Sid saw her walking and rose up to meet her. Something had changed, Kate realized. Before, when there were other people present, his behavior toward her was much more professional; distanced even. But now he hugged her and held tight as if no one was watching (Xuff was definitely watching, Kate was certain of it). Could it be that the near-death experience they all went through had softened him up? Whatever it was, Kate didn’t complain. She stayed in his arms, safe and warm and almost oblivious to the world around her — until she actually heard Xuff coughing. Politely but unmistakably. Guess some social signals are the same across species…
“As I was saying, Captain,” Combat General Xuff remarked once she knew she had Sid’s attention, “life support and operational systems are all back online thanks to Theth. But for the Mechs to repair our Quantum Drive and Ror to make the proper algorithmic calculations to account for our unique positioning… it looks like it will take a few cycles at the very least, before we are able to jump back from The Shrinking.”
To Xuff’s surprise, it was Kate who responded first to all of that.
“I’m sorry if this sounds like a silly question, please indulge me. This… Shrinking, what does it look like? What’s out there right now? Would it be safe to take a look? I mean, since it sounds like we will be stranded at the end of the universe for a while…”
Kate’s question was directed to Sid, of course. She felt a bit like a child, asking to be taken to the zoo while the grownups were clearly busy doing grownup stuff. But perhaps that near-death experience had changed Kate as well. She certainly felt more daring. More like her sister. She flashed Sid an innocent-but-charming smile and, to her surprise, he smiled back.
“I don’t see why not. We will have to wear Ith suits of course, but they will keep us safe. My particular skillset is clearly not needed much at this point, so I could just give you a tour of our surroundings,” Sid added almost sheepishly, briefly glancing at Xuff.
“He also wants to skip the grownup stuff and go to the zoo!” Kate realized. It was surprising but not illogical: after all they had been through, even the Captain could use a break for a while…
As Sid took her to the smaller time shuttle, the one they had used for their first time jump together on future Earth, Kate felt excited. Giddy, even. Oh, Jennifer would have definitely approved of this.
“Welcome to the end of everything,” Sid said, pushing the door lever open. “We can’t stay long, the Ith suits are not technically built for this kind of environment, or non-environment if you will. I think we may have one or two thousand time units, seconds as you call them, before we have to get back.” And with that, he set up a timer on his wrist terminal and stepped outside the jump ship, extending his hand to Kate. She took it.
Her first steps outside were cautious, aware of the limits the suit was imposing on her motor functions. The Ith suits looked like Berranav’s chainmail dress, only these ones were more like scuba-diving suits: form-fitting and covering their head. Kate could actually feel a field of energy emanating from the suits and extending all around them, like an aura field. It was probably thanks to this field that they were able to breathe, talk and see, she realized.
Visiting the end of the Earth just a few days ago, on their first trip with Sid, was tough. More than tough: it was heartbreaking, because of all that it implied. Yet back when they were on the charred surface of the planet she called home, there was still a ground for them to walk on — albeit black and barren. And there was a sky to look up to, although a yellow one (since the atmosphere of the Earth had been destroyed in the Xerrks attack). But turns out the End of the Universe, The Shrinking, was nothing like the end of the Earth at all.
For starters, notions of up and down didn’t seem to exist here. Nothing did. It was all pitch black, illuminated only by the light on their Ith suits. As for the ground, that was another mystery entirely.
When they first stepped out on The Shrinking, there was nothing to technically step out on. Kate was certain of that. She just assumed that the suits kept them floating somehow, spacewalking like astronauts. But now it seemed that she was …wrong? As Sid and Kate kept walking away from the jump ship, weirdly shaped plateaus, like puzzle pieces taken out from different planets or asteroids, started materializing underneath their feet. It was a very weird way to walk.
“Are we doing this?” she asked Sid. “Are we, I don’t know, creating ground?”
She couldn’t see his expression clearly, but he seemed proud.
