Miracles in Space

Chapter 1-2

One briefing, one boring dinner, and three hours later, I was back in Command Central, in my office, going over reports. Half my life seemed to be filling out and reviewing reports. It was not my favorite thing and I pushed off any I could onto ZalAna. She had a much more detail-oriented mind than I did, and she never seemed to have a problem with me delegating the task to her. And when she did, she told me so.

But these needed my attention, and I still had one of my own to fill out in regards to my boring, but productive, dinner meeting. The Genetian minister had specific regulations they wanted in place, and while I knew the Terran government would never agree to some of them, it was my job to present them as they’d been given to me. And then I’d probably be in charge of negotiations until both governments were satisfied.

“Captain,” Majel’s ethereal voice interrupted. “Commander Sousou would like a word.”

“Why?” The question had popped out of my mouth without thought.

“They did not say, sir.”

For a moment, I was taken aback by the use of the gender-neutral pronoun. Then I realized that while Sousou had honored me by revealing his gender, most Ssarften did not. It was something private they did not, generally, share with everyone they met. We were friends, he and I. At least on some level. Especially when I wasn’t having to mitigate disagreements between him and Ryel.

The other thing that struck me as odd was that Sousou had not given the purpose of his meeting. Most of the time, whenever one of my officers put in a request with Majel to see me, they were quick to state the reason. They all knew it was more likely to get them in front of me faster, as I both hated being surprised, and needed to allocate my time effectively. That Sousou had specifically not said was telling. He was a stickler for regulation. But that clued me in on the importance of whatever he needed to talk to me about.

“Tell Commander Sousou I’m available.”

“Affirmative, Captain.”

Not more than a moment later, the chime sounded. With two quick taps on the screen of my desk, I set it into privacy mode and the screens dimmed. Another tap and the door slid open.

Sousou stood there in his civilian clothes. It was strange to see him out of the standard Ssarften Military uniform, with its harsh lines and stiff jacket. He looked far more comfortable in the linen pants and sleeveless, open-necked tunic. The tans and browns of his outfit blended seamlessly with his golden brown, lightly furred skin. Sousou held himself with all the straight posture I’d come to expect, but his tail was twitching in a way it normally didn’t. Every few seconds, I could see the tip of his brown-tufted tail appearing from behind his knee.

That’s when I realized I was staring at his breathtaking beauty. Which I shouldn’t be doing.

“Come in, Commander.”

Sousou didn’t say a word as he stepped over the threshold and walked toward the desk. He didn’t sit until I waved a hand at the chair opposite me, and when he did so, he carefully moved his tail out of the way first, holding it in his hand. Another odd action, as he normally used the muscles at the base of his tail to move it out of the way so he didn’t sit on it. And I’d never seen him holding it.

“Are you all right, Commander?”

He started, a little jerk that let me know I’d surprised him, but he recovered quickly.

“Yes, Captain.”

I waited a few seconds to see if he’d elaborate, but when he didn’t, I knew I’d have to move the conversation along. “What can I do for you? It’s not often my officers request a meeting at—” I checked the chronometer on the wall. “Twenty-two hundred. Especially not without stating a reason.”

“Yes. I apologize for the lateness of the hour.” Sousou’s speech was stilted, as though he was struggling to find his English. Which to be honest, was another concerning thing. Though he’d had to learn English, and spoke Hrrst much more frequently, he’d never had a problem translating to English. He prided himself on presenting himself in the most professional manner possible.

“It’s no problem,” I assured him, taking care to make my voice reflect my feelings. I was worried about him, at his odd behavior, and if it was so important he needed to speak to me, I would have crawled from bed in the middle of the night for him. Not only because he was one of my officers, and one of the beings I was responsible for on this station, but because we were friends. And if he needed me, I’d be there for him.

“Captain, I wish to speak to you about a…personal matter.” The hesitation, the almost-whispered tone, made my stomach clench and my worry grow.

“Majel, set the room to privacy mode.” A beep of acknowledgement from the AI, a darkening of the glass from my office to the rest of the command center, and I stood and rounded the desk, taking the chair next to Sousou. When I was seated, I made sure I had his attention before I asked, softly, “What’s going on?”

“Captain.” He stopped, took a breath, and didn’t quite meet my gaze as he continued. “Brody. I have personal matter with which I need your assistance.”

The use of my first name surprised me, but I fought to keep it off my face. I so rarely heard it, especially from him, that it was a shock. But I knew then, without a doubt, that this was something only a friend could help him with. Not his commanding officer. Not the director of the station. Me.

It took me a second to search my memory and pull up his first name. He rarely used it, and when he did, it was the English equivalent, Solider. But long ago, he’d gifted me with his gender and his name, and it felt fitting to use it now.

“Gaats, what is it?”

He gave me a smile then, the faintest twitch of muzzle and whiskers, and he relaxed his tight shoulders a fraction.

“Sol is fine, Brody. Your tongue isn’t made for the Hrrst language.”

I liked Sol better anyway. It seemed to fit him, the shortened version of his English name. I grinned and leaned a touch closer, invading his space a little, just because I wanted to be nearer to him. He inhaled sharply, and relaxed even more. There. That was better.

“All right, Sol. What’s going on? How can I help you?”

It wasn’t my imagination that he tensed again, and I wanted to soothe him, help him back to the relaxed state, but it would have to wait until I found out exactly what was going on. I had a feeling that until he said whatever was on his mind, he wouldn’t be able to relax completely.

“You are aware of the culture of my people, yes? The biological needs we have?”

“Sure.” It was part of standard Terran curriculum these days, and had been since the IAA was signed. Learning about other cultures, and the differences in the biologic makeup, as well as the physical cycles and needs they went through. It had been one of my favorite courses at the academy. I’d found it fascinating.

“I am mrowhan, Brody. And my cycle is approaching.”

That fast, my view shifted. In an instant, I understood what he was telling me. About half of the population of Ssarften experienced what Terrans would call “a heat.” The desperate need to copulate, the biological drive to have s*x for several days, and only doing so would relieve the symptoms. If left alone, they would suffer greatly.

“Do you need help getting suppressants?” I asked carefully. The thought didn’t make sense, though, even as it left my mouth. Suppressants were readily available, and mandatory for all doctors to prescribe if a patient needed them. It was one of the most important facets of the IAA.

“No, it is not…” He shook his head, his golden-brown mane of hair swishing against his shoulders. “I took suppressants last time and it is inadvisable to take them twice in a row.”

“Right, of course. I knew that.” I nodded idiotically for a moment before I made myself stop. “Okay, so you need to get to your homeworld? You need a leave of absence?”

“There is not time. I am…due in a few weeks and it would take longer than that to get home.” Sol looked at me then, and the beseeching look in golden eyes was almost too much to bear. “I need you to help me through it, when my time comes.”