“Hey!” she protested.
I settled into my work, content to have Mikki nearby. We’d yet to discuss what she would do here… other than pleasure us sexually.
Perhaps it was the environment, but my mind turned to my work. I was creating the final steps in the treatment process and was going to add it to the ReGen pod to test on the healing warriors. I’d brought my supplies and had added the serum I’d watched kill the bacteria the day before—just prior to Mikki’s arrival—although there was nothing to do now since the pods did all the work.
Claiming my new mate had been paramount and had prolonged the effects of the few Prillon warriors infected with the virus, but I had no regrets. Now I was content. My collar was around her neck. My seed was inside her body, not growing into a child—not yet—but there was time. I had all the time in the world now that Mikki was mine. I would not let her go at the end of our thirty days, of that I was certain. However, I had a feeling she had not yet accepted that as truth.
Trax’s job was part of a patrol unit, monitoring the underground caves and other places we had discovered the Hive liked to hide. We hadn’t had an incident in some time, but they were relentless. So were we.
He would be doubly diligent now. Like me, he had something precious to protect.
Mikki.
I wanted to ensure the serum was working, then we would take her on a tour of Base 3, but she understood the sick warriors took priority.
“How long do they have to stay in there?” she asked, running her small hand along the outside of a ReGen pod, this one and the next occupied by Prillon warriors who were now recovering. The serum was working. I had promised Prime Nial a cure, and I had delivered on that promise, as always. Now to be patient while the remaining sick were healed; then I could share it with the Fleet. This illness would be a thing of the past.
“A few more hours, mate. Then they will be free to go.”
“This is so amazing.” The awe in her voice pleased me. Not much impressed my mate, and even that facet of her personality I found endearing. She was cynical and questioned everything. She was, in many ways, much like me.
“The ReGen technology is several centuries old, but every living thing fights for survival, even the smallest virus. Sometimes what we can’t see does the most damage.”
“It’s the same on Earth,” she replied. “Hundreds… hell, millions of people have died of an outbreak. Why don’t we have these pod things? We are part of the Coalition now, right? Why didn’t you guys give this technology to Earth?” Her tone of voice was pleasant, innocent, but we were connected by the collars and I clearly felt the anger simmering beneath. Why should humans suffer and die if it was preventable?
“Because the technology can be used to kill as well as heal, and Earth is a provisional member of the Coalition of Planets, not a full member. The very first human matched in the Interstellar Brides Program was tasked with stealing our technology to send back to your human government. Luckily her mates discovered her plan before it was too late.”
“What?” She glanced from me to Rachel, who sat working nearby, staring into the odd contraption she had created with the S-Gen machine upon her arrival. She called it a microscope. I had, at first, thought it nonsense. Everything she did could be done more easily with the microviewer and screen used by every doctor in the Fleet. But she had won me over, and I now often preferred to work on the odd contraption when she was not in the lab. Had even considered creating one of my own.
Rachel must have felt her gaze, for she responded even before lifting her head. “It’s true, Mikki. She was CIA. First bride ever sent out into space. They thought the Coalition made up the whole thing. The Hive. The danger. Everything, just to gain control of Earth.”
Mikki sputtered. “That’s stupid.”
“Agreed.” Rachel finally looked up and smiled. “So, what exactly does a professional surfer do anyway? Well, besides surf.”
There were politics between Earth and the Coalition. Mikki was too new to understand both perspectives, and I was relieved Rachel changed the subject.
The surge of Mikki’s happiness at the question shocked me, and I realized I’d been an ass. I had no idea what a professional surfer was, but it was obviously something rewarding and fulfilling for my mate. Trax had asked her what she’d done for a job the night before, but I’d been balls-deep in her pussy and forgotten all about it.
I stilled, waited.
“Actually I’m an environmental scientist. I was working as a contractor for the EPA as an environmental monitor. I specialized in environmental cleanup. That’s before I was arrested, of course.”
