Knollig: A Terraneu Novel ( Book 2) (10 page)

Amber looked to Kniam, “Do you want to know what our babies will be…male
or female?”

Kniam was stunned, he looked around at the males of the Council who just
looked back intently. They were going to leave this decision for him. Even
though Mairi could see they were all sitting on the edge of their seats.

Knollig assured him, “The choice is yours to make. We will understand if
you and Amber want to have this discussion with Mairi in private.”

Kniam looked at Amber and they did a quick whispered conversation. Then
Kniam said, “No. We are all bound to the futures of the babies born on
Terraneu. We want to share the information with the Council. We will make a
decision on when to inform the community, though they will know it is something
very important to keep Amber off Antilles.” He looked to Mairi, “You can tell
us.” He grabbed Amber’s hand and held tight.

Mairi smiled at them both, “From what I can gather from the data, and the
advanced imagery in the scan, I can tell that this is your daughter.” Mairi did
a circle on the holograph, and then did another bigger circle, “Those are your
sons. They seem to be sharing an embryonic sac which means that they will be
identical.”

When she glanced up she managed to get out, “Someone catch
him
…”
Amber jumped out of the way and Kniam started to slump over. All of the Council
members bolted to catch Kniam before
he
hit the floor, Knollig being the
closest tried to catch his brother. Nobody made it in time. With a “thunk”
Kniam landed face first on the ground.

Amber laughed, “He is never going to live that down…”

Mairi was saying her good-byes to Amber. They were
only going to be gone for a day and a half at most, but her friend was worried.
The males of the community had known something was wrong when Amber was taken
off the trip to Antilles. They had clamored for the reason, and in the end it
was decided that they would have to be told. Since Amber could help with
getting the females into the medical units here on Terraneu, she had perked up
a bit. She wasn’t going to be left out of all the excitement.

“I will find your friend Jen and send her through right away, I promise.”
Mairi told Amber as she was walking with her toward the port pad.

“Thank you Mairi. When you find her, ask Thian to escort her to the
Terraneu port pad, I have a feeling about those two!” Amber sighed, “I still
wish I was going, but now that I am getting three times more sun and water, not
to mention the mineral drink three times a day.
 
I am feeling much more centered.” Amber placed her hands across
her stomach, “I am going to take much better care of myself.”

“Is there anything I can tell Jen to make her feel better when I find
her?” Mairi asked.

“Yes, tell her that I am waiting for her on Terraneu and to get her
ancient butt moving. That we have a lot to catch up on, and by the time she
gets here I might be downright old!” Amber laughed, “She will understand, and
it should put her at ease until I can talk with her myself.”

“I will do that then.” Mairi looked around, they had made it to the port
dome. Kniam, Knollig, Knaleg and the other Council members were waiting.

“Take care of yourself and the trilogy!” Mairi teased, before giving
Amber a big hug.

She left Amber there to talk with Kniam, since he was going to Antilles.
Knollig reached her, taking her hand he moved into the port dome. With one last
look behind her, Mairi let Knollig lead her onto the port pad.

With a deep breath she steadied her nerves. There was a lot riding on
this undertaking, she was determined to do her part to make it succeed. Then
she felt the awful pulling sensation, the lights flashed around her, and
everything went black.

~*~*~*

Well that wasn’t so bad. She had recovered from the
transporting a lot faster this time. It had only taken Knollig a few seconds to
wake her up and get her on her feet.

Everything looked ready. There would be men waiting to help women that
were in need of assistance in getting off the port pad. Which would probably be
all of them if she and Amber’s experiences of blacking out counted for
anything. Those that needed a little time to get on their feet would be taken
to a staging tent. There were cots to lay the women on until they regained
their bearings.

Then there was the temporary meeting dome. Once all of the women were
able they would go to this dome. There they would get the presentation from
Kniam and the Council about life on Terraneu. The rules would be explained to
them, and they could chose. Go back to life on Earth, or forward to Terraneu.
After being given the choice, they would have some time to gather their
thoughts. Then Kniam would call for a decision, and women would start going
back or forward. Mairi would be walking around to see if any of the women
didn’t act as they seemed. Maybe wouldn’t fit in on Terraneu. If she found any
women like that, she was to send them to the medical tent for the return trip.

“How do you think it looks?” Knollig had come up and put his arms around
her.

“Its amazing Knollig. I think it is going to work, I really do!” Mairi
turned in his arms, hugging him tighter. Her head tucked under his chin.

“I think it is going to work too.” He looked down at her, his purple eyes
were alight with mischief. “There is something important I need to show you.”

