Mated to the Warriors (11 page)

“S-Gen?” So much weird stuff to learn. I truly felt out of my depth as the now empty platform lit up with bright green light that was concentrated at the base. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the spectacle and when the lights were gone, a lump of fabric lay on the platform.

“Spontaneous matter generator.” Dare bent over and picked up the fabric. When he lifted it for me, I saw that it was a knee-length tunic of some sort with strange leggings connected beneath it. Dare handed it to me and I discovered that it was open in the back. I stepped into the leggings and pulled it up, shoving my arms into the long sleeves. As soon as I had it on, the material closed itself in the back, fitting me like a second skin. Dare looked me over, his gaze lingering on the slightly scooped neckline that prominently displayed my collar. His attention drifted down to my breasts and waist, to the slightly flared skirt that fell almost to my knees. Beneath that, the leggings covered me completely to my ankles and my bare feet looked oddly out of place.

Dare pressed his hand to an indentation on the side of the S-Gen. “Boots for Lady Deston.” At his command, the green light returned, leaving a pair of matching boots that would cover me to just above the ankle. He held them out and I slid my feet into them. I thought they would feel odd without socks, but the boots contracted around my feet just like the clothing had around my body and they were soft as silk on the inside.

Deston ordered clothing for himself as well and put on a fresh uniform and boots before taking both of our towels and my sheet and rolling them up in his hands. He pressed a small button in the wall next to the S-Gen unit and a drawer slid out from the wall. He dropped the towels and sheet inside, then gathered his discarded uniform and boots from the bathing room and dropped everything inside before closing it. A bright green light leaked from the edges of the drawer and I tilted my head to watch.

“That’s the reclaiming unit. All matter is reduced to its base form and reused by the system.”

I thought about it for a moment, looking around the room. There were no drawers for clothes, no boots on the floor, no half-eaten food on the small table next to the bed. “You use everything once and recycle it?”

He smiled. “Yes. The subatomic particles that made your towel might be used to create shoes tomorrow, or a bowl of soup the day after that. Everything onboard the ship is recycled this way. No one goes hungry. No one goes thirsty. No one suffers from poverty. As long as the ship has energy, we can create anything we need.”

Holy freaking wow. I looked down at my new clothes. They were great, but I had one little problem. I’d worn leotards and other one-piece articles of clothing many times, and they were a complete pain in the ass when it came time to use the restroom.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a toilet in the bathing room. I looked around. There didn’t appear to be one anywhere. I hadn’t needed one yet, so it had slipped my mind. Which seemed weird, and wrong. Was there something wrong with me after all? Had the transport messed up my kidneys or something?

“What is it, mate? You can ask me anything.” Dare lifted his hand to my cheek and I held still, allowing his touch. Already, he felt so familiar. Easier to deal with than Zane. But, for some reason, I was worried about the commander. He was so hard, so strong. He had so many people, a whole fleet of warriors, relying on his strength and I’d hurt his feelings. Little old me, Hannah Johnson, preschool teacher from Earth. I’d wounded the mighty commander with a few honest words.

Great. No toilet, and now I felt like a heartless bitch. This was just getting better and better. I sighed. I might as well ask Dare now, no matter how embarrassing it was to talk about. “I don’t see a toilet.”

Dare wrinkled his brow. “I don’t understand, and my stims have no word for that. What do you need?”

Holy shit. Was I really going to have to explain it to him? I felt my cheeks grow hot, and this time it wasn’t from arousal, it was just plain embarrassment. “You know, a place to go when you need to get rid of your body’s natural waste? Don’t you guys ever have to, you know, empty your bladder?”

Understanding dawned on his handsome face and he actually laughed at me, which both pissed me off and made my face feel even hotter. “Didn’t Doctor Mordin explain this to you?”

“Explain what?”

“Everything is sent to the S-gen reclamation system. Even your body’s biological waste.”

“How?” What the hell was he talking about?

“Do you feel the need to empty your bladder?”

I thought about it for a moment, taking stock of how I felt. “No.”

