Alien Affairs

*Inspired by an image of a dragon-like female.

Hugo, a human affairs assistant ends up trapped in a remote section of the space station with his female alien counterpart after a disaster. After a forced confession to her, who resembles a short wingless dragon, he receives a surprising answer.

*Also on the list of rewrites, and requests for sequels.

*****

'Hugo, need your help.'

I looked at the screen showing Sheila and smiled, happy to see her. 'Sure, meet for lunch since it's almost time to eat anyway?'

'Okay,' she said with a nod. 'see you soon.'

She closed the call and I told myself to relax, taking a deep breath. 'She's Kenta, no match for you.' I said.

I had come to like her a lot since the time she got stationed here. She was sent here to serve her grandfather who was a Kenta politician and oversaw Kenta affairs in this remote area of space. In my job of assisting human affairs here I often had contact with her regarding meetings and parties between VIPs from both sides.

The first time meeting her at a reception I expected to find her as strange as the rest since they were a species that resembled small, wingless dragons. They were human height but had longer necks and shorter bodies, curvy horns and pointy ears on their heads and a firm tail reaching down to the ground. Most had greyish skin colour but what had caught my attention were her almost golden coloured eyes. I stared at her for a while before I pulled my attention back to my work and she could notice me. I was glad I was kept busy there.

The Kenta were a reclusive species and we had little information about them but in time I got to know a little more about her and we occasionally shared a table or a walk when we needed to discuss arrangements. I also found I wanted to see her any chance I got and what that meant, but I had to face the reality of being different species. We could never be more than friends. I resigned myself to seeing her whenever the occasion came up but it always felt like the highlight of my day.

I looked at the work before me on my desk and set it aside. I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on it while I kept thinking of having lunch with her and decided to head slowly for the restaurant.

She had already arrived and had sat down at a small table with her food when I walked in. She smiled at me and gave me a quick wave which I returned. I picked my favourite stuffed loaf quickly and headed for her table.

'Hi.' she said.

'Did you wait long?' I asked when I sat down and saw her large salad was untouched.

She shook her head. 'I just got here.' she said.

She had put rings on her horns in the same colour as her eyes and wore a dress with blue and white gradient. I thought she looked very good.

'You look very nice.' I said, toning it down so I wouldn't sound like hitting on her. 'I haven't seen you with rings on your horns before.'

I'm not sure if I saw a faint blush when she said 'Thank you, these are a gift from my mother, which were a gift from my grandmother.'

'Enjoy.' I said as we started eating. 'So, what do you need me for?'

'Well,' she started after swallowing her first bite of her salad. 'There's a whole bunch of family coming over for a family meeting and feast. We don't have enough spare rooms to house them all and I was wondering if we could some of yours in the unused section.'

I thought about it and nodded. 'I can check, if you don't mind them being farther away from the main section.'

'That's okay. It's a family matter so they're not really sightseeing a lot during that time. They rather keep to themselves.'

I took my pad and went through some status lists for the section and hummed. 'I think it's possible. Looks like there's nothing blocking the quarters for use, but I'll have to take a quick inspection to make sure.'

'Can I come with you?' she asked with hopeful eyes. 'I'd like to see what they look like. You know, in case there's something I need to arrange for them.'

I tried to keep my smile under control. 'Want to go after finishing lunch? I've got the time.' I said and thought the rest of my work could screw itself if she could come with me.

She took her pad and checked her schedule, smiling . 'I've got nothing for the rest of the day.' she said and it made my heart beat harder to have her around in private. I guess I'd also be extra thorough on the inspection to last it longer.

***

'The section is running on standby power, so there's not much light at the moment.' I said when we arrived at the main entrance to the unused section. 'Only technicians come here now for routine inspection and maintenance.'

Sheila nodded and checked her flashlight. 'No problem. I just need a broad look to see if these quarters are suitable for my family.' She looked up at me with a little embarrassment in her eyes. 'Not that these quarters are bad, but my family can be critical sometimes.'

I chuckled and punched in the access code. 'I think I can understand.'

The dimly lit corridor opened up before us and we walked into dead silence. The emergency lights gave a dark blue hue to everything and it reminded me of old science fiction movies when this sort of thing was still fiction. We walked through it for a bit, shining our flashlights along the walls and floor.