She laughed aloud. The look he was giving her told her what he wanted to
“show” her.

“Hmmm.” Mairi pretended to think about it for a moment, she could feel
his hard desire pressing against her stomach, “I don’t know if there is
anything you haven’t already ‘shown’ me.”

Knollig bent low to whisper, “This is something you really want to see.”
He grabbed her hand in his, and led her quickly away from camp. They walked for
a few minutes, Mairi glances around her to admire the scenery, Knollig suddenly
stopped.

“This is a pretty clearing.” Mairi turned around to him, when she saw his
eyes she gasped. They were flaming purple velvet, alight with passion. Her body
responded instantly and she moved into his arms. Her hands dove into the hair
at his nape, her leg hooking around his thigh to hold him against her. Their
mouths met and clashed. Tongues dueling and rubbing against each other.
Knollig’s hands were everywhere…unclasping the latch at her neck. Tearing her
dress down to expose her breasts to his mouth. Then moving to her thighs,
without breaking contact with her nipples, he pulled her dress up to her waist,
bunching it around her hips.

Knollig groaned against her mouth, thrusting the hard bulge in his pants
against her. Mairi slid one hand down his body, wiggling her fingers between
where they were pressed against each other. She found the fastening to his
pants and released it. Between the two of them, they managed to get his pants
down to his knees. Mairi was burning with passion, he must have felt the same
because suddenly he had a hold of her and was lifting her up his body.

She didn’t need to be told to wrap her legs around his waist. Without
warning he pushed his full length deep. Mairi gasped at the sensation of being
stretched full. Then she lost her ability to think, because Knollig was
pressing her into a nearby tree. She could feel the soft bark behind her as
Knollig’s hard muscled body pressed and rubbed against her front.

“No matter what happens tomorrow.” Knollig panted between hard thrusts,
“This is where I will always belong.” He wrapped his arms around her and
lowered them, still connected together, onto the ground. Mairi wrapped her legs
higher against his hips. Welcoming the delicious feeling of Knollig pressed
into her. “You are my one and only mate, sweet Mairi. Forever.” He kissed her
tenderly, worshiping her mouth with gentle nips.

Mairi arched up, “As you are mine Knollig. Forever.”
 
She couldn’t take much more, and pulling his
full weight down to cover her, kissed him with all the passion and love she felt
for him. Together they reached the pinnacle, and Mairi caught his shout of
release, just as she felt her muscles clamp down on him.

When they were able to catch their breath Mairi asked, “I hate to be the
responsible one, but don’t we need to get back for meetings?”

Knollig just sighed, “Yes…soon enough…” He got to his feet, and helped
Mairi to hers. “I wish Amber had been able to come along. She and Kniam have a
way of making meetings shorter, they are forever running off to get privacy.”

Mairi laughed, “You are forever putting off meetings to drag me all over
Terraneu too, don’t make Kniam out to be the only culprit!” She gave him a
fierce hug, “Not that I’m complaining. When this is all over, and we have women
running all over Terraneu, I want you to take me back to the Oasis. I have
something special in mind for you.”

Knollig moved in her hold to look down, “I’m sure we could find an Oasis
here on Antilles.” His hands had started to wander her body, making their way
south…

“We have to stop Knollig. The meetings for tomorrow’s procedures are more
important. We really should be getting back.” Mairi insisted.

Knollig was just opening his mouth to say something,
when he got a blank look on his face. Mairi waited for him to get done
“talking.”

“You are right sweet Mairi, they are waiting for us
to start. We need to return to camp.”

He grabbed her hand to hold, and together they
walked back to camp. They had
  
a lot to
cover, then it would time for sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day!

Chapter Seventeen

On Earth the day of
“Operation Females”

Kneus stared up at the ceiling, going over the plans
for the next twelve hours in his mind again. The last six months of preparation
came down to what happened today. He smiled to himself in the dark, Callum
McPherson was a force of nature. If this whole venture succeeded it would be
because of him. Kneus was in awe of the man and what he was able to accomplish.

They had used the Internet and found over one
hundred women in the last six months that fit the profile they were looking
for. Since the current facility wouldn’t house near that many women, Callum had
come up with a plan to house them in the local village. Kneus was pretty sure
they had used up every available room the other Inns and Spas had to offer. It was
the middle of winter, so having the female’s camp outside wasn’t an option.
Maybe next spring, if the weather allowed they could go that route.

As it was they were planning “a trip” for the women
today. In cycles of ten, every fifteen minutes the females would be sent
through the portal. That would give the men on Antilles time to revive the
unconscious ones, and wouldn’t leave the women standing around waiting too
long.

