Children of Steel

by John Van Stry

  But some people would be leaving, as this was one of the normal times for a major rotation, and I was very unhappy about some of those who would be going.

  First of all, Rudy was leaving. He was being sent to another ship in another sector, part of the normal rotation. He didn't have enough time in to get anything special, so he was at the mercy of the system just like I would be. But at least he had an idea of where he was heading.

  Gabe was leaving too, I was surprised to find out that he had gotten an assignment on Hobson, as a local shuttle pilot! The three of us, Dave, Rudy and myself, cornered him in a quiet hallway at one point on the way back.

  "Okay wise guy!" I snarled holding him up to the wall, "Just how did you get such a good assignment?"

  "Hey I just got lucky, that's all!" He protested.

  "Bull," said Dave, "Why don't you start by tearing his arms off Raj? Isn't that one of your favorites?"

  "Okay, Okay, I'll give!" Said Gabe laughing, so I put him down. We weren't really mad, but we were curious as all hell. This was a real sweet job; by rights he shouldn't have been able to get it. He looked around real carefully to make sure nobody was around.

  "I bribed the local rep."

  "Where does somebody like you get that kind of cash?" asked Rudy sarcastically.

  "Actually it wasn't cash; Karen's family leaned on him. They have a lot of influence there."

  Dave and I exchanged glances, "And just why would Karen's folks want to do that?" I asked.

  "Well I was going to surprise you with that," he said looking at the ceiling with a crazy grin, "We're getting married."

  The silence was deafening.

  Rudy broke it when he started choking; I was surprised I didn't myself.

  "When did this happen?" Dave asked.

  "Well, we decided that if I could get a posting there, we'd move in together and see how it went. I'd probably have a good five years there before I had to move on, and she was going to work in the city for the first few years of her law practice, to get experience before going to work for her family.

  "Anyway, if that worked out, we'd get married and make it official."

  "What are you going to do when your next assignment comes along?" Dave asked, "You can't take her with you, she's human, they won't allow it!"

  "Oh once we get married, they're going to buyout my contract. Kind of as a wedding gift, but I made it clear I would have to work off whatever was left."

  "They need a shuttle pilot on her family's farm?" I asked surprised.

  "Not on the farm, but in their business yes, and a regular pilot as well. Right now they have to hire a shuttle pilot whenever they need one, which is pretty expensive. If I go to work for them as a general pilot, I can do that for them whenever they need it and the pay is good for that kind of thing too!"

  "I don't doubt it," put in Rudy shaking his hand, "Well, congratulations and I hope we're all invited to the wedding, when ever it is."

  "Yeah, that goes for me too," I shook his hand as well, "and I expect to be invited even if I’m unable to attend."

  "Yeah," said Dave, "it's the thought that counts after all, and you know that I'll bust both your legs the next time I see you if you don't!"

  Rudy and I seconded that motion, and we all had a good laugh over it.

  Closer to home, Banner had put in for a second tour on the Astra and in light of the fact that his mate was a vital part of the engineering group, had his request granted.

  That left two more people in the clan who were at the end of their tours: Katrine and Herza.

  I would miss Katrine, she was a lot of fun, and we were very good friends. Lyle was a lot more upset over it than I however, they had met on their previous assignment and had been friends for almost ten years.

  I was devastated over Herza's leaving however. She was definitely the second most important person in my life, right up there with Cassandra. She had done a lot to help me become the fighter I was today, and had done a lot to help me in gaining control of my temper.

  "I just don't know what I'm going to do without you!" I said one night in her quarters. I was having a hard time keeping my emotions under control at this point, "I mean, you've helped me keep the lid on for over two years now. Do you really think anybody else on board is going to want that job?" I looked at her giving her a weak smile.

  "Raj, I really wish it could be different, but we both have our separate paths to follow," I hate it when she philosophizes, and mumbled something saying such, she laughed. "Oh come on now, as far as your temper goes, you're getting older and more mature now. It's lessened quite a bit since I first bounced you off the wall in the gym."

  "Probably because you stopped being able to bounce me off that damn wall," I grumbled remembering Herza's way of keeping me in line when I first got here. Until I finally got to be better than her that is, though not by much.

  "True, but don't worry. You'll be fine, I've been talking to Chief Post for a few weeks now, and he's agreed to start beating you up on a weekly basis for me, after I leave that is."

  "Gee thanks," I said doing my best not to sound thankful at all. Chief Post was the ship's champion and not somebody I'd ever be able to bounce off a wall, he outweighed me by over a hundred pounds - all muscle too! "Why don't you just shoot me instead? It won't be nearly as messy that way!"

  "Oh come on, you need somebody better than you to keep you from getting too complacent. Anyway, I'll bet you'll surprise yourself and win on points more often than you think."

  "Got any other surprises for me?" I asked.

  "Actually yes, but it's a secret still so don't ask!" she smiled at me cryptically while reaching for me then, and shortly thereafter further conversation became undesirable.

  Moral was pretty high on the way back to Hobson, pretty high for most people that is, some, like Lyle or myself, were a little unhappy to be losing somebody special. But all in all it was upbeat; the people who were leaving were excited about moving on to something different.