'The living quarters are a bit further down, on this side there's storage and repair shops which are closed off.' I said.

'I don't think any of them is inclined to start working with tools.' she chuckled.

'Not the types to get down and dirty?'

She shook her head. 'The family's been into politics for far too long to have any clue on what to do with a hammer.'

'So, I can't ask you to have a look at the faucet in my kitchen which acts up sometimes?'

She laughed and stuck her tongue out to me. 'Not unless you want to have an indoor swimming pool.'

'I guess I won't then.' I said, thinking she looked adorable and the pool would be worth it.

When we passed the next main doors we arrived at the living quarters.

'There's a mess hall here which is available for use, if they want to eat all together.' I said and pulled up the inventory list on my pad.

We walked inside and she looked around at the simple furnitures in the room. It wasn't as big as the restaurant and only made to serve a part of the local quarters. There were small and large tables and she counted the number of seats.

'This will do nicely.' she said. 'More than enough to house meals for the whole family.'

'I'm glad.' I said and checked the kitchen. 'Everything seems in working order so there should be no problem here.'

She looked around it and brushed her tail against me. 'Sorry.' she said.

I smiled at her. 'No problem.' I said, thinking I'd like it if she held her tail against me all the time.

We walked out of the mess hall and she checked the room information I gave her on her pad. 'There are smaller and larger quarters here?'

I nodded. 'I'll show you.' I said and opened the nearest one which was made for single people.

Standard furniture like a comfortable couch and a couple of chairs were available in the living room, a large enough bed in the bedroom and all the necessities in a kitchen and bathroom. She looked around and nodded her approval.

'Let's check the other rooms.' I said and we took a quick look at the other rooms until we reached the larger ones.

'Wow.' she said. 'These are as large as my grandfather's.'

I smiled a little. 'These are larger because of the possible addition of kids was accounted for.'

It seemed she lingered at one of the side rooms which could be used as a children's bedroom, then walked out to the window taking a look at the stars outside.

'These will do for the ones bringing kids.'

I wanted to hold her in my arms as she gazed out into the distance. The look of a soul wanting to reach out and touch something far away made my heart squirm. Fuck, I loved her. Some people would call her ugly or an alien beast, but I only saw her eyes longing for something she couldn't have.

'Sheila..' I said softly, then heard a distant sharp crack.

She heard it too and looked at me. 'What was that?'

Before I could answer another metallic pang resonated through the hull.

'Sounds like it's coming from outside.' I said, getting worried.

'Is it dangerous!?' she asked, starting to panic now.

'I don't know.' I said, trying to get a hold of Station Control on my pad and checking status messages.

More sharp cracks could be heard in the distance and the collision alarm went off. A sharp cracking sound pulled our attention to the window. It had been hit and a crack was forming in the glass.

'We have to get out of here!' she said and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the corridor. 'Where do we go!?'

'Left!' I said as I slammed the controls to close the door. 'There should be a secure room there!'

We had ran for just a few seconds when a louder hit and sparks flying in front of us stopped us. The whistling sound that followed told me the hull had been breached and the automatic safety doors closed before and behind us.

'Where now!?' she asked as she backed into me, feeling the air pressure drop. 'We have to get out of here!'

I felt her trembling against my chest and racked my brain for a possible way out.

'Service tunnel!' I said as soon as it hit me.

I pulled her back with me into the niche we had just passed. I knelt down to remove the lower wall panel, tossed it aside and turned the locks of the hatch in front of me. I pulled it open and the push of air meant it hadn't been breached by an impact.

'Get in!' I said, pulling on her hand.

She hurried on her hands and knees inside the tunnel, ripping her dress in the act. I crawled inside behind her and shut the hatch quickly.

'Are we safe here?' she asked, sitting tight in a corner.

'The hatch will hold in case of a vacuum.' I said, taking a moment to breath deep in relief.

She turned on her flashlight and peered anxiously into both directions. 'Can we get to the main section from here?'

I pulled up the plans on my pad, searched for this section and examined the service tunnel layout. 'I think we can, but it'll be a long crawl.' I said and tried to get in contact with Control again. 'I can't reach Control. Shit!'