Jennifer had arrived, and was quite a handful. She
had charged in expecting to see her friend Amber right away, and was not happy
with waiting. She would definitely be one of the first to go through today
Kneus decided. The sooner those two got together the better for his peace of
mind.

He had worked on gathering the items Amber had requested,
and Callum McPherson was going to be delivering it to Antilles. It had given
him some solace to work on an electronic device that would hold the music she
wanted, and would hopefully be compatible with that on Terraneu. Kneus was sure
that anything he sent could be replicated, or reverse engineered. It was the
content that he was concerned about. She had asked for all music, but there was
some that he was sure she wouldn’t like. There was a lot of screaming, and the
added melody was not pleasant. Some were even downright violent.

Kneus had also been busy downloading books. He had
managed quite a library of work by the time he had to get the equipment ready
for transport to Antilles. Between Callum and himself they had spent quite a
lot of Earth money. He figured it was well spent if it kept the females busy
and happy. The books would give the men something to do learning to read. He
had also purchased random art and crafting items that Amber had suggested. What
he was able to find would be easy to replicate or make, they just needed a
template to build off of.

Deciding he might as well get the day started, Kneus
rolled out of bed. He tried not to let the fact that his people depended on the
success of the day ahead of him weigh too heavily upon his mind.

It was time to face the future.

It was time. Mairi along with everyone on the Council, Zerxix and some of
his “men” were all waiting. There was a sudden humming, a flash of blue
florescent light and a frail older man appeared, crumpled on the port pad.

“Grandpa…!” Mairi cried out and ran over to kneel down next to her
grandfather. There was a military style bag next to him that Mairi just pushed
aside with a clunk. Gently taking his head in her lap, “Grandpa…wake up.” She
coaxed.

Knollig was suddenly next to her, lifting the elderly man off the port
pad as if his weight was insignificant. Which was impressive given her
grandfather was in full winter clothing. It was December in Scotland after all.
Someone else grabbed the bag to bring it along.

“We can take him to the recovery dome Mairi, he will be more comfortable
there.” Knollig started off in that direction with everyone following close
behind. There was some elbow pushing at the opening to the dome, when everyone
tried to follow too closely. In the end they all kind of stumbled through like
a damn bursting.

Mairi glared over her shoulder at the males, then rushed to her
grandfather’s side.

“He is fine Mairi, I think he might be waking up.” Knollig reassured her,
and sure enough. Her grandfather let out a soft moan and then opened his eyes
slowly.

“Grandpa!” Mairi leaned over him, giving him a rib-crushing hug and
raining kisses on his face! “I can’t believe you are finally here!” Mairi
started laughing and crying at the same time. “You don’t know how I’ve worried
over this past six months.” She was talking so fast the poor men were trying to
keep up, “For you to pass up a chance to come here right away, and to bargain
so that I could come first!” Mairi gave up trying to speak coherently and just
held her grandfather for a few minutes.

Knollig stepped behind her, “Mairi, as you can see has been completely
cured of her sickness.”

Mairi gasped, “Grandpa, I want you to meet Knollig. He is Kneus and
Kniam’s brother. “After a pause, and a cough from Knaleg, Mairi said, “Oh and
there is Knaleg too.” She looked over at Knaleg and shrugged, “Sorry. I didn’t
mean to leave you off the list.” She waved around the room, “These men are all
on the Council, there is Asteen.” He did a quick bow at this name. “Thian.” He
also bowed, “and Ailech.” Mairi thought for a second…”Ohhh…and Zerxix, sorry…he
is not on the Council, but is Antillean. He protects the port pad for us and
trades for goods with Terraneu.” Mairi looked around, “Did I forget anyone?”

Her grandfather was just laying there with his mouth in an O. Realizing
this might be their only chance to get a word in edgewise, all the males
started talking at once.

Kniam thought to welcome her grandfather.

Knollig stated he was glad to meet the grandfather of his mate. (She
would be having a chat about proper timing with Knollig later.)

 
Thian offered that he was
grateful for the use of the land in Scotland.

 
Knaleg grouched about her
forgetting his name in the list of brothers, because he felt he was the best
looking.

Zerxix just made some clicking noises she didn’t understand.

Kniam broke into everyone’s chatter, “Maybe we should let the grandfather
talk. He might have something important to tell us since he is the first person
through the portal.”

Everyone got quiet and looked to her grandfather.

