Zenik
Zenik did not know whether to be pleased or not when he flew over the island with a slew of Mahdfel and found Jane and Odette guarding a Suhlik vessel, a dead Suhlik at their feet. Then he saw her fleetingly close one eye at him. He had heard this was a sign of sexual interest on the Terran world, but he did not have time right this moment to comply.
There was plenty to do. The female camp was disbanded, and they now had two crafts to pilot instead of just one. It sped up the transfer, but the grief that had stricken all of them made everyone heavy. Although his mate had two kills, Bree and his mate Paula had died in battle. The Suhlik had attacked both camps at once, in the hopes of splitting the attention of the Mahdfel, but they had been no match for a group of Etlonian warriors in their natural terrain. Athen’s warriors had made short work of them. Bree had known, somehow that Paula had bravely faced down a Suhlik and had been cowardly murdered by another. Bree had gone into a rage and slayed many golden devils before being overpowered.
Had Jane been a Mahdfel warrior, she would have been honored by more than one tattoo. At least two, one for slaying Suhlik and another for protecting the warlord’s mate. His mate was special, Zenik knew, and in the back of his mind, he knew her accomplishments did nothing to darken his own unresolved past. He wanted to tell Jane this, but every time he opened his mouth, one of two things happened. Either he lost the words to express his undying devotion or she kissed him. He’d had many nights alone in camp to think upon the words and when they got back to their quarters, Zenik would say them.
Back at the main camp Kave was all apology to Zenik’s mate. Their friendly relationship only bothered Zenik a little, but he had seen enough to know that Kave merely was treating his mate like the other warriors. The respect Kave had for Jane caused Zenik to swell with pride, but their closeness twinged at his possessive side whenever he saw them talking.
It well past dark before he managed to get Jane back to their quarters.
“I’m exhausted,” Jane exclaimed as she peeled off her tank top and dropped her shorts. His cock had the natural reaction of a warrior deprived of his mate for an extended period, but if Jane was tired, it was best to wait until morning. He doubted after battle and a return of their mates if anyone would be held accountable for being on time to duty. He lay down on the bed.
There would be time-
“I’m not that exhausted,” Jane said.
He lifted his head up to look at his mate. She stood there in a pair of black panties that rode low on her hips.
“I can wait until tomorrow,” Zenik said, dropping his head, closing his eyes, and attempting to drop into a meditation to calm his cock. Instead, her fresh scent surrounded him and each deep breath made the situation worse.
“Well I can’t.”
His eyes flew open as Jane straddled him, leaving just enough room to open his uniform and release his cock. He wasn’t going to argue any longer. He lifted her up and onto his cock. It was a frantic mating, over and done after a single orgasm each. She rolled off of him, smiling. She curled up and was asleep a minute later.
The morning came, and resolved to confess to Jane, Zenik opened his mouth and lost the words again. Jane didn’t seem to mind. She just wrapped her hand around his cock and began to stroke him.
***
Once again, things settled into a routine. Athen decided it was best to take his mate back to Etlon for the birth of their child. Kave’s mate, Humility, finally arrived, a relief to everyone. Jane liked her, so Zenik liked her also. Soon after, a doctor arrived and brought news that Athen had changed his mind and that Odette would return to give birth on Noven 90. She was the first wife, and many pregnancies would follow after. Soon, the camp would be teeming with little warriors. An expansion would be planned with a school and a large facility for the growing families. Plans were made to clear more of the forest and expand the force fence to accommodate the new growth.
He imagined his own child running through the quad or hunting game in the jungle. With Jane’s strength and intelligence, his son would easily grow up to lead his own clan one day. He wondered if his son would have hair. At first, Zenik had been leery about the fact that Terran females, and their males apparently, spent so much time managing the follicles that grew from their head and other places. But he had come to appreciate the smell of the soap and the wispy way it floated around her head.
Two ships landed just outside the camp. One was easily recognizable as Etlon’s cruiser, a sleek state of the art vessel that Zenik would love to pilot. The other was a rather junky little trading vessel. Athen had finally returned with a heavily pregnant Odette. The moment he seen to his wife medical needs and headed to command, Zenik was summoned.
“The Wine Merchant has resurfaced,” the warlord told Zenik.
Those simple words filled Zenik with both a dread and an anticipation all at the same time. He was going to finally have a chance of redemption. It also, however, meant leaving Jane behind. Once he’d taken a few deep breaths, he searched out Jane and took her into their quarters. It would not be right to lose his nerve and leave without saying goodbye.
“I have been given a mission,” he said quickly.
“Oh?”
The word hung in the air. His mate obviously expected an explanation.
“I leave immediately.”
“Okay, immediately. When will you be back?”
Zenik hesitated too long. He did not want to lie to his mate. It would dishonor his memory if the last words he spoke to her were a lie. “It is very dangerous,” he admitted.
