Quinn squeezed my hand and said, “Go ahead, my mate. Although to be honest I think the description is accurate.”
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I told them, “I had no food, no credits and now, no job. A space station is not a great place to be unemployed and broke. In fact it can be downright dangerous. The officials did not believe in charity. If they caught you loafing or begging they were very likely to toss you out of an airlock. I became desperate.”
“I spent all day roaming the Docking Bays, asking around but no one needed a navigator or for that matter any other crewmember. Crazy options came into my head and I was just pondering selling my blood to space faring vampires when I heard that maybe a ship had just docked that needed a First Mate.”
“The trouble was no-one knew where the ship had birthed or could recall exactly how to get in touch with the Captain. I roamed around aimlessly looking and inquiring. Unfortunately I ran into the Space Station police at one point and they detained me for loitering. I guess I was lucky they released me at the end of their shift. They certainly could have handed me over to their Chief and if I had been I don’t think any of you would be here listening to this story.”
“It was so late in the evening there wasn’t anything I could really do. Most of the crews of the other ships had made their return trips already and the docking bays were abandoned. I gave up, wandered into the bar and luckily enough for me convinced the bartender to give me a tab.”
I added, “I was so depressed that when I told him just to pour me anything I downed it in a few gulps without even knowing what it was. The sweet furry buzz started in my head and I felt better than I had in a long time. It’s very true though that you should never drink in excess to the point you don’t know what you are doing. The next thing I know, I’m feeling very mellow, a bit lonely and everyone around me seemed very friendly. I guess I talked to everybody and anything.”
“I don’t even recall exactly when the Xolian crew came in. It seems to me that all of a sudden I was talking to them, well specifically, their Captain. He had this tight leather uniform on and I’d never seen anything like it; so soft and form fitting. I know what you are asking yourself. How did I know it was soft? I felt the sleeve.”
“I’m aware now that I gave the Captain the impression that I was interested in him. In a way I was. I needed an employer. Wanting to make a really good impression I looked right into his eyes and asked what his name was. He said it was Captain Quinn of the Narada Marant.”
“You can imagine I nearly choked! That was the name of the ship rumored to be seeking a First Mate. I was so excited then I asked if I could have the job. I may have exaggerated a little on my qualifications but remember, I was running out of time on that space station.”
Laughing, I added, “Quinn kept buying me drinks and talking about his ship, about life on Xolia. After awhile the world to spin and I asked Quinn if we could go to his ship. He helped me up, supported me to some government office and I signed the contract for employment. I was just a bit drowsy and tipsy, I swear. It wasn’t till the next day when I woke up beside Quinn in bed that I came to understand that I had become his mate. I mean at that point in my life I was straight, never been with a man… never even considered it.’
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Quinn:
I had to interrupt my mate. His story made it sound like I had basically abducted and corrupted him. I shifted the child on my lap and gave Del a look that stopped him mid-sentence. Twenty-five years together and it was easy to judge each other’s moods. He sensed correctly that I wanted input into this story. The children and group of friends waited patiently to hear my side.
“Before you think your poor Second Grandfather was forced into anything or tricked, I wanted to get a word in,” I told the group.
“Ha, I was hoping you would, Sir, because Del makes it sound like he wasn’t all over you that night!” Kasen exclaimed from where he stood behind the children. I spotted Duron and he was nodding acknowledgement.
“I don’t remember being all over him, Kasen,” Del said.
“Then I’ll remind you, little human,” I told him with a chuckle. He punched me lightly on the arm again at my use of a very old endearment he had never really cared for.
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I explained what really happened, “I had been wanting a mate for a very long time and was sort of down about never finding the right man. My fathers were laying on the pressure more and more to produce heirs and to return to Xolia to raise them. I mean it wasn’t like I hadn’t tried finding one. But not many Xolians like Space Service and care to follow a mate around the universe. There’s also only a few species compatible with us and I’m not fond of Rathians or Tragers. To be honest I told the crew that night that I must be unlovable and doomed to be single forever. Yes, I was tempting fate.”
“We entered the bar and found a nice, quiet spot away from crowd. Almost immediately, Del wandered over and kept glancing at us as he drank. After the bartender whispered something to him he seemed very interested in our group.
“He seemed to watch us for a long time. Every time one of us looked at him, he'd quickly look away. It became obvious that he wanted to talk to us.”
“Duron kept whispering in my ear that the little human was giving me the looks. I said he had to be mistaken but then Del scooted over to be right next to me. He leaned up quite close, smiling and all friendly and asked my name.”
“I said it was Captain Quinn of the Narada Marant. When I did Del laid his hand on my arm and said it was a nice uniform. Basically flirting with me. Del even told me I had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. I thought he was smitten. I was very flattered and found myself starting to really like him.”
“He claims now he doesn’t remember saying all that but I have witnesses.”
