Chapter 23
I feel strangely happy to find that out that he had a good life, despite him now being dead.
I smile and stop crying, but giggling when I feel four tongues licking my tears away. First seeing this Dax tense and send my mates a hard glare, but soon relax when he sees me giggling.
“Not now, loves,” I whisper for only them to hear and they reluctantly pull back.
“This is Lenime and Phe. Phe is the captain’s second. This is the captain Kiy. Ren, the doctor, Ty, Bern, Reck, Lein and Koya,” I introduce everyone to him.
“I am Amber Kara Vanderveer.”
“You have three names?” Phe questions.
“Yes. It’s a human thing. I’ll explain later.”
“Wow, long name,” Lenime chimes, making me fight a grin.
Dax on the other hand is staring at me in awe, at least I think that is what it is.
“You are Emperor Aaron’s sister? How did you get free?”
“I found her when looking over the abandoned planet for resources,” Phe answers giving the man his everyone else look.
“He found me sealed in a special room in the old Harkers Lab building, where I used to work before everything,” I explain.
“We still have the stasis pod on board and tons of information, videos and things that Aaron left for me on memory sticks.”
His eyes widen and he looks like a kid at Christmas. “He left you… Did you get them working?”
“Yes. It took a bit of work, I had to build a reader and stuff but yes.”
I look to Kiy for consent to show the man a video. Kiy smiles at me, guessing my question.
“Is he well, Ren?” He asks his wife.
“Yes. I managed to heal him before he woke.”
“Then if you come with us. We will show you some,” Kiy tells Dax.
Dax looks to me and I give him a nod to say it is safe.
Standing up, with me mates by my side we leave the room and go to the room we were working in the couple of days before. Dax follows closely behind me. Everyone else, other than Ren comes too.
I yawn and Phe takes that as an indication to carry me. I am honestly too tired to stop him – it has been a long day and I have already been up more than twelve hours. Instead I lay in his arms and hold out my hand to my sweet Lenime.
Arriving in the room Phe sits in a chair with me on his lap and Lenime to my side. “You alright, Amber?” Koya asks stroking my loose hair, which I never did tie back again.
“Yes, just tired.”
“It’s been a busy day. First the baby, then everything else,” Lenime adds as laid his head on my lap.
I forget for a moment Dax is here.
“Are you mates?” He asks a little surprised.
“Koya is Lenime and Phe’s sister. Their father is Kiy and his mate is Ren, their mother. Ty is Koya’s mate and Lenime and Phe are my mates.”
“Lenime and Phe are mates?”
“No. Poyun only have one mate. They are both my mates, but not each other’s,” I explain.
“That’s different,” He says with a slight smile.
I show him the first video Aaron made for made and he watches in awe. “You have more from him?”
“Tons and hundreds of text and other things. Movies, music, books.”
“Porn,” Koya adds.
“That was interesting,” Ty says.
“Button…” Need I say who?
Dax looks amused. “We lost many of movies and music when they left Earth. There is only about a hundred or so movies left from that time.”
“Well, Aaron gave me thousands of movies and stuff.”
“When we return you to your home planet we can give you a copy?” Kiy offers.
“You will return me?” Dax asks surprised.
“Yes. We will move the wreckage of your shuttle to an empty bay and store the dead until we reach your home world.”
“Thank you! That would be fantastic,” He sounds more than happy. “What do you want as payment?”
Kiy and the others look confused.
“We want no payment.”
“Didn’t I tell you they are just a nice species?” I tell Dax.
“Yes, but why would they help?”
“We are explorers and I would also like to go to your world for my daughter.”
“I love you, Kiy,” I say without thinking.
He smiles fondly and lean down and kisses my forehead. “I love you too, Amber.” I know he means it. He is a great man. Like my real father.
I know without looking my mates are smiling. I can feel their happiness.
“Everyone back home would love to meet you and your new family,” Dax says looking to the others and then back to me.
“We have only met a couple of alien races. Namely Trenks and Casiu. They weren’t very friendly.”
“You are unlucky. They are two of the more undesirable races. Trenks just love to fight and are mercenaries and the Casiu are power hungry,” Phe explains.
“I think the Poyun are like fluffy bunnies, except they can be scary. They are all huge.”
“I noticed. Are they all like that?”
“Yep. Koya is the smallest female other than me, that I have seen.” She is almost the same height as Dax.
I turn my head and notice a twinkle in his eye. “Before you get any ideas, the Poyun women have a cap on their vagina and it only opens during heat, which is every six months or so or the first time they meet their mate.” No one seems to mind that I am telling him this, although Dax seems unsure.
“And it is psychically impossible for either female or male to have sex or join with anyone other than their genetic mate.”
Loosing my train of thought I ask, “Did you take bunnies to the new planet?”
Dax laughs. “That was random. First saying no sex, now bunnies?”
“I like bunnies.”
“We brought most animals with us and yes, we have lots of bunnies.”
“Can I have two?” I ask hopeful.
“Yes, if you would like.”
“What are bunnies?” Lenime asks.
Finding the video, I play it to reveal a couple bunnies eating carrots.
“Yes, we want Bunnies,” Koya agrees, watching my childhood pets.
Moments later the camera pans to a little white blonde and big blue eyed boy about seven running around with a baby doll, laughing and being chased by a similar looking girl of five with her hair in piggy tails and a little frilly dress.
“Aren!” She cries unable to say her brothers name.
“Give me Daisy baby back?” The little girl pleads.
“Is that you?” Dax asks guessing.
Lenime’s head pops up realizing.
“Yep. I was five and Aaron was seven.”
Seconds later the younger me falls over and burses out crying, Aaron immediately stops and rushes over. He sits on the fall and hugging me to him, giving me the doll and kissing my head. “Sorry, Snow. Please don’t cry. Daisy baby is back, see?” He dances the doll in my face.
As though on cue one little bunny hops over. Getting a mischievous smile, he lets go of me and pulls his shoe lace out.
My dad who is on the camera just laughs as my brother straps the doll to the bunny’s back.
“Look, Snow. Daisy is a practicing to be a horse rider,” He says pointing to the escaping bunny.
Little me looks up damp faced and giggles. Cue a long game with the bunnies.
“Like little snow babies,” Dax thinks out loud. “I never thought in a million years I would not only meet a great one, but see videos of one of the greatest as a child. The Emperor would love to see this. If you didn’t mind?”
“I don’t mind.” It is alright with me. After all, he is Aaron’s family, descendant, making him mine too.
“You were so tiny and so cute. I love your hair and big eyes,” Lenime says playing with my hair and holding it in two bunches at the sides of my head.
“I am not wearing my hair in bunches, Len.”
He pouts, “Why not? You look lovely.” Phe and Koya agree and I hear Dax chuckle.
“I hope our baby looks like you,” Phe says again.
“You are pregnant?”
“Yes. But only a day gone.”
His eyes widen, “How do you know? I thought it took at least ten day before you could find out?”
“It does normally. But I don’t know if it is the enzyme, the daddies being Poyun or both but Ren scanned and saw the fetus this morning.”
“Wow. The changed modern women are pregnant seven months instead of nine but still have to wait a while to find out.”
I begin to feel my eyes closing. I hear Phe tell his father that he and Lenime are taking me to bed. His father tells them he will have the shuttle and bodies brought up and have a room for Dax to stay in until we reach the planet.
Then the sounds fade and sleep takes over.
