An entire day spent removing the mushrooms and burning them proved our test conclusive. Obviously, we hadn’t covered the entire forest—it was much too vast. But in the large areas that were cleared, life started creeping back in over the following days. The Gatherers were also able to walk about mask-less without being negatively affected.
The Inosh Mountains region was riddled with the mushrooms, clearly indicating the spread had begun there. Each clan brought samples from their respective region, which I submitted to the UPO representative of their Prime Planets Health and Environmental Service. As we suspected, the mushroom was not only a foreign organism introduced to Xecania’s ecosystem, it had been genetically modified. An analysis of the spread pattern confirmed it had been deliberately implanted in strategic locations on the planet.
The problem was that the wind, water, insects, and the animals that had previously dwelled in those areas, had carried the spores a much greater distance. That had been the plan of the culprits, but only within the farming belt starting at the Monkoo region and ending at the Inosh Mountains. But bird feathers had carried them much farther, and the first signs of spread had begun to manifest themselves near other native territories.
Eradicating the infestation was well above my pedigree. A thorough investigation by the Enforcers of the United Planets Organization failed to prove beyond any doubt that the Conglomerate had been behind it. They had been too smart in covering their tracks. However, everyone knew. While we couldn’t officially pin this on them, they still ended up indirectly paying to clear the infestation.
The punitive and exemplary damages they were condemned to pay over their violation of the non-competition and disloyal marketing laws were beyond savage. Most large companies would have gone bankrupt. They obviously tried to appeal the decision, which was rejected. By unanimous decision, the native species voted to expel the Conglomerate from Xecania. The company and all of their affiliates were forbidden to run any kind of business in any way, shape, or form on the planet.
The settlement went to pay for parts of the cleansing of the forest, although the UPO shouldered a lot of the cost through manpower, research, and the development of the remedy. While we were extremely grateful for all of that support, the United Planets Organization wasn’t doing this merely out of the goodness of their hearts. Xecania had the potential of becoming the second pantry of the solar system. They wanted to see that happen with durable and clean methods.
It took a little over a month for an army of workers from the UPO to wipe out the fungi in a way that wouldn’t negatively impact the ecosystem. Still, we would have to keep an eye out for years to come for its resurgence or the potential appearance of a mutated version.
The fauna slowly returned over multiple months, the smaller critters first. With our newfound wealth, we set up a monitoring and surveillance system that would allow us to detect such disturbances sooner in the future. We also updated the technology in our current houses and bought a small fleet of shuttles—including a large transport ship. With the arrival of our first farmers, these vessels would be put to good use to carry our crops to the spaceport.
We built the human dwellings at a central location between the five clans. With our shuttle fleet, it took the workers barely twenty minutes to reach their destination. It turned out that a few of the third daughters we hired actually had children, a handful of them also having a spouse. In no time, it grew into a comfortable little village, with its own school, restaurant, medical clinic, and a movie theater—that also served as an auditorium—to name a few. We negotiated some deals with the tourist resorts to share acts and entertainment with the village, which reduced costs for all involved.
I couldn’t deny that having fellow humans on a regular basis in my life again was nice. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having a completely nerdy conversation about the best types of natural fertilizers or the latest upgrades to the nanobots used as pesticides. They could be remotely programmed to only target the pest we wanted to eliminate and could be safely removed from the field with a magnetic hoverbot.
In the spirit of slowly opening our people to the more advanced worlds out there, a couple of the human village teachers visited the clans to give tech classes. We also hired a few mentors—especially for Builders like Luped—to show them ways to improve their current techniques, introduce them to better technologies, from wireless networks to heating, and from sprinkler systems to renewable energy.
And the best part of it? All those toys improved our quality of life without changing it. The Andturians had no desire to become the next big metropolis. We had a simple way of life focused on community, providing for each other while ensuring everyone got to do the things that would allow them to thrive physically and intellectually.
Our food trade funneled large amounts of credits that filled the clans’ coffers, a massive nest egg for whatever our future generations would want to do. It also allowed us to pay very comfortable wages to our employees, making the farms of Xecania one of the most sought-after workplaces, not just for third-daughter farmers. All the other positions related to transformation—like turning our wheat to flour or our fruits and vegetables to preserves—packaging, shipping, and maintenance had to be filled. Therefore, the village slowly evolved into something more intergalactic instead of just humans. Some members of the native tribes even started working in our facilities.
As was to be expected, a romance blossomed between an Andturian and one of the third daughters. Junit and a lovely woman named Mandy fell for each other while she worked in one of the fields of our village. As I watched Junit’s sister and mother take away his soon to be bride to his dwelling to prepare her—as Yamir and Luped had prepared me—I couldn’t help but smile. What a long way we’d come in that year…
“They thought I was becoming senile when I told Olix to seek a female from the stars,” Molzeg said behind me, startling me.
I turned around to look at the elder female, already adorned to preside over the ceremony.
“In truth, I also wondered if the Spirits weren’t playing tricks on me to suggest such a thing,” she said pensively. “But the vision was undeniable.”
“You saw what would happen?” I asked.
“No, I only saw Olix going through the mating ceremony with a pale-skinned, scaleless female with strings of honey on her head. And the darkness weighing over our villages faded away. Then he brought you here.”
“And you wondered how the heck such a fragile little thing was going to save your people,” I said teasingly.
