The power dissipated the same way it had gathered.She exhaled and looked at Jenaki.“Sorry, but they were becoming much.The links and consortia just absorb people, and that is not what I want.”
He smiled.“I am glad you stand up for what you want and will insist on what you need.Now, what you need is rest, so come back and rest.”
She snorted.“You are just getting me used to you.”
“Yes.My people know the moment we meet our partners.Convincing them that we are a stable option is what we work on.”
She turned against him again and patted his chest.“Keep working on it.I will keep you apprised of progress.”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.“I am hoping for a series of formally issued report cards.”
Diena smiled at the thought.“After the final checks that clear me, I will make a template.Nothing formal starts until then.”
“Thank you for the warning.How do you want to go home tomorrow?”
“Quietly.”
He nodded.“I can do that.”
She inhaled his scent and relaxed against him.“I love someone who can follow instructions.”
Jenaki stiffened then smiled at the casual phrase that preceded her sleeping soundly.When he had met her at the checkup, he had been struck by her presence.Her calm.It took that kind of control to manage a serious activation, and that is what she had.He smiled and stroked her hair and the downy side of her cheek.His partner had met him, and he had known in one minute that they would match very well.Until he worked through the origins of her pregnancy, he thought he would have someone to fight.
He kissed her forehead.No fight with a male would be necessary, but he was betting that Diena would be fun at a live range, but only if there was a need.
He guessed that Torun was going over Alody’s files as he lay there.
* * * *
Torun sat at a terminaland watched clips of Alody running toward wounded defenders and team members, flying, swimming, and speeding.There were thousands of records of her, and she looked exactly like Diena.Her files showed samples being taken for secondary creation, and then, Alody disappeared.
There was no record of her leaving; she just simply ceased to exist.He scrolled forward, and there were no occurrences of her before she rescued the bus, looking the same as the day she was last seen.
He looked her up and blinked as her address was listed in the Askalla directory.Her status was as a citizen, and that took some doing.
He paused and checked the security cameras at the maternity centre.She had left after one with a sleeping child.He would seek her out in the morning.
Zera asked, “Did you find her?”
“I don’t know where she went, but I found her.”He turned to his love and smiled.“She was my first medic when I entered the program.”
She blinked.“She was?”
“She was.She was the team medic for every team out of the capitol and several international teams on request.”
Zera frowned.“What happened?”
“She just disappeared.One day, she was just gone.We got a new medic, and that was that.”
“Where did she go?”
“I am going to find out.”He smiled and reached for her.“In the morning, after her son gets some rest.”
“Son?”
“Son.”He kissed her and carried her to their bedroom.No sense wasting the pre-dawn light.
* * * *
