Chapter Six
Margo was back in the pilot’s chair after breakfast, and Gertrude dropped the block on the coms. “Array, this is the vessel containing your sister, and we are ready to transport you to Sanctuary Base, where your other sister and her Hmrain await.”
“Wow. That’s cool. Who are you?” The voice was cheerful.
“Margo. Zowoth warrior grade three with pilot training.”
The woman at the array said, “Where did you go after the station?”
“I was stolen and dumped in a fighting station. They wanted to know what it took to kill humans. Some died fast, some slow, and some disappeared. There were three humans who made it to the highest ranking, but the female disappeared after a fight with a giant something-or-other. Too bad. She was a lot of fun.”
“That’s what I heard. Are you coming in now?”
“Yup. We are going to be there in a few minutes. Are you ready to travel?”
“Oh, yeah. I have some luggage that I need a hand with. Can your crew help with that?”
“Definitely.”
“Excellent. I am not supposed to move stuff right now.”
“Are you ill?”
“Nothing that won’t be sorted in a few months. Slow recovery.” The woman’s voice chortled. “See you in a few.”
Gertrude said, “I am having trouble getting through the signals the array is putting out.”
“No problem. I could parallel park when I was twelve.” She chuckled. “And I got a solid seventy-five on my pilot’s exam. Out of two hundred.”
“Excellent. Good thing we can all cram in the backup vehicle. It will be snug but should be entertaining.” Gertrude laughed.
“Right. Going in. Look, ma, no hands.” She used the manual controls and got them lined up and eased forward. They glided in, and she settled them in the cradle that was waiting for them.
She set them down and gave a “Woo!” The guys nearly collapsed from relief.
“Oh, breathe. Now come on. From what I heard in her voice, the cargo is gonna be heavy.”
Baket blinked. “How can you be so cheerful?”
“Two orgasms and a good night’s sleep. Does wonders for the mood.”
Arven said, “So, you weren’t joking.”
“I was not. Active sex drive and no outlets would be unpleasant. Fortunately, I can manage things myself. I just go to the recreation spaces for a deep tissue massage. I still prefer to be touched.”
Soven stared at her as she got out of the pilot’s seat. “So, you were mocking him?”
“No. Was completely truthful. He was asking the wrong questions.” She smiled brightly and skipped down the hall toward the cargo hatch.
She checked that the array shields were holding and lowered the hatch. She whistled and walked onto the cargo bay for the array as the other three were behind her. Chloe and Skylar were still asleep.
Cori sprinted past her and toward one of the loading docks. Margo chuckled. “Either she saw someone she knows, or she has to pee.”
Laughter floated in the air behind her. When a figure moved in the shadows behind Cori, cloaked arms rose, and Cori hugged it, spinning her around.
Margo grinned. “I think she knows the creature.”
They walked up to the couple who were crying and holding each other. Cori sobbed and stroked the other woman’s face.
Margo said, “So, you have met.”
Cori laughed. “Margo, this is my elder sister, Isolde. Issy, this is the pilot of our as-yet-unnamed ship. Behind her are the other three males who were hired to crew the ship. They are Zowoth.”
Isolde chuckled. “Orcs.”
Baket sighed. “If that is what your people call us, Zowoth, orcs, we are them.”
Margo looked at the giant med unit that Isolde was leaning on. “Is this it?”
Isolde nodded. “I just unplugged it. It has an hour before it needs to be powered again.”
“What’s in it?” Margo asked. “I haven’t seen one this size before.”
“My best friend. She just needs some more time to help with her radiation issue.” Isolde touched the machine. “She’s been giving me all kinds of tips about the baby.”
Margo looked at the long tube. “What’s her name?”
Isode and Cori turned toward the ship and walked slowly. “Geri.”
Margo paused. “Of course it is.” She looked at the guys. “Does someone want to give me a hand with this?”
Her crew came around, and they lifted the unit up. Margo remembered Aken-Var’s casual strength, and she shook her head. She shrugged and walked after the woman and her sister, catching the pregnant roll to her step and understanding.
She asked the guys, “How are Zowoth around pregnant women?”
The three came to a sudden halt. Baket asked, “Why?”
“Not me, you idiots. Isolde. She’s moving like she’s halfway along.”
They all sighed in relief, and she snorted before laughing. They walked on.
Ten minutes later, they were in the med bay, and the unit was humming back to life.
Gertrude’s voice said, “Oh, thank goodness. I forgot where I was. Now we are together, and I can see if I need a manicure.”
