is around, it’s their species way of natural breeding. Some people call them mates.”

Nash raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. “Mates? That’s the old order. No one actually does that anymore.” Mostly species kept to their own breeds, and they married for convenience. Sometimes for power or money, but no one actually felt an innate pull to anyone anymore. At least never that Nash had heard of. Sure his parents had supposedly been in love, but since his father passed away his mother considered breeding with other aliens like herself. It was just the way her body was programmed. When she decided not to Nash had always assumed that it was because she felt she was too old. Or perhaps her work was too important. He never considered that it was because she really had loved his father.

“It’s true. All of what the old order tells us, it’s all true. If you meet your mate and don’t consummate your relationship within one week, one of you will die. It’s the galaxies way of natural selection. How the stars push us together.”

“You can’t be serious!” Nash couldn’t believe that the commander saying any of this. It didn’t make sense! It was just old stories, so why did someone of such great power and intellect believe such utter madness?

“It is son. And if that woman’s mate is on this ship, it won’t take long for us to have the body that we were looking for.”

“So you’re just going to let her die so you can cut into her?”

The commander leaned forward on the desk. “That’s not what I want.”

“And what is that, Sir?”

“I want that microchip. If she finds her mate before the seven human days are up and makes it official in front of the stars, then she will live. I will figure out another way to get it.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll have the chip. But she will still awaken feelings in many of the species on the ship. Whether they’re her mate or not, there’s a reason that we don’t let you spend a lot of time with females. You have to keep their interaction limited. You are now her personal bodyguard. If someone seems more than interested, allow them to visit with her. Otherwise… You are the only one to have contact with her.”

“You’re going make me babysit her. Unbelievable!”

“Remember your place lieutenant. This is a direct order. Go feed the female. I don’t want to hear anymore about this until the end of the human’s week.”

Nash stood from his spot and saluted the commander. “Yes Sir.”

He walked out of the office, the metal door sliding to allow him to exit. Once it shut behind him he breathed a sigh of relief. He was annoyed he had to watch her, but he also felt drawn to her, so maybe his body guard duties would be a good excuse to get close. His head was swimming with questions, but he had a week to spend with the girl. Maybe a week to figure out if he was her mate.

E
llora sat
with her knees up underneath her chin on the cold plastic cot. The walls were all white, and they shimmered every so often. She was in a prison chamber of some sort. At least it wasn’t as dark and dingy as Lazio’s place had been. But she shouldn’t have been a prisoner either. She’d shot one of the guards. And helped these militant officers escape his place. It wasn’t like she was completely helpless, not that they treated any differently. There was a glass wall in front of her and she could see the metal door opening and closing on the other side, but no one came in. She decided to stretch out on the cot and get some rest. She didn’t know when someone would come and see her again. Especially since all these guys seemed to want was the chip that was located somewhere within her body. A red light next to the door turned on and the door stayed closed for a few minutes. She wondered more about the chip. She began to search arms and her legs looking for an entry point. Each finger and each toe, but she found nothing. She searched the corners of the room looking for a camera, could she get undressed in this place? Or would someone be watching her?

She couldn’t find any mechanics in the room and decided to chance it. The door hadn’t opened once since the red light had turned on and that seemed like forever ago. She ripped off her top and started to touch and probe every piece of flesh that she could get her hands on. Was that a new scar? No. She remembered getting burned years ago. What about the mark above her hip? Even though she couldn’t recall that, she didn’t think it was the entry point for the microchip. She was just about to remove her pants when the light turned green and Nash strode in. He was wearing a different uniform now. Light blue pants and no shirt. Swuya he was gorgeous. She immediately used her hands to cover her breasts. “Can’t a girl get some privacy?”

Nash cocked his head on the other side of the glass. “What is privacy?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You honestly don’t know what the word privacy means? I thought you spoke in tongues. Besides your English seemed pretty good back at Lazio’s.”

He pushed a button on the glass wall and the door swung open. He moved briskly so that he was mere inches from her exposed skin. “I do. But it doesn’t mean I understand all of it. So tell me, what does privacy mean?”

“It means that I’m half naked and you’re standing way too close.” Her skin was on fire. For some reason she wanted him to reach out and touch her, to brush the hair out of her face, to push her against the wall and rip the rest of her clothes off. Why did she feel this way? Had she been so starved for attention in Lazio’s prison that she needed this alien to touch her?

“Oh. Would you like to put your clothes back on then?” He said as he took a step back.

“Yes. And I’d really appreciate it if you would turn around.”

“I don’t think I can do that. Not unless I go to the other side of the glass. I can’t be sure what you’ll do to me.”

“Do to you? And what would I want to do to you?”

“Well you seem pretty determined to escape Lazio’s. I assume that you’re just as determined to escape the Titan, but you have nowhere to go. You will be here for at least a week. We have to see if your mate is on the ship first.”

Ellora tilted her head, “My mate? Are you talking about that’s those old stories that the elders used to tell us? Nobody believes that stuff anymore!”

“Apparently some species aboard the vessel do. So in order to respect them, you will be eating in the dining hall with about eighty percent of the ship’s crew this evening. If you feel an instinctual pull towards anyone, you’re to alert me. Does that make sense to you?”

“Food? Food makes sense to me.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

She covered both of her breasts with one arm and pointed with her available hand. “Boobs. I’m still naked. I need to put clothes on. You wouldn’t happen have anything clean would you?”

Nash nodded. “That could be arranged.”

Just as quickly as he entered, he exited. But this time he left the glass door open. The light turned red for a moment and then green again. He came in a holding a plain sand colored dress. “We have some trade parcels on the ship. I had them bring this up for you when you were first brought on board.”

