Trian's Spark

by T. Cobbin

  “No, we just know. The female understands.” If the tone of a voice could shrug, Hover’s did just that.

  “This is what I’m trying to explain. We aren’t your species. Human women like to be wined, dined, and dated. We like to be asked if we want to sleep with you or not. Shall I go on, or do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Every single male nodded, but no one said anything, they just continued to stare at her.

  She turned her attention back to Trian. Standing, she waved her hands in the air, her anger rising once again. “So, what? You’re just gonna nod? You’re not going to make sure your men don’t just throw their energy toward us and expect us to adore them for the rest of time?”

  Trian’s hot, raking gaze washed over her body before he answered. “I will talk to my men and our fellow Gracians. If you’ll help us, Amelia, I’m sure we can change the way our people go about finding their sparks amongst your people.”

  Satisfaction that she’d been heard made her feel better, for herself and for her fellow women. Trian’s swirling eyes gazed down at her. Yet again she felt like a rabbit caught in a car’s headlights. They were fascinating. She could watch them all day. Her entrancement with Trian’s eyes was broken when Hover cleared his throat to the right of her.

  Heat flushed Amelia’s cheeks as she turned her head to look at Hover. “What do we do about Bell?” she asked.

  “What do you mean do about Bell? She’s my spark.” Everyone’s attention was drawn to Knut. He’d begun to struggle once more between the two other males. “Please don’t take her away from me. We will both die. Please. I’ll take care of her. I’ll—”

  “Quiet,” Trian barked.

  Knut dropped to his knees. “Please, Captain. I swear I will cherish her. The baby will be brought up as ours.”

  “I said be quiet,” Trian snapped before turning his attention back to Amelia, although his eyes didn’t meet hers. “Hover is right. If Bell is growing an iungo, then I’m afraid she will need the energy that only Knut can provide. Her body will know his energy on a cellular level, there is no way to amend that. Also, when she becomes aware, the Gracian heat will make her want Knut.” Finally, his sorrowful eyes met hers before a steeled look came over them. “I cannot change the way our males seek out their mates quickly, Amelia. I can only vow that we will watch over these new mates of our men until we can make a ruling.”

  She glanced toward Bell, and then looked at Knut, who was still on his knees but avidly watching them, waiting for her answer.

  Amelia sighed heavily. Trian was right. If these men were used to just touching their potential sparks, they wouldn’t change until they could be informed in the ways of the humans. As for Bell, she was already unconscious and growing this connector thing that was used to pass energy. Making a decision quickly, Amelia gave the men an ultimatum.

  “Fine,” she snapped a little too harshly. “Knut can stay and help Bell. But I want Hover and I here as soon as she wakes up. If Bell decides she wants nothing to do with him,” she said, pointing at Knut, “then you will work out something to help Bell through this heat and provide the energy she will now need from you guys.”

  “Amelia, I don’t think you understand,” Hover said with an apologetic tone. “Bell will seek out Knut. The energy that he sent to her body will alight her own. Her body and mind will know Knut as her mate.”

  “So, you’re telling me because she will him seek him out...” She pointed again to the male on his knees. “She won’t grieve anymore? She will simply allow him to bring this baby up even though it isn’t his?”

  “Her grieving process won’t be as severe as it was. Her ex will slip to the back of her mind. She will feel sadness of course, but only in passing, as if she lost him many cycles ago.”

  “And the baby?” Amelia asked, stunned. “How do you know she will allow Knut to bring it up as his own?” she asked in a sarcastic manner.

  Poor Bell. She had no idea what would hit her when she woke up. Amelia had grown close to the young woman over the last few days. Bell’s grief for her deceased boyfriend had been heavy in her heart. She didn’t know if she’d ever get over losing him. Bell had, however, accepted she was pregnant and was looking forward to having a part of her boyfriend with her.

  Hover grimaced. “We have never come across this situation before. What I just told you about mates is true. But as for the child being brought up, it falls into the unknown. We as a species can only have infants with our mates.”

