by Lucy Kelly
Rune was happy Addie was feeling good and taking her forced bed rest so well. Even with their medical technology, there was only so much they could do to keep her from entering premature labor. They wanted to give the babies every chance. Multiple births were fairly rare on HeVan so the medicals were scrambling. Having Catherine on board ship was a miracle, as far as he was concerned.
He’d just put the tray, filled with bite-sized breakfast items along with a protein shake in a cold cup, down on the table near Addie’s elbow, when the door chime sounded. It was still very early in the day so he wondered who it could be.
“I’ll see who it is. Do you want me to send them away?” he asked Addie.
“No, I’m expecting visitors,” she replied with a smile.
He gave her a questioning look and went to open the door.
When he saw Grace and her Ankida, he smiled. This wasn’t an interruption―they were family. “Are you going to watch our movie marathon with us? I’m not sure what Kylan is picking out,” said Rune.
“I’m not sure. Addie just called and asked us to come over. I’m up for a good movie,” answered Jett, as he led Grace to a recliner near Addie and then took a seat on the nearest couch, Justyn following behind.
“Where’s Jalen?” asked Addie.
“He took Sugar for her morning exercise. He’ll bring her along in a couple of minutes.”
Rune had returned and asked their guests what refreshments they might like, when the chime sounded again. Turning back to the door, he was surprised to see Granny Mac and her Ankida, as well as Jalen and Sugar. Of course, now Granny Mac was Beleti Glynnis of Purgat.
“Hey, Granny Mac, glad you could come over so early,” Addie called out.
“Anytime you need me, honey, night or day, I’m there,” she answered, before leaning over to give her granddaughter a kiss on the forehead. Then she walked over to kiss her other granddaughter, and found a seat on the second couch.
Rune went back into the kitchen to bring out some coffee and various Danish. He was starting to get a little suspicious.
Grace leaned over and grabbed a couple of the bite-sized breakfast quiches on Addie’s plate. “I love these, especially the bacon and cheese ones.”
“Rune’s gone to get pastries, but he’ll bring us more of these and the mini hash browns, too,” said Addie.
“Do we have any coffee-flavored protein shakes? I’d like to fool my brain it’s getting the caffeine it’s begging for,” said Grace.
“That’s what I’m having. I’m sure Rune will bring you one; he’s really thoughtful that way.”
The two sisters and their grandmother ate their food and gave updates on how they were feeling, since they were getting close to delivery.
Kylan came back. “Has Arjun returned?” he asked the warrior on duty.
“No, Commander, but Lady Grace and her Ankida, as well as Beleti Glynnis and her Ankida arrived for a visit,” he said.
Kylan raised his brows in surprise. It was still very early in the morning. He was wondering what Addie was planning when Arjun came back. They waited together, discussing the status report Arjun had received when the warrior they sent off with the dogs, returned. Kylan had not had time to tell Arjun about the visitors so Arjun got a surprise when he entered the lounge area.
Addie and Grace were listening to Jalen update Addie on the training progress of Sugar’s pups. Sugar and all of the pups had been altered so her Great Danes would be the only ones of their kind on HeVan. She looked up and saw Arjun and Kylan standing in the entry.
“Oh, good, you’re here. What movies did you bring?” she asked Kylan.
Kylan relaxed and smiled. “I remembered hearing some of the warriors discussing a movie about an archeologist. I thought I would like to see a movie about the job you intended to take back on Earth. Then I discovered there were four movies about this archeologist, called Indiana Jones, so I brought them all,” he said and handed the bag with the movies to Addie.
Addie and Grace exchanged looks and tried to keep their faces straight.
“I’m glad you picked out those documentary films on one of our most famous archeologists. It will be nice for you to see the type of job I turned down in order to come with you,” she said and gave her grandmother a wink. “But before we get to the movies, I need you to update me on what happened last night. Tell me why we are no longer moving. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean my brain cells have leaked out of my head. I am your queen; Grace is in charge of all security and justice. In this case, it means she needs to be informed of all legal matters. Finally, Granny Mac is our current Regent. So where did you go last night and exactly what is happening?”
