Apologies my lovelies, this took longer than I imagined and is far longer than I thought it would end up. I hope you enjoy the epilogue of sorts to Other Worldly. If you want another chapter with our darling aliens, please vote on them and I will give you a third chapter of wonderful alien sexy cuteness...

The space cruiser came into port on auto pilot, the only Predantus long range ship that had ever been seen on that side of the galaxy. A large group of officials waited on the landing pad soon after it touched down. One man in particular was positively humming with excitement. It seemed to him like the shut down cycles were taking forever, and the person he was expecting inside the ship probably felt the same.

"General McStone, are the preparations for our new Ambassador complete?" The Commander demanded again. Juhn tried not to roll his eyes at the same question he had been asked all morning.

"Yes, Commander. Everything is ready." He replied yet again, keeping his tone even and respectful. He watched the door latches release on the ship with slight trepidation. He knew that a treaty with the bugs was not only necessary, but beneficial. That did not mean he wasn't baffled when he heard that the Commander's son had not only been rescued by them, but decided to marry one. Grossed him the hell out just thinking about it.

"Father!" All eyes were on the couple as they finally disembarked from the ship. The changes were just incredible. You could tell it was him, Rhian Lexthen, but the changes wrought in the months he had been missing were huge. First off, he had effing scales and claws! As he got closer, we saw his eyes had gone funny too. He still smiled and went in for a big hug with his father, who teared a little and swung him around in his arms like he had been missing for years and hadn't changed a bit.

"Gracious, look at you. You're all fierce and married. Couldn't you wait until you got home to get hitched? You know I always wanted to be there for that." He held his son out at arms length and complained.

"Sorry father, it was sort of an emergency. I will explain it all later. We can always have a party to celebrate though, right? Here, let me introduce you to my mate, er husband? This is Syn Lexthen. In their culture the person with higher rank passes their name to the other so he will be taking our last name." His father beamed at the news and moved forward to shake hands with the bug.

"A pleassure to meet you, Ssir." The bug said, carefully shaking his hand and nodding to each of the officials that bowed a greeting.

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Ambassador Syn. I am very grateful that you have taken such good care of my boy, Rhian." The Commander smiled.

"I am very grateful that I wass able to be of sservice." Ambassador Syn replied. He snaked one scaly arm about Rhian's waist and they exchanged a look that was obviously intimate.

"General, please secure his ship and have their things taken to their quarters." The commander ordered over his shoulder before escorting the two inside the station.

"Yes sir." Juhn muttered before waving his men forward and making his way to the alien ship. He was mildly annoyed at being demoted to errand boy, at the same time as being pleased at the singular faith the Commander had in him that he trusted him with his son's personal things.

"Thomas, I'll have you and your men take the son's containers to their quarters, mind you watch the markings though. If I find out you dropped the electronics I will have you court marshalled. Jakkent, I need you to get the materials with the commander's markings on them over to intelligence. I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if any of those go missing." He said darkly to the men following him. It took a second to pull the levers for the cargo bays and drop the ramps.

The lights came on and they all looked around in fascination at the alien technology. The strange language was written across the walls to mark levers and holding bins. The lights and materials were both eerily similar and strange at the same time. Everything seemed slightly oversized, probably from the fact that the bugs were at least a foot or two taller than humans, and that was at their smallest. The containers were secured with thin chains that fastened them to the walls and floor.

Movement caught his gaze in the far corner and he held up a hand to the soldier next to him and motioned the man to follow. They crept to the back of the cargo bay and what was revealed to him had him groaning in distress. There was a makeshift pallet and a smaller bug than the ambassador with a bin of food and a bag of miscellaneous stuff next to him or her. He was pretty sure it was just waking up from the way it stretched its limbs and gaped open its mouth in a yawn.

"Ah, hello homo-ssapien. Have we landed then?" It chirped at him. The voice was higher than the ambassador's and when it rose up it was only a head taller than him.

"Shit! You have got to be kidding me!" He hissed. The bug shrunk back from Juhn, flinching at the sound of his voice. He grabbed his communicator and scratched his head. "Ah, can you put me through to the Commander, Hicker?"

"General? His comm is set to 'do not disturb', sir. I can't do that unless it's an emergency." The voice on the other end replied.

"I KNOW that Hicker. I logged the effing order. Put me through to him NOW." He barked back. The soldier on his right was worried and moved to reach for a weapon but he waved him to stop and move off. That seemed to reassure the bug, who was starting to raise its hair at him. Juhn knew that was a bad sign; he was taught that much at least from previous encounters.

"Commander Lexthen. I thought I said no disturbances?" Came the commander's voice through the comm. Juhn sighed in frustration.

"Sorry sir, but this is an emergency. Can you inform the Ambassador that there was a stowaway on board their ship? It's a Predantus, like him. Speaks some standard Earthian. I will need instructions on what to do with it." He sucked his teeth at the curses coming through the other end of the comm and raised his brows at the way the bug tilted its head at the noises from the device.

"Dammit! Take it to the blue waiting room. We will meet you there." The connection was severed abruptly. Juhn looked at the creature and tucked the comm away.

"Well, you heard him. Come along with me." He said to it. He waved his hand to motion towards himself and the bug moved to grab his bag and bin. "No, leave those for now. Just come with me." He said impatiently. The bug looked unsure. He looked at the bag and pointed at it. "Stay." It cocked its head. He pointed at it. "Come."

"Mine. No touch." The bug said. He nodded to it. It seemed relieved and finally moved to follow him. He went out to the others with it following him.

