“Perhaps we should find a more private pathway,” Sid said, just loud enough for her to hear. And then he chuckled at how red her cheeks had turned as he guided her out of the locker room and into the cafeteria.
“Ithaden don’t think about nudity in human terms,” he explained as they sat at a table.
“Most of them wear some item of clothing or more, but that’s because it serves a purpose, such as protection in battle or augmentation of blood circulation, not to protect their modesty.”
Apparently, the reason Sid got angry enough to dragon out when Berranav interrupted them last time, was because Kate was naked.
“So as long as you’re the one wearing clothes, I’m cool,” he said while 3D printing her a stack of pancakes. About time: she was starving.
Sid’s “all’s well in the world” attitude lasted the whole day, although by the time they finished their shifts they were both too exhausted for another steamy session. But he cuddled with her in bed for the longest time, before 3D printing a hammock for him to sleep for a few hours. It was becoming Kate’s favorite thing in the whole world, she realized: falling asleep with Sid, or at least, with Sid in her general vicinity. Mostly, waking up with him.
The next few weeks passed in such a state of bliss, that her old, rational self was almost waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop. Sure, they all worked hard to fix the ship’s engines and drive so they could finally leave The Shrinking and travel to the Time Agency as per the plan… But they did so as a team, a family. Never before had Kate felt such a strong sense of belonging — whether she was at the deck working with the Mechs, eating lunch with Ror at the cafeteria, smoking steam with Xuff in that cave version of the room, or sleeping with Sid in their own private suite. Mostly sleeping with Sid, of course. If someone were to tell her that she would spend the rest of her life like this, Kate wouldn’t mind at all.
Even the dreams were manageable. Sure, they were more frequent now: almost every night, Kate dreamed of the fear, the terror she felt at the Ithaden lab, when everything around her looked so white and strange. She dreamed of being injected, being examined by the scientists, feeling her insides bursting with flames as the Ithaden DNA took hold in her womb… And she dreamed of meeting Sid at the lab, who wore his human form so as not to scare her, so as to make her feel safe. And every night, Kate would wake up only to find Sid holding her tight.
“Are you having bad dreams, Ith-rassil?” he asked her one night.
“Not dreams… Memories. Some of them are coming back, I think, and not the fun ones.”
Sid looked worried at that, worried and sad.
“You’ve been through so much… I’ll never stop feeling guilty about it.”
“Don’t,” Kate said, kissing his forehead. “The bad things can’t hurt me anymore, they’re just shadows. As for the good things… we’ll just have to make some new memories,” Kate said, her hand slowly traveling to his groin.
Although she was well acquainted with every inch of his body by now, Kate still found his Ithaden anatomy fascinating. Completely indistinguishable from a human man when he was aroused, Sid’s member was hidden the rest of the time, his pelvic area as smooth as a Ken doll’s. Well, not for long.
“Make some new memories…like now?” Kate asked as she started to massage him, revelling at the changes her touch brought to his body.
Sid’s body wasn’t the only one that was changing though. One of the following days, Kate was printing a fresh blouse to wear between shifts, the same style blouse as always… only it now felt considerably tighter. Her belly had started showing, she realized with a jolt.
Kate had to sit down for a moment. It’s not like she had forgotten about her pregnancy, but there were no new symptoms lately (apart from being hungry all the time, which she had gotten used to by now). She hadn’t felt any morning sickness, or the baby kicking. But there it was, an unmistakable belly bump… Kate cupped it with both hands, noticing it felt warmer than the rest of her body. Not sure what she was supposed to do next, she messaged Sid on her wrist terminal.
“Can you get back to the room? And bring the scanner? Please?”
It was a big ship. Sid was supposed to be at the other end of it, inspecting some of Ror’s latest fixes to the Quantum Drive with Xuff. And yet, he was by her side in just a few minutes.
“What is it, Ith-rassil? Are you alright? The baby?”
Kate nodded and stood up, allowing Sid to take a good look at her growing belly. He didn’t seem taken aback by it.
