by Bethany Aan
She laughed. “I’m sure you could!”
Ri Looked up at his face and realized that his eyes were still on her chest. Looking down, she saw that the neck of her gown had slipped, revealing the shadowy valley between her breasts. She blinked. What was wrong? He was staring at her in a decidedly unprofessional way again. When her eyes cut back up to his face, he had the decency to blush. He gave her a sheepish grin.
“Has anyone mentioned how long it has been since any of us have seen women?” he asked softly. She felt her face go up in flames and tugged the blanket up to her armpits.
“Maybe I should have some real clothes?” she asked pointedly. He chuckled. Then she blushed even harder. “And… a bathroom?”
“Ah, nature calls,” he said, rising to his feet. With a little chitter of his own, Jace seemed to tell the kimis to move, then picked Arianna up in his arms when they obeyed him. She blinked, startled that they were so smart, but even more surprised at his use of mental energy to make it happen. Hunter had said he was the only one with Reader abilities among the men. Did he not sense his own second-in-command? She would have to remember to ask him about that, when she saw him again.
Jace carried her over to the bathroom, setting her right on the toilet. Since she hadn’t been given any sort of underpants, that just expedited the process. She couldn’t meet his eyes as he left the little room, closing the door behind him. She did her business as quickly as she could, then called out softly that she was done. When he opened the door, she was standing, no longer on the toilet. A girl had her dignity, after all. He arched a brow at her, but picked up on her embarrassment and chuckled. Then he wordlessly held out a piece of material. She took it. It was a fresh medical gown, but longer than the one she was wearing now. More of a loose, open tunic, really. Short, it came to just the middle of her thighs. And of course, it closed in back, like all hospital gowns seemed to.
“Some things really are universal, aren’t they?” she muttered. Jace politely turned his back as she stripped out of her gown and quickly donned the new one, though why he would bother at this point, she had no idea. “You’ll have to help me tie it.”
Jace laughed, turning, and reached around her to fasten the thing. He stood closer to her than he probably had to, close enough for her to catch his enticing scent. It was spicy, like Hunter’s, but with something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Different, but just as stimulating as Hunter’s scent. She blinked, realizing that the smell of him had much the same effect as his commander’s. What in the world was wrong with her? At least Jace couldn’t read her mind, like Hunter could. Her face heated anyway, just at the thought of being attracted to both men. That was not like her, at all. Okay, it was, but only in a distant sort of way. She’d never been attracted to two men at once that were actually attracted to her.
She decided that the meds were having an adverse affect on her libido, and tried to put it out of her mind. Jace was no more appropriate for her than Hunter was, and for the same reasons.
He caught her blush, though, and chucked her under the chin, raising her face to his gaze. “You blush quite prettily, little Ri, when you are close to me.”
“I can’t seem to help it,” she admitted softly, wanting to be honest. “It’s your scent, I think. I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“It does,” he assured her with a grin, “But only in that you are injured and I cannot court you as I would like.” With that startling pronouncement, he stepped back and went on as though they hadn’t had such a sweet, intimate moment.
“I suppose that for humanoids, at least, the design of a medical gown needs to allow the doctor access to just about everything,” he said, going back to her comment about the gown being ‘universal’. He bent and scooped her into his arms, carrying her to the bed. The kimis squeaked and chittered happily as she was settled once more in their midst, then cuddled close to her, thrumming happily.
“I think they like you.” Jace’s smile was tender and admiring as she showered the little fluffy things with love, a sweet smile of enjoyment on her face. His throat tightened. Such a nurturing soul she had. He could easily see her with his child at her breast, looking at it just like this, perhaps crooning or singing to it softly. He also knew that it was a very long shot that such a thing might happen. The med center just wasn’t equipped for the sort of thing she needed, to re-grow an organ. But he wanted so very much to be the one to put a child in her arms. His brow furrowing, Jace decided to spend his afternoon free time digging back into the medical archives to see what he could find on artificial wombs. Perhaps what had not worked in his species could work in hers. Stranger things had happened, and he was willing to bet that she would welcome any attempt.
“I want one of those,” Amy called plaintively from the other end of the long room. Jace turned to face her, arching a brow at her wheedling tone. What a spoiled little creature she must have been on Earth. “Bring one to me.”
“Tell your girl that these creatures have minds of their own,” he told Arianna, scowling faintly. “We do not cage or otherwise trap them. They have the freedom of the compound. When they find someone they deem worthy of their attentions, they simply claim that person as their own. These have claimed you, at least for now. And tell her that the kimi also have a strong empathic sense, and that her animosity towards you is probably keeping the creatures from her.””
Amy scoffed when Arianna translated.
“They’re just animals. I want one. If I have to wait till I can trap one and build a cage, I will. And she’s not our leader,” she insisted, scowling at Jace. “She’s just some middle-aged woman that happened to be with us when we were taken or whatever.”
