Afterburn

Liam Mayer finished his examination and checked the scanner display. “Other than missing a hand, and evidently having a spine made of pure arutanium, you are in excellent health, Dr. Hkyrim.”

“I am glad to hear it.” The Omorr moved to sit on the edge of the medical berth and examined the stump of his arm. “It is odd. I know it is gone, but at times I can still feel it there.”

“Phantom pains,” Mayer told him. “They’ll come and go over time.” He looked across the berth at the willowy Terran woman standing on the other side. “That was a very brave thing you did, Ms. Kim.”

Hkyrim watched his Terran friend. What he had forced her to do was barbaric, and he knew she had been utterly terrified. She was still pale, her eyes haunted, and she had spoken very little since helping the medics bring him to emergency services.

“Your theory proved correct, Doctor,” Liam told Hkyrim. “The wrill specimen was infected by nanites. We’re keeping the specimens sealed until Enviro can figure out how to neutralize them.”

“I believe from what I observed and experienced that the nanites are DNA resequencers,” he told Dr. Mayer. “Programmed to alter only aquatic life-forms.”

“Ancient Omorr were sea-dwellers. We still carry some of our ancestors’ aquatic characteristics, such as our gildrells. It likely sampled my DNA and decided I was an aquatic.” Hkryim reached for his tunic. “I would like to return to my living quarters, if I may be excused from working the remainder of my shift.”

“I have two others.” He glanced at Mayer. “Doctor, would you excuse us for a moment?” Liam nodded and departed. “Emily, I apologize for the discomfort I caused you. It was not my intention and I will always regret having placed you in such a position.”

She stared at him. “You’re apologizing to me. Hkyrim, I came here to have lunch with you, and ended up cutting off your hand.”

“I would have preferred the meal,” he admitted, “but once I realized I was infected with nanites, there was little alternative.”

He dropped his tunic and went to her, using his two uninjured arms to encircle her waist. “You saved my life, and very possibly the lives of many others.”

From the wetness Hkyrim felt, and the sounds he heard, he knew Emily was crying. He held her for a long time, stroking her hair with one hand, until the sounds and the wetness tapered off.

“Nanites. A bio-organic mechanism that measures only a billionth of a meter in size. Nanites are a type of drone that functions at the atomic and subatomic level. They can be programmed to do many things, such as duplicate, construct, deconstruct, and resequence atoms.”

“Medical application of nanotechnology is still in its infancy in many parts of the galaxy, but we have begun using them as probes and to treat certain diseases. We design viruses now that attack and destroy other viruses and diseased cells, as well as build healthy replacement organs from diseased organ cells.” Absently he used a gildrell to wipe the last tears from her cheeks. “These are not medical nanites, however. I believe they are DNA resequencers—nanites programmed to alter a life-form through direct manipulation of its DNA. It is a type of nanotech that is illegal to create or use.”

“No; that is why I didn’t know what they were when I examined the specimen. The nanites were lodged in the wrill’s brain, but they had not altered its cells or DNA.” He recalled the wrill’s burst skull and wondered if the nanites had been responsible for the damage. “It was only when they attacked me did I make the connection.”

“It is probably being used as a carrier, to deliver the nanites to the intended victims.” Hkyrim looked out through the view panel and saw a group of ’Zangian pilots crossing the FreeClinic commons. “Highly evolved aquatics.”

I would like to wish you well, Administrator Hansen, Carada said after Ana had delivered the standard opening greeting for the summit meeting. I am told that you are to be, what is it called again, Miglan? The Ylydii bent to hear her assistant’s mutter. Ah, yes. Married. To whom is this commitment being made?

A healer? And you are in Administration. Carada seemed amused. Well, you may have little in common, but if you can be satisfied with one male for the remainder of your existence, I suppose it is an acceptable practice. You certainly won’t ever have to wonder who sired your pups.

Shon saw Ana’s brief, startled reaction disappear as she graciously accepted the ambassador’s congratulations and continued on to the schedule of discussion topics planned for the session.

I am not finished speaking, Carada said, interrupting the Terran woman. I found this concept of monogamous commitment quite interesting. It has definite applications in other areas that concern us.

We have been at an impasse since coming to this planet, Carada continued, apparently oblivious to the three-way alliance that the other members of the summit had been gradually forming. I did not come here to waste my time arguing over issues; I intend to solve them. I see now that the application of fresh ideas and a new direction are the only sensible ways to proceed and to accomplish anything while we are here.

