Mika
I woke up to the smell of ginger. No, not just ginger. It smelled like the ginger candy my aunt made when I was young. I loved that smell. It made me smile even before I opened my eyes.
I was a little confused when all I saw was a metal wall with various medical devices hanging from it. Recent events all came back to me in a rush. The warm, happy feeling was gone, replaced with anxiety.
Sitting up in a rush, I found Nadia sound asleep in her incubator and Mazorium in his usual chair, reading something on his Ident. He looked up at me and made the wheels-bumping-over-uneven-ground rumble of inquiry.
“Are you well? Does something hurt?” he asked, sitting forward and clipping his Ident back on his belt with practiced ease.
I shook my head, then remembered he probably didn’t know what that meant. “I’m fine.”
Purring, he leaned in close. The smell of sweet ginger got stronger. “Then why did you gasp when you sat up?”
“I was a little disoriented," I admitted.
“And that caused distress? Understandable,” he said. He opened his arms up, as if inviting me into a hug. “Do you need to clutch or cling to me?”
“I’m fine,” I repeated, even though the thought of getting a hug from him sounded nice. Then the weight of the collar around my neck reminded me that he wasn’t a friend, he was my owner.
Dropping his arms, he sat back. “You slept well. It’s almost time to leave for my ship.”
I had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, being on his ship meant I wouldn’t be running into anymore Tulks. Unfortunately it also meant I’d be alone with Mazorium. He’d been nothing but good to me, but what would happen if he suddenly got tired of having me or Nadia around?
Babies were loud, fussy, creatures. They couldn't help it. Would Mazorium understand that?
“Sir?” One of the med techs walked up with a large bag in her hand. “We have everything you’ll need to see to the humans’ continued healing. It’s important you follow our instructions or we can’t guarantee the results.”
“Of course,” he agreed without taking the bag. “Have that sent to my ship.”
The tech turned and walked away without another word. Another tech stepped up and came to a stop next to Mazorium. “All we need is for you to go to the kiosk at the front and read through the conclusion of service agreement. After that, you’re free to leave.”
Mazorium stopped purring as he looked at the kiosk. “I should be able to do that from any information square; this isn’t efficient.”
Despite his grumbling, he stood up and strode to the kiosk.
The moment he was out of earshot, the tech leaned over and pretended to examine the readout on the display next to the bed.
“I included extra milk balls in your pack and basic health needs common for humans,” she whispered.
“There are multiple packets of several kinds of analgesics. I thought you’d need those the most. I included antibiotics and antivirals and they both have test strips.
Make sure to use them before taking the medications.
If you can, get to the bag and hide those items away.
I don’t think he’d deny you care if you get sick, but you never know.
Nothing I’ve given you will transmit to the child if you start producing milk again. ”
I was touched. The tech couldn't help me escape, but she was trying to make my captivity a little safer.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
To my surprise, the tech held out a small carved figure on a thin chain. “This is Hulmar. She guards caregivers and children. I know you aren’t Doringo, but maybe she’s a generous deity.”
It was such a sweet gesture it made tears gather in my eyes. “How do I pray to her?
“You hold her in your hands and whisper to her,” the tech explained, demonstrating as she spoke. “Only ask for things like health and safety. She isn’t a deity of wealth or pleasure. She’s a deity of simple joys.”
I nodded. “I never expect anything more than simple joys.”
We both seemed to hear Mazorium walking back at the same time, and she quickly unfurled the chain, put it over my head, and helped me tuck it under my clothes. Once that was done, she straightened up and hurriedly walked away.
“It’s time to leave,” Mazorium announced. He opened the incubator and looked down at Nadia, then stepped back. “You will cradle her to your chest.”
I slipped off the bed and picked Nadia up. She fussed a little, then settled right back down. Amazing what a full belly and a fresh everclean suit can do for a baby’s contentment!
“Good. Now keep her secured,” he said.
I wanted to retort that I’d never drop Nadia, but then Mazorium was bending his knees and scooping the two of us up. I gasped but didn’t loosen my hold on Nadia.
“Are you comfortable?" he asked once I was settled against his chest.
“Comfortable?” I questioned. Was he planning to carry me all the way to his ship?
“Yes, comfortable. Does this position put any painful pressure on your body?” he elaborated.
“Uh, no,” I answered. Honestly, he was so warm and solid. It felt good to be cradled against this body. It reminded me of when I fell asleep on the bed between his legs. I knew I shouldn’t develop feelings for the guy who owned me, but it was hard considering recent events.
He started purring. “Inform me if you feel any discomfort. I’m going to walk quickly because I want us off this station.”
Without another word to any of the techs, he turned on his heels and left the medical bay.
He wasn’t joking about being in a rush. His long stride moved us quickly down the thoroughfare.
I watched stores, carts, and faces pass by in a rush.
There were several things I would’ve liked to get a better look at, but I kept quiet.
Soon we were at the docks. My nose was assaulted by a myriad of nasty smells.
Livestock bleated and cried out in distress as they were moved from place to place.
Crates of wilted vegetables were stacked high near a ship while several Tulks argued prices.
Automatic carriers and bots rushed all over the place, shifting goods from ship to ship.
It was as I remembered from when I was brought on board the station. But I didn’t expect to feel a wave of panic tighten my chest and make it hard to breathe.
