by Octavia Kore
The lab clothes weren’t necessarily uncomfortable, but Jun and the rest of the humans on board weren’t exactly thrilled to be stuck in them for longer than they needed.
“Most of the crew are not assigned to a specific ship, or at least not long term. Most bring only enough for the mission. I wouldn’t be surprised if these have been empty for a long time.”
The rumbling of his voice at her back sent a shiver of awareness down Jun’s spine, and she turned her head, peering up at his as he looked down at her. At a mere four foot eleven inches, being the short one in the room was a common enough occurrence, but these guys were giants.
Not so long ago, she’d stared up at Brin and Oshen and marveled at their height, but if she had to guess, she’d say Nuzal had a solid foot on Oshen, coming in close to eight feet tall. No wonder the bed in here was so big.
It was so large in fact, that she was almost positive all three of them could climb in and sleep comfortably. The thought made her cheeks flush, and she mentally berated herself for acting like some blushing virgin from one of lola’s old romance novels. Clearing her throat, Jun slipped around Nuzal, only to run head first into Brin’s chest.
“It’s always a pleasure running into you, Shayfia.” Brin leaned to the side to peer into the empty space. “Most ships this size have one or two molecular synthesizers on board.”
The dark tentacles on Nuzal’s neck swayed when he nodded. “Likely in the common area.”
“A what now?”
Brin grinned, tapping her chin playfully with the tip of his finger. “A replicator, usually for food or clothing.”
“I knew that,” Jun mumbled, swatting his hand away as she squeezed between their bodies.
Nuzal led them down the hall, past the other open doors leading to nearly identical rooms as the one they had ventured into. The hall came to a stop at a set of double doors that slid open to reveal a large, open room, big enough to fit all of the rescued humans and then some.
There were a few tables with wide chairs set around them, and a long counter top to her right with trays and small storage boxes stacked on top of one another. Some sort of tech was set into the wall on their right. Lights flickered on and off as characters scrolled across the screens in front of them.
“The last Grutex vessel I was on was not this well-endowed,” Brin murmured as he moved to take a closer look, running his fingers over the edges of consoles. “The Venium don’t even have these upgrades yet. Imagine the things Nyissa and I could do––”
“No improvements, Glowworm. We need these things to be fully functional.”
Brin turned slowly, placing his hand on his chest in mock offense. “Are you insinuating that I wouldn’t leave them in proper working order? They’d be even better than before.”
“You’re full of yourself.”
She was going to strain her eyes with the amount of rolling they’d done in the time they had known one another, but he looked genuinely excited for the first time since their capture. The sight of the light sparking in his eyes again made her chest tighten and she looked away, not wanting him to see how close she was to tears.
Instead, she focused her attention on Nuzal, watching him as he stepped up to one of the other displays. Jun still wasn’t sure how they were going to move forward, or if she was even making the right choice by entertaining the notion of having two mates, but something about these two alien males made her want to see it through.
As if Nuzal could sense her eyes on him, he glanced over his wide shoulders and cleared his throat before gesturing for her to join him. His long, armored tail curled around his leg as she approached his side. Whether it was a shy, self-conscious gesture or one meant to keep her away from the barbs at the end, she wasn’t sure.
“If it’s clothing you’re looking for, this is as close to it as you’ll get on this vessel,” Nuzal told her as she stared at the machine, her eyes following the alien characters as they moved across the screen. “A molecular synthesizer, or a replicator, is simply a matter-energy converter, which means it converts energy into––”
“I’ll take your word for it, Nuzal.” Jun laughed. “How does it work and will it make clothing sufficient enough for the group to move around comfortably?”
While Jun was used to patients complaining about their hospital gowns and how uncomfortable their accommodations were, she’d found herself frustrated and overwhelmed by the number of times she heard her fellow humans gripe that the gowns bothered them, that the lights on the ship were too bright, or that the floors where they had chosen to rest were not soft enough.
Aside from Jun, the group had remained in the large space where they’d sheltered during the trip and subsequent crash landing. They hadn’t wanted to venture any further to find more accommodating spaces, but she figured the promise of clothing, bathrooms, and even beds might lure them down here.
“Jun? Are you guys in there?” The doors slid open, and Telisa peered in cautiously, her eyes darting around the room until they landed on Jun. Her shoulders sagged with relief, and she turned back into the hall, gesturing toward the common area. “Come on, nothing to be afraid of. Jun’s already inside.”
The first one through the door was Roman, a beast of a man who had been in a cell close to her and Telisa back on the ship. Onyx-colored tentacles, just like the ones Nuzal had, ran up his neck and into the braids at the base of his skull, just behind his ears. Roman’s skin, once as dark as Jun’s, now had a mauve tint to it that was even more pronounced under the bright lights in the common area. His blue eyes lit up when they landed on the replicator in front of Nuzal.
“Holy shit,” he breathed, his mouth dropping open as he gaped in fascination. “Is this an honest to God replicator? Like, a real life produces-food-and-textiles replicator?”
“I was just about to show Jun what it’s currently capable of producing.”
