Katja Pt. 15

Jim looked at him, "Well, I was attracted to her, she's beautiful, to say the least."

Tony nodded, "Yeah, she is. Most of them are. But what I mean is, did you notice anything about her?"

Jim shrugged, "Well, she was very soft and warm. And her perfume was wonderful, it made me feel good when I smelled it. Is that the kind of thing you mean?"

Tony grinned and nodded, "Yes, sort of. Did her scent just make you feel good? Or something else?"

He quickly assed, "I'm not trying to pry Jim, but it's important to know. You don't have any experience with Lyonness females. I do."

Jim got a little red, "Well, if you really need to know, it drove me a little crazy. If you know what I mean. Then when she kissed me, it got even worse." He blushed again as he took a drink.

Tony smiled, "Did you know, that the Lyonness females have this remarkable ability, they know, without a doubt, when they're with her perfect mate."

Jim shook his head, "Really? I didn't know that. Saves time and problems I guess."

Tony nodded again, "Yes, it does. And when they know who their mate is, they emit a pheromone to let the male know and so does he."

He grinned, "Oh, and they don't wear perfume."

Jim looked at him, "They don't wear perfume? Then what was that I was smell..." He looked at Tony, his eyes wide, "You mean her and me are... What does it mean?"

Tony nodded and smiled as he put his hand on his shoulder. "The scent was her pheromone's and only you could smell it. It means you're her perfect mate."

Jim looked at him, "Mate? You mean as in married?"

Tony rocked his hand back and forth, "Yes and no. It means she knows you're her mate, and will be Mated one day. But it goes a little deeper than just being married."

He smiled at his friend once more, "The question is, how do you feel about her?"

Jim blushed and sighed, "Tony, I thought of nothing, except her, since last night. I couldn't get her scent and how she felt out of my mind. I dreamt about her all last night, all I know is that I wanted to see and be with her more than anything I've ever wanted."

Tony nodded, "I know the feeling very well."

Then he grinned. "But it doesn't get any better until you act on it. However, she's worried that you don't feel the same way because you don't put out anything and act like their males do, she doesn't have much experience with humans. You need to talk to her and tell her how you feel and it will take a little getting used to."

"I'll never forget when I had this same conversation with Erik after I found out. He told me; "It does put a little strain on you when you only used to our ways. With a human girl, you may date for a while, then figure out you feel something for her, then after a while you may decide you love her and later you may get married. You sort of ease into it. But with their way, you get hit between the eyes with sledge hammer and you figure it out all in the matter of minutes."

Tony smiled at Jim, then he laughed, "But, he said after you get hit, you know it and don't have to waste time deciding if its real or not, you just know it is."

Jim looked at his friend, not knowing what to say or do. This was the last thing he expected when he came to this place. He sighed, "I'm not sure what I'm feeling yet, I know it's something, but what? I don't know. How can you fall for someone this fast?"

Tony smiled, "Spend some time with her and see what happens, tell her how you feel, let her explain it to you. It helped when I hooked up with Ariel." He put his hand on his shoulder, "It's a little hard for us humans, they are very open about everything and anything. But in the end, I'm sure you'll have your answer."

"But, once you do get together, look out, I consider that, the best day on my life, bar none. Don't worry, you'll figure it out, I'm sure Evie will be a very willing to help you. Come on, let's go inside, she's probably there already waiting for you. The way she was talking last night after you left, I'm surprised she wasn't waiting at your door."

They went back in, and sure enough, Evie was talking to Ariel. As they walked up, she smiled and it lit her whole face up. "Good morning Jim, Tony." She came over and wrapped her arm around Jim's and smiled up at him, "You ready to get something to eat?"

Jim smiled back, then thinking to himself, "Yeah, you." She looked so beautiful this morning, he loved when she smiled, it just made her look better. Then he moaned to himself, and the scent was back, maybe even stronger. "Sure Evie, let's go, I'm kind of hungry myself."

She smiled and led him over to food line, as they walked past some of his men, they grinned as he walked by them and elbowed one another. One said to his friend, "Gunny's got it bad dude."

His friend smiled back, "Hell bro, look at her, can you blame him? Every one of them I've seen since we've been here is freaking unbelievable. I wonder if they're all like that?"

As they were walking over to the serving line, uncle Geoff walked by Tony and Ariel. He saw the sergeant and Evie walking away and smiled, then asked Tony, "Good morning you two. Ah, is there something going on there?" He nodded towards the couple.