“Perhaps I hadn’t noticed how much it has grown,” she said. “And it feels… warmer now. I suppose I panicked a bit. Wanted to run a scan, just to make sure everything is okay.”
She didn’t need to tell him twice. Without much ado, Sid picked up the scanner and pointed it to her belly. When the beeping sound came, he sent the scanned files to the nearest screen.
There it was, their baby. Their Third Sun. Curled up in Kate’s womb, seemingly asleep. It looked much larger now, much more defined. She could make out the nose, the eyes, perhaps even the fingers if she looked real close… She remembered last time Sid had shown her a scan of her little stowaway. How much time had passed since then? A month? Two? It felt like a lifetime ago. She was so confused back then, so angry at all the weird things that kept happening to her, so desperate for some real answers. Now she had all the answers, and then some. She turned to look at Sid.
“This is our child, right there,” she said. “It still feels hard to believe.”
Sid’s face was a smorgasbord of emotions: there was pride, joy, awe — some sadness, even. He put the scanner down and held Kate tight, his body radiating warmth and safety.
“We need to make sure you have proper clothes from now on. Should be Ith-spun, to regulate temperature and protect the baby.”
Kate nodded. Within minutes, Sid had printed her a golden camisole that hugged her body perfectly, without being too tight. It also cooled her down considerably, enough to be able to wear her regular blouse on top of it.
“Okay, I’m okay. Let’s get back to work,” Kate said, now eager to stop her brain from obsessing over baby related issues. “How’s Ror’s repairs going? I remember you said his latest iteration looked promising…”
If Sid realized she was deflecting, he didn’t call her out on it.
“I think he’s getting there. Xuff is not 100% pleased it it. But then again, when is Xuff 100% pleased with something?” He chuckled, wrapping his hand around Kate’s waist and walking with her out of their room.
The time they all spent stuck at The Shrinking certainly brought them closer, although tensions have also started to arise. For one, Berranav had a much shorter fuse than usual, snapping at Ror and the Mechs.
“It’s not his fault,” Xuff had told Kate in one of their get togethers. “Like me, he was bred and raised for war. Only to fight it, not command it. He doesn’t do well when he spends a lot of time without something to punch.”
And Theth was even more aloof than usual, hardly ever seen around anymore when not working a shift. Kate didn’t want to ask Xuff about her though. She suspected it must be difficult for Theth to replenish her emotional energy levels while stuck at the same place with the same people with not much happening. If anything, Berranav’s outbursts seemed to be much welcomed by the chameleon-like Ithaden. At least Theth could absorb some of his aggression…
Yeah, their little family was still a functional one. But everyone was hoping for the ship to be fixed so that they could get going soon. So when Ror came to the cafeteria the next day when they were all having lunch, to announce that he finally figured it out and they could now safely set a course for the Time Agency, everyone cheered. Even Xuff.
Kate had heard so much about the Time Agency from everyone on the ship, that in her mind it had become this mythical place; a place certainly worth sacrificing a kingdom for. A floating building made from the gold-like Ith, glistening mid-air above the Ithaden capital to showcase the Ti
me Agency’s impartiality in all matters… According to everyone on the ship, it was a sight to behold.
Or at least it would have been, if it still existed.
Everything seemed to be going right at first. Sure, given their latest track record, Sid, Kate and the rest of the crew were understandably nervous when they strapped in for their time jump from the End of the Universe. But as they calibrated for the jump and the cabin lights dimmed, there were no weird incidents: no sudden shaking, no vacuum bubbles, no failure to launch due to a Quantum Lock. Their collective sigh of relief once they reached their destination, reminded Kate of the way people on Earth sometimes clapped when a pilot managed to land an airplane smoothly. She was fighting the urge to clap herself when Sid started talking.
“Time navigation was successful. We have finally reached home. It will be nice to stretch our legs a bit, but I have to remind you all to be alert: we don’t know what has happened to our home while we were stranded at The Shrinking. We also don’t know how the Xerrks found us last time. So at this point, we need to be prepared for the possibility that the Time Agency is at least partially compromised.”
