With a groan, Anthony sat down on the conference room carpet.
He was tired.
He was also half amused and half angry at himself. For someone whose job the past few years had been to be on his feet all day, an hour or two walking a market had taken quite a bit out of him. In shape he wasn't. You'd think the sex alone would have helped with stamina. Alas, no.
Luckily, there were more important things to occupy his mind than his physical failings. Or, to be more exact, important people.
The two newcomers sat on the floor in front of him. The boy, Danny, sat Indian style, his kilt luckily covering his junk. Anthony was in no way homophobic, but he really didn't need to know if that looked human right at this moment. The girl next to him, Goldie, was the reason they were on the floor. Her body simply wasn't built for chairs. Oh, she had told him she COULD get into one, but after a bit her back and pelvis hurt. So, here they were. Anthony had led them up to the second floor of the old store, as it was the only place with a carpet and he didn't want their new friends on the cold hard ground. Not that they probably weren't used to it. Goldie lay with her front legs extended, like a dog, although their non-human features reminded him more of a bear. Her furry side was touching Danny, his hand occasionally going to her head to scratch between her ears.
The three sat in silence, each taking the measure of the other. Hannah was downstairs, getting some food and refreshment. The others... well, Anthony had them doing various other things. They had to get ready to get off this stupid planet, and... he wanted to ease the two kids into their group. There was no need to have anyone else here just now.
Never one for silence, after a few minutes Anthony decided they might as well do some exchanging of info. He leaned forward, getting their attention.
"So... Danny, right?"
"Yeah..."
His voice was wary. Doubts about what he had done were no doubt flooding his head. Anthony smiled at him in his friendliest, most reassuring way. Not TOO friendly, though. No need to hit on the kid.
"Are you two brother and sister, or just friends?"
The two teens glanced at each other.
"We had different mothers," Danny replied. "Our... father..."
"FAKE father!" Goldie spit out the words, venom in her soft voice. Danny nodded.
"Our fake father was the same." Seeing the next question coming, he added, "Our mom's looked like you."
"I hope they looked more like me," Hannah said, walking into the room holding a shallow cardboard box. Walking around the conference table, she smiled down at the kids. "I have food and drink, but wasn't sure what you'd want." Handing the box to Anthony, she gracefully sat down next to him before taking it back and putting it on the floor between the two couples. "I have water, some fruit, and a salty snack we call Doritos."
"I'm thirsty!" Goldie said, eyes wide as she looked at the tray. Hannah laughed.
"Drink first, then! Um, I brought cups and bowls. I wasn't sure which you'd prefer." Anthony could see the uncertainty in her. She didn't want to offend, treat these two like animals, but it WAS a practical question. Danny solved that by leaning forward and taking the empty plastic bowl.
"I'll have a bowl. Goldie uses a cup."
Nodding, Hannah put ice in each, opened the jug of water and filled Danny's bowl, then filled a cup and placed it between Goldie's paws. The girl used her padded clawed fingers to lift the paper cup to her lips. Danny lifted the bowl to his face, lowering his flesh snout as a large tongue came out to lap the water. Both adults busied themselves getting their own drinks so they wouldn't stare.
Over the next few minutes a small lunch of some of the last apples, a hunk of cheddar cheese, and Doritos were quietly consumed. The kids were obviously not used to much, eating quickly. For desert they gave them some packaged snack cakes, which despite rumors don't last forever, but after a month were still good. The girl just closed her eyes and smiled in ecstasy at the sweet taste.
"Hmm!"
Anthony couldn't help but smile. He liked her already. The boy too. Eyes swinging over, he saw himself the subject of intelligent contemplation. As it should be. Nodding to the boy, he put down his glass, twisted his back a bit to stretch out a kink, and leaned forward. It was time.
"Well, now that we're all fed and watered, I think we should talk."
Danny nodded, hand going back to his sister's head. She gave a soft, happy growl. Anthony put an arm around Hannah. She leaned into him.
"There's going to be lots of time to get to know each other, with luck. I'm hoping both of you will want to come with us, although naturally if you don't you're free to go any time." From their expressions, it was clear they did not want to go back. But, neither were they all that comfortable with the idea of having such a choice. Freedom was an idea they'd have to be eased into.
"Have you met others like us?" Hannah asked. "Are there others out there, alive? Where are your parents?"
