“Not me, you idiots.Isolde.She’s moving like she’s halfway along.”
They all sighed in relief, and she snorted before laughing.They walked on.
Ten minutes later, they were in the med bay, and the unit was humming back to life.
Gertrude’s voice said, “Oh, thank goodness.I forgot where I was.Now we are together, and I can see if I need a manicure.”
Margo froze.“Gertrude, this is you?”
“Yeah.You called me Geri when we met.You said Gertrude was too fucking formal, and it was your hated grandmother’s name.”
Margo touched the casing.“Damn, Geri.You have put on weight.”
“You are not kidding.I can tell the story from anywhere, so you can back us out of here and head for Sanctuary Base.I am still not confident to get through the field without denting a fender.”
Margo patted the case and headed for the command deck.She settled into the pilot’s seat and elevated the vessel slowly before sending a signal to the array.The field behind them released, and they eased out of the station.The moment she was free, she set course for Sanctuary Base.
She put a signal out and said, “Sanctuary Base, this is the vessel transporting Cori and Isolde, as well as Chloe and Skylar.We are en route and will be there in twenty hours.”
A low male voice said, “This is Boss of Sanctuary Base.Birun and Trin will be notified when they rise.They have both been making baby things.They are excited to have family with them.”
“Good.I am delighted to be transporting it.”
Gertrude said, “She has orcs.Actual orcs.”
Margo sighed.“They are called Zowoth, and they aren’t orcs.They are a different species.”She rubbed the spot between her brows.She sighed.“Right.On our way.”
She made sure they were on the way and that the path wouldn’t take them through occupied space, and then she stretched.
Baket asked, “Okay, what the fuck is an orc?”
Margo grinned.“Mythical being.Looks a lot like a Zowoth-natural.”She looked through the archive that the computer was equipped with.“These are some images of orcs depicted by artists of my people.They are all using a basic descriptor, but these are romance novels.They all feature them as well.”
She watched the fascination in their eyes with tall orcs clasping delicate human women of differing hues.
Soven asked, “There were a lot of these images?”
“I think about three percent of the surviving female population were exposed to the images, if not the very graphic stories.”
Arven looked at her.“Graphic how?”
“Those are romances.Tiny females, strapping males, and sex under tense circumstances, and then more sex and more.”
Baket laughed.“It sounds like a ship settled and left an impression.”
“It does sound like that.The trickles of the myth were localized and before we had any imaging technology.”Margo smiled.“Do you want to see the fan images?It’s kind of like hand-drawn porn.”
Arven said, “How bad could it be?”
She laughed and brought up the images.Sweating, gleaming skin, couples locked together, and post-coital dripping.
Baket blinked.“How did they imagine that?”
“Oh, my people have imagined things that would chalk your skin.”She grinned.“It’s also how we got through our world ending.We don’t have nine outposts and other colonies.We don’t have links with the Mathor, who would aid us if it happened.We sat, and we began to die, and that gives you a lot of time to imagine how you would get away from the horrors.Your mind becomes your best friend, and for others, it was its worst enemy.We did what we could to get through, and some of us got to safety only to be thrown into danger again.And we just got the hang of that danger, and then we were somewhere new again.”Margo chuckled.“We are complicated.”
Arven was staring, and he whispered, “Margo, can you remove the images.They are hard to look away from.”
Baket nodded, “And you are right, Mathor would help.”