Ror nodded. Berranav clenched his fists. Xuff’s white markings started swirling like crazy… Nobody said an actual word, although Kate could feel the mood in the cockpit becoming much more somber. They all unstrapped their Ith vests and prepared to disembark. Which for the Mechs and Ror meant carrying various portable cases to restock on fuel and necessary aloes for the ship’s functions, for Berranav printing an assortment of weapons and for Kate wearing an Ith body suit, like the one she wore at The Shrinking.
“We don’t really know if you can breathe the Ithaden air,” reasoned Sid. “I estimate that by now our baby has made your DNA amenable enough to our environment to not need the suit, but I’m not willing to risk it.”
Kate wasn’t either. She wore the suit and followed the rest of the team to the ship’s main entrance, which was supposed to bring them at the Time Agency’s docking port.
Only there was no docking port. Or much else, for that matter. The minute they stepped out of the ship, they were greeted with a scorched landscape, not entirely unlike that of Earth after the Xerrks’ attack. Although this time the annihilation wasn’t complete. Looking around bewildered, Kate spotted a half-demolished building at the far end of the horizon that seemed to be in flames. She grabbed Sid by the hand and pointed to that direction.
“That would be the Royal Palace. What’s left of it.” Sid’s voice was strangely calm and dispassionate.
Kate noticed that he didn’t let go of her hand, nor did he run toward what used to be his home. He didn’t even dragon out… How was he so calm? She had to wonder how much of this calmness was for her benefit. She held his hand tight.
The rest of the team was also trying to get to grips with the destruction they were witnessing.
“Have we…gotten the coordinates wrong?” asked Xuff, a similar calmness in her voice as Sid’s.
“No, my calculations were correct,” mumbled Ror, who was definitely not calm. “My calculations are correct, we are supposed to be in our native timeline, we are supposed to be home!”
The milky white Ithaden started making soft, wounded sounds, like a puppy yelping. Kate wanted to hug him, but Theth got there first.
After spending a few seconds in Theth’s arms (with the chameleon-like Ithaden turning white), Ror seemed to regain his composure. He turned to Sid and the rest of the team.
“This was clearly a Xerrks attack… one that we lost. The chances of someone still being alive at the Palace and us able to help them don’t seem significant enough to endanger our mission. So I’m going back to the ship,” Ror concluded, “where I can be useful. To run probability lines, determine our best course of action forward.”
“Our best course of action is to blast the Xerrks to smithereens,” growled Berranav, clearly itching to use his weapons. He would have probably run for the Palace ruins to find someone to fight, if not for the icy look Xufff gave him. He settled with adjusting his artillery belt.
“Ror is right,” said Sid matter of factly. “The Time Agency being destroyed explains how the Xerrks found us before. It also explains that our people must have refused to work with them, if the Xerrks decided to destroy the Time Agency rather than using its resources. Let’s get back to our ship and get more data. We will find a way to undo this thing we all witnessed just now. We have been trained for this, this is our job. Let’s get to work.”
And with that, Sid led the team away from the remains of the Time Agency and back to the ship. Never letting go of Kate’s hand.
Despite their Captain’s rousing speech, they were all sad and silent once they got back to the ship. Seeing the destruction of one’s home planet is never easy — as Kate could attest to, having been treated to a front row seat of the end of the Earth. But Ror seemed to be taking it heavier than the rest of them. The second they got back, the Ithaden retreated to his screens, reading probability lines and not speaking to anyone. It was a very un-Ror-like silence, one that lasted the whole day.
Kate was getting worried about her friend. That night, she shared her concern with Sid but he brushed her off with a “Ror will be fine” and a kiss. Sid’s kisses always had an uncanny power to take Kate’s mind off of things, although at that point they were both too emotionally exhausted to do anything more than kiss and cuddle.
