Chapter Four
Chloe sat up and looked at Skylar. “Was...”
“Yes. That was Dytura.”
“Tall. He’s tall.”
Skylar laughed. “Yes, he is. He’s also got a crush on you.”
“Well, I have a tremendous pull toward him, so we are even. I nearly threw off the sedative and tried to climb him.” She chuckled.
Skylar blinked. “Really?”
“Yup. Those horns just look like handlebars to me.”
Skylar laughed and brought her clothing. “Wow. Just... wow.”
“Sorry. Now that I am not fighting pain, I seem to be smacking right into frisky.”
Skylar watched her get dressed in a plain bodysuit and then the floaty robes Dytura had left behind.
Harwin came in with a smile on her face. “I would like to bring this meeting of surviving Harwins to order.”
Chloe chuckled. “But did you bring snacks?”
“I have a brunch waiting in the family dining room. Down two levels.”
Chloe held out her hand, and her staff flew to her. “Well then, shall we brunch?”
Harwin laughed. “This way. I have been ordered not to touch you if I think I might be pregnant. Why is that?”
“I stimulate life. If you are carrying it, it goes a little faster.”
“Right. So, if you held my son...”
“He would start getting older, but as he is an infant, he has very few resources to draw on. It would be damaging.”
“But if I were pregnant, it would pull from me.”
“Yup.”
Skylar smiled. “I am huggable.”
Harwin laughed and hugged her. “So you are.”
They made their way down the steps, and Chloe kept the staff moving with her. It felt very natural. She was used to it now.
They walked into a level that had a rushing river, lush grasses, and a table set for four. Ra was sitting and playing with his son.
Chloe grinned. “So, that is surreal. When do his wings fluff out?”
Ra eased him over. “They will fluff out in a few months when he starts to sit up.”
“Is there a milk substitute available if Harwin runs out? He’s going to grow fast.” Chloe asked.
Harwin paused. “Huh, that is something I haven’t considered. He nearly takes everything, and he’s only a week old.”
Ra chuckled. “We can have the food unit produce what he needs, or we can increase your capacity.”
Harwin looked down at her enhanced cleavage. “How much more can they hold?”
Ra grinned. “I confess to curiosity.”
Harwin snorted. “Ladies, brunch is served.”
Chloe smiled. “Thank you.” She settled, and Skylar sat next to her. “So, how long was I out?”
Harwin smiled and sat with them. “A week. Skylar has been sharing ghosts with the new folk who have just arrived. A few of them are being haunted.”
Skylar snickered. “You don’t say. Maybe they shouldn’t hold children hostage and then fail to protect them properly.”
Chloe grinned as she ate. “You didn’t.”
“I didn’t. I did, however, let the girl’s grandparents know what had happened. They didn’t take it well. Some of the other grandparents who lost their grandchildren during the time after also decided to freak the monsters out.”
Harwin chuckled. “They are asking for mercy. Apparently, the fear of their victims is put directly into their minds every night.”
Chloe sipped at some tea. “How unfortunate.”
Skylar laughed. “Isn’t it? The ghosts will come with us when the new ship gets here.”
“New ship?”
Harwin snorted. “Dytura is getting you a slip ship that can hold your shuttle. He’s courting you.”
Chloe smiled. “I know. He’s not in a hurry. I am not in a hurry. I am sure if that changes, I will know, or he will know. There is so much to experience out here.”
Ra picked up Harran and moved to sit with them. The baby was comfortable in the curve of his arm.
Harwin smiled. “We have a solid ten minutes before the psychotic little leech is attached again. And Harran as well.”
Chloe spluttered with her tea. “Wait, there is another ship coming?”
Skylar smiled. “Orex makes vessels that are called slip ships. Their power source can propel them along the edge of solid space, dipping in and around to reduce travel time by eighty percent. It seems that Lord Dytura embraces the idea of a road trip.”
Chloe chuckled and paused. “Wait, don’t ships that size need a crew?”
Ra nodded. “He has provided a crew of four Zowoth. They are the ship’s crew and bodyguards when you walk strange worlds.”
Chloe frowned. “What’s a Zowoth?”
Harwin laughed. “They are a composite society. They started out with a singular surviving warrior race, and now they find warriors, heal them, and bring them into the fold. Male and female, they all fight. Oh, and their original species were green-gold orcs. Seven footers. If you see anyone shorter, it’s an acquisition. ”
“Humans?”
“We won’t know until the ship gets here.
I do know that their society is split. They do have pair bonding, but the females are heavily adorned so as to make their allegiances known at a glance.
