Cutlass Sharpened (58 page)

“
Why?! Why couldn’t you
saaave her!” She wailed. “I killed my own mothhheeer!!!” her tears
soaked into his chest.

Renee did this for minutes
till she was spent. When her sobs lowered she heard her father’s
choked tone say “
Ye
didn’t kill her. Ye saved her and because she had wanted a
daughter for so long and yer ma knew it would have killed her
anyway. Solarian or not, yer mother had been infected by the Keptl
five years earlier and was only prolonging her own life through
aggressive treatments, but it had reached up in her brain by the
time we conceived ye. Isabelle knew she was going to leave me,
Lass. But before it happened, she left me with a piece of her to
keep me going to find out what happened to our predecessors.” Renee
leaned back as soon as big, fat tears not her own hit her neck and
she leaned back to see her father crying for the first time she had
ever seen in the one steady rock in her whole chaotic life. “Aye,
Isabella didn’t want just a normal daughter, but one who would
surpass us both and be the woman of the warrior, if we could ever
find him out here. It’s why I’ve been distant the past fifteen
years of yer life. It’s why I’ve been searching this entire
galaxy’s every blue star in Andromeda for
him
.”

Eyes turned on Oliver as his eyes were only
on Renee and he showed empathy.

“
I checked many different
stars that were once blue at the time of the Geo Record’s creation
and to everyone else our travels have been random. Aye, I wanted to
meet a live Solarian me whole life, but also I wanted ye to see if
he was the one meant from ye. I’ve been monitoring ye yer whole
life. As a third party I can impartially tell ye a truth. It’s just
that yer sexual maturity was different than what I imagined.
Believe me when I say that Sparky didn’t drive the wedge between
other men after I killed the little bastard. Ye actually reached
sexual prime six months after the incident is why ye haven’t had a
single sexual relationship in a decade. Yer biology made you see
human males as inferior to yer future children’s needs. Ye pushed
suitors away and made yerself unapproachable because yer cycle will
only allow someone as the ideal match to be yer mate. Add to it ye
are a class twelve with few able to be yer peer and it made it near
impossible to find someone worthy.” Jake wiped his cheek. “Listen
good. Aye, you’re Solarian, but also
me
daughter. And now that ye’ve chosen
Oliver, the bond is sealed. Like Creelin, ye found your match, yer
life mate. I just wanted to see earlier if he could make me see if
he was as I imagined. He surpassed my expectation.

“
If what Isabella’s theory
and Oliver’s translation is true then ye cannot lose him or it is
likely ye will give up on the will to live. And the way he moves
around ye tells me his loyalty is the same. So stop forcing yerself
to act human. Eat what fills ye up. I’ve already got a school of
Piranha aboard and quarantined specifically for ye and
Oliver.”

“
Papa, why have you kept
this from me all my life? Had I known Ma was dying I would not have
hated myself from taking her from you for so long.”

“
I did it to keep ye safe.”
A large knuckle caressed her wet cheeks. “I even had ye spliced as
a baby because you were up and running around the day after ye were
born. Solarians sexually mature a bit slower, but physically they
are our superior. I had to correct yer ligaments and stunt a part
of your brain because ye were learning
too
fast. I had to make ye as normal
as I could or risk having ye kidnapped and experimented
on.”

“
You did what?”

“
When you feel ready I’ll
disengage the block to let you learn as fast as Oliver and let you
reconstruct yer ligaments as they were meant.”

“
This is a lot to take in,
Papa.” She admitted in barely a whisper.

“
I know, dear one. How I
longed to speak true. I just need one more thing to say and then ye
can go. In the near future I’m going to need ye and Oliver to help
me uncover more about the Solarians. And I’m going to tell the crew
as they already suspect Oliver is more than human anyway. I need ye
to help me figure out what made Solarians extinct… or endangered as
there are two of ye now. Can ye do that for me?”

“
Do Jessica and Stephanie
know?” she asked instead.

