Tocknicka examined the detailed star map stored in his kernel. Tocknicka replied.

  Peña replied.

  Tocknicka sent.

  Peña sent.

  Tocknicka chittered.

  Peña mimicked Renée’s delighted laugh.

  Tocknicka inquired.

  Peña replied.

  It was Tocknicka’s turn to laugh, and his chittering was loud. His thought was that Morgoth loved the challenge, but it was three-century-old SADEs who saw the opportunity for a new industry. They chased business opportunities to earn huge amounts of credits. Then they turned around and used the funds to support biologicals they admired.

  Tocknicka finished before he ended the link.

  Merlie had the coordinates for both courses in the controller. She selected the direct transit to Darmian. Then she accelerated away from the Helgart system before she directed the Storyteller to enter the dark.

  The sisters spent the time ensuring that the Jatouche tanks hadn’t suffered any damage during their transport from the domes. Then they turned their attention to deconstructing a few cabins near the medical suite. In place of the cabins, they installed a lab that could handle the identification of alien genetic code to program the Jatouche tanks.

  Sven sent to Peña when she joined him in his cabin. He left the question unasked, and he waited.

  Peña merely smiled and replied,

  Sven pressed.

  Peña realized that Sven still hadn’t fully accepted their partnership. Then she corrected that thought. He was committed to the partnership, but he was unsure how long she would participate in their liaison.

  Peña sent.

  Sven asked.

  Peña worked to parse the question’s meaning, but it eluded her. she asked.

  Sven replied.

  Then Sven’s concern dawned on Peña. She crossed to him and held out her hands. As Sven’s strong arms enveloped her, she luxuriated in the sensations of being loved by him. She placed her lips close to his ear and played one of his favorite tunes.

  Sven head the familiar music, and he smiled. Slowly, he began to move, and Peña swayed with him. As the music built, he danced with her. There was no way he could move Peña’s avatar, but she was extremely responsive to his lightest touch.

  The pair danced until Sven began to lessen his movements. Then they stayed locked in each other’s arms.

  Peña whispered.

  Sven pulled back to look into Peña’s eyes. he requested.

  Peña quipped, wiping away Sven’s dark thoughts. As he held her close again, she heard him chuckle, and the deep vibrations swept through her avatar.

  Cycles later, Sven and the sisters sensed the Storyteller drop out of the dark. The Radagul system lay directly ahead. A Trident squadron guarded some class one freighters, and a lone Trident floated near the planet.

  Merlie commented in the open.

  Elone remarked, which the sisters and Sven thought was hilarious.

  A second transit placed the Storyteller above the ecliptic with Darmian far below.

  Miranda sent, which made the sisters smile.

  For the sisters, there wasn’t a more respected SADE than Miranda. By extension, Z, as Miranda’s partner, was to be treated with great courtesy.

  Miranda instructed.

  Nebulon approached Gurderg. As usual, the matron was accompanied by two friends. As each had been badly mauled by their mates in disciplinary attacks, the trio found comfort in staying together.

  “Greetings, Gurderg and friends,” Nebulon said. “Gurderg, the opportunity that you’ve been waiting for has arrived.”

  “The ship with the medical tanks,” Gurderg enthused. She refused to say Jatouche, as it required a movement of the lips that allowed saliva to spill from her torn muzzle.

  “Yes,” Nebulon replied. “The ship has many tanks, but one Radag has to be first.”

  “We saw the work on Red and his friends before he was lost,” Gurderg’s friend said.

  The Radag matrons hung their heads and uttered their thanks to Mystic and Red who had sacrificed existence and life to protect the negotiator families inhabiting the enclave from a treacherous shuttle attack.

  “If a Radag could display a new body, it would convince others to undergo the repairs,” Nebulon urged.

  “One Radag matron would be good. Three would be better,” Gurderg’s other friend responded.

  The matrons gripped hands, and Gurderg said, “You have your three volunteers, Nebulon.”

  Gurderg returned to her new home in the recently erected city. She informed her two younglings of her intention to undergo repair. The older sibling, Imphastid, was worried for her, but Pregfert brushed away her sibling’s concerns.

  Pregfert had spent an inordinate amount of time with the sisters, including flying in their travelers, and she was convinced of the qualities of conclave technology.

  When Gurderg’s friends arrived with their baggage, they quickly sided with Pregfert and informed the younglings that they were accompanying Gurderg to undergo repair too.

  Before any arguments with Imphastid could ensue, Pregfert announced, “Your ride is here. A traveler hovers near the plaza, and two suits and a sister have jumped out the hatch. They’re headed here.”

  Gurderg grabbed her bags, hugged each youngling, and made for the door. If she had any trepidation, those concerns were swept aside by her expectations of returning to the way she looked before she mated. She knew the annuals had worn her, but she didn’t want to appear as a ruined female any longer.

  Nebulon surveyed the three matrons and said, “Put fears you might have aside. This will be easier than you can imagine.”

  While Nebulon spoke, Escher and Ceda grabbed the baggage and made for the traveler.

  As the matrons boarded the ship, they spied the protectors standing at the traveler’s aft end.

  “Welcome,” Miranda said to them.

  The nanites seats did much to settle nerves. Each matron had ridden in a traveler several times, and the comfort had yet to grow old.

