"A nest is the ultimate expression of safety and comfort. It's the centre of your home, where you and your mates will be intimate. I don't just mean physical intimacy. In a nest, it is a common rule to be completely honest with each other. A space of truth and love." He smiled and I despite his teeth, he looked happy and benign.
"Materials used to build nests depend on what you can find on your home planet. Some species will weave branches and other organic materials. My own kind uses algae and our parents' dried excrements to form the perfect nest. As I can't cover every single species in this lesson, I challenge you to look up your own traditions in the handbook I've attached."
A bing sounded, and a holographic book hovered above my communicator. Havel must have linked it to the Jade already. I had no idea what to do, so I simply pretended it was a real book and opened it. Even though my fingers didn't touch the virtual pages, the communicator seemed to recognise my movement and flicked to the first page. Although I was sure that was just for me, the book was written in English. I bet it didn't take the shape of a book for everyone either. Was that the Jade's AI's doing or something within the communicator? I'd have to ask the guys.
A table of contents showed a long list of different species.
"Pause the lesson," I said, and Professor Frog froze on the screen. I was much more interested in what I'd find out in the book than what he had to say. I clicked on Kardarians and the book's pages magically flipped to the corresponding chapter. I felt a bit like a wizard. Harry Potter, watch out, there's a new mage in town!
I skimmed the chapter, skipping the bits I already knew about Kardarians. My mates had told me how they were one of three species on their planet, that they had a variety of bright skin tones, that they had various features like fangs, tails, pointy ears and even claws. It didn't mention two cocks, but maybe that was too specific. I'd never asked Xil if he was an anomaly or if it was common among Kardarians to have more than one dick.
Kardarians use the highest quality materials they can afford. Utilising local materials is frowned upon and items from other planets is preferred. The more exotic, the better. Often, the parents of the male/males will add something from their own nest, like a pillow or blanket. Sometimes, the female's father will cover the nest with his scent to warn the males that they'll have to answer to him should they mistreat their mate.
I cringed at that. Thank goodness that wasn't an issue for me. If my males mistreated me - not that they ever would - I'd deal with them myself. No father needed and especially not his scent. Yuck. I wondered if the guys' parents would give me something for our nest once I met them.
I took one more bite of cake and continued reading.
Kardarian nests are comparatively small. They will fit the female and her mate or mates, but there's no space for furniture, offspring or other relatives.
Wait, relatives? Why on Earth would I want my relatives to be in a nest with me? That was weird. Were they supposed to watch while I slept with my guys? No way. I was surer than ever that I was lucky with my choice of mates.
While Kardarian males will take their female's opinion into account, they are very protective about their responsibility of building the perfect nest. They will continue to improve it until their female is completely satisfied. Once the nest is ready, they will mate in it repeatedly, often for several days, until the nest has taken on their scent. It's a way to stake their territory and show that they're a good match with their female.
Sex for days? Wow. Warmth pooled between my legs at the thought of being in my mates' arms, having them claim me again and again, only taking breaks to sleep and eat. It was kind of hot. Although I'd need some time to recover afterwards. The guys were big, and I could only take them so often until I got sore.
I pulled my mind out of the gutter and focused on the book.
Nests will be remade from scratch after each birth of a youngling. They increase by size each time, and it is assumed that the dwelling the family inhabits will also become larger.
Each time? How many children did Kardarians usually have? I wasn't planning on having kids any time soon, especially not several of them. I wanted to explore the galaxy together with my mates and children would only get in the way of that. One day, we'd settle down and start a family, yes, but not now.
I skimmed the rest of the text where it went into more detail of building techniques and strategies. The guys weren't letting me help with the nest anyway, so no need for me to study that. I closed the holo-book and continued watching the lesson. As interesting as some of it was, I had trouble concentrating. I wanted to know what the guys were doing.
If I'd had another piki cake, I might have been able to control my curiosity and stay on the bridge. Since I'd finished mine, however, I paused the recording. It was time to see what they were up to. And try out the nest.
Xil
Three males building one nest was a bad idea. Each of us had different ideas on how best to do it. And while they usually accepted that I was in charge, today neither wanted to back down. We all wanted to impress Trish, but we couldn't agree on what she'd want.
"This is impossible," I sighed after comparing our notes. After the first argument had almost turned into a fistfight, I'd decreed that we'd each write down our plans for the nest. Now we had three entirely different suggestions. Klat. Maybe we should have watched the IGU lesson after all. It may have explained how to solve disagreements between mates.
"Should we ask Trish to decide?" Havel asked, looking just as defeated as I felt. I didn't want to fight my friends, but there was also no way I'd back down from my plans. They were the best. Trish would love it. She'd fall into my arms and onto my cocks as soon as she'd see my nest.
"Or we could build three different nests," Matar suggested. "Then she can choose which one she wants to spend the most time in."
"We don't have space for three nests," I snapped. "Nor the time. Our parking meter is almost expired, and we haven't even ordered all the supplies we need. Staying for a second parking period will be expensive."
"Are you saying you don't like spending money on our mate?" Matar teased.
