Chapter Three #2
“Why later?”
“On the first part, you are too tired today. Hot springs need you awake. The second is that no clothing goes into that water, so take that under advisement, the third is because I said so.”
There was a bit of steel in his voice at that last statement, so Trin nodded. “Okay.”
He glanced at her and smiled. “No curiosity?”
“Not worth getting me into trouble for a hot soak. I haven’t had a hot bath in five years. I can wait.”
He frowned. “No?”
“No. There were too many people around, so we bathed in minimal water about twice a week. Lots of snow melt.”
He blinked. “Now I want to take you right there.”
She laughed. “I just want to rest and see my new environment and get a tablet to play with so I can figure out things that I want to replicate.”
“Fair enough. I am just amazed that you don’t flinch from my touch. That is new. My previous companions didn’t enjoy contact at all, so they were assigned, and then they chose their urge to fade.”
Trin looked at him. “Religion?”
They were still walking.
He nodded. “Yes. I had not realized that their people despised me so much.”
“Well, if they are still like that, buy new colonists and assign them to the better lodgings. Take away the rights they think they have just by being born to the social structure in which they exist. What is their military like?”
“Their environment protects them. You are rather brutal.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Nearly two years watching out for shadows around every corner, participating in the organization of our little community, and watching for those who would take our meagre supplies. Some folks still prayed, but since our world was over, religion lost its meaning. Ritual took its place. Daily tasks, daily requirements, meetings, and results. There were a few people who got married, pledging themselves in front of the community. Some babies were born. Some died, and some lived.” She didn’t mention the frantic attempts to make incubators and the vote to save the power.
She had to watch those babies die in their parents’ arms in the depths of winter, and it hurt.
Birun stopped and turned to hug her. Oh, right, psychic.
She pressed her face into his chest and resisted the urge to rub left and right to enjoy the soft texture on his skin. Now wasn’t the time.
She let the hot tears of despair, sorrow, and frustration flow for the first time. He rubbed her back, and they just stood there until she got control of herself.
She sniffled. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You were made helpless by circumstance, and you did what you could.”
She shuddered as he said the words she had needed when the parents screamed at her for breaking down the units according to the popular vote.
“You tried and were outvoted. I am telling you now, it will happen again. I get ten votes to your one because this is my world.”
She chuckled and leaned back, looking up at eyes that were swirling stars in deep space.
“Okay, there is the similarity to Symo again.”
He grinned. “He sounds like an excellent copy of the original.”
“Well, he’s a little bit shorter. Not much but a little.” She stroked his chest. “Do you have patterns under here?”
He grinned. “You will know when we hit the baths.”
She realized that she was petting him and jerked her hands back. “Sorry.”
Birun smiled. “No need to apologize. Ready to continue your walk to your quarters?”
“Yes, please.” She eased away, but he kept an arm around her shoulders. He was soft and fuzzy and warm. She was doomed. She glanced at him, and he had a slight smile on his lips. Yup. Doomed. He laughed.
Her quarters were on the left, down a hall. When the room was keyed to her, it opened, and she blinked. “Oh, pretty.” Pale blue, silver, and ice white. The bed was huge with thick bed hangings to keep warmth in at night.
“That is more of an affectation than a useful feature, but it is pretty. The room works on vocal commands. Lights, bedding, emergency spills. Just say what you need, and bots will be dispatched.”
Trin looked at him. “Thank you. Boss has already infiltrated your systems. Is there soundproofing in the room?”
“No. Why?”
“Um, I have difficulty getting restful sleep. Nightmares. I am apparently fairly loud.”
“My room is through that adjoining door. If you need help, I will be here in a moment.”
She looked at him and swallowed. “Okay, so take sleeping off my list.”
He sighed. “I can just sit with you until you fall asleep. I am still downloading news from the last three centuries. Would that work?”
Trin stared at him. “What?”
“I can stay here with you, or you can come to my room, and I will be there if the terror strikes.”
“You are serious.”
“I am serious. No unwanted or uninvited contact, but you need to feel safe, and there is no place on this planet safer than at my side.”
She blinked. “I am guessing you have a desk or something in your room?”
“Yes.”
“Let me see it. I like an informed choice.”
He nodded and walked to the wall, putting his hand on a glyph that appeared when he got close.
“That’s handy.”
He smiled and took her hand, walking her through the hall that was lit with glyphs and carvings as the light source.
He opened the door on the other side with the same press contact, and she gasped.
The room was walled with glass, the snow and wind, the drifts and the endless stars above. “Oh, wow.”
He chuckled. “Thank you. It is of my own design.”
She walked toward the window and looked around. “Your bedroom is a snow globe but in reverse.”