“I was sent through with the things Amber asked for. Kneus is a wiz with
the computers of earth and I think he has copies of every piece of music, and
every book ever written downloaded on a transfer box he created. He thinks it
will be able to work, or be made compatible with your existing systems. There
is also a reader he thinks that can be replicated and made compatible for the
books. He plans on sending some sporting equipment back the next time. We wanted
to make sure this transfer went off first, and Amber did say the music was
important.”

“We are grateful for the items my mate feels are essential. Thank you for
bringing them.” Kniam patted her grandfather on the shoulder.

Something was bothering her, then she realized what it was, “What
happened to your brogue?”

He just looked confused, “I am talking like I normally do.”

Knollig took pity on her and explained, “The medical unit…when it
“cleaned” you, makes it so you can understand and speak our language. You are
speaking English, just your brain is taking out the brogue.”

Mairi just shook her head. That was another thing that would probably
never make sense to her. Hearing and speaking another language, and not even
knowing she was doing it.

“Kneus was going to start sending women about thirty minutes after I was
through. All we told them was that this was a second chance at a better life,
and they needed to take a leap of faith.” Her grandfather continued, “Kneus
sent me to make sure that you got the devices and if there was any information
you needed to pass on to him.”

Mairi’s brow furrowed, “How would we get a message to him? The women we
send back wouldn’t be able to pass it along since their memory is getting
wiped.” She paused, “I suppose we could put it in one of their hands, so Kneus
would be sure to see it.”

Her grandfather tensed for a second then stated, “I am going back to
Earth Mairi.”

She was frozen in shock for one second, and then vehemently shook her
head, “NO! You were promised the medical fix, and a life on Terraneu too. You
have to come back with us!”

Her grandfather looked around at the other males and asked quietly, “May
I have a moment with Mairi in private please.”

The others all nodded and left the dome to wait. Knollig looked torn. Her
grandfather had asked for privacy, but he was her mate and wanted to stay.

“Grandfather this is Knollig. He is my mate. On Terraneu that means a
husband and wife.” Mairi introduced the two men again.

“Mr. Grandfather McPherson sir,” Knollig was obviously nervous about
meeting her grandfather, Mairi held back her laugh so that he wouldn’t be
offended. “Mairi has told me so much about you, and my brother has added to
that story. You are truly a great man, and I am honored to be mated to Mairi.
May I stay to hear what it is you want to discuss with her?”

Her grandfather was great man, but Knollig didn’t need to go
overboard…Mairi grumped to herself.

Her grandfather took Knollig’s measure and must have liked what he saw.
With a mischievous glint in his eyes he said, “Yes. You can stay. I would like
to know, are you treating my granddaughter well?”

“Yes sir. I think that Mairi is very happy as my
mate.”

“Is that so?” Her grandfather drawled out. “Are you sure son?”

Knollig swallowed hard, uncertainty in his face, “I treat her with care
and respect. She is everything to me. Why even this morning I woke up to
worship…” Mairi turned bright red and slapped a hand over Knollig’s mouth. Her
grandfather did not need to know how he had woken her up!

“We are very happy grandfather!” Mairi hurried before she couldn’t talk
at all. Knollig was busy kissing the palm of her hand, and she was quickly
loosing focus with the conversation.

“I can see you are meant for each other. Take care that you don’t take
advantage of a good thing. Communication is the key…now where was I?” He looked
around, thoughtful for a moment. “Ah. Yes. I delivered the bag of techno stuff
that Kneus made. I got to see you Mairi. Now I need to wait until the women are
settled then I’m going back.”

Mairi pressed for answers while she still could, “But why grandfather?
Why do you have to go back?”

Her grandfather had stood up, and was quickly removing winter gear. It
was warmer on Antilles and he didn’t need the extra clothing. He set everything
on the cot that he had just gotten off of.

“Because if I don’t Kneus might not make it back either.” He stated.

Knollig was instantly alert, “What is wrong with Kneus? Is he ill? Did
something happen to him?” He got the intent look on his face, then all the
Council rushed back in.

“What is this about Kneus?” Kniam stormed forward.

Her grandfather held his ground, surprising against these giant men,
especially Knaleg. “I was just saying that I am going back, because if I don’t
Kneus might not make it back either.” Her grandfather was eyeing Knollig with
an odd expression.

Mairi decided to explain, “I don’t know if Kneus mentioned they can talk
telepathically. Knollig just told the males of the Council what you had said
about Kneus.”

“Hmmm. He might have mentioned it, but if he did it didn’t stick.” He
tapped his head. “So, I am going back because I said I would keep Kneus safe
and help him adjust to life on Earth. That is the problem…he is having trouble
adjusting.”