“I bought him another drink and told him about the ship. Del listened with such interest he never took his eyes off of me. He even winked a few times and kept making cute faces at me. Of course he’d tell you he was trying not to sneeze but at the time, I swear he was flirting with me.”
Finally I added, “As we talked it was mentioned by somebody, I think it was Kasen, that I didn't have a mate. At this point Del was practically sitting in my lap and cuddling with me.”
--------------
“I was not!” Del argued, sitting forward and startling the toddler on my lap.
“We can still go back to the space station and obtain the surveillance videos,” I threatened.
Del scoffed, “25 years later?”
Kasen interjected, “Ohhhh don't worry I obtained them a long time ago and kept them safe in case this ever came up again! Shall we watch them?”
Our friends and the older children laughed. Del waved his hand at Kasen, laughing good-naturedly. “No, no. Don't go to all that trouble. I'm sure you're busy,” Del told him.
“No trouble at all, Del,” Kasen said and turned to go fetch the disk.
Del sat up straight and barked out with authority, “Captain Kasen, I order you to sit and listen to the story.”
Smiling, Kasen returned to his position by the wall.
I told the group, “I lamented about how sad I was that I had no mate and Del says quite emphatically that he wants to be First Mate.”
When the children grinned up at him Del answered, “To be fair, I thought it was a job.”
I continued, “I became so excited! I kept asking Del if he was certain. When Del agreed that he was, I bought us all another round of drinks.”
“You got mated that night, right?” My eldest grandson asked.
“Yes, we did,” I answered
The boy added, “But you didn't confiscate right away. Del fell asleep and you took him on board the Narada Marant.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Confiscate? Oh you mean consummate. No, I tucked him in and we both fell asleep cuddling. He was pretty surprised the next day.”
“And t
hen he was First Officer Del!” One of the boys announced. Again there was a round of happy clapping.
“Yes, he was,” I told them.
“And then he ran away!” The children cried gleefully. They loved that part of the story apparently.
I tried to get them back under control before we had to go through that entire story. I said, “Well yes but…”
They were too excited now. One jumped up and announced, “But you went and saved him from Fly Guy!”
The others laughed at his antics and booed the mention of the bad guy. I noticed Del was really enjoying this moment so I let them continue.
“And First Grandfather popped off the bug's head like this!” The lad said, demonstrating by squeezing his hands together and grunting.
“That was a bit later,” Del corrected.
Now they all wanted a piece of the story. One of the youngsters shouted, “And Kai joined the ship!”
Another added, “And Second Grandfather got as big as a ship!”
“Hey, now!” Del argued. “I was not!”
The eldest answered back, “But First Grandfather said it! Then you popped out two babies!”
Another child begged, “Ohhh, tell us about that. Please, Second Grandfather! And how the trees stole them from you and how later Brync and Kai had an egg they didn’t want anybody to know about.”
Before Del could respond we were interrupted by the sudden arrival of one of my assistants. He stood a bit unsure in the doorway but said to me, “Sire, I'm afraid the delegates from Nazus are here early. Shall I have them wait for you in the throne room?”
“No, I'm coming. Could you hold off on the rest of this story till I come back?” I asked the group. “The part about Hastor’s and Braxx’s child makes me laugh every time.”
“And Dad’s adventures trying to be the Captain of the ship are so funny!” My son told us.
I rose to leave and heard Del ask the children, “Now who has room for some cheese crackers?”
There was a whole chorus of voices saying, “Ohhhh I want some!”
I stopped in the doorway, turned and told my mate, “Take it easy on those Del, you're not eating for two.”
“But I am,” Our son replied, patting his flat belly. “I guess I could have waited to tell you. Child number four is due in about eleven months.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you.” Del leapt up with the young child still in his arms and hugged his son. Stepping back, chuckling, Del handed him the whole box of cracker, “Here, keep your strength up.”
I held out my hand to Del. He set his grandson on the floor then joined me. As I embraced him with a kiss to his head I told him, “I love you so much, my little human mate.”
I yelped in mock fear as Del growled at me and pushed me through the door.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine Wright is a counselor, wife and mother of two grown girls. She and her family, including two dogs, a cat and a hedgehog live in Kansas. No, she is not overly fond of the Wizard of Oz in case readers ask. She does however love writing and telling stories. Her favorite activity is researching the strange topics that end up in her books. Recently she discovered the mating habits of octopi. She is the author of Light Years Away and Gravitational Forces.
FOUND ON AMAZON
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Wright/e/B019W17GZE/
MORE ADVENTURES
If you enjoy Doctor Who, Star Trek Into Darkness and Sherlock you’ll love her fanfiction stories on archiveofourown.org as author 221B_Johnkhanlocked. All of it MM!
If you enjoyed this book, kindly leave a review.
Supernova Page 19
