Truth was, this long, bi-species pregnancy had started taking a toll on her, on her body and mind. Before all this started, back on Earth, Kate was always considered slim. “Surviving on a diet of anxiety and success,” her mom would say with a scoff every time Kate would call her to say she couldn’t make it to family dinner. Now, every time she’d catch a glimpse of herself on the mirror she would do a double-take: apart from her ever-growing belly, her breasts had gone up at least two cups and her hips had also grown fuller and wider…
Kate’s rational brain knew that this was normal. Pregnancies are supposed to change your body, and hers would continue to change until it was time for her to give birth (in another six months, according to her wrist terminal). And it’s not like she didn’t feel beautiful in this new, rounder shape — even Sid made a point of telling her every day how beautiful and radian she looked. But still she couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, he wasn’t as sexually attracted to her anymore.
Frankly, that wasn’t even the main source of her frustration. With everything that’s been happening to them, sex (or rather the lack of it) wasn’t the first thing on her mind. No, Kate was mostly annoyed for being benched. After their first two trips ended with Xerrks either picking up their trail or beating them to the punch, Sid decided that it was too dangerous for her to be joining the rest of the team in field missions.
“You and the baby are our enemy’s main target. If they get to you, then we all have lost everything,” he’d said.
It made sense back then. All of them agreed, including Kate. But still, it sucked. So now on most days, Kate would help the Mechs with ship maintenance issues and discuss numbers and strategies with Ror, while Sid along with Xuff and Berranav would storm off on the actual missions. Theth would join either team, or just stay cooped up in some corner of the ship away from everyone, depending on her mood. The chameleon-like Ithaden always did as she pleased… If only Kate could do the same!
She was getting tired more easily now, she had to admit. Kate’s body seemed to require more naps during the day and even more food than before. She had also developed an affinity with higher temperatures; it was as if the baby was craving heat… So taking hot, almost scalding baths was quickly becoming her favorite pastime although she felt vaguely guilty about it. Kate wasn’t used to not being “on” or feeling productive all the time. Being bored on an alien spaceship was definitely not something she’d ever thought she’d experience, but there it was.
That’s why when she got a ping from Sid in her wrist terminal that morning, saying he wanted to discuss a field mission with her, Kate leapt out of bed in mere seconds. Oh, she was determined to give him a piece of her mind. Despite not being at top physical shape at the moment, she was still a valuable member of the team and had had enough of staying cooped up inside. She was rehearsing this argument over and over in her head all the way until she reached the cafeteria, preparing to counter-argue any (reasonable) objections Sid may have.
Turns out, she needn’t have bothered.
“I know the last few months haven’t been easy. On any of us,” Sid said, addressing the crew, who were all sitting around him once Kate showed up. Apparently this wasn’t a private conversation but a full team briefing, she realized, her heart sinking a little. Still, she picked up a chair and sat next to him.
“As you all know, figuring out Xerrks response patterns took us much longer than expected. But we have a more clear image now, although I am sorry to say that image is not good. According to Ror’s latest calculations, there is a 92% that our enemy is indeed in possession of Time Agency technology, which explains why they have been able to track us so successfully. We have to assume that if we go back home now, we will be facing a Quantum Lock,” Sid continued.
Nobody seemed surprised at this news. They had all suspected as much, especially Kate who had been working closely with Ror. Still, admitting that they wasted three months in vain was disheartening.
“So…what next?” asked Kate.
“I would ask the same thing,” Xuff said before Sid had any time to answer. “My main concern is that the enemy possessing our tech, also means they may have access to our battle strategies and individual profiles. Any choice we make moving forward, can be predicted based on our behavioral patterns that are registered in our system,” the Combat General continued.
“That’s why I gathered you all here. I believe I have an idea,” Sid responded. He seemed vaguely pleased with himself. As he continued talking, Kate started feeling pleased with him too.
Xuff’s concerns were valid. The Xerrks would have probably studied the behavioral patterns of all Time Agency employees, seven of which were currently on board this ship. Seven, not eight… because Kate was never a Time Agency employee! The only information about her in the Time Agency data logs was that she was test subject No17, successfully carrying an Ithaden baby in her womb. That painted a huge target on her back (or her belly, rather)… but it also gave her a distinct advantage.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I realized: you are our secret weapon, Ith-rassil,” Sid said, squeezing her hand fondly. “In a way, it was a stroke of luck that you didn’t escort us in any of the field missions: the Xerrks have no behavioral data of you, of how you react, what type of decision maker you are. Which means….”
“Which means, if Kate Stoltz chooses our next destination,” Ror interrupted Sid with the excitement rising in his voice, “the Xerrks won’t be able to follow us there right away. We may even be able to stay hidden long enough…”
“Long enough for me to give birth.”
This time it was Kate’s turn to interrupt, her excitement mirroring, if not surpassing, Ror’s.
Finally, she would get out of this ship.
Kate had put a lot of thought to it, all these months. To compensate for not going out on missions, she had decided to educate herself on all things space and time travel. She had studied constellations and planetary maps, read several histories of different species and listened carefully to Xuff’s many stories of all the places she’d served in.
