“McKinley,” the instructor announces as he checks his clipboard, “you’ll be with…Raeden? Is that right?” To my horror he looks over at the quiet alien that I can’t stand. The alien nods, affirming that he’s my partner.
I walk over to him with the punching pads, my stomach and my feet feeling heavy. What am I supposed to do with a partner that won’t even attack me? I decide to maybe set my uncertainty aside just for a moment. Raeden watches me with his glowing yellow eyes, unsure. I hold up the large punching pads attached to my forearm. I’m not sure if he’ll cooperate this time, but he’s being watched, and this instructor is far less tolerant than I am.
“Come on, let’s see you punch,” I urge him, expecting a blow. He just stares at me, and I can already feel my nerves shaking. I look around at the other pairs, none of them having this kind of trouble, which makes me extremely self-conscious. After a moment of pressing, I throw down the pads at him. “I’ll go first then,” I say, giving up.
Raeden takes the pads and puts them on. I decide to focus my frustrations on those instead, punching them swiftly, hitting the center of the target each time. In a guilty moment, I pretend I’m actually punching Raeden which makes the experience much more satisfying. The instructor passes by, inspecting my form. He approves, telling us to switch. I feel a slight hint of satisfaction. He’ll have to fight now that someone other than me is watching him. Raeden and I switch places as the instructor waits patiently. Raeden seems uncomfortable, but casually punches one of the targets, barely moving me back from my stance.
“Good, but I know you have more force than that,” the instructor says. He gives Raeden a few pointers before moving on. Raeden looks at me. To my surprise he keeps punching the pads, putting a little more energy into each one. At least we’re making some progress.
We move on to closer hand-to-hand fighting. I’m a little nervous about this; since I’m required to touch my partner, and he’s incredibly standoffish towards me. I don’t want to look bad in front of anyone, so I go ahead and go for an attack. I grab his arm first, just to test the waters. His skin is warm, with a hint of sweat, and I can just feel the smooth but leathery texture of scales, though they’re not that noticeable in appearance. He grabs my arm back, not sure what to do.
“No,” I explain. “Here, see? You take my arm, pull it this way, and that’s a counter-attack.” I go through the motions, trying to explain the best that I can, but he just keeps staring at me with those eyes. “Can you understand me?” I ask him. He nods. Oh, so he’s just being an asshole on purpose I guess.
I wait for him to attack me back, so I can show him how to block. Instead, he awkwardly grabs me, swinging me from side to side, as if trying to throw me on the ground. I look around and notice the others watching us, clearly knowing that something wrong is happening. I can feel my face getting hot from embarrassment, and I try to pry myself away from Raeden, but he keeps a firm grasp. Some sparring partners around us snicker at the sight of us, as if we’re learning how to dance instead of learning how to fight. Finally, the anger is too much for me, and it bubbles to a crescendo. I violently shove Raeden off of me, causing him to slam against one of the chrome walls with a loud clang. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” I hear myself scream. “If you’re just going to just be worthless, then why are you even here?!”
The room is dead silent, allowing my shouts to ring throughout the training room, to my dismay. The outburst has even me feeling shocked, but not nearly as much as Raeden. He recovers, looking up at me; his expression softer and devastated. I feel like I’ve really punched him in the face. The instructor breaks the heavy and awkward silence between all of us.
“I think we should call it a day. Let’s come back when we’re all rested.” He throws a glance over at me, and I feel horribly guilty for letting the anger burst out of me. Raeden is the first to leave, nearly pushing past everyone as if he could run from the things I’ve said to him. But the damage has already been done, and my gut does a violent twist.
I walk through one of the quieter wings of the ship, wanting to be alone for a while. My heart feels heavy with guilt about my outburst. I’ve never lashed out at someone like that. The only person I’ve known to do something so immature was my own father. This thought startles me, wrenching at my heart. God, I’m just like my dad; always acting out of anger. I start to think of that horrible frown he always wears, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before I’ll be sitting in that chair, looking out at the emptiness of space, realizing that I’ve made a void of loneliness for myself. I realize I’m getting ahead of myself. I can’t be so dramatic. I’ll just have to find Raeden and apologize, next time I see him. I also still have Cal, whom I can talk to. I reroute my steps towards the bridge, hoping that maybe I can arrange another meeting with him.
The bridge is particularly quiet at the moment. I find Cal at his usual console.
“Hey beautiful,” he whispers. I smile softly at him, still feeling a little down from earlier.
“Where is everyone?” I ask him. He points towards a glass meeting room, the panels darkened.
“Meeting with the commanders. Captain’s orders,” he explains. I lean around to try to get a better view. “You can probably go in there with your clearance,” he tells me. He’s right, I pretty much have full reign on this ship, about as much as Dad does. I walk towards the door, which has been left cracked open. I can hear tense conversation happening inside.
“I have the agreement right here,” I can hear one of them say.
“Hold on, this is not a unanimous decision,” one of them, a woman’s voice, cuts in.
“Commander Thompson, what else would you suggest?” asks another.