“Yes, Ith-rassil. This is the end of time for this particular universe, a no-time where nothing exists. And yet, we exist and we are here. If we stay long enough, we will probably cause a cataclysmic anomaly but for a few hundred seconds more I believe The Shrinking will tolerate us. You should be aware though: our mere existence here will cause certain phenomena. You will know what I mean soon. This was always my favorite part about visiting The Shrinking…”
Indeed, Kate soon knew what Sid meant. Light sources started appearing around them; tiny flickers at first, that very quickly turned into some colorful waves very similar to Earth’s Aurora Borealis. It was truly phantasmagorical. Kate took Sid’s hand and stood still for a while, admiring the spectral images.
“As far as second dates go, this isn’t such a bad one,” she murmured.
And then, as if her words were somehow shaping reality, the spectral images started becoming way more specific.
Kate and Sid watched, in awe, colorful scenes of themselves morphing from what seconds ago were just color waves. There were Wall Street agreements that Kate didn’t remember securing. Ithaden wars that, as Sid pointed out, hadn’t been fought yet… And there was a child that had definitely not been born yet. A child with a pair of blue, very human-like eyes that looked just like Sid’s, running with two very human-like legs toward his parents. His parents, who looked just like older versions of Sid and Kate. With a gasp, Kate let go of Sid’s hand. The spectral images disappeared, returning to Aurora Borealis mode.
Kate didn’t trust herself to speak at that moment. She didn’t need to, anyway. Deep down, she probably already knew whose DNA it was that she had been impregnated with. And why that person had such an influence in the Ithaden government and had taken such a particular interest in her… But just in case there was any doubt, the look on Sid’s face at that moment told her anything she wanted to know. He was crying.
“I… I have never been shown images like these in The Shrinking, when I was here before. It was just the colors. Pretty colors. I thought you would like them,” he muttered, clearly at a loss himself over what he just saw.
“Oh, I did like the colors. I liked them a lot… Your Majesty,” Kate hissed before she started walking away from him, back toward the time shuttle.
She didn’t know why she was angry at him. It was clear from what he’d already told her that his DNA was taken when he was still a teenager. He had no idea it would be used as an experiment on living, human women like that. In a way, Sid was also a victim of all this, Kate realized. He never meant to be a father, to raise a child; he just donated genetic material to save his home…
And that was the root of her anger. That the guy she clearly seemed to have very deep and very complicated feelings for, was also the father of her child — and neither of them chose for this to happen. What should have been a mutual decision, made out of love and after they had already spent enough time together just the two of them (more than two dates, certainly), was forced upon them for basically political reasons. The happiest decision of their lives as a couple had been taken from them.
By the time they reached the jump ship, Kate was crying too.
“l thought this room was private. Gene-coded to me. Ror said so.”
Kate didn’t mean to sound rude. But she wasn’t feeling particularly conversational either. Not too long ago, at the End of the Universe, she had undergone an enormous emotional revelation that involved an alien, dragon shifting prince and their child (Kate didn’t know whi
ch one of these words felt more surreal) and all she wanted was to just be left alone. So the second they returned to the main ship, she headed straight for the only place she knew no one would disturb her: her private, spa-like bathroom… There at least, she could be alone for a bit.
She striped from the Ith suit and wrapped herself in one of the bathrobes hanging from the wall, although she wasn’t feeling like taking a bath. She felt like crying, without anyone watching and worrying about the state of her health. Or so she thought. Because while she was busy bawling her eyes out, the door suddenly opened and Combat General Xuff of all people barged in.
“Rorrasan was correct about this room. But I have the codes to bypass any gene-coding on the ship and I have had…use of this space while you were away,” Xuff said, closing the door behind her. The black and white Ithaden looked completely unruffled by Kate’s curt tone and her teary, puffy face. Xuff headed toward one of the peripheral benches, seemingly more interested in the room itself than its human occupant, who was currently sitting at the edge of the bathtub looking dumbfounded. After a few moments of awkward silence, Xuff started talking.
