Page 14 of Kailirex (Brides of the Mylos #6)

CHAPTER 14

STELLA

I couldn’t believe how at ease with Kailirex I was. My brother seemed to be just as comfortable with Piloris, too, and even Tillin felt like a friend, so it was more than just pheromones at work. No, it was their open, easy manner. We just, well, clicked.

I couldn’t say I was deeply in love, no, not yet, but I was pretty sure both Eric and I were well on our way and that was reciprocated by our mates. I also felt watching the movie gave me an easy inside view of their culture, at least the warrior side of things and their general greater cultural ethos. Theirs and the rest of the Galactic Council’s, actually, and it lined up pretty much with everything they’d shared with the general public. Nearly, because there was so much more there, like tech and other alien races we hadn’t been introduced to yet.

The chat we all had during the ride up was a great getting to know you better ice breaker, too, but the real show stopper was the view as we made our journey. It was absolutely breathtaking and I felt suddenly both insignificant and in absolute awe. Insignificant because, wow, you really cannot comprehend the true vastness of space until you’re off the planet, and I bet it was even more so when there was no planet nearby. In awe because our planet was beautiful from space and at the achievements of our species as we had satellites and space stations up here, functioning and advancing us ever more, right alongside our more advanced alien friends. Sure, it was admittedly like comparing a Little Tikes car on the driveway to the latest eco-friendly AI enabled self-driving car they’d helped our car manufacturers develop the systems for (and which most people couldn’t currently afford but that’s another matter), but still.

After the awkward, and thankfully brief, mention of future children, we spent the remaining journey talking about various things including food, thanks to Tillin, who wanted to tell us all the best places to eat within the Fleet. Once that topic was exhausted, Piloris changed the subject to our living arrangement.

“I think the adjustment to Fleet life will be easier for you both since you two already lived together and had your own furniture so things will feel more familiar,” he said.

“Well, about that,” Eric said, flushing. “Most of it was stuff family and friends were getting rid of and the rest rented.”

“All the furniture that was yours was a bit old, but in good condition.,” I reminded him.

“True.” he smiled sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind living like it’s the 1990s.”

“Blue plushy couch, bulky side and coffee tables, and a huge entertainment center,” I clarified. “The beds and dressers were rented.”

“Don’t forget the table and chairs,” he replied heavily. “Those I think are even older as they came from Aunt Laura’s house and she’d stored them in her basement after getting her new glass top table and chrome and leather chairs in the eighties.”

I laughed. “Yeah, the dining table looks like a round top placed on top of a wooden barrel, and the chairs like they are made from barrels stuck on legs. It’s pretty hideous.”

Piloris glanced over at Kailirex, who cleared his throat. “Perhaps we can have what you don’t want dropped off at a donation center? And what you like can be chosen and brought up if it’s not in ship’s stores.”

“There’s also a resale shop within the fleet if you’d rather do that,” Piloris added.

“And it’s all free because it's part of our daily living allowance and your wages,” Eric stated.

Piloris made an ‘ehh’ sort of sound and gesture with his hands. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but yes. It’s all part of our remuneration for this posting.”

Eric looked at me. “We’ll need to order new bedroom furniture anyway, so what do you think?” he asked me.

“Might as well have them drop the lot off at one of the ReStores, except for the couch. It’s super comfy.”

“Well, the TV was rented as was the surround sound system, and if the walls all turn into screens, we don’t need an entertainment system either. Yeah, okay,” he turned to look at his mate. “Just bring the couch and our dishes and crockery from the kitchen. That Le Creuset casserole dish is a must for Thanksgiving dinner.”

I laughed. “Are we seriously going to bring a dish down to Mom’s dinner?”

“Yes,” he replied, looking stubborn about it. “Or what if they want to come join us up here?” he glanced at Piloris once more. “They can do that, right? And the trip won’t cost them anything?”

“They can,” he confirmed. “The shuttles will be more crowded, though, as families come and go for holiday visits.”

“This is like riding in a charter plane,” he declared. “Much better than flying economy. You betcha they won’t be complaining about other people being in the other seats.”

“Plus, it’s a really short ride.”

“Xeranos,” Kailirex called out. “Any news on our new permanent quarters?”

“Engineering would like to know what you would like in place of the second kitchen, as one is being removed while the two units are being merged.”

“How about a den?” I suggested. “It could be converted into a playroom later, I suppose.”

“They have suggested the former living room area of one be designated thusly,” Xero revealed.

“How about more bedrooms?” My brother suggested laughingly, “seeing as my mate wants eight kids.”

“He said one for each of your fingers,” I reminded him.

“And I have eight fingers and two thumbs. And I refuse to have them all be babies when we adopt them.”

“I will convey this information to engineering. This will greatly speed up your quarter’s readiness.”

“That’s going to be a lot of empty bedrooms,” I said. “We’ll need to make sure we don’t fill them with junk before you get all those kids.”

“Before we get all those kids,” Kailirex corrected.

“Right.”

Piloris and Eric were staring at each other intently.

“How soon do you want a kid?” my brother asked him softly.

“How soon do you?” he countered.

And just like that, I knew they wouldn’t be childless for long. I grinned. I loved being an aunt and adored kids. It was why I’d chosen my particular career path after all. Was I ready to be a parent myself? I thought about it for a second and realized that I did want to wait awhile. I’d bring it up with Kailirex once we were alone. I was on the shot and it had two months to go on it still, so it wasn’t urgent. We had time to sit down and talk about it once the mating pheromones were mostly out of our system and down to normal levels.

And then a large ship was suddenly looming within our path, growing ever more gargantuan by the second.

“And there’s your new home, folks,” Tillin said cheerfully, before toggling something on the console in front of him and beginning docking procedures.

Nothing more was said as we cruised in and landed.