The Alliance - 15. Day One

Aaron stared at the screen in front of him. He was unable to make out the strange figures written on it, though a few seemed to make sense. And he had the feeling the member of the science fleet knew this.

“Captain Mateio was correct in his assessment,” the bipedal dog said. “Your disease is made to replicate itself. The interesting point is your ability, your need, to change your shape in low gravity.”

“Mateio took away my replicators, whatever they are called, right?” Itumak asked beside Aaron.

The dog, Dalmar, Aaron remembered, nodded.

“Yes, and he made you sterile by doing so, as best as we can tell. You must understand, we only have two specimens to go off of here, and the two of you are of different species, no matter how similar you may appear. Your… werewolf… that is easier to compare between the two of you.”

“Do you know what would happen if the werewolf came in contact with a different species?” Aaron asked.

“As in one not from your planet, correct? We really do not know at this moment. It is an interesting question though,” the Dalmar replied. “Perhaps your Daknar might undergo some tests to find out?”

He nodded toward Lian.

“No,” Itumak said immediately.

“There are other options then. I will pursue them.”

“If it is at all possible, could you make a way for people to keep their wolf form while taking away the possibility of transmitting it?” Aaron asked.

“While also keeping their virility,” Mateio added.

“That is a tall order. I would have to completely rewrite the disease.”

The Dalmar made a small note on part of the screen, setting it aside.

“If you can give me around five days, I will see what I can do with the help of my peers.”

Aaron nodded.

“I guess it’s a good thing we are stuck here then,” he said.

Mateio took them on a basic tour of the station. It was a little late, since they had been docked for over a day now, but Itumak was glad for the tour anyway. He liked knowing where he was, even if he wasn’t sure what was happening around him.

“Hey Mateio. That bracelet of yours, how does someone get one of those?” he asked.

“By joining the Alliance Fleets. There are rumours you can buy bracers on the black market, but I highly doubt that.”

“That map you used the other day, is it only for a specific station?”

“Golaski no,’ the Faro laughed. “That would be worthless for an explorer. No, it uses data downloaded from the ship’s sensors. When we were docking, Reinard scanned the interior of the entire station, excluding the sensitive areas, naturally.”

“Interesting. What counts as sensitive? Obviously military areas, but like, can you see different… lifeforms with it?”

“No, just rooms and buildings. If there is a name associated with the room or building, it will appear on the map. If not, it will remain blank. It’s not new technology; ship-borne maps have been around for at least two centuries. The bracelet just extracts the map using a chip. And no, I have no idea what the chips are made of.”

“What if Lian wanted to join the Alliance? Would they accept him?”

The Daknar startled at his name, Itumak touching his shoulder reassuringly.

“Well, that’s a tough one. He’s your slave, I gave ownership to you-”

“He isn’t a slave. At least, not in the sense that we think of slaves,” Itumak denied.

“Either way, the Alliance won’t train someone who is in a collar. And he might not pass the Trial. I’ll tell you more about it sometime.”

Mateio steered them toward a large open area, several beings moving around different vehicles with the efficiency of trained crews.

A black tiger paused in her task, watching their approach.

“Mateio! Pos eisai?”

She rubbed the Faro’s head, Mateio squirming under the attention.

“Eimei agipamenos tora, Danae.”

Smirking the tiger held up her hands.

“Ah, I get it. You finally find one to claim you so Danae cannot. You make me sad Mateio.”

She looked the other three over, pausing on Aaron.

“Him? Has to be. The other clings to the Daknar like a kit to his mama. So sad… And after I went through the trouble of finding you that Steinrich…”

Mateio’s eyes lit up.

“Aresei na paizei?” Danae smiled, gazing at Aaron.

“Ochi Danae, echei mono ta matia gia mena.”

“Shame…”

Aaron shivered under the tiger’s gaze.

“How much?” Mateio asked.

“Dyo. I will leave the elf out. You have many happy years with him.”

Mateio looked back at Aaron. Itumak was not sure what was going on between the tiger and the Faro, but he stepped between Danae and Aaron, just to be safe.

“That is too much now,” Mateio sighed.

Danae nodded.

“Take your time. But I cannot promise it will be here if you come back for it.

“You have my thanks for your effort Danae.”

“Perhaps your thanks could put a kit in my belly?” the tiger winked.

Itumak heard a quiet growl from Aaron.

“Stop your teasing. You’re going to make my Bonded upset,” Mateio chuckled.

“Ah, I am sorry Elf. Hands off, yes?” Danae laughed, backing away.