Jace glowered at the girl, but declined further comment until he could talk to her directly. The woman had a lot to learn about respect for authority and her elders. Instead, he turned back to Arianna and rolled his eyes.
“They lack maturity,” he noted. Arianna nodded and grinned.
“That, they do.”
“What did she mean, ‘they’re just animals’?” Jace asked quietly. Ri sensed his distress on the matter and wondered at it.
“On our world, a lot of people are taught to believe that animals have no feelings, no souls, no spirit or intelligence to speak of.” She shrugged, her expression sad. “I think they’re morons, personally, but I’m in the minority.”
“Every living thing has a spirit,” Jace told her quietly, his expression intent as he watched her for a reaction. She nodded agreement. “Even our rider beasts. We do not force them into our service, but ask them. They understand that, in return, we will provide protection, food, shelter during inclement weather, and affection when they wish it. Even those who do not serve us come to us when they’re sick or their young need help. Many of the animals that live around the compound do.”
“And the predators that tried to eat us when we got here?” Ri asked, giving him a wry half-smile. He chuckled.
“They are a different matter. Alpha animals, all of them. But no less capable of thinking and feeling for themselves. Once you understand an animal’s heart and how it wishes to communicate, you can do so much more within your surroundings.”
Arianna grinned helplessly at him, her heart melting a bit more for the easy-going, handsome doctor. He smiled back at her, letting his emotions show. For a long moment, they simply watched one another. Then he shook his head and she felt his regret.
“I suppose I must see to their care for now,” he muttered, “But if you need me… or if you just want the pleasure of my company, call out. I will leave you in the capable paws of the kimis for now.”
Arianna smiled sleepily in thanks, feeling the medicine moving through her body, relaxing her. All around her, the kimis kept up a steady thrumming, lulling her into sweet slumber.
“What will we do with these things?” Trey asked the following evening, once the men had returned and he and Hunter were in the command center, going through the various bags they
had collected from the crash site. Instead of giving the women their things right away, Hunter and the computer experts had decided to first try to decipher what belonged to which lady, and then to give everything back to them at once, cleaned and repaired. There was a large pile of the stuff in the command center now, but many of the men had gone to find their evening meals, bathe, and rest before embarking on this monumental task.
Hunter would like to do the same thing, with the addition of checking on Ri, but he wished to look through her bag first. He wanted to learn more about the little woman whom he was beginning to fear would steal his warrior’s heart. Every effort to oust her from his mind the past two days had met with failure. He knew she thought they would not be able to have a future together. She was so easy to Read, since she had yet to learn to shield her most of her thoughts and feelings from him. She was worried about his desire for a family and her inability to provide one. And he had to acknowledge that her fears were legitimate. There were ways around that, but he wanted her to come to her own conclusions, for them to work through her insecurities without having back-up plans. Were she a Thorsani woman, she would not even think about something like this, would instead realize her worth as a person, not just a womb. But she wasn’t Thorsani and Hunter knew that there was a depth of psychological damage to her that he was loath to delve into until he knew her much better… and she trusted him more. She had to trust him, fully, for him to help her.
Not for the first time since the arrival of the women, Hunter wished fervently that his older brother, Sean, had been on board his ship when they escaped Thorsan. Sean would have been able to straighten Ri out by now and reassure her. He was simply that talented a Counselor. Hunter knew his Ri well enough to know that she would have responded very successfully to Sean, as fully as she had to Jace and Hunter.
He grinned to himself, thinking about her confusion and embarrassment when she was confronted with him and his brother at once. She was so cute when she was trying not to be attracted to and affected by bother of them at the same time. He and Jace were having far too much fun with that, but he had a feeling that she was accepting her ‘deviance’, since the men were not complaining. He needed to fuel that acceptance.
Hunter grunted and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
He needed to get the little warrior healed up and in his bed. Soon.
But he had to get her past the belief that she was not worthy of a relationship because she was barren. Hunter wanted none of the other girls. He had met them all, and while most of them were very pleasant, lovely young women, Arianna was the only one he had any sort of reaction to. And what a reaction!
He also had to be realistic, though. Hunter knew that his position required that he be one of the first to mate and produce the next generation. And he wanted that, more than just about anything. He was more than a hundred and fifty years old. It was time for him to have a family. Past time, if his mother had been right.
But he could not get past the fact that every time his mind connected to Arianna’s, he felt a wonderful, complete sensation, as though his soul had finally found its home, after so many years of lonely searching. It stung that she could not bear children, but he could live with that, if he had to.
He wondered if he, as the leader of his men, could eschew the colonization directive and not reproduce. He thought about it a moment, then decided that he’d have to think about it later, when he wasn’t so tired. It could be a touchy topic. How could he ask his men to do something that he was unwilling to do? Then again, was it fair to the young Arianna to be relegated to the proverbial rocking chair while all her friends and the other women were busy raising families? She was not meant to be alone. Of that much, he was certain. Perhaps he would bring it up among his senior officers, get their opinions on whether he could avoid having to produce a family. Though that could be a loaded proposition, as well, since his senior officers were either close friends or close relations, and at least one of them was also interested in Arianna as a potential mate. His men could easily cry bias, if he wasn’t careful.
