The Sarran Senator (14 page)

* * * *

I have learned to hate all traitors, and there is no
disease

that I spit on more than treachery.

—Aeschylus

Retiring Room at the Hangar

“You are really my Warriors?” Meg asked.

“Yes, I’m Tarin, the Duke of WaterClan and
this is Samuel James Johnson, Duke of EarthClan. We live at Falling
Waters, the estate of the Duchy of WaterClan near our daughter,
Sara, her WarriorPair, Mark and Juraens, and Sara’s son, Michael.
Midnight and now Snowy live with us as do you, dearheart.”

“I’m a very simple fem from a small village
in Ireland where I worked as a seamstress and took in laundry. I’m
not talented or special,” Meg temporized.

“Not special? According to Sara, Syn, Adele,
Ellen, and Anya, you designed and sewed all of their dresses for
this event in a matter of days, in addition to providing designs
for the other fems and making your own stunning gown. On top of
that you reached Snowy from Ireland while she was in orbit around
the Earth on Brightstar. Your psy is strong, Meg. You were meant
for a council pair.” Sam held her close and she unconsciously
snuggled in closer.

“Sam, I’m going to go and get our fem some
dinner. Is there anything you don’t like?”

“I never got to try new things at home, so
maybe a tiny bit of everything Sarran so I can determine what I
like. I’ve been eating Earthen food from the fabricator.”

Tarin put his arm around Sam and squeezed his
Warrior’s shoulder. “After she eats, I think we should take Meg
home this moontine and arrange for her things to arrive next
rising. We will call on Syn and Sara’s Triads to witness the mating
next moontine. We have to prepare for company.” Tarin left the
room.

“I’m just a simple cook. My Da didn’t like
anything fancy although I wanted to try,” Meg said hesitantly.

“With us, you can try anything you like, or
not at all. Syn and Sara cook. Anya and Ellen do not. We have a
chef and a factotum to run the house, so you can work on your dress
designs or sit and read all day. We want you to be happy. Will you
come home with us this moontine? You don’t have to do anything you
don’t want to do. We’d be happy to escort you to back to the
barracks if you wish.”

Margaret Mary made a decision. “I’ll go home
with you. Even though I’m thirty-six, I am a virgin and have no
experience whatsoever with men. Everything will be new to me, so
please have patience.” Meg straightened her shoulders.

Sam smiled. “Don’t worry. A Sarran
WarriorPair is always gentle with their fem.”

“Oh! I have nothing to wear for the next
rising.” Meg blushed.

“Then we’ll stop by the barracks and gather
up your clothing and send for your household goods in next rising.”
Sam helped Meg stand up.

“I only have my sewing machine and one small
suitcase.” Meg was embarrassed by the meager amount of belongings
she brought with her from Earth.

Tarin came back with three plates and set
them, silverware, and napkins at the small conference table. “Don’t
worry, our Meg. You’ll have everything you need; your Warriors will
provide for you,” Tarin said. “I never thought I’d have a chance at
Triad after Nezier was killed in battle by the Zyptz. Sam’s Mary
died twenty-two years ago and he’s not been serious about anyone
since until me and now, you. Do you feel the pull of the bond?”

“I feel overwhelming fondness for the two of
you. I had an immediate affinity for Sara and Syn, for Sarran in
general. I think I do belong here and to you. Let’s have our meal.
We’ll get my things and I’ll go home with you afterward. Nothing
bad has happened to me on Sarran so I think I can trust that
nothing will. Your Warriors actually mean it when they say that a
Sarran will do anything for a fem, even one not their own. I can’t
believe that a member of the council fixed my sewing machine. I
never made the connection to TaSyn.” Meg shook her head.

Sam carried Meg to the table to eat. She sat
and ate all of the food on her plate.

* * * *

Retiring Room Council Chambers: Field House 22:00
tines

Sam and Tarin ignored their food. They were
too busy marveling at their fem. When she finished eating, Sam
asked, “Do you want us to carry you, dearheart, or would you rather
we hold you while you walk?”

“I’d rather walk, please. I’ve already made
enough of a spectacle of myself this moontine.”