At this point, Granny Mac chimed in. “Actually, dear, I participated in speaking to the rude young man in charge of the Gate. I’m glad you’re asking about this, dear. I agree you should be fully informed…Rale?”
Rale Kolrami looked at Glynnis, Arjun and finally Addie. He could see some golden sparks coming from Addie and started to spill his guts. It took about an hour for Addie to get the entire story of the situation they were in and what had happened the night before.
When she had heard everything, with Kylan and Arjun adding information on what had taken place after Glynnis had left the Bridge, she had a few things to say.
“First, how is Makor?” she asked.
“He’s going to have to stay in the float tank for the rest of our journey. He’s being kept in a medicated coma so he doesn’t feel the pain of the burns. It is expected he’ll make a complete recovery,” said Arjun.
“Why wasn’t he put in stasis?” Addie wanted to know.
“Because stasis doesn’t heal you; its purpose is to maintain your life signs in whatever condition you are currently in. Hence the name—you are kept in stasis, never moving, never changing,” he explained.
Addie thought about this and worried about how Maggie was feeling and what they could do for her to make this easier. She brought her attention back to the group when her grandmother started smiling as she spoke. She could use some good news.
“We found out Maggie is descended from the Azure clan. We had the representatives from the House of Azure come over from the Venger to give her some support. Natalie and Jennifer were there. It turns out they are Natalie’s joins,” said Glynnis.
“This is good news. I did not know that. When we left HeVan, the House of Azure had only five women,” commented Rune.
“Then it’s even better. According to them, there are no women there now.”
Addie took the floor again. “I want to say I agree with the way you handled it last night. I didn’t need to be there. To get me out of bed and up to the Bridge to speak with this Ral person would have made us look weak, or a little desperate. That level of attention would have been overkill.”
Arjun and Kylan smiled at her. All of her Ankida were happy she wasn’t upset or angry at their protectiveness, until she started talking again.
“However, if a situation like this arises again, you have to tell me what’s happening and let me make that decision myself. Smart cookie, here,” she said, pointing at herself.
“So, if or when this King Ben KowLer arrives, he needs to meet with a queen. It would be an insult and won’t help our cause to pawn him off on someone else, even my grandmother. No offense, Granny Mac, but he’s met with a regent; we need to do one better here. I understand why you went hard line last night. You always think of my health and protection first, I get it. But today, we need to make a friend. We need to make King KowLer our ally. To do that, we need to show him a level of trust,” Addie said, finishing her speech.
Then she reached for her protein shake and let the others talk amongst themselves as she listened.
Arjun, Kylan and Rune were not happy because they knew she was right.
Chapter Five
King Ben KowLer had finished dressing and was having a meal with his sister, Princess BianCa, when his servant, GrumIo, entered the room to tell h
im they were in range of the HeVanian ships.
“Well, sister, are you ready to enact your role as my ambassador?” Ben asked.
“I’ll help in any way I can. You bring up a good point, though; it’s time you married. You were promised a queen and you deserve one. Besides, after two years of marriage, I still haven’t been to our country estate. Something like this always comes up and I don’t have a chance to go. Well, I’m determined to get there before the cold season ends,” answered BianCa, as they got up and prepared to shuttle over to the other ship.
There seemed to be some turmoil within the Nephilim power structure. As king, he had experience manipulating situations for his benefit. He wasn’t pleased to think he’d been manipulated by Malpha.
The trip from their ship to the HeVanian ship didn’t take long. He and his sister checked their clothing. They had both worn a traveling version of their royal vestments, to show respect and also to impress. BianCa wore a long dress of white silk with a sleeveless blue silk tunic over it, heavily embroidered along the lower edge and up the center seams. The tunic was belted with a wrap of blue silk, the ends hanging at the right hip. The white dress had wide sleeves gathered at the wrist. Over it all, she wore a silver cloak. The tunic mimicked the embroidery on the cloak. The cloak had a stiff collar which framed her head from the ears back.
