Chapter 11 T’ukka
Chapter eleven
T’ukka
My stomach felt funny, like it used to when I was a child and got nervous for big tests, as Mia and I watched the shuttle carrying Cix and Axel pull out of the dock.
It disappeared quickly, a tiny speck against the cloudy blue beauty that was the Earth.
On’nas and the commander were with us, as was Mia’s brother, Logan, who’d said he wanted to come hang out.
We were quiet for a while, me because I was reaching for Axel’s mind, waiting for the moment when I could no longer sense him, but that didn’t seem to happen, which was odd. Usually, with distance, he faded, just as sound or sight would fade.
Mia was worried, and I could sense that as clearly as if she had spoken the words.
Her thoughts swirled from one thing to the next as she tried to reason with herself.
Unsure of how to reassure her, I stood behind her, my arms around her waist, her head tucked in under my chin.
My body had become accustomed to constant human touch, and every time one of my lovers was away from me, I felt an intense yearning to have them close again.
Having Mia against me helped with how much I knew I would miss Axel, and even Cix.
I wondered if humans didn’t feel it as strongly as I did.
Was this what my people had been trying to avoid with all the years of eliminating intimate relationships?
Her brother was watching with us, his eyes wide as they drank in the view of his planet from space.
I wasn’t sure how much he’d been out of med bay, but from his awed expression, I would guess he had had little time to look out windows.
He seemed healthy and strong, although still purple-ish.
The doctor hadn’t figured out how to remove the Aunga’ri coloring.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “Your planet.”
Logan nodded. “It’s a bit nuts, seeing it from space.” This made me think again about Axel and Cix down there unprotected.
“T’ukka. They’ll be fine,” Mia said, rubbing my forearm. “You’ll be fine.”
“Who said I wouldn’t be fine? But what if they die? What if Axel is wrong about being able to keep Cix from getting sick?”
“They’re leaving overnight, not for a week. He wouldn’t get sick. And Axel’s test proved we could be separated from him for longer than expected.”
Logan crossed his arms over his chest, glancing at both of us. “I’m not sure I understand any of this. But why is Axel able to make this bonding chemical that supposedly only Mia can make?”
“We think it’s a pheromone associated with romantic attachment,” the doctor said from across the room. She seemed to follow Logan everywhere, making excuses about needing to monitor him for research. He never argued, though it must have been annoying.
“Romantic attachment?” Logan asked, casting a glance back at the doctor. Did he have a thing for the doctor? Good luck with that one. The doctor was not a likely one for romantic attachments.
“Axel loves Cix,” I said firmly. “So much, not that I really understand why. But the feelings he has for Cix are stronger than those for either of us. Something about how possessive Axel is of the little orange dipshit is replicating that pheromone.”
“Huh,” Logan said. “Wonder if it’s just a compatibility thing with humans. Does Cix love Axel?”
Mia chuckled. “Cix worships the ground Axel walks on. I’m not sure he’s interested in worshiping Axel, but he can’t see to help himself.”
“Honestly, he should worship me,” I said. “I’m much more worthy.”
“Babe, stop being a jackass. They’ll be fine. And you’ll survive anything that comes,” Mia insisted. “Though I don’t understand why all of this drama and complicated planning. You already had a weapon that could disable the Vul disguises.”
“Only a Vul can identify the other skin suits. It’s part of the tech,” On’nas said. “So we would have been randomly firing a blast into a room full of humans that may or may not include Vul warriors.”
“Would it hurt them, though? I thought you said it wouldn’t.”
“No, but it’s large, conspicuous, and looks like a weapon. How do we walk into a UN General assembly with that thing?”
“Well, perhaps after this, we can develop it into something that clears a room. Like as soon as everyone gets seated, the flash goes off and any skin suits in the room are disabled,” Mia said. She leaned back against me.
“I think that’s a long time coming,” the commander said.
He was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with On’nas, and I knew for a fact that they had been about to fuck when we walked in.
They always stood close enough to touch, but were only ever physically demonstrative when Nora was around, like she brought that out in them.
Right now, she was preparing for a meeting via video communicators with a human military alliance.
It was under the guise of discussing renewed relations, but the plan was for her to be in this meeting when the Vul’s treachery was revealed.
“Relations were already unstable before this incident, and it’ll take a while to repair what has been broken. ”
“But you’re open to it,” Mia said firmly, like the commander could be pushed around by a tiny woman.
He grunted. “I suppose.” But we needed Earth as much as they needed us.
Like the Vul, we no longer had a planet to go back to, and our people wanted to settle.
To find a place where they could coexist in peace with the native inhabitants.
Perhaps to begin to explore new planets that had the potential to colonize together.
It all seemed like an uncertain future, but something about the way Mia let me hold her made me feel it might work after all.
On’nas shook his head. “This will work with dramatic effect, and I think we’ll see a pretty quick swing of opinion in our direction, especially when they realize that the high-ranking officials the Vul are posing as have been murdered.”
“I hope so,” Mia said. “As long as it’s not like the last time Nora and Axel went into a meeting.”
“Remember, Axel and Cix are trained in this and can handle themselves,” I said firmly.
“Nora and Axel were fine when that went down, and Axel and Cix will be fine as well. We’ll be in communication with them the entire time, and it should be a quick in-and-out mission to detonate the device.
They’re headed for a UN Special Assembly convening to decide what to do about our space station in Earth’s orbit, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
And Cix’s skin suit identifies him as a political staffer. ”
“Did he kill her?” Mia asked.
“No, Cix sourced her identity from the morgue. She died of natural causes,” I said, hugging her close.
Mia was shaking a little, and not for the first time today.
I thought about how it must be for her to be in a relationship with three men who were regularly involved in military operations.
Mia was an academic, a peaceful person who had dedicated her life to intellectual studies, and suddenly, I wanted more than anything for her to have a peaceful life.
I could picture us back at the palace in my suite of rooms. Mia and Cix curled up together in front of the fire, awaiting Axel and me to come pull them into our passionate embrace.
Why is Axel with Cix in that scenario? Mia’s laughing voice echoed in my head. Like Cix and I were fucking and you just yank us apart and each claim one of us as your own?
I growled softly, unsure of how to explain how I’d been feeling about them lately, and I turned and pulled her out of the offices, back towards my cabin, my desperation for her growing with every step.
I stopped in the corridor, kissing her against the wall, and she whimpered, wrapping her legs around my waist, holding my lips against hers.
Um, if you guys could avoid fucking? The shuttle just landed and now Cix is all squirmy and needy. Axel’s voice was so clear in my mind that it startled me, and Mia glanced up at me, eyes wide.
“We can still hear them,” she whispered.
I’m not squirmy. I don’t squirm. It’s not my fault if they’re doing lewd things and my body has a natural reaction. Cix replied, sounding as huffy as ever. And something about that made me smile.
“You like him,” Mia whispered, elbowing me.
Whispering does not stop me from hearing you, Cix grumped inside my brain, and Mia burst out laughing, leaning back against me with a sigh.
Also, no more vivid fantasies. Axel was back. This is an awkward time for both of us to be rock hard.