Chapter Nine
Alody looked over at the couple watching Salat and his family. “Damn. Well, at least it means more grandkids for me. I just need to figure out how she was able to carry a baby at all.”
Salmet frowned. “What?”
“We are related to Aluhara. Literally. Cousins. Diena found out how to get pregnant and carry a child to term. Entire cadres of scientists have tried to find that out for Aluhara, and they finally stole the eggs she had managed to get harvested. They used them to make an army of daughters and one son, but none were born to Aluhara, and her children are all mixed and able to age fairly normally.”
A familiar face came in close. “So, your generation is the one that had issues. Is there a reason for it?”
Alody looked at Dr. Torenne and smiled. “Aw, you grew up.”
The good doctor walked to her and hugged her. “I wanted to be just like you when I grew up. I wished a little too hard.”
Alody laughed and hugged the other woman. “You wear it better than I do. Those are great shoes. Mine are safe now.”
Torenne laughed and squeezed. “Katta. I missed you.”
“Missed you, too. This is my son, Ithal. Ithal, this is Torenne. She used to be a little boy and is now an example of glorious activation.”
Ithal stepped forward and extended his hand. “Hello. My mom babysat you?”
Torenne looked down at him, and her face split into a grin. “She did indeed. She was stern, but when the assassins were coming for us, she stood between them and us.”
Ithal’s eyes went wide. “She did?”
“She did. And she also made cookies and told us stories in between.”
“She tells fun stories.” Ithal nodded.
“She really does. Do you like little kids? I can introduce you to Salat and Khytten’s babies and little ones. She babysat him, too.”
Ithal took the hand Torenne held out and walked over to the giggling riot of children.
Alody watched, and he was soon playing tag with the older two.
Jenella said, “Torenne is watching and will take care of him.”
“She always had a nurturing side.” Alody smiled. “Jen, it is so good to see you and Halko again.”
“Yeah. Evali looks pissed.”
“Iron has been her lover and father to her children for decades. She hates to see his expression soften for anyone but her. He and I have only ever been friends.”
Evali’s scowl softened.
“Jen. Open coms?” Alody tutted.
“It still works. Here he comes.”
Iron walked toward her, his arms out for a hug. She sighed and stepped into his arms. The hug was warm; he smelled nice, and he said, “Sorry for Evali.”
She looked up at him. “Don’t be such a fuck head.
You and I are friends, and she’s your wife and the mother of your children.
You genuinely love her, but for some reason, you have been staring at me.
You wouldn’t fit, and I would kill you if you tried.
Are you understanding now? You are not the one for me and never have been.
We are buddies. We fought together. I have never now nor then wanted to sleep with you. ”
He sighed. “I know, but the fantasy was always there.”
“That was due to the attack by that minder. Get your fucking brain examined, you giant moron!”
She pushed him away.
Diena walked up next to her and looked at Iron. She cocked her head. “May I?”
Iron frowned. Diena levitated, put her hand on his forehead, and softly whistled. Iron’s eyes went wide, and he stumbled back.
Evali caught him, and he looked at her and started sobbing.
Diena settled and smiled. “There. It was just a little knot near his attachment centre. He fell for the warrior-nurse fantasy once, and a minder reinforced it. That was all. He’s going to have a nice retirement, and Evali is going to go nuts with the doting attention.”
Alody frowned. “You know how to do that?”
“Yup. In an effort to get me to activate, the capitol instructed me on the workings of twenty common activations. I know how they work.” Diena smiled. “Halko, you may want to let Eskin loose, or he’s going to start sparking up. You don’t look like you can take lightning to the face.”
Alody looked at Eskin, and he was furious. “Oh, the hug.”
He looked at her and nodded.
A crackle of energy moved up and over Alody’s body, and she blinked when her clothing and skin were clean. “Whoa. You have attachment issues, too.”
He nodded. “It has been you since I trained with you.”
“I am not an omega.”
He grinned. “I know. I do not care. I also do not have a knot.”
She exhaled. “There is something I am remarkably cheerful about.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in.
Salmet chuckled. “Okay, so you are staying in town.”
“The academy is already preparing an offer for her as an instructor.”
Salmet grinned. “Really?”
Eskin nodded. “Her cooperation is the hinge to my coming on board for your energy manipulators.”
Alody tried to glare up at him, but it was nice just to cuddle with him. He was warm, and his energy signature was relaxing. She remembered the difference in their ages and tensed, but he stroked her back, and she relaxed again.