Knollig, Kniam and Knaleg all puffed up in indignation over the idea that
their brother was somehow not capable of adjusting to a situation. They were
all about to interrupt when Mairi placed a comforting hand on Knollig.

“Let him finish. This isn’t anything against Kneus.” She soothed.

Her grandfather instantly agreed, “He is the most intelligent, admirable,
talented person I have ever met. I am honored to call him my friend.” He got a
sad look in his eyes. “Life on Earth is just so different than what I gather he
experienced on Terraneu.”

Mairi could understand and relayed to the men, “The two planets have
absolutely nothing in common except a genetic link from thousands of years ago.
Kneus is being exposed to things he never would have imagined possible.”

“I can attest to the truth of that also.” Kniam offered, “I did a search
on their ‘Internet’ and the things I saw.” He grimaced. “So you are offering to
go back and help Kneus until the last of the females we need are here. Then you
will come to Terraneu?”

“Yes. I am content with that decision.” Her grandfather assured, “After
seeing Mairi, and knowing she has been healed, and found a new life with
Knollig. I will see Kneus through this thing.” Her grandfather took his vows as
seriously as the men on Terraneu. He would see Kneus safely home if he could.

“I want you to tell Kneus that at the first sign of any danger to either
of you, the plan for more females is to be abandoned. Go into hiding until you
can come though the portal safely, both of you are the top priority.” Kniam’s
voice held a hard edge.

“I hate to put a damper on the moment.” Thian broke in, “but speaking of
women…they are going to arrive at any moment.”

~*~*~*

What an amazing day. Ailech, Asteen and Thian were supposed to stay and
oversee the clean up of the camp. Thian had begged off the duty, which had
Mairi laughing to herself. She was sure there was a certain Earth female named
Jennifer that would be getting a personal, “Welcome” to Terraneu.

With Thian coming back with them, that left Kniam, Knollig, Knaleg and
herself also going through in a few moments.

While they waited Mairi thought back on the arrival of the women. The
port pad had glowed every fifteen minutes for three hours. Pouring women out
like sands in an hourglass. Most of them were unconscious, but a few were able
to walk off on their own. Mairi did a mental note to herself to have the men
check those women’s brain waves. She wasn’t sure a normal person should be able
to handle that portal!

The rest were all put in the recovery dome, and then allowed to move
around until the welcome meeting. She had to admit that most of them handled
the situation pretty well. After they removed their extra winter gear, they
gathered in small groups and chatted about what they thought was happening.
Whatever psychological voodoo Kneus had come up with on the dating site
questionnaire had resulted in a lot of very open-minded candidates!

She had remembered her promise to Amber and found Jen in the recovery
dome in the first group. She had reassured her that her friend was safe, and
happy. She had relayed Amber’s message word for word. Which had Jen bursting
into laughter and she was immediately more relaxed. Jen was given the chance to
go back to Earth. She chose Terraneu since she was tired of the struggle her
life had become. The opportunity at a new start was exciting. Mairi had then
requested Thian escort Jen to the Terraneu port pad. The way she was eying
Thian, and the way Thian was eyeing her…Mairi thought maybe Amber would have a
new job as match-maker. Wait until Thian got a look at Jen after the medical
unit fixed her, although now that Mairi thought on it. Looks didn’t seem to
matter to the males here.

Kniam gave the welcome speech after everyone was gathered. By this time
they were anxious to know what exactly was going on. Some thought that it was a
secret government program to send like-minded women to colonize Mars. Some had
theorized that they were on some type of hallucinogenic and were being
experimented on. There were other theories, but those two were Mairi’s
favorites. It wasn’t until they got the welcome speech from Kniam that they
realized that this might actually be happening. You have to admire the human
mind though, it sure can adapt to a lot…especially if you have an active
imagination. These women definitely had active imaginations…she could attest to
that! The ones who remained would fit in nicely on Terraneu.

Kniam went over the history of the males from Terraneu. He covered what
had happened that precipitated the need for women. That the males were honor
bound to never hurt a living thing, it was built in their genetics. If any male
harmed a female knowingly they would face death as their punishment. He went
over all the rules that the males had already memorized, then he stressed that
the rules were not flexible in any way. The Council would enforce them to their
fullest extent. If any female felt the rules were too harsh, or would be unable
to live by them they could return to Earth…never the wiser. The experience of
the last few hours wiped from their minds. If they chose to go on to Terraneu
it was not going to be like living on Earth. The men were not the same, and the
living conditions were not the same.