by Viola Grace
"Sorac, this is Guardian and our new recruit, Pax. Please direct us to an available airlock and I will park this thing."
"Yes, Guardian. Lock four is available."
"Excellent. Coming in."
The thick cloud layer rocked the ship from side to side in a slow roll. Guardian slipped them through the layers of atmosphere smoothly until a huge bubble of a base expanded under them. Numbers were painted on the top of the dome and small halls extended from the bubble to open areas, some of which were occupied by ships.
He set the shuttle down smoothly and they waited until the noise of the umbilical column touched the side of their ship.
"Welcome home, Pax." Guardian picked up the folded uniforms and handed them to her before he picked her up and carried her into Udell base for the first time.
Tricia bit her lip as she thought of the Terran traditions involving crossing thresholds, all of which applied in this case.
"Our physician is Helsin. He is a good physician, even if his colours are garish. He will assess you before I show you to our quarters."
She blinked. "Our quarters?"
"Yes. You cannot be quartered with the others due to your talent and you are my partner, so you will share quarters with me. You will not be alone again." His voice was tender as he whispered the last words.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she was sniffling when he brought her to Udell medical.
The doctor was made up of primary colours, red skin, blue hair and yellow eyes. He was at her side in a second.
"How badly is she injured?"
"She is healing. I brought her to you because her doctor on the ship left a little to be desired." Guardian smiled down at her as he placed her on the exam table.
"Hello, Helsin, is it? I am Tricia or Pax."
"Hello, Pax. I will be your doctor today. What was the problem? Those warships usually have top-of-the-line medical staff."
"I was on contagion protocols and Guardian punched out the captain, so Guardian had to do the patchwork."
Helsin looked surprised, but he started the scans that would tell him if there was additional damage. "What fell on you?"
"A mech. Cracked my armour like a nut." She tried to put a chipper tone on it, but Helsin"s face was serious.
"You have stress fractures on three limbs as well as some internal bleeding. I will need to do some surgery."
Whatever was going on with her talent, she really hoped that it did not flare up while he was working on her. There was no other way to get the care she needed.
"You are familiar with her status?"
"I am. She seems to be dormant right now, I will keep the sensors on and if her talent flares, I will use the bots to finish, but I need to get her into surgery now."
That was the last thing Tricia remembered, the changeable eyes looking down at her with concern while the bright yellow ones took on a determined expression. A slight hiss and everything went dark.
Light coursed across her lids and she felt good. Better than good. Aches and pains that she had woken up with the last time were gone.
"Good morning, Tricia. I hope you slept well. I have some work for you to do." Martuas was sitting and reading on one side of the bed. He was fully clothed but wearing dark trousers and a matching shirt instead of the burgundy uniform.
He looked very much like an administrator today.
"What?" Her voice was hoarse.
"Get showered and dressed and I will show you what I need you to do."
Bemused by her recurring nudity, she slid out from underneath the covers and sprinted to the bathroom. He was looking. She could feel it.
The mark on her side was pink in the mirror and about three inches long. "Ouch." It was worse than she had imagined, she must have popped like a grape.
She shuddered at the memory of blood smearing the inside of the shuttle and the sinking feeling that it was all hers.
"Bleah." Tricia stepped into the shower and enjoyed the feeling of water coursing over her skin. The white and silvery tumble of her hair ran over her breasts and improved her mood even more. "Double bleah."
The dryer jets came online and she was ready for action in seconds, her hair waving wildly with static. Her pigment-free hair didn"t like blowing air.
A horrific thought came to her and she spun to look at her reflection. Oh, thank goodness, her eyebrows were still dark brown over green eyes with black lashes. An image of translucent eyebrows had sent a thrill of terror through her.
She poked her head out of the bathroom and scowled at Martuas. "Where are my clothes?"
"We are engaging in an exercise of self-control. Your clothing is in the wardrobe."
Grumbling and self-conscious, she darted to the wardrobe and was dismayed to find nothing in it except a long black dress with long sleeves. She heard Martuas move behind her, so she threw on the dress and tugged it down over her hips with only a slight wince of pain.
"Where is my uniform?"
"You will not be in uniform unless you are off world. No one here will fault you for a slip of control, but it is up to you to keep your talent in line."
She pondered that and slipped on a pair of sandals that he extended to her. "Are you sure sedating your staff is fine?"
"Yes. This base could use more peace and quiet." He grinned. "Now for another matter."
