Chapter Eight
Margo watched the shuttle returning. Everyone had gone down to the surface to introduce the new citizens with some defenders that Birun had arranged. Cori had been offered a place at Sanctuary Base as a permanent posting with regular visits to the Pericoff settlement.
The shuttle snugged into the ship, and when everything was sealed, Margo began the glide back to Sanctuary Base.
Birun walked onto the command deck and said, “We are heading home?”
“We are. How did Isolde like the Pericoffs?”
“They are now the Neewah. They are a blending people. Their histories are being recorded by the sociologist and anthropologist we brought. The guardians defend them, and the tree is offering fruit to anyone who wants it. Isolde is what Trin calls touched out. The baby got people very excited, and then they began to take some of the fruit that Chloe asked the tree to ripen. After that, couples disappeared quickly.”
Margo whistled. “Wow. Well, hopefully, it’s a successful endeavour. Are you going to create a monitoring settlement?”
He chuckled. “We are. I have recruiters lining up and prefabricated homes being designed. Trin is enjoying the project.”
“Well, if you want to use this vessel, Chloe is the person to ask. It’s hers.” Margo smiled as she increased speed. “Well, technically, it’s Dytura’s.”
“It is a lovely ship. I will ask Orex if he has a ship and crew available.”
“The ship is amazing. Make sure your pilot or gunner has enough time to get the calibration right. The headache from the connection can last for days.”
Birun frowned. “From the guns?”
“Yes.”
“You should not have been able to use them.”
“Well, I hate it when people tell me what I can and cannot do.”
He sighed. “I am making some guesses about Terrans, and you are mostly keeping to them.”
“Oh, if you get a ship from Orex, be warned that the tech is a target to raiders, which is funny considering that everything on this ship is locked to authorized users only. Anyone trying to break in will get a very nasty surprise.”
Birun nodded. “Right. Something to consider.”
She nodded. “Sanctuary in six hours.”
“Excellent. Trin is asking Isolde all kinds of pregnancy questions. Some of the answers are interesting.”
“They tend to be. No two pregnancies are the same.”
Birun paused. “You have children?”
She smiled and repeated the information he already knew. “One. She died after the impact. Skylar has her. Delia.”
“How old was she?”
“Twenty-one.”
Birun looked at her. “How old are you?”
“Over fifty. I had her when I was twenty-six.”
He stared at her. “You do not look to be halfway through your lifespan.”
“Chloe has been tinkering. I think my currently life span is close to three hundred years.”
“Ah. That explains it.”
She smiled, and he left as she sat and fiddled with coordinates and estimates on how to get from Sanctuary Base to Orexi. With the optimal conditions, the drive could get them there in thirty-six hours.
She remained in the chair for the trip back to Sanctuary. Her time as host was done. This was Chloe’s vessel, and she just worked for her. Margo just wished she could shake this headache.
* * * *
Chloe was about to get in her shuttle when a hand gripped her wrist. Delia was standing there, and she whispered, “Something’s wrong with Mom.”
Chloe whirled and ran for the command deck. “Med deck, prep for incoming.”
When she arrived, the space was silent, and slumped in the pilot’s seat, Margo was motionless.
Delia was calling, “Mom! Wake up.”
Margo’s bloody eyes cracked open. “Delia. Don’t cry, baby. I just have a headache.”
Geri walked in, picked Margo up, and walked her toward the med deck.
Chloe said, “Where are the guys?”
Margo muttered, “They need to eat. Guys like that, you gotta feed every day.”
Chloe looked at her, and blood was coming out of her eyes, ears, and nose. She took her hand, but her senses told her there wasn’t anything wrong.
Geri got her to the med unit and settled her, fixing the settings. “Well, that would explain that. Margo, you are going in under a fusion setting. You good with that?”
“All systems are go. So go.” Margo chuckled weakly.
Geri smiled and closed the unit, hitting the start button.
Geri sighed. “Right, so someone put her in there on the wrong setting. It was set for Zowoth. It tried to play the match game with similar organs. The result was not good.”
“But she feels right.”
“Because she’s fine, if she’s a Zowoth, and she’s fine if she’s a Terran. You were looking at her system as a whole, not two parts. I was spliced in the same way. Good call, Delia.”
Delia was trembling. “All of a sudden, our connection went weak. She felt like this right after the firefight.”
Chloe went to a terminal, and she checked the display. “Aken-Var took her and put her in the unit. I am fairly sure he wasn’t thinking clearly. Baket’s expression looks terrified.”
“How did you know it was Aken-Var?”
