Obedient (2 page)

His hand wobbled, and she quickly moved to take the pot from him. “Please excuse me, but I am only up for half a cup today.”

She set the pot down softly and took up the cup of coffee with a smile.

He blinked his wide lids and nodded. “I am not used to this new beverage. The canisters of caf are much lighter, as you will see.”

She sipped at one of the most monumentally bad cups of coffee and smiled at him. “Will I?”

“Yes. I have found you a situation that will fit all of your requirements. I believe that you would thrive in that environment. There are other folk on that world, but they are distant and would not interfere with you, but they would give you an outlet if you needed assistance.”

“You are serious. You found me an empty world.”

He rocked his head slightly. “Almost empty.”

She sipped at the horrible coffee. “What about the other matter? What about a baby?”

“That is underway. You sign this contract and you will be on the way to the lunar base tonight.”

She cocked her head. “Why so quickly?”

“You have gained notoriety, and there is a plot to kill you for your alien-loving tendencies. We have stopped two attempts so far, but your life is in danger and Domas can’t keep watch for much longer. He’s getting tired.”

Zelia blinked. “Oh. What do you need me to do?”

He shook his head in wonder. “Sign this?”

A tablet slid across the table, and she signed the box marked for her signature after quickly reading it. She pressed her thumb where it said to press her thumb, and she passed it back.

“You don’t have any questions?”

Zelia shook her head. “I can have what I want and I don’t have to go back to the diner. Anything new is good.”

He blinked. “Well, that is wonderful. Domas will take you to the launch site, and you will be on your way.”

Zelia finished her horrid coffee and put the cup down. “I noticed a medical provision in the contract. What does that refer to?”

“Well, to carry the child we have lined up for you, you need to be altered a little. Your body isn’t quite the right PH balance for the species we are dealing with.”

She cocked her head. “What is the species?”

He grinned. “You have not heard of it. Not yet. That will wait until you are in the lunar base and possibly in the tank. You are very trusting.”

She shook her head. “I am not. Not really. I evaluate every situation on a minute-by-minute basis and make the right choice for my survival. Sometimes, I override that impulse, but generally, if someone is going to give me directions, it is in my best interest to follow orders.”

“What happens when you are on your own?”

Zelia grinned. “I can’t wait to find out.”

She travelled with no luggage, no clothing other than her uniform. She was inside a small pod and without any exterior or interior lighting. Gel supports surrounded her head and body as she rocked up and out of the atmosphere.

Zelia kept her breathing calm. She was good at keeping calm. When her parents screamed at her, she had learned that keeping calm was the fastest way to wear them out and knowing what she was supposed to do and doing it before they managed to get worked up. It was an excellent survival technique.

She could see the lunar base through the small viewing window in the pod. The light from the structure looked warm and inviting on the cold surface.

Domas had mentioned that they hadn’t quite perfected the catch mechanism for the one-man pod. Zelia might end up skidding across the surface for a few hundred yards, but they would bring her inside in one piece.

She held to the handrails on the interior of the pod as she got closer and closer to the surface. The pod rattled and twisted as it approached the silver, dusty soil. Zelia could see the pod zone, and she tried to steer the pod with her mind. She hit the drop site and to her horror, she bounced.

Screaming was an option, but she held still and moved with the pod as it struck and bounced along the crater. It was the worst carnival ride ever. She rocked and clenched her teeth until she skidded to a stop.

A rhythmic chirp began to sound behind her head. Zelia really hoped it was a beacon and not an oxygen alert.

Ten minutes after she landed, a vehicle picked her up. It went up on projections and lowered itself over her in a reverse chicken-and-egg move.

She was tucked up inside the new transport, and it trundled her back to the base.

The moment that they were inside a pressurised area, a shadowy figure keyed in the code and popped the top of the pod open.

Zelia removed her mask and smiled. “I am not buying a ticket for that ride again.”

A startled laugh greeted her as hands helped her out. “Fair enough. My name is Quilan, and I will be in charge of your orientation.”

The woman was a deep purple with tigerish stripes in a metallic blue across her body. Her hair stuck out in wild tufts, and she had a hot-pink diamond embedded between her eyes.

“Orientation?”

“Yes, though you are not going to enter the employ of a new species, you still need to know how to deal with them if it should come to that. You are also going to try to birth a child with blended bloodlines. You should—”

“Raise the child by its donor father’s cultural traditions when at all possible. Of course.” Zelia looked down and made a face. “Is there somewhere I can get clean clothing? I still smell like food.”

“Right this way. Your quarters in medical are ready. We are only going to be doing the basics here; the rest is going to be administered while you are on your way.” Quilan took her arm and led her into the base.

“Medical?”

“You were warned that you would have to be altered?”

“Yes.”

“We don’t do that in the shuttle bay. Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner it is over and your new life can begin.”

With that ringing endorsement, Zelia went with her new companion eagerly. A new life was the most tempting idea that she had considered in a long time. She just never thought it was within her reach.

Something new, something different had been a secret dream of hers. She had kept that dream hidden and swallowed away until someone had actually asked her what she wanted. They asked, and she told them. Now, here she was on the path to a life of solitude and serenity...well, at least until the baby arrived.

As Quilan found her some clothing and showed her how to use the solar shower, Zelia wondered where they had gotten the donor material. She was sure that there were beings out there who could reproduce without help, but she knew that that was an unusual situation. She had learned that one tidbit from a regular who had joined the project. He had been looking forward to meeting new and exotic women and possibly being used as a sex slave. Zelia had rolled her eyes, but she had decided that leaving Earth to be used again was not her idea of a great time.

Once she was dressed in a soft-blue bodysuit and her hair was freed of its standard ponytail, she smiled at herself in the mirror, touching it to make sure that she was real and it wasn’t an illusion.