The only thing that kept me from falling into a complete panic attack was Mazorium’s purring.
The sound and vibrations coming from his chest were soothing and helped ground me.
I wasn’t being sold again. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me and Nadia, but at least I knew Mazorium wanted us to be comfortable.
I was shocked that Nadia slept through all the noise. Soon Mazorium was striding up a short ramp and into a sleek ship. The noises and smells abruptly cut off when the hatch slid shut behind us. There were stacks of items on either side of the hatch, filling a good deal of the biolock area.
“I’m going to secure you in our room, then I need to stow these items and navigate out of the station,” he explained as he stepped through the second hatch into the main section of the ship.
His footfalls rang out as he walked the corridor. The doors we passed were all open, so I caught glimpses of the rooms we walked by. One room was full of sophisticated equipment. Another was full of different types of bots. Some of them even looked like they were meant to go under water.
There was a fully outfitted galley and another room full of nothing but storage boxes. The words written on them weren’t in Universal or any other language I could read.
Finally we entered an obvious bedroom. As with the rest of the ship, there wasn’t any color or decorations here, but there were all the necessary comforts: a large bed, table, chairs, and a workstation were set into the walls.
There was another door which I assumed was a cleansing and elimination room.
He bent over to set me gently on the bed, close to the bare metal headboard attached to the wall.
“Remain here while I build you a nest,” he said, opening hidden cupboards and pulling out pillows and blankets.
One cupboard had a thin pad that he laid out first. After some fiddling, it puffed up with a whoosh.
After the pad was fluffy, he arranged pillows all around the edge, then laid a blanket over all of it.
Finally, he added several more pillows and blankets to the inside of the circle.
It was actually a nest. He’d created a human-sized nest, and in all honesty, it looked wonderful.
“There,” he said, straightening up and staring down at it. “That should do until we visit a Talin station and can buy better blankets and pillows for you.”
Better? That looked like the softest, fluffiest bed I’d ever seen!
Fatigue washed over me. Even with the sleep I’d gotten in the medical bay, I was still tired. I had a lot of sleep to make up for, and Nadia would probably wake up soon wanting another feeding.
“Thank you,” I said, standing up from his bed and stepping into the nest. I didn’t have any shoes; I'd lost those when the auctioneer had grabbed me and Mazorium hadn’t replaced them. It wasn't a problem yet because he carried me everywhere. I’d need to figure something out, but later.
Right now the nest was calling to me.
He was still purring as I settled into the nest. I moved a few things around to give Nadia some space where she couldn’t pull a pillow over her head by accident. Then I tugged one of the soft blankets over myself and arranged a few pillows.
“This is nice,” I mumbled.
The purring got louder and the scent of sweet ginger got stronger. Mazorium was leaning over me. I should’ve opened my eyes and interacted with my owner, but I couldn’t get my lids to lift.
“Rest, my human,” he whispered, tucking the blanket around me. “I’m going to keep the ship’s comms open, so if you wake and I’m not here, all you need to do is call out for me. As soon as the ship is on course, I’ll come back to check on you.”
I had the urge to reach out and tuck his hand against me instead of the pillow I was hugging.
I tried to tell him I understood but sleep claimed me. I didn’t even hear him leave the room.
Mazorium
I couldn’t believe how adorable my human was. She had to be the best human ever! She was calm, sweet, and a wonderful dam to her cub. She liked the nest I’d built her, even though the blankets weren’t as soft as they should be.
Unclipping my Ident, I took a few image captures. These images would do for now, until I could get a better image capture device. Leaning in close, I got a few of Nadia’s adorable face too. She looked so peaceful in sleep. Both of them did.
It was hard, but I fought the urge to join the two of them in the nest. If I curled my larger body around Mika, between her and the pillowed edge of the nest, I could’ve fit. Maybe later, if she was in distress, I could join her.
I was taking a few more image captures when my Ident chimed. My ship’s launch window was open. I needed to get the ship moving now or wait for the next window.
Reclipping my Ident, I rushed from the room, moving with care to keep from making noise. Once in the corridor, I sprinted to the command room. I’d never felt so impatient as I did waiting for the automated system to move the ship out of the docks and into the exit corridor outside the station.
“You’re outside the interior zone,” one of the ship coordinators told me over the comm. “You can open your engine ports and begin your exit burn. You have seven standard units to distance yourself from the station. We wish you a good journey and thank you for docking at our station.”
I responded with a polite reply, tapping on the display attached to the command chair.
Because the room doubled as a coordination room for when I deployed the survey bots, there were massive displays on two of the four walls.
I didn’t bother to turn any of them on. I wasn’t interested in seeing the space outside the ship or watching the station grow smaller as we moved further away.
All I wanted was to get back to my humans.
The moment the ship was outside the control zone of the station and set on course to the nearest Talin station, I rushed back to my sleeping quarters. Actually, that was our sleeping quarters now!
Mika and Nadia were still sound asleep. Seeing them made my heart calm and a wave of contentment washed over me.
I sank down to sit on the floor next to their nest. There were more chores to do, but they could wait. Watching my humans sleep was more important.
No, I wasn’t watching Mika and her cub sleep, that would be illogical. I was stationing myself in a place where I could comfort her if she woke up disoriented or panicked. It was my duty to care for these humans, and I was determined to be the best owner possible.
No humans would ever be as content and happy as mine!