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“Thanks. I was told to wear it.” She chuckled. “That will ease up when I know what is appropriate for which event. Right now, I am wearing a day dress for running around the house.”
“Yeah, I don’t think running is an option, and I do believe that is the plan.” She grinned. “How did you get through after the world tore to pieces?”
“I holed up at the family cabin. They didn’t make it after the first earthquake. I hunted and laid in rations, then read and did minor home repairs. When raiders showed up, I killed them and used them for rations.”
Reeda nodded. “Yeah, that was not my favourite thing. We had long pig ourselves a few times. We had thirty-eight souls in our community before we saw the signal for the pickup and got the radio working. Four of the women were pregnant, and Nature decided they would all give birth before launch, so I got a medical textbook, a few memoirs, and other records we had hoarded, and I brought them with us. I was a midwife in the next twelve hours as we made our way to the shuttle. The women walked slowly, but we all got there, and the assessors were delighted to have healthy infants to scan and examine.”
“And when they offered you training?”
“I specialized in medical. Manual medical. The machines around here are easy to use, but I wanted to know where to press and poke.” She smiled. “Your Hmrain thought my skills would be useful, and that is what has brought me here today.” Reeda laughed. “He picked me and the other team members out of a catalogue.”
Nova grinned. “I am going to applaud his shopping skills later.”
“So, he actually feeds from you?” She sipped at her tea.
“Yeah. Nothing that I am not already putting out into the air. He can just catch it.” Nova blushed. “He hasn’t needed food since we confirmed our bond.”
Heboren raised his head to look at them, smiled, and returned to his admin work.
Nova blinked. “He brought you and the others here for the breeding team.”
“Yup. He thought you would be more comfortable with a Terran medic or midwife on a delivery team. The other ladies were a concern, but I think you were the primary motivation.”
Nova smiled. “I can see him thinking ahead. How are you going to like being on a planet full of telepaths?”
“Fine. I have a closed mind.” Reeda grinned. “It looks like a giant marble to telepaths unless I let them reach through. If I do, it is a rare event. Before you ask, a Hmrain mind feels like two tons on the little marble of my thoughts. There was one who was trying me on for compatibility. We were not compatible. Well, he was a Hmrain descendant, not an original edition.”
Nova blinked. “Descendants?”
“Yeah. Strong, powerful, usually with the air of superheroes. That is why the Hmrain have an imperative to reproduce. They want their worlds protected and guided, and with their children taking over, they can move on to the next world and start over with creating a habitable world that his planet can spill over to.”
“How do you know all that?”
“He told me. Well, after we had had tea and discussed things in greater detail. You know, like folks always do with me.”
Nova chuckled. “Yeah, you do make folks tell you everything just by asking for a napkin.”
“I don’t make them. It just... happens.” Reeda sipped at her tea, and they both smiled, content to be with a friend.
Two hours later, Nova fidgeted as she watched Reeda leave under guard. She was being taken to her assigned quarters in the major med centre of the nearby city.
Heboren had his wing curved around her, and Nova leaned into it. “When can I visit with her again?”
“You are that attached to her? Was she a good friend?”
“She is a friend to all she meets. They just submit to whatever she says and does. She has physical accomplishments, can learn anything, and is an excellent confidant. I simply feel better when she is around.”
“Then, when we get you your conveyance, you can travel to and from the capitol as much as you like, provided that you let me know when you leave so I can make sure there is security to receive you.”
She looked at him. “Really?”
“Or we can have her brought here on a weekly basis. I can arrange guides to show you the countryside.”
“Why do I think that you are going to have a clear schedule on those days magically?”
He chuckled. “If you cycle as fast as you say, once you are settled and carrying, you can go anywhere you like as long as you have guards or me with you.”
Nova stood and counted silently on her fingers. She swallowed. “We will know soon enough.”
