CHAPTER THREE

 

 

- Bren

“How long do we have?” I know that Selas is right behind me as I exit the floating craft and board our much larger vessel. The human’s vessel activated a detonator. Obviously, they didn’t realize we’d immediately smell and sense it. But why? Why would they do that?

“We won’t know until the sync between systems completes.” Selas sounds as frustrated as I feel.

When we saw the Earth-based craft orbiting Mars, everyone assumed it was another unmanned vessel. I didn’t correct them even though I could sense her. Selas and I have both been in and out of a few of their primitively constructed crafts. We can easily manipulate their computer systems.

“I need their language upload immediately. You get it too.” Gravity reactivates and the soft bundle in my arms gasps. I don’t let her go, even as her weight increases. She still feels like nothing in my arms. Like a child.

As the decontamination mist starts, she grabs my shoulders and buries her face in my suit. Selas laughs as she wraps her legs around me, trying to disappear. My cock is twitching with an almost uncomfortable tingling at the base. This has me worried. She shouldn’t affect me this way. Nothing ever has. Not to mention military uniforms aren’t made to hide an erection.

I give him an evil look over her head, but he just laughs harder. Ignoring him, I concentrate on cradling her gently. I’ve never held anyone like this before and a strange possessive feeling tightens the muscles in my arms. It feels right.

She starts coughing, shaking in my arms as she frantically covers her face. I’m beginning to worry that her fragile system can’t handle decontamination. I consider stopping it early but it’s almost over. As it dies down, I quickly exit. I hear the three other team members enter from behind me after disengaging from the human craft.

Not looking back, I head straight for the view room. Her coughing tapers off and she resumes watching where we are going. I like that she doesn’t drop her grip from my waist and shoulders as she curiously looks around. This is good. She’s intelligent. She will need to be to survive in our world.

I’ve known this day would come for almost a year but there is still so much I don’t understand or know. My daily reflections have shown her to me over and over. Much to my chagrin, these interactions have often been sexual and arousing.

Don’t get me wrong, I like it. I just don’t understand why my subconscious is taking it there. I’m not surprised to find the viewing room full of crew members. Anyone who is on duty will be watching this.

Sitting down, I settle her on my lap. I’m relieved to note that the language upload is already at seventy-five percent. That is going much quicker than the data sync with their unknown craft.

“What is that?” A junior support technician finally airs the question everyone in the room wants to know. Everyone takes his words as an invitation to stare. “Is that a human?”

“So small…”

“Female? But the size…”

I don’t like the way they are looking at her. More than one is sniffing loudly as they all start commenting out loud. Not that I can blame them. She’s so different looking. Small, tiny, and helpless. She triggers our protective instincts into overdrive. And she smells heavenly. It’s hard to describe but I can’t imagine putting her down.

“Mine.” Every eye turns away at once at my statement. They wouldn’t dare challenge me for her. As primary captain, I get first right of refusal on anything we come across. It’s a lot of responsibility. Of course, I’m duty bound to the council, but their interest is narrowly in line to our prime directive to seek out potentially habitable planets. And the human’s planet “Earth” isn’t in our allowable air space.

We’ve known it was there with an emerging species, but it only borders our zone and is protected by the Ashen. But as I inhale again, a world of possibilities is blooming in my mind. I’ve never questioned my daily reflections before. I learned that questioning was a childish endeavor. Why question what is? Why wonder why what is to be, will be?

Instructor One would have said that questioning is counter productive to the entire process. Instead of calming our thoughts and bodies, questioning the visions will only bring stress to your system. Accept and adapt to what you see. Feel, relax, and accept.

Taking deep breaths of her intoxicating essence, I try to relax. But what I feel is the tingling in my cock heighten and spread as I relax and accept that she is here with me. Safe.

Mine.

Fuck! I don’t believe that I am supposed to keep her like a pet. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy that. Having her would make me needed beyond the obvious profession of primary captain. It would be intoxicating to be the most important person in someone’s world. Could that really happen?

She’s a sentient being that shortly I’ll be able to communicate with. She is in my path for a logical reason. Until then, she’s mine to protect. I’ll help her. I’ll fulfill this duty that has entered my life.

There is too much in my world that I have no control over already. I don’t want another aspect of it taken over by duty or fate.

Ignoring the stares that I know continue on every side, I reach up to run her hair between my fingers.

It’s so fine and thin. More a filament than fiber. Each strand looks like a ray of light beaming down from a sun. It’s been too long since I’ve seen one.

She mimics my movement by lightly stroking my head over my ear. To my surprise, hundreds of fibers detach and wrap around her hand, startling her as she jumps. They tug on her fingers they’re woven around as I try to pull them back into alignment with my mind.

I’m surprised. I haven’t lost this much control over my hair since childhood. As she withdraws her hand slowly, they stroke her face timidly before sweeping obediently back into place.

Neither one of us speaks as we stare at each other. This exotic, female human is inspiring some strange reactions in my body. Mentally, I can’t help being extremely wary. I wouldn’t be captain of this ship if I didn’t have excellent control and the drive to maintain and keep order in every aspect of my life and career. This slip of a female is already testing every boundary I’ve created. The quicker she is in and out of here, the better.

Pulling my gaze from her smoky, blue eyes, I lock my attention onto her ship centered in the viewing screen. Tightening my grip on her in anticipation, I wait for it to explode.