Page 42 of The First Omega Made
Sonderson shrugged. “I’ve accepted my fate is coming to a close. I’ve sent word to another of my kind that I will have take my place. It’s good to see another Colthraxian, even if you’re not following our protocol.”
“I signed the resolution as a moral imperative, and a greater moral imperative was presented to me with no ethicalconsequences.” I bowed my head and Sonderson nodded, leaning back in his chair.
“I understand. And how long will the journey to Paradise take?”
“Two months. We brought enough salvage to sell that will last us if we can get more supplies. Meat, primarily. My little one will hatch there or on the way.”
“And how does it feel to have reproduced? My host never has and I’m not certain I would feel any way toward it.” Sonderson twisted his lips, true wistfulness in his stare.
“How the procedures were performed makes me feel like part of this body. Noel assures me that our genetic material has fused, so I do feel strongly for my child. It bonded to my heart, and I hear it in my soul.”
“And how did you circumvent Naleucian biology killing you?” He stared me down with interest that I didn’t want to foster.
“I’m uncertain. I’m certain that the prior occupant of this body had modified it somehow, but that secret died with him.” I offered a shrug that he accepted without question. Whether or not he’d change his mind and demand more answers down the road was another question. The fact he disregarded me as Naleucian or progenitor was promising, though. I was simply an accessory to Noel and their little one.
“In any case. If you return with grave news—we’ll see what we need to do as far as if I need to be around to help the humans.” Sonderson sighed. “Now let’s put on good faces for my clergy, yes?”
“Agreed,” I said, nodding once.
The bishop called his clergy back and went to business that bored me beyond all reason, making attempts at filming Noel and his little one to send out on the broadwave, sending a new age of hope and prosperity. Most of it was meaningless drivel tocarry a status quo that had been in a state of rapid decline and evolution into a new brand of caste system that had harmed so many others.
And at the crux of it, from what I gathered from Shafa and the words Sonderson didn’t say, was that the Colthraxians had been a large player in it.
Vil, though, took Nexus when he was no longer useful as a prop and stuck with me, a different male than I’d known a solar rotation ago. He’d gone from the freewheeling feckless horn dog to a father, and I hoped that I was as good of one as he was.
Though, when Nexus escaped his grasp and caught a pigeon before we could corral him once more, I rethought it…a little.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Doc
My mouth watered as I bit into half-raw steak and hunks of genetically engineered beef. Noel’s sweet-talking of the clergy had made me a very happy bastard, despite the fact that I couldn’t meet with them as easily as Noel had before Nexus hatched. He was much calmer than I was. I hadn’t even let anyone but Sarge and Noel in to see the egg, despite Gorm being the beta father of him.
He was growing impatient, though. And from what Noel and Sarge had said, he held some kind of bond with the little one and was fretful wanting to see it. So, I had to swallow my instincts and put pants on and clean sheets.
I sat up straight and waited as seconds passed by, waiting until I could calm myself enough. I didn’t think it’d get better, but I grunted for Merriel.
“’Sup?”
“Go ahead and let Sarge and Gorm in.” I settled down and took deep breaths, relieved when Noel came in with them, Nexus held in his arms. It’d been a month since I’d laid, and his presence helped, especially with Nexus. The little one distracted me from Gorm as he approached, hands raised, head tilted to show me his neck.
“That’s him?” Gorm stayed a few paces from my bed and swallowed so hard his throat bobbed. “I can hear him. Lil guy’s happy as a lyret in a pantry.”
“He is,” I agreed, stroking the shell as I tamped down my distress. Having Sarge there as calm as he was and Noel watching made me a lot calmer, but one wrong move and I would happily disembowel my egg’s other sperm donor.
Despite my unease, I gestured Gorm over and held the egg out a little, curious to see what our egg thought of his beta pater’s presence.
Gorm didn’t question my offer and sank to his knees by my bed to press his palm to the smooth surface. “His egg is a little bigger than Nexus’s. Good genes, I suppose.”
Noel snorted, and my cheeks heated. I could only hope that Gorm’s more pleasant features came out in our little one. Though, it was anyone’s guess as to who they’d be in time because we were all concerned about the lewdness of the ship being an issue when the children were old enough to form memories.
“I’m your…” Gorm started, staring down the egg. “Bana. Yeah. I do like that.”
And like that, all my stress faded away. The egg accepted him, our little one perking up inside his shell at his beta pater’s touch.
He would be part of the child’s family. Maybe not part of Sarge’s and my bond, but to the young, he’d be there. And if we wanted siblings, arrangements would have to be made. The bond would allow for it if Sarge was there, I thought. There was still attraction, but my heart only wanted Sarge. Maybe I had to be ovulating for that to happen? It didn’t matter. “Bana Gorm will be very sweet to you, Noah. He will be the unreasonable parent who lets you stay up late and say curse words and play in the holodeck too long.”
Gorm scoffed. “No squirt of mine is spending all his hours in the holodeck and cursing like me. I want better for him than myself, you know? He’s got no chance of being normal unless we try our hardest.”