  Suddenly, Captain Fortua zapped into the room along with his second-in-command. The room, which had once seemed so large, now seemed too small with so many huge men standing in it. Fortua glanced around the room, his gaze halting when he spotted Amelia.

  “Amelia, it’s good to see you again. Once I heard what was going on, I immediately came to find out if you were okay.”

  Yeah, right, like that was your reason for coming. Nosey git.

  “Are you saying I can’t look after my visitors?” Trian snapped at Fortua.

  Both captains stared at each other for a long moment.

  “Nothing of the sort, Captain,” Fortua said, backing down. “But in your present condition I thought you might need my help.”

  Amelia’s attention immediately swung to Trian. “What condition?” she asked without thinking.

  Trian turned an annoyed look toward Fortua before settling his gaze upon her. Fear, worry, and sorrow met her stare.

  “It’s not something you need worry yourself with, Amelia. But thank you for the concern.” His eyes quickly left her and returned to the captain. “Please greet me with your presence in my office.”

  Trian zapped from the room and was gone, followed quickly by Fortua and his second-in-command.

  “So, what now?” Amelia asked Hover.

  “That depends on whether or not you will allow Knut to look after Bell.”

  Amelia moved to stand beside Bell. She looked like the fairy-tale princess Snow White sleeping peacefully before the prince kissed her.

  “Well, as far as you are concerned, there is nothing I can do.” She turned to see a hopeful look in Knut’s swirling eyes. “However, you can’t expect me to do nothing, so when she wakes up, please inform me, and when this mating heat dies down I want to speak to her again.”

  “I promise I will contact you when she wakes.” Knut swallowed and nodded.

  She walked past the four men. Reaching the door, she turned to face Knut once more. “If you hurt her, I’ll cut off your gonads and hand them back to you to use as earrings!”

  The male growled and looked disgusted, as if he wouldn’t ever harm her, but nodded.

  Turning her attention back to Hover, she said, “Hover, may I ask a question before I go?”

  “Yes, Amelia, always.”

  “You told me before that when one of your females meets her mate and they touch, that your females fall unconscious like ours, right?”

  Hover nodded.

  “Why is that? Us human women fall asleep while we grow these iungo things, but your females have it already.”

  “Our females are fed energy by their parents until they meet their mates,” Hover started to explain. “But when they meet their mate, his energy is different, and her body has to adjust to receiving his energy, as well as gaining it differently than she did from her parents.”

  “Like sexually?” Amelia asked.

  She’d spent quite a lot of time over the last few days asking questions, and she was slowly discovering just how different these Gracians were from humans. These aliens had once been like her species. They’d had wars, disagreements, and had taken a lot of substances for their usage from their planet’s core. Once they realized the damage they were causing, things changed. Before they had left the planet seeking out mates, they had evolved into a peaceful species and placed their wars behind them. They had adapted their lives to treating their planet better too, taking only what was needed and recycling all they could.

  “Yes, s
exually. But your females are adapting a lot quicker than our own.” Hover glanced down at the chrono screen he was holding. “Each of the new sparks that have been found have become aware more quickly than our own.”

  That was another thing Amelia had to asked about. Hover had obliged and shown her many scans and such to show her what an iungo was. It was a small metal dot connector that grew underneath the skin at the back of the neck, or in any of the Gracian parents, underneath their middle finger. They were connected to something similar to the human blood vessel system. Whereas the humans had blood, the Gracians had energy.

  “You’re saying the human females are becoming conscious quicker than your own? Why? We have blood, not an energy system like yours.” Amelia thought back to her nursing rotation she’d done before qualifying as a midwife. “Oh, hang on.” She halted Hover as he was about to speak. “It’s our blood vessels, isn’t it? The reason we’re becoming aware quicker is because the iungo can send the received energy through our veins. Our bodies don’t have to make the extra vessels to do this. And because our parents didn’t feed us energy, our bodies don’t have to adjust to another’s.”