“
Not everything, but my
little sister and sister-in-law knew about the Keptl infestation.
Not of yer heritage. If ye want, ye can tell her.”

“
No, Papa. What I want to do
is crawl in bed and cry. You tell her… and Papa?”

“
Hmmm?”

“
You’ll always be my papa.
After hearing this I see why you’ve kept it a secret. You did it
for me. You’ve done all this for me, not research.” She got up and
kissed his temple. “Thank you, Papa, for finally telling me the
truth. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
Love ye, Lass.” Jake hugged
her tightly. “Oh, and yer mice came in. May I ask what
for?”

Renee showed off her bracelet. “This is a
woman’s Multi-tool the Creelin Netul had Oliver make for me.
Watch.” Her sexy white dress transformed to loose pants, flats and
a blouse.

“
Talk to me when ye’re
ready.” Jake said after one bushy eyebrow lifted.

Sparky and Rose placed the
mugs down after finishing it off and got up. Renee needed physical
contact and held Oliver’s hand, needing it more than ever. Rose
gently licked Renee’s other hand to think
“When you need us, we will be ready.”
She nodded and scratched beneath Rose’s chin where it was
softest.

“
Jake do you mind if I can
take some more of that mead.” Oliver asked.

“
Enjoy it, Lad. Me treat.”
Captain Dorgen put the barrel’s oak lid back on and levitated it
over so Oliver could carry it under his left arm.

The captain was left behind and the four made
it back to the elevator on the bridge in total silence. They all
filed in. Sparky rubbed his snout over Renee’s jaw as he sensed her
turmoil and anguish choking her very life. He said nothing as she
needed it, but his touch helped soothe the ache.

The door opened near the med bay and they all
got off to separate into pairs.

Renee crawled into bed naked as she always
had and curled up in fetal position. Oliver sat the cask down by
the dresser, got naked too and climbed in behind her to cuddle. It
broke his heart to listen to her cry so silently. He had no words
to express to take her pain away. It took everything he had not to
let her emotions run their course so he suffered right along with
her. She seemed so tiny curled up in his chest.

Many hours later, when the tears would no
longer come she uncoiled her aching body and rolled around, her
eyes haunted. “Oh, Oliver, I didn’t realize how hard this must be
for you.”

“
The only thing hard is
seeing you sad. I would rather you kick me in the balls all day
long than to see you like this.”

“
Aren’t you shocked to be a
Solarian?”

“
I don’t care about that.
The only thing I do care for is your happiness. The rest can
wait.”

“
My simple reasoning man.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. Her ear
listening to his steady beating heart that soothed. “Tell me what
you’ve though about. I need to hear your voice.”

“
I can distract you.” He
knew her enough that that is what she asked for. “I’ve thought
about the left behind message. About your mother’s bravery and your
father’s strength to be alone all this time and not share it to
anyone. The person who left the message on the Geo Record said he
committed treason to speak of me.

“
If I was their greatest
warrior, what did I do that made them take all of my memories? Why
did they seal me away for tens of thousands of years? Was it my
choice? Was I chosen or punished? If I was the greatest warrior,
why didn’t I fight back then against the enemy all other Solarians
fought to defend? It’s true I fit the description I read about. I
do carry their weapons. I’m faster than every human and my bones
are far more dense. Why was I blanked? Was it to make me not so
different to another race? To be more compliant? If I was the
strongest, they weakened me. If Solarians have the extra helixes
and I was the strongest, they took all of mine and left me bare. If
I can destroy worlds, I must have done something unforgivable to be
thrown into the belly of an extinct volcano. Did I have a family?
Friends? Who could have stopped me if I was the greatest
warrior?

“
Then I start thinking of
you. My feelings for you are unlike any relation I’ve ever read
about. I cannot think straight if you left me. This connection we
share is more than either of us can explain. We are drawn. Then I
think about what Jake and the Geo Record say will happen to you if
I perish and it makes me hunger for Beasts… to make me so strong it
will keep us together. Then there is the feeling that we will mate
forever… and it’s still not be long enough for me. I also believe
what was written is true. When I smell you over other women, I just
know you can survive bearing my children and that any other will
die. Others cannot make me attracted to them.”