"Hey guys, leave the stuff on the pallet in the corner. It belongs to this guy, okay?" He called out. He saw a few nods and heard a few murmured 'yes boss' before stepping out of the craft. The landing dock was back to normal again, only to be distracted by the sight of him leading a second bug across to the entry. He was annoyed and shot a quick, "Get back to it!" before leading the creature into one of the medium security waiting areas, also known as the blue room.

The bug seemed fascinated with the wall screens and the lights, as much as I suppose we had been for the Predantus ship's same features. It tapped the metal in curiosity and carefully touched the fabrics on the furniture. It folded onto a larger sofa and made a strange clicking noise. He watched as it bounced a little on the cushion and raised an eyebrow at the almost childish antics.

The Commander, Ambassador and Rhian all came barging into the room after a few long minutes and the noisy clicking and rasping language that spilled from both the bugs mouths had him cringing internally. When Rhian joined them with a fairly accurate copy of the sounds to get in on the conversation, he was frankly surprised. He knew the kid had a knack for languages, but how in space he managed to figure this one out was beyond him.

"Commander, thiss iss Genta." The Ambassador started, only to be interrupted by the new creature.

"No. I am no longer Gen-ta. I have renounced Gen as mate. I am just Ta now. I will not accept a mate that ignoress our lawss and would hurt another's beloved." The creature called Ta insisted. Juhn had to give the bug credit for being a principled thing.

"Excuse me, this is Ta. He wass my clutch brother's mate. We are like your coussins, ssince he is ssired by my father's brother. He iss disgraced on our planet for being mated to a law-breaker, and so askss leave of you to stay here." The Ambassador seemed to be reluctantly making the bug's case.

"Do you think he could help you with your duties, Syn?" Rhian asked him. The Ambassador shrugged and glanced over to Ta.

"He will have to learn better standard Earthian, but I do not ssee why not." The Ambassador replied. It was grating on General Juhn how the bugs slurred their words, but he fought to remain calm and hopefully forgotten. He really needed to get back to his job. He was about to turn and leave the room when the Commander remembered his presence. He cursed himself for not leaving faster.

"General Juhn. I have an idea. Why don't you take Ta with you for a bit until we can get a spot set up for him, hmm? You can practise Earthian with him and show him around." The commander mused. Juhn sighed and looked at the lot of them.

"Sir, I know you mean well but, frankly speaking, I have a lot of work to catch up on with the interruptions today has brought on. Are you sure there isn't someone else you can think of who is better qualified and... more free?" He responded respectfully, not really expecting to get out of it. Sure enough the Commander shook his head with a grin. At that moment he knew his boss and friend had done it on purpose, because he knew how much it would ruffle his feathers.

"Nope. I think you are the most qualified person for the job. Keep my guest Ta of Predantus and cousin to the Ambassador company until further notice." He grabbed his son's arm and moved the other two to the door to resume where they had left off, or so Juhn presumed.

"What jusst happened? Am I to go with you then?" Ta cocked his head to the side and considered the General. Juhn sighed heavily and hung his head a moment before motioning with his hand like last time.

"Alright then, your name is Ta?" He didn't wait for a reply or to see if the bug followed him before heading out. It scrambled behind him, struggling to keep up as he tried to look around. "Let me finish a few small things and then I will take you inside and show you around, okay?"

"Of course." Ta said and quietly watched as he barked a few orders, delegated some tasks to his second and third in command and signed off on a few screens with his code and fingerprint. It was only when he ran out of real reasons to stall the inevitable any longer that he turned to his shadow and cleared his throat.

"Come on then, let's show you the station shall we? I'm sure you guessed that this is the landing and loading areas along this wing of the ship. The room you were in before was in the welcome center, the first stop for most people who visit the station. Next I will take you to the leisure areas, if that suits you?" He was trying to be polite to the, er man? No, that wasn't right. Male? Close enough.

"That would be fine." Ta stated simply. He nodded and led the way to the resident shift-shaft. After scanning to get in and setting a destination, they stood silently as the device shot up and over to the appropriate level and wing. He pointed out the corridors leading to swimming, various athletics and finally the meeting or dining rooms.

"Are you hungry? We can stop to have a bite of food if you want." He offered. Ta shook his head no.

"Thank you no. I do not eat often as your sspecies does. May I assk you a personal question?" Ta finished in a rush and Juhn was curious what the bug was thinking so nodded his permission.

"Shoot." Ta looked quizzical, so he rephrased. "I mean go ahead."

"Are you a very powerful warrior?" Ta began, then filled in at his confused look. "Our species is larger and darker when they are more powerful, and you are both very tall for your sspecies and dark of skin. Are your kind like thiss also? Does this mean you are an elite warrior like Syn's father?" Juhn couldn't help barking out his laughter.

"I'd love to lie to you, but no we are not like your species in that regard. Our elite warriors are many shapes, sizes and colours... even genders. It is only with training that we become elite warriors. The fastest, strongest and most clever are promoted to positions such as mine. May I show you?" He caught sight of a perfect example for Ta. He waved to the petite a-gender that sat at the bar. The tiny, purple haired General got up and came over to them.

"Hey Juhn, whatcha doing here at this time of day?" He gave them a hug and introduced his guest.

"General Kenryn, may I present Ta of Predantus. He is a guest of the Commander and our newest Ambassador Syn of Predantus." Ta was shocked that this little creature was a General and carefully shook hands with them.

"I ssee what you mean. What is your sspecialty, General Kenryn, if I may assk?" He raised a brow at Kenryn and was surprised when they laughed instead of gutting him after the question.

