Chapter One #2
The more he learned about her past, the more he was shocked that he hadn’t checked the dossiers before he went looking for a companion.
Her history was that of violence and incredibly protective actions.
She had taken care of a group of two hundred against all comers.
Her preferred weapons were two sharp blades tied to her back.
Silent and effective. He wondered if it would be an appropriate courting present.
Other Hmrain took issue with their consorts behaving recklessly, but her only instinct was to protect.
As long as she didn’t seek out danger, they would get along.
He ordered some clothing for her and spoke with Ra again. Ra was grinning but agreed to keep the Terran from getting lost in the crowd if she got there first.
Ra said, “You know it when you see it. Harwin was dying at my feet, and I still knew that she was mine. She was the first daughter of Geb I had seen in thousands of years, and despite the change in size and pigmentation, her spirit made her ancestors proud.”
Orex nodded. “I have read what I could of Zelda’s files. Ferocious is an understatement, and deadly only begins to cover it. I am on my way to Aten, and if I see her on the way, I will snag her and bring her along.”
“Do it carefully. You do not want to lose her respect. If you left a companion behind, make sure she is offered re-education before you leave. It will engender goodwill with Zelda.”
“Oh, I had not thought of that. Would it matter to her?”
“Was she awake when you chose the other woman?”
“She was.”
“Then, it would matter. But put her on a different world from your consort. Just a recommendation. My palace was awash with murder of those trying to gain my favour. Only keep one woman in your bed, and the same one in your home. They have had to fight to survive, and that makes them a little less likely to share partners.”
Orex nodded. “I will call and have Marta healed and educated.”
“And have a plan for how to raise an adolescent female. That will be important as well.”
“Have any other Hmrain raised the children of their consorts?”
“No. You will be the first.”
“Lovely.”
Ra grinned. “No one to ask for advice. Yavor and Usatho have each brought siblings to their worlds. That would be close but still a distance away, as a child requires education and more interaction than an adult sibling does. Bring clothing for the child, a tablet, and have a plan for child minders and educators. I do not think that I am going to have as much alone time once the child arrives. I have also heard that the parents become reticent to couple at random when a child is there.”
Orex blinked. “This is becoming complicated.”
Ra nodded. “What consort isn’t? Orex, taking your life, your existence and adding another person to it, one that you need to care for and maintain, binding your life and hoping that they can eventually quicken with your child. That is when the real planning kicks in but also the true joy.”
He smiled, and Orex could see the deep joy in Ra’s features.
Orex asked, “What do you think will happen to the planets with all these Hmrain descendants around?”
“Well, they will be protected, they will be guided, and there will be enough for each world to have their own. Not all will want to take on the family business. Some may be artists or craftsman or support staff for their siblings. The fun thing is that a Terran can continue the evolution of a second- or third-generation Hmrain. Yes, they put out that much energy.”
“And now I am back to being excited.”
Ra laughed. “Contact me again if you need what Harwin calls a pep talk.”
“Where is your beautiful queen?”
“Having a nap. The baby exhausts her.” Ra sighed. “I am glad that her time is nearly here.”
“Do you have childcare arranged?”
Ra paused. “Please excuse me. I have to go.”
Orex laughed at the black screen and went to get the sizes for a child just over a decade old. He wished to sweep away any objections to his claiming Zelda as his. He pushed his departure plans back six hours and had the computer calculate a new flight path. Worlds moved.
* * * *
Zelda cleaned a bunk for herself and got fresh bedding. Raiders really were disgusting.
She programmed the bots to scrub everything, double checked her trajectory, and settled into a pilot’s seat for a nap. Her sisters were both asleep, and that is where she talked to them.
Standing on the empty plane, she saw them and walked over. The hugs were immediate, and Zoey and Zaniah were excited.
Zelda said, “I am on the way. I should be on Aten in a few days. Zoey, you should be arriving today, and Zaniah, you are in orbit. I will get you and bring you down if they let me.”
Zoey grinned. “Big sis, you look well. We haven’t spoken in so long. I am so happy we all made it.”
Zani cocked her head. “There is something different about you.”
“Ah, do you remember that I got pregnant?”
Zoey gasped. “No. I am going to start a fund for her right now.”
Zani grinned. “Give her mine. You can get me a new one once your skin looks like skin again.”
Zoey growled. “Great.”
Zelda blinked. “What happened?”
Zani snorted. “She lit herself on fire to become a beacon. I think we are all lacking in self-preservation.”
Zelda smiled and stood with her sisters while they exchanged tales of survival for hours. When they slept, they could touch minds again, just like when they were little. Connecting from across great distances.
Zelda sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was still on course for an arrival in five days.
Her sisters had been briefed as to the status of their niece, and Zelda had learned about Zoey’s melted self.
The fact that she was alive at all was incredible.
Zani was the only one in good shape, and she had been unconscious for travel.
She stretched and winced. One of the raiders had caught her with claws. He had picked her up with them and was surprised when she kicked back and pulled the blasters from his friends’ belts.
Zelda walked to the small med unit and checked it.
She sighed. No Terran setting. She was going to have to first-aid it the old-fashioned way.
