I tried to catch my breath, but I couldn’t seem to slow my heart rate down. What if it was too late? What if we had come all this way, and the fleets still destroyed Earth in the final seconds? What if everyone we had met on our home planet was now gone?
It was impossible to tell how the conversation was going, and Adhara suddenly raced over to me and grabbed the hem of my shirt.
I didn’t fight her in the slightest.
I let the beautiful alien wrench my shirt up and expose my abs and chest to the whole bridge, and every alien’s eyes went as wide as saucers.
Chapter 15
Adhara’s mother and father stepped closer to me, and they were silent as they crouched down and examined my torso. They clearly had no issues with boundaries, and both of them pulled and prodded at my abs like they might find gills hidden in the divots between my muscles.
I glanced at each of the girls a little awkwardly, and they stared back at me with worried looks.
They were all still holding hands, and Hae-won bit down hard on her lip as she watched. Becka’s big brown eyes were bulging in anticipation, and Kat’s face was paler than usual while she waited to hear the fate of the planet.
It felt like it took a lifetime for the older aliens to stop their examination, but finally, they straightened up and shouted something to the younger aliens on the bridge.
Adhara gasped and flung her arms around her mother.
I felt like my legs had turned to jelly, but I needed confirmation before I let myself breathe.
“Adhara?” I asked, and my voice cracked as I spoke.
“They believe me,” the gorgeous alien whispered as she pulled away from her mom. “We did it, Jason. They called off the fleets.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The bridge was silent as a thousand emotions and thoughts raced through my head. I felt light-headed, nauseous, and delirious all at the same time.
But we’d done it.
We’d saved Earth. We’d fucking done it.
“Really?” I managed to croak. “The war is over?”
“It is.” Adhara nodded, and tears streamed down her pretty face.
Becka suddenly erupted into a screaming, jumping, bundle of excitement. She grabbed Hae-won and Kat into a hug, and the girls bounced up and down in a circle.
I wanted to join in, but I felt like I couldn’t move from shock.
“Jason!” Kat screamed as she turned and leapt onto me. “We did it. You fucking did it!”
As the soldier wrapped her arms around me, the sensation came back into my fingertips, and I grabbed onto Kat with all my strength. I buried my face in her curly hair and let out a laugh that I hadn’t even heard in months, and Kat giggled like a maniac as she shimmied in my hold.
Then Becka, Hae-won, and Adhara launched themselves at me, and I nearly collapsed while I held onto my girls as we laughed and screamed.
Even Leo was grinning, and he stood with his hands on his hips as he watched us.
There was no way to begin to describe how happy I was at that moment, but I felt higher than I’d ever been in my life. Weeks’ worth of stress, worry, and near-death experiences suddenly vanished.
There was no more ticking clock. No more countdown.
No more fighting for our lives.
“I can’t believe this is real,” Hae-won sniffed as she looked up at me. “I knew it was a good idea to team up with you back at the library.”
“I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.” Becka nodded and kissed me on the cheek. “I love all of you so much.”
“I’m so happy I came to find you guys.” Kat grinned through tears. “It was worth every second of that terrifying drive to get to you.”
“And I am happy to be in family,” Adhara said. “I have never known being loved like this.”
Adhara’s mother suddenly cleared her throat in a strange, humming way, and I looked over to see her staring with a raised eyebrow.
“Ah,” I said and slowly loosened my hold on her daughter. “Sorry, I, uh… I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself during all the chaos. I’m Jason, and I guess I need to thank you for saving our lives.”
“This is my mother,” Adhara said with a smile. “And this is my father, they are the high council members in charge of this ship.”
“It’s an awesome spaceship,” Becka tossed out. “I like the floating sofas.”
The older woman blinked at Becka, and then looked back at me.
“I do not want thanks,” she said. “You are not those we are at war with. So we will not send fleets.”
“We will not send more fleets,” Adhara’s father added.
“Wait, what?” I asked. “You already sent some?”
“Only a little,” the older man replied, and his lilac face was completely unreadable. “To the place you call Berlin, but barely any damage was done. We called off attack before true violence broke.”
“Oh.” I stared in surprise, and Becka let out a snort. “Well, I guess we still saved most of the planet.”
One of the younger aliens at the front of the bridge grabbed something that looked like a radio receiver, and he began to make an announcement that rang out through the ship. The moment he began to talk, I could hear the outcry from the other crew members below.
“I assume he’s spreading the word?” I asked, and Adhara nodded.
“I will speak amongst the crew,” Leo said. “They will have many questions.”
The tall alien strode out of the bridge, and I could hear the yells from the crew as the door opened and closed.
“There will be confusion,” Adhara’s mother said. “We put much planning into this.”
“We noticed,” Becka snorted. “We’ve been fighting through your planning for a few weeks.”
“Now.” Adhara’s father straightened his already stiff posture. “We must speak with the leader alone.”
“Like… the prime minister?” Kat asked. “I don’t even know if he made it, to be honest.”
“Yeah, the leader of which country?” Hae-won furrowed her brow.