The king’s clothing was similar except he was wearing black leather pants with a white silk shirt. His tunic stopped at the knees and his sash was gold, as was his cloak.
They didn’t bring any guards with them because King KowLer wanted the visit to be seen as non-confrontational. He wasn’t worried about the fact that he wasn’t wearing his normal weapons. He was a weapon. He was planning on confronting the Nephilim about the break in the current treaty. But he was doing it under the cover of etiquette, nice clothes, manners, and political doublespeak.
He and his sister were surprised when the airlock door into the ship opened. Standing in the docking bay were three young women. The first one, in the middle, had shoulder-length brown hair. She was wearing light blue pants in a fabric unfamiliar to the king; they rode low on her hips. Instead of wearing womanly slippers, she was wearing heavy boots. Her top bared her arms and her midriff. He could see a gold ring in her navel.
The second woman had short blonde hair cut like a man’s. She also wore similar light blue pants―only hers were much shorter. Her entire leg was almost bare. She had two triangles of fabric covering her breasts with ties he could see went around her torso and neck. Instead of shoes or slippers, her feet were nearly bare in sandals. These had two thin straps starting between her first two toes and then wrapped around either side of her feet.
The third woman―or more accurately, a girl―was the most female-like. Her hair was also blonde and quite long. It hung just passed her waist. She wore a patterned dress with a scoop neck. Unfortunately, it clung to her like skin and the hem stopped above the middle of her thighs. The shoes she wore resembled the slippers KowLer women wore; only the back end was lifted two or three inches by some type of post.
None of the women wore any kind of official emblem; he wasn’t sure how to address them.
“Hi, welcome aboard. I’m Natalie and these are my friends, Jennifer and Cassandra,” said the middle woman, as she stepped forward and held out her hand.
“Why do you hold out your hand? Am I supposed to give you something?” asked the king.
“Though we are Nephilim, we only recently learned of our heritage. We were born and raised in a different culture. On the world of our birth, there are many ways to greet people. We clasp the right hand. There are several variations, depending on how closely you know the person you’re greeting. Though we have monarchies on our world, my country is a democracy, so the clasping of hands is the correct greeting,” explained Natalie.
Ben bowed his head and held out his hand, “Thank you for the explanation. Shall we try again?”
Natalie shook his hand, which seemed to shock him for a moment but he caught on quickly. Then she introduced him again to Jennifer and Cassandra so he could shake their hands as well. After that, he introduced his sister and the three girls greeted her also.
“What is your position?” the king asked. “Are you an ambassador?”
“Nope, just a regular citizen,” said Natalie, as she motioned them to follow her.
Ben KowLer walked beside her as his sister followed with the other two ladies.
“When we found out we were Nephilim, we made the decision to emigrate. We didn’t pack very much because we’ll be joining a new culture. We each brought our favorite and most comfortable clothing as well as personal family mementos. That’s why we’re not all dressed up. Clothes aren’t that important, but I really like yours. We’re all looking forward to doing some major shopping when we arrive on HeVan. I’ve been lucky; yesterday evening, I met the two men with whom I will join. Jennifer hasn’t met her joins yet and Cassandra is just sixteen. Almost every other female on board met their joins back on Earth and is pregnant, including the queen. Addie is having sextuplets so the docs put her on bed rest. She asked us to come and bring you to her because we don’t really have any other duties and we’re female. This was the best way to give you a more traditional Nephilim greeting, mixed with a little Earth casualness. It’s a simple way of preparing you for this visit. Addie wasn’t a queen a year ago, so she’s not like other monarchs,” said Natalie.
As they walked through the ship, they noticed warriors at several of the main corridor junctions. They entered a lift to get to the correct deck. When they exited, both Ben and BianCa were surprised again. Lined up on the sides of the corridor were people. He could see a great many pregnant women. Each one was flanked by at least two men―a few had three. As they passed a grouping, Natalie would wave or say ‘hi.’ But she didn’t stop to introduce the two visitors.
