“Hell yeah, you have.” Curran grumbles.
“I am going to the exercise chamber,” Davix signs as he stands up.
“Yes,” Krish replies. “But I will stop and collect Wenschel or Ryder first so they can measure our strength.” He frowns. “Hopefully the other female will not be present.”
“What other female?” Curran asks.
“The one that wishes to breed with us,” Krish replies. Curran and Corrina stare at us with wide eyes and open mouths. “It is okay,” Krish says quickly. “We are not interested in breeding with humans.”
“That, that’s good to know,” Corrina finally croaks. I move to follow the others when Corrina calls my name. “Zann,” she says. “Would you stay and talk to me for a moment?”
“Do you need me?” Curran asks. Corrina shakes her head, and he follows my brood brothers out of the office.
“What is it you need?” I ask, settling myself onto a chair. It is less comfortable than the floor due to my size, but it allows me to be able to look more directly at Corrina’s face when she is seated. As I have gotten more used to humans, I realize that my initial assessment of breasts being the primary contributor to afemale’s attractiveness was incorrect. Though Corrina’s breasts are large compared to some other females, I find the symmetry of her face and the variety of expressions she uses somehow more captivating than other aspects of her shape.
“I wanted to talk to you privately about something else that I found in Lianov’s systems,” she says quietly. Her expression, which had been open and exuberant a moment ago, is serious now. “Zann,” she says, “we found the coordinates of your home planet Gyria. If you want, we might be able to get you back home.”
I lean back in surprise. I had not expected to ever see our home world again. It is something Davix and Krish and I have discussed many times – our sadness over losing our home. And yet, the thought of returning does not fill me with excitement like I would expect.
“It’s fully within my authority to return you to your home,” Corrina is continuing. “Though it would probably take weeks before I could arrange for transport.”
“You wish for us to leave?” I ask. The idea of leaving fills me with an uncomfortable and unfamiliar sensation.
“I wish for you to have a chance for the life you might have had before Lianov stole it from you,” she replies.
I nod. There was a time when all I wanted was to return to Gyria and live out our days. But now, I am not sure. I may not share Krish’s optimism and interest in new adventures, but there have been many new and exciting experiences since arriving on thisstation. And there is still much of it that we have not explored. And Corrina is here.
“What if we did not want to return?” I ask carefully. “What if we wanted to stay here?”
“Here at the base?” Corrina asks.
“Or on Azaris,” I reply.
Corrina looks surprised. “I honestly hadn’t thought about that possibility,” she says. “In theory, you could go through skills assessment and testing for IPC though you’re older than most new recruits.” She taps a single finger to her lips and thinks for a moment. “Or we could see about getting you jobs elsewhere on the station, and you could find a place to live there.”
“I will speak with the others,” I say, “but I think we would like to be somewhere close to you and the other friends we have made here.”
She stares at me for a moment. “You really don’t want to go home?” she asks finally.
“On Gyria, we lived in isolation from others. It is the way for older males like us who can no longer produce offspring. Here, we are together as brood brothers but not completely isolated.”
“There is no one or nothing on your home planet that you miss?”
I shake my head. “Our young all reached maturity years ago, and we do not form attachments with our females. It is only Davix and Krish and me.”
Corrina tilts her head and looks at me. “That sounds a little lonely,” she says softly.
“I have never needed the company of others besides Krish and Davix before,” I say honestly. “It is only recently that I have come to enjoy being around others.” I fix Corrina with an earnest look. “I enjoy being around you,” I tell her.
“I, thank you,” she says. “I enjoy being around you as well.”
I nod. “Is there anything else you wish to discuss?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Not right now. Talk to Davix and Krish and let me know what you want to do. I’ll look into options for you being able to stay here.”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Corrina
I sit in my office staring at the doorway in silence for several minutes after Zann leaves. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he, that they, might want to stay here at the base or on the station. I glance down at my desk, where my tablet sits with the names of possible vessels that I thought might be able to take the haleens home. It is a short list – captains who I trust cross-referenced with routes that might pass near enough to Gyria to make the detour. I even have a message composed and ready to send. I chuckle to myself. I won’t delete it yet, but it makes me smile to think that I might not be saying goodbye to these strange males for a while at least.
