Pylos

I groan quietly to myself as I slump back into my chair on the ship’s bridge. Of all things I could forget while trying to have a casual conversation with this seemingly perpetually bristling omega, it had to be the fact that omegas don’t get the unfortunate luxury of getting named after they’re born within this damned empire. I didn’t even know they didn’t get to stay with their families. Gods, I am an absolute idiot. Of course asking such a dumb and ignorant question was the last drop that broke the clearly already overflowing dam holding back Gael’s fury. I throw a hand over my eyes as I sigh in irritation at myself. His outburst had rattled me far more than I had expected, whatever scent blockers he had been wearing during our initial meeting had worn off and allowed the soured scent of his discomfort to steep out when he had entered the dining hall at first, only to explode into something sharp and uncomfortable for me to breath in. I had never known an omega to let their scent fluctuate in such a way, nor do I expect again. I certainly don’t expect to see him for the rest of the day either. He is rightfully upset with me, after all. I’m thankful that he’s at least decided to put his trust in Renallia. She’ll be able to keep careful watch over him and be able to give me updates on how he’s doing.

“Are you okay, sir?” Dradeth asks, her concern evident in her voice. 

They all experienced the same scent fluctuations from the omega, but apparently hadn’t been as strongly affected as I had been. I was curious as to why, but I didn’t want to dwell on the matter for too long. I have more important matters to focus on, including ensuring the omega I currently have in my possession doesn’t get himself into trouble or become too distressed.

I sigh, “Yes, I’m perfectly fine. It’s just my self loathing riled up today it seems.” I admit, letting my hand fall so I can stare down at the table of controls and screens and buttons in front of me.

“You are not the only one to have upset him today.” Rexa speaks up, earning a raised brow of curiosity from the rest of us in the room.

“Oh?”

Her cheeks flush a barely noticeable purple hue, embarrassed that she had suddenly caught our attention. “I had tried telling him that it wouldn’t be all that bad living here with us. Then he told me that being here is nothing more than being in… a glorified prison to him. He didn’t appreciate my attempt at comfort in the slightest and seemed… a bit… broken up when he spoke to me.” She was hesitant as she explained their interaction from earlier today, staring hard at the screen in front of her in an obvious attempt to avoid my dejected gaze.

 I slump even further into my chair, letting my eyes trail back down to the console in front of me. “Ah… That’s truly how he sees it?” It hadn’t even occurred to me that he’d feel that way while here.

“Well, the kid was free to be a soldier with the rebel group he was a part of before getting caught for who knows how long. Now he’s back to being a high ranking alpha’s pet. We don’t even know how much freedom he was handed the moment he was taken in by them, but it was clearly a lot more than he’s being offered now.” Dradeth points out, shrugging her shoulders like it would soften the honestly devastating blow to my ego and mood she just landed. 

“From what we can see, he’s likely been free for quite a few years.” Rexa says with a thoughtful hum. “He’s certainly not weak in any definition of the word, he clearly has a good amount of muscle. Hell, he made that commander that was handling him earlier struggle to keep him still.” I nod in agreement, realizing that that level of strength would certainly have needed a decent amount of time for it to build up.

I let out a tired sigh, “I suppose that does mean it may take some time for him to feel settled here, hopefully he'll allow me to get to know him as a person.” I say, more to myself than the others. Then I over at them again, “I want the three of you and Renallia to ensure that he is safe at all times, I don’t expect him to allow himself to show me his weaker side anytime soon. And seeing as he’s a rebel, it’s best that someone is there to ensure he’s safe.” I receive a nod from all three of them and a simultaneous “Yes, sir” from Rexa and Dradeth.

What am I going to do now? Knowing my father’s witch, she’s going to ask if Gael is the one that has finally caught my interest and if I wish to mark him once a few weeks pass. If I make the mistake of saying yes, she’ll insist on a public mating ceremony and I don’t think that would sit too well with Gael. But if I say no, Gael will be thrown back into the system that he had been free of for years. Fucking hell! I need to fix things, but what can I do to make up for all the things that have been stolen from him? I rest my cheek against the palm of my hand, my elbow resting on the arm of my seat as another tired sigh escapes me, staring down at my control panel.

-I found myself captivated by the omega’s remarkable strength. While I didn’t get the chance to see his training session the night before, I did get the chance to stumble upon it today. He didn’t go to breakfast this morning, but I know he ate thanks to Renallia taking him a tray after I left the room. He’d made sure I didn’t really get to see him the night before by wrapping himself in the blankets he used to set up an almost nest on the window sill, then refusing to get up until I left. I couldn’t blame him for being angry with me. He feels trapped, I can only imagine how angry it makes him feel.

But seeing him now, even while hiding like a fool in the observation deck, I couldn’t help feeling like I was being pulled in by the sight of his graceful movements. I wished I could be closer, to be the one in the bot’s spot, even if it means I may get torn apart like the one he’s just finished off. That was the fourth one in the past hour. So he seemed to deem it time to use multiple bots, going for two for the moment.