Tony and Ariel smiled, then Ariel said grinning, "Well sir, it would seem so on Evie's side. Her choice is a bit confused at the moment though."

Tony nodded, grinning himself, "I talked to him this morning sir and sort of explained the facts of life to him. But I think Evie will be able to do it better."

Geoff grinned, "Yes, it normally works out that way." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I've heard that the sergeant is thinking about getting out and maybe looking into working in security."

Tony looked at him while Ariel grinned. Then Tony said, "Yes sir, he's got maybe six months left. He's coming up on the ten-year mark, and with us, that's the make or break time. It's halfway to retirement. But he is thinking hard about getting out from what he told me."

Geoff smiled, "Hmm, that's good to know. Enjoy your breakfast."

Ariel laughed, "Thinking we may need a few permanent human members to our security forces sir?"

Geoff just smiled and said, "Carry on lieutenant." Then he smiled and nodded, "Anthony."

Tony looked at her and she smiled back. "Never trust him when he's smiling like that. Ever."

They went back to their quarters, and relaxed for a while. Then just before lunch, Tony's phone rang and he smiled as picked it up. "Hi mom. You guys almost here?"

He heard a laugh, "Yes Anthony, we're about twenty minutes away. Are you going to meet us, or should I call when we get there?"

Tony smiled, his mother was the only one that usually called him Anthony, that is before the commander. "Yes mom, we'll walk up to the gate and meet you. That way you won't have to wait for us."

"Okay son, see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too. See you in a bit." He pushed the end button on his phone and set it down. He smiled at Ariel, "They'll be here in about twenty minutes kitten. Why don't we start walking over to the gate?"

Ariel smiled, and kissed him. "Sure hon, just give me a couple minutes to get ready to meet them. It won't take me long."

She decided to change her shirt and brushed out her hair. Then walked back out.

Tony smiled, she had put on his favorite shirt and was wearing a pair of jeans that, in her words, made her butt look good. "You look nice. Ready to go kitten?"

Ariel smiled, "Yes love, lets go meet our parents."

Once out of the building, they walked hand in hand to the main gate. They smiled when the saw Jim and Evie walking the other way to a park like area hand in hand also. She smiled at her mate, "It shouldn't be long now. I give it until dinner time."

Tony smiled, "Probably so, I think I explained it all to him. Kind of like Erik did for me, when I feel for you." He grinned, "It was the second-best day in my life."

Ariel smiled, then asked, "Only the second?"

Tony nodded grinning himself, "Yes, second. The first best day was when we actually got Mated. The other was the best until then."

Ariel giggled and hugged his arm. "I love you so much my mate."

He hugged her to him, "I love you also my mate."

The gate guard smiled as he saw the two of them walk up. He'd see them all the time back at the ship coming and going along with Erik and Katja. Both of the humans always stopped and talked with him.

He came out of the little building and smiled, "Hello Tony, Lieutenant Ariel."

Tony smiled, they had always talked a little when he came to pick up Ariel. "Hi Stan, how are you."

He nodded, "Good, little boring though. Not many people coming and going here yet."

Tony nodded his understand, "Well, that should pick up a little by dinner. The other VIP's will be here then."

The guard laughed, "Yeah, but I doubt they'll stop and pass the time like you and Erik do."

Tony grinned, "That's true, well that Mr. Sharpe probably would, if he was alone. He seems like a normal kind of guy despite being a diplomat. Or it may be because he is."

Stan grinned, "Could be. You to here to meet your parents? I saw the name on the access list when I took over."

Tony nodded yes, "They'll be here in about ten minutes or so."

"Well, I've got their access badges ready. Lieutenant, why don't you just sign off on that now, that way you won't have to wait once they get here."

Ariel smiled, "Okay, why not." She walked into the building and signed for the badges. She handed them to Tony and they all talked for a while longer. Then about ten minutes later, a car pulled up and Tony smiled as he saw his mom and dad.

Stan waved them through and they pulled over to the side. They got out as Tony and Ariel walked up to them. Tony smiled and hugged them both, then said, "Mom, dad, it's so good to see you. Let me introduce my Mate. Mom, dad, this is Ariel. Ariel this is my parents Bryan and Sofia."