Salmet snorted. “I will authorize your posting the moment it hits my desk. You are an amazing healer, and I think the current team candidates could benefit from your skills. And dumbasses like Ekron can use a refresher course.”
Evali laughed. Iron was holding her tight, and Alody slowly turned in Eskin’s arms.
A server from inside said, “Dinner is ready.”
The group of actives and children moved toward the house.
They were deep into dinner when Evali asked Alody, “Your daughter seems to be your clone. What does she do?”
Diena had half a salad dangling from her mouth and grinned.
Alody smiled. “Well, she’s a paralegal; she’s recently worked in the commissary at Z-Corp, was a surrogate for an active family, her activation is the same as mine, oh, and she’s the reigning Lorn empress. So very proud.”
Ithal laughed.
The table went silent.
Salmet gasped, “How?”
Jenaki put another roll onto Diena’s plate. “Trial by combat. She took Maro’s head off.”
Diena finished her mouthful of greens. “The paralegal thing was the hardest, but it got me the best connections.”
Halko asked, “Like who?”
“Caska, Avagail, I already knew Keska. I have been working with them on rotation for the last few years. Filing patents, working on business registrations, that sort of thing. They paid for me to do architecture research on how to construct live ranges and playparks.”
Rico’s eyes bugged out. “Holy shit.”
Salat blinked. “Holy shit.”
She smiled. “Experimenting with the adults meant that designing for the kids went smoother. We just had to scale it down and make it more dangerous.”
Jennela asked, “More dangerous?”
“Sure. Kids are short. Tons of stuff fly over their heads. The new paintball course for ages twelve to eighteen is coming online at the end of the month.” Diena smiled.
“We have to wait for the protective gear. Our supplier is confused by the variety of suits and the quantity we need of each size, but they are doing it.”
Salat leaned over the table. “What are you using?”
“Impact-sensitive, colouring textiles, with enough density to keep a strawberry safe. Full helmet field generation, which will also register a hit.”
Salat whispered to his partner, and she looked at her daughter. Baola said, “Salat wants to know if he can play. I want to see if I can shoot him.”
Diena paused and tapped a finger on the table. “It would require larger suits.”
Salat grinned. “I would bring my own.”
“Nope. These suits count three hits and bind. A transport removes you from the field for safety, so no one can pile on a person who has been taken out.” She smiled.
“Keska has been having fun with this. If you want a custom suit, you order the fabric, and we will take it and the tech and bring it to our manufacturer.”
She got a ping on her wrist, got up, and said, “Please excuse me.”
She walked outside and put up an interference field to stop Jennela from listening.
“Rella, how are the campers?”
“Still there. Half left.”
She paused the call and sent a message to Salat. “Tell Denier that the reapers are about to get crispy.”
“Can you give them five minutes?”
“They had two hours. I will turn the heat up slow.”
“Right. Fair. I am making calls.”
“I am carrying out my word.”
She got Rella back on and said, “Let me know if they move.”
* * * *
Syrella watched as a heat signature began to radiate around the reapers, and they all shot to their feet. “They moved. They jumped up.”
“Okay, another hundred degrees. Let’s see how their boots hold up.”
Syrella chuckled. “Two more gone. Four still standing. They are fidgeting like they have to pee, though. Oh, they all lifted their coms.”
“Okay. Let’s see if they have paper in their pockets.”
Syrella giggled as the heat increased, and the reapers tried to glare at her through the barrier. She held up her hands in surrender. “Not me.” She turned and pointed to the huge statue of the ancient empress on the wall.
Two of them followed her gesture and looked at the fifty-foot woman, nearly naked and covered with markings that represented hundreds of different activations.
“Diena, I am pointing to one of the statues, and to the heated ground. It looks like they are getting it.”
“Good. The next one is going to boil their leathers.”
Syrella pointed to the ground, wiggled her fingers, and jerked her thumb upward. That got them moving.
The spot where they had been camping out was quiet and hot.
“They are gone.”
“Did Avik come out?”
“Nope. She’s still meditating.”
“Oh, good. If she does come out, let me know. It means shit’s going down.”
Syrella nodded and smiled. “I will. I thought they were called off.”
“I think the heat scent overrode the cancelling of the contract. I think they wanted you to trade your life for sex.”
“Oh, that kind of situation. It didn’t work for Maro. Why would it work for a bunch of reaper scouts?” She snorted. “I have gotten used to the freedom of not having to wait for hands on me all the time. I like it here. Wouldn’t mind if Khaskik became my permanent home and all the ladies.”