When we arrived by the ship I left everyone outside and entered alone.
The hatch cycled, the inside opened, and he attacked with a sword.
I told him to stop before he hurt himself. I stood there, he whacked the armor a few times and his stance was lousy. I withdrew my sword and it crackled a little; his eyes got big and he surrendered. He didn’t want to fight but he was the last protector, well that was what he told Rodel.
I removed the sword from his hand, cheap. I took mine and cut his in little pieces. I think he fainted. Not sure, they had almost no gravity.
I cycled the hatch and brought the rest in. Rodel gave me the food and tea thermoses and cups from inside the box, its outside was too cold for us to touch safely. He wandered off to see if he could access anything aboard.
I took the guy and sat him on the floor near the hatch. Then Mi-LL took off her suit, wearing the battledress.
She called a few times for Tri-lee, I think she pronounced it. She finally got an answer.
Long story short, they were scared and they loved the food and tea and they stuffed themselves. They only had two suits that worked.
I took both women back and introduced Tri-lee to the others. Mi-LL told her the women were all mine and we tried to make babies every night. Like she believed it. Mi-LL told her how we did it and she said it was forbidden. I ran the same argument. She had to think as well.
Doc explained why it had to have been some guy who started the ‘religion’ so they didn’t have to please them, but it was stupid.
Rodel showed her a video of the way to do it and all three girls told her it was the right way.
Mi-LL helped her get a shower and the girls fitted her out for a battledress. An off gold. She finally realized we were not going to kill or eat her. I hadn’t figured out if they were excessively scared or had just seen so much terror. Tri-lee was shocked that I, a male, would stoop to so lowly a task as combing Doc’s hair. Doc told her in some areas I was unique.
Rodel said the guy was getting frantic. I put his mate on the vid and he asked what was happening. She just said, “Trying to learn to make babies the right way.” She spent an hour complaining to him about everything, then just killed the vid.
“I don’t think he knows, not his fault,” I said.
“If not, he should have,” was all she said.
I spent half a day transferring things from their spaceship to ours. I fired a Puddle Jumper to the nearest of our planets that had a recovery ship, the EMM. I told them who what and where, and we were going on to Camelot to see what could be done.
Rodel found a link to their computer with a patch cord and downloaded all the information he could access, most of it Koteck.
I finally let the poor guy come over to our ship. He went in and was slapped, and he had no idea why, but I guarantee he would.
I put a marker buoy on the ship and we started the series of jumps just to get back were we were so we could figure out were to go.
Along the way an alien man was introduced to sex. I forced them to accept Camelot rules or they were free to leave. Rodel married Tri-Lee to him but Mi-LL refused him.
When I asked Mi-LL about it she just said he was a coward in her eyes and what he said never matched what he did, and it wouldn’t change. One baby, more or less, would not save their race anyway.
I told him he probably had many years of frustrations to make up for.
After a few weeks they fleshed out some, and started looking better. Doc and the girls worked bokken swords every day, both of them against Doc and they got beat every time. He asked if they always fought with wood sticks. I laughed.
Doc showed him her katana and wakizashi. He drooled.
He said they were swordsmen. I smiled and gave him a bokken and squared him with Doc. He practiced with it until he felt confident. He claimed it was awkward on the other ship, no gravity, and he was still weak and out of shape. Doc tore him a new ass, ten out of ten. I saw what Mi-LL had been talking about. I told him, “We do not claim to be good but we always try to be better.”
If he wished he could join the beginner group with the two girls and Doc would see if he had any hope.
He was humbled and joined. Took us over a month to get to Camelot. I helped Mi-LL try to understand our culture along the way, but I told Doc, unless ordered by Aawasa, I wasn’t taking any more courtesans. We’d been gone almost a year and I knew I’d have my hands full. Doc promised to sympathize with me some time. She always had such a knowing smile.
Home For Awhile
We went to low orbit and were moved to the landing zone by tugs. About a million people were there to see us arrive, most to see the new almost-humans and a few to see me and Doc and the girls.
They were there, all six of the wives and six new children, and also there were almost fifty of the surrogates with their children. I explained all the babies were mine to our friends. I got some interesting looks. Doc told Mi-LL, “They did 40 women in two days and damn if they didn’t all get pregnant.” She laughed but didn’t tell how Linda did it.
Aawasa was the first to get to me. All giggly and smiles. She made all the introductions, it took me almost as long to meet all the kids and mothers as it did for Mi-LL to get over her shock.
There was so much to catch up on but intros to the aliens would be next.
Aawasa took Mi-LL’s hand, and was shocked, dropping it, and apologized. Took both again and looked. “You are right, my husband, these are not human souls as we know them, but they are much older, simpler. I see horror, much horror.” She already knew about the Koteck and everything from the jumpers. “I would need to study to know more. So different, yet almost the same.”
She looked at Tri-lee’s and her mate’s souls as well.
They could stay in Camelot if they could take living in a hovel like ours. Well with all the kids around it was almost true.
