Page 243 of Galaxy Games Four-Book Box Set (Galaxy Games)

243

Are You Ready?

T wo Days Later

Maya

All those crappy jokes about a woman walking bowlegged after a lot of sex? The ones I thought were full of shit? Well, I think I’m walking bowlegged.

Even after having sex and exchanging gifts of blood nonstop except when we were sleeping, I still don’t feel ready to leave our cabin. A’Dar said newly mated couples usually had two weeks where they were isolated, so absorbed with the exchange of bodily fluids, their only interruption was when their families brought them food. I understand that now.

But duty calls.

He’s interrupted our festivities several times a day to talk to his officers via comms when I was napping. I heard enough to know he was organizing a thousand working parts of our vessel from our mating bed.

One of the most brilliant ideas came from one of the new women, Sasha. She suggested that any women who answered yes to the red pill/ blue pill scenario be beamed aboard to have a five-minute discussion with the woman who invited her.

They weren’t allowed to see any aliens, but they got enough of a taste of being aboard a space vessel to realize the invitation was real. If they said yes after hearing the facts, they stayed aboard. If they changed their mind, they were given a small dose of a Xenon medication that makes short-term memory very hazy.

Sasha tried it on herself and agreed there were no side effects other than about an hour of her life she couldn’t remember.

Fifteen women had children back on Earth. That speed bump necessitated a long conversation between A’Dar, his officers, Emily, Anna, and me. After a thorough discussion, we unanimously agreed to beam the children aboard if their mothers requested it.

Twenty-one of the women yet to be plunged into machta asked if their husbands could join them. Three of the human males were married, one with children. The same consideration was given to all of them.

I’ll have to check the manifest, but last I looked, we have almost eighty furbabies onboard. I don’t know who will be spoiled more, the 52 cats, 27 dogs, one sugar glider, one hamster, or the kids.

The tests done by the Xenon doctor and scientist almost two thousand years ago showed that human females were compatible. The tests were repeated a dozen times in the past few days with the same results.

The way machta struck the crew and passengers like wildfire, it’s likely there will be a lot of children on the ship in about nine months, so it actually made a lot of sense to have children on board. All the mothers and married people were thrilled and relieved by the ruling.

We’re set to leave atmo shortly, and A’Dar wanted to make an appearance, speaking to all non-essential personnel in the dining room.

“Wow!” I say when an ensign knocks on the door with a uniform for me.

I’d vaguely wondered what we would all do for clothing. The awful blue coverall that would forever remind me of Lila’s traumatic death wouldn’t have lasted forever, and my mate ripped mine off my body a few days ago.

A’Dar explained the crew probably took measurements of me from pictures they grabbed from the computer’s memory and fed them into one of the onboard 3D printers.

One of the women must have helped design our uniforms. They’re cobalt and gold and follow similar design elements as the males’ uniforms, but they’re flattering and have room for boobs. Not to mention, the gold piping will bring out the gold in all the mated females’ eyes.

For the first time, I see A’Dar in something other than his loincloth or his armor.

“Handsome!” I say when he emerges from the closet.

He flashes me a smile so genuine the corners of his eyes crease.

As we walk the halls on the way to the dining room, I order myself to put the past behind us. Every time I stroll by the theater on the Entertainment Deck, I don’t want to remember the Frains’ caustic loogies or my terror when three armed seven-foot aliens came swooping in to grab me and my friends and carry us away.

Nope. All that is behind me.

I pay attention to other things. How clean the ship is only a few days after the crew's awakening. That desolate-wasteland-dark-and-dusty look has been replaced by bright lights and a good cleaning. Somehow it even smells clean and fresh.

It’s impressive how these males, only a few days out of stasis, hit the ground running and have organized the ship. They’ve compiled lists of jobs, some to keep the military part of the ship running, others to accommodate the female population. Taylor’s organizational skills combined with her tact proved to be a life saver.

Soon this deck will be filled with thriving boutiques, artisan bakeries, and a plethora of other comforts of home that will serve the whole ship. Not to mention the women will find meaningful work onboard, whether or not they’re mated.

Couples in the deep throes of machta were excused from attendance at Captain Xe’llar’s speech, but they were urged to attend if at all possible. We see a few couples walking the halls in the direction we’re going.

If the women’s full or partial metamorphosis into golden-eyed, fanged Xenon hybrids isn’t enough to tip you off about the state of their relationships, that the males and females can’t keep their hands off each other is a dead giveaway.

I haven’t gotten to medbay to check in with Sara and Marc and the twelve women who couldn’t cope with their new circumstances. If I’m not too deep into machta when A’Dar’s speech is over, I plan to visit and see if there’s anything I can do to ease their transition.

When I peeked in on the vid feed from down there, I saw a male in his dress uniform sitting in a chair about ten feet from one of the beds. Sitting? More like sagging. His eyes are white and his skin is pale and sweaty.

When I asked A’Dar about it, he gave me an answer I’d already figured out. The poor male was in machta with a female who was trembling in her bed, unable to look at the male who would do anything to ease her way. A’Dar says he’ll likely die. It’s tragic.

I feel stupid when the answer hits me like a lightning bolt. Why didn’t we think of it before?

“Cryo! Can we put that poor male in cryo until his female has the time she needs to come to terms with her new reality?”

Within a minute, A’Dar has a team rushing to medbay to attend the male. “He still might die,” A’Dar tells me. “But this gives us time to figure it out.”

I stop our forward motion just before we reach the dining room where all able-bodied crew are assembled.

“You ready to step into your role as captain?” I ask.

“I’ve always been capable and confident, Maya. Having you at my side, though, makes me ready for anything.”