“Dangerous?”
Why was she repeating everything he said? Zenik shifted from one foot to the other.
“Dangerous,” he said.
“Then when do we leave?”
“We do not. You will remain.”
“While you go off and die on your dangerous mission? Hell. No.”
“Jane. This is not an argument. It is a statement of facts. You will not go and if I die, you will not mourn me. You will miss me. That is all.”
Zenik scooped Jane up into a kiss. For a moment, she was all tightness and corners. Then she relaxed into him and urged him for more. Zenik did not have time for more.
When he pulled away from her lips, they were both gasping.
“Do you need anything from me?” Jane whispered.
“I need you not to die.”
“I’m going to live forever, or haven’t you heard?”
With that reassurance, she stepped back and smiled. Zenik took a deep breath, and then headed to the armory.
A few minutes later, Zenik boarded the ship that had come with Etlon’s cruiser. It was a cargo vessel and while small, it possessed a few niceties that made it quite versatile in a scrape. Zenik took off and spent the first few hours of the flight familiarizing himself with the controls and layout of the ship. When the time came, he’d need to play the part of the owner of the vessel, not just a temporary captain.
Zenik drifted to sleep in the cockpit and was awakened by a yowl. There was some sort of creature aboard. It was a small furry quadruped with a golden coat and tiny claws. He pulled his knife out of its sheath and stalked toward it but the thing did not budge. In fact, it sat there, with a long tail lashing, before yowling again and then licking its paws.
It was probably best to get rid of it, before the thing caused too much trouble, but then he noticed it was wearing a circle collar around its neck. He had heard of the custom, of keeping lower life forms as pets, and knew it was common among the Terran women. They had spoke longingly about the animals that they had left behind. He had heard that the vessel was captained by a Terran female, the medic’s mate. It was probably hers. She would not look too kindly upon someone who had injured her pet.
Zenik sighed. The creature obviously wanted something. He just didn’t know what.
“What do you require?” he asked, futilely.
Again, it yowled. Zenik approached it and the creature ran ahead of him. He stopped and it stopped. It was leading him somewhere. He decided to play along and follow. It was a short trip to the Captain’s quarters. The door activated when the animal drew near. There was probably a chip embedded in its collar to allow it access to certain locations, but not others.
On the floor next to the cleansing room, there was an empty metal bowl. It stopped there and looked up at him expectantly.
“Nourishment.” He stood there for a long moment with the creature’s yowls getting progressively louder. It wanted food and was going to die soon if it was not fed.
An idea sparked in his brain and he approached the replicator. Scrolling through the history, he saw a number of Terran foods and one labeled “cat food.”
“Are you Cat? Or is that your species?” He pushed the button on the replicator and a moment later, a meat pate appeared. It did not look in any way appetizing to him, but Cat must have recognized the smell of it. It demanded that he put it down And Zenik scraped it into the metal bowl. Immediately a rumbling noise from Cat as it shoved its face into the food.
He sighed and took the opportunity to look around. It was definitely the quarters of a Terran female. It was neat but there was a bit of clutter everywhere. Most warriors preferred to keep their belongings to no more than could be carried in a bag. Terrans liked to put useless objects around like dead vegetation or the even more puzzling fake vegetation to make the place look ‘lived in’, whatever that meant.
Cat seemed pleased with the meal and after a brief period, climbed atop a pillow and snuggled into it. If that was all that it took to keep Cat content, then they would get along just fine.
Zenik found himself dreading the first sleep cycle and it took him awhile to realize why. He knew that he was unlikely to sleep with his mate at his side again and that realization was a growing pit of despair in his stomach. He wished that he could once more smell her hair or feel her hand wrapped around him in the middle of the night. He could almost convince himself that smelled her in the air, somewhere near, yet so far away. Once he washed and cycled his clothes, there would be little left of her scent to remind him. On one hand, he wanted to get it over with, to flush Jane out of his system so he could move on to his other tasks. On the other, he wanted to keep the memory of her for as long as possible, knowing that when it was gone, it would never come back.
Regardless of his dread, Zenik stripped his uniform and climbed into the bed. He had barely closed his eyes when a rumbling weight pressed onto his chest.
“Cat. It is time to sleep,” Zenik prompted, but Cat simply sat on his chest for a moment before flopping over and getting comfortable.
“Cat, I do not know if this is an appropriate way to sleep.”
Cat did not have any intention of moving. It just continued with the internal rumbling noise and kneaded its claws into the blanket. Zenik sighed and decided it was best to try ignore it and sleep.
When he awoke, Cat was sitting on his face. Despite that, Zenik could smell Jane. He bolted upright in bed and sent Cat skittering away. His eyes locked on his mate, standing, leaning on the doorway.
“Aww, how sweet. I’ve been replaced by a cat.”