  Quite a lot of people were being switched out too; about one third of the crew was going to change. That meant that we'd probably be in port for longer than usual, to give the replacements time to get acquainted with the ship.

  At the next clan meeting of the trip, it was interesting to hear people talk about what they would do when their tour would be up. Balizar would be with the ship as long as the Captain was, he told us.

  "Once you found somebody you work good with, they don't make you change unless you ask. That is when you get this high up in the company." He grinned at us, "I've been with the Captain for eight years now. Been his security chief for six of those, probably be here on the Astra until he retires."

  "Think you'll go any higher than Section Chief?" I asked curious.

  "Well I'm pretty far up the scale right now," he said thoughtfully. "But you know, I think it's possible that I could make it to exec one day. Unless I decide to go back to the ground troops, then I could make Colonel easy."

  "Exec? Really?" asked Lyle.

  "Yes, I think it's a possibility. As Security Head, I have a lot of responsibilities, and I have access to the same material that the Captain and the Exec do. True I don't see all the secret stuff that goes across the Captain's desk, but I'm authorized to in an emergency and have the combination to his safe, just like the Exec."

  "Do you know of any animen that have made it that far?"

  "On smaller ships, and a lot have even made it to Captain on the packets. But I don't know if that counts, they are fairly small."

  "What are your plans Sharazad?" I asked looking at her.

  "To buyout, get pregnant, have children, and make him stay home!" She laughed at the reaction on Balizar's face when she said that. "Actually," she continued, "Before I shock him into a heart attack, I want to raise a couple of cubs before I'm too old. So we've been thinking that maybe I should do a tour dirtside.

  "They don't appreciate cubs on company ships, and once they're about four or so we could pr
obably negotiate a deal with the company for education and training."

  "Ugh, children!" said Terease with a disgusted look on her face.

  "Oh, you'll change your tune; believe me dear, even the men do!"

  "That's a fact!" Said Herza of all people!

  "So how many kids do you two want?" Asked Banner giving Terease a sidelong look.

  "We'd both be happy with one litter, so I guess that's one or two," Sharazad answered for both of them.

  "How long before you're too old?" I asked embarrassed.

  "I'm forty two now, so I've still got a lot of time left. According to the geneticist's and biologists who designed us, after sixty it gets touchy and after seventy it could be dangerous. That's when menopause is supposed to hit. They say they probably could have stretched it into the eighties, but as we're supposed to start our downhill slide at around a hundred now, they felt we would do better physically if our bodies didn't have that kind of demand put on it in the last third of our life spans."

  "Of course, that's assuming we live that long," put in Herza again giving me a strange look.

  "Didn't you pay attention when they taught this stuff in class Raj?" Sharazad looked at me accusingly.

  "Well to be honest," I said embarrassed, "Once they finished the stuff on the guys, I stopped paying attention." I had a big test the next class actually and had been studying like mad.

  "Typical male!" laughed Katrine, "Once he knows how his own equipment works, he doesn't care about anything else!"

  "That's not true!" I protested smiling, "I care about using it too!"

  By that time everybody was laughing pretty hard, so it wasn't till later that we heard about Kate's and Franz's plans.

  "We want to get attached to one of the planet settlement teams," Kate told us. "You know, the people who help set up and then run one of the company's Mining installations. With a little luck, we figure we might even end up somewhere worthwhile."

  "Plus it's easier to have and raise children that way!" said Franz matter of factly, and then quickly ducked as Kate tried to backhand him one. "Hah, missed." he gloated.

  "What makes you so sure that I want to have children?" asked Kate looking at him accusingly.

  "Just a guess dear, just a guess!" he said laughing at her obvious discomfort.

  "Am I that transparent?" she asked Sharazad.

  "If your mate can't figure out the answer to that question, you've obviously picked the wrong one dear."

  "Plus you always talk about how you want a house with extra bedrooms," Franz grinned. "So it's pretty obvious."

  "Harummp," was all she would respond. They were both pretty interesting and could be real characters sometimes, Franz being the only leopard I had ever heard of who liked practical jokes, and Kate having a backhand that could even stagger me.

  It was approximately a week out of Hobson’s Choice when I found out what Herza's surprise was.

  I hadn't seen her for several days which was very strange, but she had left a note on my door saying not to worry. Then I walked into my quarters one day and there she is, spread out on my bed with a smile and open arms. I also noticed an interesting and extremely erotic smell in the air that drove right through me.

  It was two steps to the bed; I was out of my uniform before I had even finished the first one.

  It was about six hours later when we finally took a break. I noticed that strange scent was still there, even stronger actually. And it was definitely having a most interesting effect on my behavior.

  "What is that smell anyway?" I asked nuzzling her face.

  "It's me silly," she was scratching me behind the ears, so it took a moment before I felt like pursuing the question further.

  "What do you mean you? And why do I feel like starting all over again?" I started moving my ministrations lower and lower.

  "I'm in heat you silly Tom," she said huskily, "Now get back to work!"

  That stopped me, but only for a second. "In heat? I thought you had an implant to prevent that kind of thing!" As a matter of fact, I knew she did. All female animen were required to when working shipboard, and after the effect on me I could see why!

