Page 12 of Breaking Ties

Harwin nodded. “Do you have family?”

“Yes, but when I last interacted with my sister, she was tying me to a disabled jeep to leave me in the wind and cold to die. She ate the last of the rations and blamed it on me. I hadn’t eaten in days.” She clarified. “She’s a psychotic cunt who has been using me as a scapegoat all our lives. I am glad our lives have diverged. If you hear of Avery, do not invite her to come out and play. She will steal your toys and cry to Ra that you are being mean to her.”

Harwin and Ra snorted. Harwin grinned. “That wouldn’t work, but I know the type of girl you are talking about. That won’t play with the Hmrain. If they have a consort, they are attached, and a lot of us have been taught to defend ourselves, and we no longer hit like girls.”

“My queen was a bodyguard who could shove a shuttle out of a stone wall.”

Harwin smiled. “I am really proud of that. I also wasn’t born Hmrain-compatible; I was made Hmrain-compatible. So was my buddy Kris. She’s off with her own scaly flyer. She’s growing scales as well. Essan worships each individual scale as it appears.”

Aubrey chuckled. “Looks like Hmrain find hobbies.”

Ra nodded. “It is a nice change of pace.”

Aubrey laughed. “Well, I will keep your contact code with me. Does mine travel with me?”

Harwin nodded. “It does. The station is being really careful with you.”

“Yes, well, someone has tried to poison me once, and I have only been here for five hours. My sibling should be arriving in the next hour.”

Harwin asked, “What will you do?”

“Nothing. She rises or falls on her own assessments. Mine are already done, and I know what I am.”

Harwin grinned. “I like consort-class humans so much. We are all angry and determined.”

“So the Hmrain have a type.”

The couple giggled, and the baby squealed and waved his arms in the air.

Chapter Three

Aubrey continued to research until she heard a knock at her door. She got up and used the secure intercom. “Yes?”

“Lady Aubrey, it is time for your meal.”

“I have a small unit in here. I don’t need to leave my chambers.”

The thud on the door made her jump, but she had been expecting it. Her senses had been screaming at her that the knock was wrong. The thudding on the door continued as she walked to the com unit, looked up departments, and spoke to the person on the other side. “Hello, this is Lady Aubrey, consort class. I am in my room, and someone is trying to break in. I can only imagine my regular guards are unconscious.”

The face on the other end was startled, and they began typing rapidly. “Station guards are being dispatched. They will be there in ninety seconds.”

“They were on break?”

“How did you know?”

“Just a feeling.”

The thudding continued, and Aubrey got ready to deal with whatever came through, but then there was shouting, distant thuds, and then... silence.

Another soft knock that she had gotten used to expecting. “Lady Aubrey, it is time to feed your pie hole.”

The code phrase that she had given made her smile. She activated the door lock, and it wheezed open. It wasn’t unscathed.

Her guards, with their proper insignia, were waiting. She sighed. “I am sorry to cut your break short.”

The woman grinned. “Thank you for being sensible and giving us a code phrase. Did you foresee this?”

“Would it be creepier if I did or if I didn’t?”