by Viola Grace
She patted him on the shoulder. “Get up. It’s time to help me flip.”
“Yes, my queen.”
She paused, sighed, and started doing the bends and tumbling.
She looked at Ytal and said, “Before you ask, if you want to, yes, you can give me a rubdown tonight.”
He grinned and hugged her. “You read my mind.”
“No. I am just getting used to strange men touching me, which is a sentence I never thought I would say.”
He grinned. “I don’t care; I just like being near you.”
Her wristband chirped, and she saw that the doctor was in and the hour had been blocked off. She patted Ytal to get him to let her go, and she headed out, grabbing her tablet with all the questions she had been accumulating into the night.
She entered the med centre, and a concerned doctor greeted her. “Maya, why did you need an appointment?”
She frowned. “What sex are my eggs?”
He blinked. “What?”
“What sex are my eggs? Did they change after the alteration? Did I get Relitan eggs? What the hell?”
He was stunned as she paced his office.
“You started your court.” He smiled and stepped toward her. “Wow. What did you do, find a guardian?”
She gave him a dark look. “I asked a question, and I have a whole tablet full of them. So, please... Eggs. Boys, girls, mix, what?”
“Uh, your ovaries had Relitan genes mixed in. The sex is the same as your original eggs.”
“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” She punched the wall.
“Maya. What is wrong? It is perfectly normal to be nervous about having offspring.”
She grabbed him and hauled him to his terminal. “Check the scans and tell me that someone isn’t going to notice that.”
He humoured her and looked at the documentation then back at her scans, and the reports and back again. “This can’t be right.”
“It is.” She hopped up on the med bed and punched it.
“I have to report this.”
She whipped around to stare at him. “You really don’t. I have two years with the suppressor shot to work this out.”
“Um, no. You don’t.” He prepped an injector, and the hiss of the shot happened a moment later. “The governor has changed the thrust of your assignment here.”
She grabbed the spot where the injector had struck her. “What was that?”
“The negator for the suppressor. It should be ineffective within seventy-two hours.” He looked at her face. “The governor has ordered it.”
She inhaled and exhaled slowly. “How do I speak with the governor? There isn’t any link in the systems.”
Lylwin blinked. “I will pass on my report and your request for communication.”
She gritted her teeth. “Now. Do it now.”
He frowned. “You said you had questions...”
“And I will ask them, but you just jammed a hormonal cocktail into my arm because the governor said so, and I am currently with two other teams on flood control and in a hostage situation. What the hell is she playing at?”
He tapped a message into the com and nodded. “There. Done. Now, about those questions...”
She got a far more comprehensive explanation of how things were going to work, and she was able to answer some bits about how humans were designed. He showed her on the scan where the pods were and explained that they would mobilize when there was an egg. The first one to the egg was the strongest and fastest. The pod would expand and encapsulate the egg when insemination would begin. As the egg grew, the pod would surround it and protect it. When it was ready and stable for transport, she would expel it, and the father would pick it up and tuck it into his gestational flap. Maya had to cover her mouth when he said that; this was a very serious talk.
The father’s body would form an armoured scale to protect the egg, and it would grow for six months, at which point the father’s body dissolved the shell and the flap unsealed. The child was eased out into the world, umbilical cut, and the mother gave it its first breath and took care of it until the father recovered. Recovery took a matter of weeks, depending on the father.
She frowned. “What happens to the other pods while the queen is pregnant?”
“They wait. The pod with the egg keeps the other pods from doing an incursion. So, once the development starts, they wait.”
“How many pods are safe for me to have at any one time?”
He looked at her scans and snorted. “Eighty-five? Rough estimate. You don’t have the narrow tube that the queens do.”
“Do NOT put that in a report. I will break your fucking legs.” She growled at him.
“I will not put that in a report from this day onward.”
She groaned. “You already did.”
He winced. “I might have sent the report the last time we spoke. May I ask why you are so... extra aggressive today?”
She looked at him, and her composure crumbled. “I hurt, and people died, and I can’t talk about it because it involves other teams and...”
He hugged her, and she bawled. She was shorting out as she kept the other teams working on their assignments.
“Who is your counsellor?”
She sniffled and wiped her cheeks with her hands. “What?”
“The counsellor assigned to you when you arrived.”
“Don’t have one. I am guardian support.” She sniffed. “I will be fine. I just have had a very stressful few days.”
“Stress? You took three lovers. That should have been relaxing.”
She narrowed her eyes. “It might have been if I had any idea what was happening. Keeping all of your biology secret is not great when someone has a guardian coming at her.” She sighed. “The first one was fun, the second one was tense, and by the third day, I just wanted an opportunity to relax. Don’t get me wrong, all three were spectacular, but since I was confused as to what was going on internally, I wasn’t really able to have fun.”
