by Viola Grace
“And you are?”
Brex introduced her to the council, concluding with, “And this is High Elder Hrakin, the major progenitor of ten percent of our current population.”
Hrakin got out of his seat and stepped down until he was in front of her.
Okay, she could concede that he thought she was short. Her head was no higher on him than it was on Brex.
He extended his hand. “I am honoured to meet you, Mistress Tyanni.”
“I am pleased to meet you, High Elder Hrakin.”
She put her hand in his, and he raised his brows in surprise.
“You have strength in your hands.”
Ty shrugged. “Brex has been helping me.”
“It seems you have the right Familiar. It is funny; he didn’t seem excited about the prospect of a woman with wit.”
Ty glanced back at the four lenses of Brex’s faceplate. “He seems to be adapting well.”
Elder Hrakin chuckled. “You are delightful. Would you care to join us for lunch?”
Brex stepped forward and pulled Ty away from the elder. “Medic Alveck wishes her to return immediately. She is ready to have her first genetic harvest. There isn’t any time to waste.”
Hrakin blinked. “So soon? We will have to begin the selection process.”
Brex lifted her off her feet. “As long as payment is rendered first. You know the laws, Elder.”
Hrakin waved his hand in the air. “Of course, of course. Well, take her. I am sure that there will be plenty of time to have a calm meal with her. Is her sister as alert as this one?”
Brex turned his back on the elders and started walking. “Lynni became a split during her alteration. Leko is dealing with it.”
The stunned gasp behind them was cut off when the doors closed.
“What is a split?”
“She is carrying two different lines of DNA in her body. The splits aren’t useful in the males, but in the females, their worth is more than all the gems on the planet.”
He carried her back to the riot runner, and they set off over the city, returning to the medical centre. Ty really wanted to know what was going to happen next, but she was afraid to ask.
Chapter Four
Alveck used an anaesthetic on her abdomen and kept the scanner running while he worked. She was lying naked on the table with different bands of fabric covering her. Brex was keeping the med team from coming in and taking vids.
“I wish that we could do this under full sedation, but it isn’t recommended, and you have spent enough time in medical recuperating.” Alveck settled near her feet.
“Can you explain what you are going to do?”
“I am going to aspirate the follicles on your ovaries and remove any viable eggs. Once the eggs are removed, they will be verified for health and stored for future development.”
She swallowed. “Ready when you are.”
He patted her foot. “I doubt that.”
What followed was the most focused internal exam that she had ever experienced. Ten minutes of having her legs spread with her knees up and strange pressure, Alveck finally withdrew with a grin. “Well done, Mistress.”
She closed her legs with a snap. “How often do we have to do that?”
Brex was at her side and helping her to sit up. The lenses moved over her, and he turned to Alveck. “Give me a regenerator.”
Alveck handed the unit over, and Brex pressed it over the left side of her belly.
“You caused an injury.”
Alveck blinked. “I did?”
“Left side, second ovary.”
The medic checked his scans. “You are correct. Mistress, I am so sorry. I will not let it happen again.”
Brex’s metal arms were around her protectively. “I will not let it happen again. The next time, I will be behind you the entire time.”
Alveck paused. “Of course, Familiar.”
Ty focused on what had just been said. “How many times do I have to do that?”
Alveck seemed surprised. “Any time you are near ovulating. We will remove the eggs, and your cycle will begin again.”
Brex tapped the table. “With one exception.”
Alveck’s cheeks coloured. “Right. Of course, Familiar.”
Ty slumped against Brex. Keeping still in that awkward position had been tiring. “How many did you get?”
Alveck smiled at her with a bright grin. “Over a dozen samples. If even fifty percent are viable, we have a new genetic source.”
Ty smiled weakly. “Great. Now, where are my clothes?”
Brex held her still. “Remain where you are, Ty. The regeneration isn’t complete. You still have internal bleeding.”
Ty nodded. “That sounds about right.”
The anaesthetic was wearing off, and she could feel every route the extraction needle had taken. Ty breathed in and out in a controlled manner until Brex finished with the small hand-held unit.
She twisted to look up at him, and her grip on awareness slipped away.
* * * *
“Alveck, get me an analgesic.” Brex rapped it out.
“Why?”
“Her nerves remember the trail that your instruments took. You are going to have to come up with another method of harvesting, or I will go to the elders about this.” Brex wanted to press a kiss to her forehead, but it wasn’t possible.
When they confirmed that the eggs they had taken were viable, he would be able to claim his right as Familiar, and he would be allowed to meet her in his true body.
Now that they were on Lrrko, he was more focused on her, not less. He had thought that his fascination with her would fade, but as he smoothed the hair from her forehead, he realised that she was becoming his life.
“So, you are truly embracing your life as Familiar, huh?” Alveck handed him the analgesic and smiled at him.