“What is this EPA?” I asked.
“Environmental Protection Agency. A branch of our government.”
I nodded in understanding and she continued.
“I haven’t surfed for more than fun since I was twenty-two. Back then, I traveled the world. Scuba dived every chance I got. It was awesome to be so young and carefree. God, it was great while it lasted.”
“While it lasted?” Rachel asked, a frown forming on her brow. She usually had it when she was confused by what she was seeing in her microscope. “What happened?”
I leaned forward, interested.
Mikki tucked her sleek hair behind her ear. “I was in Australia for a tournament. A big wave rolled me, and I hit a reef. Had a severe concussion and facial fracture. I would have continued to compete, but it was my third concussion and my father, who is a doctor, basically threatened me with bodily harm and made me watch Internet videos of Muhammad Ali and a bunch of other athletes who could barely function because of past head trauma. You know, CTE.”
Rachel nodded in understanding of the gibberish. I could not understand a word of it, but I sensed through the collar her lingering frustration and disappointment.
“What is this Internet?” Trax asked.
Rachel answered. “It’s like the comm system the Fleet uses. All of Earth’s data is stored and accessed via the Internet.”
“And what is CTE?”
Mikki shrugged helplessly. “A brain disease?”
Brain disease? Mikki was unwell? I stood, my chair scraping across the floor. “Trax, get me my scanner. Get a tech to ready a pod. I knew you needed a medical exam.”
Rachel held up a hand, stopping Trax. “Cool your jets,” she said. “It’s called Chronic Trauma Encephalopathy. Humans who have repeated head injuries can develop a degenerative condition that leads to impaired brain function and dementia.”
“That is not making me feel any better,” I snapped.
If this CTE was something that Mikki’s father feared would affect her, I would study the disease and make sure nothing would ever happen to my female. And put her in a ReGen pod immediately to heal her.
Anxiety. Discomfort. My mate’s emotions bombarded me as Rachel discussed this strange human condition. I would not upset her this way, not when I now had what was necessary to research my mate’s medical condition on my own.
“I don’t have CTE, Surnen,” Mikki said. “He was just afraid I could get it if I kept competing.”
“Come here, mate.”
I gave a command, and I expected it to be obeyed. Mikki walked to me slowly, but irritation and—embarrassment—were clearly conveyed to me through our collars.
How did such a small, delicate creature have so many, and such violent, emotions in the span of a few minutes? Nothing she felt was moderated. Every emotion through the collars was like an explosion inside my mind, unsettling me. Personally I avoided feeling this much, this intensely. There was no need. Such emotion was a handicap when facing crisis or managing the many serious duties I had. I would speak to her about this later, when we were alone. She would learn more control.
Lifting my hands to gently cup her face, I was appeased when Rachel’s attention returned to her work, her gaze once again upon what she saw through her microscope. Mikki was so small, her skin so soft. I wanted to hold her, keep her safe from even her p
ast. “Explain this… surfing. If you could get a disease from it, why did you do it?”
Mikki sighed, but I felt her emotions swell right before she spoke. “I know you have water here, for I’ve used the shower tube. Drank it. I don’t know if there are any oceans on the planet.”
“There aren’t,” Rachel said.
Mikki bit her lip. “Yeah, well. Imagine water for as far as you can see. Nothing but water.”
I frowned, thought about the idea.
“Here,” Rachel said, pulling up an image on the comm screen. I released my hold on Mikki, but she didn’t move other than to look up, then smile. I felt a calmness settle over her, which soothed me.
Trax turned to look at the screen and crossed his arms over his chest.
The image was of water, all dark blue with ripples across the surface, then light blue sky. The image changed and changed again of this water. So much of it. So many different colors of blue, green and gray tipped with white. Fascinating.
“Those are waves. They crash on the edge of land. For fun, people ride them, and that’s called surfing.” Mikki waited a moment as Rachel pulled up an image of a small human riding a pointed slat across the surface of the water. “Yes, like that.”
