Chapter 29 Who better?

Hearing his words, Aelita looked like he slapped her.

-But, I already asked you officially, so if you don't agree, then it means that you reject me.

She said, trying very hard not to panic.

-No, It means that I'm giving you the right to choose if you deem me worthy of becoming your protector after you hear what I have to tell you.

Andrew said, explaining his intentions.

-But this has never happened before, to any Cheroni.

She said, not understanding what was going on.

-Then this is the first time, and I think that you are the first one of your people to seek a protector from other species.

Andrew said.

-Just hear me out and if what I tell you doesn't change your mind, then you can ask me again.

He quickly added.

Aelita thought about it for a moment and decided that she had nothing to lose by hearing him out, either way, he was the only male in this system so she had no other choice.

-I will hear what you have to say, but that won't change my mind, I already told you, that you are the only one that can become my protector in this system.

Andrew nodded and proceeded to inform her about humanity and his own story.

He was no hero or protector, until, not long ago, he could not even protect himself, and even now he only got the power because of his station.

Telling her everything he had to say took a while, but he didn't want to deceive her.

The alien girl listened attentively, slowly understanding that his culture was different. 

What surprised her the most was that he would never treat her as a property and the reason for it was simple.

She was not an item, she was a person and as such deserved the respect to be treated as an equal.

Aelita had a tough time accepting the differences in their cultures, but what he had told her only reinforced her belief that he would be the best protector she could ever find and she even told him so.

-But, why?

Andrew asked, not understanding her logic.

-Who better to protect me from harm than the one who was harmed in the past and never wishes to be harmed again?

Who better to protect his property, than the one who knows the pain of losing everything he had?

Finally, who better to become my master than the one who does not wish to rule over others?

These were all good questions and the answer was obvious.

-You are more than worthy of becoming my protector.

Even if there were others in this system that could become one, I don't believe there to be one more worthy than you.

She said seriously.

-I Aelita of Clan Charr, ask you again to accept me as your property and become my protector.

The alien girl knelt and bowed like before, awaiting his answer.

Andrew thought for a moment before deciding.

If this alien girl was sure that he was the best choice then he didn't see the reason to reject her.

Not knowing what this ritual or whatever it was, supposed to look like, he did the best thing he could think of.

-I Andrew Sparrow, accept you as my property and I accept my responsibility to protect you.

He said.

It sounded cheesy as hell but that was the best idea he had right now.

Hearing his words, Aelita got to her feet, approached him, and without any hesitation kissed his lips.

-With this the ceremony is complete.

She said.

-From this moment forth, I belong to you, master.

She said with a happy smile.

Andrew was so surprised that he was at a loss for words.

This was his first time kissing a girl and an alien to boot, the sensation was overwhelming and his brain went blank for a moment.

Not to mention that Aelita was also quite a beauty which added to the sensation.

Aelita was a bit confused at his blank expression, but fortunately, it didn't last long.

Andrew came too a moment later, finally figuring out that it was a part of the ceremony.

Seeing him come to his senses, she knelt back down awaiting his command.

He quickly understood what was going on and he didn't like it one bit.

-First of all, you won't be kneeling before me like this again.

He said, pulling her up to her feet.

-But, master…

-That's another thing that has to go.

He cut her off.

-Don't call me master, call me by my name.

-But…

-No buts, you told me that you have to follow my orders if I accept you, so do as you are told.

He said using her own words to cut any discussions.

-I will obey.

She said, not having any other choice.

-Good.

Andrew smiled happily at her compliance.

-Now that this matter is done, let's get something to eat.

He said and took out two rations, one for himself and the other one for her.

Seeing the familiar packet in his hand, Aelita's stomach growled, demanding to be filled.

Her face immediately turned orange from embarrassment.

Not even five minutes into being accepted she had embarrassed herself before her new protector.

If it was in her world, she could expect to be abandoned after something like that, but Andrew just laughed and a moment later his stomach also growled, reminding him that it was way past his usual time for breakfast.

Hearing this, she giggled a bit.

It seemed that their bodies were on the same page when it came to food.

-Where did you get that…

She asked and almost added Master at the end but was able to stop herself.

-You mean the food?

He asked, a bit surprised at the sudden question.

She nodded.

-I bought it from the merchant, you were unconscious at that moment and I wasn't sure if you could eat my rations.

I also bought a bunch of other things for you, take a look.

He invited her to see what he bought, and she was surprised as there were rations, clothes, and even a new space suit for her.

-Thank you, but why did you buy a space suit?

I have one already.

She asked surprised.

-You don't.

He corrected her.

-When I kicked you, you hit the wall, and your helmet was damaged.

He explained the situation, he felt guilty for destroying her helmet so he bought her a new space suit, even if at the time she was his prisoner.

After she looked through the other items he bought for her, they both started to eat as their bellies were demanding food.

Then he brought her to the command center and gave her a communication device.

-With this, we will be able to communicate within the station and even outside to a certain range.

He explained when she asked about the bracelet.

-Thank you.

She said with a smile.

-Now, about your station.

Andrew began to speak.

-I would like you to go back to it, decloak it, and then we can dock it to my station.

He explained.

The cloaking technology was great but it had its restrictions, and with his current equipment, there was no way for him to produce more of the upgrades.

-As you wish.

She said and went to get her new space suit.

In less than an hour, her station was connected to Andrews station, adding some modules but not many as the cloaking device could hide at most a dozen modules.

Aelita purposely crept her station small to be hidden but she also chose her modules visely.

Her station was comprised of the beginning module, a sanitation module, a shield module, a drone recharging module, a storage module, a life support module, a water storage module, a water purification module, a resource processing module, and two solar power modules.

-I already transferred the controls to the command center.

She said, entering still with her space suit on, but with the helmet in her hand.

-I hope you don't mind.

She looked at him waiting for his opinion on her actions.

-You did good, thank you.

Andrew answered with an approving smile.

Seeing this she felt happy that he prised her initiative.

-How did you power all of this with only two solar modules?

He asked surprised by how little power she had at her disposal.

-I only powered up the modules when I needed them, for the rest of the time they were powered down so two solar modules were enough to support everything.

She explained.

Andrew was impressed with her resourcefulness.

-Then let's power them all up, since now we will be using them almost all the time.

He said and got into the command chair to activate everything.