Chapter Four #2
Birun smoothed his hands over her back. “Yvetorskia is not a first-gen Hmrain; she is second-gen and a third daughter. She wanted money, and Zoey could make it happen. She has created a structure where Zoey cannot escape. She is the moneymaker, and finally, Yvetorskia has the respect of her siblings. Her coffers are as full as theirs are, but she wants more. That is when Zoey started drying out. It has only been two weeks. She has not suffered much damage, but she is looking forward to the rescue. Ra has confirmed that the launch will happen in four hours. The equipment is arranged, and she will not have any discomfort once they get her settled.”
“When will that be?”
“Three days. Ra’s ships are fast. There is going to be no doubt that Zoey is being removed and that Ra has a right to take her somewhere safe.”
He kept one arm around her and tapped at the screen. “Ah. Zell has volunteered his ship. He was in the area, and Nebel had some courier ships. All are going to have Daughters of Geb in them, dressed as guardians of Aten. They might be able to shave a day off.”
“Why Zell?”
“Oh, he is the partner of a Terran named Sage.”
She leaned back and blinked. “Big red dude, tail?”
“Just so.”
“Oh, okay. Bailey told me about him.”
“What did she say?”
“That he needed to be smacked over the head with a newspaper to realize that a Terran isn’t a Zellic. We actually like being touched and held.”
He looked at her and smiled. “I am getting that hint.”
She looked down, and she was still holding him. “Oh. I am so—”
“Don’t say sorry. You can make free with me. I can take it.” He smiled.
Trin blushed. “Um, well, you seem sturdy enough.”
He leaned toward her and kissed her neck. “Thank you. Do you want a tour to distract you?”
She nodded and flexed her toes when the caress tickled her. Trin relaxed against him for an instant and then blinked and sat up. “Oh, that was too easy.”
Birun grinned. “It is good to know.” He set her on her feet and got up to walk with her. “First, the oxygen farm and then your workshop. And then lunch and back to the workshop.”
Trin laughed. “I think you have figured me out.”
“I am getting there.”
“I really can touch you at any time? I mean, not while you are carrying something heavy. That would be rude.”
He smiled. “Thank you for your sensibility.” They walked through the wide halls that now made sense.
He could fly indoors if he wanted to. That was why the halls were so very wide. He kept a hand on her back as they walked, and he made small circles with his fingertips.
“If you keep that up, I am going to go down for a nap.” She grimaced. “Right here.”
His fingers paused. “Is it the circles?”
“It is the circles. I had to find ways to force myself to sleep in a cave full of other people. I use circles on my temples, neck, and shoulders. It took twenty minutes, but I could knock myself out that way. Your fingertips are at neck and shoulders.”
He shifted his hand so that it covered her upper hip and waist. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you. You are the one who would end up carrying me to some place so you wouldn’t trip on me.”
Birun laughed. “You say that like you are heavy.”
“Oh. Right. I guess I’m not.”
“You say that like it is a discovery.”
“Um, my grandpa always said I was a tank. He got me to do a lot of the heavy lifting.”
“Why?”
“Because he couldn’t?”
“I see.”
They walked slowly down a long hall that had several large doors on either side.
“If it is just you here, why is this place so big?”
“This is a seed base. The world has been hydrated via chemical reaction. The snow fell, covering the surface. The temperature got to the point where it would kill most bacteria, and now, I have begun to wake the world.”
“What?”
“Wake the world. This is a new world, and it needs plants and trees, then animals in the sea, animals on the land, and insects. The process will take three hundred years or more.”
She stared. “Wow. Talk about a patient hobby. What do you do with the world when it’s ready?”
“I stay here as overlord. If we have children, the eldest may take over the directing of the world or any others.”
“There are other worlds?”
“Yes. Ten worlds in this system. Seventeen in the system next to us. They are all under my guardianship.”
She smiled. “I am impressed you can take a nap for a few centuries.”
“Planets are not like pets. Once they are occupied and running, they take care of themselves.”
“Right. That must be satisfying. Raising little worlds until they are ready to go off on their own.”
He chuckled. “The first seventeen are heavy worlds. They have different needs than medium-gravity worlds do.”
“I can imagine. So, you are really heavy then.”
“No. I just have tissue density.” He smiled. “I can do short spans through space if necessary. My structure was designed on those of the world builders.”
