by T. S. Ryder
Lisa shook her head. Now is not the time.
The bed was the only thing she could move, so she quickly flipped it onto its side to at least create a barrier between herself and whoever might come in firing. She crouched behind the bed, her grip tight on her gun. Noise echoed down the tunnel, too confusing to make out any individual noises. Her heart hammered, and the ridiculous notion that she should run down the tunnel and put herself in the middle of the battle to force them to stop fighting came to her mind.
She might have actually done it, too, if the sounds of battle hadn't suddenly ceased. Lisa's heart stopped with it. What had happened? Was Zon dead?
Her eyes flickered closed as tears blurred her gaze. Without Zon, how was she meant to protect her baby? She would be sold to the highest bidder, either to be cut up in some lab or paraded around like some sort of freak show. And if they wanted her alive… would they take the risk that her pregnancy might damage her health?
Footsteps.
Lisa tensed, aiming her gun at the tunnel. Her gaze went steely. If it wasn't Zon, then she was going to take out as many as she possibly could.
"Halo lights."
Zon's voice had her jumping to her feet. She was at the tunnel entrance before he stepped inside. Lisa launched herself into his arms and passionately kissed him. Tears ran down her cheeks.
"Get a room," somebody muttered behind them.
Lisa pulled away to see a half-dozen aliens in the tunnel, grinning at the two of them. Her cheeks flushed, but Zon gripped her tighter.
"Lisa, these are my men. They got here just in time." He kissed her again. "Come on. It's time to leave this planet."
Chapter Nine
Lisa had never been one for sci-fi shows. The science in them was usually so horribly researched that it left her wanting to vomit, rather than entertained. Now she realized that while the science was off, the application wasn't as bad as she had thought. When Zon brought her to his ship, she was fascinated by everything she saw. People walked around using holographic tablets, wearing goggles to scan the walls to check connections. There were even stations, called molecule breakdown stations (MBS) where waste of all sorts was broken down into its individual atoms and reformed into whatever item was needed, similar to how oxygen was produced.
"This is amazing," Lisa said, looking around the medical bay while Zon sat beside her.
Her fingers itched to explore all the technology around her, and it was difficult to make herself lay still for the doctor to perform more in-depth scans of her midsection. Rather than the wand scan that Zon had performed, the doctor put her on a bed, exposed her belly, and pressed small nodules to it. These scanned her insides and built a 3D holographic image of what she looked like.
Zon still wanted to be sure that she was actually pregnant and not carrying a parasite. The holographic image of her uterus was bizarre to look at, but what was even more bizarre was when the doctor refocused the image so that the embryo could be seen. She wasn't even far enough along to be carrying a fetus yet. The projected image didn't look remotely human or baby like. In fact, it looked like a terrifying mix between a tadpole and dinosaur.
Lisa clutched Zon's hand. She had seen images of embryos before. According to her knowledge, this would eventually develop into a baby.
"The genetic scans confirm it," the doctor said. "T'Shav DNA."
A rush of relief washed over Lisa and she couldn't stop a laugh. She turned a beaming smile to Zon, but his brow was furrowed in worry. Seeing her expression he attempted a smile, but she could see his heart wasn't in it. It dampened Lisa's enthusiasm a little. The doctor turned off the scanner and removed the nodules from Lisa's belly.
"How likely is it that it will be carried to term?" Zon asked.
"The risks of hybrid babies are well known. I can start the procedure to—"
"Don't you dare." Lisa narrowed her eyes and glared first at the doctor, then Zon. "I made my choice, got it?"
Zon sighed. "Lisa wants to wait until it's further developed, to make sure that it will pose a risk to her life before it's removed."
The doctor frowned. "We might not know that until the fetus is fully formed, at which point it will be so far along that ending the pregnancy will come with severe risks. I would feel much better about this if—"
"You don't have to feel good about it," Lisa interrupted. She didn't like how the doctor was talking to Zon as if she wasn't even in the room. "I want to see a genetic comparison between my DNA, Zon's and our baby's."
The doctor glanced at Zon, who nodded. Lisa folded her arms, glaring at the doctor, but thanked him when he gave her a tablet with the information on it all the same. To her relief, the DNA was expressed in the familiar double helix pattern. There were a few things where she had to ask for translation and clarification, but within a few minutes she set aside the tablet and smiled.
"As far as I can tell, I'm not carrying a hybrid baby."
Zon's brows rose.
"See for yourself," she said to the doctor, who returned to them with a doubtful expression. "All major points in the DNA are congruent with Zon's. My 'universal' DNA means that I'm carrying a T'Shav baby."
"She's right." The doctor's jaw dropped as he rechecked his results. "Why didn't I—"
"You weren't looking."
Before either of them could continue, Zon had scooped her into his arms. Lisa protested, given his injuries that hadn't fully healed yet, but he ignored her and carried her through the corridors. The beaming smile on his face was enough to keep her from continuing to protest.