Brex looked at his gene-brother and nodded. “All those years of assignments were preparing me to deal with anything, and that is precisely what I am doing.”
“You don’t think you will miss it?”
Brex administered the shot and felt Ty relax against him. “At times I might, but the trade is more than fair.”
“You are going to have to temper everything that you do to be with her. Will she accept that you are and have been an assassin?”
Brex looked down at Ty, and his scanners showed him that she was in a natural sleep, not overwhelmed by pain. “She has accepted a lot in the last few weeks. She believes that I am a bot, so the stretch to living flesh shouldn’t be too awkward.”
“Well, did you want to check on your body before you go?”
Brex chuckled. “Since I am here, certainly. Bring me her clothing, and when she is dressed, I will head down to see myself.”
“You are going to dress her?”
“I am her Familiar. I take care of her needs. It is in the job description.” Brex chuckled.
Alveck brought in the clothing while the rest of the medics went over the small tray with bits of Ty in it.
Brex hoped that they found what they were looking for. If they found seeds of a new genetic line, Ty could have her natural heir with him as the father. She might not be enthusiastic about being with him, but he was her Familiar. He guarded her with his life, and no one would take that position from him.
* * * *
Brex was holding her, and Ty opened her eyes in time to see the body in cryo suspension in front of them. The face was just as beautiful as the others she had seen, but there was something familiar about it.
She whispered, “He looks a little like Alveck.”
Brex jolted. “You woke up early than I thought.’
“My body doesn’t like to sleep. It got enough of that at home. Who is this?”
“A... friend. He is on an astral assignment, and his body is being kept here for safekeeping.”
“Astral assignment?”
“Of course. We
don’t do all of our assassination work in the flesh. It would not be practical. The Lrrko can send themselves into bots and carry out their contracts from there.”
“So, he is an assassin?”
“All of the men here have done their time in service to Mistress Death.”
Ty blinked. “Mistress Death?”
“Of course. Death is the great equalizer. Since our births are predetermined, it is only our death that is a point that can be altered. We do not worship her, but we respect that Mistress Death will come for us all. She is our true Bride.”
Ty could understand that philosophy. She had spent time on the edge with death as her companion. It was always there waiting for her. She had been content to let death wait, though she had imagined conversations with her.
“I always thought of her as more of a companion.” Ty said it before she realised it was out of her mouth.
Brex turned his back on the man in the tube, and he walked out with her, returning to the riot runner.
“Did you dress me?” Ty looked down at her red-clad body.
“I did.”
She nodded, opened her suit and adjusted her breasts up so that the suit wasn’t squashing them flat.
Brex seemed locked up again. “I apologize for not doing whatever that just was.”
Ty grinned. “It is just more comfortable to not have my boobs folded flat.”
He settled them onto the runner and started it up, taking to the skies with her in his lap. “I will try to remember that.”
She sealed her suit and watched his hands on the controls. “Can you show me how to fly this?”
“Of course, but first, you will have to learn to defend yourself. If you are on your own on this vehicle, you are vulnerable.”
“Why would I be alone?”
Brex made the snorting sound that took the place of laughter. “Because you would sneak out. You have that attitude around you.”
Ty couldn’t deny it. “Where are we going next?”
“To the Secure Quarters. The Honour Guard are posted over it, and no one will let anyone that isn’t a Mistress or her Familiar through.”
“What is that area about?”
“Keeping you safe and entertained. You need to learn, you need access to more clothing, and you need to be helped to learn the Lrrko diet. All these things can be managed here in a secure environment.”
“So, I am not going to be able to mix with any members of the population?”
“Once I have verified your survival capabilities, you will be allowed to mix with others at public events. Eventually, you will mix with the other females.”
She glanced back at him as they landed. “I thought there were no other females.”
“They don’t pass on Lrrko genes. They are companions and sexual relief, only.”
Ty made a face. “At least you put the word companion first.” She had a thought. “Who raises the children?”
“They are raised in creches until they are mobile, and then, we go to schools until we are ready for our first assignment. From there, we leave the world as necessary and return as soon as we can.”
She waited until he set her on her feet before she backed up a little. “That is messed up.”
He dismounted and stood. “It is what we know. You will have input as to the education of your daughters.”
“They will all be daughters?”
Brex nodded and put his hand in the centre of her back again. “There will be two generations of daughters before an attempt will be made to integrate them into the general population. They will be grown in the building that the elders inhabit, and when they are decanted, they will come here.”
“And there will be teachers and caretakers?”
“Of course.”
She mentally exhaled. The thought of having a dozen infants at the same time had made her rethink this entire thing. To heck with saving a species, that was too many diapers.
He walked her in and showed her to her quarters. The room was large, spacious and had a crib in the corner.
“What is that for?” She was a little leery.
“You are entitled to a natural heir.”
She blinked. “What?”
