Alien Humans

Six - Atrius

"Commander,"

The familiar voice of Pax brought Atrius away from the control board. After his talk with Throx he'd made his way back to the cock pit, relieving Cora to go back to her station. His mind had wandered as he thought about his next step, his morals clashing as he tried to ignore everything that felt right just to obey his direct orders. Throx wouldn't kill him or anything for going against him as murder was illegal, but if he stepped out of line, the Eotkar might have something to do with it if any 'accidents' were to happen to Jasper.

He turned and noticed the dark look in the other alpha's eyes. "I cannot let you hand over Jasper to Throx." He stated, his voice too low for the audio receptors to pick up. "I will not let him be killed. He has family that are mourning him and a life back home."

Atrius could feel his gut tighten. "I offered him a place with us. You know Throx won't allow us to return him," he stated, trying to remain logical. He couldn't let it be clear that he cared for their prisoner - as that is what Jasper was. "But I did let Throx know that he can't kill him. It's the best I can do for him,"

Pax growled, not liking Atrius's answer. He was only an inch shorter than Atrius, but he was far more skilled in hand to hand combat. Atrius floundered in panic for a moment, moving to separate them by going behind the control board. "I have to follow orders, Pax, you know that. If I step out of line then Jasper has no protection here. He's not regulated by our law and therefore if he dies, Throx won't be punished."

Pax ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "He's hurting. He'd rather die than stay with us on this ship." Pax said after a moment, his yellow eyes narrowed. "He ate the food without hesitation, but if Throx gets his hands on him, he will die. Coming back to us isn't a benefit to him. His whole world is back on that planet. Just imagine if the same happened to you. How lost and confused you'd be, how utterly alone and terrifying everything would feel. I know how that feels Commander," Pax's voice held back on his emotion, but his body was tense and he was flexing his hands in and out of fists. His tail swayed angrily and he was postured as if he was going to fight. "I don't want him to suffer like I did. He's already gone through enough."

"What do you suggest I do, Pax?" Atrius snapped, irritated at Pax's logic. Of course he didn't want to hand Jasper over either! Of course he knew about everything wrong with what they were doing. It was Atrius who had the deaths of the other humans weighing on his mind, not Pax. It was Atrius who wanted that little human to be his no matter what, not Pax. But Atrius also wouldn't let his own emotions screw him over and he looked down, not daring to say anything else. The anger and regret and guilt that swirled in himself was making him think treacherous things and he would not voice those things aloud.

Another sigh came from Pax. "When we land, we don't let Throx take him." He said, his voice sounding confident.

Atrius laughed harshly. "As if! Throx already knows how I feel about this, he'll have a squad of men ready to storm aboard to collect Jasper." He could feel the anger rising as he thought of those ugly creatures touching Jasper, scaring him, turning him into nothing more than a test subject. He'd gotten the title of Commander because he was good at controlling this anger. He couldn't let these feelings get in the way of his job.

"And if he doesn't?" Pax asked.

Atrius looked up, scowling. "He will."

Pax growled lowly, but turned and left without another word. Atrius could smell his anger and rage and only wished that Pax could understand. Atrius would lose his job if he defied Throx. He would lose the only way he had to provide for his ailing mother. He would lose his only income and be nobody. He could see the headlines now.

A prime alpha finally put out because of his instability.

Big shot prime alpha disgraced due to unstable emotions.