“How long will it take you to get here from Orval?”
“Three days at top speed.”
Harwin looked surprised.“That is fast.”
“I use between technology.We slip between dimensions.It is only fair, as I am the Hmrain between the elders and the new.Hybrids are sort of a fascination.”
They concluded their pleasantries, and Orex sat back, staring at a dark screen.He brought up all of the documentation that recorded a woman named Zelda and her daughter, Aretta.What he found in the archives astonished him.He almost felt sorry for the raiders she had lured in to do her bidding, and the witness who had betrayed them both.He was going to settle things at home and get the ship number.
* * * *
Zelda hummed in thesolar shower, getting the last traces of blood off.They had been fairly true to type.First, they wanted to taste the goods, and then they were going to heal her and put her to sleep.She threw a wrench in their plans.They really should have taken into account that some of the most successful at survival were dangerous.She was honest enough with herself to claim that title.
She finished getting the half dozen colours of blood off her skin and hair before she went and got the coverall that she had put in the cleaning unit.The bots were scrubbing the interior of the ship, and the bodies were out of the airlock.This pirate ship was hers, and she wanted to be on Aten as fast as she could.When her daughter woke up, she needed to be there.They had gotten through the end of the world; she wasn’t going to lose her now.
* * * *
Orex finished up thework, got his advisers advised that he was going to visit Ra, and he took off.The ship code had been sensed on a certain trajectory, and he was going to snag Zelda and haul her ship to Aten.
The more he learned about her past, the more he was shocked that he hadn’t checked the dossiers before he went looking for a companion.Her history was that of violence and incredibly protective actions.She had taken care of a group of two hundred against all comers.Her preferred weapons were two sharp blades tied to her back.Silent and effective.He wondered if it would be an appropriate courting present.Other Hmrain took issue with their consorts behaving recklessly, but her only instinct was to protect.As long as she didn’t seek out danger, they would get along.
He ordered some clothing for her and spoke with Ra again.Ra was grinning but agreed to keep the Terran from getting lost in the crowd if she got there first.
Ra said, “You know it when you see it.Harwin was dying at my feet, and I still knew that she was mine.She was the first daughter of Geb I had seen in thousands of years, and despite the change in size and pigmentation, her spirit made her ancestors proud.”
Orex nodded.“I have read what I could of Zelda’s files.Ferocious is an understatement, and deadly only begins to cover it.I am on my way to Aten, and if I see her on the way, I will snag her and bring her along.”
“Do it carefully.You do not want to lose her respect.If you left a companion behind, make sure she is offered re-education before you leave.It will engender goodwill with Zelda.”
“Oh, I had not thought of that.Would it matter to her?”
“Was she awake when you chose the other woman?”
“She was.”
“Then, it would matter.But put her on a different world from your consort.Just a recommendation.My palace was awash with murder of those trying to gain my favour.Only keep one woman in your bed, and the same one in your home.They have had to fight to survive, and that makes them a little less likely to share partners.”
Orex nodded.“I will call and have Marta healed and educated.”
“And have a plan for how to raise an adolescent female.That will be important as well.”
“Have any other Hmrain raised the children of their consorts?”
“No.You will be the first.”
“Lovely.”
Ra grinned.“No one to ask for advice.Yavor and Usatho have each brought siblings to their worlds.That would be close but still a distance away, as a child requires education and more interaction than an adult sibling does.Bring clothing for the child, a tablet, and have a plan for child minders and educators.I do not think that I am going to have as much alone time once the child arrives.I have also heard that the parents become reticent to couple at random when a child is there.”
Orex blinked.“This is becoming complicated.”
Ra nodded.“What consort isn’t?Orex, taking your life, your existence and adding another person to it, one that you need to care for and maintain, binding your life and hoping that they can eventually quicken with your child.That is when the real planning kicks in but also the true joy.”
He smiled, and Orex could see the deep joy in Ra’s features.
Orex asked, “What do you think will happen to the planets with all these Hmrain descendants around?”
“Well, they will be protected, they will be guided, and there will be enough for each world to have their own.Not all will want to take on the family business.Some may be artists or craftsman or support staff for their siblings.The fun thing is that a Terran can continue the evolution of a second- or third-generation Hmrain.Yes, they put out that much energy.”