The First Starfighter

Earth, except the continents and oceans were in all the wrong places. The blue oceans, white clouds, green and brown land masses could have been on Earth. But I had seen them before. Many, many times.
I’d been here before. In the game. Now I was here in real life. With Alex.
He pointed as I stared. “That is my home planet, Velerion. It is twenty times—”
“The size of Earth. Yes, I know.” I could recite every piece of data and knowledge that had been programmed into the game. I knew all about Velerion, the war, the evil queen who was trying to take control of his planet and surrender its people and resources to the Dark Fleet. “Everything in the game is true. Every single detail,” I murmured. I wasn’t questioning it any longer.
He looked at me and simply said, “Yes.”
I ran my hand over my hair. “Why do you need me? Why build the game and send it to Earth of all places? There have to be better places to get fighters. I mean, seriously, look at me! I am not a soldier. I’m overweight, I’ve never held a gun, I deliver boxes for a living, and I’ve never even been to another country, let alone the other side of the galaxy.”
I waved my hands at the planet below us as I spoke, and Alex grabbed them out of the air and held them between his own. The touch, and the way he stroked his thumbs back and forth, was comforting. Again, he grounded me.
“You, Jamie Miller, are an Elite Starfighter. You are one of the most highly skilled and effective warriors in the galaxy. We sent the game to Earth because humans are well-known to be resourceful, intelligent, and creative, all traits required in a Starfighter.”
“I’m the only one you got?” I looked up into green eyes that were too serious and way too sexy. “That can’t be right.”
“You are the first. No one on the other worlds has come close to completing the training academy. Earth has many fighters close to completion.”
“You mean they’re about to beat the game,” I said, clarifying.
He gave a negligible shrug. “Call it what you will. To you, it was a game. To Velerion, a tool to identify and recruit the best Starfighters we can find. Once the others’ training is complete, they will be brought here as well. You will not be alone for long, my Jamie.”
“I’m not alone, Alex.”
He leaned in close and pressed his lips to mine in another chaste kiss that shocked me and left me wanting more. “No, you are not.” His gaze was riveted to my lips. “Nor will you ever be, bondmate. I am yours and you are mine.”
I thought back to the ceremony I’d watched. “‘Will you stay with me, Starfighter? Will you remain at my side and fight with me to the end of our days?’”
“You remember what I asked of you.”
I nodded.
“I remember you accepting and General Aryk formally bonding us. It is true. It is real. The bond. Our pairing.”
Our gazes locked, and I felt a nearly irresistible urge to rip that uniform from his body and jump him. Before I could act on the impulse, we were surrounded.
“Alexius!”
“Is she the one?”
“A new Starfighter! Thank Vega!”
“One more bonded pair won’t be enough.”
“It will help.” That last came from a tall male in a Starfighter uniform.
The voices surrounded me and I processed the Velerion easily, but this time I realized the movements of their lips weren’t matching the sounds my brain was hearing. That was going to take some getting used to.
Alex raised one hand for silence as he wrapped his other around my waist. When they had quieted down, he spoke to the group, who looked like regular humans. They wore various uniforms, but thanks to the game, I knew exactly what each of their jobs were on this moon base. Alexius and I were wearing the black of the Elite Starfighter. There was a mechanic who worked on the Starfighter ships, two officers of the Velerion military who would be in charge of base operations and supplies, and two men who also wore Elite Starfighter uniforms with the swirled mark on their chests.
Were they bondmates?
Yes. It made sense, because in the game any player could choose any wingman. So, if I were attracted to women, I could have built a female copilot. I just hadn’t given it much thought after I’d created Alex.
But then, I hadn’t created him, had I? I’d chosen him from all the characteristics. My high school statistics teacher would have loved to figure out the probability of our pairing.
Alex. This alien man who was mine now. He’d been real the whole time.
He’d said he’d been watching me since I chose him. He’d chosen me as well. Had he gone through the same ceremony? Had he chosen the X button on his controller, too? He must have, for we’d been pair bonded. He’d come to Earth to bring me here. To fight together. To live together.
He led me to a section where others were eating at long tables. We sat side by side, and someone placed a tray of food before me, then Alexius. It smelled delicious even though I didn’t know what any of it was.
I dug in, eager to fill my belly. Besides knocking me out, the travel from Earth had made me ravenous. Only when I slowed did Alex stand.
“This is Jamie Miller of Earth, my bondmate and our newest Elite Starfighter.” Alex’s voice carried. Many in the large area stopped what they were doing and came toward us. Alex helped me to my feet. My introvert alarm bells were blaring like foghorns inside my head and my heart rate sped up to uncomfortable levels, but I plastered a smile on my face and stood there as they filed past us one by one, introduced themselves to me and took my hand. Their version of a handshake was to slide their palm along mine and