The Alien Commander's Surrogate

Episode 64

Salex
I should've gone with her to get the females. But then, maybe taht would've been more intimidating for them. Growling with displeasure from both being separated as well as the task in front of me I shifted in my boots.
At least my crew, the Trenzan's who had surrogates had all received the messages and then showed up on time. I think they must've been thinking there would be some kind of grand reveal once they got here. But that wasn't how it was set up.
If the females opted to announce themselves and name their Trenzian donor, then they could do so. If they preferred to have a moment and soak in the environment, maybe get a better feel for the alien race they were suddenly sharing a ship with, then they could also do that.
"No pressure," Hillary had said, for the hundredth time this morning. "Just providing an opportunity."
And I wanted to agree, I really did. But I had been there, trapped in the unknown of both my youngling and the woman who was invading my every thought. Sure, I'd been around Hillary. I'd been exposed to her, my instincts had taken over. But honestly, I knew that these males were aware.
How many of them were close to falling into a rut like Adra had? Would there be a fight tonight?
I watched as they formed a slow half-circle around the edge of the room, their faces eager, even as they ducked their chins. Attempting to look like their entire world wasn't dangling on a thread. I pitied them.
But I also knew exactly how dangerous they each were. Silence fell, and I could feel the tension in the room skyrocket.
Good thing I had hired a complete asshole for an engineer. Thick arms crossed, Bayes stepped forward from the group. A natural leader, I knew that he more than others would be feeling the instinctual need to provide for his surrogate. He'd been one of few who had been admitted to the medical bay as we had attempted to mitigate the energy issues we'd had prior to Oren boarding.
I knew the big male was loyal as the universe was large. But what he did, what he said, would trickle down into this group. "For fucks sake. Where are they?"
I nearly grinned. I had to give him credit, he knew how to break the ice. Adra's little mate snorted and my lieutenant nodded to Bayes. "Hillary has gone to retrieve the women who will be joining us."
Bayes shift shoulders dropped, the tension lessening as the others around him relaxed into more casual postures. The others were familiar to me. Us'ia was directly behind him, his uniform draped in the usual harness he preferred, weapons tucked in every space possible. Ghantlan was off to one side, typing away on his communicator. A senior officer in the defense team, Kahyne stood to one side, his calm gold eyes taking everything in. Vinnick lightly punched the male next to him, his best friend and former roommate, Stanne. Nolent and Polert, new to the Losskee, stood towards the back. I knew them the least. But Ghantlan had vouched for them at every turn. They came from old money on Trenzia and while I'd doubted their need to join the military, there was something in their eyes that was too untamed for politics.
Lylta was the last male to join the fray, his golden eyes downcast as he strode across the room, his white jacket billowing open. When he joined the group, they shuffled, looking around him as if one of the human females was going to pop out of his pocket or something.
It was time to get started. Hillary and her females would be here any moment.
"Please, crew come in and disperse," I gestured at the wide open space. They really were clustered together. And honestly, that only made them look more intimidating. I sighed, looking over at Adra. He grinned and shrugged.
I scrubbed at my face. "Spread out, idiots, you look like a mob." Quieter, I couldn't stop myself from adding, "Assholes are going to ruin this whole freaking thing."
That woke them up. Several moved away from the herd, making it look less like a cluster and more like a very awkward welcome party. Which, I supposed, they were.
Raising my head, I threw back my shoulders. I was an example to these men. Out here, I was the law, the standard and the bar upon which they were measured. I would show them how to be good to their potential mates.
Starting now.
Hillary moved into the room, her eyes and smile finding mine in a moment. My chest thrummed in pleasure and I almost broke out into a purr at the presence of her. I choked it back, smiling and ushering them forward. They moved in groups, save Hillary and the tall brunette, Gianna, who walked wide-eyed in the middle alone.
In the communication they had all been sent, we were setting up a conversation. That was it. They were meant to have a moment in a safe place to meet the Trenzians. Even the ones that were not their mates.