She checked her own pad. 'No connection..'

'Maybe when we get to the next section.' I said. 'Let's go.'

I took point and we had crawled for a while when the automatic lights started to flicker.

'Power's been hit.' I said, cursing in my mind.

Sheila turned on her flashlight just as the light went dark and the blue emergency lights turned on. It wasn't much, but it was at least something as long as the batteries held.

We continued our crawl until we reached the next hatch. I opened it carefully in case of a breach on the other side and we crawled into a short section where we at least could sit up straight for a while.

I tried to stretch my back. 'Gah. I'm not made for crawling. Our ancestors came swinging from trees, not out of holes in the ground.'

'We might not have come from trees, but we're not made for crawling either.' she said flatly, then cursed as she noticed the state of her dress.

The torn front no longer covered her legs and I could get a good look at them for the first time. I already knew they had large and clawed feet similar to large Earth lizards, and could now confirm her legs still had some of her animal ancestor's shape left. Firm and powerful looking thighs and shapely lower legs ending in elongated feet and digits.

I admired her legs but she pulled the remains of her dress over them. 'I know.' she said with irritation in her voice. 'We're ugly.'

'I nev-' I started but a wince from her stopped me. 'Are you okay?' I asked, seeing her clutch her abdomen.

'Damned, not now..' she grumbled through her clenched teeth.

'Sheila!' I said, leaning closer in my worry. 'Are you hurt?'

'No.. It's going to come too early..' she said, planting her feet hard against the wall. 'It's too early..'

'What is?' I asked, looking up and down her body and face. 'What's coming?'

'My egg!' she said and winced again. 'The stress must have triggered it to come out now!'

I looked dumbfounded at her. 'Your egg? You're pregnant!?' I had no idea she was attached to someone.

'No!' she said and arched her back in pain. 'It's not fertilised!'

I felt some guilt for being relieved at that news, but I was still worried about her state. 'Is there anything I can do!?'

She pushed me away. 'Don't look at me! I'm ugly enough as it is!'

'You're not ugly!' I said but she winced again and grabbed my arm tight.

'It's coming..' she groaned and her whole body trembled. '..don't look at me..'

'Shut up!' I snapped. 'Tell me how I can help!'

She looked at me for a second with teary eyes, then moved her lower body towards me to give her more room to stretch herself on the floor. 'Catch it as it comes out.. Please..' she whimpered.

'Okay.' I said and she pulled up her torn dress far enough to reveal the private area between her legs.

The emergency light didn't give me a good view, but I could see her moist slit, swollen from the pressure inside and her musky scent. I looked back up her face and saw the shame in her eyes.

'It's coming!' she winced and my attention went back to her slit, now opening slightly.

She groaned with every twitch of her hips and a smooth shape worked its way out of her. The almost white bulge became bigger and split her apart until it was thicker than my fist. I took it carefully between my fingers and caught it as the other half of it slid out of her slit with a deep groan of relief from her.

I looked at the warm and wet egg in my hands, amazed at what I just witnessed, even if it was the most normal thing for a lot of animals.

'Wow.' I whispered and looked up at her.

She crawled a little back against the wall, covering her legs up again and looking down in shame. 'You must really think I'm disgusting now..' she said softly.

I leaned back against the wall, looking at her egg again. 'I don't think you're disgusting or ugly.'

'I've seen the way you humans look at us when you think we don't see.' she said, wiping away a tear on her cheek. 'Even you only spend time with me when it's needed for business.'

I sighed, leaning the back of my head against the wall. 'That's because I'm afraid to spend too much time with you.' I said and saw her wrap her tail around her feet. 'I lived on Ceres before I came here and had been in love three times. The first was a girl at college, the second was a coworker at my first job and the third one was a girl living in my neighbourhood. We were always on friendly terms and they enjoyed the flirting we did, but each time when I started to feel serious about them and let them know they grew cold and made me feel like I was a stranger to them.'

I stroked the egg with a thumb, the shell slowly drying and its surface getting rougher. 'When the job of assistant human affairs opened up here I volunteered to do it, having no close family anyway and thinking with being in the remotest area of space I wouldn't have to worry about being attracted to another woman ever again. Whoo boy, was I wrong, even if she isn't human. And once again I managed to make her feel bad about me.'