The girl lowered her head. Danny began to run his hand down her back. His eyes stayed on Anthony.
"Our moms are dead. They were the only... are you two humans? Really humans?"
Anthony nodded.
"Yup. There's eight of us, as I said. Two months ago we were on Earth, home of all humans. Now we're here wandering around the stars. I... well, I'm going to assume our story is somewhat similar to what happened to your parents."
"Mommy told me stories," Goldie said, softly, looking up at Hannah. "At night. She'd hold me, cuddle me. Tell me stories of Earth. Of how she came to be my Mommy. And, then, when..." Her eyes began to tear up. "When Mommy could no longer tell me stories, I told them back to her. I'd hold her, and show her I remembered all that she'd taught me."
"Tell me," Hannah said. Anthony could see the tears in her eyes. "Tell me the story your Mommy told you of how she came here."
The girl nodded, face suddenly looking shy.
"Mommy always held me when I told stories..."
Face breaking into a smile, Hannah opened up her arms. With a bound that knocked over the empty water cup, Goldie sprang to her feet and quickly moved into Hannah's lap. She snuggled into her breasts, half little girl, half puppy. Hannah began rocking, face full of emotions. Anthony could see the thoughts of her own daughter once again passing through her eyes. He reached over to pet the girl's head.
"Tell us, Honey. Tell us what she told you."
****
"Once upon a time, there was a magical world called Earth.
"It was a magical place. Full of people like Mommy, who were all wonderful and loved each other. Nobody was unhappy, or mean, or evil. There were schools, where little kids could go to learn all sorts of things, and playgrounds where they could play. There were stores where you could buy things. One of them was called Child World, and it was full of toys! Every toy you could ever want! And, next to that store full of toys, was a store that sold food called Park Edge. That was where Mommy worked.
"Mommy was seventeen years old, and beautiful, and worked helping people pay for food. There were all kinds of food in the store: there was meat, bread, fruit, candy, cake, cool-aid... the people who worked there with Mommy were all nice and happy, and so were the people who came to shop. Mommy loved helping them. She loved being with her friends who worked there. There were other girls who she had grown up with and talked to ALL the time, and boys that she liked. Especially this one. Real Daddy. She REALLY liked my Real Daddy. He was cute, and smart, and tall, and named Steve Kline. Mommy had never kissed Real Daddy, but she wanted to!
"One day, there was a party. The owner of the Park Edge, who wore lots of necklaces including a SPOON, let the kids who worked there have parties after the store closed. He was so nice! He even went to the parties to have fun with them! So, that night, they had a party. There was food, music, dancing... Mommy danced with Real Daddy, drank punch with him, even held his hand! She was having so much fun!
"Then... suddenly... the lights went out!
"They weren't scared. Lights went out sometime. Some of the boys went to turn the lights on, but it didn't work. They got small little lights that they could carry, so the girls wouldn't be scared, and everyone went to the front of the store. There were big long windows... like the ones in this place! They looked out.
"There were no other buildings. No Child World, with all its toys. No cars. No trees. All they saw, in the dark, was sand. Only sand.
"Mommy was scared. The owner told them not to be scared, that everything would be OK. He'd go out and see what was out there. So, he went out.
"He never came back.
"Mommy and the others slept. In the morning, they looked out and saw sand as far as they could see. Sand, sand, and more sand! Nothing but sand! Now, they were all scared. Except for Real Daddy. Real Daddy told them that they'd be OK. They had food, after all, and bathrooms. So they had breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Then slept. They ate and slept for DAYS. It was starting to stink, though. Not only were there no lights, but there was no power for the coolers and freezers! All the food was going bad! They tossed it all out the back door, but it still smelled. They had no water, either. They had fruit drinks, and something wonderful called Coke and Pepsi, but no water. They couldn't cook, as they didn't have much wood to burn. They didn't know what to do!
"Then, one day, Real Daddy decided to go get help. He told them that all the boys would go out into the desert and try and find help. Mommy didn't want him to go. Mommy hugged him, kissed him, told him not to go! But, Real Daddy said he had to. That he would bring back help to save them. He said:
"'Don't worry, Kathy. I'll be back. I love you.'"
****
"He never came back."
Goldie paused, snuggling deeper into Hannah. Looking over at her brother, Anthony saw his eyes wet with tears. The two had obviously only had each other for a long time. With a sigh, Danny picked up the story.