It was an attempt to remove the fear and stigma. They had been told about their omega genetics. They'd been made aware that there was no pressure to stay and bind themselves to their Trenzian match. But if they wanted to stay, we would facilitate that too.
Beginning tonight.
I looked around, the silence was a little stiff now. Rolling my shoulders, I considered the fact that we might need to host several of these before either group was brave enough to break the invisible line between them.
But the males remained completely still. Their eyes were roving over the group, taking in the humans with near desperate glances. I knew without a doubt they were each trying to decide which human carried their youngling. And how receptive they might be.
I hadn't made anything official, but the males also all had the opportunity to back away after their youngling was born too. I would never force them into any kind of a relationship they didn't want. Ghantlan had let it slip that the talk on the ship was that he believed every single male was at least interested in pursuing some kind of a relationship with their surrogate. And several were passionately interested in making sure their females would want to stay with them.
That meant it was up to us to foster that relationship. Starting now. I opened my mouth to bark orders and force some kind of life back into my crew when Ghantlan saved me from myself.
My young assistant, who had most likely spent more time with the females than any of us combined, stepped up, a smile softening his face. "Vera, Jessa, did you find the recreation room the other day?"
One of the women, a fire-headed petite female who I knew was matched to Polert smiled. There was gratitude there, in him talking to her, but her face remained sharp and closed down as she briefly looked over to the crew. "We did, thanks again."
The fiery one, her name, Suns, I did know it. This was Vera....Jessa was her sister. I'd stared at their dossiers for entirely too long this past week. I was eternally grateful that she stepped forward, her sister at her side towards the males. Not enough to make it completely up to them, but enough that the others seemed able to move now. Ghantlan was surrounded in a moment, his smile broad as the women chatted with him amiably.
I stepped down, intent on meeting as many of them as possible. If they remained here, their safety was my chief concern. I wanted them to see me as a trusted figure. Not only because Hillary trusted me, but because I deserved their trust.
A curly haired, female, her belly still flat enough to be hidden by the clothing they'd been given smiled at me. I extended a hand as Hillary had taught me. "I'm Commander Salex."
"Toni," she responded, delicate hand nearly disappearing inside of my own. She was so short, even compared to my Hillary, but the way her hips and breasts was so different. "Are you finding your new rooms comfortable?"
She brushed back a curl, "I am. I grew up with lots of siblings, so this feels more comfortable than I ever was living alone on Earth."
"How many is 'a lot'?"
She laughed softly, her attention straying to the crowd beyond. She was Vinnick's surrogate, and while I knew she was being polite speaking to me, she was clearly thinking about him. Clearing her throat, she must've realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her gaze back to me. "I have four brothers, two sisters and a step-sibling or two who live on Hotan."
"That's quite a family."
Her smile only grew, "That's part of the reason I wanted to do this. To give someone the family they could never have." She shrugged. "How could you not?"
"We are grateful. Without humans and earth my kind would've died out many generations ago."
"And now, things are different," she commented softly, her eyes trailing off again. Vinnick has his head low, speaking to Lylta. "I didn't even know I wanted a husband–a mate before all of this began. I wanted freedom from–well–from so much and this was such a beautiful way to do it."
I opened my mouth, when Hillary suddenly appeared at my side, giving Toni a quick smile. "Maybe you could remind everyone of what the plan is? It might inspire some action."
Nodding, I turned back to Toni, "It was lovely to meet you. My office is always open if you have any needs or questions."
She grinned and nodded, backing away a little as I moved towards the center of the void that still separated the group. I was going to give them just a little push.
Clearing my throat, I faced the room, raising my voice. "You all know why you have been brought here. Each of you was paired with a surrogate through the Trenzian matching program. And after a series of unusual events, this ship has been exposed to a generation's lost culture. You are all in the middle of this, something that could potentially change the future of Trenzian families. But it is also about you and your happiness."