The two older aliens looked down at the Korean with stern frowns, and they shook their heads as if it was a stupid question.
“Leader of Earth,” Adhara’s father said. “Jason, please follow us.”
I blinked as the older aliens turned and strode toward the back of the bridge. Then Adhara’s mother waved a hand ahead of herself, and a hidden door materialized on the blank black wall and slid open. The pair of stern-faced aliens disappeared into the next room, and I finally looked at Adhara.
“What did he just say?” I asked.
My mind was still buzzing, and I definitely hadn’t properly taken in the interaction that just happened.
“They think you are the leader of Earth,” the pretty alien whispered and nudged me forward. “You are the one who came here and stopped the war, it makes sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I snorted. “You and I both know I am not the leader of the world. I’m just… Jason. I’ll tell them--”
“Hold on, why not you?” Kat asked as she folded her arms. “Think about it. There is no president or prime minister up on this ship right now. You’re the one who got here. You’re the one who saved the planet with those fantastic abs.”
“We don’t even know who’s left on Earth,” Hae-won pointed out. “Perhaps all the world leaders are dead.”
“There is no chance the queen made it,” Becka muttered under her breath.
“Jason, you saved the planet,” Kat said as she looked me straight in the eye. “That puts you in a pretty good position to do what’s right.”
“I… guess?” I said hesitantly.
I furrowed my brow at the idea, but my women made a lot of good points. There wasn’t anybody else on the ship to shift the responsibility onto. The thought of making decisions that would impact the whole of humanity was daunting, but maybe I had a chance to do some real good after people had been through so much pain.
> Hell, I’d been doing everything I could lately to do just that. Help everyone get by.
“Go for it.” Hae-won grinned eagerly. “My husband, leader of Earth.”
“Not a bad title,” Becka chuckled. “I think you earned it. All that dino slaying? All those times you saved us, and came up with a plan? All the sex?”
“Yeah, he fucks like a global leader,” Kat deadpanned.
“This is true,” Adhara agreed with a curt nod.
“Sooo true,” Hae-won snickered.
“This is all some leader quality shit if I ever saw it,” Becka concluded.
My four women looked at me with the most smug expressions I’d ever seen on their faces, and then Adhara stepped forward with a little smile.
“Go,” the beautiful said and gently nudged me again. “They want to talk about what happens next. You are a good man for this.”
I glanced over at the open doorway and took a deep breath. Then I figured that after saving the world, nothing was too intimidating, and if I stopped a planet from being blown up, I could talk to a couple of high council aliens.
Even if they were the parents of the beautiful, lilac woman I’d been fucking lately.
“Alright,” I muttered. “I’ll do it.”
The girls cheered as I made my way out of the bridge, and I glanced back to see them blowing me kisses. Their happiness was worth every painful fucking second I had endured to get here, but something about the obvious pride they had in me at that moment brought a huge grin to my face.
I couldn’t stop smiling as I stepped through the doorway, and then I gasped at the view.
The room was small, and the walls were made up of glass, so the entire structure was one big window.
Adhara’s parents stood staring out into space, and I strode over to join them as I looked at the endless stars.
“Hi,” I said as they turned to face me. “I just wanted to thank you, for listening to Adhara and stopping the fleets.”
“Our daughter tells us this is her human name.” The beautiful older woman nodded. “She also tells me that you are mating partners.”
I felt my cheeks instantly flush, and I scratched the back of my neck as the aliens looked at me. I hadn’t expected our conversation to start with details of my sex life.
“Um… well,” I stammered. “I mean, I really care about her--”
“This is good to hear,” the father replied stoically. “We hope you breed with her. Make many strong offspring. Our kind… males make less sperm every generation. We can talk later of that. Now, we must talk about what will happen to Earth.”
The old alien made a gesture with his hands, and three chairs began to rise up from the floor like they did on Adhara’s ship. The seats were a black, velvet-like material, and they formed a semi-circle that faced out to the window.
“Oh.” I nodded blankly. “Yeah, okay. Let’s… switch topics.”
“Sit here,” Adhara’s mother said as she gestured to the middle chair, and I sat down onto the comfortable material.
I looked out at the vast expanse of space, and it felt like I was dreaming. The way we slowly drifted by stars, and the little clusters of rocks that flew past were beyond mesmerizing, and I wanted to just sit there for hours, with my girls around me.
“It’s so amazing out here,” I breathed. “I can’t believe I got to go into space in my lifetime.”
“Your kind do not do this?” Adhara’s mother narrowed her green eyes.
“Not like this,” I chuckled. “We have people who train for years to be able to go up into space, but there’s a lot of heavy-duty suits, oxygen tanks, all kinds of stuff involved.”
“This is overcomplicating things,” the woman informed me, and I grinned.
“We’re kind of… primitive compared to your kind,” I replied.
“Hmm.” Adhara’s father nodded. “Well, it is a good view. Enjoy it while you now make choices for the good of your people.”
“Yeah, that’s a lot of responsibility,” I sighed. “But I guess that’s my role now, so I’ll try my best.”
