Page 14 of BaOBy

Cam grinned at her. “Brings back memories, huh? The doctors at the hospital did it because of a brain bleed. Evidently, one of those red, freaky, hairy aliens hit me pretty hard. But I’m all good now. How are you feeling? Reb said you had cancer again. When will you get here?”

“I’m good. Healthy, happy.” She turned and grinned at her mate. “Very happy. Brode says we’ll be there in a few hours. Before the bigger moon comes out. It won’t be too long.”

“Good. I’ll stay awake. You should see the kitchen on this ship, Cas. And there is room for a garden. It’s amazing.”

The women talked for several minutes. Bao tried to stay calm and patient. And think about what to tell the Father. There was so much, and they didn’t have time for it all.

Lan looked up and met his eyes. “The Father is connecting. We’re going to split screen,” he warned.

The women blew kisses at each other, and Cameron moved back so Bao could step forward. They split the large screen in half. All the brothers had filled the communications deck on the DoMicile, taking up the left-hand side of the massive monitor. The Father sat at the desk in his home on the right-side.

Bao took a deep breath. “Thank you all for coming to my call. I need your help. Eventually, the planet of Viant will need our help, but that is a discussion for another time. I have met my woman. Her name is Catalina. I know she is mine because the mating bands moved for her. The Andaran is holding her prisoner and committed a huge atrocity against. He is killing Cat slowly, horrifically, torturing her every day. And I can’t see a way to help her. I need all of your minds.”

The Father leaned forward. “I would say kill him and take her from him, but I can see you do not think that is a solution.”

Bao shook his head. “Oh, he will die. By my hand or another, it needs to happen. While killing him will make Catalina happy for a few moments, it won’t save her life.” He told a very brief version of what Jacanas had done to his mate. And then went silent. Waiting for questions.

Cameron raised her hand. “Can I ask a couple of questions, please?”

Bao nodded at her.

“You said he implanted a raptizaer zygote in her womb. The translator is saying killer bird. Is the raptizaer a humanoid being?” She had a confused look on her face.

The Father answered. “It isn’t humanoid. But it is considered a sentient being that governs its own planet. They are human-sized and the species is considered to be intelligent, yet vicious. I do not think the raptizaer and a human can reproduce. I believe they are using this woman as an incubator.”

Bao interjected. “Jacanas called her a throwaway womb. And Cat isn’t the only female he’s using. There are three other human women imprisoned with her. The others were already there when he took her to the house. He keeps them sedated. The Andaran is making over six million credits per womb.” He was having a hard time keeping the emotion from his voice.

His mate’s situation horrified the twins, yet didn’t stop them from having ideas. “So, depending on how far along these women are, why couldn’t the pregnancy be aborted if it is early enough, or take the raptizaer out with a c-section? This is clearly a case where the woman’s life is at stake. Are we worried about killing the fetus?” Casey asked.

All the brothers and the Father looked at her for a moment… waiting.

Cameron stepped closer to the monitor. “You are waiting for your translators to explain what she said, right?”

Brode nodded at his mate.

Everyone was quiet again.

The Father looked at Casey. “This is not a medical practice I’m familiar with. Nor are these terms we understand. But you think this might be a viable option to keep Bao’s mate alive?”

Casey pointed at her sister. “She’s the nurse. But it makes sense to me.”

Cammy nodded. “It’s a good idea. Basically, for a C-section, you cut open the woman’s stomach and womb and take the baby… or bird creature in this case… out. Then stitch the mother back up. You would do the procedure before it could… eat… it’s way out.“ Cammy swallowed hard and reached out to Reb.

The Father narrowed his eyes, thinking. “Can you do this procedure?

She shook her head. “No. Assist, yes. I’ve done it dozens of times. But you need an OB/GYN doctor. I can help, but I can’t do a C-section. That would be the solution if the pregnancy is more advanced. Aborting might be an easier option, but success would depend on what size the bird creature is now. If the women are only a few months along, there are medicines that help a woman’s body rid itself of what is gowning inside. Sometimes you need equipment to help with that process. I don’t know enough to decide on which way to go. But I can help if you get a doctor to figure it out.”

Bao had never seen such a horrible look on the Father’s face.

The Father held up his hand. “We just don’t have enough reproductive information. I’ll pull everything I have on the raptizaer species. I think Cameron’s suggestion of speaking to a human doctor, the kind that delivers babies, is a good one. And I can make that happen. BaOBy, what is your woman’s state of mind? Catalina, correct?”

Bao nodded. “Yes. Cat believes she is going to die. That I’m wasting my time trying to find a solution. She planned to do something that would force the Andaran to kill her. I made her promise to give me a little time. But they took her from Earth when she was a child. Cat’s been a slave all her life. She has always been alone. She has no concept of family working together to save one of its own.”

“We need to show her that isn’t true. Is the DoMicile headed toward you?”

“Yes, Father. I need all the brothers on Viant. We’ve already started gathering or destroying the Andaran’s means of escape. I’d like to have him followed, day and night. We also need to locate some of the other slaves and start working on extraction.”

“That’s good. Having Casey and Cameron there for your woman might help increase her willingness to fight. I’ll make contact and do what I’ve promised. Let us plan another group call tomorrow night. I’ll try to get the OB doctor and her Guardian husband on the call. If she doesn’t have a solution for us, she can talk to Catalina and ask questions.”

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