She came out and smiled at Quilan. “How does it look?”

“You look like you are scared stiff.”

Zelia sighed. “I am.”

“Good. This is a grand adventure, but it is not without risk. Your transformation will be internal for the most part. You might get a bit taller but nothing too obvious.”

“Will it hurt?”

“It might. Everyone deals with it differently. That is why we will take a slow trip. You will be ready for the implantation by the time we arrive. After that, it will be up to your body. We will check in on you every few months, and you are only two days away if there is an emergency that requires our intervention.”

“What if I miscarry?”

Quilan nodded. “It is possible but extremely rare with the father’s species. They don’t breed often, which is why a donor sample will be available.”

“Oh. Will it look like me?”

Quilan chuckled. “Good question. It will look like you for the most part. There might be species-specific changes.”

“Will I know what those are before I have the child?” Zelia cleared her throat and rubbed her hands down her thighs.

Quilan laughed. “You will have all the information you need before you set foot on the soil of your new world. There is a house waiting and fenced-in gardens that keep out the local wildlife. You will be safe and secure.”

Zelia nodded. “Right. Okay. What happens next?”

Quilan led her into the main medical bay and showed her to the scanners. “Now, we begin your transformation.”

Zelia put herself in Quilan’s hands. She really didn’t have a choice; there was no going back.

The tank was surprisingly comfortable. Three weeks, four days and several agonising seizures later, Zel was finally able to breathe normal air.

They had been in orbit for four days.

She followed directions to remove the connections to her body, kicked to the top and lifted her hands up to the medics waiting to pull her out. Puking up the oxygenated liquid was part of the expected result the moment that she hit the slick deck on top of the tank.

Two days earlier, she had gotten her injection to make her receptive to the donor sample, and today, she was going to get things started.

Zel shivered and Quilan rubbed her back. “Get it all out, Zel. Come on.”

Zel threw up the last of the fluid in her stomach and coughed out what was in her lungs. The medics wrapped her in clean, dry cloth and lifted her down the steps to an exam table with a scanner.

“A quick scan to make sure that everything is where it is supposed to be, and then, we can proceed.”

Zel gave her a thumbs-up and stayed still for the scans.

In the last three weeks, she had been given the languages she would need via optical download, and she had learned about indigenous fruits, vegetables and edible animals of her new home. It was expected that she would botch things for a while, but after a few seasons, she should have a grasp on surviving in her new environment.

Bots were in the home for maintenance, and the local governing bodies would make sure that they were attended to.

Her list of craft and sewing supplies had been passed on to the locals, and they would have brought what they could to the homestead.

Why is there so much ready for me?
She had asked it via the interface that Quilan had been tuned to.

Her tutor had smiled and spoken mind to mind for privacy.
This species is nearly extinct in this form. They downgrade when they mate with their own, but your species seems to be having luck with them.

That odd comment had rippled through Zel’s mind. At least other Terrans had managed to have children with this species, though hopefully not the same being.

The scan completed in a few minutes, and Quilan smiled. “It looks like things are all ready on your end or, well, in your ovaries. We can begin with application of the donor sample.”

“Do I have to do anything?” She asked.

“Nope. Just lie there and think of bright sun and blue skies when I tell you to.”

Quilan moved around, and one of the other medics handed her a fairly standard large syringe. She handed it back. “Warm it to blood heat, jackass.”

A minute later and she approached Zel again. Stirrups were apparently standard as her feet were settled to spread her thighs. The syringe was slipped inside her, and Quilan urged her to breathe normally.

Zel looked up, closed her eyes and thought about sunny skies over the ocean. As she stared, she watched a shadow cross the sun, ripple through the sky and dive into the ocean with barely a splash.

“And we are done.” Quilan smiled and patted her knee. She helped Zel get her legs out of the stirrups and settled her on the exam bed.

A scanner was placed over her abdomen, and it was playing out the microscopic circle of life inside her.

“Now, you stay here until we can confirm a positive transaction.”

“Can I get dressed?”

“Nope, but we can make you more comfortable.” Quilan laughed.

She was a woman of her word. Soon, Zel was tucked in and had a pillow under her damp head. A blanket covered her body, and she could tell that she was taller. Her feet seemed quite a bit further away.

It took four hours, but when the collision occurred, Zel’s eyes teared up. The cells joined and the first split was underway. If her body didn’t reject what had just gotten started, she would be a mom.

“Wait, what is the gestation on this?”

Quilan hissed softly. “This is what I didn’t want to tell you. This particular child in your environment will take fourteen months. It is longer than your normal Terran pregnancies, but it will not become visible until the eighth month.”

Zel sighed. “Give me the data file on this, and I will head to my quarters. Wait, do I even have quarters?”

Quilan chuckled. “You do, but they are on the surface. If you would care to put on the clothing that has been provided, we will get you to your house.”

“So soon?”

“What would you want to wait for?”

“Um. I don’t know.” Zel slowly sat up and held the blanket to her breasts. “Where are those clothes that you mentioned?”

Quilan grinned. “I will be with you for a few days until you are fully settled.”

Her companion got the clothing and helped Zel into the solar shower. An hour later, they were in a shuttle and on their way down to the planet.

“What is the world called?” Zel tried not to put her hands against the screen as she stared at her new home.

“It doesn’t have one. The religious order is called Remyiks, but the rest of the world has no name that we are aware of.”

Zel looked at Quil suspiciously. “Why would they know that there was a place without a name that would take me on?”

Quil chuckled. “Luck? Never underestimate luck.”

“Luck has not been part of my life to date.”

“If you go back and look over it, you would be surprised.”

“I might just do that. It seems like I will be having some time on my hands.”

“Fourteen months and then your life will never be the same. Look, there is the house.”