We gave Tri-lee and I guess Mik or Mac but wasn’t either really, the small suite that use to be My Captains, by the fountain. I told Latwasa to go by and make them goggles they could wear day or night, enhance the night, and tone down the days. I told them we’d prefer they try to be on the same clock we were and try to stay awake days and sleep nights, but we all knew millions of years were hard to change.
They were amazed at our town and our abilities. The real Rodel was trying to absorb all the new information we had.
I turned them over to several people willing to help.
I took Mi-LL to Aawasa, told her she had no mate and where should I put her?
“Mi-LL, you refused Mik as a mate. Why?” she asked her.
She looked around. “Well, Tri-lee was a sister of my mate. He called her many names in private and her mate even worse. It was they who ran to the ship corner while we tried to fix the holes. Finally when all was lost we went there and she wouldn’t open the door, he finally did but my mate was badly injured by then. I will not say they caused it, but I think they made it worse. No I will not mate him, even if it could save our race. Sorry.”
Aawasa said, “I saw good in her but I saw almost nothing in either of them, they are too strange to me right now to understand. We will give her our third room for now. Maybe a separate apartment later, we will see.”
I went home and got sexually assaulted, six times. All wanted me and only normal sex. Linda took care of the little things like soreness and stamina. I then slept three hours and they attacked again and again and I loved it! I had missed them so much.
Mi-LL would come out to eat and have tea and shower or sometimes play with the children, then go back to her room.
We were all in the bed, sitting around and talking, mostly about the aliens, and was there anything to be done.
“Doc said their DNA was not compatible to us at all. Unless we can modify theirs or ours or find more of them, they are doomed.”
Rodel interrupted, “I picked up two more of my shreds while you were gone.”
“Glad to here it, what, a million to go
?” I asked
“Not that many. Anyway, I know of these, they were before I was shredded. Shall I dump the info here or with them?”
“Anything harmful to us or them?” I asked
“No, just truths,” he said.
“One hour, throne room, have them presented,” I said.
“Yes, Sire.” He was gone. Well he was never gone.
We showered and cleaned up. I combed Aawasa’s hair, they each did the others and we were on time, had seconds to spare.
Our guests were there on time. Mi-LL was wearing the green battledress I’d given her. She was willing to adapt. Mik was too, but Tri-lee was a bit stubborn. She wore a light flight suit they had aboard their ship.
I told them to sit and listen to our first that we now called Rodel. “Believe it or not, but never openly say something is false without the ability to defend it. We kill if offended, and we don’t lie. Guest or not you would die.”
I turned it to Rodel. He spent hours going into the Firsts, the Father, the first Creator of Linda, Camelot’s sun dying, everything, and the coming of Jake and Linda. We ate food and drank tea as he went on. They had to learn it all or none would make sense. He showed some of the videos, the war, the Koteck horrors, and what we had on the Blood Sabers. He then went into what, as a First, he remembered of them.
“We were given scant advice on the making when the Father created the Universe. We tried different types and ideas for our idea of ‘humans’, the types not based on the latter Homo sapiens failed. Three types of Almost Human or A-Type were permitted to survive if they could, but no further were made. These people were one of those other three. The group we finally settled on was also another three types as well. Cro-Magnon, Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. After the first two failed all further ones were loosely based on Homo sapiens.
“I believe, but not with any certainty, another group of A-Humans died off. This one survived, but they were flawed, which was why they too were abandoned,” he said.
“Flawed?” I asked.
Mi-LL said she didn’t feel flawed.
“Bad choice of words, I’m sorry, no offense. Your people did not meet the requirements set for us. You were made nocturnal, night people, you were placed in dangers like the later man, to live or die. Your biggest defense, and subsequent downfall was being nocturnal. Your body temperature was found to cause a few problems as well. You never developed as workers of the land and you didn’t develop many of the technologies needed to expand and flourish and it was known you would not be able to do that which the humans finally, only a few generations ago, did.
“If I was complete I could give the information on the structure but if I was complete I would go to the Father as well,” he said.
“I do not know where they were in the universe, but they should not have been close. They have seen Blood Sabers too and the Creator’s mate was lazy, so we think they may be between the old A-Human planets and us someplace.” Rodel was speculating.
“I feel we made eight planets of each type we tried,” he said. “If totally unusable we just destroyed those systems and started over. These were not destroyed. That is where we stand. I am analyzing the star maps and videos of the ship they were on but it will take a while. I have little to go on. Just wanted them to know the ‘truth’ as I know it.”
“Rodel, no confusion. You said they were defective and were abandoned. Are you saying they were not a viable sentient species?” I asked.
“No Sire! If not viable they would be long gone. They just weren’t what we were told to make so we moved on. There could be a hundred or more other almost human planets in the universe; I was shredded before we got to you humans, Sire. I was given a lot of information back at the meetings with the Firsts but a great deal is still missing, I am still defective.” He was sad, I think.
I looked at them and said, “So, to put it bluntly, you were made before we humans. Like an inventor working an idea, each succeeding pattern is a bit better than the last. We think your pattern was almost the last. Viable, but not meeting the needs of the designer.