“I’ll see you around the galaxy sometime,” Mateio lifted his hand in farewell.

“Oh please, I am always here.”

As soon as they were out of sight, Aaron stopped Mateio.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. Danae was probably just in heat,” Mateio waved off.

“She looked like she wanted to eat you. I almost attacked her…”

It had been close too. If Itumak had not stepped between them… Aaron shivered at the thought.

“Oh no. She knows I’m off limits. Egaro and Faro have a rather interesting relationship. Most Faro can’t stand the Egaro because they mate with multiple people while we only mate with one. But I find their conversations to be rather fascinating. I could use a little less of the head patting, but at least she kept her hands above the waist. This time.”

“We were there for your engine, and she had it, right?” Aaron asked.

Mateio nodded.

“Why didn’t you get it?”

“I can’t afford two thousand credits on top of everything else we need. I was hoping it would be cheaper, but that’s really not a cheap engine.”

“So it’s because of me…” Aaron sighed.

“Because of us,” Mateio corrected.

The fox grabbed Aaron’s arms, using them to pull himself up for a quick kiss before dropping down again.

Aaron chuckled.

“You could have asked for help,” he said.

“Nah, my way was more fun. And it put a smile on your face,” Mateio smiled.

“You two are so adorable,” Itumak laughed.

“Maybe you wouldn’t be the best choice for Captain of the Palace Guard. You’re too busy guarding Lian from errant lovers,” Aaron joked.

There was a moment of silence, Itumak staring wide eyed at Aaron.

“You were thinking about making me Captain of the Guard?” he asked.

Aaron swallowed drily.

“Yeah, I mean, I do need a new Captain now that… now that Darren is gone. At least, I will if we can take Astara back.”

Itumak shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know what to say… Am I really the best person for this?”

“At this moment, you’re the only person I trust to do this.”

“I’ll, uh, I’ll think about it, okay?”

Aaron nodded. He understood. This was a huge decision for the neko.

“Well… let me know when you decide,” he said. “But for now, why don’t we return to Mateio’s ship so we can recover from… the Egaro?”

Mateio nodded, reaching for Aaron’s hand.

“I think that is a great idea,” the Faro smiled.

Lian crept through the ship, grateful for the lights the Faro left on at all times. He was hungry, thirsty. But he felt like he was doing something wrong. He hadn’t asked Itumak if he could eat. And the two soul was snoring quietly in his bed. Lian didn’t want to wake him.

He had told Lian to eat when he needed to. And Lian needed to. Or did he just want to? He had eaten the day before, that would keep him going for at least a week.

The Daknar paused outside the kitchen, lost in thought. No, he didn’t need to eat. But Itumak wouldn’t know if Lian snuck a little bread with some water. And he certainly did need to drink.

Entering the room, Lian’s eyes brightened with the realization that he was standing alone with a food replicator. He had never been left alone with one before. Maybe he could make some tare.., or even ardiis…

Arm shaking slightly, Lian set his hand on the replicator’s screen, imagining the warm, gooey texture of the round delicacy from his planet.

“Recipe not found.”

The Daknar jumped at the loud voice of the ship’s AI. He froze, listening for any little sound that might mean he was caught.

Minutes later, he relaxed slightly, setting his hand back on the screen. Bread it was, then.

Taking his prize, Lian slunk to a shadowy corner of the kitchen and began devouring the warm bread as fast as he could.

“You can slow down, you know.”

He nearly choked on his food as Itumak entered the room.

“Forgive me Master, I know I should have asked-”

“No. You did exactly right. I am proud of you Lian. You’re learning to take care of yourself,” Itumak smiled. “Come, sit at the table and eat like a normal person.”

Lian slowly rose from his corner, clutching the remains of the bread. Itumak stepped up to the Daknar, hand grabbing Lian’s collar. The two soul kissed him, releasing him a moment later.

“I want you to do something for me,” Itumak said quietly.

Lian bowed his head slightly. He would do anything for Itumak.

“Tell me no.”

His head rose, Lian looking at the neko in shock.

“Master…?”

“Say it. Tell me no.”

Lian gulped.

“N…. N-no.”

Itumak’s hand rose and the Daknar flinched. The hand landed gently on his head, Itumak massaging it lightly.

“Now do that whenever I do something you don’t like, okay?”

Shivering, Lian nodded. He had just said no to his master. He had been ordered to say no, but he still felt that little thrill of doing something that went completely against everything he had ever been taught.

Maybe he could get away with other things too...