"They waited for the guys to come back for days. Things got bad. One of the girls got sick, with a fever. Then, one night, they heard something breaking though the windows. They thought it was the men, back with help, but... no. It was the giant spiders."
"Giant spiders?" Hannah looked at him with a horrified expression. He nodded. "Yeah, that's what our moms said. Eight legged furry creatures. Evil. They couldn't understand a word they said, but knew when they were being enslaved. They were so tired and scared, they didn't even fight. The spiders took them out of the store, marching them across the desert. The sick girl died. They came to some vehicles, which took them to this place where they were digging in the sand, down to where there was water. They made our moms work, digging, carrying. Three others died, leaving just our two moms."
He shook his head.
"They had no idea what was going on. My mom said she kept hoping it was all some dream, that it wasn't real. After doing that forever, the spiders took the two of them to some sort of city, and sold them. They were put in a ship, and sent to another planet.
"They were sold a couple times. They worked, cleaning, moving things, whatever else creatures wanted done. Finally, they were sold to our father..."
"FAKE FATHER!"
Goldie yelled it at him, face red. Danny nodded.
"Fake father. Mom said he and his people looked like bears, although neither of us have seen a real one. Fake father saw our moms, how they looked, and... liked them." Anthony nodded in understanding. "We were born a short time later. He kept our moms, and us, for years, and all in all Mom said it wasn't bad. Better than before, and now she had me to love. But..."
"Last year Mommy got sick," Goldie said. Her grip tightened on Hannah. "Fake Father got married, to another bear, and suddenly Mommy and Aunt Paula got sick. I tried to help Mommy. I told her stories, helped her eat, washed her, but..."
Danny quickly moved to sit on the other side of Hannah, so he could add his touch to help sooth his sister. He finished the story.
"After they died, we were sold. Goldie likes to draw, and we were sold to the woman you found us with. I worked, and Goldie made stuff to sell. She did the picture you were looking at."
"It was a WONDERFUL picture," Hannah told her, stroking her head. "You're a wonderful artist! And it helped us find you!"
The girl's face lifted. Her blue eyes were red, her face tear streaked, but there was hope.
"Will you keep us?"
"Forever..."
****
Tammy hated discovering her friends were evil.
Well... not exactly evil evil. Wrong and bigoted, maybe. Pure evil was rare.
The first time had been when she was in middle school. Her best friend had been Sue. They had known each other since birth, it seemed. Always together. Closer than twins. It was often hard to see where one girl ended and the other began. There were never any secrets between them.
Then puberty hit. Sue became boy crazy. Tammy... less so. It took her awhile to work out why, mostly because of Sue. Sue was pretty. Sue was beautiful. Tammy loved Sue. But... not THAT way. Not romantically. And, if she didn't love her beautiful best friend romantically, then how could Tammy be gay? It made no sense!
Eventually, though, she worked things out. Confirmed, thanks to a first kiss with Quinn behind the Burger King, that yes girls were her thing. So, armed with that knowledge, and no longer having to worry about it interfering with their friendship, she told Sue.
Sue slapped her. Told her she was evil. Told her to get the hell out of her bedroom, then go to Hell. To never talk to her again.
Tammy grew up quite a bit that summer.
Now, once again she was seeing someone she considered a friend in a different light.
Her eyes flicked across the cargo hold to Rinda. The two Orangs were having a hard time with their new shipmates. Daium's reaction was one of pure shock. Yes, she had told anyone who asked (and a few who didn't) that she wanted Justin's baby. Would have lots of his babies. However, it was obvious now that while she had thought about it, she hadn't actually THOUGHT about it. Had, truth be told, probably not actually thought the genetics would work. It was just a dream. A fantasy. Now, though, she was confronted with the result of some other human/alien union. It was possible.
And she was scared.
Rinda's reaction had been much more primal.
Fear.
Hatred.
Tammy liked the girl. They had even made love a few times. There were some things friendship could not survive, though, and Tammy was one to want to get those things out in the open as soon as possible. Seeing the droids were bringing the latest delivery of goods in without any need of supervision, she walked across the bay to Rinda.
"So, Rinda. What's on your mind?"
There was a pause. The kind you get when you're not sure if you're in the right company to talk about what you were planning on talking about. Rinda wasn't looking to make sure there were no kids around before telling a dirty joke. This was the pause before going off on those Blacks or Jews.
"Nothing."