  Hover’s bushy eyebrows rose to the top of his hairline. “You’re very clever, Amelia,” he said with surprise in his voice. “That small tidbit of information took me two days to work out. I couldn’t understand why the human females were becoming aware sooner.”

  Amelia’s cheeks heated at his compliment. “Thank you. I umm…” She glanced at Knut, who was still kneeling on the floor, his eyes staring toward Bell with longing. “I’ll be leaving you with Bell. Please look after her and inform me when she wakes.”

  Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left the room.

  Chapter 10

  Trian’s anger was like lava underneath his skin. “There was no need for you to enter that room. I am the captain of this ship, and I can deal with everything that goes on in it,” he shouted at Fortua who stood with a smirk on his face.

  The male had been in the same academy as both Trian and Iryano, and he was as smug and self-centered now as he had been then. Both he and Iryano had gotten themselves into a fray of some sort with the man which had resulted in them being reprimanded. It was hard to remember what they’d done now with it being so long ago. But even if Trian couldn’t remember, the animosity was still there toward the male. Frinx! Why did it have to be this captain of the Gracian fleet to arrive first?

  A stream of blue energy burst from three of Trian’s fingertips on his right hand and flew across the room, bouncing off the wall and hitting a screen on his desk. It just missed hitting Fortua’s second-in-command who had jumped to the left to stand at the back of his captain. Frinx!

  “How many times is that now, Captain Trian?” Fortua asked smoothly, the smirk never leaving his face. His second stepped from behind him, acting like nothing was wrong. “Is it not time to pass the ship over now?” Fortua asked.

  “Iryano,” Trian snapped out as he pressed a button on his comm, refusing to answer Fortua.

  As much as Trian hated it, Fortua was right. Trian’s flares were coming faster now. His energy was always bubbling underneath his skin. No amount of sparring or zapping was diminishing it. He also knew he was snapping or growling at his men constantly. His moods were becoming dark. But throughout it all, he had a few moments’ peace each time he thought of that long, purple-haired human who had the voice of an angel and the body of someone he could curl up with in comfort.

  Iryano suddenly appeared in Trian’s office instead of replying to his comm.

  “Captain Fortua will be leaving our ship and going back to his own.” Trian glared at the other captain before turning his attention to his second. “I’ll be indisposed for a bit.”

  Iryano frowned but nodded.

  Trian eyed Fortua. “I am still in command of this ship until my second or I see fit. My men are loyal to me, Fortua, not you.” That said, he zapped from the room with only one destination in mind.

  Trian drew a long breath into his lungs. His body burned. He had flared five times already today, and it was still early. Had he waited too late to talk to Amelia and touch her? Did he have enough time before he succumbed to the madness of too much energy in his body? He’d been so close to handing over the ship to Iryano and talking to Amelia when Basup had informed him that the Hanja had entered their space.

  Trian growled as he looked at the door to Amelia’s room. He didn’t want to die yet; he felt as if he had so much to live for and see. His kind could have more mates on the green and blue planet below their ship. It was he who had started that process off by simply rescuing those females. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t made that decision.

  The human females were so much different than his own. They didn’t like to be pushed into a relationship as Iryano, Sharpie, and Knut had found out. Trian sighed. At least if Amelia wasn’t his spark, he could give up his life and know he might just have started his people’s lives once more.

  Trian knew the second his friend zapped in not far behind him. He didn’t question how Iryano had found him. Trian had shared the fact that Amelia might be his mate several times.

  “Are you going to talk to her or stand in this hallway until you combust?” Iryano asked.

  Trian growled low. “What if she isn’t?”

  “You’ll never know unless you talk to her and touch her.”

  Trian turned his attention to his friend. Since he’d found his mate Iryano had almost a happy glow. He was so much more relaxed. Trian half-smiled and clasped Iryano’s shoulder in a friendly gesture. “I’m happy you’ve found your spark.”

  Iryano gave Trian a wry smile. “Yours could be in that room. Do not give in now.”

  Fortua crossed Trian’s mind. “Has Fortua left?”

