Chapter Six #2
“I cannot understand why she needs a larger ship. That is a ship with a biolock, and it uses life energy to fly.”
“Which she has because of her ghosts. Can it run out?”
“Not in her current situation. She is strong enough to propel herself through the stars for thousands of years.”
Ra walked over. “Orex, take your lady and her child and leave now. I know you have not had time with your siblings, so I am going to urge him to take you as well.”
Orex blinked. “So that was...”
“Dytura is coming, and the ladies have a heavy link to Skylar. I can protect Harwin and Harran but not the three-born.”
Orex nodded and looked to Zoey. “Are you ready?”
Zaniah was nearby and nodded. “We are. Let’s go.”
He nodded and found Aretta. He walked to her, spoke to her, and Aretta ran over, hugged Cori, and then returned to their gathering.
They got into a group, and Harwin smiled.
“Don’t worry. I can take care of me and mine if I have to.
I don’t think Dytura will feel great split down the middle. It’s my party trick.” Harwin winked.
Zelda and her siblings blinked, and Harwin turned to the side, clapped, and an empty side table split in two and clattered to the floor. Harwin beamed. “See? Now, if Ra thinks you are in danger, you are. Go.”
Zelda looked the woman in the eye and saw the seriousness there. She and her sisters joined Orex and Aretta, and they walked out the main entrance. Ra said, “I summoned the shuttle to speed things up.”
This shuttle sent sand and wind blasting in all directions.
The door opened, and they rushed in. Orex got them situated in under a minute, kissed Zelda quickly, and then double checked that Aretta’s harness was proper before he gave the command to lift off.
He sat next to Zelda as the shuttle lifted off.
She breathed a little easier when they got to the station, but Orex didn’t let up. He shepherded them through the station, and Aretta asked, “Can’t we stay and look?”
“Aretta, you can have an entire day in the shopping district with no financial limits. Today, we need to get all of you to safety because, right now, this place is not safe. You remember how you were used to control your mother?”
Aretta blinked as they continued to move.
“That is what this being would do with Zoey, to lure her back into his grasp. My kind do not associate with his, and I don’t want him considering any of you a suitable substitute.”
Aretta nodded and moved faster.
Orex’s ship was waiting. They sat down for release from the station, and then they were on their way, and rooms were assigned.
Zelda felt the sense of urgency fade, exhaled, and wrapped her arms around Orex. “Thank you for taking that seriously.”
“I just found you. I am not going to lose you.” He lifted her for a kiss.
She draped her arms around his neck and held onto him as the kiss continued.
He sighed in relief as the slip engines kicked in, and she felt the same relief of pressure. “Oh, good. He’s gone.”
Zoey spoke from nearby. “You know what that was, right?”
Zelda looked at her sister and smiled grimly. “I recognized it. It’s death.”
Zaniah nodded. “I knew it felt familiar. Skylar doesn’t feel that way.”
Zoey said, “She might in a few thousand years.”
Zelda whispered, “When humanity doesn’t need to be in touch with the ghosts of the end.”
Orex nodded. “Hmrain don’t concern themselves with the Dyturans. They simply exist outside of our interactions. Skylar’s attachment to her family, friends, and people is likely the cause of the pursuit.”
Zelda smirked. “That or she skipped basic training. She got up and had to get moving, so she did.”
Orex said, “How many worlds did she visit?”
Zelda frowned. Aretta perked up. “Seventeen. I remember because I thought it was a lot. She said none of them knew she was human, though. Aten was the only world where she outed herself.”
Orex sighed and led their group to a dining room. “So, Zoey, Zani, do you know what you would like to do?”
Zoey smiled. “I am an investor. Master class. I have a few million credits set aside already and a trust account for Zani. She can educate herself or not. Aretta, I will start working on one for you.”
Zelda smiled. “Not necessary. She’s covered. Orex gave her quite the education stipend as well as a trust. If you want to, please, but don’t think it is urgent.”
Zoey smiled. “Thank you. That helps.”
Aretta cleared her throat. “Lord Orex, can you show me images of pets and riding animals available?”
Orex grinned and tapped the tabletop. A projector in the centre of the space showed the variety of pets.
Zelda saw his smirk and said, “Put something next to them for scale, like you.”
He chortled and did so.
“Now remove the ones that are venomous.”
He tapped, and two of the cuter ones were removed from the display.
Zelda snorted. “Remove any animal taller than your waist.”