The door opened. Snowy and Midnight walked
through.
::While you were yakking, I had TeBron transport your
things to the Duchy. The three of you have to learn to take care of
business. Let’s go home. I’m going to need some things of my own.
I’ve been using the communal facilities. Why we had to wait two
tides to go to your Warriors is beyond me. I knew which one of you
was on the ship. It would have been easy to find the other once we
got here.::

Meg sat up.
::Now Snowy, don’t be a scold.
It’s an unattractive character flaw in a fem or Warrior. We’ll go
with our Warriors and Midnight and straighten everything else out
on the rising. Was that Sherry with the other two
Warriors?::

“Do you mean TeAllen and TeWell?” Tarin
cocked his head.

“I think those are the names I heard Syn say.
Sherry has a son, Jimmy, who is ten. She got married when she was
fifteen in a place called Alabama. Her father practically sold her
to an old man.”

“Fifteen cycles? Sometimes Warriors on Sarran
bond that young but it’s by choice. Fems never bond until after
they are at least eighteen.” Tarin was indignant.

“I grow more ashamed of Earth every day,” Sam
spat through thinned lips.

“That devil beat Sherry and Jimmy then kicked
her out when she turned twenty-five because he said she was too
old. He didn’t even want Jimmy. Poor Sherry was homeless and spent
many hours in the healing chamber fixing old scars. Your Warriors
found her at the shelter who had documented her injuries so her
former marriage was dissolved. I hate that he received money for
her and Jimmy.”

::Don’t worry, little one, Allen and Well
are good Warriors and will take excellent care of both Sherry and
Jimmy. Now let us take care of you. As far as that fucker…::
“See Sam, I learned Mark’s favorite word.”

::Sorry little one, that fucker will never
get to spend the money because the American Congress passed a bill
by voice vote in the house and the Senate that says he goes to jail
in a place that doesn’t like men who abuse fem and offspring.::

“I believe Ireland passed that law also. Da
would have gone mad. He said a woman was meant to be beaten. The
Bible even specified the size of the stick.” Meg sighed. “Da didn’t
go to church, yet he knew that passage by heart. ‘A severe beating
can knock all of the evil out of you.’ Proverbs 20:29-30.”

::I’m glad your father passed, dearheart,
because he would be rotting in the same hole along with Sherry’s
husband and Bradley, my former son-in-law.::

::Did you like your dinner, little one? Do
you want some more to eat?::
Tarin fussed.

::No, I’m full. If I eat any more, I’ll get
fat. I already have a rounded tummy.::

::Do you drink you Tierest juice in the
rising?::
Sam asked.

Meg cocked her head. “That was a strange
question.”

“If you drink your juice, you’ll never be
overweight. The Tierest juice balances a Sarran’s weight in perfect
proportion to their body. Have you seen any overweight fems? They
may all be pregnant, but none of them are over…”

A wailing siren sounded. Tarin turned to Sam,
“There’s been an attempt to breach. I need to find Bron.”

“I need to find Mark and Juraens. I’m going
to leave you with Sara and Syn. Someone or something attempted to
breach the new Sky Shield.”

Meg suddenly found herself next to Syn and
Sara. Sam must have transported her.

“All the Warriors are assembling at their
Battle Stations. As Ta, we need to stay here and keep the fem
calm,” Syn said briskly.

Suddenly, the front of Syn and Anya’s gowns
were wet with a mixture of water and blood.

“There must have been something in the food.
The fems aren’t due for two tides and none of the Warriors are
here,” Syn gasped as she slumped to the floor.

All of the pregnant Ta are about to give
birth. I’m a Ta now too, so is Sara. We can handle this crowd.

Meg broadcast on all channels.
::Any
doctors, see to the pregnant Ta. Sara, take the young fem back to
the barracks. Sherry, gather up the older fem who’ve been to the
birthing classes and assign two to each of the Ta.::

Meg looked around.
::You!::
She
pointed to an older fem who was walking around in a daze.
::Go
to the fabricator and make sheets, towels, and cots. Get someone
else to help you carry them::
The fem scurried to obey.

Margaret Mary went over to where Syn was
lying. “Did the four of you eat anything that all of the others
didn’t?”

Syn thought for a moment. “There was a
special bowl of punch on the Elder’s table. None of us drank very
much because it was sickly sweet.”

“Someone tried to take out the Elder Council
by attacking their fems and unborn bebes. Sara, did you have any of
the juice?”

