Skylar's Guardians (4 page)

Chapter Three

Troy fought back anger as he departed the ship, forcing himself to calm his temper and not allow his gills to flare to the point of glowing. He loathed his inability to better hide his baser emotions. It was not his facial expressions that gave him away, or even his vocal tone. No, it was the involuntary flaring of the gills’ slits that were only seen when strong emotions caused his blood to reach a higher temperature. They would flush a pale blue at first and then rise to a dark, vivid indigo that, if left unchecked, would glow clear down the sides of his neck to his shoulders. Tralec was constantly on his case to learn to control his blood temperature and not be so transparent, but it was a losing battle for both of them.

He kicked a stone as he approached the metal shelter that Skylar had called home. How could anyone in the galaxy cause such damage to one of its own kind? How did this culture deal with such ingrates? Personal violence was a punishable offense on Calipi, and harming a citizen would result in ex-communication. For his people, who relied on companionship to survive, being alone was a death sentence.

He rummaged through the trailer again, gathering several silver discs that he suspected collected and held data. Rusted cans of unappetizing looking foodstuffs were dumped into his bag, as well as three thin paper items with lifelike images of the male and female of the species engaged in different sexual feats. He leafed through them briefly, feeling his tool becoming aroused. The sound of a motorized vehicle made his head turn and he exited the trailer to stand in the light of the approaching truck.

A horn sounded loudly as he stepped into its path. His gills glowed brightly as the beast inside of it began to shout obscenities in his direction. It lifted a long object and pointed it in Troy’s direction. It flashed as a deafening crack echoed through the night air. Troy glanced at his chest where the bullet had lodged itself, plucked the offending object from him as though brushing off a fly, and glared at the terrified human male who sat anchored in the truck’s seat. With a single growl, Troy grabbed the front of the truck and carelessly lifted the front portion off the ground. The tires spun in the air as the beast inside the vehicle attempted escape by slamming down on the accelerator.

“This is for hurting my Skylar,” Troy snarled, his gills brilliant as he glared at the terrified man. With an effortless shove, Troy flung the vehicle over the mountain’s edge and into the ravine. He stayed long enough to observe the explosion and left without looking back.

The sun was rising when he returned to the ship with a bag filled with myriad items. His head was filled with thoughts of his human—how to protect her and how to claim her. Emotions that he had never experienced were surfacing, and he was uncertain how to respond to them. Or even if he should respond, for these were the types of odd feelings that his people chose not to engage in. Troy knew he would address these emotions with Tralec at a later time, but right now he was determined to first learn everything he could about his little Skylar.

“Teach me to read her language better! I wish to know everything,” he demanded as he threw the bag onto the platform.

Tralec looked up with tired eyes. “What happened?”

Troy told him about his evening and his realization that he could not be an adequate protector if he did not know about Skylar’s culture and how to help her.

Tralec’s lips drew into a small frown. “While I am thrilled about your interest in learning her culture, I am confused as to why you feel this sudden need to learn to read her manuals instead of using our translation equipment. I do not mean to offend, but it is unlike you to be interested in advancing your education.”

“I do it to honor her,” Troy snapped. “She deserves to be honored.”

Tralec smiled, seeming to realize that learning about Skylar’s needs was how Troy reconciled the deed performed against the Paul monster. Killing was difficult for Troy to handle. Even to protect and survive, it was a task that he had always looked upon with distaste.

“We will start lessons after you rest. Our patterns are off by several cycles, and we both need to sleep. We only have these two bunks. Do you wish to bed with her or shall I? You must take care not to jar her if you do,” Tralec asked.

“I am in severe conflict right now. Perhaps it is because the Solaris days are so short,” Troy yawned. “Lack of rest is affecting my mind.”

“What’s troubling you?” Tralec asked kindly. “Talk to me.”

Troy plopped in a chair. “I feel possessive over this creature I barely know. I have killed for it. I fear that I will want to touch it too much if I lay at its… her side and claim her before it is time. I am a warrior. The suddenness of these feelings is not consistent with who I am and it confuses me. Should I push them aside or do I face them? What is the right way to address them?”