Sofia smiled at her son and her new daughter in-law. "It's so good to see you Anthony and a pleasure to finally meet you Ariel. I'm so happy for you both." She hugged both of them.

Ariel smiled lighting up her face, "It's a pleasure to meet you also, Tony has told me so much about you both."

Then his dad said, "It's good to see you son, I'm very happy for you also." Then he smiled at his son's mate, he could see what had attracted him to her. "And I'm glad to meet you also Ariel. However, my son's description of you, just doesn't do you justice." He gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

Ariel smiled, "Thank you sir, I can see were my mate got his good looks from." Then she elbowed Tony smiling at him, "You see how it's done you big ape? You need to take some lessons from your father."

Tony laughed and hugged her, "Well I'm sorry kitten, but you are beyond description."

Ariel laughed and hugged him back, then patted his face. "Good save love."

They all laughed at that, then Tony handed them the access badges, "Why don't we get you settled in, then we can go have lunch. We can talk after that."

They all piled in the car and Tony directed them to the main building and where to park.

Tony and his dad grabbed the bags, and Ariel twined her arm in Sofia's as she led them up to their quarters. They were both talking a mile a minute, while Tony and his dad grinned at each other.

Tony told his dad to swipe his badge and enter his last four numbers of his social and the door unlocked, he pushed it open and they entered. They looked around and Tony saw it look pretty much like their quarters. It kind of looked like an upscale hotel suite consisting of a bedroom, bath, and a combination living room, kitchen.

His dad smiled, "This is nice son. Looks like a lot of the hotel's I've stayed at."

Tony nodded, "Well, this was an air force base and these were the officer quarters. Why don't you put the bags in the bedroom and let me show you and mom some of the upgrades to it."

His dad nodded, then Tony showed and explained how the cleansing units worked.

Tony smiled, then said, "These are the cleansing units we use. All you need to do, is set the unit to low, that's for humans, then set the timer for three minutes. Push the on button, and step in. Then just raise your arms slightly and slowly turn around in place. When it's done, it will make a tone and the unit shuts off, then after that, just rinse out the stall."

His mom and dad looked at it and his dad smiled, "That's really convenient, how's it work?"

Ariel smiled, "They work on ultrasonic's. All our quarters on the ship had them, we don't like to take showers unless absolutely necessary, it takes forever for our fur to dry."

Then she grinned, "But, Erik and one of our techs came up with the modifications so humans can use them. They designed the high and low functions, and of course the timer. They did that so existing human showers could be upgraded with them, or you can also just take a shower if you wanted."

Tony smiled, "They're planning on making and marketing them to humans. That was the thing I wanted your advice on, the best way to for them to do this. They've been trying to decide how to do it. You know, make it themselves, get another company to do it or some kind of combination."

His dad smiled, "Yes, that's a great idea. It seems to be very convenient, and with the choice of either one, it should be quite popular. We can talk more about it later."

Tony smiled, "Good, why don't we go down to lunch then. I think you'll enjoy the food, they usually have both types, human and Lyonness. They're both very good, the Lyonness is becoming very popular back home." Then he smiled, "Of course, we eat a lot of both at home ourselves, Ariel and Katja are both great cooks."

Ariel smiled, "I have to be, he takes a lot food to fill up."

Sofia laughed, "Yes, he always did. He'd eat us out of house and home."

Ariel giggled, "He hasn't changed much."

They headed down to the dining hall, and they introduced them to a few of their friends that were already there. They went to the line and both of them advised his parents on the different foods and what they thought they'd like. Once they got what they wanted, they sat down at one of the tables and started to eat. Tony's parents commented on how good everything was as they tried the different foods.

Tony nodded, "Yeah, I haven't found anything that wasn't good, though I do have my favorites. Like I said, it's become very popular back home."

As they ate and talked, uncle Geoff and Victoria walked in. He saw them and smiled, then walked over to their table. "Good afternoon Anthony, Ariel. These must be your parents."

Tony smiled and stood, "Good afternoon sir, yes they are. Allow me to introduce them, this is Bryan and Sofia Wargan. Mom, dad, this is Commander Geoff, he's the first officer on the ship by us, and his mate Victoria."

His mom and dad stood and Geoff smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I hope you enjoy your visit."

Tony's dad smiled, "Thank you commander, I'm sure we will. It's a pleasure to meet you and your mate also."

Then Tony said, "Commander, why don't you join us, we've only just started ourselves."