Margo froze. “Gertrude, this is you?”
“Yeah. You called me Geri when we met. You said Gertrude was too fucking formal, and it was your hated grandmother’s name.”
Margo touched the casing. “Damn, Geri. You have put on weight.”
“You are not kidding. I can tell the story from anywhere, so you can back us out of here and head for Sanctuary Base. I am still not confident to get through the field without denting a fender.”
Margo patted the case and headed for the command deck. She settled into the pilot’s seat and elevated the vessel slowly before sending a signal to the array. The field behind them released, and they eased out of the station. The moment she was free, she set course for Sanctuary Base.
She put a signal out and said, “Sanctuary Base, this is the vessel transporting Cori and Isolde, as well as Chloe and Skylar. We are en route and will be there in twenty hours.”
A low male voice said, “This is Boss of Sanctuary Base. Birun and Trin will be notified when they rise. They have both been making baby things. They are excited to have family with them.”
“Good. I am delighted to be transporting it.”
Gertrude said, “She has orcs. Actual orcs.”
Margo sighed. “They are called Zowoth, and they aren’t orcs. They are a different species.” She rubbed the spot between her brows. She sighed. “Right. On our way.”
She made sure they were on the way and that the path wouldn’t take them through occupied space, and then she stretched.
Baket asked, “Okay, what the fuck is an orc?”
Margo grinned. “Mythical being. Looks a lot like a Zowoth-natural.” She looked through the archive that the computer was equipped with.
“These are some images of orcs depicted by artists of my people. They are all using a basic descriptor, but these are romance novels. They all feature them as well.”
She watched the fascination in their eyes with tall orcs clasping delicate human women of differing hues.
Soven asked, “There were a lot of these images?”
“I think about three percent of the surviving female population were exposed to the images, if not the very graphic stories.”
Arven looked at her. “Graphic how?”
“Those are romances. Tiny females, strapping males, and sex under tense circumstances, and then more sex and more.”
Baket laughed. “It sounds like a ship settled and left an impression.”
“It does sound like that. The trickles of the myth were localized and before we had any imaging technology.” Margo smiled. “Do you want to see the fan images? It’s kind of like hand-drawn porn.”
Arven said, “How bad could it be?”
She laughed and brought up the images. Sweating, gleaming skin, couples locked together, and post-coital dripping.
Baket blinked. “How did they imagine that?”
“Oh, my people have imagined things that would chalk your skin.” She grinned.
“It’s also how we got through our world ending.
We don’t have nine outposts and other colonies.
We don’t have links with the Mathor, who would aid us if it happened.
We sat, and we began to die, and that gives you a lot of time to imagine how you would get away from the horrors.
Your mind becomes your best friend, and for others, it was its worst enemy.
We did what we could to get through, and some of us got to safety only to be thrown into danger again.
And we just got the hang of that danger, and then we were somewhere new again. ” Margo chuckled. “We are complicated.”
Arven was staring, and he whispered, “Margo, can you remove the images. They are hard to look away from.”
Baket nodded, “And you are right, Mathor would help.”
She froze. “Mathor. Fucking hell. Geri?”
“Yes, my treasure?”
“Did you get turned into a Mathor?”
“Oh, you are quick. You are really smart, despite the appearance.”
“So, how tall are you?”
“Seven feet of golden-skinned goodness. Covered with tattoos, too.”
“Cool. How long are you in there?”
“Another ten hours. How high are the ceilings?”
“You have about two feet to spare. Just don’t jump.”
“Cool.”
“What happened?”
“Do you remember my last fight?”
“Uh, do you mind the guys listening in?”
“No, I am good. Anyway, the last one was a personal challenge, and if I won, I would get my freedom, and if the big twit won, he would get a night with me with a restriction on damage.”
“Okay. What happened?”
“I didn’t win, but he wanted a fairly even coupling, so since I register as genetic Play-Doh, I was given Mathor genetics, and I was boosted in height to about seven feet tall.
They used arena equipment, and that left me with a high radiation signature, so while my new designer was having lunch with some arena investors, I fucked off.
Stole a ship and flew as far as I could manage.
I ran into Isolde, who had just gotten dosed and ended up pregnant.
I flew her to the array, and I went to sleep while my mind took over computers around the system, including this vessel.
That was fun. The last few months with Chloe and Skylar have been exciting. ”
“I can imagine. You can split your mind?”
“Of course. It came with the gene jump.”
“Did they ask you if you wanted to be transformed?” Margo asked quietly.