I let that sink in before I continued. "Tonight I only ask that you greet your match, engage in enough conversation that you can begin to understand each other. After tonight, there will be no requirements for bonding or even conversing. If you so chose, you can go to Trenzia, deliver the youngling as planned and move on. No one will think differently of you for it."
I let out a ragged noise, my throat tight. "I just ask you to consider this. That in the entirety of time and space and technology, you have been brought to this moment. To these males. Consider them. Each of them will act with all the dignity and kindness deemed necessary for Trenzians. I will vouch for each of them. Personally."
I lowered my hands, shifting them at my side to make sure everyone knew the floor was open to anyone. Anything. To my surprise, Jessa spoke up. "We've heard that any exposure will kickstart elements of the bond. Won't that mean that so many of you will begin to fall into a rut? Or lose control?"
I nodded, thanking the stars for this transition in information, "Lylta here can explain more of that."
Lylta stepped forward, obviously comfortable with the females before him. "Since you are all earlier on in your pregnancy, your bodies are going to be less incentivized to bond to your Trenzian match. And if things were to become too attached or begin to go in a direction that we do not want, Prime Oren has offered a special bond breaker medication that will essentially block the bond for a short time, lessening any symptoms."
I'm not sure that will scare them away or help, but I'm glad he's let them know. I shook back my stalis, "Would each of the females step forward and announce your match?" I hadn't meant to call anyone out directly. But we were getting almost no where like this.
"Anyone?"
Gianna stepped into the void between the Trenzian's and the females. Her folder was clutched in one hand, "I can."
"Gianna, thank you."
Her belly wasn't as large as Hillary or Kait, but it was prominent. She pushed the folder down on it, staring around the room as she found the male she was looking for. I almost grinned. My strong-willed engineer was about to have his worlds rocked by this tall female.
"Bayes," she said, her quiet voice ringing out in the quiet of the room. Every other eye in the room spun to see the head engineer stride forward. His eyes were bright gold, staring at Gianna as he approached her. And then carefully, he halted directly before her. Casting me a quick look, he reached out with one open palm.
I let out the breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. Gianna smiled, her head tilting a little as she slipped her hand into his.
Adra stepped to my side, his voice excited, "This is the best idea."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't deny the relief and joy that flickered through my system as soft, curly haired Toni stepped forward.
Her hand raised, she looked right at Vinnick. "Vinnick."
And then like a tower of cards, they all began to step forward, announcing their matches.
Vera stepped up, lips half curled, announced Polert. Her sister followed with a shy, "Us'ia."
Jill, who remained serious, moved to the center of the room, calmly announcing, "Stanne."
Rae, who had been one who had had a harder time getting woken up, was up next, shyly looking at the huge, senior warrior, Kahyne. He was by her side in an instant, his arm extended in greeting.
Jaymee finally let Nolent free of his suspense, announcing his name politely and offering him a handshake when he nearly sprinted to her side.
And then there was only Ghantlan and Lylta standing alone. To my surprise, Lylta stepped forward. "We have opted to not involve Ellie and her Trenzian at this time as she has needed to remain in hypersleep for a few more weeks."

Lylta had warned me that Rae and Ellie had been the hardest two out of all the females to safely wake up. Unlike Rae, Ellie had not recovered enough to stay awake like the other females. Hopefully we would be able to wake her when we got closer to Trenzia and could use their larger medical facilities if necessary.
Until then, I could keep her secret. Or rather his.
Hillary's arms slipped around my middle and I dropped my stance so that I could wrap an arm around her.  The groups were slipping away, dropping into pairs of Trenzian and surrogate, scattering across the room to chat.
I couldn't hear what was said, but at least the tension in the room had finally vanished.
"What do you think will happen now?" Hillary whispered.
I leaned down, dropping a kiss on her forehead, "We have no control over that, mate, but we have started the process. Now it is up to them to find out what the future looks like."
Hillary's arms tightened, "I'm not very good at being patient."
I smiled at the room of matches, "Neither am I, little one."