“Mom. Wait. Under what circumstances do the venomous animals bite?”
“Ah, they are fiercely loyal. I would recommend antivenin for you and our household if you choose one of them.”
She grinned. “Good. I like this one. It reminds me of Mom.” She pointed at a huge feline with three eyes and two tails. “It also looks like a Pokémon but bigger.”
Zelda looked at it and sighed. “Everybody in the family gets injections. Are females or males better as pets?”
Orex shrugged. “They both have their plusses and minuses. The yendal are related to the khitans that one of my brothers is breeding, but yendal don’t fly.”
He made a note. “I will contact a breeder when we are closer to see what is available. I believe it will help Aretta’s trauma. Yendal are very therapeutic.”
Zani smiled. “Now, what can we ride, Lord Orex? I have been trapped in so much metal, I want to feel the air on my skin and a living being under me.”
He smirked. “May I recommend a defender? They are Hmrain descendants from other systems and use their strength and speed to care for populations.” He brought up images of a lot of burly men in bodysuits in different colours with wings and without.
Zani blushed. “Interesting options, but I was referring to something that could carry me across the landscape.”
Orex laughed. “They still all qualify.”
Zelda covered her mouth, and Aretta was giggling.
Zoey grinned. “Anything I can ride? It’s been a while since I had control of power.”
Zelda stared.
“Snowmobile, Zel. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Aretta nodded. “Yeah, Mom.”
Orex looked at her and brought up more images. “Telepathic, wealthy, high regenerative properties that could be passed to a partner. They work at my think tank. Their minds created the slip drive.”
Zoey grinned. “You don’t say.”
Zelda watched as Zoey and Zaniah went through the offerings, one by one. Aretta yawned, and Zelda got up to take her to her room.
Aretta said, “Mom, this is weird, but it is a good weird. As long as I can be with you, I don’t care where we end up.”
Zelda caressed her hair. “I think we will be fine, but I want you to think of what you want to learn and how you want to learn it. This place is rife with STEM education. You could get back into robotics and create that emergency suit you had planned.”
“Mom, that was expensive.”
“Yes, but it is in the contract. The system we are heading for is his. We are his. You are the overseer’s stepdaughter. You can learn what you like, what you choose to focus on. No human hangups. You have the right to be as smart as you can be.”
Zelda showed her how to use the solar shower and got her a blank tunic to sleep in. Aretta grinned and got ready for bed.
When she was in bed, Zelda put in a hot link com to Orex’s room for outgoing audio only.
“How did you learn all that stuff, Mom?”
“I didn’t sleep. I waited for you. Now you are here, and I can relax and smile again.”
She kissed Aretta on the forehead and said, “Go to sleep, I will never be so far from you that I can’t come to you when you need me.”
Aretta smiled and snuggled into her bed. “You know what would make this perfect?”
“What?”
“A giant cat.”
Zelda laughed and left the room. “Night, baby.”
She closed the door, and Orex was waiting for her. He asked, “She is settling?”
“She falls asleep easy. If she wakes, it will be in two hours. Where are the twins?”
“Still trying to figure out if they can find sexual references for the males I showed them.”
Zelda snickered. “A reference doesn’t mean much. Wait, they do know that the guys are going to consume their energy.”
“I reiterated that when you took Aretta to tuck her in.”
Zelda saw the door to the dining room and called out, “Sort them by colour or size. You choose.”
Orex snorted and pulled her along to their stateroom.
She was still grinning when he undressed her, and she began returning the favour.
Five minutes later, they were moving together, and Zelda dug her nails into his back as the first orgasm of many rippled through her. Orex chuckled and continued to have a feast.
Hours into the sleep cycle, she heard the cry through the com system and saw a blur. She could hear Orex’s voice soothing Aretta, and Aretta talked about what had woken her.
“I was alone, and I couldn’t find Mom, and strangers were coming closer to me, and I couldn’t hide.”
Zelda felt a chill at what could have happened, and she was hoping that it didn’t.
“I screamed and fought and screamed again, then someone said that they couldn’t hurt me, or Mom wouldn’t help anymore.”
She exhaled slowly. Demanding to see and talk with Aretta had been a smart thing. The code words in their conversations had assured her that her daughter was safe and fed.
Zelda was sitting up when Orex came in, wearing a hip wrap. “She’s fine. There are therapists available, and she will begin treatment when we settle in.”
When he settled next to her, she moved into his embrace and said, “I should never have gone through that gate with her.”