“I can’t tell you what is right because I feel the same,” Tralec sighed, joining him. “This immediate sense of protection and possession goes beyond my understanding as a scientist. I have never condoned you killing anything, but I wanted to tear that beast to pieces for hurting our… Our…”

“Our baby,” Troy finished. “Is this how it felt when our species used to use their bodies to reproduce? It is undeniably primitive.”

“That is what I am trying to discover but, yes, I do believe so. I even feel a touch of envy when I think of sharing her with you,” Tralec admitted.

“Is that what it is called? Can we share her without harming our bond?” Troy asked worriedly.

“Not to worry, brother. Our bond is unbreakable. I do caution you about the cleverness of this species. She might attempt to set us against each other to gain for herself.”

“Skylar? I cannot believe her capable of that. She is as sweet as could be.”

“She’s in shock, injured, and deeply medicated. We will not see her true personality until she heals,” Tralec said wisely.

“What if she is like that Paul? Then what?”

“Then we do what we must to teach her how to behave properly. These manuals are very informative and show in detail what can be done to alter behaviors. It might take time and patience, but we will succeed.”

“I have time, but patience?” Troy twirled his finger on the table as he thought it out. “We spank her?”

“If she does not respond to instructions, yes. Only on the bottom region, though.”

“I do like that region on her,” Troy grinned. “Thank you for talking with me.”

“I am your pod-mate. Who else would want to talk to you?” Tralec grinned, earning a responding grunt. “Do you want to bunk with her then?”

“I am still thinking about it. I must change the subject. Did you figure how to preserve the foodstuffs that are not in metal containers? I do not know how long that will last outside of the refrigeration unit I, uh, borrowed them from,” Troy asked.

“Ordinarily I would scold for theft, but in this instance it was justified,” Tralec chuckled, sifting through the bag. He pulled out various pieces of fruit, bread, a roasted chicken, and vegetables and placed them in the synthesizing unit. He pressed several buttons and placed his palm on a black mirror to direct the process. The machine scanned the items and calculated the molecular makeup so it could analyze the duplicating sequence, beeping loudly upon completion.

Tralec placed the items in a stasis unit and then studied the canned items that Troy brought. Several contained various liquids as well as preserved items and could be analyzed later when they were opened. The silver discs were then scanned into the mainframe for data collection, and the thin bound papers were laid open upon the table to reveal various poses of the species practicing sexual activities.

“Manuals with images are even better than the worded ones, yes?” Troy asked, pleased that he had found such treasures. “They make my tool awaken.”

“These are very… detailed,” Tralec said, thumbing through the pages. “And yes, they also have that effect on me. How strange… I have not had this response before. Have you?”

“No. Not even with our biodrone. I am going to enjoy studying this little human with you,” Troy said with seriousness.

“We must proceed slowly and gently. I was reading her manuals, and that term she applied to me is noted to be one of affection and submission.”

“What was it? Daddy? What does it mean?”

“It depends on the culture. A mature human uses it to show her respect to her protector and the dynamics exchanged. She can also use other names such as,” he referred to his notes, “Papa, Uncle, Master, and sir. There are other terms used in reference to females in the same role, such as Aunt, Mommy, Mistress, and ma’am. Some of them appear to intertwine, but others are for a specific situation. I don’t believe that pertains to us, though.”

“Papa? I like that. May I keep it?”

“Certainly. Of course, she must assign it to you. I do not feel that would be a problem. You know that you make her feel safe. She shows her teeth to you without a growl when she sees you.”

“Isn’t that called a smile? We use the same gesture.”

“Yes, but sometimes gestures do not mean the same to them as to us. For example, your gills…”

“Lay off. I can’t help it,” Troy grumped.

“I was not going to scold. I was just pointing out that your gills flush blue when you are angry or upset, but the human’s entire face will redden with both anger, pleasure, happiness, and embarrassment. They call it blushing. It will also flush with temperature fluctuations because they do not know how to alter their blood temperature in times of stress.”

“What odd creatures.”

“Fascinating and very complex little creatures. There is so much to learn about them. And everything they do has different effects and consequences. I think they may be able to teach us how to broaden our ability to achieve bodily pleasure. They certainly enjoy being touched.”