But then, the next day came and the very un-Ror-like silence continued. Kate decided to take matters into her own hands. Heading to the cafeteria that morning, she printed an extra tray with eggs just like he liked them and left it by the console next to Ror. His eyes never left the screen to acknowledge Kate’s presence, but she felt better knowing he’d have food when he needed to.
“Looks like your maternal instincts are kicking in,” Xuf said jokingly when she saw Kate carrying the tray to Ror. Perhaps she was right.
In all honesty, Kate knew how Ror must be feeling. Being faced with an impossible problem (whether a difficult client acquisition back at Wall Street, or trying to untangle the mysteries of her own kidnapping), she always retreated into her mind to work the numbers; shutting down from the rest of the world until she was close to a solution. And she would always forget to eat when she’d get like that… So she kept bringing the trays to the milky white Ithaden, despite the soft teasing from Xuff and Sid. Until, three days and five trays later, Ror finally made eye contact with her.
“Thank you for the food, Kate Stoltz. I think I have something. Can you gather the team at the bridge?”
During the briefing, Ror explained how he spent the last few days trying to understand exactly how compromised the team was. Because, while their end plan was simple enough (travel a couple of days back in time, warn the Time Agency of the Xerrks attack and use their resources to protect themselves until it was time for Kate to give birth), the trick was staying unnoticed by the enemy.
“Based on their behavioral patterns, there is a 58% possibility that the Xerrks didn’t steal any Time Agency technology before destroying the building,” Ror was reading out loud from his findings to the team. “If that is the case, then they are still solely relying on their Telepaths to figure out our next steps. This is our best case scenario. Ιf their Telepaths were accurate enough to stop us on their own without Time Agency technology, they would have done it by now. On the other hand, there is a 42% possibility the Xerrks have indeed taken hold of the Time Agency’s Quantum Drives. They would be able to predict our every step, even impose a Quantum Lock on our intended timeline. We could be jumping into a trap,” he concluded, looking up from his tablet.
Kate felt a headache coming. She ran her fingers through her hair.
“Forty-two per cent huh… Not loving those odds,” she said, mostly thinking out loud. A brief glance around told her the rest of the crew probably felt the same way.
“So what is your recommendation, Ror?” Sid’s voice cut through the awkward silence.
Ror�
��s recommendation was to stall, basically, and gather more intel. To make a couple of random trips, combined with a few necessary pit stops to refuel, to keep one step ahead of the enemy.
“It will become apparent after a while,” Ror explained “by how quickly they can catch up to us, whether the Xerrks are in possession of Time Agency tech or not. Once we are sure we can’t be trapped by a Quantum Lock, we will jump back to the appropriate time before the attack.”
It sounded simple enough — although Kate could see Xuff rolling her eyes at all the unnecessary trips they would be making. The Combat General didn’t object though. They all understood the stakes and the need to play it safe by now. So what if it took a bit longer to complete their mission?
Time was, literally, on their side.
There was this old Earthen adage, “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. It applied to time travel as well, Kate realized when she woke up that morning. According to her wrist terminal, exactly three months had passed since the day Ror suggested making a few random trips to figure out what kind of tech the Xerrks possessed. And her belly was a constant reminder that, in the meantime, life had kept happening.
After her pregnancy bump first became visible, Kate had programmed her wrist terminal to count cycles. One of the reasons was to collect health and pregnancy data, to avoid any more surprises. The main reason however was to just not go completely insane by living in a spaceship with no way to discern between day and night.
“Three months… wow,” Kate muttered to herself, while stretching in bed. As it was becoming the norm these days, she was alone in the room. Sid spent less and less time in that big, four-poster bed with her; usually kissing her goodnight and leaving to work another shift, train or go on missions to test the Xerrks’ response patterns. Kate understood that the change in his behavior had nothing to do with their relationship and everything to do with seeing his home destroyed and working hard to ensure its (and their baby’s) safety. She appreciated him for that. But there was a small, tiny part of her that felt insecure and alone.
The Ithaden’s Slave Page 13