I growled at the engineer. "You know that's not true. But I want to be far away from here before Professor Katila comes up with yet another way to distract us."
"Trish is on her way here," Havel announced. "I put a tracker on her communicator after the incident earlier."
"Does she know?" I asked.
"Not yet. I didn't want to freak her out. We don't need it on the Jade, but from now on, I always want to know where she is. I don't think my heart will survive another kidnapping."
I had to agree with him. "Let's keep it quiet for now. What else have you installed?"
"All the usual. I added a Kardarian dictionary and software to help her learn our script. The translator will let her communicate with our families when we return home, but she won't be able to read any signs."
"Good thinking. Not that we'll go back to Kardar any time soon, but better to be prepared. I think she'll enjoy the challenge. Did you also add the Peritan books we downloaded during our research phase?"
Havel nodded. "Those and some of their films. For entertainment, if we're ever busy."
"I'll never be too busy for her," Matar said, but he shut up when I shot him a dark look. As our engineer, he was responsible for keeping the Jade in shape. With me flying the ship, it was Havel who'd be most likely to spend time with Trish during difficult periods. Not that I was planning to get into any space battles any time soon, but our bumpy ride to Kitt-Y-6 had shown how quickly a situation could escalate.
"I thought you'd have started by now," Trish said, stepping into the room.
"We've removed the furniture," I grumbled, aware that this wasn't going as planned. I didn't care about Professor Katila's grades anymore, but I didn't want to disappoint Trish. She deserved to be the happiest female in the galaxy.
"I can see that," she quipped. "Wasn't the bed supposed to stay?"
"We'll return that once we've decorated the floor and walls," Havel explained. "How was the lesson?"
Trish shrugged. "Quite enlightening. Is it true the father of the bride rubs his scent all over the nest?"
I exchanged a look with the guys. From the way she said that it was clear that she didn't approve.
"Sometimes," I hedged. "It's not necessary. Was the lesson about Kardarians in particular? Did they use us three as an example again?"
"No, but I was given a book that had a chapter on you. Well, your species. It said how important this ritual is for you, which is why I'm surprised that you're not finished yet. Or at least further than... this." She laughed. "Do you want me to build you a nest instead?"
"No," all three of us said, completely aghast. A female building her own nest? I'd never heard of such a travesty. It would make her males the laughing stock of the entire planet. And Kardarians loved to laugh about each other. We'd never hear the end of it.
"Then what's the problem?" Trish asked.
I sighed and pointed at our three holo notes. "We can't agree on a plan. We all have different ideas, and none of us wants to back down."
"That's kind of adorable. How about I pick and choose bits from each of those plans? I'll try and make it so each of you has the same amount of input. I don't want you to fight over this."
"That would be great," Havel nodded before I could say anything else. "If you open the menu on your communicator, you can open a blank sheet of holo paper. Then just drag and drop the parts you want."
He fiddled with his own communicator and all our notes transformed into strange scribbles. That had to be her human way of writing. It looked ugly.
Trish sat on the floor - we should have left at least a chair in the room - and started reading through our plans. There was nothing for us to do but wait.
I wasn't a patient male. In fact, waiting was torture. I sat by her side to peek at her notes, but she turned her back to me.
"Don't look until I'm done. And don't you dare try and influence me."
She knew me too well.
"I'll get us some snacks," Matar volunteered. I hoped he meant Piki cakes by that. We'd given one to Trish earlier but hadn't taken any for ourselves. I'd make sure that she got most of them, but an occasional treat for us males was fine, too. Right? Or was I supposed to save them all for our female? Maybe I should. Before the kidnapping, I may have asked Professor Katila about that, but no klatting way was I going to contact her now.
My communicator pinged, signalling our time on Kitt-Y-6 was almost over. I suppressed a scowl and paid for a second parking period. We still hadn't ordered any supplies besides some basic pillows. Those wouldn't do for Trish's nest. Plus we needed to stock up on more food and fuel. In all the excitement earlier we'd lost track of those essentials. Shopping with Trish hadn't been the only reason we'd come to the space station.
I occupied myself by scrolling through the station's virtual catalogue, adding supplies to my basket. They'd be delivered to our ship before we left. At least now that I'd paid for a second parking period, we wouldn't have to pay a surcharge for fast delivery. And maybe... yes, we should take Trish to a restaurant. If she wasn't too scared to set foot outside the Jade again. I wouldn't think any less of her for that. It was a sign of her inner strength and resilience that she was sitting here with a smile on her face despite the ordeal she'd gone through just a few hours ago.
Just in case, I reserved us a table at the Outer Ring Restaurant. I'd never usually go there - it was way too expensive - but Trish deserved to be spoiled.
* * *
By the time Matar returned with Piki cakes and a tray of fresh fruit, I'd finished ordering supplies. Now, all we had to do was get the items we needed for our nest.
"I'm done," Trish announced and looked up from her note, smiling happily. "How do I translate this back into Kardarian?"
Havel reached out and touched her holo paper, flicking it to his own communicator. As soon as it landed there, it turned into our own alphabet. He sent copies to Matar and me, and we studied what Trish had compiled.