He smiled, looking relieved. “Good. You had me worried, mate. But it appears the implants placed during your medical exam are working properly.”

“Implants?”

“Yes. During your processing, your internal waste systems were implanted with reclamation devices. This is done to our children at birth. The system will clean your blood, as well as transport and remove all waste from your body as it is generated.”

Holy hell. I would never have to use the bathroom again? “So, I’ll never have to—you know—ever?”

“Not unless you travel outside the range of the ship’s system. If you were to explore a new world, and lose contact with our system, then your body’s old biological processes would still function normally.”

Weird. Not that I would miss that particular task, but I suddenly felt like an alien. Or a robot. Or something weird and not human. My hands were shaking a bit as I smoothed the front of my plain uniform.

“So the plug—”

“Can stay in as long as your mates see fit,” he replied.

Time to think about something else.

The boring color of my clothing was better than being naked, but the basic brown and black pattern left something to be desired. I liked to wear bright red and blue and purple. I liked a flash of color. “Does everyone wear clothes like this?”

Dare tilted his head as if confused by the question. “Of course. Why would they not?”

I shrugged, not wanting to offend him, or his people. “Even the women? And the kids?”

He crossed his arms over his massive chest and frowned at me. “Yes. Does your clothing make you unhappy, Hannah? The uniform is designed to protect your body from extremes in temperature as well as protect you from wounds during an attack. The material is impenetrable, just like the armor of my uniform. Is this not how women dress on your world?”

I tugged at the end of my black sleeve where it settled against my wrist and tried to smile. Black. Every day. Forever.

Ugh.

“No, but I will adapt.” My stomach chose that moment to grumble and I realized I was starving.

He stood staring at me as if I were an alien, which I realized more and more each moment, I was. At least to him.

“Come with me, mate. You need to eat, and I imagine you’d enjoy a tour of the ship? I have a few hours before I have to report for duty.”

I worried my lower lip with my teeth. “You have to go out on a mission?”

“Yes.”

“But why? I thought the ship was moving, heading back to the front lines.”

“We are, Hannah. But my team flies scouting missions to make sure the fleet doesn’t run into any surprises.”

“Is it dangerous?”

His grin turned wolfish and utterly predatory. “I’m dangerous. And not just to my enemies, I hope.” He leaned over and kissed the side of my neck, sending shivers racing over every inch of my skin. My collar heated and made my clit pulse.

No, not just to his enemies. Zane overwhelmed me, worried me, but Dare snuck under my defenses like a thief.

“I am hungry, and I would love to see the ship.” Time to explore my new world, and find that damn transporter room. The way I felt about Zane and Dare already, I knew I needed to get off this ship as quickly as possible, before it was too late, before I fell head-over-heels in love with them. Zane wasn’t happy with me. I’d felt that much. Leaving now was the best option. The question was, would I leave space with a training plug filling my ass?

Chapter Eight

Hannah

The dining hall was crowded when Dare and I entered. The space was small, designed to hold no more than a hundred people. About a dozen preschool aged children chased each other around the tables as their mothers sat, sipping steaming liquid from mugs. Scattered here and there at one of the long dining tables were small groups of warriors, most of them without collars. They smiled and allowed the young ones to climb on their laps and talk. Two mated males sat with their women—I could see now that they had matching colored collars—at one of the tables. One couple I noticed right away. My jaw dropped open and my heart raced with excitement. Dare tried to tug me toward a small, wall-mounted S-Gen unit, but I resisted his pull.

“She’s human.”

Dare looked over to where I was staring—I couldn’t help myself—and he nodded. “Yes. That is Lady Hendry. The warrior seated across from her is her primary mate, Captain Hendry. He must be here to meet with the commander before we reach the front.”

Dare tugged on my elbow again, and this time I followed him to the S-Gen unit in the wall. It was about the size of a microwave oven back home, and had the same black base and odd green gridlines as the one in Zane’s quarters. My stomach growled again. I was starving.