"I am a sniper. Very good at getting in hard to reach places and taking out the competition." They made a shooting motion at me and a silly 'pew pew' sound. Ta began making a clicking sound that could only be taken as laughter. Like a cheerful popping of sound with lively eyes to convey his humor.

"Ah yes. Very admirable. A useful skill indeed. I am an engineer. I repaired the screens we use on my home planet. I like to fix things." Ta told Kenryn. They nodded and looked pensive for a moment.

"Maybe you can help me with something, if you two aren't busy?" They looked at me and I shrugged without care.

"Whatever Ta wants to do today. I am at his service." He added a smile to them both to lessen any possible dryness in his voice from his annoyance with the Commander from earlier. It wasn't Ta's fault the man had a bit of a mean streak in him. Besides, the bug had asked intelligent questions and seemed alright.

"I would be happy to help you, General." Ta nodded and followed behind the diminutive figure of his friend. At less than 5 feet tall, they really looked like a kid if you weren't paying attention. It was one of their best weapons: concealment, surprise, and being misjudged. They were led to a shifter pod and climbed in, Kenryn entering in a destination and making small talk with Ta as they travelled. Juhn listened intently, taking notes in his head about the habits and likes of his guest that arose.

"Ah here we are. I was hoping a new set of eyes might help me solve my problem with this latest project I am working on." They were taken into a room with half-put-together electronic contraptions, wires poking out of a few of them, and Kenryn pointed to a particularly large one. Juhn narrowed his eyes at the General, worried about what the silly person was showing Ta.

"Is this a tonal modulator? I think you need more space for the reverberator, here. If it buzzess against the wires, there, it will throw off the resulting wave lengths." Ta responded and Kenryn gave a huge smile. They grabbed Ta about the waist and hugged him hard, before doing a jig and shooing us out of the room with a tool in hand.

"I don't get it. What the hell was that thing?" General Juhn asked Ta. Ta clicked away as he got in the shifter pod again.

"It was an instrument, General. Kenryn is building a music maker." Ta shook his head and Juhn laughed with him this time as he set the location to his apartments. He needed a bite to eat and figured Ta could just rest while he did.

"I hope it's alright if we head to my place. I need to grab some food." He said to him.

"Ah, you wish to show me your home? Yes. I do not mind that at all." He noticed that Ta was trying to copy him by shortening the 's' sounds he was making. He smiled his approval. It was getting easier to be around Ta the longer he was in his company. He supposed that was always how it was whenever encountering a new species out here at the space station.

It occurred to him that when he first met his flight trainer was a similar experience. The Feline that had been in charge was a bright orange tabby with the greenest eyes he had ever seen in his lifetime. He had been caught staring for the first week, and fortunately for him the lady had been amused rather than angry at him for his curiosity. They had met in a group at the bar later that week and he had asked a million questions about her race. She answered them good naturedly and then the novelty had worn off.

"What is your home like?" He asked as the shifter moved them to the living block with his apartments. Ta seemed surprised by the question, taking a minute before answering.

"Do you not have information on our species?" He replied. Juhn nodded.

"Yes, we do. However, I would like to hear about it from your perspective." He considered whether the word would be too advanced for Ta to understand, but he seemed to get the jist of what Juhn was asking.

"My home is warm, and fluid. It is rounded, packed dirt towers, metal doors and space shifters. It is a blending of old traditions, like the end of day sounding, and new technology as seen in our screens. It is hives of families so extended that you may not meet them all in your lifetime. It is space ports with travellers and foreign goods from across the galaxies. It is buzzing with life, energy and cull-ture." Ta was gazing out the small window but really off in his own galaxy. Juhn smiled at the description.

"It's sounds beautiful." He said honestly.

"It is beautiful. What about your world? What is it like?" Ta asked him. He shook his head. Where should he start?

"I haven't been on our home planet in years. I remember blue skies and hot sunshine that lights up the cities' glass like a million stars on the ground. I remember the sea, tossing in white peaks from a storm as if in anger at the skies. It is sand and ice, rich earth and barren deserts, empty land with no people and bustling cities overflowing. A contradiction. A beautiful medley of extremes." He mused, trying to convey his love for his home.

"What is 'the sea'?" Ta seemed confused. Juhn stumbled over his thoughts. Oh, of course. They didn't have oceans, seas, and lakes on land like Earth.

"A sea, or an ocean, is a mass of water on land. Imagine water as far as the eye can see across the land. It can be deep too. Like a bowl made of the land filled with water. Only huge. Do you understand?" He looked over to see Ta's eyes glued to him in rapt fascination. A clawed hand reached out to gently pat his arm. He didn't understand what it meant to Ta, but apparently he understood what he was saying. "Ah, we are here."

"Yes, lead the way General." He removed his claw and Juhn stepped out of the shifter. He took his guest down the hall and tapped the code into the screen to unlock his door. The entryway was clean that day because he had cleaners come just the day before. He was kind of glad that the place would be looking its best. He showed Ta inside, taking him into his living space so he could sit on the couch. Ta seemed to really like the soft grey fabric that was a few shades darker than him. He petted it gently under his hand as Juhn spoke.

"I'm going to grab a bite. That is, some food. You can stay here and relax. Okay?" He said. Ta nodded. He hurried into the kitchen area and pulled a set of dishes out from the preservator. A minute in the hot box and it was ready to eat. He poured himself a glass of ghetrax, which he liked for its similarity to cherry and orange juice mixed together. Those kinds of Earth foods were scarce out here though. He decided to take both into the living space to consume, so his guest would have company. He walked in on a frustrated Ta trying to turn the page of an old magazine without tearing it.