She checked if there were antibiotics that she could use, but most of the ones available would turn her guts into a fluid mass.
She was just hoping she got to see her daughter again.
Now it had gone from a mission to survival, and her family was bad at working with their own survival.
Two days later, she was fevered, and it was hard to focus. To her surprise, she got a call from Aten. She opened the com and tried to smile politely. “Hello? Oh, shiny.”
The golden face of Harwin, Queen of Aten, filled the screen. “Zelda? You look like hell.”
Zelda chuckled and said, “I got scratched by something that didn’t wash its hands. I will make it to Aten.”
“But not much more. Fuck. Right. I am telling Orex.”
“What? What are you talking about?” The fever made it hard to concentrate.
“Orex has been tracking you. He wants you for his consort.”
“He has a companion. Marta.”
“She’s been sent to be educated and dismissed from her duties to Orex. Good thing, too. Apparently, she was fading fast.”
“Oh. That’s not good.” She kept focus on the screen, but it was difficult. “You are shiny.”
Harwin smiled gently. “Yes, Zelda, I know. Okay, Orex knows where you are, and he’s coming to get you.”
“He has lots of teeth.”
“Yes, he does. He’s going to grapple your vessel and pull it into his.”
Zelda giggled softly. “That sounds dirty.”
“Can you take something for the infection?”
“No. Nothing here for me. Healing pod is wrong settings. Medication is wrong settings. Have been cleaning with alcohol and wrapping with bandages. Nasty bluey-green puss.”
“Oh, shit. Big fella, hair and scales?”
“Both. Did you know him? I am sorry. I shoved him out an airlock. All of them, actually.” She dissolved into giggles.
Harwin blinked. “Okay. You are fun at parties, I bet.”
“Yes. Or no. I don’t remember. Aretta’s birthdays were always fun. I wished that I could have taken her to meet her aunts, but I couldn’t get a passport.”
Harwin turned her head to the side and nodded. “Why not?”
“Because her dad was a dick, and he wouldn’t sign her passport. My mom was Canadian, and the twins were in the States. I couldn’t take her anywhere, and I had lost touch with Zoey and Zani by then. It wasn’t good.”
Harwin was tapping with her right hand.
“How is it that you were separated?”
“Oh, fun story. Our parents were a thruple. My mom didn’t want to have the babies, and their mom didn’t have good ovaries.
The dad was the one with the aqua eyes. I met him and the birth mom once.
Well, once the birth mom was pregnant, she became a bit of a bitch, so they disbanded, and each took a baby.
It was all legal and recorded. So, I went to the great white north, and the others stayed in the States with their other parents. ”
“That is interesting. You will have to tell me again later. For now, you are going to hear a thud, and they are going to come get you. They are pulling up on you now.”
“Oh, that is the typing.” She smiled as she heard the thud of magnetic attachments hit her hull. “I should have driven it like I stole it.” More giggles. “Oh, wait. I did.”
She looked out and could see a lot of ship sitting on top of hers. “This is like a chihuahua and a great dane situation.”
Harwin laughed. “I imagine it is. Do you have a breather?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, in that case, they are going to come in fast. They know you are injured, so they are bringing a breathing unit.”
“You are just talking to me because you speak drunk Terran.” Zelda snorted.
She heard them coming through with cutting bots, and she sighed. “I should have lured in a better class of raider.”
Harwin laughed.
Boots thudded from the back of the ship, and she felt the air getting thin very quickly. Officers in Orex’s livery and breathing units came toward her and put a unit on her head.
She looked at Harwin. “The babysitter showed up. You can hang up, Mom.”
Harwin laughed and said, “Okay. See you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Orex’s ship is fast. Really fast.”
“Okay.”
She walked with the two officers, and they carefully boosted her up and into the other vessel. Hands pulled her up, and she knew the feeling of those hands. Hmrain had a certain texture according to their consorts. Marta had bragged about it.
Zelda looked at the Hmrain who picked her up and walked off with her while her side started weeping whatever the hell was in her.
“Hello, Zelda. I am Orex.”
“We have met. The day Marta volunteered.”
“You did not speak that day.”
“If she wanted to bite off more than she could chew, more power to her. She lasted longer than I thought.”
“She’s been removed from the contract and is being re-educated. Schooling has been made available to her.”
“Good. She was dumb as a box of rocks.” Zelda laughed at her own turn of phrase.
“You seem in remarkably good spirits.”
“It’s the pain. I hit the threshold, and now, it is just funny.” She looked up at him, and his charcoal and black skin and markings, midnight blue hair and black eyes.
He walked into the medical bay and said, “You will have to remove your clothing for the unit. The... clothing you have on is sticking in your wounds.”
She nodded. “Okay. Put me down, please, Overseer.”
He set her on her feet. She swayed and then peeled out of the coveralls that she was wearing, and her lips tensed as she pulled them away from her ribs.
Orex gasped as he saw the claw marks that started at her ribs and went down to mid-thigh.
The tech said, “Please step this way, Lady.”
“Now that is the sign of good training. Sees a potential consort oozing puss and still calls her lady. Well done, sir.”
The tech smiled slightly and helped ease her into the pod. The settings were right, and she fell asleep as the first thing that hit was painkillers.