Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (7 page)

Making his way back to his bunk
after cleaning up in the tiny cleansing unit tucked into the far
corner of his cabin, he scooped up his
tresl
again before settling himself
and turning it back on. With his need met, it was time to get on
with his studies of the culture and mores of the Earth location
called Phoenix. Especially since he and Wyst were chosen as the
first participants in their actual search.

Rykhan turned his mind to the upcoming hours
and focused himself. If he and Wyst were to be successful, he
needed much more information on what ‘speed dating’ actually was
and how to use it to their best advantage.

*.*.*.*.*

“Aw c’mon, brother. Just one match
and then we can put our noses to the grindstone.” Arbrynt’s voice
was in the begging category and Wyst could not help his smile as
they exited the ship’s lift to the section reserved for their
quarters. Of all the warriors on the mate quest, the Galaxi warrior
was most like the Nutrolite, Wyst. They both would rather be moving
than sitting still while reading or perusing their
tresls
for new
information.

“One match of
Dreg
takes two hours.” Though
tempted, Wyst did not want to fall behind in gaining information
before he and Rykhan attended the Quest’s first specific meeting of
human females. Competitive by nature, he was determined to be as
prepared for the experience as the studious Tyshar and plodding
Laxon would have been.

“So? It’s not even close to second meal.” To
Wyst’s ears, Arbrynt sounded almost petulant in his argument. “We
have enough time to play with plenty of heras left in the day for
you to make yourself pretty for the Earthlings.”

Wyst skewered the other large man with a
narrowed gaze. “Aren’t you worried you won’t be ready when you seek
out your human mate?”

Arbrynt threw up a hand in a frustrated
gesture. “Why should I be? Finding one woman who is pleasant to the
eyes with a round, warm ass that fills my hands and who will give
me young can’t be any harder than discovering how their monetary
system works.”

Wyst was not so sure.

From what he had seen on Earth’s internet,
everything on the planet was very, very dissimilar from what he
knew. From the foods to the style of dress, there was not one thing
that seemed the same to anything he had experienced. Moreover, the
sheer amount and variety of human females wanting mates was
astounding. “I’ll settle on one…eventually. But I’ve a mind to
sample as many of them as I possibly can before I get stuck
settling down and pledging my life to just one.”

Rolling his eyes at Wyst’s response, Arbrynt
threw a heavy arm around the other warrior’s shoulders. “You better
not let the commander hear you say that,” the large man chided
before changing the subject back. “It’s just one match, just enough
to work off some of this excess energy, brother!”

That much was true, Wyst agreed
silently. Though given every creature comfort, they traveled on a
ship crafted for civilians, not warriors. Even his feet hung off
the end of his bunk, leaving him to sleep in a curled up position!
In fact, there was no place onboard that allowed them to expend any
energy of note. To warriors who had been training every
rota
for
yons
, the lack of free
space in which to work their bodies was almost torture.

“Let me grab my gear and I’ll meet
you there in ten
lesps
, yeah?” Arbrynt’s face broke into a dazzling smile at Wyst’s
capitulation.

Releasing his hold and dropping his arm, the
larger warrior laughed as he stepped away. “Better bring your game
as well, old man. Last time, I beat you without breaking a
sweat!”

“That’s only because I dislocated my
shoulder during the last round!” Which had found him going to the
med-bay for assistance. An experience that still was not clear in
Wyst’s mind because of what he witnessed, as he had gotten lost in
the vastness of the medical level. That first room, the one with
all the high-sided plastic rectangles and all the monitors still
showed up in his dreams. Why did the medical portion take up an
entire level of the
Searcher
and what was it supposed to hold?

“Yeah, but you play like you’re
twenty
yons
away
from your grave,” Arbrynt shot back.

Shaking his head at the giant’s
teasing, Wyst palmed his mechanism and entered his sleep space.
Pulling out his bag of sport gear from under his bunk, he grabbed
his
tresl
and
turned it on. He had enough time to check the scores of the Earth
sport games he had become intrigued with over the few weeks they
had been traveling before meeting Arbrynt. Even if he was
unfamiliar with all the rules in each of the different sports, Wyst
was interested enough to spend time watching and appreciating the
level of skill displayed.

Moreover, to think such a backward world would
have males who made playing games their career was
overwhelming!

One that Wyst would be happy to join even if it
was only for a short period in order to find and bind a
mate.

Of course, only after he had satiated his
curiosity about all the human females that appealed to
him.

*.*.*.*.*

Exiting the observation room after their
meeting, most of the men turned left to queue up for the lift that
would take them to the section of the ship assigned to the
warriors.

All except Laxon.

Turning right, the youngest warrior followed
the corridor to a set of narrow winding stairs that he knew would
take him to the other levels of the starship. He had done some
exploring since they had been onboard and discovered so many places
that were isolated, set away from other people, and provided him
with the solitude he needed.

Growing up on an outlying, isolated
farm on Nutrol, Laxon had begun working with sheep at an early age
and by ten
yons
old, he spent most of his days out with his flock. Until he
was fifteen and accepted into the Picari Academy, he had been alone
out on the grasslands. An experience that had shaped and molded him
more than his entire four
yons
spent at school learning the roles and
responsibilities of being a Protector.