“I think that is very generous of you, Lady Ambassador, to bring such an open mind to the negotiations,” Ana said. “I’m very flattered that my engagement inspired you as well. Now, if you would introduce these new ideas of yours as we bring up each topic—”

There is no need to wait, the Ylydii assured her. My proposal is a simple one, very easy to understand. She turned to face Urloy-ka. The Ninrana need water, and the Ylydii will provide the technology to replenish the planetary water tables, along with enough water stores to enable your survival until your world recovers.

A symbol of your commitment to lasting peace between Ninra and Ylyd, Carada told him. You are the leader of your world, are you not?

“I am the chief over all the Red Basin tribes,” Urloy-ka acknowledged. “That is the majority of the population on Ninra.”

Before Urloy-ka or any of the delegates could react to Carada’s proposal, one of the Ylydii males darted to the front. You cannot give her to him! He will eat her!

Shon had never noticed the little male before, but there was no mistaking the ferocity of his response. One of the Lady Liana’s admirers, no doubt.

Silence, Carada said, shoving back the smaller male. To the Ninrana, she said, This will be a political union between our worlds, with equality of position for both partners. As spouse to the ruler of Ylyd, you would have involvement in our government. As spouse to you, Liana would have involvement in yours.

I prefer to think of it as a permanent and lasting alliance, Ambassador Urloy-ka. I will be quite happy to sign a contractual agreement as to the specific terms. However, be aware that I do not offer my child lightly, nor do I intend to languish about for another week while you argue with the others over it. Accept or refuse, and do it now.

Ana gave Shon a stricken look. She knew, as he did, that it was just the sort of solution that would appeal to the desperate Ninrana.

“What about the Skartesh?” Shon asked. “Are those I represent to be cast aside and ignored while such preferential treatment is shown to the Ninrana?”

Carada made a dismissive gesture. You have already negotiated having your colony established on the moon belonging to the ’Zangian delegate. We will leave you to work out this matter with them.

Carada’s expression became long-suffering as she turned to two of the Ylydii female guards. Remove the noisemaker at once.

Shon had no choice but to do what he could to derail Carada before Urloy-ka responded. “The Skartesh object to the prejudiced nature of this proposal, which will not benefit two of the species involved in this summit. We strongly insist that it be retracted at once.”

“No need of that, Major,” Urloy-ka said. “She is right, your species has already found their place on the ’Zangians’ moon.” He looked at the Ylydii. “Very well, Ambassador Carada. As long as the contracted terms are acceptable to me, I will marry your daughter, and you will give my people what we need to restore our world.”

When Fokrej appeared at the opening to Liana’s cavern, Graleba tried to send him away. My lady is resting now, male. You may come back later.

Later she will not be here, the male said. Two of his gillets were torn, and his snout was swollen, as if he had been beaten. Later he will come for her, and she will be taken away.

Carada has struck a bargain. The smaller Ylydii male could not seem to keep still. He darted back and forth in the center of the cavern. After all I have done for her, she defers to that dirt-dweller. His stunted veils thrashed the water. Marriage. To an alien mouth-breather. Is she insane?

Your mother has formed a political alliance with the Ninrana. She is giving you to him. He went to Graleba and shoved her toward the opening of the cavern. Get out. Get out!

I have a ship. I will take you back to Ylyd, to the synchrony. I will protect you from her and that filthy mouth-breather. He advanced toward her. You know it is what you want. You are of the green. I am the only one who can satisfy you now.

You know she will make you do it, and you would spend the rest of your life on a desert planet, Fokrej told her. A planet where they have been eating off-worlders for centuries. If they didn’t dine on you, you would have to live in a tank. Like an animal on display. Forever, my lady. Forever.

I would give you what you want. I am fertile. I understand your needs. I would give you time to whelp, and then we would go back to our play. He displayed his barbs for her. I am the only one with a heart as dark as yours is, Liana. Only I can please you. We will go back to Ylyd and take refuge among the synchrony. They will never permit her to come near you again.

Liana hurtled at the smaller male and drove him into the cavern’s rough rock wall. His body bounced off the hard surface, but before he could swim away she barreled into him again. And again, and again. When he hung limp and motionless, she fled the cavern.