"How do you work thiss thing without breaking it?" He muttered angrily. He slipped on his 's' and strange hissing sounded words, ones which Juhn didn't understand but figured were rather rude due to his attitude at the time. He tried not to laugh. Instead, he put down his things and came over to stand next to Ta. He showed Ta a close up of his hand, pointed out how the fingers were rounded and minutely textured, and then demonstrated the ease of flicking a page over. Ta hissed and rolled his eyes, but seemed sheepishly curious at the close proximity between them.

"Do you want to try a bite of my food?" He asked as he moved his food and seat over closer. Ta stared askance at the dish.

"It is all mushy. There are multiple things mushed together. It looks so wet. How do you eat that? Don't you have teeth? There is nothing to bite. I don't know." Ta rambled as Juhn's eyebrows climbed to the roof in amusement.

"It is called casserole. It is an old word for the dish that was once used to make it. Humans cook things together to combine the tastes harmoniously. Try it. You might like it." He scooped some out and handed the spoon to Ta, using his fork to eat the rest as his guest eyed the spoon like it would bite him instead of the other way around. Eventually he put the food in his mouth. He made some weird smacking noises as he swallowed it.

"It is... not bad. Very different." He finally allowed, and Juhn smiled.

"See? You don't know until you try it." Juhn continued eating under the glances of Ta, who sat with his leg touching gently from how close he had pulled up his chair. The bare knee was pale with glittery, light grey scales between the hard plates of his leg and knee cap. His native skirt covered from mid thigh to waist and some type of tunic with draping necklaces across it covered his upper torso, but he could see the hard plates and soft skin peeking through in numerous places.

There were some fading darker areas, in a greenish colour, higher up by his neck and face in the soft spots of his skin. The bottom half was all in pale grey shades, almost like silver where the scales reflected the light. He was tempted to poke at the plates and skin to see what they felt like. Where they hard and rough or smooth? Was the skin soft, textured, wet or dry? He realised he was staring at Ta moments before a clawed hand reached out and tentatively stroked his arm once.

"I like you General. You are very kind. Even when you are... what do I say? Burdened? You still are patience and gentleness." He blushed at the compliment and was ashamed of some of his thoughts earlier. He shook his head, no he wasn't kind.

"Thank you for thinking so. I'm not really. I have been thinking not so nice things. I feel bad for not really giving your species a thought before. Just thought your kind were a bunch of bugs. Guess I know better now, though I should have sooner." Ta clicked and he allowed a light chuckle back.

"Kindness is thinking without saying. You did not make me feel like a 'bug' and were patience with my poor speaking. You did not show violence to me, even as a stowd-way. That is what makes you goodness." Ta explained. He grinned a bit at the attempt. It was kind of cute how he mixed up the words a little. He understood what Ta was saying, he just needed a little more practise with the language and Ta would be just fine.

"Ta, my friend, I think we are going to get along just fine." The General said.

*

"General! I am trying the new fabrics. What do you think? Are you liking them?" Ta walked up with Kenryn next to him, ginning like the mischievous a-gender they were. Juhn was a little in shock at the sight before him. The tight fitting silver fabric was slitted to show the slightly darker tones of his plates beneath and had lacing up the sides to hold the pieces of fabric together. It was almost feminine and very flattering on the tall Predantus. He also had silver ribbons woven around his thick hair.

"Yes, Ta. You look very handsome. I like them very much." He responded and smiled at the pair. They looked very proud of themselves.

"Ta solved my problem with the resonator. I swapped a few things and put a reverberation blocker in, and now there isn't any feedback! Isn't that great?" Kenryn gushed and then waved a waiter down to order some drinks. Juhn nodded dutifully and sipped the one in front of him. A few more of their friends came and sat with them, forcing Ta to scoot his chair closer so they were brushing any time they moved too much.

"Hey Ta, is that right? Ta?" He nodded and Geroff continued, "Why do all of your kind wear skirts? I don't think I have ever seen one of you in a pair of leggings or pants before. Not even in pictures." Ta clicked his amusement quietly.

"That is because it would be physically very awkward for us. I don't think you must know about our anatomy, or you would understand." Kenryn was grinning and nodding and Juhn looked thoughtful as he tried to remember the report he had read. "See, when we vacate our body there are plates that must shift out of the way. To restrict our legs would make that process uncomfortable or impossible, and then there is the difficulty of finding fabrics that would stretch and patterns that would allow the full movement of our limbs... it just seems impractical."

"Ah, well that answers that question. Thank you Ta." Geroff smiled at him. Juhn watched as Ta tried the drink that Kenryn put in front of him, cautiously pouring it past his sharp teeth. His surprise was evident and the group chuckled as he blinked from the strong taste. Juhn was pulled into a conversation on the other side of him, but kept an eye on Geroff as he flirted with an oblivious Ta. Juhn grinned at the literal responses and distracted gaze as Ta tried to take in the bar around him.

"No, Geroff, I was not made in heaven. I was made on Predantus. Where is this heaven you speak of?" Ta asked after the latest line. Juhn couldn't help himself and broke out in peals of laughter.

"He's got you there, Geroff. Give it up. You suck at flirting with his species." Juhn cackled. Ta's eyes widened and he looked over at Geroff appraisingly.

"Was that your purpose in these questions? I am flattered. I do not know you though, so I am not interested in mating." Geroff blushed furiously and downed his drink in one go before leaving the group to join another across the bar.

"Sorry about him, Ta. He's nice enough, but a bit of a wandering nutsack." Said the Herion girl that was sitting on the other side of him now. Her bright blue skin sparkled in the lights of the bar room. Ta nodded but looked to Juhn bewildered.

"She means he mates with lots of others. He doesn't mate with just one person." Ta looked shocked at his whispered words.

