What the queen revealed to her was not something she could ignore. If she hadn’t shared memories with Jadis, she would have spent her time trying to convince him. Knowing him as she did now, she knew he would agree with her.
The tingling sensation warned her that she would soon be in control of her limbs. Had the cries from down the tunnel not come, she would have laid there and waited for full control, but they came, and she knew Jadis was near.
Killing any creature is never a simple feat when one has never killed. Jadis filed this away for future reference. He’d studied Antogin anatomy. He knew that there was a soft spot behind their mandibles that could cause pain and disorientation, but beyond that the weak points were always the eyes.
For every Antogin he encountered, Jadis poked it in the eyes or threw a desperate fist behind their mandibles. It was a solid plan until there were nearly fifty swarming him. At that point, he struck the nearest Antogin, the one next to that one and repeated the action until he was twenty paces into the nest.
There was a time when it seemed bleak, when there were Antogin charging from every direction, and then they all stopped in their tracks. His fists were bloody by then, his body covered in a variety of bruising that made it difficult to raise a brow. This break in action gave him time to rest, but, worst of all, it gave him time to think.
The Antogin kept their distance, moving off to the side and allowing for a path down the dim passage that led to the center of the nest. He was certain the queen was there.
The shadow came first and he knew without catching sight of her that the shadow belonged to Betta. He’d won. He’d defeated the Antogin with his bare fists.
The closer she came, the more he worried. The look on her face was somber. The chipper, uplifting person that downed a Polaris Solar in one gulp was subdued and sad. He knew he should be suspicious, that he should take a step back and consider the situation. He knew a lot of things he should do that made sense. He didn’t do any of those things.
Jadis rushed into her embrace and accepted the stab of pain she injected into his abdomen.
“I’m sorry, lover,” Betta said softly.
Jadis believed her.
Their bodies melding into one another, their minds and bodies shared, they could hear the wailing of Res Dai ease to complete silence. Jadis gave himself completely to Betta, holding nothing back and she did not hesitate to make the exchange. The mounds at their shoulders stretched open and wings erupted from their backs to envelope them both. They felt the pressure of the hive mind as it observed and amplified their waves of pleasure and pride in the creation of new life to millions of Antogin drones across the sector.
When it was done, the child complete, and their minds were still one, they felt Jadis drift away from them, an emptiness taking him into a fathomless state of hibernation from which he might never rise. They reached for him again and again and again, but it was no use.
The cocoon that shrouded them crumbled to dirt and Betta sat amongst the ruins, her nude body clutching a mahogany infant with furred legs and a scaled abdomen and torso. Both mother and child wept over the still body that lay next to them. The pain of their loss was also amplified throughout the hive and far throughout the sector.
It was Sera Rankor that came before them. “Do not cry. He still lives. Jadis Ter merely sleeps.”
Betta knew it was something more. The snoring that once comforted her was no longer there, the hearts in chest beat weakly and only after long intervals. The light that poured out of him at her touch was weak and flickered wanly.
Epilogue
D’yanna’s heavy form rose from the greenish pools and onto the decorative flat. Betta halted the holographic display and watched a smaller figure pull herself over the edge. Her thin arms were followed by muscled legs. Black fur covered her waist to the edge of her toes.
“How was your swim, Joy?” Betta called from her chair.
Joy took a short breath and grinned, her eyes alight against her dark flesh.
“She moves better in the water than on land, much like the rest of us.” D’yanna took the seat next to Betta while Joy walked in circles around the pool. “Are you certain about this trip? She is only a pup. I left my young with my mate for fear this journey would be dangerous.”
“I was about her age for my first stasis.” Betta attempted to hide the guilt she felt at the memory.
“You may not find an answer on Alpha. You have the support of friends and family on your station.”
Betta put a hand on D’yanna’s claw and laughed. “I never thought I would call you family, but you are. Come with us. Imagine his face when he wakes up to all three of us standing over him.”
“If he wakes.”
Betta frowned. There were times when she hated Drafer pragmatic thinking. “And that’s why we’re going to Alpha. I can’t sit here watching him sleep away our lives. There has to be something we can do.”
Chimes interrupted their conversation and Betta answered the call with a sigh. “Yes, Teena?”
“There is a vessel requesting permission to dock.”
Over the last few cycles Betta’s Station had become a central waystation for the colonists. Traffic had increased to the point where she needed to hire more staff. It was rare that Teena handled any incoming vessels unless they were Antogin or Drafer royalty. “You want me to look them over?”
“I will link you to the comms.”
The holographic image of George Reganta grinned from the edge of the pool. “Hey, baby. I know it’s been awhile. It would be great if I could dock my ship and maybe we can have a talk.”
“Daddy?”
“I heard you could use my help. Sorry it took so long for me to get to you,” George Reganta, her father, looked almost elderly, but she was certain it was him.
“You’re supposed to be dead,” were the only words that would leave her lips.
George shrugged. “Many times over. Look, tell the nice lady to let us dock and I’ll explain everything. I don’t have much time before the federal warrants reach this sector.”
“You’re a fugitive then?” Betta crossed her arms, still not ready to allow him to see how happy she was to see him.
“I’m your father. I gave you this station.” His grin became a hard line.
“I heard a few rumors about you too, Daddy.”
“I can go back to Arys-27, along this box that could save your boyfriend’s life, or…”
“Let him dock, Teena. D’yanna, would you like to join me?” Betta asked.
D’yanna laughed. “You are never boring, Betta Reganta. Of course, I should witness this reunion.”
“Joy! Come on. You’re grandfather’s here and we have to go interrogate him,” Betta informed her daughter.
It didn’t take long to reach the docking area. Betta held Joy in arms. D’yanna and Teena walked at both sides and Friz walked ahead of them, sending many an onlooker out of their path. Betta stopped short of the airlock and handed Joy to D’yanna.
Teena tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
At the hiss of the airlock door, Betta charged with a scream that came from her gut and tackled her father as he came into view, tossing them both back into his ship. Raising a hand to strike him, she caught a glimpse of someone else she knew.
“Mister Jenkins?” Betta said, shocked into paralysis.
“Hello, Betta. I see you’ve been well.” His eyes still flickered with dots of green, but he wore a black beard that nearly hid his mouth entirely.
There were others on the bridge, other’s she didn’t recognize. Off to the side was a familiar looking box. Betta sucked in a sharp breath as she recognized the android box she’d arrived on Arys-27 in, the one she suspected changed her.