Page 57 of Undisciplined Catalyst
“Good, did you tell him about Mokok the traitor?”
“Yes.” Kaelen rubbed Jaxor’s belly gently. “You gave Lucia a grenade.”
“I did. She needed a little payback.”
Kaelen touched my still-stinging neck. “You now wear her clan mark.”
“I do?” I cocked my head, trying to see the mark. An image of a Chinese calligraphy-type tattoo formed in my mind. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”
“You are now part of her clan.”
“Wow. I’m not going to start growing tentacles, am I?”
A laugh broke from him. “No, you will not. She bestowed a great honor on you.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I just wish I could have saved her.”
Kaelen took my mouth with gentle reverence. “You took away her pain and saved her son from a terrible death.”
“Did the Trojan Horse work?”
A brief, dangerous smile flashed across Kaelen’s face. “It did. Their battle fleet was destroyed.”
“And Ziyn?”
“Gael captured her and vanished.”
I grimaced. “I bet Qa’a isn’t happy.”
“He is not.”
The baby chomped down on my index finger. “Ouch! The kid had teeth like a crocodile. Breastfeeding must be a bitch.”
“You will make an excellent mother.”
“Don’t get any ideas, buster.”
Uncle Ben hurried up with a bottle of milk and handed it to me. “Let’s hope human milk won’t harm the little guy.”
“Humans and Askole are compatible,” Kaelen commented.
Uncle Ben stared at him. “And you would know that, how?”
The little guy let out a hungry wail, and I popped the bottle in his mouth. “He seems to like it.”
An orange light appeared by the far wall.
“God, I hope that’s Qa’a.”
“It is.” Kaelen replied.
Uncle Ben backed away. “I need to check on the sensors.” He fled.
“Wuss,” I yelled after him.
A vortex formed and Qa’a strolled out carrying a glass-encased bassinet.“You have been summoned to Cirrus Prime. Everyone is anxious to meet my enforcers.”
I smothered a groan. What kind of impression were we going to make covered in slime?“Couldn’t you just give us the coordinates to Cirrus Prime, and we can port there?”
“No. The portal’s existence is top secret.”Qa’a plucked the baby from my arms and put him in the bassinet.
Kaelen held out his hand.“Ready to start your new life?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”I took his hand.
Tentacles wrapped around us.“Come children.”
The Beginning ofCOPS IN SPACE!