"I think it's an Etherian way. I haven't met one yet that could tell me who both their parents were." Said a Feline man next to Kenryn. She shoved another drink at Ta. He looked at it suspiciously before picking it up to try it.

"Ah, this one is sweet. I like this one." He said, then downed it all in one go. Juhn tried to warn him, but it was too late. He shrugged and figured he would get to see how many drinks it took to get a Predantus drunk. Apparently more than two.

*

Eight. It took eight drinks to get a Predantus roaring drunk. Two. It took two of them to get Ta into a shifter and onto someone's couch to sleep it off. Juhn waved at Hyth, the Feline from the bar, as he left his apartment. Then he raked a hand through his hair as he looked at the sleeping Predantus on his couch. The male's limbs were flung wide and his mouth open slightly as he breathed. The laced skirting and tunic were slightly mussed and the soft fabric sparkled slightly in the dim light from the night lamps along with the scales of his skin.

Like this, he could see why Geroff had been flirting with him. The innocence of the strange creature was endearing, but in his own way he was quite breathtaking physically too. Juhn had witnessed first hand in the last week how smart Ta was. He had picked up so many new words and even helped Syn with their electronic devices a few times. He had caught him trying to play with one of their screens gently, though it was difficult with his claws. Ta had finally managed to use the backs of them to tap around the programs, and was clicking in glee at the discovery.

Ta shifted on the couch and Juhn watched as he blinked awake in the strange room. He waved gently to get his attention. Ta turned his head to look at him and blinked consideringly. Juhn smiled and waited for the Predantus to sit up, which he did carefully. A claw was raised tentatively to his head and Juhn tried not to laugh too loud out of respect for the probable headache the male was experiencing. He had not been sleeping very long, so the effects of the drinks were probably still there too.

"What wass in thosse drinksss?" Ta asked quietly. Juhn shook his head.

"It is called alcohol in Earthian. It is a mild poison we consume to celebrate and socialise." Juhn explained. Ta shook his head.

"You do thisss on purposse? Urgh. I thought Predantusssess were crazy." He mused. He corrected himself as he began to lean too far to one side. Juhn got up and gave him a cup with recovery juice in it.

"Here, drink this. It counteracts the poison and you will feel better faster." He helped him tip the liquid down into his mouth. It was the closest he had seen the razor sharp teeth of a Predantus before, and he stared a moment too long. Ta noticed his gaze and tucked his now-closed mouth down and away from him, embarrassed. Juhn took a seat beside him and took hold of one hand. Ta looked back at the gesture. "I think you are beautiful. You don't have to hide yourself from me."

"You do? That iss the firssst time anyone hasssaid that to me." He lowered his head further and Juhn frowned.

"But... I thought you used to be mated? On your home planet?" His eyebrows drew together as he waited for Ta's reply.

"I wasss. I think my previouss mate chose me because I wasss weak. He did not like when I talked back to him, he liked that I wasss considered lesser than him. I wasss often sick and barely made the physical requirements for working outside the home. He took pity on me, taking me for a mate. He did not even let me mate with him again outside of the ritual which joined us. I was inferior after all." Ta seemed to pull into himself, shrinking without even moving. Juhn was angrier than he thought possible at that moment. He took Ta's face in his hands gently, lifting his jaw.

"Stop. You are not inferior. No matter what your people believe, the truth is that you are far superior to him. You are smart, kind, and moral. Those may not be things that your people value, but that does not make them valueless. Here, with us, those are invaluable qualities. Priceless. Do you understand?" He watched those sad eyes consider him seriously. Ta nodded minutely. He stroked the strong lines of his jaw and forehead, hearing a sort of purring as he stroked back into the ropes of his hair.

"You are too good to me, General." He whispered. Juhn was surprised as Ta pulled him down onto the couch into an awkward embrace. He continued to stroke the ropes of hair, and the purring became softer until it changed into deep breathing. He chuckled to himself at the strange position he was now in, being held captive by Ta on his own couch. He settled his head back and closed his eyes, praying he would be able to sleep even like this.

*

Ta was avoiding him. It kind of made Juhn mad. The day after the bar episode, Ta had scrambled off the couch and practically ran out the door. He wasn't sure if it was because he remembered what had happened or because he didn't remember what had happened or because he was just shy. Either way, he hadn't seen Ta all week. That's why, when he finally did see Ta chatting with Rhian in the hall, he snuck into the nearest doorway before he could be seen.

Ta looked almost dull in comparison to the last time he had seen him. His scales didn't shine in the light, the green was completely gone from all his skin, and his eyes looked slightly red. Was Ta sick? He was suddenly worried as he peeked out at them. So closely was he watching, that he saw the minute change in his face and jumped out to catch him before he face-planted onto the hall floor. Rhian watched in shock for a moment, then was on his communicator calling for medical to prepare a bay for Ta.

Juhn carried him along with Rhian to a Shifter and when they entered the medical centre, the nurse on duty at the entry looked up in horror. They carried him to the bay she directed them to, but hesitated to leave him. The doctor on duty came running up with his screen open to Predantus anatomy and they looked at each other with a frown. This guy probably had no idea what he was doing.

"You should scan his body first, use the deep scanner or you won't be able to get a reading through his plates." Rhian instructed him. He nodded and typed away on the screen by the bed. The overhead scanner hummed to life and the green lights went over him three times at varying speeds. Juhn went over to look at the readouts, comparing them in his head to the ones he had seen before.