There was one section of wall with no people—just a door.
“Why are the occupants of this room not in the hall? I would suppose your queen asked all the mated women to appear?” asked the king.
“Maggie and her Ankida are in medical. One of her Ankida was injured coming through the Gate. He’s going to be in a coma for the remainder of our voyage and possibly for some time after that,” she said.
“I’m glad he will recover from his injuries,” was the only response the king thought to make.
He wasn’t informed that one of the Nephilim had been injured. He made a note to speak to Ral about it later.
Finally, they reached a larger door at the end of the corridor flanked by two warriors carrying large spear-shaped weapons with curved blades at the ends.
“We’ll leave you here,” said Natalie, as she passed a hand over the door sensor.
King KowLer and Princess BianCa turned to say goodbye to the three girls. Turning back to the door, they were confronted by another tall warrior. Like most of the warriors they’d passed on their walk from the docking bay, this man was a head taller than the king. It was disconcerting to be looking up all the time. He remembered hearing the Nephilim were very tall. Surprisingly, this warrior appeared shorter than the stories he’d heard.
The warrior stepped back to allow them entry. Before they could step forward, two large animals came to the door.
“Don’t be alarmed; they are my wife’s pets. They’re very friendly and only want you to pet them,” said Rune.
Before he could signal the dogs, a female voice from within the room called them back.
“Come in, I’ll introduce you to everyone,” said Rune, gesturing with one hand.
The surprises continued when, after passing down a short hallway, they stepped into a large living area. Seated in a gel chair was a woman with pale milky skin, long hair the color of fire and enormously pregnant. This was not the surprise, though. What was shocking was that she seemed to be glowing. She was surrounded by a golden aura and flickers of gold sparkled in the air.
“Hi! As you can see,” Addie said, as
she waved to her body in the chair, “I’m not really in a position to get up. My name is Aditya Marie Perez Azazyel. I am the Nam-Nin or High Queen of the Nephilim. This is Arjun, Kylan, and Rune,” she said, pointing to each of the men. “They’re my Ankida, mates or joins or husbands, depending on how you look at it. Mostly, they’re the guys who put me in this condition.” She took a minute to pass her hands over the mound of babies resting inside her. “Over there on the couch is my sister, Grace Melina, and her three Ankida, Jalen, Justyn, and Jett. My grandmother, Glynnis, might stop by later; she’s down in medical right now checking up on the injured pilot.”
Addie paused in her introductions to allow her Ankida and Grace’s to exchange greetings with King KowLer and his sister.
At this point, the princess stepped forward.
“Greetings, I’m Princess BianCa of the KowLer people. This is my brother, Ben KowLer, King of the KowLer and Proctor of the Clan of KowLer,” said BianCa.
She and her brother were both taken aback by the reception they had received so far. For herself, she liked it. But her brother was more straitlaced and very much the king. It looked as if he were about to get a lesson on how to lighten up.
“It’s really nice to meet you both; please be seated. Grace and I aren’t very graceful these days and we’ll get cricks in our necks if we keep trying to look up at you. Ben―you don’t mind if I call you Ben, do you? You’re all dressed up and everything but I’m not a pomp and ritual type of queen. I think it would be better if we just became friends,” said Addie.
As Ben sat in the chair next to the queen, he wondered if this entire situation were some kind of ploy. The negotiations between the KowLer and Regent Malpha had been lengthy and filled with political maneuvering and ritual. The sessions with her Council members still gave him headaches just thinking about it. He watched his sister take a seat near the queen’s sister, Grace.
Grace looked at the princess as she took her seat. “We left in kind of a hurry. Some criminals I put in jail tried to kill us so I didn’t get a chance to shop for maternity clothes. We’re just learning how to use the clothing replicators on the ship. None of the women who came along are clothing designers. So our grandmother and two other older ladies on board―who actually have an idea of how to sew―figured out how to make stuff for us. I have to say, you look gorgeous in that outfit. Is it comfortable?” she asked Princess BianCa.
