He felt overly warm, not entirely understanding why Thalia commented on what he wore under the armor but enjoying the playful look she gave him. “You undressed me after the raid. This is not new information.”
She chuckled lightly. “Fair enough. I was just too excited about getting you naked to question it.”
He assisted while she slid her arms into the sleeves. “I was excited as well,” he said.
Her face flushed a charming pink. “How do I zip this thing?”
“The fabric melds when you press the sides together.” He pulled the suit closed over her chest, touching the two halves together. The fabric united in one seamless weave. Automatically, the fabric adjusted the length and tightened, shrinking to the correct size.
“God, that felt weird,” Thalia said.
“Is it comfortable? Walk for me.”
She walked the length of the cargo hold, flexing her arms like she was fighting an invisible opponent. “Feels good. What about shoes?”
The armor covered her from feet to her neck, including her hands. “Unnecessary. You will need the helmet.”
She cast a dubious eye at the helmet. “Am I going to be able to breathe in that thing?”
“Terrans need to breathe?” She sputtered, which amused him greatly. “Yes, my mate. The armor will protect you from radiation and will filter the air.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure. Sometimes you don’t see the forest for the trees.”
Her words made no sense at all. “Is the translator working correctly? This environment is a desert. There is no forest.”
“What I mean is, sometimes you lose sight of the small details when you’re working on a big problem.” She set the helmet in place. The dark visor obscured her face. “You did lock your first wife inside the house rather than think of this solution.” Her voice came through his comm unit.
“The armor will only protect you for a limited number of hours. It is not a long-term solution and…you are teasing me.” Her shoulders and hips did that shimmy when she felt she was being particularly amusing. “That is particularly hurtful, as I feel deeply ashamed for how I treated my previous mate. She did not deserve to be locked inside the house, as you say.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. That was a shit thing to say.”
He grinned and her visor reflected his expression back at him.
“Oh my God, Danger B, are you teasing me?” She playfully hit him on the arm. “That’s a terrible joke. You’re terrible.”
“I do have a sense of humor,” he said. Why was everyone so surprised?
“Yeah, well, it was a shitty thing to tease you about. I’ve really got to stop spouting off every thought that comes into my head. Are we ready?”
Havik checked the seals on her suit once more. He could never be too careful with his mate. “Ready.”
He transferred the egg and Stabs into a soft-sided carry-all before leaving the ship. Outside, the sun blazed overhead, and the dry air wrapped around him like a welcoming hug.
“Ugh, feels like I stuck my head in an oven. I can’t believe I’m on a desert planet. This is some Tatooine-level heat.”
“Rolusdreus has multiple biomes. For one planet to have only one biome is bad science.”
“Tell that to every sci-fi movie ever. So, you grew up near here, in this biome?”
“Half an hour to the east,” he said, pointing in the general direction. “But my father’s clan spans all the sands. Come. We waste time.”
While he landed his ship as near to the rescue operation as he could, they had a brisk ten-minute walk. A timer on his comm unit counted down the remaining minutes that Thalia could be exposed to the ambient radiation.
“So, this radiation…Is that naturally occurring? Like your people evolved to tolerate it?” Her little legs pumped, struggling to keep pace with him. He considered tossing her over his shoulder to save time, but doing so would compromise his hold on the egg.
“It happened, as you would say, from bad shit. Long ago, there was a war and several weapons were detonated. Scientists at the time adapted the Rolusdreus genome to survive. We still live with the consequences.” He had heard the stories of his mother’s people, about callous leaders who did not care about the consequences of their actions and only saw short-term gain. Millions perished. The surviving population forever changed. “There is a particularly good documentary about that conflict. It is several hours long. You will like it.”
“Great, another documentary,” she muttered over the comm. “The sky’s a pretty pink, though.”
A tall female with a regal air waited for them inside. He had not seen her for several years, but little had changed.
“Garu Havik,” she said, giving a slight nod.
“Garu Mais,” he replied. Then, “Mother.”
She smiled, the warmth of it filling the air between them. “It always pleased me when you called me so.”
“But the warlord would not allow it.”
The smile vanished. “No.” She turned to the carrier. “What do you have for us?”
Thalia leaned in and whispered, “That’s your step-mom? You didn’t say she worked here.”
He knew his father’s mate had connections to the rescue and volunteered. He did not know that she would be present.
Stabs did not want to relinquish the egg, but Havik coaxed it away from the kumakre. Mais carefully examined the egg before declaring it viable and placing it in an incubator.
Donning heavy gloves, Mais placed Stabs on the examination table. The kumakre hissed and rattled his tail in warning. “So, you found your female,” she said, voice low enough not to carry. She glanced over her shoulder to Thalia, clad in armor with the visor down. “Healthy carapace but he’s ready to molt. There’s thinning at the joints.”
“I located Vanessa and we made our peace. She has a new mate who treats her properly,” he said. “This is Thalia. She is my mate because I have chosen her and she brings me joy.”
Mais blinked, then gave a short nod. “I am glad to hear
