Page 68 of Alien Rescue

“Agreed, but the advantages outweigh that small weakness. Taking small warriors away from the breeders was a mistake.” It had always been the habit to take small warriors from the breeders to be raised and trained in the warrior camps. Zanr couldn’t remember hearing of a time when it was any different.

“Yes, my leader,” he said. If only he knew why the Zyrgin sought him out. What this strange conversation was about.

As if he read his mind, the Zyrgin said, “You have spent too much time living down to be the warrior that was deserted by his family.” He clasped Zanr’s shoulder. “The shame is theirs. They abandoned you. A strong, honorable warrior.” His hand on Zanr’s shoulder tightened and it took everything Zanr had not to groan from the pain of that grip. “Even if you were weak and small, and only able to be a citizen, they were still wrong to abandon you. This will never happen again under my rule.”

“Yes, my leader.” Zanr was afraid he was going to disgrace himself. Never did he expect the Zyrgin would come to see him specifically. And to say such to him. He was truly honored.

The Zyrgin continued, “It is time you live up to your potential as a great warrior who will start a strong, new bloodline.”

The mountains dipped around him, became strangely flexible for one long moment. He couldn’t have heard right. “I will start a new bloodline?” He was too dazed to take in anything else the Zyrgin was saying to him.

“Yes.”

Zanr swallowed. He literally didn’t know what to say or do. He saluted. “Thank you, my leader.”

“I rescued you and I kept an eye on you. The way you stayed friends with Larz when I made him a citizen impressed me. But I expected no less from you. For a while, I worried that your gambling may become a problem, but you never have problems with credits or walking away from a game.”

The Zyrgin had been keeping an eye on him. Pride and joy and the strangest urge to make tears like a human settled over him. “Your words mean much to me, my leader.” When he told Rose that he would have an acknowledged bloodline, she’d want to stay with him.

The Zyrgin clasped a huge hand on his other shoulder. “I cannot be more proud of you if you were my own blood. As my adopted blood, you have exceeded my expectations.”

“Adopted blood?” Maybe he had ingested an hallucinogen. Because surely this couldn’t really be happening?

The Zyrgin smiled. “It is a custom I am taking from the humans.”

Zanr couldn’t quite hide his skepticism. He was an insignificant junior warrior—why would the Zyrgin claim him?

“I always planned to claim you for my bloodline. You were two weeks old when I found you, and you’d managed to kill prey and consume their meat, and you used their skin to keep your body warm. I was impressed then and I am still very proud of you.”

Maybe he was spending too much time with his breeder, because he was full of too much emotion.

The Zyrgin paced again, up and down, up and down. Then he turned and came to stand in front of Zanr. “I want you to do something before I acknowledge you publicly as of my bloodline.”

“Anything, my leader.”

“Kill another eduki for your breeder and invite the warriors to share the meat this time. They might surprise you.”

He’d eaten the meat of the eduki alone, had wanted Larz to share it with him, but as a citizen, Larz wasn’t allowed. Shame coursed through him. He was a bad friend to a warrior who had always treated him with friendship and respect. “It will be done, my leader.”

“Many a warrior has been ruined by too much acknowledgement too soon. I wanted you to have the chance to grow as a warrior without being accused of favoritism. None of my closest blood have received special treatment; neither will you.” With those words, the Zyrgin was gone.

***

Rose looked up and raised her eyebrows when Zanr walked in and went to the shower. “Well, someone is in a mood,” she muttered and went back to the TC. She stilled. Did he hear about the codes for the nanos? Was it bad news?

When he came out, he came and sat down next to her. “You are beautiful, my breeder.”

“Thank you, my Komodo.” She held up a hand when he went to pick her up. She wanted to make love with him, especially since she didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to. But first she needed some answers.

She stared down at her TC. “You said you had a scanner that can track DNA?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Can this scanner figure out if my father and I are related?” Ever since he’d called her, she’d wondered if he was her real father. Her brother had her mother’s hair and long ears and her father’s square chin and slightly slanted eyes. Rose also had her mother’s thick hair and her small build. But she had none of her father’s characteristics.

He stared at her for a long time, then nodded. “Are you sure you want to know this? It is not easy to be without blood.”

She sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t have a choice anymore. I have to know. It would explain quite a few things.” Would it be easier to accept all these years of isolation from her family if what she suspected was true?

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