“I suggest rethinking this whole thing before thousands of lives are lost.” The woman says, more angrily. My eyes widen. Whose lives will be lost? I look through the crack and see my father at the end of the extensive conference table, filled with important people from the ship. Even the head of engineering is there, and the other departmental heads that aren’t part of the command center. They’re all having a conversation with other officials via a hologram in the center of the room. They look different from the ones I’ve seen organize our mission.
“You’re forgetting who the captain of this ship is,” Dad’s voice rings out over the rest of the commanders and officials.
“Captain, this decision could have your title revoked for conducting actions outside of our restrictions for this mission,” someone warns.
I’m about to open the door to step inside and figure out what the hell is going on when someone comes up, noticing me through the door. They close it harshly, and I have to step back or else it would hit my face. Guess my reign isn’t as full as I thought. I walk out of the bridge, feeling hurt. This has been such a strange day, and I need to go figure some things out, such as who are the thousands of people, apparently at risk. Were they talking about the crew or something else? Whatever it was, it was too great for my own father to tell me, which in my experience usually means that something terrible is about to happen…
CHAPTER 4: HAND-TO-HAND
RAEDEN
The shame of what happened today still hovers over me. I know my abilities are better than what I show, but I just couldn’t bring myself to reveal that during the training session. McKinley’s words still stung me as I walked down an empty corridor of the Cordelia. I knew she was expecting me to fight, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m feeling so conflicted with myself, with half of me not wanting to fight, but still not wanting to seem weak in front of the others. I’ve spent enough time being weak, but also I’m not willing to fight for a cause that I don’t support.
I’m also ashamed to admit it, but after those strange feelings I was having last night, I couldn’t bring myself to fight McKinley. Her fiery eyes were gorgeous, even when she was upset with my lack of cooperation. I felt too scared to touch her, for fear of hurting her or how it would make me feel. I can still feel the imprint of her hand o
n my arm from before, and I secretly hope it doesn’t go away. At the same time, her words were so harmful. Why am I feeling so confused about this? I decide to take some time to train on my own, with the hope that I’ll be able to face her again and not embarrass her or myself. I also need to get rid of this strange feeling, whatever it may be.
Luckily, one of the sliding doors has been unlocked. I double check to make sure I’m allowed in here, or if anyone is going to come back and give me away. I’m not supposed to be off the Krillux ship at this time of night, but I managed to sneak off before they locked the doors. So much for their security system, I guess.
I grab one of the staffs from the other end of the room. Fighting on my planet is more of an art form than an actual practice. We Ventrans hardly ever fight, unless the safety of our planet depends on it. I take my place in the center of the room, staring at my reflection in the shining chrome walls. I’ve grown more muscle during my journey away from home; from years of working in labor-houses or in mining colonies on distant planets. I clear my mind of these thoughts, though, since they only bring memories of suffering.
I put all this negative energy into my fighting, all of my fears into my hands as they swing the weapon in swift, violent strikes. There’s a stuffed dummy nearby, and I take out all this strange energy built up inside of me onto it. It feels liberating, and for once I feel a perfect release of everything I’ve been feeling since I’ve been wrongly taken from my home. For once, I am blissful.
I stop to catch my breath, sweat pouring down my face. I’m startled by the sound of clapping from the other end of the room. I’ve been caught, and I know I’ll get a stern talking to when I get back to my ship. I turn around to face my fate, only to be surprised at the sight of McKinley leaning in the doorway, her once angry face turned to surprise. She even looks impressed with me at this point. I drop the staff, suddenly embarrassed. She steps into the training room, holding up her hands as if she’s not going to harm me.
“Whoa, you don’t have to stop,” she says. “That was…incredible. Damn, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
I shrink back a little as she approaches. Her gentle hips sway back and forth as she gets closer, and I suddenly have to catch my breath for another reason. I look away, not wanting to be distracted anymore by her body.
“You don’t have to be scared of me,” she says quietly, now being more careful with how she speaks to me. “What are you doing here anyway?”
I want to run out of the room, the pressure of talking to her feels like too much for me. Why do I feel this way? I’ve never had trouble talking to women before. Maybe it’s because she’s a different kind of woman.
I shift my weight back and forth, only managing a shrug. I want to talk to her more, but also I’m afraid. Maybe she thinks I’m a freak, but then again, she’s had to have seen aliens like me before.
“Just wanted to be alone,” I manage to say, feeling a lump in my throat.
---Her eyebrows lift, as if realizing something, and she takes a few steps back. “Sorry,” she says, “If you wanted to be alone—“
“No!” I feel myself burst out, a little too enthusiastically. What am I doing? I’m terrified of her, but at the same time I can’t bear the thought of her leaving. She looks surprised at my response, and bends down to pick up the staff that I dropped,
“I came here because I couldn’t sleep. I’m actually surprised to see someone else in here.” She says, handing the staff back to me. “Sorry … you know … for what I said earlier today…” she rocks from side to side, running her hand through her hair, unsure of how to continue. It’s clear that she doesn’t make apologies too often. It’s kind of cute though. “Sometimes … I just let my anger take control of everything, and it really just makes me throw the whole mouth filter out the window, you know?” She says. I’m actually not really sure what a mouth filter is, and I wonder if it’s a unique human trait or something. I nod at her, appreciative of her effort to apologize.