The soft soles of the mission-provided footwear
made no noise as he continued down the spiraling staircase in order
to reach his destination. Today, after the frustration of their
meeting, he more than needed to be there as quickly as
possible.

The other warrior’s loud voices,
wide gestures and huge physiques were more times than not too much
for the quiet man. It had been just as hard in his first
yons
at the academy. Too
many people, too much noise, and everything moving so fast had
taken him by unwelcome surprise and he had spent a lot of time in
his room or out on the playing field when no one else was
about.

After the academy, he had put in for solitary,
far-flung assignments in order to maintain his distance from
others. Occasionally his assignments included a co-warrior or group
that he joined for a few rounds of drinks but that was not his
preference in the way to spend his free time.

If it was a choice of being alone or surrounded
by others, Laxon would pick the solitary experience every single
time.

Why then are you seeking to join
with a female?
The question caused the
young but burly man to miss the next tread and his hand shot out to
the bulkhead to steady himself. It was something he had never
thought to ask himself in all the
merts
since he first put his name
forward for the mate quest mission. He had explored other questions
but not that one, not one so specific to him and his
nature.

Introverted and shy was what his file read, but
he did not believe it to be true. He was not afraid or intimidated
by others; it was more a case that he enjoyed his own company more.
His courses had taught him how social skills developed early in
childhood and because of his family’s livelihood, he had had little
to no opportunities to engage with others growing up. By the time
it was required, as in the case of going to the academy, being
around others was a strain.

To his mind, he was not a part of a herd and
that was exactly how the other boys in his level at school behaved.
He had watched as one by one, they lost their individuality, taking
on the posturing and mannerisms whatever group they aligned
with.

That was not for him, the blending in with a
crowd, or even being a part of one.

Would having a mate make you feel
crowded?
Laxon’s heartbeat elevated at the
latest question his head threw at him and he did not know how to
answer. He hoped the female he joined with could understand his
solitary ways that she would not expect him to engage in social
endeavors with others frequently. He would not be able to survive
and keep his sanity if she did!

Racing down the last flight of stairs, he found
himself outside the door to the engine room, a place he had
discovered he could be alone. He had discovered it to be the only
area where he could pace and think in relative silence, finding his
own brand of peace within the confines of the starship.

Above all else, he needed to think. To try to
determine how the selection process worked. He had envisioned the
warriors simply finding one female for themselves, communicating
their goals, and then formally joining with the human female before
going back to their home system. The vids the drone had sent back
of human women seeking men had brought hope to both Galaxia and
Nutrol that mating with the females of Earth would be
easy.

However, Rykhan’s question about suitability
had shattered that image. It would be horrible to have traveled so
long and such a great distance only to find the female a warrior
would chose might be unable to procreate. Much less one who
expected more from her mate than he would be willing or able to
give!

What if the female he chose did not like living
far away from a city, though? What if she was someone who needed
bright lights and noise to find her happiness? That would be a
disaster!

Laxon realized he was no longer pacing the
length of the engine room but stopped, his head hanging low and his
shoulders slumped. His mind was a jumble, overcrowded with dark
thoughts and he wondered if he was the best man for this particular
mission.

This brought up the other dark question he had
been avoiding as they had traveled.

If their mission was the first wave
to begin the reseeding process, why only choose six warriors, why
not six hundred, or a thousand? Since the
Searcher
was allegedly custom-built,
it should be able to transport more than just a handful of
participants.

His room could not hold two people.
He was able to reach out his arms and touch either side of the
width of his sleeping space. How could he cram both himself and
his
blay
into that
tiny area?

It made no sense.

His questions only added to the cacophony of
Laxon’s mind.

Chapter Six

“I don’t know why I let you talk me into this
stuff,” Leah mumbled, her eyes roaming over the other women crowded
up to the bar. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who needed a bit
of liquid courage to get through the evening.

“Because if I didn’t drag you out of the house
occasionally, you’d have no social life at all!” came the quick
rebuttal from the shorter curly-blonde woman standing next to her
elbow. Both of their bodies shifted to allow others who had already
received their drinks to weave around them. “Suck it up, buttercup.
We’re already here, freaking dressed to impress and ready to work
our mojo on some new hunks!”

Leah didn’t respond but redistributed her
weight in her new shoes, which teetered at the movement. She didn’t
normally wear high heels since she was already tall enough in her
bare feet but Pam had insisted that they made her legs look longer.
At five foot, ten and one-half inches, adding another three due to
footwear was just ridiculous in her opinion. Not to mention,
uncomfortable as hell.

Just as much as the short black skirt Pam had
somehow discovered in the back of Leah’s closet. It was just a
little too skimpy and a little too tight for public display. At the
reminder of her attire, Leah’s hand reached down and tugged at the
hem valiantly trying to bring it closer to her knees. But it
resisted her attempts and remained at mid-thigh.

“Stop squirming, Ley!” Pam sharply whispered,
bumping into her arm. “You look amazing.”

“You mean I look like an Amazon. Big
difference, girlfriend.” Leah had already noted that she was the
tallest person in the room, which wasn’t unusual and hadn’t been
since fifth grade.

“Two red wines, please,” Pam shouted to the
bartender loudly over the din of all the feminine voices in the
room before turning back to her best friend with a frown. “Stop
with the negativity, honey. Remember this is just another step in
your post-R.B. evolution!”