Quit (2 page)

Hope spiralled in her. “Alyla will be able to walk on Terra?”

He chuckled. “One thing at a time. First, you need a meal. I can hear your hunger from here.”

She blushed and tried to get out of his lap. He had an arm curled around her, his hand under her breasts. The pressure against her increased for a moment, and then, he let her go.

Minny climbed off his lap and stood. “Uh...”

“I will join you for dinner. If you will allow me?” He set the data pad down, rose to his considerable height and offered her his arm. She slipped her fingers around the crook of his elbow, and she pressed a kiss on her fingers onto the canister before they left Alyla.

Minny glanced at him, and the final size of the baby finally made a bit of sense. There was never going to be a chance that she could bring Alyla to term if this was her father. Minny was completely convinced.

Chapter Two

She staggered back to her quarters after her second shift, and Imbolt was waiting.

“How did you get in here?” It was more of a grunt than a question. She was exhausted.

“By virtue of our relationship, I have been given access to your life. Moreover, your care and maintenance has been given over to me. You seem incapable of taking care of yourself.”

Minny really wanted to give him a verbal lashing, but she was too tired. She yawned and nodded. “Whatever. I am going to head to bed.”

“Yes, but not here. I have business to engage in, and you will need to be near me so that I can keep an eye on you. We are going to my quarters. The staff here will move you while you sleep.”

What he was saying finally sank in. “What?”

“You are moving in with me so that I can monitor you.” Imbolt smiled grimly. “Get an overnight bag and come with me.”

She blinked and slowly turned toward her bedroom. Her shuffling pace didn’t give away what she was thinking, but the moment she was inside, she locked her door.

Smiling grimly, she stripped her clothing off and fell onto the bed for a dreamless sleep.

* * * *

Imbolt looked up from the memorabilia on her desk. She had been one of four siblings, all female. Her smile with them around her was bright and inviting.

The sound of the lock engaging let him know what she thought of his solution.

Imbolt grinned and walked to the door, overloading the lock and forcing it open from a few feet away. His soon-to-be mate was passed out on the bed and snoring gently. Her complexion had a grey cast that exposed her fatigue, and her arms were blotched and marked with bruises and scratches. Something was hurting her.

Imbolt wrapped her in the bedcover and lifted her, leaving her quarters to the bots and staff that would bring her personal items and clothing to his chambers.

She was half dead and worn out, but she still maintained her spirit. They hadn’t been wrong about that. She had been recommended by the dead star that he was bonded to, as well as another source that Zanicon hadn’t disclosed.

Minerva had been chosen for him, as a good genetic blend as well as a future life partner. Holding her slight weight in his arms, he wished that the commander had contacted him sooner. Her body had wasted away with grief and worry. He was not sure that she believed Alyla would be all right.

His daughter was growing well. Her mind was strong, and soon, her feathers would come in. His own mother had said that he had been born with a full head of down; he expected the same from his child.

The Friat genes were developing at this stage, and their daughter was about to get very large, very quickly. The canister was the only safe place for her, so there she would remain until she was ready.

The final five months would speed by; he would make sure of it.

While a few of the base members saw them, no one stopped him. He walked to his quarters and settled her on his bed.

He had to admit to masculine satisfaction to see the mother of his child in his bed. He smoothed her coverlet away from her, pulled back the sheets and tucked her in.

She snuffled and resumed her snoring.

Imbolt went to the com in the other room and requested supplement injections from medical. If she wouldn’t take care of herself, he would have to.

She needed to be strong for what was coming.

* * * *

Her arms were sore, but she felt rested. Minny sat up and stared as she looked around. She wasn’t in her room. Sure, her clothing was laid out for the day on the chair, but this wasn’t her room.

The pillow on the bed next to hers had a sizable dent on it, and the ruffled bedding indicated that she hadn’t slept alone.
What the hell?

Minny got up and grabbed her suit, heading for the lav for the toilet and a shower. She paused for a moment, taking in the luxury of the room she was standing in. She quickly got back to the matters at hand. After she had showered, she got dressed, heading back into the bedroom where the bots were tidying the bed. It was strange. She was still on Lunar Base, but she had no idea where she had slept.

The door to the bedroom opened at her approach, and she was in a large space with couches, desks and coms. It was one of the VIP suites, and her host was sitting at the desk with research materials in front of him.

“Emissary Kei Zanicon. Good day?” She wasn’t sure what time it was.

He looked up with a smile. “Call me Imbolt. Good day. I removed your chronometer. It was waking you with beeping.”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “I need that to do my job.”

“Not today. Today, you are on medical leave. They are moving your chair into the office behind me so that I can keep an eye on your health and life signs.”

“Why?”

“Because you are mine to protect. It is the way of my people and the way of yours now that you are off Terra. I must say that reading about the variety of societies on your world is educational.”

“Well, then. I am going to see Alyla.”

He shook his head. “No, you are not. She is fine. An uplink to her canister is on that tablet over there, and your meal will be here in a few moments.”

Minny looked over at the dispenser. “Can’t I just get something from there?”

“No, we are going to work on enhancing your diet. You have lost weight and minerals from your system. Getting your body to process the food is the better way of getting you what you need.”

“Eating isn’t high on my list of priorities.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

Imbolt looked at her with unfathomable eyes, and the markings slid under his skin. He cocked his head. “You have lost your joy in life. It will start with your body. Get strong, because our daughter needs you to be strong.”

She frowned. “I thought that is why you were here.”

He shook his head. “I am here for you, not for her, and to be the Alliance and Imperium Emissary to Terra.”

The door to his quarters opened, and an automated cart trundled in. It glided to a halt in front of her, and she was treated to smells she hadn’t experienced in years.