“When I first met Prince Sidanav we were younglings. We trained together. Him to become our King one day, me to lead our armies. Our friendship and understanding deepened with the years,” Xuff said, her eyes finding Kate’s now. What was the purpose of this trip down memory lane? Was she trying to hurt her even more?
“I am not trying to challenge your affections for Sid. I have respect for you. But we have been due a conversation; neither of us managed to be frank with one another last time you were here.”
“What makes you think this is the right time, Xuff?” Kate felt her snark levels rising dangerously.
“Because I know him,” the alien said simply. “I know him probably better than most. I’ve seen the strength of your bond, twice now. And I see what it does to him, not being able to communicate with you. I cannot have the captain of my ship sitting like a forlorn bride, brooding because you refuse to talk to him. It endangers all our lives, the life of your child included.”
Well, as far as intervention speeches went, that one was oddly pragmatic. And for that, it got Kate’s attention. Plus, there was something in the words Xuff used just now…
“What do you mean, your ship? I thought it was Sid’s? Especially since, you know, he’s the Prince and all like you just said?”
“This ship was gifted to me by the Royal Family when I ascended to the rank of general,” Xuff explained. “A generous gift, certainly, but not unusual given my bond with the Prince at the time. When Sidanav decided to drop everything and work for the Time Agency instead, he managed to convince me that it would make an excellent ship for missions. And he was right, as he is about many things… Now, the white light in this room annoys me. Do you mind if I adjust the settings a bit?” Xuff headed toward one of the 3D printers of the room, looking at Kate as if waiting for permission. Kate nodded, absentmindedly.
“User: Combat General Xuffil. Initiating settings sequence,” the robotic voice came from the 3D printer. In a mere minute or so, Kate was standing in a whole different room — if it could even be called a room. Because what used to be a pristine bathroom with a circular hot tub in the middle and a shower stall at the far end, now looked like the inside of a cavern. Dimly lit but pleasantly warm, with craggy, red hued walls that appeared distinctly organic…
There were still benches to sit on (although seemingly carved from rock), while two Ithaden hammocks were hanging from the ceiling. In the middle, where the bath tub used to be, a hot spring, deep enough for at least two people to bathe in, was bubbling from the ground. Kate didn’t know exactly what to do in this environment, so she took a cue from Xuff and sat cross-legged on the floor next to the hot spring. It was surprisingly comfortable.
“This place reminds me of home, of Ithaden” Xuff said, stretching her arms. The alien looked different in this light, her usually swirling white patterns now much smaller and almost completely still, like polka dots. She looked relaxed, Kate noticed.
“I used to come here with Thethil, Theth, a lot. Before you joined us and after you were gone. This was always the place I headed to when I needed to escape the others, to have private moments… that’s how I knew I would find you here,” Xuff explained.
She picked up something that looked like a pipe from the ground and dipped it in the water of the hot stream. Then, the Itaden brought the pipe to her mouth and started, well, ’vaping’. Images of the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, smoking its pipe while speaking in riddles, flashed through Kate’s mind. Like Alice, Kate too had fallen through the rabbit hole into a strange new word, she realized. Might as well go on with it.
“I thought we would have an exciting adventure, me and Sid, at The Shrinking. Instead, we were shown something. Something I think I knew, but wasn’t ready to see,” Kate said with a small voice after a while. She wasn’t sure how much Xuff knew of what was happening with her pregnancy, but she was willing to bet the Ithaden knew everything.
Xuff exhaled a ring of smoke and passed her pipe to Kate.
“The steam is relaxing, good for you. Harmless for the baby. Like the tea you like, that Sidanav makes you,” Xuff said. Gingerly, Kate accepted the pipe and what felt like a peace offering from the Ithaden’s side. She never was a smoker, but after taking a small inhale of the aromatic smoke she realized it was pleasant, not too strong. The steam indeed made her feel more relaxed — and oddly, more direct.