“That is very good, because I just want to constantly pet her. I need to sleep. I’m shutting down,” Troy said suddenly as another yawn escaped him. “Do you feel it to be safe if I rest with her? I will be careful. I don’t want to injure her.”

“Of course. I’ll help you settle her after you clean up.”

Troy approached the sleeping unit nervously, pausing to stare at the bruised, naked body of the tiny dark-haired girl who remained in her drug-induced slumber. Tralec lifted the cubicle’s lid and gently pushed Skylar’s body to the far side to make room for Troy to slide next to her. The sleeping cubes were designed to fit the men snugly, giving a sense of being encapsulated in a warm, fragrant, calming womb. There was no significant room for another person, even one as tiny as Skylar, so Tralec laid the sleeping girl on top of Troy’s chest. He carefully positioned her limbs so that she would feel secure and comfortable and placed her little head to snuggle against his pod-mate’s wide, bare shoulder. A tiny smile drifted across her face.

“She seems to be at peace,” Tralec smiled, slipping a thin blanket over the two of them.

“She is so warm! And very soft,” Troy said, gently wrapping his arm around her back and stroking the flesh along her spine.

“Enjoy her. Rest well,” Tralec said, closing the cubicle’s lid and watching as it filled with the moist, aromatic gas that provided a deep, restorative sleep.

“You, too, brother. Thanks.”

Troy pulled the warm body to his chest and ran his lips along the top of her head. She felt so natural in his long arms and fit so beautifully resting on top of him like he was a living mattress. Skylar mumbled something in her sleep and kissed his chest before turning her head to rest her other cheek upon him. He could feel the pounding of his heart touching hers. They seemed to be synchronized.

“Papa Troy will take care of his little girl,” he said quietly. “You have a daddy and a papa to watch out for you now, and we will keep you safe, warm, and happy.”

“Papa Troy?” Skylar murmured, snuggling her face deeper into the thick muscle under her head.

“Yes, Skylar. Papa Troy is here,” he said, determined to learn more terms to show his affection to this tiny alien creature. “Are you in pain?”

“No. Cold. Hungry. So hungry…” she muttered. “So sleepy.”

“Sleep then. We will awaken in three of your hours and you can eat.”

“I want fried chicken and mashed taters and…” she sleepily listed off her favorite foods.

“Good thing we have Tralec,” Troy said gratefully. “There is no way I could ever remember all these things without his help.”

“Who’s Tralec?”

“Daddy, child. He’s your daddy now.”

“I like Daddy, too. He won’t let Paul come after me, will he?” She lifted her tired face to look up at him.

“No. The Paul will never bother you again. Papa Troy made sure of that.”

“Good. Tell Daddy no more shots. They hurt.”

“Daddy will do what he needs to in order to help you.”

“I don’t like it. Make him stop.”

“How are you not sleeping with this gas going? Put your head down and let Papa Troy rest. I must sleep now.”

“I wanna get up,” Skylar said, her voice getting stronger as she began to rouse.

“Not yet. Sleep.”

“I don’t wanna sleep. Lemme get up.”

“Damn. Tralec!” Troy shouted into the intercom. “It won’t sleep! The gas is no longer working to quiet her.”

“Tell her that it’s not time to wake yet,” Tralec’s tired voice responded back.

“Tell Troy to let me up,” Skylar demanded.

“You are to go back to sleep, young lady. No more lip, hear me?” Tralec’s voice was firm, the intercom making him sound menacing.

Skylar started, his words making an impact. “But…”

“Do you want a spanking?” Tralec asked.

“No, sir,” Skylar whimpered. “I don’t like this dream anymore.”

“It’s no dream, baby. This is real, and that spanking will be too if you keep up this behavior. Now, go back to sleep.”

“Fine,” Skylar said into the man’s chest.

“She is leaking again,” Troy sighed, patting Skylar’s back as she released a torrent of sobs upon him.

“Let her leak. It is called crying. She still is very confused from the medication and does not realize that this is really happening. It is going to be a shock when she fully comes to her senses.”