Chapter Five #2
When the first lid came off, she inhaled sharply. “Barbeque?”
“You are surprised?”
“I didn’t think that the food units had made this kind of thing yet.”
“I admire your skills, but other desperate and hungry Terrans have been programming the units since the first day they were removed from your world.”
She leaned forward as the scents of roasted meat and the sauces hit her. “May I?”
“Please, but for every two bites you have, you must provide me with one.”
“Fine, but you will have to lean forward. This stuff is messy by design. You are white, and the sauce will stain you.” She loaded a plate with brisket, shredded pork, and soft bread with some shredded salad that mimicked coleslaw rather well.
He asked about the food, and she explained as she took her first bite then groaned happily, slumping against him.
He laughed and said, “I am applauding myself on my choices.”
Boss said, “My choices, Master Birun.”
Trin ignored them and ate some pulled pork with spicy sauce. She shivered and smiled. “I am going to find out who designed this and send them a thank-you note.”
“Next bite is mine.”
She took some brisket, some shredded pork, and some of the spicy sauce and wrapped them in some soft bread. She held it up to him, and he took a bite, another, and then the flavours kicked in, and his eyes widened. When he had swallowed, he said, “You ate this frequently?”
“Not as frequently as I liked, but there was a restaurant down the street from Gramp’s repair shop.
When we had a good month and had more work to do, he would pay for it and have it delivered with plenty of plates and forks so we could eat while we worked.
It is a fond memory.” She grinned. “When you ate it at the shop, they gave you plastic coverings so you didn’t mess up your clothing. ”
He smiled. “I would like more, please.”
She laughed and ate her two bites, and while still chewing, she got him his.
He chuckled. “I think I am going to have to switch things up. You are too worried about my hide.”
He wrapped his arms around her and mimicked her motions, putting some brisket in her mouth before feeding himself.
She didn’t care. She had food waiting every time she was ready for it, and he was making happy sounds as he experimented with the side items on the table.
“So, do you consume a lot of meat?”
“In general? My grandfather said if we weren’t going to be hungry right away, something had to die.”
Birun chuckled.
Trin smiled. “If you are going to keep participating, the bots might want to bring in some more food.”
He pressed his cheek to her temple. “They are already working on it.”
She laughed and spent time showing him images of pigs and cows, both whole and alive and in various states of disassembly. It didn’t slow either of them down when the next round arrived.
Trin had tidied her face and was slumped against Birun. There was nothing left on the table, and he was broadcasting surprised fullness to her. His face was pristine.
He leaned in and licked her cheek. “You missed a spot. Oh, look, more spots.” He dragged a slightly rough tongue over her cheek, and she squeaked.
He continued until she was clean to his satisfaction. She blinked when he straightened and sat up. “That was delightful.”
“The food?”
“That, too.” He stroked her cheek. “You are out of breath.”
“That happens when I eat barbeque.”
He laughed and got to his feet, carrying her to the edge of the room. “The stars are singing for you tonight.”
She looked up, and heavy bands of aurora borealis painted the sky with reds, greens, purples, yellows, and a thick band of white. “Wow.”
She felt the touch on her mind, and he was sharing her wonder.
She was generous. She let him feel what she remembered about the first time she saw the radiation bands dance across the atmosphere.
Her twelfth birthday. Her grandfather had just gotten temporary custody as long as she continued to go to therapy.
She had stood outside without looking in the shadows.
Her father was fighting for custody because she had a trust fund from her mother’s side of the family.
Even from prison, he was fighting to keep her.
It was a step toward freedom, and the lights were celebrating with her. The lights on Earth and the lights here at Sanctuary Base sang the same song, Millions of kilometres apart.
She smiled, and tears tracked down her cheeks. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is. I have never imagined something so stunning.”
She grinned and looked at him, but his gaze was firmly fixed on her. “Oh.”
He nodded. “Oh.”
The light moved across his skin, the white a perfect canvas covered in colour.