“I’m ready to listen to what you have to tell me now… The reason you came in here. It’s about your relationship with Sid, right? You used to be together?” Kate hazarded a guess.
Xuff didn’t seem to be offended by the assumption. She didn’t seem to deny it, either. Although relationship wasn’t quite the right word for what her and Sid used to have. ‘Enforced engagement’ was more like it.
Prince Sidanav had many brothers and sisters, according to Xuff, but he was the only one who was fertile. So when he became of age, he was supposed to take the throne and usher in the next royal generation. He had already offered his DNA for the Third Sun experiment, although very few people apart from his parents and Xuff knew about that. All that was left, was to marry a suitable mate.
Xuff headed from a long line of military Ithaden and was groomed to be the next General when she became of age. Almost since they were born, she and Sid were pushed together, their union already decided: they were to train together, learn leadership skills together and get married, when they became of age. This whole ship, as it turns out, was a bridal gift to Xuff from the King and Queen to welcome her to the royal family.
“When you are being told all your life that this is your mate, the person you are to spend the rest of your life with, you tend to believe it,” Xuff said, blowing some more smoke rings before passing on the pipe to Kate again.
“But when I see you with Sidanav now, and myself with my current mate, I realize he was right all these years ago. In such matters, being true to yourself is more important than doing what is expected of you.”
“So what happened?” Kate felt uneasy by the notion of an arranged marriage. And certainly pleased that Sid and Xuff didn’t go through with it.
“The eve of the Prince’s coming of age, he invited me in his quarters,” Xuff recalled. “I was expecting… something, you understand. We were to be married in a few days after all. I remember being anxious as I was going to find him, perhaps part of me knowing deep down that this wasn’t right for me. But he managed to surprise me. Very much,” the Ithaden said, a faint smile on her face.
When Xuff arrived at Sid’s quarters that day, he was in his dragon form.
“It was the first time this had happened to him. The stress of the impending marriage, probably. It took him a while to calm down but when he did, it was clear to both of us that we were being pushed into a situation neither of us truly desired. We were the closest of friends, we cared for each other deeply. But the
idea of mating… ugh.” Xuff seemed to shiver at the thought, something that Kate found very amusing. A chuckle escaped her, and she realized it was a genuine one. Why had she been so tense around Xuff all this time? It seemed so silly now…
“It’s nice to be able to joke about this with you, Kate. This is not a story many people know, besides Sidanav, me and Thethanos.” Xuff’s face changed when she uttered the chameleon-like Ithaden’s full name. There was a hint of tenderness, that made Kate realize there was more to that particular story. Perhaps Xuff would tell her one day. For now, Kate wanted to focus on Sid.
“So you decided not to get married after all?” Kate asked.
“Decided is one word for it. Rebellion was what it was.” Now it was Xuff’s time to chuckle. “Oh, their faces when the Prince and I announced the next day that we would not move forward with our union! Although frankly, he was the one who sacrificed the most. Refusing to marry and carry out the royal line, meant he had to abscond his claim to the throne completely and leave the palace. Oh, but he wasn’t sad about it. Deep down, I knew he always wanted to work for the Time Agency and help people. All people, not just Ithaden.”
Kate felt her heart swelling with pride for Sid and his choices. Xuff was giving her a gift, she realized: the opportunity to really understand Sid, his motives, who he was deep down. She was grateful for that. She was also apparently under the influence of that weird steam they were smoking, so it was easier for her to speak her truth without worrying of sounding weak.
“The Sid you describe, the rebel… he wouldn’t be with someone because of duty, would he? Because he said he gave me a choice, he wanted me to choose whether I wanted to keep the baby. For the sake of Earth and the Ithaden empire. But he didn’t have to… be with me, did he?” Kate’s voice trailed off, lost in the corners of her deepest fears and insecurities.
The Ithaden’s Slave Page 11