Rachel was able to program the machine to have images change in and out. From water the color of the brightest blue to almost black. Wild and tempestuous, calm and serene. Then these waves, some two or three times as tall as the humans on boards, attempting to remain standing.
“Insanity,” I murmured, now understanding. I sensed her happiness at the images, the longing, the appreciation. It was beautiful but so foreign to me. Yet it made me understand my mate, a place deep inside her.
Mikki laughed. She was pleased.
“Are there any images of you?” I asked.
The screen went blank and Mikki appeared. From a distance it was hard to tell it was her, but I was her mate. I knew her.
“Gods,” I said, transfixed. “What the fuck are you wearing where humans could see you?”
She surfed beautifully in tiny scraps of cloth covering her breasts and pussy. I now knew how she gained the… tan lines as she called them. From what I could tell, then there was a video of her falling, of a massive wall of water collapsing on top of her.
“Mate,” I growled, feeling instantly afraid. I knew she’d survived since she was standing before me, but still… “Enough!” I snapped. I might understand her, but I didn’t like her reckless nature. It scared the shit out of me.
Rachel quickly turned off the comm screen.
“Sooooo, that’s surfing,” Mikki commented. “And waves. And the ocean.”
“It is beautiful,” Trax said, turning to look at Mikki. “I might be Prillon, but I was born on a battleship. Raised on one. The first time I touched a planet was at the Academy, and only for a short time. Then I was back in space except during battle. Being here, it is the longest I have been on ground.” Trax shook his head. “How can I be a good mate if I do not even understand what it is like to be… one with your planet?”
I sensed his concerns. I’d been raised on Prillon Prime. I didn’t have allegiance to the place, but I knew what ground felt like. Water, although nothing like what I’d just seen. Trees. Animals. Trax didn’t.
“A perfect match doesn’t mean we have to be alike. The best relationships are often founded on being opposites,” Mikki told him.
“Yeah, look at me and Maxim,” Rachel offered, giving Trax an understanding smile. “I tolerate him.”
I bit my lip. “I shall be sure to tell him that.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “Yeah, no.”
“I would not know what to do with all that water,” Trax added, although I sensed he was calmed by the females’ words. “And on such a small piece of wood.”
“You aren’t the only one,” Rachel told him. “And I’m from Earth. Don’t worry, Trax. Even Earth guys couldn’t compete with that.”
Mikki shrugged. “They could if they practiced.”
“And that would make you want them more than you wanted to get back on the board?” Rachel asked.
Mikki blushed and I felt something strange through the collar. Longing? Sadness? Regret, perhaps. Did she miss the ocean so much? Was she not going to be happy here with me? With Trax?
I gave her a nod, for she was thorough, or at least Rachel was in her imagery. It helped quite a bit, even though it had made Trax panic. “I appreciate your desire, your drive to surf. I think I’d rather fight a Hive trio than one of those waves on a board,” I admitted. “I admire your fearlessness, but you did not inform me that you had been injured.”
“It was a long time ago.”
That was not the answer I wished to hear.
“You refused to submit to a medical exam, and I allowed it. You will tell me now. I need to know every single injury and lingering weakness so that I may assess your health and properly care for you.”
“I’m fine.” She turned her head in an attempt to break away, but I held fast. Dominant. Demanding. She was mine. She would obey.
“You will catalog your injuries and defects to me so that I may treat you and assure your health. Now, or you shall be in an exam room, stripped and analyzed.”
“For once, I agree with Surnen,” Trax said, stepping closer and crossing his arms over his chest.
She looked between us. “Holy crap on a cracker. Are you kidding me with this?”