“Place your finger over the activator like this.” Dare pressed his thumb to a small indentation in the wall next to the machine. “And then just tell the ship what you want to eat.” He ordered something I’d never heard of before, removed his thumb, and waited patiently as the inside of the box turned a bright green. When the light faded, a steaming plate of food waited for him, complete with a double-pronged fork and a knife. He removed his plate and turned to me. “Your turn.”

“I don’t know what to ask for.” I truly didn’t. I had no idea what any of their food looked or tasted like. All I really wanted was some of my mom’s homemade lasagna and French bread.

He grinned. “The commander ordered a full menu from the processing centers on Earth when he found out you were coming. The ship is programmed with over two thousand menu items from your world. He wanted you to be happy here.” This last he spoke with quiet sincerity, as if I’d doubt that Zane did it just for me.

I glanced at the other human woman and her mate. She had two adorable children with her. The older child, a sweet-looking little girl, looked like she was about four. Her younger brother was barely toddling around. Dare was watching me as I tried to make sense of the situation.

“Lady Hendry eats Earth food as well. But before you came to us, the menu from your home world consisted of a hundred items, and only from her country. Brides all over the Prillon system are celebrating your arrival. Deston is the highest ranking military officer still on active duty. No one else, except the Prime or Prince Nial, could have ordered the programming required to create this menu for you.”

I tore my gaze from the happy couple and stared at the S-Gen. Here goes nothing. I placed my thumb on the activator switch. “Lasagna and French bread.”

A kind female voice answered me, the voice of the ship’s computer system, and I jumped in surprise. “Would you care for something to drink, Lady Deston? I sense that you are suffering from mild dehydration.”

I
was
really thirsty. “How does it know that?” I looked at Dare.

“Your collar monitors your body’s vital systems at all times. Once we claim you, the system will be able to help you maintain balance should you find yourself in need.”

Shaking my head, I ordered a glass of water with lemon and turned back to Dare. “What does that even mean?”

He carried my plate and I followed him, sipping on the ice-cold water. It tasted like heaven. “It means, that if you are dehydrated or sick, the additional implants you will receive after we are mated will be able to transport water or other nutrients directly into your body’s bloodstream, the same way it transports waste out of it.”

I sat down in a soft brown chair and Dare sat down across from me. “Why do you guys even eat?”

“Because we enjoy it.” He looked over my meal with curiosity before dipping his finger in the melted cheese and marinara sauce. He tasted it and took his time swirling the flavors around on his tongue. I watched him, curious as to what he would think of Earth food.

“Have you eaten food from Earth before?”

He nodded. “Yes, but only a couple of things. I have had your beer, and something called a hotdog.” He made a face and shook his head. “That was not my favorite. But this?” He lifted his strange fork and cut a piece of my lasagna for himself. “This is fantastic.”

I laughed at the look of astonishment on his face, like a little boy who’d just found a new toy. “Shall I go order one for you?”

He smiled, but before he could answer someone walked up to stand beside us. I glanced over to find the human woman with long blond hair staring at my plate as if she’d never seen lasagna before. Her voice was melodic and reminded me of my music teacher in high school.

“Oh, my God. Is that what I think it is?” Her mate stood behind her with a bemused expression on his face. Their young daughter was in his arms, her hands wrapped around his neck and a look of utter contentment on her face. I knew that feeling; I’d had it when Zane held me in almost the exact same position. The little boy was clinging to his mother’s leg.

“If you think it’s lasagna, then yes.”

Her eyes sparkled with delight and she clapped her hands in front of her face with excitement. “Yes! I’ve been stuck eating mac and cheese for five years! You must be Lady Deston.” She held out her hand and I shook it.

“I’m Hannah.”

“Anne.” Her gaze held mine and I knew, at least in part, what she was feeling. It was nice to see someone from home. I remembered Warden Egara’s words, that I had been the first volunteer from Earth. I had to assume that Anne had been a prisoner. I wondered what she had done to be convicted and sent off-planet. As soon as I considered that, I realized that her punishment
was
going off-planet. She didn’t have to dislike it. In fact, by looking at her with her mate and children, she was quite happy.