The Alien Commander's Surrogate

Episode Twenty-One

Salex

I'd promised to come find Hillary that evening. Other than our short hand-holding early today at her appointment, we hadn't really touched since last night. And based on the earlier experiences, we knew that she would go into a sort of withdrawal if we went longer than a day or so.

And honestly I would be feeling the effects of the not-quite-bond soon too. If I thought about it too hard, my skin would begin to twitch even now. The need to be close to her, it was a driving force.

I'd checked in at the bridge and then spent several hours in my office running over the calculations for yet more adjustments to our power needs. We were running short on options and against my better belief, I'd asked Lois to send me the additional information on which surrogate might be the best to wake up next.

Hillary seemed to be adjusting very well, save the pull that continued to tug us ever closer. I could only hope that whomever was selected next would have the same experience as her. I only knew of a few crew members who could either afford to have a surrogate on board and while the names were available to me, it felt like a strange invasion into their lives to look at.

But I didn't need to look up the first name I had on my list. And luckily for me, it was a male who I would believe as completely honest. Almost on cue, a soft toll announced the arrival of Adra. I pressed the enter button and my lieutenant and friend stepped in, the door closing quietly behind him.

"Hello there, Commander," Adra said, sarcasm in every syllable of his words. "I've been summoned here, I suppose for something very important."

I nodded and folded my claws together on my chest leaning back in my chair. Adra must've taken the serious hint and sat down across from me. His stalis were shoulder length and while he typically had them loose around his head, the tips whirled a little as he stared back at me.

"Are we speaking from an Adra , the friend status or a lieutenant position?" Adra mimicked my lean in the chair, but his eyes were shielded. Nervous, I realized with a jolt. Guilt, or the closest thing I recognized clouded my mind.

"Both."

"Well fuck, Salex, spit it out. You're being even more broody than usual."

I swallowed and pushed through the trepidation I'd been feeling all day. "Waking up Hillary wasn't enough. We need to wake up more of the surrogates on board."

Adra's usually expressive face fell still. I pushed on. "I know that you have a surrogate on board, like Us'ia and –"

"And ten others," Adra finished for me, his claws curling around the edge of the chair. I could feel the tension in every line of his body. Regret threatened to rise in my throat, but I forced myself to keep going.

"Your surrogate is further along than the others."

Adra shifted, obviously still frustrated. "And that matters how?"

I stood moving around the desk to put a hand on my friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry Adra, I had the medical team run every diagnostic. Your surrogate, your youngling are the next best option. At least until we know more from Hillary."

"I don't like this Salex," Adra's voice was low, frustration in every breath.

"I don't either."

Adra turned, shifting hand off his shoulder. "If we weren't friends, if I wasn't directly under your command would it still be the same answer."

I locked eyes with him. "Yes, Adra, I promise you."

"And you promise me nothing will happen to them either?"

I took in a deep, ragged breath. "I can promise you that they have the best chance out of everyone."

That didn't ease any of his fears, and I knew that. But I couldn't promise things. Not when I knew so little about what was coming next for us. And what the best course of action may be for the surrogates in our medical hold.

Adra's fingers worked at a purple tinted temple, his stalis swaying slightly. I wanted to offer him comfort, or at least knowledge. I leaned back against my desk, crossing my arms across my chest as I did. "It has been...nice to get to know Hillary while she's carrying my son."

My friend blinked up at me. "Wait, you think that I'm worried about the bond?"

I didn't bother to open my mouth, because I knew immediately I had done something wrong. Adra pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head as he stood. I noticed one clawed hand working at the injury site, the slice to his upper thigh that had been healed incorrectly. I knew it still gave him pain sometimes.

"Salex, you're the only warrior on board here who is concerned about the bond, at least like that."

"What?"

"Every single Trenzian on board here is jealous of you.'

"Why?"

Adra turned at the door, his shoulder tight as he stared back at me. "You've been given a gift from the universe, a true mate, someone to bond with, to raise younglings like they did before we were mindless killing machines. Do you think any one of us wouldn't gladly suffer from some heartache and rutting instincts in order to have the chance to find someone that matches us so perfectly."

"Hillary selected me from a list of thousands, Adra, that's not fate, it's a list."

"Why did you choose her?"

I tilted my head, "I'm not sure." Lies, I realized as I remembered the day I'd seen her face, the gut-punching realization of how beautiful she was. How badly I wanted her to be the one to carry my youngling.

Adra tapped his jaw once, sarcastically, "If choosing each other out of thousands, and then ending up on this ship, in the vastness of space together isn't fate, then I'm not sure what you define it as."

The door opened with a soft mechanical rush of air, "I'm only worried about the dangers that my youngling could suffer once they are here. I wanted them to be born safe and sound and far from any war."

My chin ducked and shame filled me. "I will do my best to assure that."

"Good," Adra stepped out into the hall.

"Adra," I called out, and he stopped, one fist planted against the door. "Do you believe your surrogate, do you believe she could be your mate as well?"

He blinked, considering, "I don't know that. But being physically and biologically compatible is a step in the right direction, and I'm not going to stand in the way of something that could be great."

And then he was gone.

"I won't either."

I sighed the blinking form on the tablet. They would begin to wake up Adra's surrogate in two days.

I fell into my chair, feeling a tightness in my chest I didn't understand. All I could do was hope that I'd done the right thing.

AUTHORS NOTE: 

Hint hint....guess whose story is coming next? 

Comment something you'd love to see happen to Adra in his storyline!