Molzeg didn’t laugh. A strange expression crossed her features. “When you let go of his hand, I thought I had made a grievous mistake and misread the signs. I thought I had doomed my people to extinction.”
The old female shuddered, a haunted look fleeting over her face. I wanted to say something but realized she wasn’t done. I waited patiently while she regained her composure. Her gaze lowered to my swollen belly. My first child would pop out any day now.
“But you held on to him with your right hand,” Molzeg said at last. “You held on, and so did he. That’s when I knew you would indeed bring the light to the clans. You will never understand the extent of the horrors we endured at the hands of the Vaengi. I still had nightmares about it. You also made them recede back into the shadows where they belong. And now, you bring life. Thank you for giving peace to an old female, and prosperity to a once threatened people.”
To my shock, the elder female leaned forward and kissed my forehead. She chuckled at the stunned look on face.
“You are not the only one who can learn foreign customs,” the Seer said teasingly. Her gaze flicked towards Yamir who was gesturing at her. The bride and groom were ready. She turned back towards me. “Time to bind a new human to our clan. I promise not to bruise this one.”
I burst out laughing, remembering the brutal sting of the branch she’d whipped me with, not realizing the extent of her strength on my human skin. She winked and headed towards the altar where the ceremony would take place.
OLIX
I was pacing up and down the plaza under the amused glances of my clan. Three hours my mate had been having contractions but still claimed they were too spaced out for the time being. How would she know? She’d never given birth before, and especially not to an Andturian offspring. Yes, I’d read all the medical literature about human pregnancies. Yes, I understood that she wasn’t dilated enough. But this wasn’t a human baby. And then she’d kicked me out of the house because I was stressing her out.
What about my stress?
With Andturian females, the minute they got their first contraction, they drank some anetra tea, and the little one would come right out within minutes. Why didn’t the human doctor want to let Susan drink that tea? And why wouldn’t she let me take my mate to the medical clinic we had built in the workers’ village?
“You are wearing out the stones with all that pacing,” Zoltar said teasingly.
I hissed at him, which only made him laugh more.
“Your little human has proven to be far stronger than I gave her credit for,” my cousin continued, a smile in his voice. “She will deliver a healthy offspring. Stop worrying so much.”
“You haven’t read and seen all the frightening things that can go wrong with a human pregnancy,” I snapped back. “Their females sometimes die, bleed to death, or—”
“Yes, I have,” he interrupted, dismissively.
Stunned, I stopped my pacing and turned to look at him, wide eyed.
“We all have,” he continued, holding my gaze unwaveringly. “She may have been born human, Susan is one of ours now. She’s an Andturian of Monkoo. She’s our Clan Mistress. She’s my cousin’s mate. And she saved our people. We ALL learned what signs of trouble to look out for during her pregnancy, and how to assist if things go poorly. Your mate and your child will be fine.”
I gaped at him, speechless. My gaze roamed over the faces of my clanmates gathered on the plaza. They smiled at me, and my throat tightened with emotion.
“We love her, too,” Pawis said.
I opened my mouth to respond when my dwelling door opened, and my mother called out to me.
“The baby is coming!” she shouted.
I ran to the house, my heart threatening to beat its way out of my chest. The female doctor had brought a birthing table, which we had installed in one of the guestrooms. Luped and my mother stepped out of the way, leaving room for me to stand by my mate. I slipped my arm around Susan’s back to support her, and she held on to my hand with bone crushing strength.
“Push!” the doctor said, standing between my mate’s parted legs.
My female complied with a warrior’s cry that turned me into a complete mess. She was in pain, and I was helpless to aid her. She collapsed against me, breathing heavily until the doctor told her to push again. Susan obeyed again. Then something snapped inside of me. My lips parted and a flow of encouragement spilled out of my mouth, just like I’d seen in the videos.
But not their words, my words.
Words about how much I loved her, how she was the strongest of females, how I went to sleep every night, eager for the sun to rise again, just so that I could see her and be with her. That she was my heart, my today, my tomorrow, and my forever. And that she had better push that baby out now because seeing her in pain was messing with me, and not in a good way.
That made her laugh. And then she groaned. And the baby came out.
He was so big, with light green scales with patches of black that would turn out exactly like mine once he grew up. Just by the length of his tail, I already knew our son would be agile and fast, likely a Hunter like his father. Unlike human babies, Andturians didn’t cry, they hissed and made rattling or hiccupping sounds to clear their lungs and airways.
The doctor made me cut the umbilical cord and quickly wiped the youngling before handing him over to me. Emotion choking me, I brought our little Gayko to my mate who was both laughing and crying at the same time.
My female still had mixed feelings about the name. We had wanted to honor Kayog for all that he had done behind the scenes not only to bring Susan and me together, but to assist us in regaining control of our lives. Playing around with the letters of his name had given this very nice sounding name. But my mate had objected that it phonetically sounded like an adorable lizard from Earth called a gecko. That sealed it. Clearly, it was a sign from the Spirits. How else could such a coincidence have occurred? She eventually caved when my mother and Luped also sided with me.
Susan looked at our little Gayko in wonder, counting his webbed fingers and toes, and then covering his face with kisses.
“He’s perfect, just like you,” Susan said in a choked voice. “I love you so much,” she added, looking at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I love you, too, my Susan,” I replied, my heart filling to bursting. “Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for being my greatest blessing.”
