“Since I have a mate and a child, and friends among our kind.It has made me feel all kinds of social.We take the little one to visit other children for socialization, and I am rather enjoying it.The little wings get bigger and stronger every day.”
The soft and proud expression looked startling on Nebel, but it made sense now.Trin was related to his happiness, so Nebel would protect her.
Birun smiled.“I will talk to you in three days.”
“Excellent.”
“Show me the little one.”
“Of course.He’s amazing.”Nebel grinned.“Talk to you soon, Elder.”
“Three days, little brother.”
They nodded to each other, and the screen went blank.
Birun stood and walked over to where the woman was beginning to move in the tank.He stretched his wings out and looked at the creature that appeared to be too small for what his instincts wanted.Lily was a similar size, and Nebel did not have any hesitation.
He brought up information about Urth on his tablet.He stood and read about the asteroid, the two years of survival, and the species that had more per capita consort-class beings than ever before.
Looking up the addenda, he noted that the assessors had left genetics in the population, which had been found in survivors on the station.Those contributions had left distinct marks in the survivors that were now being scanned for.
He tapped on his tablet to see if she was one of them.It wasn’t necessary, but it was good to know.She was not.That made their connection easier.He didn’t have fond memories of the assessors or the designers.They had given him tolerance to cold and not much else of note.He was the one who brought water to the worlds, and it was an arduous process.A companion would be just the thing.
Birun went through her history and noted a surprising lack of detail.Normally, a psychic would have gone through her memory and added the details to the final file.He glanced at her family file and found the details in her grandfather’s file.She hadn’t been treated like a separate being.She was a servant as far as the station had been concerned.
This would be different.The previous two companions offered to him had been weeping and convinced his touch would destroy their souls for the afterlife.He let them be, and when they decided to seek their ends, he just let them go.When they were dead, he had bots pack them in capsules and return them to their people.
From what he had gathered, they were honoured as martyrs.He looked through the archives and saw images of Hmrain with Urther consorts, both looking happy and strong in each photo.In Kethen’s image, his mate was taller than species standard, but the child he was holding made the surly elder beam with savage joy.
Birun called Kethen.He needed to know about this species, elder to elder.
An hour later, Kethen said, “And I cannot emphasize this enough.Get her language.Learn it.I couldn’t say her name for over six months, and it drove me mad.”
“What did you call her?”
“Pet, and it made her laugh every time.” Kethen grinned.“The baby is amazing.It has my markings and wings and is growing so fast.”He chuckled.“It inherited Janessa’s temper, so that can occasionally be an issue.She has an amazing right hook.”
Birun smiled.“You get beaten up by your consort?”
“Well, I don’t always pay attention, so she is good at requesting it.” Kethen grinned, his enormous fangs on display.“You have an Urther consort?”
“No.Not yet, but a companion-class female has been dropped onto my world.Indicators are that we are a match.”
Kethen smiled.“Do you want to make sure?”
“Why?”
“You can put some of your venom or nanites into her system.Use the IV that is in the tank.”
“That seems rude.”
“That might work.She doesn’t know how to insist or request, so taking the decision off her hands might be helpful, Honourable Birun.”
Kethen blinked.“What was that?”
Birun smiled.“She created an AI system that uses my voice.She found it in an archive on Bellen.She likes it.”
Kethen grinned.“That is a start.”