He deposited her on his bed in his room. Other than the bed and a wall of weapons, it was utterly empty. Lisa's eyes brightened as Zon lay beside her. She slung a leg over his hip, giggling breathlessly. The euphoria of knowing that she was pregnant and that there was no danger from having a hybrid baby had her libido, which seemed to always be simmering, flaring to an inferno.
To her disappointment, Zon didn't do much other than share a few kisses before he tucked her into the bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin. Lisa sighed.
"I'm not made of glass. Just because I'm pregnant—"
"I know. But it's been a trying few days and we both need our rest."
Lisa tried to kick herself free from the blankets. "I'll rest better if I get rid of some of this excess energy first…"
Zon chuckled and shook his head. "No, my love. We need to talk as well."
Talk. The dreaded word. Lisa had hated it whenever one of her boyfriends said they needed to talk. It always end badly. She twisted the blanket in her hands, not replying.
"First, I want to say I'm sorry for insisting we end the pregnancy."
"You were worried for me," Lisa replied, stroking his face. "I can't be angry at you for that. I'm just glad you decided to wait and see, and not take matters into your own hands."
A pained look crossed Zon's face and he nodded. From the fearful expression in his eyes, Lisa suddenly realized that he had been far closer to doing just that than she had realized. At her shiver, he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. His devil-red skin was as hot as flames and felt good in the cool air of the ship. Apparently, heating took up a lot of energy. That made sense. After all, they were in the dead of space.
"What else do you want to talk about?" she asked quickly.
"Well, since you are going to have my child, I thought that you should know more about my species."
Lisa nodded. That made sense, too.
Zon shifted, as though he was trying to get even closer to her. Lisa attempted to grind herself against him, but a hand on her hip stopped her. Dark eyes smiled at her and he chuckled low in his throat, shaking his head.
"T'shav don't marry," he started. "Many other species have commitment ceremonies, but we don’t. It's unnecessary. We simply have mates. The females choose what males they want to be with, and they are with them for whatever length of time they want. Usually, many females gather to the same male, to have companionship and help raising
their young. They usually stay with one male until they have a child old enough to protect itself and then move on."
Lisa scowled, now struggling to free herself. "I'm not sharing," she said bluntly. "If any other female shows up and tries to be your mate, either she goes or you both do!"
Zon laughed out loud. He clasped her tighter in spite of her struggles and nuzzled her neck. "If there were other females, they would be here already. I'm not interested in more than one female. It makes me a rarity among our people."
There was no freeing herself, so Lisa stopped struggling. She huffed out an annoyed breath, though. "Why is that?"
"My people believe that our souls are born in the stars," Zon said. "Each star gives birth to one soul, which is in turn born into physical bodies again and again until the star itself grows old and dies. But sometimes, a single star will produce two souls. Those souls, no matter how far apart they may be when they are born into physical bodies, will always find each other. I knew from when I was a boy that I had such a starmate."
A cold ball slipped into Lisa's stomach. He couldn’t mean what she thought he meant… they had fun together. The sex was great. Maybe, with time, they could start talking about love… but this whole talk of starmates was just too serious.
"I don't know what my soul did all those years ago to be parted from you for so long, but from the moment our eyes met, I knew I had found you. My starmate. I've waited thousands of years for you, Lisa." His arms tightened. "And I've finally found you."
He brushed his lips against hers, but Lisa couldn't make herself return his kiss. The whole notion of starmates was impossible. And the fact that Zon thought she was his… that was insane. But she couldn't tell him that, not after he had been so sweet to her. Instead, she mumbled that she was tired and turned over.
She didn't sleep.
Chapter Ten
"And this is the filter that detects any pathogens or foreign particles and analyses them before breaking them down to the atomic level." Zon's hand felt heavy in her own as he showed her the quarantine section for any new food or water taken on board. "Sometimes we have to jettison those atoms back into space, though. You wouldn't believe the weapons people create."
Lisa struggled to pay attention. All this should be fascinating, but she was too preoccupied by what she had learned of Zon's feelings for her. His starmate. She had to admit it had a nicer ring to it than soulmate; something more universal, maybe. But it was still terrifying. Yes, she had already planned to stay with Zon for the foreseeable future, but that was because she didn't know anything about this new world she had found herself in.
And we're having a baby together, she reminded herself. It wasn't like she could just leave him…
But love made things so much more complicated! She wasn't entirely certain that she believed that love was real, and not just a product of chemicals released in the brain. What happened when those chemicals ran out? What happened when Zon got bored of her and decided she wasn't his starmate after all?
Her arms wrapped around her middle as she turned and walked away, not even bothering to try to pay attention anymore. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of all the things that he could do with her after that. She was valuable. Who was to say that when she wasn't exciting anymore, when he got tired of constantly protecting her, he wouldn't just sell her again?
I'm his pet, not his starmate. He could tell me anything and I'd believe him.
Zon's large hand closed around her waist, tugging her out of the room they were in. She let him pull her along despondently.
The warlord took her back to their room, where he shut the door with a bang and turned her to face him. His mouth was set in a thin, angry line and his nostrils flared. For some reason, Lisa was actually happy that he was angry with her. It was crazy, she knew, and there was no reason that she should be happy to see him angry, but she was.