“The who?” She glanced at him as they walked toward a huge wall of glass.
“Before the Hmrain, there were the builders. The Ap’lo.
They do their work in a dimension just to the side of this one.
They make the worlds to replace the ones that die, the ones that burn, and like yours, the ones that break.
It takes thousands of years, and their environment is terrifying to our thoughts.
Fire and stone, radiation and light. They were crafted to shape it all.
Even the assessors never set foot in their territory. ”
“Do they have companions, too?”
“Not that we are aware of. They would have to be treated for radiation resistance to even get close to them.”
“Ah. Right. That is one thing my people aren’t born with.”
“So, best you stay away from gateways to their worlds.”
“I don’t see how I could get there.”
“Don’t look into it. You wouldn’t last a week.”
She smiled. “But what a great chance to experiment with radiation proofing and resistance?”
“The Ap’lo were not designed to take care of populations, they were not designed to seek mates, and they are not pleasant. They were not designed to be attractive. They were built for strength, power, and intelligence. Not much else.”
“Right. I am fascinated, but I am not going to seek them out. Promise.”
He flexed his hand on her back. “This is the oxygen farm. I designed it as a food forest and created the template that is used on many of my siblings’ long-haul vessels. This one requires thirty bots for maintenance, but others need fewer.”
He touched the wall, and the doors slid open. The scent of bright green, sweet fruit, and flowers rushed over them.
Trin smiled. “This is amazing.”
“Go inside. I want to show you the tastes of my worlds.” He said it softly, and she stepped over the threshold with him.
The door hissed shut behind them, and he began the tour.
They had handfuls of fruit and vegetables near the brook and pool. Trin sat down and looked around. “This is... stunning. If I weren’t a gearhead, I could spend my life here.”
“Gearhead?”
“I like making things. Building things. Having things left over to show for my life and time. Everything Grandpa and I built on Earth is gone. Well, it’s there, but it is useless without folk to maintain it.”
He nodded. “The final sweeps have commenced. The Education Station is sending out barely acclimated Urthers and picking up thousands a day. Cold shipping is underway across all systems to give worlds a chance to prepare for them. Some can take hundreds, some thousands, but the survivors will be tested when they arrive at their new worlds. Thanks to Ra, none of your people need a bond anymore. They are free to educate and learn before choosing worlds.”
She smiled and looked at the berries and apple-type items in her hand. Tears started falling. “That’s amazing. Thank you for looking into it.”
He stroked her cheek. “Happy tears?”
“Happy and relieved tears. There were still so many left behind.”
“The final sweep uses heat sensors and psychics. If they want to leave, they will take them all.”
She gave him a watery smile. “That’s wonderful. When can we start genetic matching?”
He paused. “What?”
“Many families were split across continents when the asteroid hit. Around the world even. If gene matching can put together lost families, that would be great. Even if they don’t live on the same world, knowing that their siblings, parents, grandparents, and cousins were there would be a tremendous relief. ”
“Are any of your people missing?”
“Just my father and mother, but they are dead to me already.”
He paused. “What?”
“When I was a child, I was beaten so badly by my father that I was in hospital for weeks. My grandfather sued for custody at that point, and he managed to secure it when I was fifteen. That was the moment that I became safe. My father was a self-obsessed bigot who tried to use me to make himself feel powerful. He was powerful, to someone a fifth of his size. If I could imagine him dying in agony, it would make me smile. Now, what is this orange one?”
Birun blinked and asked, “He attacked a child?”
“Yes. When drawing with a coloured pen, I went outside the lines. He said it was a careless and stupid thing to do, so he decided to teach me a lesson. A cracked orbital socket, broken arm, cracked skull, and collarbone later, and I had learned my lesson. My father was a rabid animal, and I was too small to defend myself. He is the shadow in my nightmares.”
Birun nodded. “I see. I will make sure that contact does not happen.”
“Good. And thank you.”
He nodded and began, “The orange ones are—”
They sat, and she learned and taste-tested for two hours, stopping to drink crystal-clear water in between fruits and vegetables.
She identified favourites and where they grew.
When her stomach was full and her new suit was wearing a lot of juice, she grinned at him.
“Well, that was a successful experiment.”
He grinned. “I am glad my claws were useful.”
He had sat and sliced the fruit neatly. They had used a large leaf as a plate.