Chapter Sixteen
Gold Dust Woman
Zephyron bolted upright in his recovery bed, his eyes blazing with restrained fury. "You impregnated yourself!" Not a question, but an accusation. "Without my knowledge. Without my consent. You took my essence and used it for—"
"Love." The words just came out.
He stilled.
"Yes, love." The words, until now, were alien to my ears. "Now I can't stand the idea of losing you, and I wanted to do something, so you'd fight. Parker said you were letting yourself go!"
"He tells falsehoods for amusement."
"You're twisting his job description." My shoulders slumped. "Isn't this why the Volardi arrived on Earth? Children? I thought you'd be happy!"
"Happy?" He rose slowly, still towering over me.
"Well, obviously not, but why provide the sample if you didn't want it used?"
"It was a formality to adhere to the Emperor's command. I was to produce enough which could impregnate you." He paused. "I expected you would leave and never use it."
"I was told I had to be here on Sudo, with you."
"There are ways for you to return to Earth."
I gawked at him. "You expected me to basically kill my father so I could walk away from this?"
He said nothing, his silence cutting deeper than any words.
"Then tell me this. Was the idea of a child with me ever something you wanted? Even a little?"
"Yes, but what you did was unusual."
I threw up my hands, no longer seeing the Dara medic. "My entire existence and transformation are unusual! Besides, what if this is what your ancestors wanted?"
His expression darkened. "Do not invoke them so carelessly."
"Why not? Y'all are always going on about their guidance and wisdom. Maybe they gave me the idea so we could have a future together."
Zephyron's face softened, yet his shoulders stayed tense. "Thomas, I thank you for your intent and feelings, but I feel you did this to save me."
"And that's bad?"
His voice turned heavy. "Among our people, life must arrive naturally, not forced.
To create life out of desperation risks an imbalance.
Chaos! The ancestors teach us this." He held my gaze.
"This is why many of us hesitate to merge with Humanity.
Salvation, yes, but at what cost? Perhaps we've already failed as a race, and your actions may widen fractures already here. "
He let the words hang before continuing, "You say this was done out of love, but was it truly? Or fear?"
On Earth, I'd lost good men because I couldn't say the L-word. Now? The reverse.
Zephyron's eyes softened. "Love must be nurtured, not forced because of circumstances. And I?" He hesitated. "I must learn to want you, Thomas. Not because of duty, or obligation, or the will of our Emperor, but because I see you as my mate."
His hand reached out and wiped a tear I didn't know had already formed.
"I will not choose you..."
My body stiffened.
"... at this time. If you search inward and speak with your ancestors, you will see you have not truly chosen me either." He held up a hand so my argument wouldn't come out. "There is a seed. Let us nurture it under the sun, together."
Some words and phrases didn't translate well, but I got the gist.
Maybe I panicked. Okay, I did, but he was hurt, and I'm sure he heard what I said when he was unconscious. Without that, I may never have gotten in to see him.
My medical visit worked, and now it was time to deal with the aftereffects.
***
The faint hum of repair nanites filled the workshop.
Axios and Solis stood nearby, half-reformed.
Axios' upper torso gleamed with shiny black-and-white DuraMetal plating, his hammer-hands still frozen in place.
His lower half resembled a skeletal frame of exposed wiring.
Solis had recovered more fully; her faceplate now bright and polished, though cracks remained like scars refusing to heal completely.
Other Sims could've been built from the outside in, but the power cells were intertwined with their nanite clusters and memory crystals.
Fast repair risked data loss. Slow and steady meant their mineral brains and unique patterns wouldn't disappear.
So, I stayed with them, same as I did with Zephyron.
"Any updates?" I asked.
"On what, Dear?" Solis' voice no longer had a slowed-down distortion. "The mess you made with the Zerlites? Or the little seed you're waiting to sprout?" Her mouth curled into a metallic smirk.
I rolled my eyes but smiled. "You, of course. They're still making sure I'm healthy, but anything confirming a pregnancy is sealed off."
Axios spoke with his precise manner, "On Sudo, it's believed a child should not be disturbed before they announce themselves. Like their ancestors, they communicate when ready."
"Humans take tests all the time."
"And your planet is not as developed as the Volardi worlds. Ergo, we should follow the more advanced culture," Axios said flatly.
I snorted with a smile. "For someone who's barely put together, you're awfully opinionated."