“One child born of your body to a mate of the elder’s choosing.”
She got nervous. “When do they choose?”
“You have just been harvested, so you have some time before it becomes an issue.”
“What a polite term for that.” She snorted and looked around. When she opened her wardrobe, her clothing was neatly arranged on hangars and her spare boots were set in the bottom. “When did this happen?”
“During your first visit to medical.”
He took a few steps and opened another panel on the wall. He stepped back and clicked into it.
“What are you doing, Brex?”
“I am charging. I can answer your questions, but you have whatever privacy you wish. Now that you are no longer in active danger, you will be gaining more freedom.”
“You didn’t have to charge before.”
“I did, I just did it while you were resting and kept my scanning systems on.”
She watched him power down, but the faint glow of his purple lenses was still there.
Ty looked around her and found a vid screen, a food dispenser, a bathroom with a tub surprisingly large enough for four and a view of the city. There was a tint to the plexi that hopefully blocked the view from the outside. From the inside, it was like being inside an open space that overlooked everything below.
The tub called to her. She hadn’t had a serious soak in years that wasn’t medically necessary. She wanted warm water, not body temperature. She actually wanted to explore the new skin she had grown, and since no one was looking, she was going to.
A few tries got the water flowing, and she pried open her suit, pushing it down to her hips while she sat on the edge of the tub to pry her boots off.
When she was naked, she eased herself into the water and sighed happily at the feeling she thought was lost forever.
Her hair was up, and she soaked happily while her body still ached from the medical procedure. Even Brex’s care couldn’t erase the pain, but it had helped.
Chapter Five
Brex stretched and flexed his fingers, getting used to the feedback of his own limbs not cycled through the processing system.
Alveck checked him over. “It was only four weeks; you seem fine.”
“I feel fine.”
“You are still dividing your consciousness.”
“She is bathing. I do not wish to leave her unattended.” Brex pulled on his uniform while he was examined from head to toe.
“Elevated hormone levels, but otherwise, you are fully normal.”
Brex had been given more views of his charge than he had been prepared for. He was lucky that spontaneous combustion had not ensued.
“Will she know who you are when she sees you?”
Brex sealed his blue sleeveless shirt and adjusted the flat collar. “She suspects already. I can see it when she looks at me.”
“Well, officially, welcome home. Blue appears to be your colour.”
He laughed at his gene-brother’s tone. “I wasn’t sure of it before I left, but now, I am. She recognized our resemblance, by the way.”
Alveck paused. “Truly? That shows a little more intelligence than I gave her credit for.”
“Have you gotten any more information on the Terrans?” Brex slid his weapons into the loops on his belt and fastened his cloak.
Alveck shrugged. “They appear to be a seeded world. They adapt to their environments in a few generations. It is interesting. There is a chance that they could contribute to the Lrrko population, but it would have to be under strictly monitored circumstances. I will put it to the elders, but they are waiting to see what the first samples are like.”
Brex didn’t like Alveck referring to anything to do wi
th Ty that way, but it was the way it was. She was here to stop the stagnation of their people.
An assistant ran in with an excited expression. Brex turned with his hand raised, the blaster on his wrist trained at the intruder.
The young man screeched to a halt. “Medic Alveck, we have a result.”
Brex lowered his arm. “What?”
“Using extracted DNA from the blood and tissue samples, we have thirteen viable female embryos. They will be prepped for storage immediately.”
Brex scowled. “I thought we were going to use a genetic lottery.”
Alveck waved the assistant off. When the young man was gone, Alveck spoke, “The elders decided that having a genetic backup was wise in case her attempt to have a natural heir was not successful. If she dies at any point, we want a fallback position.”
Brex shook his head. “Nothing will happen to her.”
“You cannot guarantee that. Women are delicate creatures. The females that I have treated here are no match for a Lrrko, but our males keep trying.”
Brex curled his hands into fists. “I know how to take care of her, but you are underestimating her. Read her full medical file again and tell me what you think of her delicacy. In the meantime, I am going to attend to my charge.”
“Good luck, Brex. I will see Tyanni back here in five days.”
“You will see us both.”
Alveck nodded, and Brex headed for the main entrance. He walked through the streets he had grown up on, and in an hour, he was standing at the main door of the Bride stronghold.
His DNA got him entrance past the guards in their deep-blue tunics. Two looked at him with something nearing envy as he walked inside.
The Bride Guard had only been reinstated when they got the notice from Terra. The moment that the five certain descendants had been identified, a call for volunteers had gone out. From those volunteers, five Familiars had been chosen, and Brex counted himself lucky to have been in that first batch. The thought of anyone else touching Ty made him furious.
He walked up the five flights of steps to Ty’s quarters, and his palm opened the door. He moved in silently and stood in front of his bot. The final reclamation made him shiver, but when the last of his mind was back in his body, he felt whole.