  Aboard the Storyteller, the matrons came to a halt and stared at the individuals who welcomed them. The robust, blond-haired male didn’t concern them. He was too similar to the individuals who wore suits.

  It was the three females who amazed the matrons. They gazed at Peña, Merlie, and Elone. Then they turned their attention to Nebulon.

  “Yes, we are sisters,” Peña said, laughing lightly. She and the other sisters had already downloaded the Radag language from the protectors’ Trident.

  Suddenly, the relief on the matrons’ faces was easily discernible. They realized that their expectations of being placed in the hands of another alien race were completely unfounded, and they chuffed quietly.

  “I can see that our presence was unexpected,” Peña said. “But that seems to be a good thing. Please come this way.”

  Z commented privately to his partner,

  Miranda replied.

  Z requested.

  Miranda replied, as the group trailed after the matrons, Peña, and her companions.

  In the medical suite, blood was drawn from each matron. While the base process required only one individual from a new race, the sisters thought to prep three tanks in anticipation of a successful conversion operation. Within a few hours, the Jatouche program registered the Radags in its list of repairable races. Then the appropriate parameters were created to drive the tanks.

  Elone, who had focused on the Jatouche tanks, met with the matrons. As this was a deeply personal meeting, no one else was present. “The Jatouche program has approved your repairs,” she said.

  In response, the matrons gripped hands again, joy suffusing their faces.

  “I’ve a question for each of you,” Elone continued. “What degree of repair do you desire?”

  “What does that mean?” a friend inquired.

  “Patience,” Gurderg counseled. “The sisters are thorough.”

  Elone had thought to borrow imagery from the outpost station as the Storyteller had passed the Helgart system. She activated her palm holo-vid.

  “I’ve permission to show you this from the ex-mickie leader, Jasper,” Elone said.

  The matrons stared at the image of a scrawny young human. His face and body told the tale of someone worn down before his time.

  Suddenly, Gurderg’s hand flew to cover the ruined side of her muzzle. It prevented her gasp from spewing saliva on her friend who sat beside her. “That’s Red,” she said.

  “It can’t be,” one of the friends objected.

  “It is,” Elone said. “He worked deep underground in mining tunnels. He was an orphan with no support.”

  Tears glistened in the matrons’ eyes. The courageous young human who negotiator families revered for his sacrifice had suffered more than most.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” Elone apologized. “I’ve shown you Red’s previous image because you have an important decision to make. We can repair parts of you or all of you.”

  “When you say all of us, what does that mean?” Gurderg asked.

  “We can take your genetic code and build your body as if it hadn’t suffered any debilitations from scarring, broken bones, burns, or other medical problems,” Elone explained.

  The matrons chortled heavily, and spit flew in many directions.

  “I understand,” Elone said, smiling. “Full repair is requested by each of you.”

  And the matrons nodded vigorously, while still chortling.

  Inducers were applied to the matrons. Then they were slipped into Jatouche tanks, and the repair processes began.

  Elone, who had listened to the exchanges among Miranda, Peña, and their companions, joined them in a conference room. When she arrived, the protectors were explaining about the relocation of the negotiator families from the enclave.

  Z sent,

  Merlie inquired.

  Z replied.

  Sven sent. The last thing he wanted to see was Peña engaged in prolonged fights with the Radags, especially since he’d just seen images of the warriors.

  Peña sent.

  Miranda responded.

  Peña replied.

  Escher sent. He looked from Peña to the protectors.

  Sven replied. He didn’t look happy about the agreement not being codified.

  Miranda asked.

  Peña returned.

  Miranda, Z, and Nebulon blasted the conference room.

  Escher and Ceda grinned and waited for the explanation.

  Nebulon proffered.

  Sven explained.

  Z noted.

  Sven admitted.

  Peña sent proudly.

  Z realized what Miranda had hinted. Peña and Sven were partners. While it wasn’t unheard of, it was rare. This made him curious about Sven. Peña was a first-gen sister. Somehow, Sven had attracted her attention. This should have been particularly difficult. Then again, he thought, perhaps, he didn’t understand Peña that well. It would be a matter best discussed with his partner.

  Nebulon surmised.

  Sven replied in a casual manner.

  Now everyone was roaring. A single executor’s territory represented hundreds of settled worlds with thousands of dome installations.

  Miranda sent. She focused on Peña, as she’d sent her thought.

  Elone noted.

  Miranda shared, her tone hardening.

  Merlie asked.

  Z replied.

  Sven inquired in confusion.

  Nebulon corrected.

  Sven offered.

  Z sent.

  Peña sent.

  Elone was left in command of the carrier, while Peña, Sven, and Merlie accompanied the Darmian contingent planetside.

  Sven sent privately to Peña,

  Peña asked.

  Sven replied.

  Peña counseled.

  Sven grumped.

  Peña replied.

  Sven added. At the traveler’s hatch steps, he stood aside to allow Peña to go first.

  Z caught Miranda’s attention, and he indicated the couple with a tip of his head.

  Downside, the traveler dropped into a huge plaza that had yet to be finished. For now, it made a convenient landing pad.

  Before the traveler landed, Peña, Sven, and Merlie had gotten a good overview of the city.

  Merlie commented.

  Ceda explained.

 

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