“Hunter?” Trey asked, his tone of voice indicating that he’d called for Hunter several times already.
“I want to look through these things, make sure there is nothing dangerous first,” Hunter said shaking himself from his reverie to answer Trey. “You should go eat and rest.”
“You do not wish help with anything else?” Trey asked quietly. “You have been holding that bag for a good while now. I could help you translate any of the data inside, if we are able to use their technology.”
Hunter thought about it a moment, then nodded. Trey had always been good with computers and was a prodigy when it came to making alien technologies sit up and sing for his enlightenment. Sending one of Trey’s men to get them both some dinner, Hunter sat back and waited until Trey had played a bit with some of the other devices, until he had a working adapter for the cords that obviously went into the machines, and had established a translator within their computers. After testing a few different devices to make sure that their adaptations worked, Trey grinned and nodded.
Opening Arianna’s bag, Hunter pulled out several strange-looking data devices, obviously that because of the dark screens and multitude of buttons. He pulled out one leather-bound device that had a white screen, was larger than the other items, and slim. The leather cover had carved symbols on it that he suspected were writing. He looked carefully at those, then at the various items with writing on them. He would have to get Arianna in here to help him decipher all of it. He was pretty handy at translating, himself, but… any excuse to get her alone in a reasonably deserted place that was usually fairly dark, he thought with a self-deprecating grin. Deciding it was the moment of truth, he handed the largest device over to Trey first.
Trey took the thing and out of a tangle of cords at the bottom of the bag, found a white cord that had the same markings. It seemed to go to her device. Grinning in anticipation, both men leaned toward the screen of Trey’s computer, waiting for the information to come up. It took several long moments for the translator to work, but finally, words began appearing in Hunter’s language.
“They’re books!” Trey breathed, “Books from the women’s world!”
“Yes!” Hunter murmured, looking through the strange titles. “Copy those. I wish to have as complete a database of their writings as possible. We will ask Arianna, Beverly, and perhaps a few of the other girls who are willing, to come in and help us translate any words that our systems can’t understand.”
Trey nodded and quickly tapped in the correct commands to his computer. Hunter started to dig into the pack, then decided it would be simpler to just dump it out on the desk beside him. A small pouch holding a number of tiny plastic cards fell out. The little cards scattered over the surface of the desk, but Hunter managed to catch them before any fell off. Trey looked at them curiously, then examined the large device.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything on this thing to put those into,” he said, sighing in disappointment. “But there are other devices. Perhaps they-“
“You have to take the back off of it.”
Hunter and Trey whirled in their chairs to see Beverly smiling at them with excitement.
“You found our electronics!” Bev cried happily, moving forward to look at all the little pieces. “Oh, wow! We can listen to our music again… if we can come up with a compatible power supply system.”
“Already done,” Trey said proudly, showing her what he had set up. She made an appreciative noise, then took the Nook from his hands and expertly popped the back cover off of it, showing them how it was accomplished.
“See,” she said, leaning forward to show the men the tiny space where the micro SD cards went. “You just slide this one out of it then slide the next one in. Wow! 64 gig. That’s hard-core. I wonder how she got around the file size limits?” Realizing that both men were staring at her, uncomprehending, she grinned ruefully and went on. “Pop the card-holder back do
wn and you’re good to go.”
Hunter grinned at Trey and Bev, watching them go into what Ri would later lovingly dub ‘geek mode’.
“Wow. I wonder whose Nook this was? They have an incredible collection!”
“I believe it is Arianna’s,” Hunter said, showing Beverly the pack he had found it in. She looked at the driver’s license on the front, then blinked and gave a startled giggle. “What is funny?”
“Did you know that her last name is Hunter?” Bev asked, sitting back and smiling at him. He blinked, his mouth opening in shock. Mutely, he shook his head a Bev went on. “Neither did I, but that’s just a funny little coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Hunter is a rare surname on your world?” Trey asked, highly amused by his cousin’s reaction.
“Not really. It’s a lot more common than, say, mine.”
“Why do you have last names?” Trey asked, frowning. “Why not just give your children unique names?”
“There are too many people,” Bev shrugged, sitting forward and replacing the SD card in the Nook with a new one and letting Trey punch in the commands for saving the next batch of books into their archives. “We have over 7 billion people on our planet now. There are a number of people who share the exact same name, sometimes even in the same city.”
“How do you keep them all straight?” Hunter asked, stunned at the irresponsible numbers.
“Birthdates, social security numbers, personal information… that kind of thing. We have a system. It’s not fool-proof, but it mostly works.”
“Why do you not control your population, instead?” Trey asked, seeming truly confused. “Most worlds only get to that high of population if their resources are plentiful, and from what I have heard of your planet, such is not the case.”