It was all the warning she got before he pressed a kiss to her lips that rapidly went from warm to seething. She pressed against him from chest to hips and he wasn"t touching her anywhere except her lips. It was her hands clutching at his shirt and pulling him into her that was forcing the contact.
Her stomach growled and she jerked back, embarrassed. "Sorry. I guess it has been a while since…breakfast?"
Martuas" lips were swollen and the swirling red in his eyes made her knees quiver. "In the other room. I didn"t want to wake you."
She edged around him and blinked at the glass of liquid on the table.
"Drink that and we will go to the commissary. The sooner you get used to the staff and guardsmen, the better off you will be."
Grimacing, she drank the thick liquid, recognizing protein powder and the sweetness of wild honey.
She shuddered as she finished her glass and followed Martuas out of their rooms and through the halls.
It was time to see her new home.
Chapter Eight
The commissary was buzzing with activity. "Oh good, I didn"t sleep in."
He grinned down at her. "This is lunch."
"Damn."
With her belly lined with the protein shake, she was able to make her selections with a clear head. No faces clouded over and friendly men greeted her wherever she went. "Uh, Martuas. What is the ratio of men to women here?"
"Over ten to one depending on which of our crews are in. Right now, only Stellar Storm is on Udell and she lives off base." He filled his own tray and followed her to a table.
"Is my being here going to be a problem?"
"No, why would it?"
"Um, no reason. I have just seen that when the women are limited, the men get stupid." She was blushing.
"You are my partner, they know what that means."
She nodded wisely and he finished his sentence. "Even if you don"t yet know what it means."
Tricia shrugged and dove into what felt like the first real meal in forever. Men came by to be introduced and one name caught her attention as she shook hands and stuffed her face.
"Sorac, the guy on air traffic control."
The Azon-blend smiled at her with a shy grin. "I also man the laser cannon."
"Nice to meet you, Sorac." She extended her hand and the moment he touched her, his eyes glazed over.
She pulled back sharply and looked over at Martuas. He was unconcerned. "Sorac, go finish your lunch and enjoy your shift."
"Yes, Guardian." He snapped to attention and returned to his table where his friends started a round of mockery and elbowing that escalated into shoving.
"Pax,
if you can control your talent, now would be a good time. Just blow them a kiss. That should do it."
She caught on and focussed on exhaling particulates. She pursed her lips and blew a thin stream at the table that was causing a ruckus. It took a few seconds, but the men blinked and slowly returned to eating quietly.
"Wow. I can"t believe that it worked." She was grinning foolishly and she knew it.
He chuckled and sipped at his tea. "Helsin combined his findings with Effin"s and what we discovered was that you were in transition. You completed the transition by actively using your talent on Yehl-Gar. It explains the bleaching of your hair as well. You underwent a chemical transformation."
It was a surreal conversation to be having over the Udell version of bacon and eggs. "I transformed?"
"One of your ancestors was Shasil. That explains the extra gland that Effin pointed out."
"You read my medical file?"
"Of course. I am the base commander after all. I need to know all the foibles of the guardsmen under my care."
"What the heck is a Shasil? I haven"t heard of that race."
He grinned, "They are a sister race of my own. The Nhavil. In a full-blooded Shasil, the gland would be used to attract a mate or control one"s children."
Tricia blinked for a few seconds before breaking into bright peals of laughter. Several faces looked in her direction, but none were hostile. "Are you serious? What does your species use the gland for?"
"Just the mate attraction portion. The Shasil disappeared as a species a few hundred years ago. They interbred with other species and simply ceased to exist. I am guessing that one or more came to your planet sometime in the last thousand years."
"And joined his or her genes to my ancestors."
"Correct. There are quite a few members of the Guard with Terran genes but mainly due to the slave trade. Terrans have always been rather attractive from the slave trader"s point of view due to your frequent mating seasons." He made the observation in such a detached manner that she couldn"t take umbrage, but part of her tried.
The Terrans were matches for so many species that their breeding habits were almost a joke in the Alliance. Their twenty-eight-day oestrus cycle didn"t help matters. Most of the species went into heat once a year, not once a month. Many dwindling races were putting bids in to get those Terran genetics into their lines. It was unsurprising that centuries earlier, one of her ancestors had done the same.
She kept quiet and finished her brunch, smiling at the attendant who cleared away her empty plates and refilled her tea. "It feels weird to think that I have genes from an alien race running around in me, not to mention having extra bits that my relatives probably have as well. Come to think of it, one of my cousins had thyroid surgery when I was a teenager. Maybe they removed the scent gland instead."