Maybe there is something wrong with me. I like him being angry with me. I like it when he's a little rough when we have sex.
But she loved it oh so much more when he was gentle and kind with her, or when he gave her that smile that nobody else could elicit. When he held her hand in his and kissed her forehead, it all made her glad to be with him, made the ache of losing her world and family a little less painful.
"What is going on with you?" Zon grasped her shoulders. "Ever since I told you we were starmates, you have been acting like somebody is going to die. Please tell me what is going on in your head. I hate seeing you in pain. Is it Earth? Are you just realizing that you will never go back?"
"It's not Earth," Lisa mumbled.
"Then what?"
Tears began to fill her eyes. Stupid pregnancy hormones. Zon looked even more alarmed at that and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
"Did you change your mind about the baby? Do you—"
"No."
A long pause. Zon's breath was shallow. "Do you want to leave?"
Lisa shook her head.
"Then what?"
"I don't want you to leave me." Her voice was raw.
Zon pulled back, eyes wide. "Why would you think I am going to leave you?"
"Because one day you're going to wake up and realize I'm not that interesting."
"How can you say that? You are the most fascinating woman I have ever met. You're beautiful, intelligent and strong, and when you make up your mind nobody can budge you." Zon cupped her face. "I would like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life with you."
More tears. "You really mean that, don't you?"
"Of course."
Lisa wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. She didn't want to cry but found herself sobbing anyway. "I was only ever able to count on my brother before," she whispered. "Our parents died when we were young, and we were put into foster care. We went from home to home and were adopted twice. But nobody ever kept us. Nobody ever wanted us. And when I started dating… it was the same thing. I wanted forever and they just wanted a fling."
Zon's arms tightened around her.
"It was always my fault when we broke up. I was boring, too stubborn, I gained weight, I lost weight, I worked too much… Nobody would ever stay with me. My brother was the only person I could count on." She looked up at him, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Zon wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb, a furious expression on his face.
"If I could, I would take those men and tear them apart. Your fault? If they couldn't see what a wonderful person you are, then it's their fault and they ought to have been flogged for it."
Despite her tears, Lisa giggled. "That's what Tom used to say. Well, not the flogging. That it was their fault that they couldn't see how wonderful I was. I always thought he just said it because he had to, because he was my brother." Her lip trembled. "I miss him."
"I know." Zon gently kissed her. "And I know that will never go away. Sometimes I still wake with this ache in my heart after dreaming about my parents. But it will get better. I promise."
Lisa mopped her face and laughed, embarrassed by her meltdown. "I'm not usually like this, I promise. It's these stupid pregnancy hormones."
"Anything that makes you that beautiful can't be stupid."
A crooked grin emerged, and Lisa's heart jumped. Despite the remnants of tears still on her face, a swirl of heat filled her belly. Pregnancy hormones! She clutched Zon tighter, her gaze steady on his face. He saw what she wanted and grinned, picking her up. Her legs circled his hips, and he pushed her dress–a piece of clothing he referred to as a 'var'ki', as opposed to his more masculine 'var'kin'–up around her waist.
"We don’t have long," he murmured, shifting aside his own clothing. "We'll be at the United Species summit soon."
"Then you'd better be quick," Lisa replied, clinging to his shoulders.
Nerves churned briefly in her stomach. Zon was confident that his fleet could fight off anybody who came after her, trying to steal her from him, but he wanted her to be a proper citizen with rights, m
aking it illegal to sell her, and the United Species was the only way she could be granted those rights. That in itself ought to have been enough to reassure her of his feelings towards her, but she hadn't been thinking straight.
In the next moment, though, his hand was between her legs, preparing her for him, and her head fell back, thoughts of everything except what was happening in that very moment fleeing from her brain. She clung to her alien warlord, moaning, grateful that he had found her at that auction.
His arms tightened around her as he looked into her eyes, swapping kisses back and forth as he filled her.
Chapter Eleven
Lisa ran her hands lightly over the swell of her belly as she walked through the silent, dim halls. It had taken several 'standard months' for her to receive her citizenship from the United Species, so much time that she was almost ready to give birth. The first thing Zon had done once she was officially a citizen, though, was to bring her here.
A group of religious archeologists had come to this world decades ago and claimed that they had found Earth due to the high levels of geo-nuclear radiation and the DNA they had managed to extract from the fossils that scattered the planet. A museum had been built, orbiting the planet.
This particular wing was a memorial to the dead, a crypt where pieces of bone were displayed behind glass walls, besides genetic reconstructions that hypothesized what the individual would have looked like. In some cases, they were lucky enough to find a full skull, but that was rare. In very rare cases they were actually able to put names to faces and had a little information that was salvaged from long-dead computers and records.
"How right did they get them?" Zon asked, walking beside her.
They were looking for the era that Lisa had calculated would be most likely to have been the 1900s and 2000s. Very few remains had been found from that time, but she hoped that there would be at least one person she recognized.