"His blood pressure is off, and there seems to be some sort of tissue breakdown happening." The doctor pronounced. Rhian called for Syn to come down to the medical bay. Juhn looked at him with worry. It felt like forever before the other Predantus came into the room and the place felt crowded with three humans and two Predantus jammed in.

"Syn, you know more about your kind than we do. What could be causing this?" Rhian asked. Juhn cleared his throat.

"Is it because we took him drinking last week? Did we do this?" He asked worriedly. Syn looked over at the readout, then shook his head slowly. He told Rhian something in their language and Rhian went to the screen to tap away.

"No. This is not caused by your poisons. I believe it is a rare condition of our kind. I am having Rhian send this to our hive for confirmation. We will have to wait until we hear back. Can you give him nutritional supplements until we get a response?" Syn asked the doctor, who nodded and left to prepare them. Juhn watched helplessly as a bag was attached through the soft skin of his arm to feed Ta as he lay unconscious.

*

"He is dying. The lack of the stronger code reinforcement for the past months has deteriorated his already weak code. When we mate with another, we bond our codes together. In Ta's case, his code had weak immunity to disease and contaminants. That is why he was sick so often growing. Gen's code was stronger in its immunity, that is why he was doing better. Now it seems he has back tracked and caught some sort of internal infection." Syn explained to everyone at the meeting. It had been two days, and Ta was not getting better or waking up.

"Can't we just give him something for the infection?" Rhian asked. Juhn nodded, trying to keep up.

"That presumes he has any kind of immunity to fight with. The medicine just assists the patient with recovery. Ta has nothing to assist. We could make him sicker or kill him by giving him our medicine." The doctor explained. Rhian and Juhn looked horrified.

"Wait. You said he just needs to boost his code. Can't you share your code with him to help him get better?" Juhn asked Syn confused. Syn exchanged a glance with Rhian, who looked like a rather hard blush was forming.

"No. I cannot. You must know that to do so would mate us. I am already mated, and that would not just be an insult to my mate, but is forbidden in my culture without casting off your first mate. I refuse to do that to Rhian, for any reason. I am sorry." Syn said rather stiffly. Juhn looked devastated.

"You mean, that's it? We're just going to let him die?" Rhian looked at him curiously. He figured a little more explanation might clear things up.

"No. We just need to find someone who is willing to mate and bond with him. Not just once though, it has to be for life. As long as Ta is receiving a boost to his code, he can fight this off as well as anything else that comes his way. Can you think of anyone who would be willing to do such a thing?" Rhian raised a brow at Juhn. The General looked bewildered for a second, then realised what Rhian was asking him. He looked shocked. He started to shake his head, then stopped. Was this really Ta's only chance?

"Let me think about it." Juhn growled at got up to storm out of the room. He heard the doctor saying something about not taking too long as he went out the automatic door. The hall was quiet in the medical centre. He stomped over to the bay with Ta laying in his bed and shut the door for privacy. He stared at the male. In the two days, it seemed as though Ta was fading away. His colour was paler, his skin flaking slightly, and his breathing shallower.

"What the hell. You were fine a week ago. You can't just worm your way into my life and split like this." He groused at the still figure. He thought about their first meeting, when he saw him sleeping in the cargo hold of the ship. He thought about how Ta had followed him around, asking questions and copying him to learn their language. He thought about that night at the bar, watching him click his laughter and answer everyone's silly questions. He thought of his jealousy when Geroff was flirting, his anger when he was being ignored.

Finally, he thought of how beautiful Ta had looked. Both under the lights in the bar and in the soft lamplight of his room as he had laid on the couch. The sound of his purring when he had stroked him. He wasn't ready to let Ta go. The question was, how far was he willing to go to have him stay. Could he give Ta forever? His first thought was yes, and that surprised him. He had not known him long, but he knew enough to say he respected and liked him more than he thought possible. He was a dear friend, easily, and he suspected it would not take much for him to be more. Juhn opened the door.

"So? Have you decided?" Rhian asked cheekily. Sure enough, both he and Syn were standing on the other side of the door. Juhn growled but waved them in with the doctor.

"Alright. How do we do this?" He asked. The doctor looked at Syn, who shrugged and let him explain.

"Normally code is exchanged through, er, sexual body fluids. However, in this case, we need a stronger method and to mix it with our medicine to speed the healing process. We were thinking a blood transfusion would be most efficient." The doctor replied. Juhn paled a little but nodded and took off his jacket. The setup took a few minutes, he watched the time ticking by as the blood left him, and he felt urgent as he watched the doctor switch the supplements for the cure.

"It will take a bit before his body transmutes the code. Once that begins, he will start to heal." Syn assured Juhn. They tried to get him to leave with them, but he refused. Instead he pulled out a seat and waited, watching and hoping for a miracle.

*

"Welcome back Ta." Juhn watched as Ta blinked and looked over at him. It took a few minutes of looking around in confusion before Ta was ready to talk. He looked at Juhn, looked at the room, checked the drip bag that was stuck in his arm, looked astonished at his arm and then back at Juhn.

"I am still living." He said slowly. Juhn nodded in response, not able to voice anything without getting upset at Ta for not speaking up sooner about him being ill. Ta was looking at the drip bag and his arms in fascination. When he lifted the sheet that had been draped over him to check the rest of his body, Juhn couldn't contain a laugh. He was like a little kid with his sweet innocence and curiousity.

"What are you doing, Ta?" He finally asked as Ta was poking at his skin. Ta shook his head.

"I am brown. I am now brown and silver. I cannot think, but it must be that you are my code donor. Why would you mate with me, though? Do you pity me?" He looked at Juhn's solemn face as he sat next to him in the small room.