So she knew that the perfect place for them now, had to be somewhere they could hide the whole ship. The environment would have to be Ithaden and human friendly, the timeline shouldn’t hide any surprises (messing with a civilisation’s history was the least they needed when trying to keep a low profile). Also, it would really help if the ground’s composition offered enough natural aloes to sustain the ship without needing to make many refuelling pit stops.
Mostly, it had to be a place where she would be able to see a sunrise and a sunset. A place where she would finally be able to walk side by side with Sid and, if it came to it, she could give birth in peace.
“I know exactly where we should go,” she announced to the team.
Chapter Six
Europa was the smallest of Jupiter’s moons, back on Earth’s Solar system. Even before Kate was kidnapped, there had already been talks of salt and minerals found on its volcanic ground; talks about an ocean, hidden under the moon’s icy surface. On the original timeline, Europa would become one of Earth’s first and most successful colonies: a thriving launchpad from which the humans would reach the edge of their Solar system and beyond. Now with the Earth destroyed by the Xerrks, Europa was just an empty rock…
Only it was more than that. It was the perfect hideout.
The series of explosions the Xerrks orchestrated on Kate’s home planet had some unforeseen consequences. Like knocking Earth’s orbit slightly off course, increasing the overall temperature of the system… and allowing more exposure to the Sun’s heat for the next two planets, Mars and Jupiter. The extra heat from the sun turned the deserts of Mars into a flaming inferno but it also melted a big part of the surface ice on Jupiter’s moons. Turning Europa, for all intents and purposes, into a tropical paradise.
“Who knew global warming would ever work in our favor?” Kate chuckled to herself while strapping in for the jump.
&nbs
p; She was sitting in Sid’s place this time, adjusting the settings on the console and configuring the temporal and spatial coordinates. If the team was nervous about flying blind into their destination, they did a good job hiding it. Sid had said it would be safer if none of them, including him, knew where and when Kate was taking them. More chances to throw the Xerrks off their scent that way.
“We are ready… Captain,” Sid said, the warmth in his voice removing any trace of irony from the use of his honorific to address her.
With everyone strapped in, Kate dimmed the cabin lights. She felt giddy, euphoric even. Perhaps she should be more nervous: she had flown this ship before, but mostly in simulated scenarios and even then not perfectly (according to Ror, she’d scored a bit lower than everyone else on the team). In any case, her piloting skills were considered adequate enough under the circumstances. Kate entered the jumping sequence and soon that feeling of existence becoming heavier washed over her. She was actually doing this, taking the team through time and space, she realized with a sigh. She could hear Xuff in the back, echoing her sigh of relief…
A sigh of relief that was cut short by a big thudding sound that shook the whole ship.
“Don’t worry, something like this was bound to happen,” Kate explained to the team as she turned on the cabin lights and unstrapped herself. “It was just the sound of our ship getting stuck in an underground cave. This moon is full of them. I thought that, since we intend to stay here for a while, parking the ship underneath the surface would be the safest choice. Much more difficult for our enemies to trace us.”
After Kate gave them the lowdown on where exactly she’d brought them and why (Sid’s eyes were filled with amazement and pride, she noticed), the team prepared to disembark and examine their new home. Temporary home, at least.
Ror did a scan on the area to confirm Kate’s claims that there were no other inhabitants on Europa during that time (“just a variety of flora findings and algae, perhaps some of them edible”) and then he and the Mechs focused on examining the ship from the outside for collision damages. Xuff, Sid and Berr decided to do a field reconnaissance: map the best way to get to the surface and decide what would be the optimal spot for their ground base of operations. As for Kate, she just stood there for a while, taking in the many stalagmites and stalactites of the underground cavern. The cavern she had landed their time traveling alien spaceship in… Would all this ever stop feeling surreal?
Kate was thinking that this was probably the closest to Earth she would be for the foreseeable future, when she noticed Theth was standing by her side. Weirdly, her proximity to the Ithaden didn’t make her feel dizzy.
“I feel it too,” Theth said, her velvety voice echoing ever so softly on the walls of the cave. “It’s like this moon is waking up from its icy sleep: life is beginning here. With how fast this moon orbits around Jupiter and the Sun, in a couple hundred years I believe there will be animals slowly crawling outside the waters above us. It will be a sight to behold…”
The Ithaden’s voice trailed off, lost in her own daydream. There was clearly enough energy here to sustain Theth. Perhaps, when their battle was fought, they could all just…
Kate shook off her head. This wasn’t the time to fantasise about retiring. They had work to do. Patting Theth on the shoulder, Kate proceeded to take some readings of the place with her wrist terminal. The oxygen on Europa used to be slightly weak and the radiation levels too high for humans to withstand. With the waters melting, the atmospheric oxygen dropped even more but the radiation levels dropped as well — and thanks to her baby changing her body, Kate felt perfectly fine in her new environment. It made sense now, Ithaden thriving as a multi-planetary dynasty: this life form was very resilient indeed…
Kate had one hand on her belly and a smile on her face when Sid and the rest returned from their surface trip. His smile echoed hers.