“No, I was watching you and Daddy. Hilnut
poured me some but I didn’t drink it.”

::Midnight, get Aloysius and Tigger and
organize the cats to find and detain Hilnut.::
Meg faced
Sara
. ::Send me a picture of Hilnut so I can send it to the
cats.::

Aloysius, Chou, and Tigger ran into the
hangar
.
Aloysius shouted,
::Tigger, Chou, see to your
persons. If the other two don’t have a feline, assign one each to
guard them. Midnight, take Shadow, Snowy, and Bandit and twelve of
the others to see to the off and femspring. Chewy,::
Aloysius
called to a cat with chewed ears,
::go find Mark and the fem
doctors and get them in here. We have to save the Ta.::

Four fems stood near the Ta, obviously
wanting to help but not knowing what to do. Meg spied them out of
the corner of her eye. “Fabricate soft moontine gowns. Make them
short and also make blankets. We’ll need blankets both for the
bebes and their Zinnas.”

Mark and the other physicians came running
into the hangar. “What happened?”

Sara ran up to him crying, “The Ta have been
poisoned. They are in labor but very sick. Hilnut gave them
poisoned juice.”

“Fuck, Hilnut was in league with Stoker.”
Mark hugged Sara. “Did you drink any?”

“No, I followed our sires to see Meg. She’s
taken charge. With Syn and the others down, no one else knew what
to do.”

* * * *

Menalaus strode into the room. “The cats
captured Hilnut and Aloysius brought the vial of poison to me. It’s
the same compound that was on Septis’ tentacles. I have the
antidote with me.” He passed out four vials. “Give this to them in
Tierest juice so they keep it down. It won’t stop the labor but it
will save their and the bebes’ lives.”

Meg quickly got some Tierest juice from the
buffet. “This juice is untainted. The other fems drank it and
didn’t get sick.”

Menalaus pour a vial into each of four
glasses. “Administer the antidote. Do you know how to help a fem
through birth?”

“Yes, I’ve taken the classes and helped
deliver bebes in my village in Ireland.”

“Can you manage this with Mark?”

“Yes,” Meg said confidently.
This is
something I know how to do.

“Good, I have to transport back to
Brightstar. We’re under attack. Send Mark as soon as you can spare
him.”

“He can go now. Several of the fems are
doctors. I asked the cats to get them.” Meg looked toward the
hangar door. “They’re coming in now.”

“Mark, you’re with me.” Menalaus and Mark
popped out of the room.

The fems already in Triad teleported to the
hangar. Sara and Meg as the most senior fems available shouted
instructions. “Go to the barracks and secure the facilities. Wait
for the Warrior’s all clear signal.”

* * * *

Brightstar: 23:00 tines

Sam stood behind Tarin and reloaded the
Brightstar’s laser cannons, which, with a single shot, could tear
apart one of the light slips. He had holstered a laser pistol set
to kill. It handled like the sidearm he carried in the United
States Army. In a very short but brutal battle, all of the Zyptz
light slips were destroyed.

They had made quick work of the few Zyptz
light slips that attempted to penetrate the Sky Shield and the
newly bonded Warriors and the council were released from duty once
the Zyptz were destroyed to reassure their fems. Zaron and Bron, as
heads of the Elder Council, officially appointed Saxon and Lunas as
Commanders and Admirals of the Fleet after this action; the
position formerly held by Tonas and Jonal, then Mark and Juraens.
Saxon’s and Lunas’ quick thinking saved the Brightstar.

The four Te WarriorPairs found out about the
danger to their fem and unborn bebes when the battle ended. They
handed command over to the Captains and Admirals of the Fleet and
transported to the hangar to be with their fem.

* * * *

The Hangar: 01:00 tines

Meg and Sara remembered how to use the fem
mind block to take the pain out of birth and the four fem were
having contractions two minutes apart only an hour after their
water broke. The Ta fems were all eight to ten centimeters dilated
and the bebes had crowned.

Syn lay quietly, carefully monitoring the
femspring in her womb. The fem archives showed them how to speak to
their unborn bebes but this information was forbidden to the
Warriors. The Goddess spoke to the Ta and assured them that they
would be fine.

Zaron and Bron were by her bedside mots after
beaming down from the Brightstar. “PaChette, do you want us to
teleport you home?”