Warriors should staff your ship.” Harwin smiled.
“Some of the ladies’ outfits put my royal rigging here to shame.
They also make Skylar’s dance outfit look positively modest.”
Ra grinned. “You did your research.”
“Well, I only have to hold Harran with one hand while he eats. I hate to waste time.”
He chuckled. “I am aware.”
“Yeah, well, if my cousins are going to be spending time with a hostile species, I wanted to know how hostile they were. As long as the females crewing the ships are neutralized, there won’t be an issue. They are scent sensitive.”
Chloe said, “Uh, I am not neutralized.”
“They will take scent swatches and inoculate themselves against you. That way, there will never be a crossing of lines.”
“Oh, nice.” Chloe smiled. “Dytura must have a lot of confidence in my ability to resist orcs.”
Skylar snorted. “He’s a dragon, dude. He is made entirely of confidence.”
Chloe nodded. “Fair enough. He’s in for a lifetime of me barging into the shower after that stunt with the repair unit.”
Harwin coughed. “He might actually enjoy that.”
“Oh. Dang. See, this is why you have to talk things out with friends.”
The ladies laughed, and Ra looked bemused at being inside a group of ladies. Harran began to fuss, and Harwin took him and got him his brunch.
Once that was done, they travelled to the village, and Chloe watched the ghosts tormenting six humans who were sobbing and rocking on the stone.
Chloe knelt next to a woman, who was rocking back and forth, mumbling about Aretta. Chloe looked at the woman and asked, “What did you do to Aretta?”
The woman had glazed eyes as she looked at her. “We needed protection. We needed food. Zelda was so good at hunting, we grabbed Aretta at knifepoint and told Zelda that she would remain safe as long as Zelda did what we asked.”
“Well, that wasn’t smart.”
The woman was defensive. “It worked.”
“Ah, so, since you think it right to use children, you shall not have any until you repent and understand the horror of what you did.” She reached out and touched the woman’s cheek.
Then she looked around and slammed her staff into the ground.
A wave of power crept through the ground, and the folks beset by ghosts froze in place.
“I will let Ra know that I have sterilized a few of his new colonists. Ah, I will mark them.” She tapped the staff again, and a circle of thorns formed a third eye on their forehead. “Now he will know.”
Skylar said, “That is more than I haunted.”
“Just because they weren’t obvious doesn’t mean that they didn’t do some sketchy shit during the time after.” Chloe smiled as the ghosts left, and the marked ones started sobbing.
“Are they just sterile?”
“No, they are neutralized. No desire. No ability. No potency. A repair unit can’t even fix this because I have made it part of their bodies. This is now their natural state, and if they change their way of thinking, the mark and the change will disappear.”
Skylar looked at her. “I thought you were all about encouraging life.”
“I am, but sometimes, to get a healthy plant, you have to prune the dead ends.”
“Wow. Right.”
Chloe looked at her. “You thought this was all about getting things to bloom. Well, it is. And now that the predators have been neutralized, the shyer of creatures have a chance to bloom.”
“Right. So cool.” Skylar grinned. “I think you scared the guardians.”
Chloe looked over at the women in the armoured bodysuits. She waved cheerfully, and one of them laughed. The woman came over. “Hiya. I am Cori.”
“Pleased to meet you, Cori.”
“I don’t suppose you are swinging by Sanctuary Base anytime soon?”
“It’s on our list. Why?”
“I want to visit my half-sister, Trin. And if we have time, can we grab Isolde from the broadcast station that she’s on?”
Skylar laughed. “I am sure we can, as long as we get to the Pericoff world in time for the import of new citizens. She has to be there to make sure the introduction goes smoothly.”
Cori paused. “So, I can come along?”
“You can come along,” Chloe said.
Ra flew toward them and said, “Ladies, your new ship is at the orbiting station.”
Chloe laughed. “Thank you. I have to explain something that I did to some of the colonists. You will need to know.”
He nodded, and she gave him the briefing, including that if they were truly repentant and had empathy for their victims, the mark would disappear and their bodies would resume normal activities.
She paused. “Oh, Lord Ra, do you want any of this area to be green?”
He grinned. “I will have an answer when you return to speak with your cousin again.”
Chloe nodded. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“Your crew is eager to meet you. Please return to the pyramid so that Harwin can say her farewells, and how did you know to make that rattle? Harran loves it.”
She grinned. “All of our family has something of the sort. They are soothing, right? Well, I am going to get back on that skimmer with Skylar and Cori, and we will be there in a few minutes.”
He nodded and took off.