Delia looked. “He smoothed the hair away from her forehead and lifted her like she didn’t weigh anything. Plus, he looks like he wants to cry or punch something.” She looked at the unit. “What’s the machine doing?”
“It is taking the Zowoth genes that it has on record and fusing them to Terran. She’s going to be in here for a few days.”
Chloe looked at Geri. “How long did we want to stay at Sanctuary?”
“A week?”
Chloe grinned. “Fine, let’s see if there is a place on the surface to park this beast, and the guys can have some recreation, and we can push this unit into the base and keep Margo healing.”
Delia put her hand on the unit. “I am staying with you, Mom. You aren’t going to shake me that easily.”
Chloe smiled. “Stay with her. I will make sure Skylar keeps you going.”
Delia nodded, and Chloe went to talk to Birun. When she explained things, he contacted Boss, and the ship would fit. Boss just had to have an hour to move the other ships around.
Chloe headed to the command deck and explained what had happened.
Baket asked, “Will she be all right?”
Chloe asked, “Does he call you, or do you just jump in, Aken-Var?”
“I have been watching through his eyes. Will she be all right?”
“Yes, we have a unit designed to fuse two species together. Since her transformation was halted due to the machine thinking it was finished, she has to go back for another round.”
“But she will be all right.”
“Her brain is hemorrhaging, and the pressure is getting an outlet through her ears, eyes, and nose. The first treatment began to move the circulatory system in her brain, and it wasn’t done yet when she forced the machine open and got out.”
Aken-Var gasped. “What?”
“Yeah. You aren’t trapped in the things. You can get out if you want to, and Margo wanted to.”
“She came out covered in blood.” He was stunned.
“Correct. The unit removes all outer traces.”
Birun came in and said, “Oh, hey, Aken-Var. You must be nearby.”
“I am.”
“Did you want to see the base? We have it expanded, and we have a wide selection of Terran foods now. They are an acquired taste, but they make the Terrans so happy. Trin kept me in bed for two days when I managed to replicate coffee and something called hot chocolate.”
Aken-Var grinned. “I would love to see the base.”
“I thought you might.”
Chloe looked at Birun. “You are setting her up?”
“They are already lovers. His people were assholes to her, and she took action. Now, they need to come to an agreement. That is why Hmrain use contracts. Everything is very clear.”
Aken-Var paused. “Contracts. Could I see an example?”
“Certainly. I have mine and Trin’s. All you need to do is come down to the surface and wait for your lady to wake. Her colouration will probably have changed.”
“Do you have room for a small shuttle?”
“The area around the base is now cold but not deadly. You can land on the tarmac and be just fine. You and two guards should be just fine. I will have quarters for you.”
“Thank you, Birun.”
“I do warn you, if you successfully court Margo, one Terran brings others, like a magnet. Your home will be filled with them in rotation.”
Aken-Var looked around. “It doesn’t seem so bad.”
“You can’t predict them. They save etiquette lessons for last, and their food is odd, but when they laugh, your heart gets bigger, and when their joy spills over, there is nothing like it.”
Aken-Var nodded. “I know. We are en route.”
Birun chuckled. “I will be alert for your shuttle request. She is safe for now. We are moving her repair unit into the base as soon as we land.”
Chloe said, “I will get Geri to land this thing. She’s not the pilot, Margo is, but we should get down with minor turbulence.”
Birun chuckled. “I hadn’t considered that complication.”
Geri came in and perched on the command seat. “Right. Into the hangar we go. I haven’t actually had to fly something this big before. Pardon my turbulence.”
Chloe chuckled. “Watch your diet.”
Geri snorted, and she began to lower them through the atmosphere. Baket was sitting back and saying, “That is becoming less fun.”
Birun looked at him. “It is painful?”
“More emotional load. He’s fixated on her well-being and is frustrated that he can’t touch her.”
Birun frowned, and he checked something on his com unit. “Oh, your species is like that.”
Baket grimaced. “Yes. We are like that. He’s never been fixed on a single partner before, and the emotions are intense.”
The sensors broadcast onto the screens, and Geri moved them through the layers surrounding the planet, easing them toward the hangar.
“Lady, allow me to steer your ship into the hangar. Wouldn’t do to dent a fender.”
“Okay. Thanks, Boss.”
“My reputation precedes me.”
“Trin talks of little else. She does have to work on your voice. Way too sexy for a computer.”
Birun chuckled, and the same voice said, “That’s my job.”
Chloe grinned, and then she laughed. The ship was magnetically towed into a position inside the hangar. It was a very snug fit.
Everyone got together and pushed the unit containing Margo out of the ship and across the hangar floor.