"No, Ta. I told you before. I like you. You are my friend. It is not such a stretch for me to bond myself to you. I would rather be with you forever than never see you again." He told his Predantus mate. Ta blinked at the sight of tears tracing their way down the General's face. He had heard of such things, called tears by those who shed water when they were overcome with emotion. He was shocked that he would create such a reaction from the General.

"Thank you, General." Ta said finally. Juhn laughed slightly through his tears and shook his head in exasperation.

"Juhn. You can call me Juhn now." He said to him. Ta nodded his head and shifted on his side to look at the human that had saved his life. He wondered many things still, but was too afraid to voice them yet. All in good time, he supposed.

"What caused my sickness?" Ta began his questions. He was curious what strange illness had befallen him on the modern space craft.

"You caught an infection. We discovered that Syn was developing a similar infection a few days after we cured you. It seems our moister environment caused an infection under your outer plates. We have developed an "Air shower" for the two of you, which will help keep your body from dampening too much and creating more infections." Juhn explained to Ta. He nodded, though he had never experienced such a thing before. He could see how moving from a very dry environment in a body that was genetically predisposed to live in it into a moist environment might have upset their body's natural balance.

"It is good that you were all so quick to adapt to our beings. Thank you for that, Gen... er Juhn." Ta was careful to pronounce his name, and seemed happy when Juhn smiled at him.

"Of course. Your shower was installed off of my, or rather now our quarters. I know it was presuming of us, but I thought since... mates and all...." Juhn seemed unsure and his voice trailed off at the end awkwardly. Ta nodded, but noticed that his mate was not looking in his direction.

"Yes, Juhn. As your mate, I would like very much to live with you. I am happy it was you that saved me. I like you too, Juhn." Ta watched as his mate blushed furiously, wondering at how such a rosy red colour could show at his cheeks in such a cute manner. He might not have seen it if he was not looking very closely.

"God, I forget how blunt you can be. Don't worry too much about my mumbling, Ta. You just be you, okay? The doctor figures we can get out of here by tonight if you pass all your tests." He rubbed his face and took Ta's outstretched claw in his hand. Ta looked a bit nervous and fidgeted while they waited for the doctor to come and check on them.

"Ah good, you are awake now. How are you feeling Ta?" The doctor said as he walked in with a screen. Juhn got up and pushed the seat back into the wall as the doctor leaned over to start the scanner. It made a couple passes and the doctor looked over the results. He was smiling and nodding as he talked about different levels of chemicals. It seemed incomprehensible babble to Juhn, but Ta seemed to be happy and the doctor pronounced him healthy.

"So... I can go home now?" Ta asked as the doctor was about to leave.

"Yes, Ta. You can go home, as long as you have someone with you." He replied. Juhn nodded and grabbed Ta's claw again.

"Yep. I will be with him. Don't you worry." He said to them both. The doctor smiled and left, Ta gripped his hand a little tighter.

"Are you sure? Aren't you going to be busy with work?" Ta asked timidly.

"No, I talked to the Commander. He is giving us some time to figure things out." Juhn said with another smile. He helped Ta to his feet and the two of them made their way out of the medical bay. Ta already felt so much stronger, but Juhn didn't want him to over stress himself too soon. He opened every door for Ta except the last door.

"Aren't we going inside?" Ta asked him. He nodded, leaned over and whispered to Ta. Ta's eyes opened wide and he looked at Juhn in surprise.

"Go ahead." He coaxed. Pointing to the security screen. Ta moved forward and typed in the passcode. The light went green and the door opened for them both. Ta understood now why some creatures had to let out their water. He felt so full of emotions he could burst!

"Thank you, Juhn." He whispered, barely heard by the man who moved further into the room. He followed his mate as he took him through the other rooms: the dining room, the washing room, the excrement room, and last but not least the sleeping room. He showed a small space where both of their clothing had been placed. Ta's was close to the door because the room was small for the Predantus to fit in.

"I hope you are okay with sleeping together. I was told that your kind never have separate rooms so I didn't want you to feel like I was insulting you. Sometimes our kind do, but I am fine with being together. Ah, this is awkward. I mean, I think we can be full mates if you wanted us to be." Juhn staggered over the words and scratched uncertainly at his hip. He had trouble meeting Ta's eyes.

"I only must join once with you to be full mates with you. According to our laws, that is. If you want to wait, I don't want to push you into anything, that is... the doctor did say to take it easy for a couple of days. Um." Ta clicked nervously along with Juhn's laughter.

"Ah right. I suppose I was just so nervous I jumped the gun. Er, that is went too fast for the moment. Let's take a couple days to rest and get comfortable together. Right?" He said kindly. Ta nodded and folded himself down onto the soft bed that sat much higher than any he had seen. It was so squishy, he clicked merrily to himself as he bounced on it. Juhn scolded him gently and told him to settle and get some sleep. He closed his eyes and felt a hand on the ropes of his hair, stroking gently.

*

Juhn was being so sweet. He arranged for food that Ta liked, he helped him get dressed from the small closet and he made sure Ta wasn't bored during the next two days. Ta felt special, like he was truly wanted, and that was a new feeling for him. He felt badly for Juhn, that he had to mate with a weak creature with him. He wasn't really sure how to bring up the subject when he was feeling better.

As a result, he became really quiet and fidgety. Juhn didn't know what was causing it, so he was trying harder to make Ta happy in the event it was because he was uncomfortable. This cute misunderstanding between them lasted until they had company at dinner time, when Kenryn came in and took one look at them before turning around and getting ready to leave again.

"What are you doing Kenryn?" Ta asked confused. They looked at the two men and shook their head.