Oh, God, another tech junkie. “Nuzal said this one should be able to help with the clothing situation.”
“This is the strangest way one of my dreams has come true,” Roman said with the shake of his head. “But I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to see one in action.”
“You don’t even know if it’s safe,” a tall, slender man with short brown hair cautioned. The gills on his neck flared, and he lifted claw-tipped fingers up to brush over them.
“Listen, if it can get me out of this getup,” he waved at his gown, “then I’m willing to take the chance. Let’s get started, big guy.”
Nuzal narrowed his eyes at Roman, but directed him to stand on a circular plate a few steps away. “Stand still. It only takes one rotation.”
They all watched as Nuzal brought up a different screen and a voice began to speak in a language she recognized as one the Grutex used during the start of the conflict on Earth.
“That sounds reassuring,” the one with gills deadpanned.
Xavier, that was his name. Jun side-eyed him, but remained quiet. It was understandable that many, if not all of them, were weary of the Grutex and their tech, but that didn’t mean this wouldn’t wear on her nerves.
“Will we be given translators?” Telisa asked as a few more curious people stepped into the common room behind her.
“What for?” one of the women asked. “I don’t plan on staying on some alien planet long enough to need one. I’m going back home as soon as I can.” There were a few murmurs of agreement from the gathering crowd.
“I’m sure when we reach Venora, those of you who wish to receive them will have the chance to,” Brin answered.
Nuzal looked over at Roman, his finger hovering over the screen. “Are you ready?”
Roman chuckled, practically trembling with excitement. “Fire her up!”
The replicator beeped once as Nuzal backed away, and twice more after that like a countdown. A thin line of light shot out, stopping on Roman’s torso and extending from his feet all the way up to his head. The plate he stood on lit up, and a moment later it spun him slowly
as the light moved over his form. It stopped after the rotation, and a three-dimensional image popped up on the hologram display. It gave what she assumed were Roman’s measurements at his shoulders, chest, and waist just before chimes sounded and a drawer just beneath the replicator slid open.
“Take it out,” Nuzal instructed him. “See how it fits.”
The group watched with bated breath as Roman reached inside and began to pull out something black.
“Whoa!” Roman exclaimed as the material began to encase his wrists and forearms, running up to his shoulders and spreading downward. Gasps and cries of distress filled the room, but when the material finally stopped, Roman looked up with a grin before tearing his lab gown away.
Beneath the soiled and ragged article, a sleek black suit clung to Roman’s body. It looked as if it had come straight out of the superhero movies that were popular on Earth before the invasion occurred. Roman twisted and turned, giving them all a good look and showcasing the fact that these things, just like the superhero suits, left little to the imagination. The black material stopped at his neck and wrists, but encased his feet.
“How do you get it off?” Jun asked, as Roman ran his hands over the collar.
“These are a relatively recent invention, but from what I can recall, the suits are actually a living organism. In exchange for the protection it offers, the organism feeds off of the dead cells from plating, or in your case, skin.” A small smile crept over Nuzal’s face as Jun scrunched her nose at the description. “Once the suit is on, you can remove it by saying, suit down. It will shrink itself down, but it remains on your body in the form of a small circle somewhere on the foot. To bring it back up, you say suit up.”
“It knows English?” Telisa asked, reaching out to touch Roman’s arm.
“It can comprehend English commands, yes, as well as any other language in the Grutex database. That includes many other human languages.”
“A symbiont,” Roman breathed as he looked down at himself. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be wearing something like this.”
“The engineers who created them were hoping to come up with a more sustainable clothing option, but they are not being widely distributed yet. The organism takes time to cultivate, so very few warriors have been given the chance to actually use these.” Nuzal held his hand out to Jun. “Do you want to go next?”
She was as eager to shuck this gown as any of the others, but having some organism attach itself to her body to feed off of her dead skin cells was so… alien. Jun cast a glance toward Brin, seeking silent reassurance.
He gave her a very human shrug and grinned. “If you don’t take your turn, I will. I’ve had it with these rags.”
With a huff of amusement, Jun placed her hand in Nuzal’s, allowing him to guide her through the same process as Roman. The plate in the floor spun her as the replicator scanned her body.
“These suits—the organism—it’s not sentient, right?” The thought sent a shiver down her spine.
“Of course not.” Nuzal frowned.
Jun waited for the plate to stop rotating and for the chimes to sound before she stepped up to the drawer.
Nothing to it, she told herself. Just stick your hands into the dark drawer and wait for the living suit to swallow you.
Even though she knew it was coming, Jun still jumped when the suit crawled up her arm and began to spread. It was smooth and cool, gliding across her skin as it moved beneath her clothing. It took only moments for the suit to travel down her legs and fully encompass her feet. It was light and flexible, moving with her as she bent to check out her wiggling toes.
Clara, the woman Nuzal had helped after the crash, and Telisa went next. Soon, all of the humans, including Esme and Xavier, who seemed to be the most suspicious of Nuzal and everything related to the Grutex, had received the new suits.