"Perfect," Matar exclaimed. "I think this is better than any of our plans."
Trish grinned. "Sometimes, it takes more than just the sum of the parts. Do I get some cake as a reward now?"
Faster than she could see, I grabbed her and pulled her against me, pressing my lips to hers. I kissed her passionately, hoping she'd understand how much I admired her. Loved her. She was the best mate I could have ever imagined.
"Xil, stop it," Havel said with a fake sigh. "You're the one who has to authorise the purchase. Go and order everything so we can get started on building the nest."
Instead of ending the kiss, Trish wrapped her arms around my back and clung to me. No way was I going to stop now. My cocks grew hard as her body moulded against me, a perfect fit. Our tongues danced, and it felt like our very first kiss once again. Every kiss with her was a new experience. It got better every single time, even though that was impossible. Our first kiss had been amazing, so how could it get even better?
Finally, I pulled away, breathless. Her eyes were wide, her lips swollen. I loved that look on her.
"Just send the klatting order," Matar said and pulled Trish to her feet, away from me. I immediately grew cold where she'd touched me. Being without her was like a brooding emptiness took over my heart, reminding me of how it had felt to almost lose her. It had been the worst moment of my life when I'd realised she'd been taken. I never wanted to feel anything like that ever again.
I quickly submitted the order, then snatched a piece of cake. If I couldn't have Trish, then I'd eat the second-best thing. As soon as we had our nest, I'd taste her, too. She loved it when I was between her legs, letting my tongue explore her most secret places. I enjoyed making her gasp with pleasure, have her grasp my head to prevent me from moving away.
"It won't be long before we get everything delivered," I told the others. "But I still want to build the nest without you watching, Trish. I know you've seen the plans, but I need it to be a surprise. It's tradition for the female to only see the nest once it's completed."
"I understand. I'll go and play with the tribitt," she said. "Hopefully he's done napping by now."
When we'd pursued her kidnappers, Matar had thrust the little animal at the stall owner. Luckily, it had still been there when we returned. I wasn't sure if the Brontes had been involved in Professor Katila's plot, but I hadn't trusted him one bit.
I watched as she left the room, a little sad that I couldn't go with her. But we had to build a nest. I looked back at the plans. We were going to have to hurry up or we'd never finish this today.
Trish
The tribitt - I still hadn't decided on a name - was exhausted by the time the guys called me. We'd played for hours, and I’d started to get a good idea of the little space bunny's abilities. He was intelligent, and it shouldn't be too hard to teach him some tricks. The tribitt used his ears to communicate his mood. Hanging down was sad or tired, up straight seemed to be excited and him flicking them in my face was his way of telling me that he wanted food. Plus, a growl coming from his belly.
He also squeaked occasionally, and when I scratched him between his ears, he did something resembling a purr. It was the cutest sound ever.
Using my new communicator, I'd read up on tribitts and now knew that they ate almost anything. Very handy. I'd grabbed some stuff from the kitchen, and he'd scoffed down everything I gave him with no apparent preference for this or that. It would make feeding him easy. We could give him leftovers from meals without having to buy tribitt food. If that even existed.
The guide also mentioned that tribitts could get aggressive towards strangers, so I would make sure he'd cuddled with all the guys at least once. Although it would be fun to see the little green animal attack one of my mates. Would they fight back or simply let it happen?
I sat him into his bed, which was basically a large pillow I'd found in the cargo bay, and kissed him o
n his forehead. The tribitt yawned without opening his eyes. I smiled. Despite everything that had happened on the station, our shopping trip had been worth it.
I left him to sleep in peace and headed to the main bedroom. I had to admit I was a little nervous. The guys could be... intense when it came to their traditions. I sniggered when I remembered the first probing. They'd been so eager and at the same time terrified to make a mistake. By now, they'd accepted that we were all learning together, that it didn't have to be perfect the first time round - and that they weren't ever going to probe me again. One time had been enough, especially when knowing that they'd done a report about it for Professor Katila. She knew everything about our love life, and I hated that. Once we were done with the whole nest thing, I'd have to talk to the guys about perhaps dropping the IGU course. They'd be most willing to do so while the memory of my abduction was still fresh in their minds. And mine.
I shuddered and pushed that thought for away.
Havel waited outside the bedroom, brimming with excitement.
"You're not allowed to enter until they give me the blue light."
"Blue? On Earth... Peritus it would be a green light."
"I'm blue, so it's a blue light," he said simply, as if that explained everything. "Did you have fun with the tribitt?"
Before I could answer, the door slid open. Xil and Matar stepped into the corridor.
"We're ready," Xil announced in a strangely sombre tone. Tradition bids us to let you enter the nest first and arrange it to your liking. If there's anything that you don't like, remove it. Then... ehm..."
"Strip naked," Matar interrupted with a wide grin. "We'll join you as soon as we get changed into our ceremonial outfits."
I was starting to realise that this was an even bigger deal for them than I'd thought, even after reading the lesson and reading the chapter on Kardarians. I guessed I wasn't used to them being so flustered and solemn.
Alien Abduction for Professionals Page 5