"I am leaving. Would you two just have sex already? The tension in here is so thick you could cut it with a sword." At that pronouncement, they left. It was silent for nearly a full minute before the two of them looked at each other bashfully. Juhn took Ta's claw and pulled him gently towards the sleeping chambers. It was as good a cue as any for him, and Ta didn't protest.

"What do... uh, Predantus do for foreplay?" Juhn asked awkwardly. Ta stood there staring at him for a minute. He walked over to the screen next to the bed and typed in it furiously. He muttered in his own language and shook his head.

"There was no such thing in my relationship. We will have to do what feels right." He replied as he put the screen back down. Juhn shook his head sadly at the thought of this beautiful creature never having experienced a gentle touch.

"Can I touch you?" He asked. Ta nodded and came close enough he could feel the human's breath on him. Juhn hesitantly reached his hand out to touch the smooth, dark plate on his chest. It had a faint texture under his fingertips, like a rubbed stone but warm to the touch. The edges were soft where tendons attached them to the flesh beneath, and Ta shivered at the gentle caress where his sensitive flesh was.

The slight scales were smooth and dry, like a serpent's skin. They glimmered with a metallic undertone from the silver sheen still remaining in his skin. Juhn loved how the two shades had mixed when his code had been taken by Ta. He loved the feel of the foreign creature's plates and skin. He was so firm and strong for one who claimed to be so weak. He was so fierce looking for someone so kind and timid. The sharp teeth and claws contrasting so much with the gentle eyes and soft voice of his new mate.

"You are so beautiful." He said thickly as he ran his fingers over the ropes of Ta's hair. It was still silver and stood out against the darker plates and skin of his body. Ta preened slightly under the unfamiliar praise of his mate. It made him feel so good to be told such things. He hesitated to touch Juhn back until the man took hold of his claws and placed them gently on his skin.

Juhn was so very soft that Ta gasped at the feeling as he stroked his face and neck. His hair was ropes of many smaller strands all woven together. They were bouncy and firm to the touch. He was surprised when tugging on them elicited a little moan from Juhn. He thought maybe he had hurt him until he saw the man's head tipped back and face flushed in passion. Oh my. That was beautiful. Juhn grinned.

"Thank you little one." He replied. Ta must've said that out loud without realising. He pulled at the edges of the clothing Juhn wore and it was removed with a chuckle. Ta thought he looked very muscular and impressive for a human. He was bigger than most of the males of his species that Ta had encountered so far on the station. He laid himself on the soft bed and gestured for Ta to join him. Ta awkwardly moved to lay next to him after unclasping his skirt.

Juhn knew he needed to get Ta aroused before the lower plate would shift and allow access to the sex organs, so he moved to teach Ta how to kiss him. One stabbed tongue, a few manly giggles, and a trembling Predantus later until they were kissing sweetly. Juhn began to stroke around the plates on Ta's body, coaxing him to purr with pleasure. His heart skipped a beat in excitement when he saw the lower plate begin to move.

Ta continued to stroke his mate's back, arms and legs or wherever he could reach. When his clawed hand passed the appendage dangling in front it made Juhn jump. He stroked the back of a claw over it and Juhn's back arched as he moaned. His hand stopped its movement on Ta as he leaned back and clutched the sheets at the gentle strokes of the potentially dangerous touch.

Ta leaned over him and brushed his soft, revealed organs over Juhn's hard one. Juhn grinned and let his hand be pushed over them, dipping into Ta's pouch and stroking the length of flesh which would soon go inside him. Ta felt his secretions start and coated Juhn's hand in the sticky substance as the man laughed. Juhn began rubbing it over his hard cock with one hand as he pushed his fingers into his tight hole to loosen the muscles up.

Ta watched him closely, realising that the small hole was where he was going to be mating the human. He stroked Juhn's legs again and crawled up over him. It was both unnerving and arousing to have Ta so close to him, staring him in the face as he pleasured himself. He stared at the lust-blown-out eyes as they watched almost predator-like. More so because of their lizard-like appearance he was sure. Either way it was sexy to him.

"Can I mate you now General?" He asked in a low, purring voice. Juhn laughed breathily at the title in such a situation as this. It was kind of a turn on and he nodded instead of reprimanding his mate. Ta slid forward to replace his fingers with the slick length of flesh that eagerly prodded his small bud. His breath went out in a whoosh as it breached the entrance and a gasp escaped as it inched past the second ring inside.

It went so deep, it felt like he was bursting with the hot organ slithering inside him and tears came to his eyes. Ta whispered gently to him how good he felt, how warm and sexy he was, how happy he was to be joined with him. Still his belly filled as Ta pushed ever deeper inside him. The movement made him shudder to his toes the deeper inside it got. His mouth was open and his mind was lost as the thick snake heated up suddenly along its length even more.

Then it was retreating from him as a gush of fluid filled him in its place. He shot his own load and clamped down suddenly, making Ta growl at him and claw the bed on either side. He pulled out the rest of the way and a soupy mess of liquid dribbled out with him. Most of it was still inside. Ta continued down to his stomach and flicked a tongue out to taste the mess of cumm in his navel. After cleaning that up, he went down and licked off the mess on his legs and rear.

"Ah! Ta it's... it's fine." The jolts of pleasure from being cleaned so thoroughly were enjoyable but at risk of making him hard again too soon. Ta came up and kissed him, allowing him to taste the sweet mixture of both of them. He moaned and stroked Ta's face. Amazing how two such different species could have such great relations. They curled into one another and drifted into an easy slumber now that the tension had been lifted.

Again, sorry this is so long. I really hope you liked it. Keep reading for more ...er unorthodox stories. :)