  "I had it removed when we left Osborn, my system just finally got back on an even kilter last month thank goodness. I was afraid it wouldn't happen before I left."

  "Wait a sec, aren't you going to get into trouble for this?" I asked as I continued working down her torso.

  "No, of course not, ooh that felt good, do that again." I did so of course, "I've earned a good position planet side on my next tour, and I'm exercising my option to reproduce."

  I thought about that for a while, once my mouth was free to talk again I asked some more questions.

  "So let me get this straight," I said.

  "It feel's pretty straight to me," she smiled up at me, by now I was on top of her once more, and she had her legs wrapped well around me.

  "I hope so,” I smiled. “Anyway I'm making cubs here?" I was suddenly a lot more alert than I had been as the idea burned into my brain.

  "Oow that's right my big beautiful Tom, and don't stop!"

  "But we're not even mated!"

  "So? Since when is that a requirement?"

  She had a point there, "But you didn't even ask if I wanted too!" It was all kind of sudden that's for sure.

  "Do you want to stop?" she asked grinning at me.

  "Hell no!" I don't think I could of if I’d wanted to.

  "You sure? I could get somebody else," she teased.

  I didn't find it very funny, in fact I was surprised to feel a strong surge of temper at even the suggestion. "If another male even comes near you, I'll kill him." I growled hotly, giving her a tight hug.

  "I kind of figured as much," she said dreamily.

  Once we had finished and things had calmed back down for a while I looked at her. "Now I know why birth control is required, you've really messed me up, you know that?"

  "It's only because you feel strongly towards me," she smiled, "otherwise you wouldn't be so possessive."

  "So why me anyway?"

  "Who else could it be Raj? I suppose if Banner hadn't gone and mated to Terease he'd be a consideration, but you're my idea of a perfect specimen."

  "But why now? I mean you still have another thirty or so years of fertility."

  "Raj, I'm a combat troop. My first assignment was one just like your sister's and that's where I'll probably end up again. I really don't think I'm going to be alive thirty years from now. Don't feel bad though, I've been planning this for over a year now. If Banner hadn't mated, I'd probably have had the two of you fighting it out right now anyway!" She gave me a wicked grin when she said that.

  "I sure hope Cassandra doesn't kill me when she finds out I'm a father." I sighed.

  "Well you're not one yet, so back to work stud!" she grinned and jumped me then. Actually it was more like roll than a jump, but this time I got to relax at least.

  It went on like that for the whole eight hours I was off, make love, rest, repeat. I wasn't crazy about leaving when my shift came, but I managed to tear myself away. It wasn't easy though.

  I went down to the mess, got a huge stack of food, ate it then took another stack back to Herza. When she had laughingly suggested going to get her own, I had told her in no uncertain terms what I'd do to her if she put even one claw outside the room.

  One thing's for sure, I was in a real testy mood and I didn't know how I was going to survive a twelve hour shift without her. It was like being a drug addict and needing a fix. I knew I was in serious trouble.

  I ran into Balizar just as I was nearing my room, I was trying to figure out how to get the food in without staying.

  "What's up Raj?" he asked looking me over carefully.

  I growled before I could stop myself, "Sorry," I rasped out, "I didn't mean that."

  He smiled, but took a step back too. "Herza went into heat didn't she?"

  I growled again, I really couldn't help myself it seemed.
>
  "Calm down Raj, I'm mated remember?"

  That helped, I got control of myself then, "Sorry, but I find I'm having a real hard time controlling myself right now. It’s like an addiction."

  "It's the pheromones, that's all. It's one of those instincts that the Geneticists weren't able to change without serious drawbacks. Unfortunately for you, it sets your temper on edge too."

  He had been walking backwards leading me back to my room the whole time he had been talking.

  "Tell Herza that she's in trouble for not notifying my office that she cycled yesterday," I growled again but he ignored it, the door was right next to me now and I wasn't going to take any action that would move me away from it, and he knew it too.

  "Also," he continued, "You're confined to your quarters until she conceives, that's standard procedure which I'm sure you didn't know. I'll have one of the girls leave some food by the door once a day."

  He started moving well back from the door then, "let me get away from the scent before you open that, or I'll be bugging Sharazad all day myself."

  I gave him a couple of seconds, then went back inside. I was immediately attacked by Herza, who had obviously decided that thirty minutes was way too long to be celibate. I guess this had a big effect on her as well. How I managed to get the tray of food on the desk with out spilling it all I could never remember.

  We did eat some of the food over the next few days, and we even made some trips to the bathroom out of necessity. But I scouted the halls at Herza’s insistence to make sure nobody was about. She kept her head enough to know that I was on a short fuse.

  It was three days later when she just suddenly stopped, kind of like somebody flipping a switch. The scent stopped, except for the residual in the room which still had me hopping, and she said she needed a shower and a lot of food, that the room stank, and she was going back to her own. She even punched me in the face when I continued to act amorous.

  So I went down, got her some food and brought it to her room, she took it, but took one whiff of me and told me to get that smell off before coming near her again. Or else.