“
That sure is quite a bit to
consider and I can see it clearly now. I did know most fossils
found were often in pairs, but now I can imagine why the women were
usually found dead and curled up with their men. I know that though
we’ve barely begin to know each other I can’t shake the feeling I
would do the same. I can’t see life having any meaning with you
always by my side.” Renee leaned back, eyes finding a little more
moisture from somewhere. “With you I finally feel I belong
somewhere. Sparky has made me feel the same way, but I don’t know
if I would kill myself if he dies as I feel I would if it happened
to you.

“
But I did find one thing
rather interesting.”

Her lovely smile prompted him to chuckle.
“Let me guess. You’re remembering the part where Solarian women
lead the men?”

Brilliant white teeth made a smile that
reached the eyes. “Yup. It’s good that our ancestors knew women are
the true rulers of the universe so don’t forget it. You need to
listen and obey your woman and keep me safe… especially since after
we really find out what is going on, I plan to get pregnant.”

“
Pregnant? What brought this
up?” he brushed her cheek.

“
Well I never wanted any
little ankle biters before you got me in a constant need to have my
legs wrapped around you. Rose was right, she usually is.” Renee
remembered the Drake’s words. “Well I’m so suddenly dependant on
you that ever since Vanessa had her baby I’ve wanted to have one of
my own. To want you to get me pregnant and start my own family.
Before you came along I did love babies, but I never wanted one
with anyone for some reason. Papa is usually right too. I didn’t
see any man sexually till I found you. But I’m nowhere near ready
to unfreeze my cycles to have a child. Maybe in a couple
years.”

“
I understand.”

“
But we didn’t know that the
Geo Record’s message was a warning. No one told us. What makes me
mad though is the writer’s cold words that said he hoped you never
awaken. I’m glad Papa didn’t realize it because he would have
believed it and left you back there. There might not have been an
emergency, but I’m glad we found you. No one deserves what was done
to you.”

“
Red, we must also consider
that if we do have children, who could they fall in love with? If
we are indeed the last, we need to think about them. Most likely
I’ll pass on the immortality and psionic chromosomes to them unlike
your own methods when giving it to children.”

“
Already considered that.
I’ll ask Papa for Ma’s gestation of me. If he hid it then I’ll make
sure our pregnancy allows for duplication. If Ma’s eggs were
altered then so can other women, but we can use an artificial womb
to give any baby all it needs without risking a mother’s life. If
Ma craved Beast brain then that is what we’ll find out, through me
if I must. I’ll design detailed reports to make sure any children
we have won’t end up alone since we will mate for life.” Renee sat
up and smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

“
Where are you going?” He
wondered as she crawled over him.

“
To fix what I broke.” Renee
left naked and returned with her newly remaid injector being loaded
with a yellowish solution. She administered it to his thigh and sat
the gun beside his sword on the nightstand.

Down low the fire began gushing through his
veins and the numb sensation of his dick washed away and he smiled
as the flaccid snake began to writhe. Renee climbed into bed and
knelt between his legs to take hold in both of her slender, cold
and soft hands. His hot member engorged at her touch. “Olly, I need
you to fuck me like never before. All the talk of kids, having them
with you is turning me on and I need to temporarily forget other
heavy thoughts.”

Before she could change her mind he flipped
her over and didn’t wait to drive himself into her tight core of
bliss. Her heels dug into the bed as she moaned out loud when it
was a bit painful getting so stretched without a little extra
stimulation, but it quickly turned into fiery need as she grabbed
his narrow hips that charged and slammed up into her, driving him
so deep she saw spots. Lightning flew up her spine, creating
puckered bumps all over her body and making her nipples ache from
how quickly they hardened. He pulled out all but the tip before
snapping back in and having her scream. His mouth claimed hers and
she eagerly took his rough treatment, needing it to forget all
except sensation.