There was a force field on it to keep in heat, and when she reached into it, her hand pulled out the hotdog with mustard and nothing else.

“This isn’t healthy.”

“It is supplemented with protein and minerals. Familiar tastes will do better for your morale than the ration bars you have been stuffing yourself with.”

He smiled, and the effect turned his dour and angry countenance into something that made her take a second look. He was very handsome when he smiled.

She walked over to the table and took a seat, eating her hotdog and closing her eyes. Memories of being on the beach, laughing with her sisters and drinking ice sodas swam through her thoughts. How was it that she hadn’t thought of that stuff in months or years?

Minny finished the hot dog and looked back to the tray that had followed her to the table.

French fries with a small container of ketchup were next. She eyed the cart and found all of her childhood favourites. “How did they come up with all this?”

He smiled. “I called your family.”

She nearly fainted. “You talked to them? Are they all right?”

He blinked. “Yes. Of course they are. They are excited to hear of their impending niece.”

“You talked to all of them? Selene, Athena and Iris?”

He chuckled. “All of them. Occasionally at the same time.”

She smiled and returned to her breakfast. Hearing that her family was alive and well did more for her mindset than anything else would have.

She asked him questions. “Do any of them have kids? Do they think it’s weird that I didn’t call them? How do they look? Do they know where I am?”

He snorted. “I told them what I was able to, including that you were bound by contract to not contact their world. As a member of the first wave, you are under different regulations than the current segment of humanity.”

“Do they have kids?”

“No. Two are married but no children.” He spoke while he went through his documents.

She kept eating and narrowed her gaze at him. “Why did you come here?”

“Because my daughter needs her mother.” He smiled at the data pad with the live feed of the gestation tank.

“I was fine.”

“If your brain chemistry had altered any further, you would have begun seizing, and from there, it is unknown if you would have survived after that. You certainly would have been unable to parent Alyla.”

She blinked. “I thought... Medical didn’t tell me I was having a problem.”

“Everyone here walks around you on pins and needles, to use a Terran phrase. Even your sisters mentioned that your willpower tended to make folk keep their distance.”

She made a face. “It isn’t willpower; it is my projection talent.”

Minny watched the image of Alyla on the screen. “I thought I was losing her.”

Imbolt looked up and saw the direction of her gaze. “You felt pain.”

“So much, and then, she tore herself away from me, and I was left to wonder if she would live.” She swallowed and stared at the image of her daughter on the screen. “I still wonder.”

He nodded as if a piece of the puzzle had clicked together. “You don’t want to be away from her in case she dies.”

Fat tears snaked down her cheeks, and she stared at him as the truth was exposed for anyone to see. She didn’t want to lose her child... again.

Chapter Three

Imbolt stood up and walked around his desk, hauling her to her feet and wrapping her in his arms.

“She is fine, she is healthy, and as long as you are here when she calls for you, she will be born when she is meant to be out in the world.”

He rubbed her back slowly, and her sobs broke free. All the worry and tension of the last five months were let out in a very vocal storm that left her hiccupping against his chest.

Imbolt made soothing sounds as she finished her riot of emotion. “This is why I am here. No one else would get through to you. They certainly wouldn’t confront you.”

She slumped against him. His embroidered vest was scratchy under her cheek, but the heavy thudding of his heartbeat let her slow her breathing to match his pace.

“I’m afraid for her. For me. What will I do if something happens?”

“You will go on. You will mourn and I will mourn and together, we will move forward.”

“I would be broken.”

“But you would be alive. You have much to offer this reality. Stay in it and do not seek out the most desperate of futures.”

She looked up at him. Her mind scrambled around and wanted to shatter into a thousand pieces, but instead, she sniffled and smiled weakly. “That lacked dignity.”

“It did, but it is why I am here. They signed you away to me after a five-minute conversation. Zanicon would have offered more than they asked for me to have you.”

“Wait. They sold me?”

“Just as you have negotiated placements for hundreds of humans, they sent a negotiator to offer you to me.”

“So, Alyla is payment?”

He chuckled. “No, she fulfills your contract. Mine is much simpler and will be completed in time.”

It had been so many years that Minny had nearly forgotten the clause in the contract. She had to have one heir of her body by an approved genetic match. “She is my contract heir?”

“She is. She was born live of your body, and as such, your contract has been fulfilled. You can choose where you live now and can take a position wherever you choose.”

“I am not leaving her.”

He smiled. “Excellent. Well, as I will most likely be posted here on a prolonged basis, I am delighted to hear that. I would like to have her visit me on her mother’s home world.”

“You are going to go down to Terra?”

“Yes. I have been studying the cultures, languages and food. It should be a simple adjustment once I have selected a site for the embassy.”

She pushed against him, but he held her close. “You get to leave and walk on my world?”

“I do.”

Minny wanted to go down there with him. She wanted to see family, friends and enjoy the changes in their lives that she had missed over the last decade.

“If you were my wife, I believe there would be a chance that you could return to your world. According to your laws, a marriage creates one single legal entity where there were two. This situation might be what you need.”

She leaned back as far as she could. “Is that a proposal?”

“By the agreement with the Alliance, you are already mine. This is a formality for your people, and it will camouflage you to their eyes.”

Minerva stared at him with a shocked expression. She could feel it in every bone. “So, I would return home as your wife and not as myself.”

He smiled. “As the ambassador’s wife, you would have diplomatic immunity. You would be able to go around the laws and traditions of your people, as would Alyla.”

“Why are you teasing me with this?”

“Because I want to begin with even footing, with a plan and knowledge of what I can offer you if you say yes.”