Chapter Three #3
“Oh. Right. Well, I don’t look human anymore.”
He waved that off. “Doesn’t matter. Safe is safe and stupid is stupid.”
She was staring at him. “That is a human saying.”
“That is a common saying. Now, take care of Chloe, and you can continue your little crusade around the star systems.”
“Why aren’t you in a hurry to have Chloe?”
From the repair unit, a voice called out, “I heard that. Stop pimping me out, Skylar!”
Dytura grinned. “Death doesn’t hurry. Things will happen in their own time. Farewell, my bride.”
He was in a remarkably good mood as he left the chamber and saw Ra on the stairs. “They are well, but I had to check on her, and now I know where to travel next.”
Ra’s shoulders relaxed. “So, you are leaving.”
“Oh, yes. My bride is in safe hands, and she is in good spirits. I would ask that you use your fabricators to make her some more flattering robes. From what I recall, ladies like options.”
“Dytura, you are more understanding than I had been led to believe.”
“I am learning that death has a season and that life is part of it. I am trying to find ways to include her in my existence, and for now, it is just to guard her and keep her safe. If that means those she surrounds herself with will keep her protected, I will accept that. If she wants to come to me, she knows how to summon me.”
He lifted his wide hood and pulled it up over his head. “I will be purchasing the vessel from Orex and having a crew of Zowoth bring it here. They will pilot the slip ship for her. She just has to decide where she wants to go.”
Ra nodded. “I will let her know. She is still in the unit?”
“She is. She is lovely. All soft and angry.” He chuckled.
Ra stared with his eyes huge. “So, when you say bride...”
“She’s my bride, and when she decides that she wants me, I will be there.
Children are not likely nor particularly wanted, but her.
I want her. She is life and laughter and a new dawn every time she opens her eyes.
” He turned his head slightly toward the repair chamber.
“I want those eyes looking at me. Smiling at me.”
Ra nodded. “That, I can understand. I didn’t think you had that compulsion.”
“It is new. It is welcome. I feel like I am breathing again.” He cocked his head. “I haven’t felt that since before you slept.”
“You knew me before?”
“The designers asked me what I thought you should be, and they began to form you. This body was created for me using the same basic template. I went from an absolute to a creature who made my own creatures when a species had one they could offer me, like Skylar. She was perfect for the purpose, and her link to Chloe is proving very interesting. I did not anticipate it, but it is creating an interesting dynamic. I believe they could be very useful as a travelling duo to new or stalled colonies.”
Ra blinked. “You are letting her go?”
“Ra, at this point, I am content to know she is in the universe, and she knows who I am. We will join and part from this point onward. It is good that she has friends. Oh, but make sure your consort isn’t pregnant if they hug.
She can accelerate metabolism and encourage life.
The ladies get a little confused when their slow path turns into a heady rush toward delivery. ”
Ra nodded. “Harwin is not carrying right now.”
“Then it is safe for her. And for you. I know you can’t die, but I also am aware that a female in that position twice in one year makes them angry.” He chuckled. “It might be painful.”
“I would rather not court that possibility.”
A female voice said, “Very wise. So, she can boost humans?”
Dytura nodded. “She can. That is what she is. You are mostly human with an energy infrastructure. She would run you faster.”
She patted the back of the infant she held. There was a small burp. She said, “So, you caught up to Skylar?”
He smiled. “Skylar is one of my people but not my bride. Chloe is mine.”
Harwin blinked. “Huh. I thought they had to be mixed up.”
He inclined his head. “No. I have been waiting for a seed of life to survive. When she did, I had everything prepared for her, and she decided to escape me for a time in servitude.” He felt the burn of rage. “That reminds me, I have somewhere to be. Good evening, Ra, Queen Harwin.”
Ra inclined his head and pulled Harwin toward him. “Will we see you again?”
“It is likely, if my bride feels connected to Aten in any way.”
“Harwin is going to keep her kin near to her.”
Dytura nodded and walked up the stairs. “Then, you will see me again.”
He left the pyramid and headed for his shuttle settled next to Chloe’s vessel. He focused on the memory of her in the repair unit. Even wounded, she glowed with life.
He felt the soul in the vessel acknowledge him, and he smiled and continued to his own ship. He had a few stops to make. First was the base where the ship had obtained Chloe. He would read their systems to find out who was responsible for her injuries, and then, he would reciprocate.
He got into his vessel and opened coms as it lifted off. He contacted Orex and made arrangements for one of his slip ships. A vessel large enough to contain Chloe’s shuttle easily. If they were going to travel together, they were going to have options regarding who needed to be where.
Getting four Zowoths was easier. They were a composite species, collecting warriors from any battlefield or gathering of survivors. If a fighter were worthy, the Zowoth would take them in. Anyone in their ranks was suitable to guard Dytura’s bride.
He listened to the alarms sounding in the station and heard the screaming and scrambling of feet. Five administrators and three medical staff were pinned to the wall with precisely arranged spikes.
He wiped his hands on a cloth and looked at the folks who were succumbing to shock.
“You really should have paid attention to those notices. I told you she was mine and that I was coming for her. Every action you made was wrong, and now, if anyone is willing to go through a wall of ghosts, you can get down and crawl into a repair unit. The one unit I have left intact.” Dytura dropped the bloody fabric onto the floor. “Enjoy.”
He walked out, chuckling. He had the dead of seven worlds standing between the pinned and the would-be rescuers.
He sent the new ship with its crew to Aten, the second proper present to his bride.