  “Yes, and before you ask, yes the sensors to notify us of extra personnel on board have been activated.”

  “Good.”

  Now the crew would know if Fortua or any of his men zapped onboard the Gemorph. Trian berated himself for not thinking of that sooner. Never mind, it’s done now. Staring at his lifelong friend, Trian had no doubt that Iryano would make a fine captain for the Gemorph or any other ship in the Gracian fleet for that matter.

  Trian glanced at Amelia’s door, then he looked back to meet Iryano’s gaze. “The ship is yours if this doesn’t work. I’m too close, my friend. I can’t hurt anyone. The chrono screen declaring you captain of the Gemorph is on my desk. I could not have asked for a better friend at my side.”

  Before Iryano could reply the door to Amelia’s room whooshed open to reveal a stunned Amelia.

  “Oh… Umm… Sorry,” she stuttered. “I was umm…”

  “I came to talk to you,” Trian said. “That is, if you have time.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Iryano zapping away. A sadness suddenly gripped Trian. If Amelia wasn’t his spark, that would be the last conversation he had with his friend. However, Trian had no doubt that the Gemorph and the crew would be left in good hands.

  “Yes, of course. Please come in,” she said, gesturing for him to enter her cabin. “I was heading out to get some lunch, but it can wait.”

  Trian walked past Amelia, getting as close as he could to her without touching. He drew in her scent—flowers. He couldn’t help but notice Amelia’s perky nipples pushed against the top of the flowing, white gown that the Gracian females wore. She looked like a goddess.

  His cock stiffened and grew uncomfortable in his pants. His patience was so thin it almost snapped his self-control. He wanted to touch her, see if she was his spark. He wanted to envelope her in his arms and hold her while her body adjusted to receive his energy. His need to be inside of her to relieve her heat was palatable.

  “What is it you wanted, Trian?” Amelia asked, pulling him out of his lustful thoughts.

  “I need to ask you something I’ve been putting off for a while.”

  “Oh?”

  “Are you drawn to me
, Amelia?”

  Confusion and shocked echoed through her face and eyes.

  “Frinx. Sorry. What I mean is…” He couldn’t find the words. He was the captain of a ship that had roamed the stars for long cycles and there he stood in front of his potential mate and he was tongue-tied.

  She stepped forward and held out a hand as if to touch him.

  “No!” he shouted without thinking.

  Amelia retreated back from him, fear and worry replacing her shock.

  “No,” he said more calmly. “Frinx!” He swore again and hung his head, running his hands through his hair.

  “What is up, Trian?” Amelia asked softly.

  Inhaling deeply, he released his breath slowly. “You know our kind have sparks.” She nodded. “How would you feel if you were mine?”

  Amelia’s eyebrows rose to her hairline. Her long, purple hair was currently fluttering at her waist. He’d asked her once why her hair color was different from the other females in her group. She had told him when her ex had left, she’d dyed it for the first time, feeling rebellious. And since then, over the last year, she had changed the color each month. This month was purple. Trian knew then that he would find a way to acquire hair dye for her. Well, he’d ask Iryano to if Amelia wasn’t Trian’s mate.

  He glanced down Amelia’s body, taking in every single part of her. Even if this female wasn’t his mate, she was sure going to make some man happy. Jealousy rode him hard thinking of another male touching her.

  Gracian men were capable of loving and having a relationship with a female who wasn’t their mate. However, she wouldn’t be able to accept the male’s energy, thus leaving the couple with several problems. His excess power and her need of her mate’s or her parents’ energy. Only a woman meant for the male could prevent him from eventually flaring. That was why the Gracians had built sex bots to help the male population with its growing problem when the females started to decrease. The bots had a built-in iungo at the base of their necks. They were built to be able to absorb the energy the male emitted in sex and convert it to its inner battery. But even that didn’t stop the unmated Gracian men from having problems. Their increased moods and energy often left them wanting to fight rather than having sex. Eventually their sex drive depleted enough that they needed medical help to stimulate the situation, but even then impotence could kick in. At that point they knew the end was near.