Geoff smiled and looked to Victoria, who smiled and nodded her agreement. "It would be our pleasure Anthony. We'll be right back."

They went to get their food and his dad said to Tony. "He seems like a nice person, he's got that aura around him that I've seen before, you feel like you can trust and respect him without knowing him."

Tony nodded, "Yes he is, he's fantastic. I've had a couple officers like that when Erik and I were in the Navy."

Ariel nodded adding, "The whole crew loves him. We all respect and honor the captain, but there's nothing commander Geoff asked, that we wouldn't do."

Then she smiled, "However, if starts smiling a certain way, everyone runs because we don't what he's up to."

Tony laughed, "Yeah, Erik is like a son to him, and even he says, don't trust him when he's smiling."

His dad smiled, "Yes, normally that's the most dangerous types. By the way, how is Erik? We haven't seen him in a long time, I've read something about him in the paper and saw a few blurbs on TV."

Tony smiled, "He's doing very well. Him and his mate, Katja had the two kids, so that's why they didn't make this trip, the kids are still a little young. Both of us brought houses by the new town and we'll be moving in a few months, then we'll be keeping track of the construction at New Lyonn. Erik's a Commander now himself, they thought he needed the rank for what we'll be doing."

Sofia smiled, "That's wonderful, we've always liked him."

Ariel smiled nodding, "My people love him almost as much as commander Geoff. Here, I've got some pictures of them and the children."

She slid over closer to Sofia and opened up the pictures on her cell phone. Ariel smiled, "This is our niece and nephew, Brigitte and Geoff. Then here's one of Erik and Katja."

Sofia smiled, "Oh, they are beautiful children. Brigitte looks like her mom and Geoff looks a lot like Erik."

Ariel grinned and nodded. "Yes, he does, with the exception of his tail and his ears are a lot more pointed then an earth human."

Sofia's eyes went wide, "He has a tail?"

Ariel smiled and flicked through a couple more pictures. "Here it is."

Sofia smiled as he saw the little boy playing with his tail. "That is amazing."

Ariel nodded, "Yes, he loves his tail, he askes everyone he meets if they're seen it."

Bryan and Sofia both looked at her, then she asked, "He's talking already?

Ariel nodded, "They've been able to "mind talk" since they were born. But they have started to talk verbally since about a week or so ago. Our children start talking earlier than human children, but everyone was surprised about the mind speech though. We can do that occasionally with people we're very close to, like our mates and family, but they've been doing it with everyone and since the beginning, which is remarkable."

"No one is sure why; the feeling is because of the mixed parentage." Ariel knew the reason why, it was a gift from the Goddess, but she didn't want to say anything about it. They were her mates' parents and hers also, but she wasn't really sure if she should say anything yet.

Geoff and Victoria came back and sat down. He saw the look on their faces and the picture opened up on Ariel's phone. He smiled, "Ah, discussing my namesake I see. Isn't he the cutest thing you ever saw?"

Ariel smiled at him, "Tony's parents were a little surprised at how advanced he is."

Victoria smiled, "Yes, it does take a little getting used to. Human children don't normally progress as fast."

She laughed, "It startled me when they both said hello to me and called me aunt. I thought I was hearing things. I know Geoff and myself can do it somewhat, but not like them."

Then Helen and Azlan walked in and saw the group of them. They walked over and Helen asked, "Well, it sounds like everyone is enjoying themselves, mind if we join in?'

Tony smiled, "Sure Helen, I'd like you to meet my parents. This is Bryan and Sofia. Mom, dad, this is Helen and her mate Azlan. Helen is Erik's sister and Azlan is Katja's brother."

They all greeted each other, then Helen and Azlan said they be right back as soon as they got lunch.

They got back and sat down, then Helen asked, "So, what was the laughter all about?"

Ariel smiled, "Bryan and Sofia were a little surprised by our niece and nephew.

Helen smiled, "Yes, they are quite surprising when you first meet them. They are so smart and advanced, we love them like crazy. Azlan here is Brigitte's favorite uncle, but she's daddy's girl without a doubt. Little Geoff is so cute, all you need to do is tell him how much you like his tail and you have a friend for life.

Geoff grinned adding, "He also finds it funny that we both have the same name. The first time he hugged me, I thought I'd cry my heart out. Both of them are like that, they send out a feeling of love and goodness to whoever's in the room.