She would not allow him to touch her again. She would never go to Ninra. It was decided, finished, over. She could not do this anymore.

Liana swam as fast as she could, streaming over the caverns and turning until she was on a direct course for the shore. There she would beach herself, on some remote stretch of sand where no one would find her body until it was too late. If it was not a fair exchange in the eyes of the goddess, or the creator, or whoever had chosen to give her this existence, it was too bad. She was through with all of it.

Two ’Zangian males came up on either side of her. They were pacing her and trying to say something to hear. Liana abruptly changed direction and darted away from them. She nearly collided with a third male, who had been following her from behind.

Incredibly, the male gave her a look of blatant interest. You are on the small side. Are you fully grown for your kind?

Liana flipped around him and swam toward clear water. The water on either side of her soon filled with other ’Zangians, all males who seemed to be trying to catch her eye. A few fell off pursuing her to tussle with each other, which was even more confusing. Soon Liana couldn’t find a way out of the mass of eager males crowding around her.

They smell you. Everyone can. And you’re swimming too fast. Burn closed his eyes for a moment before turning to look at the other males. She is mine. You will not chase her anymore.

Burn swam at him so swiftly that the other male was flipped head over flukes before he could blink. The big ’Zangian used his tail to knock into the male a second time before he backed away. He then turned and looked at the others. If you think I won’t kill for her, think again.

Burn came back to her. You have to leave now. Don’t swim fast, and don’t go back to the caverns. Go anywhere but the caverns.

They won’t challenge me. He gave the other males a contemptuous look. You’ll be safe. I’ll be right behind you.

You can’t go there, not until we both calm down. The wildness in his eyes matched how she felt. The caverns are where we mate. If you go there, and I catch you, I’ll take you.

I don’t want to swim anywhere else. Liana backed away from him. Let’s see how fast you are, ’Zangian. She turned and shot off with the current toward the breeding caverns.

Burn knew there was trouble as soon as he came back from the feeding grounds with his dam, and males started streaking past them without even bothering to acknowledge them.

You see how they treat us, Znora said. She had been complaining, as usual, about everything the other ’Zangians did or didn’t do. We could be exiled rogues for all the attention we are given. Byorn, if I am ever to recover our proper positions within the pod, you must abandon this military nonsense and stay home.

I’ve been staying home. Burn turned around and tracked the ’Zangians, who were all swimming in one direction. The odd thing was, they were all male. Why are they doing that?

Znora looked and immediately blocked his view with her body. Never mind. Let us go down the coast. I feel in need of a long swim.

You are too young to see males making fools of themselves like this. Znora gave him an annoyed, maternal nip. Come along now.

Burn had never hurt his mother in his life, but he was seriously tempted to return the favor. Tell me what they’re doing or I’ll go find out for myself.

It is a breeding frenzy. Males do that when a female flaunts herself too much. Znora finned her contempt. Now that off-worlder female will take a ’Zangian pup with her back to her world.

Burn shot around his mother and followed the stream of males. He ignored her command to return and searched the seascape until he saw something like a black-streaked rainbow darting through the throng of males.

Burn had never seen ’Zangian males behave in such a strange way, but he knew immediately why they were swarming around Liana. The way she swam was unbearably erotic, as was the scent she was spilling into the water.

Seeing the other males pursuing her as if she were nothing but food infuriated him. It took every ounce of his already shaky self-control not to ram through the pod and knock away every male in his path.

He tried to be patient as he dealt with the other males and Liana. He held them off as he told the young Ylydii how to extricate herself from the situation, and warned her of what not to do. He was forced to admit how close he was to losing control over her, so that she would understand how precarious her situation was. After all, she was Ylydii, she didn’t understand how dangerous the situation was.

Now the brainless female was swimming straight for the breeding caverns. Swimming fast and sure, arrogant in her confidence, as if he were nothing more than one of her cringing Ylydii males, waiting for her to issue orders for him to scratch her hide or lick her flukes.

He fought the instinctive urges long enough to keep the other males from chasing her, but they had mostly dispersed now. There was nothing to keep him here, nothing to prevent him from going after her. I warned her. She knows full well what will happen if she swims that way.