Lylwin nodded. “I understand. Thank you for making the appointment. I comprehend that you are dealing with a lot of new ideas, and you are handling them well.”
“I just burst into tears and threatened to break your legs in the last five minutes.” She gathered herself together. “Right. Our appointment is up, and I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
He gripped her arm, and he said seriously. “You said you hurt?”
She sighed. “Have you ever screwed guys three days in a row? There are muscles and tendons that suffer some strain, not to mention some of the surface irritation that I got from a combination of Boran and saltwater.”
“Take off your suit.” He frowned. He was suddenly an actual doctor.
She sighed and stripped down. “You are running over the clock.”
He snorted. “I will bill you.”
He got the scanner and turned on the table for a muscle scan. “How are you walking around?”
“Um, on my feet.”
“I can give you a cream for the light burn. It is more solar damage than the electrical irritation. I think your skin just got a little dry.”
He turned away and went to the cupboard. He got a jar out and returned. “Let me just see what this does to your skin.”
She frowned. “I can put it on.”
“Allow me. You have some irritation on your upper chest, and I can certainly reach it. I promise that I will not press for an invitation to your court while you are in this office.”
Now, she caught the euphemism. “Right. Thank you.”
He opened the jar and dipped his fingers in. He rubbed her skin across her chest, reloaded, and moved over her ribs and belly.
She sighed as he let it soak in.
He prepped a hypo. “This is just to relax some of the screaming muscles with a light painkiller that should be effective. It will also numb your skin a little, so you should not engage in any dangerous activities. Yo
u might not notice bruises or cuts.”
“Okay. No product testing today.”
He smiled. “How does your skin feel?”
“Good. I have a few hot spots. Can you hand me the cream?”
He chuckled. “I will do it. It is not something that you should be handling.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.” He picked up the jar again and smoothed more lotion on her skin. He started with her nose and forehead, then worked on her breasts and shoulders. When her torso had been worked over and was slippery, he closed the jar.
She sighed. “I hadn’t realized how much that was irritating me. So, can’t have Wave and Shock back-to-back or, at least, not if I go swimming. I had forgotten how seawater dries my skin.”
“Ah, so dry skin combined with Shock.”
She blushed. “Yeah. Can I get up now?”
He pressed the hypo into her thigh. “Yes, you can.”
Her head spun, and he caught her. “Easy, Maya. That will wear off. Give it five minutes.”
“Can you cover me?”
“Of course.” He eased her back on the bed, got a sheet, and covered her up. She thought that he might have had nefarious inclinations, but he kept an eye on her vitals, and then, he exhaled and smiled. “How are you feeling now?”
She paused and took stock. “Better. Definitely glad that you caught me. Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I let you out of here more banged up than when you came in.” He held out her bodysuit and helped her get it on her feet. He worked it up her legs, and she lifted her butt when he told her to.
She started laughing when he helped her sit up.
He paused. “Is something funny?”
“You are the first Relitan that has been putting clothing on me.”
He stopped and smiled. “Well, then, I thank you for cooperating.”
They got her dressed, and she sealed her suit over her still-slippery skin.
She looked at him. “Was there a sedative in that shot?”
“No. Why?”
“I feel remarkably calm.”
“It might have something to do with your emotional outburst. Do you have them often?”
“Um, no. I am usually really self-possessed.”
“I want to see you again tomorrow morning.”
She sighed. “Yes, Doc.”
She checked on her teams, and they had both dealt with their respective events. She smoothed her suit and patted the tight roll of her hair.
“Wait. Can I release one of my court if they find a better match?”
He frowned. “It has happened, but I don’t know of any males who rejected their queen.”
She sighed. “I just mean if any of my court believes that they made a mistake by choosing me. If they find a better queen.”
Lylwin smiled. “They might if you are infertile, so if it happens, it will be quickly. If aliens are considered incompatible, they are simply removed from Relita.”
Maya nodded. “Right. Good to know. I am going to head back to my office now. Thank you, Doc. I have a few things to consider and not a lot of time to do it.”
She headed back to her monitors and programs, looking up what kind of maternity leave the guardians were entitled to. If she didn’t have some form of birth control going, her court were all going to be pregnant before the first baby was born. Which would mean that the guys would be on restricted activities. Birth control on Relita wasn’t really a thing. Their bodies couldn’t host an STD, and they had a decreasing birthrate. She had signed the contract. If she had kids, they were Relitan citizens. Maya was beginning to suspect that she had traded one confined life for another, but at least this one had vacation spots.
Chapter Thirteen
“Command Control, online. Meeting request denied.” She smiled slightly.
Thud had filed a personnel meeting request with her, and she verified that she was able to before she denied the request.
He growled into the com. “Is there any particular reason?”
“I am in the cradle and doing maintenance on another world. If the matter is urgent, I suggest you call your local representative.”