“Excuse me.” A dark-haired woman raised her hand in the air. “The new clothes are nice and all, but I’ve been holding my bladder since the crash and I’m pretty sure my eyes are going to start floating if I don’t get to a bathroom.”
Brin laughed behind Jun, but Nuzal looked as if he was wondering how they’d missed floating eyeballs in their observations of human specimens.
“I’ll show you to the bathrooms.”
There were moans and sighs of relief as people broke off into pairs and small groups, ducking into each room for a little bit of privacy; something they hadn’t been afforded for too long.
Jun looked back down the hall into the room where the two males who claimed to be her mates stood and let loose a deep sigh. She wasn’t sure she was ready for everything the future had in store, but at least she was wearing pants again.
Chapter 25
Brin
Brin cursed under his breath as he fought the urge to throw the tool into the heap of useless metal the Grutex called an engine. He’d fooled around with more than a few engines in his time, but he wouldn’t call himself a mechanic, not by a long shot. Even with the blueprints Nyissa had managed to dig up, this wasn’t going to be an easy fix.
It was looking more and more like they weren’t going to be leaving this planet unless someone came down and got them, and at this point, Brin almost hoped it would happen. With a frustrated sigh, Brin adjusted one of the intake valves before stepping back to look at the readings on the small holoscreen.
No change. Brax it all!
This engine was almost as frustrating as dealing with Telisa. The female hounded him every single day since their escape, questioning him about his knowledge of the Grutex’s origins, and asking him if he was sure the Venium hadn’t come to Earth in support of their allies after all. Nothing he said seemed to reassure her.
As if the mere thought of her had somehow summoned her, Telisa stepped through the open doors of the engine bay. Brin barely contained a groan as her eyes locked onto him.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’ve been in the exact same place since the day we crashed,” he growled, moving around to the other side of the engine to recheck the electrical components for the tenth time.
Despite his annoyance at not being able to fix the engine, Brin found the work more agreeable than the constant ache from his kokoras pressing against his slit anytime he was around Jun and Nuzal. The sexual tension between the three of them did nothing to ease the building frustration.
If what they had learned in the records room was true, the male was Jun’s mate, and they had yet to discuss what this meant for all of them. Triads weren’t completely unheard of in their culture. One of the first stories Brin remembered hearing from Oshen’s gia was the tale of the goddess and her mates, the original triad, but there hadn’t been such a mating in many generations, and most believed them to be a myth.
Brin should be elated, but here he was, a male who hadn’t wanted even one mate, with two. His mind was at war with itself, struggling to understand what he felt about Nuzal. He’d saved Jun when Brin was certain he was going to lose her, had stopped the attack on him, putting himself at great personal risk, but he had also been one of the scientists tasked with experimenting on the humans they had rescued from the lab.
Ah, and you are the embodiment of innocence?
Brin wasn’t naïve. He knew he’d done things in his past that he wasn’t proud of, that he would take back if he could. Perhaps Nuzal was feeling the same way now after spending time with the people whose lives he had helped turn upside-down. Aiding in their escape wouldn’t make up for everything he may have done, but his calm and patient manner since the crash seemed to have gone a long way with some of the humans already.
Telisa stepped over the tools that lay scattered on the ground as she made her way to where he worked. The nearness of the female made his skin prickle, and he sneered involuntarily, not liking the invasion of his space. After his sterilization, Brin had expected the sexual urges and irritation to diminish, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect.
&
nbsp; He’d done his best to distract himself in the cell afterward, throwing all of his energy into planning their escape, but nothing so far had helped. Distancing himself had almost made it worse. The need to find her, to touch her and draw in her scent, burned through his veins like liquid fire.
If having his ability to reproduce removed hadn’t dowsed the flames, what would? Many Venium reported that their urge cooled after their mates became pregnant, or their heat cycles faded, but humans didn’t have heats as far as he knew, and he would never be able to reproduce with her. What did this all mean for him?
“Listen,” Telisa said, propping herself up against the railing that circled the engine, “I’ve been thinking, and I really want to discuss this with you.”
“What haven’t we discussed at this point?” Brin grumbled.
“I’m not sure who we can trust anymore, but out of all the aliens we know, the Venium seem to be the best bet for an alliance. If we make it to Venora and get an audience with your council, what do you think they might ask for in return?”
Brin shook his head as reached down into the engine to run his hands over two of the small hoses. “You’re asking the wrong Venium. Oshen’s the ambassador, not me.”
“Yeah, well, Oshen isn’t here, so you’re my only option,” Telisa quipped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Give me an idea of what we’re working with.”
“You have no resources we need, or have any use for. Your planet is polluted, your waters would be no good to us. The only thing you might have going for you is that two of our people have found mates among your kind.”
“You think they would ask for us to––to mate with their people?” She seemed taken aback.
“The Venium have traveled space for many generations and have never come across another species who was compatible enough with us to actually form the mating bond with. Our numbers are declining. If there is anything that will convince the elders to aid humanity, it will be the promise of compatible fertile males and females.”