His muscles knotted as he fought against turning, tried not to fill his head with her scent. She was halfway to the caverns now, but not far enough away. If she disappeared from his sight, the terrible urges would ease. He could go back to guarding her, and there would be nothing between them, and she would be safe.

Burn surged into the current. Going after her didn’t make his blood cool or his head clear; if anything, the clenching need inside him grew worse. Logical thought was impossible; his mind was too busy sorting out her scent from the others in the current and telling him how to adjust to match her direction. His body was cutting through the water and throbbing with heavy need. Then nothing else mattered but getting to her and having her, filling her with his seed and planting his pup in her body.

Liana glanced back over her shoulder, spotted him, and switched currents, riding a faster, heavier water stream to the caverns. Burn made the same jump and cut the distance between them in half, then in half again.

Liana didn’t enter the part of the breeding caverns the Ylydii had been occupying. She didn’t enter the caverns at all, but swam above them only a scant few inches above the sharp rock domes. It confused Burn at first—when he caught her, he needed privacy and a rock shelf—but then he remembered that she couldn’t breathe out of water as he did.

Burn caught up with her at the far end of the caverns, and swam over her before he clamped his teeth on the back of her neck and tried to wrap his fins around her to turn her to face him.

Liana reversed direction, sliding out from under him and slashing at him with her veiled fins. They prickled his skin, but the stinging sensation sizzled through him with a peculiar intensity.

He followed her in. He wished he could haul her up to the surface and prop her on the rock shelf so that he could penetrate her, but he’d have to find another way to join with her. Do it again.

That slapping thing you just did with your fins. He used his bulk and weight to propel her to the side of the cave. Do it again.

Anger, and something else, glittered in her eyes, which now had an eerie green cast to them. I meant to hurt you, you idiot male.

Liana unfurled the veils of her fins and displayed barbs like those the little males had. The only difference was that hers were three times larger. I won’t hold back this time.

Liana sank her small barbs into his chest and shoulders. The sting was hotter and deeper this time, but no less arousing. He kept her pinned against the rock so he could properly position their lower bodies. Her slit was as swollen as he was, and her folds had opened to him.

The third time she used her barbs, it excited him so much that he penetrated her, and she released the sound that he had only heard once before, on the Ylydii vessel when he had gone in to rescue her. He didn’t know what it was, but it reached down into his bones and pulled something deep and nameless out of him. He moved with it, drawing another, more basic sound from her.

Not in the way you think. He used his fins to guide the movement of her lower body. She fit to him like skin, so tight that he could not flex or curl himself inside her sheath. I like how it feels. And that sound you make. Make it again.

The song made Burn’s flukes curl, and the permeating fire of her barbs drove him out of his head. He was rolling with her, driving his body into hers, and nothing could feel this good, this satisfying. She was trembling, her barbs locked in his hide now, and he could feel her pleasure squeezing his shaft in the same rhythm as her song.

Yet beyond the pleasure was something else—a primal need to fill her and know that her belly would swell and that they would create something beautiful together. That need was as fierce as her barbs and as inflexible as their joining, but it could not be his alone. This child would be of two hearts, but also of two species and two worlds.

Burn buried himself inside her and felt the rush of his seed, eager to pour into her womb. He held back somehow, instinctively waiting to hear her song peak and fragment over her pleasure. Her womb contracted, drawing him in deeper, and then release slammed into him and took him to the place only they could find together.

While Onkar wandered around the wrill island, Dair watched with Teresa at the water’s edge, where the infant ’shrike swam in a circle. “It’s not possible. They can’t communicate. Why should they? They eat everything they could ever talk to.”

“I think you’ve got an argument on your hands here, honey.” Teresa dropped down on the shells and rested her head against her knees. “So do I.”

“I’m all right. It’s a lot to take in all at once.” She stared blindly at the mogshrike, who was hovering just below the surface and watching her. “You used to look at me like that, you know? Through the walls of the treatment tank, when you were at the FreeClinic.”

“Jadaira.” Onkar drew her away from her stepmother and across the shell island until they were out of Teresa’s hearing. “There are some very serious matters to contend with here.”

“It is not just the ’shrike. It is the island itself.” He nodded toward the hole he had dug. “There are not only ’Zangian bodies buried beneath the shells.”

“From the smell, larger aquatics and more ’shrikes. I’ve uncovered parts from at least fifty individuals and I’ve barely begun digging.”

