She put a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound.
“Let Timon sleep,” she whispered.
The kids all nodded with serious expressions. Timon was having nightmares, which wasn’t uncommon for Decanted children, but it still hurt her heart. One of the warriors had decided that tonight, he was going to bed down next to Timon’s cot so if the little boy got scared, he could roll over on top of the warrior and be “safe” from the nightmare.
These Hissa were so wonderful to the children that Nova couldn’t imagine anyone taking better care of them.
“It’s meal time,” Cifon said. Except for a few permanently assigned med tech, all the warriors rotated working in the nursery between their regular duties. They always looked tired but happy.
“Foods!” one of the children cheered in a whisper. The other children hushed her, making all of them giggle.
“Do you want me to help?” she asked. The children were at the stage where they could consume full meals, but they had to be monitored closely for choking.
“Not right now,” Cifon said as he crouched down and picked up a child in each arm. “I think Miran has something to show you.”
“Finally,” she said with a chuckle and grabbed one of the kids and followed Cifon to another area with an easily cleanable rug. There wasn’t any furniture to accommodate little bodies, so they set the kids on the floor. The children thought it was great, especially when the adults occasionally ate with them.
“Finally?” Cifon asked.
“Miran has been doing something secretive for a few days,” she said. “He won’t even give me a hint. I’m dying of curiosity!”
“Oh, that explains the arrival,” Cifon said, setting his children down and straightening.
Nova put the child she was carrying next to them. They were all still giggling from earlier. It was adorable how quickly they all started laughing and didn’t stop until distracted by something new.
Standing up, she stepped in front of Cifon before he could go back for the last two kids. “What arrival?”
Cifon grinned broadly. “A ship arrived.”
“What ship?” she asked.
“A space ship.”
Nova let out a low aggravated breath and pretended to shove Cifon, making him laugh.
“It’s only fair,” Cifon said. “You refuse to explain how you successfully hid on our ship to the Diniki space station. It wasn’t a large ship. Where could you have been that we didn’t find you when we searched?”
She gave him a smug look. “That’s my secret.”
“Then I guess I can’t tell you anything about Miran’s surprise,” Cifon said and moved past her.
“I bet you don’t know anything anyway,” she grumbled, unable to stop smiling. Before she could settle down and open the foodcarrier to hand each child their portion, Miran walked into the nursery.
“Nova, can you come with me?”
Several more Hissa walked into the nursery to help with the meals. She wasn’t needed at the moment.
“Yes!” she said, heading over to him. The children were too distracted by their food to notice her leaving with Miran.
She expected him to take her to their room or the bay, but he wound her through the ship to an area she wasn’t familiar with.
Finally they entered a room that looked like it was meant for gatherings but had been repurposed for droid repair. Several tables were covered in broken droids and shelves were full of tools and spare parts.
Sitting in a circle of chairs at the center of the room chatting was Melee and the cubs!
Nova let out a squeal of joy and rushed over to them. She was enveloped by the furry bodies of the individuals who’d been her family.
This was the best surprise ever. Miran had brought her family to her!
