Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson

11

Kai

The Custo barrackslack a particular comfort. We have individual sleeping quarters and a shared living space and kitchen. Most of us eat in the Custo dining area though, and although it’s a relatively comfortable space, it’s not exactly cozy. No photos. No reminders of home. We’re here for a purpose, one we shouldn’t forget.

We’re assigned our living quarters with our unit, which means that I share space with Alex and Dimka. Our fourth is out on an assignment—undercover in with the Trads. Not one of us has heard from him in months.

These three, and Damon, were handpicked by me when I was given the role of commander. It’s a luxury we’re given in the Custo. Trust is more important than anything else. We’re dealing with precious life—the future of our society—there can’t be any doubt.

It’s a rare moment we’re all off duty at the same time, but one we take advantage of. Once a week, during the hours that the dormitories are on curfew for the night and under lockdown, we gather in our unit with a bottle of drink.

The dark reddish liquid fills our cups and we sit around the flat, slate gray table in our sitting area. Alex’s feet are propped on the surface, his cup in his hands. The alcohol affects his human physiology faster than either me or Dimka, and his red cheeks always make me laugh.

“Where did you and Mercy go off to last night?” Alex asks Dimka after pouring himself another drink.

“Neither of us were interested in the match, so we took a walk.” He sits with his back straight and on alert—the Athion never relaxes. “I find her pleasing to talk to.”

“And look at,” Alex agrees. “I’ve always had a thing for gingers.”

I raise an eyebrow. “A what?”

“A redhead. That’s one of our words for it.”

“It’s very appealing.” Dimka nods. “No one has that shade of hair on the Southern Tip. It’s like fire—matches her spirit. Her scent…”

“It is very arousing,” I admit. “And in a different way than most.”

Alex studies the two of us. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Yes,” I say, taking a drink. Dimka nods.

“What’s it like to be around a human female?”

Dimka lifts his cup, a signal I should start. “When the females on Athion started dying from the virus, life just became different—more about survival and finding a solution. For some of us it meant considering we’d never have female companionship, so we threw ourselves into our jobs—then the Invasion. Seeing the females on Earth for the first time? It was like walking into a fever dream. The sights, the scents, the sounds. But we were in a war and there was no time for pleasure. Not until the treaty was signed and things changed.”

“And even then, we’re Custo. Our mission is protection—not relationships,” Dimka adds quietly. “I was okay with this when I signed on. After my time in the pits—the abuse I saw there—the last thing I wanted was any kind of physical relationship. The women here held little appeal, but…”

“But what?” Alex asks.

“But Mercy Ladd is different.”

“How?”

“Like we said before, the way she smells,” I say. “It’s a heightened scent—pheromones.”

“You can actually smell those?” Alex asks, eyes wide.

“You can’t?”

He shakes his head. “No. I mean, I guess human men have more of a, uh, for lack of better term, ‘stirring,’ you know…” his eyes dart to his pelvis, “down there. Our hearts race. We sweat a little.”

“And not all women do that to you?”

“A lot of women kick it off but the whole thing? The desire to be around that same person over and over again? The interest in getting to know her beyond naked? That’s one in a million.”

“Is Mercy your one in a million?” I ask Alex. I’ve noticed the symptoms when I’ve come by the dormitory on the nights he’s working and Mercy is there.

His eyes hold mine. “She may be, but I don’t want this to be something that comes between us. That’s not why I came here.”

Dimka and I exchange a look. “It doesn’t have to be. That’s another difference on Athion. Due to our circumstances, we’re not raised to believe only one man belongs to one woman. Sharing is very common.”

“Isn’t this a little presumptive?” Alex asks. “Determining that we’re willing to share a woman that hasn’t decided if she wants us? A woman, by the way, who will be leaving the facility soon and may be out of our reach anyway?”

Dimka’s jaw tightens and releases before he asks, “Do you plan on letting her walk away without giving her the option?”

Alex sighs. “I don’t know. It’s not how things are done on Earth. I’m not judging. It’s just…different. It’s not why I came here. My job is to protect women like Mercy, not fuck them.”

“This isn’t about fucking, Alex,” I say, in a low, controlled tone, “it’s about cherishing them. Nurturing them. Loving them. It’s our obligation as males to seek a mate if one presents herself. Whether she knows it nor not, Mercy Ladd has presented herself to us. All of us. And Laird knows I will not let her slip from my fingers.”

Dimka leans back in his seat. “All this is well and good, but what about Damon? Do you think he’ll want a say in this?”

Damon is our fourth—out on deep undercover assignment. We started the unit together, bonded together. It does feel odd to make such a major decision without him. “We’ll take that as it comes.”

“Who knows if he’ll even come back alive,” Alex says.

“Watch it,” I say. I don’t like to test fate. “He’s responded to all communication and well-checks, but it’s impossible to know what he’ll want when he comes back. I’m not willing to let Mercy go because of Damon. I think he’d agree if he were in the same situation.”

Both Alex and Dimka nod in response to that. I reach for the bottle and fill each of our cups. Silently we drink, thinking over what’s been revealed. A bond has been formed, if we want it or not. Now we have to determine if Mercy feels the same.