"Come on. You've been much too quiet." Tammy pushed herself up on a crate of alien carrots, sitting with her legs dangling. She let her bare feet half slip out of her shoes. Rinda liked her feet. "Tell me what you're thinking. It is about the kids?"
Rinda sucked in a breath. Tammy waited, face calm.
"They're a perversion."
It came out low, harsh. Tammy tried to hide a wince.
"They're just..."
"They're half breeds! Mutants!" Rinda's face was one of utter contempt. An element of surprise entered on seeing Tammy's face didn't echo hers, that in fact all sense of friendship was slipping from it. "They... they told us, Tammy! Taught us, taught me! About half breeds! In school!"
"What did they teach you?" Her voice was soft, understanding. Rinda looked away.
"They told us that those the Tree created pervert the beauty the Tree gave them when they mix with lesser beings. My teachers took us to the museum, where we saw the results of such evil unions! Bones of deformed creatures! Stuffed skins showing horrible mutants with two eyes or four legs! Such things are to be killed!"
"Would you kill your own baby?"
Rinda's head shot towards her, eyes wide with confusion.
"What?"
"You're mating with Chuck," Tammy said, softly, sadly. "Of such things come babies. Would you hate your own baby? A baby given to you by your lover?"
Rinda shook her head violently, waving her arms.
"No, no, no, no. That's not going to happen. And that's different. That's not the same as those two!"
"Is it?"
"Yes! Yes! You must see..."
Her voice trailed off. Tammy cocked her head at the Orang. Some realization had come to the girl. She was silent... then, slowly, put her right hand on her bare belly.
"Oh great Tree in the Sacred Grove... Oh, Tammy..."
Tammy knew that look. Had seen it on a handful of girlfriends in high school and college. Pushing herself off the crate, she slowly walked to Rinda and hugged her. The Orang trembled in her arms.
"You sure?"
"I... there was no bleeding but I thought nothing of it! Why would I?!? I'm too young! I'm not mated! I can't be!!"
"Shhh... hush... it'll be OK. We're here for you."
"What do I do?"
"You have Chuck's baby."
Rinda's head shot up, all four eyes wide.
"But!?"
"But nothing. Do you love him?"
Rinda bit her lip, then nodded. Tammy smiled, leaning down to kiss her black nose.
"Then you have his baby and love it. We're making a new life here, Rinda. Forget all you were taught. Listen to your lovers. Listen to your heart."
"Lovers..."
****
"Cargo bay doors closed."
"All exterior doors sealed."
"Danny and Goldie are strapped in, in the commons."
"I'm getting a communication asking when the Orang fleet is going to get here."
"Ignore it. Start the engines. Liftoff in five minutes."
Rinda heard none of it. Her mind was still a mass of thoughts. A baby. A mutant baby. CHUCK'S baby. A baby of her own... Could she? Could she have his baby? Her eyes went to him. His face was deep in concentration. She loved how he looked when he was like that. He was so...
So alien.
And she loved him.
Her eyes went to Melinda. Melinda had talked to her about wanting Chuck's kids. Was waiting for it to happen. What would she say? What would she say when Rinda told her that, no, it was she who would be first to give him a son or daughter?
Her feet moved without her even being aware of it. She walked over to Melinda's station, slipping into the empty chair next to her.
"Melinda?"
"Um, yeah? Busy."
"Melinda... um..."
"What?"
"Will you be angry if I'm pregnant?"
She said it softly, voice not carrying beyond her friend. Melinda stopped mid keystroke, turning to look at her in disbelief.
"Wha?"
"I think I'm pregnant. Are you angry?"
Melinda's mouth was open, but no sound emerged. She shook her head to clear it, glasses sliding down her nose. Her right hand reached out, grabbing Rinda's shoulder.
"I'm pregnant too."
****
"YOU'RE WHAT?!?!"
Anthony closed his eyes, sighing. Now what the hell was going on. Two minutes till liftoff, and that gets screamed. Wonderful.
"I'm pregnant too!!"
OK, that got his attention. Cracking his eyes open, he saw both Rinda and Melinda hugging each other, hopping up and down. His eyes, like those of every non-pregnant person on the bridge, went to Chuck. The brown haired teen was just staring at his roommates, his expression of bewilderment quickly becoming a joyous smile. Undoing his seatbelt, he jumped to his feet.
"Gonna be a daddy!"