Varek, the redheaded medic who temporarily refused me entry into the medical bay, sat nearby, scrolling through a datapad. He had grown oddly cordial in the weeks following Zephyron's recovery. He sensed I could have made life difficult for him but didn't.
He watched an old black and white Earth sitcom. The laugh track echoed through the sterile hum of the workshop. He gestured at the screen in confusion. "Why does this 'Ricky Ricardo' not allow his Femeni to perform in the entertainment venue?"
"Didn't take you for a fan of Human television," I said.
"It is... curious."
Solis chimed in, her faceplate glowing faintly. "He likes the ones with humor about household dynamics. I told him it's because he secretly longs to have a family and get a Human Omega."
The medic snorted, almost chuckling, before returning to his datapad.
For a few minutes, especially with the sitcom laughter, things felt light. Normal and almost like home.
A pre-recorded video came from several Sandari elders. On a holo-screen, large blocks of animated text written in their native, flowing script appeared.
"What's it say?" I asked, mainly to my implant.
Axios spoke with concern, "It is a formal Declaration of Dissatisfaction. The elder council believes the Volardi presence has disrupted the new natural order of their planet. They rally for our removal."
Solis sighed dramatically, and her white faceplate dimmed. "Oh, dear."
The newly translated message went on to describe the Sandari's grievances: the poisoned well, which wouldn't have been dug if Zephyron had given them water, the Zerlite infestation, because of rain from the ice asteroid.
All twisted into evidence, the Volardi's interference brought more harm than good.
"They think I'm part of it, don't they?"
Axios hesitated before responding. "They fear additional Humans displacing more Sandari from their lands. To them, your presence signals an era where the Volardi no longer require their alliance."
The message continued with more references to the harm I'd done. The last line didn't make sense. "Concerns with the Festival of the Gold Dust Woman?" I had pushed my implant's AI help back, so I didn't get information overwhelm, but my Sim friends had no such concerns.
Solis leaned forward, her faceplate glowing faintly.
"Ah, yes! An ancient Sandari tradition." She smiled now that she could access the local data net.
"It is said to reveal the path for future prosperity.
Their version of prophecy, if you will. The council may use the results to further its agenda.
They believe their ancestors will side with them and demand that the Volardi leave. "
"Perfect," I muttered. "Nothing more dangerous than politics dressed up as prophecy."
Axios' eyes flickered, the glow briefly intensifying. "The Sandari are generally peaceful and do not make threats lightly. If their ancestors speak against us, many will hear, and those voices will tell others."
***
The festival hadn't yet arrived, so I went on an alien planet hike.
Two floating circular drones hovered close for protection, their armored forms resembling both turtle shells and armadillo hide.
They drifted silently, with metal gleaming faintly under Sudo's low-hanging red sun.
Long jagged shadows stretched across the rugged desert terrain.
To the left, twin moons hung. Azura, the smallest, glowed pale like an ice shard in the sky. Even from behind, Kaelor loomed larger, its surface marked with scars and craters.
Zephyron walked a few paces ahead, and the air shimmered with heat. His body warped as if he were a hologram. He had no boots, just bare feet against blazing sand. My boots felt like they could catch fire at any moment.
When I first arrived, this environment would have been hell.
Now? It's not so bad. Did I get used to it or him?
I made sure he heard the smile in my voice. "You didn't have to come with me."
Zephyron glanced back over his shoulder, his dark purple eyes glinting in the fading light. "It is my duty to ensure your safety."
My lips curled. "Only duty. Nothing more?"
Now I heard his smile. "It is possible to do more than one thing."
We walked in silence as jagged, glass-like spires emerged, glittering in the setting sun. Zephyron stopped. "Zerlites once emerged here," he whispered. "They hid underground, waiting for the right moment to strike."
I shivered, despite the heat. "And we're walking through it?"
"They have been eradicated in this region. Orbital laser cannons super-heated the sand, creating what you see." My updated implant filled in the rest. They could have turned more of their desert into glass, but it would be too much trouble to remove it afterward.
Sometimes, I wondered if they left nests to remind the Sandari of the threat and justify their presence. If that was true, it wasn't Zephyron's doing.
I stared at the melted landscape. "Why does my implant keep calling them Zerlites? There's a Volardi word for animal. Avaruu, right?"