It was fascinating to see the way he slips around the metallic bodies and ducking under swings of the simulated weapons. It was even more fascinating to see the way he wrapped his tail around one bot’s ankle to pull it off its balance, then proceeded to steal the other bot’s weapon and use it against the poor machine. The thing didn’t have a chance in hell to survive this fight. The still remaining one righting itself only to get slaughtered by the little omega with the same weapon. He gave himself a few moments to cool down and hydrate, looking like he was flipping through the training deck’s settings as he took sips from the bottle in hand. He probably wanted more of a challenge, but needed to learn the ship’s controls first..

“You look like a creep, watching him from afar like this.” I jump at Renallia’s insult, glaring at her when she laughs.

“You know he’d just stop and ask you to take him somewhere else in the ship if he realized I was watching.” I grumble, not wanting to voice the truth, but well, it was the truth. Sighing as I look back out at the training floor, seeing him back at it with three bots this time. “His every fighting style is beautiful, even from afar. I just wanted to watch without disturbing his peace.”

She hums in thought, “Well, that's honestly probably for the best. He's still not in the mood to talk to you.” She walks over to stand next to me, resting her wrist on her hips - a position I have tried putting my wrists in only for it to hurt to much, I do not understand how she just rests her wrist like that - as we watch Gael expertly maneuver around the bots before disarming them, only one managing to hit him with a simulated laser shot, making contact with the back of his shoulder while he fights with the other two. He managed to kick one back to give himself space, then grabbed hold of the other's weapon to spin them around, using it to shield against the one that shot him, fighting with bot shield as it gets shot in the back several times by its teammate. 

“I figured as much.” I sigh, but I couldn’t help the proud smile at the sight of Gael taking the weapon from the now weakened bot he used as a shield, then chucking it at the one that shot him, the butt of the weapon hitting that bot square in the face. Leaving only one left, stumbling back up to its feet before he rounded on it, spinning into a beautiful round house kick to the bot's head. It had no chance to properly recover.

We sat in silence for a while, just watching the young omega fight and destroy bot after bot. Eventually pausing and looking around, his tail flicking in what I could only assume was annoyance, huffing and putting his hands on his hips. He was clearly in thought before sniffing himself, then cringed and looked around again before calling out to Renallia. I hadn’t even realized she left my side until I glanced at where she was moments ago, looking back down at the training deck floor to see her walking over to him. I hated that I couldn’t hear what was being said, but I could guess pretty quickly when Renallia hesitantly rolled up her sleeves and raised her wrists up to a cringing Gael. He was asking her to scent him. I didn’t understand why he seemed to insist on rubbing her wrists against his neck and wrists, he clearly didn't really want to do it. Did he just realize he was letting his scent out? Does that mean he doesn't usually? Why would he hide his scent? It's a very nice one, even if I can only ever smell it properly when he's asleep. 

“Suppressants? No, I'm not getting you suppressants. Those are dangerous during prolonged use.” It was the first time he initiated a conversation with me and it immediately went downhill. I hated seeing the mix of hate and fear on Gael’s face, but I wasn't going to give him something he didn't need. It's not like I would be sending him out if missions like the rebel group he was a part of. “I'll get you strong scent blockering patches, but suppressants are out of the question. I'll even make sure you have your space when your heat hits. I'm not going to give you something that'll only end up hurting you.”

“I do not want to have my heat on this ship.” He growls out through clenched teeth, his tail flicking in irritation behind him before it coils around his thigh in what I can only assume was a method of self soothing. 

It's only been four days since he was brought onto this ship, so of course he still didn't trust me. I don't expect to gain his trust just yet, I know earning his trust would be a long bumpy journey. “I understand that you don’t trust me, but I’m not going to just stand aside while you take a medication that’s only meant for short term use and was never really developed for omegas. Nor do I know when you last used suppressants and, if I’m being honest, I don’t fully trust you to tell me the truth.” I felt bad telling him no, I can’t say I understand fearing going through a heat, but I still refused to stand idly by while he does something that was sure to hurt him. “You can tell Renallia to kick me out of the bedroom whenever you start feeling the symptoms of your heat coming on. I can sleep elsewhere during it.”

“You’re a fucking asshole!” He yells at me, his scent harsh in the air again, before he storms out of the bedroom. 

He was bristling the rest of the day after that conversation, clearly avoiding me even more than he originally was. I couldn’t entirely blame him, all he could hear was that I didn’t care if he was uncomfortable and could potentially go into heat near me and the other alphas on this ship, even if that wasn’t what I was trying to say. He just needed his space for now,  and hopefully he’ll come to realize I’m just trying to protect him from himself. So I let him have his space until we were both in my bedroom, him trying to pretend to sleep while I got ready for sleep in the bathroom - doing so because I realized it made him uncomfortable to know I was undressing in his presence on day two. Once I was in my sleep clothes, a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt, I sat at the edge of the bed and fiddled with the little device I managed to get my hands on after rummaging through all of my old things early today. 

I sigh before standing up, walking over to his little window sill nest, setting the little device down on top of his small pile of clothes, then quietly tell him, “I know this won’t make up for our conversation earlier, but I wanted to give you something to at least give you a different sort of outlet. There are some games and a journaling app that you can use as you please. I’ll leave you to rest now, good night.” And with that, I left him be and climbed into bed alone. Smiling to myself when I heard his blankets rustle and the soft sound of the little device opening to the hologram tablet it held and then being played with.