“Very well, but you aren’t going to like it.”
“Command Control, out.”
She felt very smug for precisely three hours.
The knocking at her office door was new. “Enter if you have authorization.”
She heard the thud of footfalls and pulled herself out of the data streams of Relita before she looked around. The guardians were standing near her, and they all looked pissed.
“What?” She swivelled the cradle toward them.
Thud growled. “You have a meeting with the governor.”
“Great. When?”
Wave muttered. “Now.”
She wasn’t sure she heard correctly. “Now?”
Shock sighed. “Now. Now, shall I short out all your equipment, or will you come with us to the boardroom?”
She sent the signal to lower the cradle and stepped out of it. She was standing face-to-chest with Thud. “Why here?”
He growled. “Because you won’t answer your com when it’s us.”
“I just needed a day.” She looked up at him, and his eyes were as pretty as she remembered.
“I would give it to you if I could, but we are on her schedule, and she is nearly here. She hates waiting.” He nodded toward the door.
She nodded and started walking. They followed, and when they got to the boardroom, they stood with her against one wall, and they waited for the governor.
Maya was just about to fidget when the door open, and two men entered and flanked the door. The woman who came through was close to Maya’s size, but she was definitely Relitan. Her age was somewhere between fifty and eighty; there was no way to tell. She was also wearing clothing and jewellery that was worth more than everything Maya had ever owned.
There was a weird effect on Maya’s nerves, and she blinked when it occurred to her that this was a queen.
The guardians bowed, and she nodded to the older woman.
Instead of sitting at the table, the woman came up to Maya and looked her over.
“Your court is too small.”
“I have only had three days out of this building since I arrived, Governor.”
The woman smiled, and there was something about her eyes that echoed as familiar to Maya. She turned her head slowly and looked from Thud to what had to be his mother. His cheeks darkened.
“Ah, he didn’t tell you. That is good. I am glad that it isn’t something you thought to use to your advantage.”
“I don’t do much thinking nowadays.”
“Funny. I have heard about you endlessly over the com. My grandson is taken with you. That is good, but you know what I really need?”
She wisely didn’t answer that. She was going to say manicure.
“You have spoken with Dr. Lylwin, have you not?”
“I have. He ran some tests. Checked things out and jabbed me with an injector because you told him to!” She snarled and took a step forward.
The guards looked nervous, but Thud took action and wrapped her in his arms from behind.
The governor smiled. “So, you can do more than make charming quips.”
“You know what we discussed then.”
Thud’s mother grinned. “I do. How many do you think you can produce comfortably?”
“I have no idea how uncomfortable it is. I haven’t done it yet.”
The governor smiled. “But you will. How long will it take?”
“Not long. I would have done it if you would have asked.”
“This is so much more expeditious. You get restricted to working on Relita, and I get granddaughters.” She grinned. “I am Hiirin, by the way.”
Thud’s arms tightened. “Mother, what are you saying?”
“You are holding a queenmaker. Her spec
ies are rapid cyclers. One of her should help with our population degradation. A few generations should stabilize us, and the Terran influence will dilute. By then, we will have a more balanced populace.”
“So, my daughters won’t have this issue.”
Hiirin chuckled. “That would be terrifying. No, your children will be Relitans. That was in the agreement with the Imperium and your avatar.”
Maya nearly fainted with relief.
“You were worried about them?” Hiirin smiled.
“Of course. Plus, even if they were restricted to one partner, that could be two kids per year for close to thirty years. That is quite the spike for just one female.”
“It is, but that is not the goal. We just need a burst of powerful queens to increase our population.”
Maya nodded. “I have one question.”
The governor smiled. “Certainly. What is it?”
“What do you do when all three of your guardians are pregnant at the same time? What effect does it have on them in the later stages?”
Hiirin paused. “That is a very good point. Surrogates will have to be used in rotation. You might also need to expand your court to increase time between male pregnancies. I think you will need a chart.”
“How many girls do you want? It is going to get ridiculous at some point.”
Hiirin blinked. “That is a very good question. I will have to check the numbers. Tanoth, what are the numbers?”
One of the guards smiled. “Eighty-five queens across the globe would settle the dropping population and start a surge.”
“That’s twenty years’ worth.”
“Perhaps not. Dr. Lylwin is trying something. We should know the results in about—”
“Seventy-two hours?”
Hiirin smiled. “You are very clever. Good. I would hate stupid grandchildren.”
There was a knock on the door, and Dr. Lylwin came in. “Apologies for the delay.”
Maya tried to get away from Thud, but he held her securely. He leaned in and said, “The men by the door will take you down if you come into contact with her, and they will not be delicate about it.”
Dr. Lylwin loaded files in the projector, and he began flipping through them. She saw the body charred and broken with only the right hand strangely free of damage.