Rachel chuckled and that small sound broke the tension from Mikki’s body. “They aren’t kidding. Get used to it, Earth girl. You aren’t in Kansas anymore.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “I broke my middle toe kicking a soccer ball in sixth grade. I’ve had stitches all over my body from catching the fin on my board or rolling under and hitting rocks or coral. Coral is, well… an animal, but it looks like rock and it’s often hard. It’s under the water and is what makes waves… partly.” She sighed because I sensed her difficulty in explaining something I’d never seen. “I’ve had three concussions, all fine now, and I broke the bones around my left eye. I have wires holding my cheekbone together on the left side, but they buried the scars behind my hairline so no one would see them. I blew my ACL—” At my look, she clarified. “The ligament in my left knee, had it rebuilt… human style, and then tore it again. So two surgeries there.”
“Stop.” I could not take any more of this, especially knowing there had been no ReGen wand or pod nearby to help her. It was a wonder she was alive. “You will not abuse your body this way. Voluntarily going into the dangerous water… on a small board. Do you understand?” Mikki had more injuries than some fighters I knew.
“Now you do sound like my father,” she snapped.
“Then he was a highly intelligent male.”
She frowned, practically scowled. “That is true. But I don’t recommend talking to me the way he did.”
“Why not? He sounds like a good father.”
She pulled away, her eyes closed tightly. Her snort was rude, but it was the pain coming through the collar that made me let her go this time.
“Textbook.”
Again I was lost. “Rachel? Please translate this term.”
Rachel spun in her chair, leaned back and looked at me, and the pity in her eyes made me anxious, as it was not for Mikki but for me. “Textbook, on Earth, implies that the thing being discussed is perfect on paper. Every rule followed. Everything that is socially expected and considered normal has been done. So her father was, in the eyes of the world, perfect.”
I turned to my mate. “I do not understand. If your father was perfect, why do I feel such pain and buried anger coming from you when you speak of him?”
Mikki reached up and tugged at her collar as if it pained her. As if the connection we shared was a burden.
Rachel chuckled again. “Can’t hide anything out here, Mik. And they are relentless.”
“You would know,” Mikki fired back at her new friend.
“Exactly.”
; What were these human females discussing? And why had Rachel referred to my mate as Mik? That was not her name. “My mate’s name is Mikki,” I stated.
“Of course, it is.” Rachel’s smile was unreadable.
Females.
“I wish to scan your body to assess the lingering effects of these injuries.”
Mikki shook her head. “Oh no. I know you think humans live like Neanderthals and our healing methods are primitive.” She glanced at the line of pods. “Which they probably are, but I’m fine.”
“Surnen,” Rachel began. “I’m impressed you didn’t give your mate an exam.” She gave me a pointed look that told me she had yet to forget her own. “However, if you wish to get lucky ever again, you may just want to limit your obsession to a simple body scan.”
“Get lucky?” I asked, confused.
“Sex,” Mikki added, eyeing me. “If you ever want to have sex with me, ever again, you won’t even think about coming at me with your alien probes.”
Rachel snorted and I narrowed my gaze at her. Those probes saved lives, and if my mate needed assistance—
“I mean it. If Rachel is not freaking over this body scan, then I’ll allow that. Nothing more.”
Trax handed a wand to me. I hadn’t seen him grab it, but I was thankful and began to slowly move it in front of her body. She rolled her eyes but stood still to allow it. As if she had a choice.
Within thirty seconds the review was done and she was well. The scan didn’t reveal any defect, especially this CTE, but it did catalog prior injuries and scars. The ReGen pods didn’t heal old wounds, only fresh ones. Unless I wanted to take Mikki into surgery, reopen old wounds or rebreak old bones, then there was no point. Sometimes, such extreme measures were required, but I could not willingly damage my female. If she required such treatment, I would need to call in another doctor to inflict the injuries to her body.
And they would have to lock me in a prison cell while they hurt her, or I would most likely kill them.
“Relax, Surnen. Seriously I’m fine.” Mikki’s hand ran up and down my forearm in an attempt to comfort me, and I realized I’d allowed my extreme thoughts to bleed through the collar to her.
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