“We need resources,” the alien woman began. “Our home planet is dying. The ground and atmosphere are not producing what we need to survive. My mate already spoke of problem with our males make no sperm, that is part of problem, too.”
“Adhara mentioned that,” I said with a nod. “I’m sorry to hear about your struggles, that must be--”
“We want to share with the humans,” the man interrupted. “We wish to live on your planet and use your land.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes, we are here already,” Adhara’s father replied.
“True, but…” I trailed off as I considered the gravity of this statement. “You’re willing to coexist with us? You wouldn’t try to wipe us out or kill us for food?”
“No,” Adhara’s mother said flatly. “We have no reason to kill if you are willing to share. We want to share. Means our people continue.”
Her tone implied that they were very much willing to kill if the humans didn’t share, and after all we had seen, there was no doubt in my mind that she meant it.
“Okay, so… that’s a pretty big adjustment,” I said carefully. “But I guess maybe not much bigger than living with dinosaurs. Are they going to be taken care of? The ommati?”
“They will be.” The older man nodded. “We will destroy the advanced ones, but any who did not do the evolving will be fine.”
“I’m not sure that’s enough,” I admitted as I shifted in my seat. “See, even the ones that haven’t gone full-soldier are still dangerous. Humans can’t survive with dinosaurs walking around eating us and ruining our homes.”
“They will not do this,” Adhara’s mother assured me with a dismissive wave of her hand. “They will be as they are on our planet: docile and in background. They will not care for human eating.”
I nodded slowly, and I tried to wrap my head around the idea of dinosaurs just being like bears, or some other huge animal we had that wandered the planet. There were so many species on Earth with a general “don’t fuck with it” rule, so would it be so different if a few more species got added to that list?
Humans avoided crocodiles, tigers, boa constrictors… it almost seemed simple.
Avoid the dinosaurs. Don’t be an idiot.
“I guess we could work with that,” I said after a moment. “If you can promise that all the big, blood-thirsty ones would be gone.”
“It will be dealt with,” Adhara’s father said with a shrug. “Then we can focus on breeding.”
“Breeding?” I asked, and my jaw went slack for a moment while I tried to keep up with the conversation. “Uh… breeding what? Dinos? Or… are you saying you want to… mate humans and aliens?”
“Mating between our races. Was this not your plan also?” Adhara’s mother asked, and I felt my face get hot again.
“You mate with my daughter,” the older man reminded me. “It is working, yes? She make child with you seed?”
“Uhhh.” My voice went an octave higher than I intended, and I cleared my throat. “Yes. Yes, sir, I mean. We’re doing just fine, but I’m not sure if she’s pregnant.”
“If you have sperm, we can help with her breeding.” Adhara’s mother nodded.
“Uhhh… well, my other two lovers are pregnant already, and the third wishes to be.”
“You have good sperm, then.” The older woman smiled. “Our daughter will be fine to breed with you. Make many children. Our species continues. Is acceptable?”
“Yeahhhh…” I cleared my throat.
“Good.” The father nodded and looked at his wife, and Adhara’s beautiful mother smiled in an almost proud way. “Then all is settled.”
“Sort of, but are you sure about this?” I asked as I tried to change the subject. “After you killed off half our population, you want to share all of our resources and just move onto our planet. With all due respect, that’s asking a lot given the circumstances. Do we ge
t something in return?”
I hadn’t meant the question to come out harshly, but I guessed if I was the leader of Earth, it was my job to negotiate. The aliens seemed unphased by my tone, at least, and they shrugged as they exchanged glances.
“We will bring our knowledge to humans,” Adhara’s mother replied. “Technology and science, in return for resources and breeding. We now know how primitive your technology is, you will be happy to advance it.”
“Good point,” I muttered.
I thought about aliens and humans living together, raising families, and building the world back up again after it was so nearly destroyed. It was incredible to picture, but I knew I had to consider the choices carefully if I was going to make a decision for the whole of humanity. A new world with better technology and medical care sounded pretty fucking good to me, even if we had to learn how to ignore dinosaurs.
But even that aspect sounded sort of fun.
I stared out at the stars for a minute, and I couldn’t think of any downsides to the agreement, as long as the aliens kept up their end of the bargain.
They could never undo the damage they had done to Earth, but we could definitely work together to create something even better than before.
All I had wanted lately was a safe place for my girls and future kids, and technically, I was about to be handed just that. A world with better advancements, less dino armies, and my beautiful alien lover right here on my homeplanet with me.
I suddenly felt overwhelmed with exhaustion as I compared this idea to what we’d been living through lately, like I had been running on an empty tank and only now stopped to realize this. It had been the toughest weeks of my life, but without a doubt, they’d been the best.
“Our daughter says you saved her,” Adhara’s father said when I didn’t respond right away. “She tells us there were hostile humans. You protected her from this.”
“I did.” I nodded. “I love Adhara. I hope you know that. She’s part of our family, and I would die for her.”
“You have proven this,” the alien man said as he slowly rose from his seat. He wandered toward the starry window and folded his arms.
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