Page 73 of Xel: Broken Bond

But to my relief, Yona said, “Not Vangravians. No, no, that bit went off without a hitch. Pay them money, take their babies, nobody gives a shit. But trying to jump through your bloody wormhole? I had three Eumadian fighters on my tail, and not because they know anything about the fucking babies! But I paid for clearance to use your jump, and they took exception to thefact that I was allowed through. You’re blocking every single ship of theirs, and they arenothappy about it.”

“That’s because they’re fucking assholes,” Torv said from beside me. “They have the option of paying the fee, just like anybody else. But they’re too cheap to do so. So if they’re pissed off, it’s their own fault.” The colonel had arrived yesterday, travelling all the way from the Drazig system to be here for Yona’s arrival – and more importantly, the arrival of the first shipment of male Vangravian babies.

Despite his running monologue, Yona was already manhandling the first of the incubators he’d brought out the door of his ship. The machines were very durable, but that also made them rather heavy, and several of the Ranzors were on hand to help him once he got them to the exit.

“Look at the precious little darling,” Kathy crooned, rushing over to see the tiny creature inside the first incubator. He was no bigger than my hand, cocooned safely in a purple blanket, and a battery pack on the side of the incubator was keeping the machine running. We’d need to wheel them all inside the nursery building, transfer the babies into our own incubators – helpfully provided by Yona several weeks ago – and then return his set to his ship.

“I’m sure we can arrange some repairs for your ship,” Torv said, already tapping out a message on his comm. “The military base here should have plenty of parts for repairs.”

“Hmph. Well… yeah, I hope so,” Yona said, the fire in him dying down quickly once he knew he wouldn’t have to pay for it himself. He brought the second incubator to the door of the ship, where Borl eagerly took it from him. The look on the huge warrior’s face was one of pure delight, and he kept his gaze fixed on the tiny child inside as he wheeled it towards the barn.

“Oh, you look so small and squishy,” he cooed at the child. “I’m going to teach you how to fight, and tell you all thebest stories, and teach you how to play roggleball…” He kept muttering nonsense to the child as he wandered off, a collection of nurses and nannies following after him as Yona continued unloading the ten incubators.

“Thank you for doing this,” I said to Yona, once the last one had been collected and wheeled off towards the barn. “I know there’s a fair bit of danger in this for you, so I just want to make the point that we’re not taking that for granted. If there’s anything you need before…” I trailed off, as a second figure emerged from the depths of the ship, and I got my first look at what I could only assume was Yona’s mate. She was a fraction shorter than him, with fur that was more pink than orange, though she had the same long, furry tail. And her belly was prominently rounded with the child that Yona was so eager to protect.

“This is Kiri. My mate,” he said, sounding awkward about it. “You promised her a safe place to live-”

“We will take care of Kiri,” Gatik said firmly, stepping forward to help her down the ramp. “You are very welcome here,” he said to Kiri, as she leaned heavily on his arm. Based on what Yona had said before, she must be due to give birth any day now.

“We have some doctors inside who will help you through the birth,” I assured her. Then I said to Yona, “Would you like to stay for a few days? Perhaps at least until your son is born?”

Yona looked torn about it, but I didn’t believe that was due to any lack of interest on his part. It sounded like he’d led a very difficult life, and running was likely an ingrained defence mechanism for him at the moment. To give him a nudge in what I hoped was the right direction, I said, “It’ll take us a couple of days to get your ship repaired anyway.” I glanced at Torv, who helpfully nodded. Even if we could get it done sooner, I was confident he’d make sure it took just a little longer than necessary.

Yona ruffled his fur and looked haughtily down at us. “Well… since I’m stuck here, I suppose I may as well stay.” He stomped down the ramp, then activated the mechanism that made it retract, and the door closed with a hiss. The instant his ship was secure, he scampered off after his mate.

“Well,” Torv said, with a heartfelt sigh. “This is the start of what’s bound to be a grand adventure. Let’s head over to the nursery, shall we? We’d best see that everyone’s settled in comfortably.”

“Before we do, I have some news,” Vonnie interrupted him. “I wanted to tell you in person, and Sonala only confirmed it this morning.” She grinned at Xel, who was waiting patiently beside me, and I figured out what her news was just a second or two before she spoke. “I’m pregnant. Ten days along, and the baby’s growing exactly as she should be.”

“Oh, congratulations, my dear,” Torv said, embracing her in a hug. Since they’d met in person, he and Vonnie had been getting along surprisingly well.

Meanwhile, I gave Xel a sly smirk. “So you’re going to be a father,” I said, making more fuss of the point than it really warranted. We’d all already agreed that though this child would be his genetically, she would be raised in the communal nursery with all the others. Xel had stated quite plainly that, given the degree of neuro-engineering he’d been subjected to, he didn’t feel confident in being able to care for a child appropriately, and to be honest, I’d been rather relieved at his confession. I was still coming to terms with my own trauma, and I didn’t yet feel I had the capacity to be helping to raise a child fulltime.

But leaving aside our individual anxieties, the point, after all, was to make sure all the children knew that they were equally important, and equally treated. Breaking centuries worth of female privilege would be a carefully executed plan that couldn’t allow any unconscious bias to fester.

“How does it feel?” I asked Xel nonetheless. “To be a part of creating something this monumental?”

The scales across Xel’s collarbones fluttered in a wave of violet. “It’s a new beginning,” he said, smiling at Vonnie. “Everybody getting a second chance to get things right.” His gaze slid across to me, and I smiled at the double meaning to his words. He had his own second chance right here, and I was going to make sure we both made the most of it. “But this is just the beginning. We have a lot of work ahead of us.” He took my hand and leaned into my shoulder. “And I couldn’t think of a better way to be spending the next few decades of my life – or better people to be spending them with.”

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