He frowned, and she provided him with an image of a child shaking a snow globe and watching the tiny village inside. “That is very cute.”
She smiled and saw the large bed swathed in midnight blue. Birun would stand out on it. He certainly couldn’t sneak up to her in it. She would see him coming.
“I just have to get something to sleep in. Where is the nearest clothing generator?”
“In your room.”
She smiled and went to the wall. The item lit up, and she pressed the glyph. She sprinted down the hallway and laughed when she saw a long-sleeved but pretty nightgown coming into being in the fabricator.
It chimed, and she took the dress and returned to Birun’s room. He had settled at his desk and was going through files on his screen. She had the fabric in front of her. “Bathroom?”
He gestured to the left, and she skittered over to the bathroom. She used the lav, washed her face, scrubbed her teeth with her finger, braided her hair, and then draped her suit in the cleaning unit. With her toes cooling as she crossed the warm floor, she said, “Can I just crawl into bed?”
Birun turned, paused, and nodded slowly. “Do you always dress to sleep?”
“I get cold, so yes.”
He nodded. “Fair. You can just crawl in and get some sleep. I can drop the light to seventy-five percent.”
Trin peeled the bedding back, scooted in, and sat up. “Yes, please.”
He spoke in soft Hmrain, and the lights dimmed. “Rest well, Trin.”
She looked at him with the white feathers and soft hide gleaming in the dimness.
She wiggled down in the bed, pulled a pillow into the right configuration, and focused on thinking of all the foods she missed and how she could put them together.
Chemistry was one thing, but programming the difference between a bun and a pickle was halfway to a cheeseburger.
She smiled and burrowed further under the blankets. She was warm, it smelled good, and she was full. It was the perfect recipe for sleep.
* * * *
Birun waited until her breathing was even then picked up the extra blanket he had made for her and slowly draped it over her. Her breathing slowed, and she sighed.
He smiled and returned to his desk. He was chatting with Symo and learning how complicated these ladies could be. Bailey was going to make a list of recipes she had already managed to recreate for others of their kind manually. It was one of her many hobbies.
This sudden spurt of Terrans and Hmrain unions was going to make a sharp uptick for both populations and result in a new round of very powerful second-generation Hmrain.
Birun had been surprised by the stats on the children. Kethen, Etska, Ra, Usath, and even Rath counted themselves in the rankings of those who had Terran partners and children who were nearly as strong as pure Hmrain, only shorter.
The energizing of more distant Hmrain was also a surprise. One third-generation male had manifested spirit wings, and another second-gen born without wings had received a serious boost in power.
He looked over at Trin and smiled. He could imagine what she was capable of, and she just needed a little freedom to do so.
Her mind was bright, and with a bit of nutrition and concentration, she would be able to reach out when she wanted to.
That was the joy of a sparsely populated planet.
Practicing psychic skills meant no one got hurt.
He checked on his other worlds and pondered Trin’s suggestion.
Pericoffs had needed a world, and he had obliged them.
They had seemed calm, feathered, easy to feed, and well-mannered.
When they realized that he expected a consort, they were appalled and held a lottery.
The first companion died, and then they had a second lottery.
That one also ended in tragedy, so he gave up on getting what he needed from them.
He used the satellite to see how far they had expanded during his sleep, and the city hadn’t changed a bit. They were still farming the same land and living in the same city. He checked the population, and he blinked. They were down seventy-five percent.
He wanted to curse but didn’t want to wake Trin, so he contacted the governor, the comptroller, and the mayor of the city, as well as the head of medicine. He needed to get an answer as to why the population was collapsing.
Hours must have passed because he felt flashes of panic from Trin. He got up and knelt at her side, touching her hair and whispering that she was safe, she was protected. The shivering and twitching eased, and the images of shadows approaching and grabbing at her faded.
He kissed her temple, and she snuffled softly before wiggling further under the covers. She had hours to go before her body was rested, but he would remain nearby in case the shadows returned.
Birun looked at her and then returned to his desk.
This feeling. This is what having a companion was supposed to feel like.
Happy and anticipation. He felt a deeply protective streak, and she was appreciating it.
That was astonishing and made him want to rush the contract.
Her feelings when he held her were intrigued and bordering on lust. He just needed to be patient, and she would put herself across the border. He could hardly wait.
He sighed and continued his correspondence with his other worlds.
There were nine other worlds in this system, and four were occupied.
He set about contacting the other four and slowly began to increase the temperature around Sanctuary Base.
Not enough to melt the snow, but enough to keep the air from killing.
On the other side of the world, the ice was already melting, but this base would remain locked in the ice.
His new companion liked snow, so he would give her snow.