It had been a long year. And an even longer day.
Kate was swimming in the cool, salt lake waters, taking in a very strange sunset: a small, golden sun lowering at the horizon, completely upstaged by a magnificently yellow Saturn and the rings of his four inner moons. She had trouble believing that just three cycles ago she was still onboard the ship, complaining about never going anywhere…
Time, as they all soon realized, moved differently in Europa. A full year here was just three and a half Earthen days, which was also exactly the time needed for the moon to complete one orbit around Jupiter. A year and a day, one and the same!
A glance at her own wrist terminal showed Kate that it had probably been 62 hours since they arrived on this surprisingly hospitable moon — although her wrist terminal, as well as all the others, was having some issues with being so close to the Earth. Being the epicenter of the timeline change when destroyed by the Xerrks, Kate’s home planet had a weird effect in all devices, especially with the Quantum Lock still in place there, Ror had said… Kate yawned.
The year/day was reaching its end, the golden light of the sunset diminishing slowly. In about an hour or so night would fall, a night that would last for about 10 hours. Kate was exhausted, but the salt waters helped her body float effortlessly, making her feel like she weighed nothing. It was such a welcome change for her sore muscles and her pregnant belly…
They had achieved a lot during these 62 hours, Kate thought while extending her arms on gentle backstroke movements, getting closer to the shore. It was as if the whole moon was conspiring to help them. The recent temperature changes in Europa had caused several tectonic shifts, creating rifts and fissures on the ground. Many of these openings where big enough for someone to access the underground caverns from — and for Sid and the team to find their way up to the surface in less than an hour from where their ship had docked.
Europa’s terrain was also completely level, with no mountains in sight. They were quickly able to find a flat area near a lake to build a 3D printer plateau on, surrounded by a canopy of trees. After several hours of coordinated work (transferring all their equipment from the ship to the surface wasn’t fun but, between the eight of them, they managed) the plateau was functional and the printing process could start.
Sid had his mind set on printing a temporary house for the team, since the idea of staying underground for months inside the ship appealed to absolutely no one at this point. So he came up with a design for a house they could lay low in for as much as they needed; a house that could also camouflage them from above, in case the Xerrks were looking at aerial images of Europa. To achieve that, he mimicked the same wood type that could be found in their surrounding trees and made sure the roof was completely enveloped in greenery. It would look like just another canopy of trees from above.
“It’ so… normal,” Kate said with a gasp when Sid finally finished printing it.
Indeed, if you discounted the fact that there were several Ithaden hammocks hanging from the terraced patio that surrounded it, the whole building looked like a regular Earthen wooden lodge. A cabin in the woods. Of course, Kate was the only one who felt like that.
“This building is so… full of corners,” Xuff almost hissed.
“Where is the cafeteria? I’m starving,” said Ror.
The Mechs looked almost unsure whether the design would hold.
Theth and Berranav just stood there with blank looks on their faces.
Kate knew that Sid chose this Earthen design for her, to feel comfortable and familiar in it. Of course, only half of it looked like a human cabin on the inside. The ground floor was completely Ithaden-ized: 3D printing benches and a few chairs and tables dominated the space, with an enclosed corner at one side probably serving as a shower/misting stall for the Ithaden. It wasn’t as spacious as the ship for eight people to live in, but with most of them sleeping in the hammocks outside it would do just fine.
Kate was just happy to have the top floor to herself. Now that, that looked very human indeed: there was a big four-poster bed taking up most of the space, a cosy armchair with
a footstool, a bookcase and a floor lamp. She hugged Sid, thanking him for trying to emulate their room at the ship.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” she responded.
It felt like a safe house, in every sense of the word.
Soon, it was time for all of them to sit down and eat, for the first time together outside the ship. They were all so exhausted and starving that the meal didn’t last that long and most of the Ithaden went straight for one of the hammocks right after. Kate should have gone upstairs and tried to get some sleep in her new bed, but she was feeling strangely restless. She hadn’t been out in such a long time and this was a new planet. She was just itching to just go for a walk in the woods, perhaps take a swim in the lake…
So that’s exactly what she did. That was about two hours ago.
Swimming in the salt waters of the lake relaxed Kate so much that she completely lost track of time. It was funny, considering she’d been such a city girl all her life, but being cooped up in close quarters for several months changes a person. Plus, the lake was literally five minutes from the cabin and she knew there were no dangerous animals lurking about. She had half a mind to just stay there forever…
So when Sid came to find her, she felt a bit like a little girl about to be scolded for playing outside for too long. Until she saw him removing his clothes, that is.
“May I join you?” Sid asked with a devilish grin on his face as he stepped into the water.
“Thank you, Europa,” Kate murmured under her breath before swimming slowly toward him.
Sid wasn’t really swimming, she noticed. His feet were planted firmly on the lake’s bottom and the water, currently up to his waist, seemed to make him slightly uncomfortable.
The Ithaden’s Slave Page 14