“Thank you,” I say, giving her a small smile.
To my surprise, she walks over and grabs a staff for herself.
“Now, show me what you can really do,” she says, taking a spot in the center of the room. I wish I was confident enough to say what I wish I could do to her, and I almost blush at the thought of it. Regardless, I take my place in front of her and we start to fight.
She’s incredibly skilled. I swipe at her, and she dodges it effortlessly, her body moving with incredible sleekness and control. Our staffs collide, filling the room with loud clacking as they crash together quickly. “Wow,” she breathes in between hits. “You’re pretty good. Where’d you learn to fight like this?”
“On my home planet,” I say. “It’s customary training, but I’ve picked up some things here and there.”
“Where’s home?” She asks. I’m not sure if I should tell her where I’m from at this point. I don’t want it to affect our mission in any way. I find a vulnerable spot, and attack her leg. She yelps with surprise, and then actually laughs as she goes for another attack.
Finally, after many moments of cornering each other, she executes an incredible spinning attack that knocks me over onto my back. I realize she’s on top of me now. Her legs straddle over my chest as she holds the staff against my throat. We’re both breathing heavily, her face dangerously close to mine. I think of countless possibilities of what could happen, what I want to happen, and I feel myself growing more aroused as I look at the sweat on her brow, and the heave of her breasts as she catches her breath.
We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, both of us unsure of what to do. Does she want the same as I do? The, I remember the man in her room last night, and feel a slight twinge of sadness.
“You put up a good fight,” she says with a wink. “Looks like you still got some work to do, though.” She gets off of me, leaving me lying there with a hint of longing in my chest.
“Do you want to go another round, McKinley?” I suggest. She wipes off her face with a nearby towel.
“I should probably get to sleep,” she says, to my dismay. “Glad I caught you in here. Thanks for sparring with me after all.” She smiles, as she reaches out her hand to help me up. I take it without another thought, and try to hold onto it just a moment longer before she lets go and leaves, throwing her towel into my chest on her way out. “See you tomorrow,” she says over her shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, you can call me Alex.” My heart flutters at the name. Alex. She’s allowed me to call her by her name. I catch myself staring at her ass … pardon me, her rear, as she disappears into the hall.
In that moment, my feelings finally become clear. I’d never thought I’d feel this way about a woman, especially a human girl. But the way she laughed during our sparring session, and how vulnerable she was when she apologized, made me see there was a lot more hidden under her tough shell. I find myself with an incredible urge to crack that shell… Alex’s shell…and make her mine.
CHAPTER 5: MORE THAN FRIENDS
ALEX
Since our secret sparring session the other night, Raeden and I have been doing much better together during training. We’ve even organized a few nights of sparring on our own, where I’ve been giving him pointers on his form. He’s even been teaching me a few moves he’s picked up from other cultures, which I’ve added into my repertoire. Today, the energy feels great between him and I, and I actually think it’s cute when he smiles. We haven’t really talked about anything much other than fighting, and a few stories of our space travels, but the way he views the world is just so interesting to me. He’s not rough and tough like the other men I’ve seen on the ship. He’s gentle, treating everything with kindness and not fighting when he doesn’t have to. It’s a rather beautiful motto I think.
We’ve been excelling in our recent training, preparing for our first landing on Ventra, in just a few days. Raeden and have reached the top of the class in sparring. The instructor has even talked about us working together to teach t
he lower level classes, something I would have dreaded, but don’t really mind so much now. When Raeden and I aren’t fighting together, I find myself watching him from across the training room; keeping an eye on his form. Well, sometimes I do. Mainly I catch myself admiring his firm muscles, and how his back contracts when he’s throwing a hefty punch. The rest of him isn’t too bad either, even if he does have green skin. I’m open to anything honestly, as long as you treat me right.
I’m getting ahead of myself though. What about Cal? In this moment I’m having a hard time wanting to be around him. The more I think about Raeden, the less I start to feel for my Cordelia flame. Cal and I don’t really even talk that much other than what he hears being discussed on the bridge, and even that gets old sometimes. He also agrees a lot with my father, especially on his views about intergalactic law - things that I don’t necessarily agree with. Still … he’s really great in bed, and he hasn’t done much to upset me or anything like that.
Raeden catches me staring at him, and I make a funny face in response, trying to hide the fact that I had been daydreaming about him. He smiles, revealing a row of sharp teeth. A little kinky if you ask me. I’d like to see what his bite is like.
We’re dismissed for the day. I say goodbye to Raeden and gather up some papers I have to take to the bridge. I’m surprised to see someone waiting outside in the hall for me. Cal. He’s leaned up against the wall, and he doesn’t look happy. At first I think it’s just some drama from the bridge.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound friendly. “What’s up?” Cal glares at me, waiting until the rest of the class has made its way to the lifts.
“Quit the act,” he tells me sternly, and I realize this isn’t about the bridge at all.
“Something wrong?” I ask him.
“You know what’s wrong,” he says. “You’ve been having those secret little meetings with your new alien boyfriend.”
Saving Ventra: Alien Romance (Lovers of Ventra Series) Page 3