"It wouldn"t activate in every one of your relatives. Your talent for mediation activated it when your mind went out seeking others during the negotiations." He shook his head. "The Citadel rep only saw your mental talent and ignored the possibility that you came by it honestly. The Shasil were known telepaths and empaths."
"Wonderful. Do you think I am stable now?"
"Your talent is stable. Your body needs a little fine tuning."
She cocked her head. "Like what?"
"You are about to go into heat. Helsin confirmed it. When you do, your Shasil side will emerge and you will become aggressive about seeking your mate."
Red was a pale description of the colour she was turning. Her voice couldn"t manage a squeak.
"It isn"t a matter for embarrassment. Helsin can give you a subduing shot to hold it off or simply birth control if you wish to ride out your heat so that it will not happen until next year at this time."
"How long do I have?"
"A day or so."
She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "This is not happening."
"I beg to differ. It is indeed happening. My senses are on overdrive because it is happening." His voice was still resonant, still weakened her knees, but now there was an inner pulse that was demanding her attention to go along with the rest.
"Birth control."
His face lit up like a kid"s at Christmas. "Really?"
"Yes. I don"t want to go through it frequently and I hate to take medication when there is another option for my day-to-day survival."
"Let"s go to medical then. Helsin is waiting." He straightened, grabbed his data pad and stood, holding out his hand to take her with him.
"I can"t believe I am doing this."
"I can"t believe you are either. Quick, don"t wake me up."
She snickered and took his arm, snuggling against him with the side of her breast rubbing his bicep.
"Stop that."
"What? Just warming up. It has been a while for me."
"Really? How long?"
She thought about it carefully. "A year or two."
"Good, if you had a current lover, this might not work."
"My time at the Citadel made sure that I would not have any current attachments."
"Remind me to send them a fruit basket." He winked as he used the Terran reference.
She made a mental note to ask him about that later.
The trip to medical was anti-climactic. She explained her choice to the doctor and received a shot in return.
He nodded to Martuas and wished them congratulations.
"Are we formalizing something here?" They were walking arm in arm through the halls and he turned into the deep green of an indoor forest.
"This is our primary oxygen supply and the means by which we are able to live on Udell." He led her into the heart of the trees and picked a flower for her. The rich, creamy white bloom with green leafs carried a scent that made her dizzy.
"I ask you to accept me as your partner, mate and commanding officer." He winked. "Your skin is as creamy as this flower, your hair as pure and your eyes echo the green of the leafs. The scent you give to the world makes the perfume of this blossom a pale whisper on the wind."
She looked up at Martuas as he spoke about her and her colouring, when he talked about her scent, it suddenly made sense that he would not be affected by her the same way everyone else was. No male could be rendered useless and passive in the presence of his female by her scent if he wanted to earn her trust and prove his worth.
"I accept you for all you are and all you will be." She took the flower from him and tucked it over her ear.
He came close to crushing her with his hug and his kiss stole her breath. "I know your heat hasn"t started…"
"Let"s head back to our quarters and practice. Wouldn"t do to suffer stage fright on the day." She grinned and he swept her into his arms for the sole purpose of making her his.
Inside their rooms, her dress hit the floor and his shirt suffered a tear as she removed it in a frenzy. His skin was the same muscled silver all over, with darker pewter banding his erection when his trousers were flung across the room onto his boots.
Tricia didn"t know where to start, she simply stroked and touched everything she could reach until he pinned her hands over her head to assert his masculine prerogative. His body fit hers perfectly and too soon, she found her nails digging into her palms as her body arched into his violently.
His determined beat turned savage and in a roar of satisfaction with his eyes blazing like hot coals, he emptied into her, then came to rest on her with a happy growl.
She waited until his heart and hers had stopped pounding before she asked, "Why are you so cheerful?"
"Do you remember when I told you my body was impenetrable?"
"You said impervious, but yes."
He leaned down and gave her a kiss that started the pulse in her belly all over again. "I am very glad yours isn"t."
Her gasp of shock was cut off by his kiss and when he started to move again, she lost the urge for outrage in favour of the joys of penetration.
Chapter Nine
Her heat lasted for three d
ays. When Martuas let her out of their rooms, it was only because Fixer and Shade had arrived to do some repairs to her armour. She was quite sure that he would have kept her there as long as he could have gotten away with it.
"Hey, Mala. How are you?"
"It is wonderful to see you so soon, Tricia. Where is your suit?" Mala was looking nervous.
"It is no longer mandatory. I have finished my personal evolution and am no longer dangerous." She hugged Mala and when the woman gave her a relaxed smile, she knew it had worked.
