“It’s all true, but he left out the why,” Nisha said. “About a decade ago, there was a horrifically deadly disease that killed all the Hissa women and half the Hissa men. They found a vaccine,but they never discovered a cure. It was so devastating that many men who hadn’t died of the disease ended up committing suicide because they couldn’t bear living without their loved ones. Their civilization almost didn’t survive. Then they found out that Hissa males are breeding compatible with Decanted human women. The human scientists combined a lot of different DNA and Hissa was one of them. There’s just enough to make us able to have kids with them.”
Nisha paused, as if listening to someone, then shook her head. “I’m not saying I want one yet, or ever, but if I wanted to, I could get pregnant and have Warik’s kid. Either way, it’s my choice, no one else’s.”
“Uh, I’m not pressuring you either way,” Nova said quickly.
Nisha blinked, then grinned. “Oh, no, I didn’t think you were. Sorry, sometimes I think out loud.”
Right, Nova should be used to that by now. While they’d been taking care of the kids before the Ardent arrived, Nova watched Nisha have conversations with everything, including droids, data pads, and even a wall.
Nisha’s expression turned serious. “Look, if you really want to leave after we’ve gotten everyone safely to Hissa, I’ve got a shop on a planet called Torl with a large living space above it. You could stay there until you figure out your next move.”
Nova wanted to believe, but she had doubts. “You want me to wait until we get back to Hissa? That’s too dangerous. Leaving will probably be impossible.”
“It’s not risky. They’ll let you leave if you really want to,” she said.
Nova gave her a suspicious look. “You seem to know a lot. Can you name someone who left?”
Nisha did the thing where she seemed like she was listening to someone only she could hear. It’d be annoying if she wasn’tso cute when she did it. The woman was scary smart so she probably did this to access all the information in her brain.
“No one has left, but not because they weren’t allowed,” Nisha said finally. “They’re all happy. A few kids have even been born. They’re building and thriving on Hissa.”
Nova thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I'm not convinced. I lost the only family I knew when I was sold to the Hissa. What if I lose my freedom too?”
Nisha looked sympathetic. “You were a slave?”
“Weren’t you?” Nova asked.
“You might not know this, but some Decanted humans were grown for people who wanted a child to love and raise,” Nisha said.
She’d known that in theory but never expected to meet anyone that was created out of love instead of profit.
“You had parents?” Nova asked, feeling only mild envy because she couldn’t regret getting to grow up with the Tiema family.
“I had a mom, but no dad,” Nisha said. “She was amazing, and I miss her every day.”
Nova reached across the table and put her hand over Nisha’s. “I’m sorry.”
Nisha brushed away a tear. “It’s fine. The pain is how we know we are loved. The Hissa are desperate to love. Did you notice all the warriors that walked in? They aren’t here to eat, they’re hoping to talk to us. They’ll want to give gifts and promise anything you want if only you’d consider spending time with them.”
Nova laughed. “Promises are easy to hand out and hard to keep.”
“But they mean it,” Nisha assured her. “I have access to a lot of information you don’t, including all their messages, laws, and unofficial communications.”
Nova raised an eyebrow. “Did you hack into their system?”
“Something like that,” Nisha said.
“So tell me what you learned,” Nova challenged. “Change my mind.”
“Challenge accepted,” Nisha said. “Not too long ago, there was a Decanted woman named Deena who managed to get away. Although there were a lot of voices demanding that she be found and brought back, their governing council made it law that women could leave if they wanted to.”
Nova frowned. “Wait, you said no one has ever left.”
“Well she left, but she came back,” Nisha said. “Sorry, I wasn’t counting her because the story was complicated and included her and another warrior running away together later. They finally decided to return to Hissa, but it was a mutual decision, nothing was forced on her, and her mate was more than willing to stay on the run with her. It was all really romantic.”
Nova wasn’t sure how she felt about Deena’s story. It gave her hope, but it also felt like a trap. Would anyone choose someone over their species?
Nisha continued talking. “Of course the Hissa don’t need to go out hunting for women so much anymore now that they have all the Decanting tech. They can start growing human-Hissa children and rebuilding their population. But I don’t think they’ll stop looking because I doubt any of the warriors will give up on the idea that their mate is out there waiting. But the pressure will be off the women to have kids, so that’s nice.”