“That is a harsh pill to swallow, I know. When we found we weren’t of the Father or in his image it hurt us too. We weren’t his chosen, we were their chosen, but we said hell with it and survived.”
Mi-LL said, “But if we are the last we will not,” and I knew she was crying and held her.
Rodel told her we came very far and actually make rudimentary life in biochips. Their DNA was sent to two other planets that have high tech labs. If we poor humans could do anything we would, but time is an enemy and we had a war to fight.
“Rodel, we are missing at least one Blood Saber planet, are we not?” I asked.
“High probability, yes,” he said.
“If we go after the three planets we know, chances we get slammed in the ass by the last?” I asked.
“Also high,” he said. “Don’t forget, we are pretty sure there is only a fourth, but there may be more.”
“We will wait until we find the fourth then,” I said
“Logical.”
“Send all the star info to all planets that have computer analysis capabilities, I need star matches based on the Koteck ship’s data.”
“All that was included in our data packets and DNA samples, Sire. All are on their way.”
“Thank you, Sir,” I said. I said to Mi-LL, “All I can say is we will try. I was going to ask a question earlier; do you women fight with your men or just hide?”
Tri-lee said, “We can’t fight.”
Mi-LL said, “A lot of women took up the men’s weapons and tried, but all lost, so it didn’t matter.”
I said, “Tri-lee, we know your type, we call them whiners and complainers. I think you should learn to keep your comments based on false beliefs and formed through years of feeling helpless, to yourself. Now, you may join us, or we can put you back up in space, alone, so you may keep your own counsel. You are the only one who would listen.”
She went red.
“Well? Need a ride up there?” I asked.
“I am sorry,” she said.
“Then get that ridiculous flight suit off and put on a battledress, become a Camelotean. And do it now.” Dang that name still sounded so strange.
One of the wives got her an orange outfit.
Big brave Mik never so much as twitched an eyebrow.
“You three will learn the sword our way, you will learn or they, our children, who will be learning with you, will beat you bloody over and over until you do, or until you die.
“When you are ready, you will join the knights or our regular army and will help us kill the Blood Sabers. If your race dies it will die trying, as will ours. We are done,” I said, as I waved my hand.
Mi-LL stayed back a bit. “I don’t want to impose, you would allow us to try and fight?”
“Why would we not?” I asked.
“We don’t know you. Why?” she asked.
“There is an ancient saying from the Arabs, I believe. ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’. You are my friend.” I said, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
She thought for a minute and nodded.
Aawasa told me she needed a partner, would I? I told her no. We had 40 kids running around because she thought we’d all die and now we have almost 50 kids and we weren’t dead.
A call to Mary’s hubby in the south, she was having their third child. Did he know of any free males? No? Thank you.
I talked to The Chief; she said we had a dead seed man, of some miner’s tribe. Doc said he was a barren one and she couldn’t help him. Other than the occasional courtesan, he went unwed. Maybe he would accept the A-Human.
A meet was set for a few days.
I talked to Mi-LL a day or two later. “You know none of us can give you a child?”
“Yes, Sire, I know.”
“We have a male, he can have no children and is shunned by our women. He is a kind soul with bad luck, would you think about helping him and all
owing him to help you also?” I asked.
“You mean the sex thing you do with the wives?” she asked.
“You would be married to him as a mate. He will stay with you until you die or we find your own people, then it would be up to you both from there.”
“How long do I have to think?” she asked.
“A long time, he will meet you tomorrow at 10AM in my throne room for the first time,” I said. I think if she could she would have rolled her eyes.
At 10AM sharp Mi-LL met our miner. After a few words and looks his boxers showed he was interested in a deal.
They went to the small room behind the throne and chatted. I told Rodel to stay out of it.
Mi-LL said he was worried how he’d know she had a fever or was sick. I had Rodel see if we had enough info to modify a med to fit their needs. He said yes.
With all problems worked out, they were married by The Chief that afternoon and went back to the miner’s town by Royal Chopper for a two-week honeymoon.
When she returned to continue training she had a private conversation with me. “Once I got use to his colder body temperature I found he does as well with his tool as you all said. He told me he was kind of forced into it and I have you to thank, so, thank you!” She kissed me.
He told me privately, “She gives new meaning to ‘hot stuff’!” He found her lovely and loving, he was most happy.
Life whizzed by. Three months later we inducted Mi-LL and the two girls I brought back into the Knights of the Round Table.
They were given sword sets and shown our customs with them. Mi-LL cried, I think.
Tri-lee was still struggling but was at least trying. A few broken bones started curing her of her ‘I can’t’ attitude.
Earth said they might have a temporary solution to the A-Human (Almost Human) problem. They would forward it all when confirmed. Billions of computer hours had eliminated large chunks of the Universe as a possible home to the A-Humans or the fourth Blood Saber planet.
Another three months passed and with her hand bandaged, Tri-lee was inducted into the regular Army. Shield and spear.
Her mate was worse and wound up in a como group, running wire.
Blood Sabers Page 39