She looked at me through her long eyelashes. 'You mean, me..?' she asked softly.

I nodded, keeping my eyes on her egg, feeling my whole face turn hot from blushing.

'Why?'

'You have beautiful eyes, you're kind and smart, are fun to be around with, and now I can add attractive legs to my list.' I said with a light chuckle.

She let out a short laugh from feeling giddy. 'Are all human males this easy?'

'I don't know. I'm probably one of the few with really strange tastes and shouldn't be allowed near anything female.' I said and felt depressed. 'When we get out of this mess I can ask for a replacement if you don't want to see me anymore.'

She reached out her hands to me after a moment. I held out her egg and placed it in her hands but she held onto mine. I looked up at her gentle smile.

'Maybe you don't have to.' she said and saw my puzzled look. 'Maybe we can give it a try?'

It felt like my jaw had hit the floor. I wondered if I heard her right but she pulled me closer by my hands and leaned to me to put her lips against mine.

When she pulled back from the soft kiss she looked embarrassed. 'Did I get kissing right? I've never done it before..'

I smiled at her, the memory of her warm touch never leaving my lips. 'Yeah, you did..' I said dreamily, then felt mischievous. 'But I recommend lots of practice.'

She grinned a little and leaned closer to me again and I kissed her once more, playing gently with her lips. She leaned in a little more and I licked her lips slowly with the tip of my tongue. She opened up and let the tip of her tongue meet mine before we opened up more and let our tongues explore more. Hers could almost wrap mine up with its length.

We kissed for a long while before our aching backs made us pull back.

'That was just, wow..' I said, unsure if my heart was still beating.

'Yeah..' she whispered. 'That was better than in my fantasy.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'You fantasised about that?'

She blushed. 'I saw humans do it and wondered what it was like. Kenta don't kiss.'

'Really?' I said, surprised that they don't. 'So, what else do you fantasise about?'

'I'm not going to tell you now!' she giggled. 'At least not until we're out of here.'

'Right.' I said, reminded of our predicament. 'We still have to do that.'

Sheila tore the bottom half of her dress off to wrap the egg in it. She felt no need to hide her legs now that I've seen and admired them. We continued our crawl to the next junction where we took a short pause and I checked the floor plans to see where each tunnel led to.

'This one leads to the main section.' I said and turned the hatch locks. It didn't move as I pulled on it. 'Damned. Stuck.' I said and looked around for an idea to get it open. Luckily there was an emergency toolkit here and it contained a crowbar with Gordon written on a name tag. "Must have been forgotten by one of the technicians." I thought and shoved the business end in the crack between the hatch and the wall. I pulled carefully harder until we heard a hiss coming from the hatch. 'Shit!' I said as I let go. 'That side's been breached.'

'Where does the other tunnel lead to?' Sheila asked.

'To an air duct which leads to the mess hall.'

'Then we'll have to go there.'

I nodded and that hatch opened easily. 'This side is okay. Then the mess hall is probably safe too.'

We crawled to the end of the tunnel and ended up at the air processors of the local air ducts. We crawled through the duct work and I hit the grill at the end to get it off and us back on our feet in the kitchen of the mess hall.

'Ouch.' I said as I stretched my back, standing up. 'Murder on the spine, that sort of thing.'

Sheila stretched and arched her back, moaning with relief. I watched her for a moment before she noticed the smile on my face.

'What?' she asked.

'You look deliciously savage now.'

She looked at herself, her torn dress barely covering her torso and the top of her thighs. 'I look horrible.'

'No way.' I said. 'You remind me of ancient movies about prehistoric tribes in the jungle which always showed hot babes in skimpy outfit.'

She blushed. 'You say strange things.'

'It's called honesty.' I said before my stomach reminded me it could use something now that the first trouble was over.

Sheila stifled a laugh while I frowned at her in mock indignity. 'Looks like something else is honest now.' she chuckled.

'I think there's emergency rations and water available here. Let's check.'

We found the storage room and enough food and water to keep us fed for a month and ate at one of the small tables while I scrolled through the floor plan again.