Page 47 of I Married A Lizardman

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

Iwas 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.

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