“You look lovely all bathed in light.” She reached out and touched his jaw.
He turned his head and kissed her palm. “So, contract now or now?”
She giggled. “With only us here, you are sure you want to go for that? It isn’t like either of us has another option.”
“I believe it is more that you and I have a matching mindset.”
Trin nodded. “Fine. Contract now, but I am way too full to try anything frisky tonight.”
He grinned. “Deal. Then we can lie in bed and watch the light.”
A bot rolled up with a tablet held high.
“I had to add some clauses that I don’t think any other Hmrain have to.”
“Safety gear?”
“That is one.”
“Nebel would have, but Lily inherited his indestructibility. She didn’t need safety gear. She’s bulletproof.”
He nodded. “Since you aren’t, you are going to be held to a physical protection clause. You can’t do anything to endanger yourself or incur penalties.”
“Penalties?”
“Yup. Time away from your workshop and no reading on tablets. You will be stuck to wandering the base and helping the bots harvest in the greenhouse.” He smiled.
“Oh. Well, that is non-invasive but still annoying.”
“That is the idea. I am not here to injure you, but I won’t let you do it either.”
She blinked and sighed. “Tablet, please.”
He grinned and handed her the tablet. The next two hours were changes of phrasing, adding clauses, and including the holiday protocol.
“What is that?”
“I want to design items for Terrans and send them out to them via courier drone.”
“We can use bonded couriers. Why do you want to do this?”
“Oh, because during the winter months, we give gifts to recharge and get through the worst of the darkness. You look like a weird Santa, I act like an elf, and Boss is the reindeer. We have the whole gang.”
“I am going to have to look into that mythos.”
She snickered. “I know. Any additions on your end?”
He paused and then added, “I am going to open positions for researchers who want to participate in a world coming to life. Any species that meets our environmental needs can join, but our own people will take priority.”
“Wait. Our people?”
“Yes. We are going on a tour of this system, and if you develop the capability for heavy worlds, we will go and visit them as well.”
“Oh. So, when are we travelling?”
“Once we bond, we will take about a week to get you acclimated, and we will begin planning from there. The Pericoffs are not thriving, and after five hundred years, they should be. We will visit them first.”
“Why?”
“So that I can notify them they will be moved to an aerie on the other side of the world where they can thrive and may get their sex drives back.”
“What?”
“The Pericoffs are fading. They have decreased their population by seventy-five percent living in their city. There are no others on their world.”
“Send in specialists. Well, go in, warn them that the specialists are coming, and then find out whether they want to wipe their species off the face of the universe or if they want to fight. If they want to fight to survive, there are ways to do it. Some of them don’t even involve contact.”
He stared. “What?”
“Sign the thing, we will cuddle, and I will explain what I have learned about eggs, surrogates, incubators, and genetic specialists. Their low sex drive could be down to a mineral they aren’t able to find in their environment.”
Birun smiled slowly. “I think you are the best thing to land on my world and settle in my base.”
“Think that when I am fighting for my life in the darkness.”
“I will be there. The darkness won’t get you.”
He signed, scanned, and marked the tablet, and she did the same.
Just like that, she was a consort.
Birun locked the tablet, and the bot drove away with it. He stood and carried her to the bed. “Would you like to remove the dress, or should I cut it free of you?”
Trin froze. “Uh.”
“Cut it is.” He carefully pulled the fabric loose and sliced it away from her with his claws. “The unit is making a replacement.”
The pile of fabric was soon next to her slipper-clad feet. “Well, that was interesting.”
He pulled the bedding back. “In you get.”
“Wait. I need to take off the jewellery.”
“Earrings only. I want you to keep the necklace and bracelets on.”
“Why?”
“Because they are designed not to interfere with your movements and be comfortable.” He grinned and moved the fabric to the arms of a bot before he removed his skirt. Trin’s eyes bugged, and she wished that there were happy face stickers big enough to deal with that.