“No.” Her mate glanced at Teresa before he resorted to baelaena. “The body parts are cut up, not torn, and they were skillfully dismembered and skinned with a bladed weapon. It is possible that is how they were killed, as well.”

“Judging by the decomposition, they were all killed within the last five to seven rotations. There is another thing. The parts of them that are left are those that would be considered inedible by humanoids who consume flesh.”

“Urloy-ka and his entourage may have killed them. This would be a logical place to hide bodies one did not wish recovered,” Onkar said. “Wrill moltings attract many carrion eaters. In another week or two, the body parts would have been completely devoured.”

And the evidence of the crime equally obliterated. Dair loved the sea, but for once the quick way it cleaned up after predators seemed ghastly. “Why would they kill so many?”

“I do not know.” The sound of a launch approaching made Onkar look out at the sea. “Say nothing of this to Captain Argate.”

Noel Argate was standing in the inflatable and waving an arm toward Teresa, who was still sitting and watching the infant ’shrike. Dair’s gaze shifted to one side of the launch, and a very familiar dark silhouette beneath the surface streaking directly at the launch.

Dair skidded to a halt at the end of the shells. The baby ’shrike seemed enthralled with Teresa, but it was a born killer, nearly as long as Dair in the water and with five times as many teeth. In a fight, she would lose, and she had to think of the pup in her belly.

The captain was too far away to hear her, and then it was too late. Dairatha plowed into the launch, knocking the Terran over and into the water.

Dair’s blood froze as the baby ’shrike casually swung around to look in the direction of the splash. Her heart nearly stopped when Onkar dove into the water in a smooth, dark blur of motion.

It all happened so fast there was hardly any time to think. Onkar went first to the Terran, who was struggling to tread water, and flipped him onto his back. Argate clutched at his dorsal fin while the big male turned and headed off Dairatha, who had been moving at high speed toward Teresa on the wrill island. The males bumped heads and shoulders, until Onkar’s rapid orders seemed to galvanize Dairatha into action.

Dair’s father didn’t run away from the ’shrike, however. He headed straight for it, his body tense and ready to attack.

Teresa dove into the water and resurfaced, and then calmly swam into a position that placed her between the baby ’shrike and her mate.

“I delivered this baby, and I’m not letting you kill it,” Teresa said. “Go away from here, Dairatha. You’ve done enough harm for one day.” She turned back to look at Dair. “You stay right there and protect my grandchild.”

Everyone, including Teresa, froze as the baby ’shrike moved slowly forward in the water. It didn’t swim with the silent grace of its species, but with the slightly jerky hesitation of a ’Zangian newborn. When it was close enough to touch Teresa, who was treading water as quietly as she could, it lifted its head toward her belly.

Dair expected to see her stepmother’s insides spill out and color the water scarlet. She did not expect to see an infant mogshrike nuzzle her with its snout like an affection-hungry pup.

“It’s all right,” Teresa breathed. Carefully she lifted a hand and stroked the top of the ’shrike’s head. “This is like petting sandpaper. Spiny sandpaper.” It rolled in the water and presented her with its smoother belly. “Do I scratch the belly of a mogshrike? Well, I petted it on the head and I still have a hand.” She used her fingernails to scratch between the shorter belly spines.

The baby ’shrike rolled back over, turned toward the big ’Zangian, and released a louder, deeper pulse than it had before.

“I think we should give it a name. Now what do you call something that turns your life upside down and makes you do things you never thought you’d have to?” Teresa was back to petting its head. “Charley. Frances. Ivan. Jeanne. Or maybe I should wait until I find out what gender it is.”

Another hissing sound startled Dair, but this time the ’shrike breached and screamed out a pulse, splashing and terrorizing Teresa before it sank below the surface and went limp in the water. Dair squinted to see the red tag of a tranquilizer dart sticking up by its dorsal fin. She followed the direction of the sound and saw the corresponding dart gun in Noel Argate’s hand.

“Would you warn me the next time you do that?” Teresa shouted, putting her arms around the baby ’shrike to keep it from sinking to the bottom. She pulled her arms back with a grimace, and the unconscious ’shrike floated up to the surface. “What do you know. It can float, which means it has an air bladder.”

“If your mate will stop trying to kill me,” Argate said, his voice strained, “we should get this thing back to the Briggs and contained before it regains consciousness.”