Chapter 1 #2
But she had told them she was coming and none of them were fighting her.
It was just generally accepted that Scarlet was going to be doing most of the work as the human representative since Peony would be considered too close to the domini as she was Adassani.
Scarlet didn’t mind that, really, but it was intimidating to think that she was speaking for the entirety of Earth.
In that way, she was glad Alanna was here. Her dreamy, carefree, upbeat friend was exactly who she needed as support for something like this.
"We're almost there," Alanna said, stopping at her side, smiling at the impossible view like it actually made her happy. "I can't wait to see a real ringworld."
"I don't even know what that is," Scarlet admitted, focusing on her friend rather than the incomprehensibility of subspace.
Immediately, Alanna brightened. "Oh, it's a fascinating structure that’s only theoretical on Earth. Instead of a planet, the Coalition is based on a ring that spins around their sun. Like a giant celestial hula hoop."
"Add that to the list of things I'd never thought I'd hear in my life," Scarlet snickered.
Alanna laughed along with her, serenely clasping her hands in front of her. “It’s massive. More space than a planet, and home to nearly every alien species in the Coalition. Over two hundred species. Like, the ultimate melting pot.”
“Seems a bit intimidating. Covers so much space, it takes up an entire year,” Scarlet said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“That’s what makes it so exciting! This is going to be a good trip. I didn’t have a dream.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. No dream! That’s a good omen for me, promise.”
“Okay. Sure,” Scarlet chuckled. “Well, that puts one fear to rest.”
Alanna smiled peaceably. “It’s going to be amazing. I know it.”
Scarlet wished she could be as certain. But she couldn’t help but worry about how the Coalition – made up of kings and queens, essentially, of every member species – would react to the humans and their request. There were apparently procedures in place for when a species was contacted before they were ready, but five girls kidnapped with no aliens actually revealing themselves didn’t qualify as such a scenario.
And if they lost their petition, they might never see their home planet again.
Atem could not break Coalition law and take them back.
And he could not risk another species finding out where Earth was without having some sort of protection in place.
Specifically, because human women were breedable.
Scarlet was now a doctor, by alien standards, and her coming along would have been important to watch over Peony even if she wasn’t speaking for Earth.
Before Peony got pregnant, there had never been a case of a hybrid baby or pregnancy in literally the entire known universe.
The number one doctor of the domini was staying on Turv so he could watch over Holly, who was the second person to ever carry a hybrid baby.
No one knew what to expect or how the pregnancy would go.
Peony was currently being controlled by the baby’s hormones and it made her act more like a domini than a human sometimes.
Including needing to ingest raw blood for her and the baby’s health.
By all measures, both of the babies were growing well according to domini timelines.
It was unclear if it was only domini that humans could breed with, if it was only human females and domini males that could do it, or if it was only certain humans that could do it. But what was known was that, apparently, human females were incredibly sexy.
All of domini agreed to that, apparently.
They were soft and delicate and sexual in ways that domini females, and apparently other females, simply weren’t.
Atem worried that the two things combined would make other species want to steal human females from Earth to breed them against their will.
To avoid that outcome, they had to keep Earth secret for now.
Hopefully, like Alanna said, good things would happen on this trip and Atem would be able to formally and officially protect her planet with his army.
A lot was on the line, and Scarlet did not think she was qualified to do this.
But no one else had volunteered, so she had no choice.
So, she stood on an alien garden terrace on a starship looking out at the fabric of reality as they passed through without moving and wondered how in the hell she got here.
“Stunning. Isn’t it?”
A new, male voice made her jump and turn to find that she and Alanna were no longer alone. They had been joined on Scarlet’s other side by one of the male domini that made up Atem’s council. A group of extremely powerful males that ran the entire planet.
This one Scarlet had never really met before, though she had seen him in passing. Havali, First Guardian, and probably one of the most beautiful domini males she had ever seen. And that wasn’t a personal preference either, it was the general consensus.
The domini weren’t ugly aliens. Not slimy or insectoid or big headed, or anything like what Scarlet thought of when she imagined an alien.
They were largely humanoid in shape, though they were much bigger.
Males and females both tended to tower over the humans.
They also had long, pointed ears, a tail, and most alien of all, three eyes.
The top one could move independent of the others and, without proper control, would almost always point at what the domini in question was thinking of at that moment or what was most important to them.
They had claws and fangs and drank blood like vampires – but from a glass because, well, they were civilized.
But their most distinguishing feature was their ability to camouflage.
Their hair and skin changed colors seemingly without any conscious control.
They took on the color of whatever they wore or whatever they were standing in front of.
They could even replicate simple patterns – though the more complex and the longer they held them, the more likely their color changing cells would fatigue and their skin would turn gray until they recovered.
In severe cases, or in the elderly, they wouldn’t recover at all.
To prevent that, they tended to wear singular, bright colors. Never black, as a true black was apparently something only a lucky few could match. However, any other color was game.
Havali, from what she knew of the few times she had seen him in passing, preferred brighter colors.
Today, he was wearing a pale, creamy sort of gold outfit accented with clear crystal jewelry - a popular choice among the domini as clear crystal didn't change their skin color.
Their fashion choices ranged from voluminous, wizard style robes to delicate, sheer skirts and nothing else to everything in between.
It depended on how much the individual in question liked showing off their skin.
Havali seemed to be somewhere in the middle.
His entire style was elegant – carefully, but not excessively, styled.
Simple, flowing fabric showed his body to his best advantage, from his fitted, long sleeve shirt with a ‘V’ deep enough to appreciate his chest, down to the flowing pants that were just barely tight around his thighs and covered a pair of light leather boots.
The pale gold color made him look positively decadent while the clean lines of the outfit pleased the eye.
His handsome, aristocratic face was framed by a couple stands of his long, shiny hair, the rest of it pulled back in a low tail.
It should have made him look feminine, but the bulk of his muscle left no doubts about his masculinity.
His three eyes were black, eerie in a way.
The domini in general had very little white to their eyes, but Havali in particular seemed to have none at all, so it was like being stared at by a gaping void of darkness.
Three black, marquise shaped eyes, the center points all angled towards each other in the middle of his face creating an almost demonic effect.
The contrast to his bright colored clothes was stunning. And oddly intimidating.
“Hello, First Guardian,” Alanna greeted from behind her.
“Honored Vora Vakara,” he saluted them both formally, putting his fist over his heart, using their honorific names. “Do you mind if I join you? I always enjoy this view.”
He was asking both of them, but he was looking specifically at Scarlet. The sight of those depthless eyes sent a strange shiver down her spine that she wasn’t entirely sure she disliked. She had never had a proper conversation with Havali before, but she suddenly wanted to.
As that surprising thought was flashing through her head, the spectacular show of the fabric of reality outside the viewing window suddenly winked out of existence. Scarlet gasped as she was given her first glimpse of the Coalition ringworld.