He did care a little bit. But he was so much more formal here on the ship. Back in Lazio’s he had been lax and a little bit wild. Just the way that she liked him.

“Thanks,” she said as she took the dress from him. He stayed facing her so she decided instead of starting an argument again she would turn around. She faced the back wall and slipped the dress over her arms and down over her body. She looked over her shoulder at one point and noticed that he had put his hands over one another just below his pelvis. He seemed to be genuinely interested in her body, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She reached up under the dress and pulled off her pants. It felt good to finally be free again. She’d much rather be in a dress than pants any day. She turned around and noticed how soft the fabric was against her skin. She hadn’t worn anything this lovely in years. It wasn’t that it was an expensive dress, but it was fresh and clean and new. Slaves didn’t get luxuries like new clothes.

“How do I look?”

“Very… good. There’s a button at the bottom of your neck, I could close it for you?”

Still formal, but softening up. “Yes, please.”

Ellora turned around and Nash’s hands fumbled the button. She liked feeling the roughness of his skin against her neck.

“Have you ever done that before?”

He stepped back. “Done what?”

“Buttoned a woman’s dress?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, “I guess a few. But not for someone quite so beautiful as you.”

He nodded to her and exited through the glass doors. He left the metal door open behind him and she quickly followed. If nothing else she had to figure out where this was going. She hoped somewhere. And somewhere with food was even better.

T
he mess hall
was bustling by the time that Nash and Ellora arrived. “We have food from all twelve galaxies, our chef is the best in the fleet. Anything you want is at your disposal.” He didn’t know why he was showing off, making the Titan sound like it was some incredible ship. It was, and the food was the best in the fleet, he tasted some of the other chefs’ foods. Most of them should be floated. Some of it was hardly edible. But for some reason he wasn’t telling her about the food to make the Titan sound good, he realized he was trying to impress her himself. Why was he doing that?

Nash had spent time with other women. Slept with a variety of species, but none of them ever stuck around. And he never wanted to chase them like he did with Ellora. He was seeking her approval, and he didn’t even understand why.

“Do you have human food? I could really go for pizza right now. Do you know what that is?”

Nash laughed out loud. “I’m half human, of course I know what pizza is.”

Her blue eyes looked back at him. “You’re half human? You’re so… Big.”

Nash cocked his head at her. “I don’t think anyone has ever described me that way before. I assume you mean that I’m taller than you. Most of us are taller than you small humans. But that doesn’t make us big.”

She grabbed a plate. “It doesn’t make us small either. I guess we’re just different.”

As they moved down the line to where the pizza was, they both reached for the same type of slice. “Guess we’re not that different after all,” Nash said as he pulled back his hand allowing her to take the piece.

“Maybe we’re not,” she said as she tipped her head to him. They both grabbed some avocado juice, it had a water base which was something special about the Titan. They traveled to some of the wettest planets in order to store water on their ship, many other ships didn’t have any access to water anymore. Humans had wasted away the resource centuries before.

“This is actually pretty good,” Ellora said smiling at him as she took another bite.

When she set the pizza down, however, she looked around her and realized that nearly everyone was talking and hushed whispers pointing at them.

“Let me guess, you’re not the only one who doesn’t see a lot of women on the ship. Has there ever been a girl on board?”

Nash shook his head. “Apparently not. We have very strict rules about females.”

“That’s not because of the mating thing is, it? I mean do you really believe in that stuff?”

Before he walked into his commander’s office only two hours before he would’ve said no. But the longer he spent with Ellora, the more he could feel his heart changing. Pulling towards her. “I’m not sure anymore,” he admitted honestly.

“My mom used to tell me stories about how my father was her mate. A lot of the humans to believe in that. Did your parents?”

Nash shook his head again this time with fervor. “Not that I was aware of. My father died a long time ago, so maybe I just don’t remember properly.”

He drank out of his cup as one of the engineers approached them. Stadar. He was a nice guy, kind of strange looking, considering he was from one of the wettest planets and galaxies. His skin occasionally became wet on it’s own and he had gills on the side of his neck. His hands and feet were webbed, which meant he wore a different uniform so that in case he should ever need to swim he would be able to. It was their greatest asset.

“Nash,” he said nodding.

“Stadar, this is Ellora.”

Stadar bent down all the way at his waist bowing before her. Nash knew that that was a common gesture among his people. But it flustered Ellora. He watched as the red crept up into her cheeks. Why did she look like that when he talked to her? What was so great about Stadar anyway?

“It’s my pleasure to meet you. Glad to have you on board. I’m one of the main engineers on the ship, I hope that I can provide you with a smooth ride during your stay.”

Ellora giggled and covered her mouth. “A smooth ride? I hope you can too. Why don’t you join us?”

Nash stood from his spot without even realizing what he was doing. “That won’t be necessary. We’re just finishing here; I have to take you to the medical bay next. Figure out what’s going on with that microchip.”

Stadar looked annoyed but nodded his head to both of them before walking away.

“A mission’s a mission. I always finish mine,” Nash said as he sat back down and clutched his cup of juice.

“Is that all I am? Just a mission? Because I could’ve sworn what I just saw now was jealousy. You know what that word means or do I need to explain that to you as well?”

Nash knew what it meant. Even if he’d never heard it before he suddenly knew what jealousy felt like. Blood rushing through his veins so fast and hard that it drummed within his ears. His heart beating so fast he thought he would jump across the table and strangle Stadar just for talking to Ellora. He didn’t understand his feelings but he knew that they were valid. And he knew deep down that his commander was right.

Mates still did exist, and Ellora was his.