Callisto: Bound to the Alien Commander |18+

Chapter 13

My eyes flutter and I hear frantic talking all around me.

"What do you mean she just fell? People don't just fall!" It's Clarisse and she's panicking.

"Did she hit her head?" Santi is here too.

"I caught her. We were speaking then she...fell..." when Ronan talks I feel it, vibrating in my skull. "You are both human doctors, help her."

"I'm fine," I groan and blink my eyes open. It's only now that I realize why his voice sounded so close, why I could feel it rattling under my skin. He's holding me, pressed against his bare chest.

"Nic, what happened?" Clarisse sounds so upset. I think we're all a bit fearful of something happening to one of the others.

"I think I fainted, I'm so sorry for scaring you. I'm fine, really. I just...we figured something out and it upset me...that's all."

"What did you figure out?" Santi looks afraid to ask.

"We were asleep for two hundred and thirty-seven years... Ronan showed me a simulation of the event. It was... awful."

They look shocked as they try to process everything.

"I would like to see the simulation if that's possible," Santi asks cautiously.

"Of course," Ronan's chest rumbles, and I realize, much to my horror, that I'm still in his arms!

"Oh, Ronan! I'm so sorry!" I wiggle, dropping my legs down to the ground. "I'm fine! You don't have to carry me."

"Ronan?" Olexa raises her brows at him then says something we can't understand.

His jaw ticks and he takes a step back.

"If all is well, I will be returning to bed," Olexa smiles.

Jerking my head toward the window, I see the purple and blue sky still very clearly indicating night.

"Please, go back to sleep! I'm sorry you were woken up." When I walk toward the door, Santi follows, entering the room across the hall.

"Come," Ronan sets his hand on my shoulder.

"Ronan, I can't take your room. Please, stick me somewhere else."

"I will not 'stick you' somewhere. You like those quarters, you may have them."

We walk down the hallway in silence until he stops me at the stairs.

"Are you certain that you are well?" His eyes search my face. His expression is stern but his eyes aren't.

"I am."

Following him through the dark, my mind wonders back to how all of this started.

"Was that woman your girlfriend?"

I want to fling myself from the nearest staircase as soon as the words leave my mouth.

"Girlfriend?"

"Um," I feel stupid. Why did I ask him this? "A romantic companion...someone you love or commit to. It's like a friendship but more intimate..." I'm rambling.

"No, she is not my girlfriend."

He offers no further explanation. If he thinks it's odd that I asked, he doesn't show it. After walking up the stairs he stops me again.

"Why do you have different accents? Each of you is different..."

"Well, we're not from the same place. Santi is from Colombia and Spanish was his first language. Clarisse is from Germany and I'm American."

This answer doesn't seem to explain anything.

"You are all of Earth..."

"Yes, but we're from different countries."

"Do you not speak their languages?" He still does understand.

"I speak some Spanish."

"You do not speak all human languages?"

My mouth falls open, "of course not! Do you speak all of the languages on your planet?"

"We only have one language. Everyone of An'eo speaks An'eoc."

"Everyone on the planet? Is your whole planet one country?" I'm fascinated.

"We have several regions, but we are one planet, one people."

"We had a lot of division here," I start to explain how we separate ourselves by ethnicity, race, and nationality.

"That sounds foolish. If your planet was attacked you would be uncoordinated and easily invaded...." The way he's looking at me makes me feel small and stupid. That's how he sees me. "I read your texts, this caused many wars, did it not?"

"Yes, it did." I hang my head. I don't know how to stand in defense of my own people. When we went to sleep we were in the middle of the cold war. Clarisse's own country was torn in two...

"See? Foolish. On An'eo we do not fight our brothers."

"We were far from perfect but a lot of people... most people, tried to be good, to be kind... We didn't set up our world that way. We were born in whatever county we were born in..." I'm sputtering, grasping at straws.

"That sounds like an excuse. If you admit it was flawed, why did you not change it?"

"I'm only one person! What could I have done? How dare you place the shortfalls of humanity at my feet!" I feel both boiling rage and shame. "I was just an ordinary person, I wasn't born into power... What could I have done to force world leaders to hold hands and sing kumbaya?"

His expression changes, "you are very small and weak. I suspect you are correct..."

My mouth drops open, "what the fuck?"

"I said 'you are very small and weak so I believe you are correct.' You would be incapable of forcing anyone to do anything." His voice is completely calm, matter-of-fact.

"Good night, Commander." I step into the room and slide the door closed. I grumble under my breath as I make my way to the shower. A sliding door is decidedly less apt at conveying anger than a slamming one.

He blamed me for the division of people, then he called me weak and useless.

Scrubbing my skin in the shower, I force all thoughts of him down. Or at least I try to. His stupid, flawless face keeps popping into my head. I'm not an idiot. I would never assume that I am anywhere even close to his abilities or strength. To hear him say it out loud, so pragmatically... We clearly have differences in etiquette. Insulting people with low opinions of their capabilities and intelligence is generally frowned upon here.

I don't know why my feelings are so hurt. He insulted me, yes, but it's more than that. He's hard to read, but I thought we were forming a friendship... of sorts. He sat beside me on the floor while I cried, and showed me the simulation and the museum...

I'm acting like a teenager with a crush because he let me call him by his name.

I need to get my shit together. He's the commander of an alien race, a perfectly formed extraterrestrial specimen. We are not friends.

Climbing into bed, I open my backpack and dig through the items until I find my notebook. I need to change my expectations. He asks me questions to learn about the human race. I will do the same. Scribbling down an anatomical survey, I write everything I can think of that I can ask to learn more about them.

Maybe Olexa will let me do a macroscopic anatomical study?

I wonder if they have microscopes to do a microscopic study?

I feel better after spending an hour considering educational topics. I might not be strong like he is but I'm not stupid. I don't need him to be my friend. I will learn from him and let him learn from me. Santi and Clarisse are my friends, that's all I need.

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