Page 5 of Fire Forged

A bed rested against the left wall, large enough for an Etterian male.On the other side, there were a few comfys adjusted to a lower height to accommodate the offspring, and more display vids were added to the walls.“The replicators and rehydrators have restricted access, as do the security panels on all doors.The waste receptacles have been lowered.The cleansing rooms now stock smaller wraps.The beds within the bedrooms have been lowered, as well.A male will be on guard as an additional precaution; though the males selected will need to be vetted by you.”

“This is wonderful, Nerx.Your males have such a calming effect on the children.I appreciate their willingness to ‘guard’ them for me.”She flashed him a smile.

Nerx grumbled at not being properly addressed by his rank, but he couldn’t expect her to follow protocol when she didn’t know it.

“Your quarters is across the passage with ladies Ruby, Neve, and Saira will sharing as requested.Theirs is alongside yours for convenience.”

“Is there closet space, Nerx?”Lady Olivia asked when she entered the first bedroom.He touched a metallic panel.It opened to reveal shelves and hooks.They too had been lowered for easier access.“I’m happy and grateful.Thank you for going to all this effort.”She glanced up at him and smirked.“Need me to take her from you?”

He tightened his hold around Lily, a surge of protectiveness catching him off guard.“May I keep her for now?”he asked.

“Yes, though she may pee on you,” Olivia said but a twitch at her lips revealed her teasing.

He grunted.Not many dared to be so casual with him; only his closest battle-bonds risked it.

“She used to when she first came to me.She had fresh wounds, was scared, and the slightest noise would cause her to wet herself.”Olivia offered a sad smile then chuckled.“Relax, Nerx, I’m just kidding.She’ll let you know when she needs to go.”

“Who harmed her?”he growled.

“Her father, so the fact she trusts you and Kanzo is a miracle in itself.”Saying no more, Olivia left him to wander through her temporary home.

Nerx rubbed Lily’s back.If he had the father’s whereabouts, the battleship would make one illegal stop.And start a war with Earth in the process?He scowled at that thought.Perhaps just akutatrip to the surface might be better received.

He went about his duties, ignoring the stares from his males, keeping his voice to a whisper, though just as fierce lest anyone questioned his authority.He stood on the upper platform of the bay, watching his males perform their tasks.When the pilot called out a warning and the shield flickered into place, Nerx slipped into a service closet and shut the door.There he waited for a few minutes until the bay doors shut—the thump easily discernible with his enhanced hearing.

He'd just closed the service panel behind him when a female approached, her steps shorter than his males’s.

“Do you want me to take Lily?”Kanzo’s Dar Eth, Ava, asked, striding from the direction of thekuta.

Again, he tightened his hold around Lily.“I have been given permission to keep her with me for now.”

Ava grinned at him and shrugged.“Don’t tell the other children, but she’s my favorite.”

“Trust Lily to find the biggest and baddest alien and make him her champion,” a humandamu, halfway to fully grown, chuckled at the sight of Lily fast asleep.

Bad?He gritted his teeth.“That is an untruth.”

“Neve means that Lily found the strongest and fiercest Etterian male to protect her.”Ava patted his forearm.The urge to snatch it away pummeled him, but doing so would disturb Lily.

“Then it is a truth.”He shared a tight smile as per protocol in these…odd situations.The grimace flittering across Lady Ava’s delicate features said he’d failed to appear friendly.

“Here, eat this.”She pressed something against his lips.

He tried to jerk back, but she insisted.At the aroma of chocolate, he opened his mouth then scowled at her while he sucked on the sweet human treat.

“I do not need this,” he grumbled.

Ava ignored him and shoved the remaining re-wrapped chocolate bar in his back pocket.He slid away, not appreciating her touching him.Did these women not understand personal space?

“Give some to Lily when she wakes up,” she called, gathered a few bags, then ushered Neve down the passage.

Nerx finished the chocolate she’d shoved into his mouth, and as the sugar hit his veins, he allowed his shoulders to sag an inch.Only then did he admit he’d needed it.Though he preferred not to consume too much of it, for it dulled the line between control and happiness.

Lily shifted, her breathing altering as she climbed from the depths of slumber.

“Captain?”she whispered.

“My name is Nerx.”

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