Hunting Cari (First Wave) (19 page)

Cari
enjoyed watching Scaden, using his
Scott
alias, interact with the Earth
people. He seemed to adjust to living there so easily that it surprised her.
And he had a great rapport with horses. For some reason, he took to them and
them to him like they were old friends, and he spent a lot of time with them.

Because of
his connection with the horses, they had all agreed that instead of a regular
ranch, they were going to have a horse farm and had already accumulated a dozen
of them.

He and
Randor were out there now expanding the large barn and adding more stalls for
more horses. She knew it wasn’t too far to walk to get to the barn, but she
honestly didn’t think she could make it.

After the
first pain, she’d gotten up from the couch ready to head there, when the next
pain had her sinking to the carpet in the living room, she knew she wouldn’t
make it.

She fumbled
in the pocket of the robe she was wearing, blessing Scaden for his foresight,
when she found the walkie-talkie he had bought for her a few weeks ago, just in
case she needed him while he was outside.

“Honey, I
think our girls have decided to come now.” She panted into the mike, hoping he
was close enough to the radio to hear her.

She lay on
the carpet, rubbing her stomach trying to calm her girls who were scared and
surprised at the feel of the contractions squeezing their bodies, when Scaden
came running into the room with Randor seconds behind him.

Both men
dropped to the floor on either side of her, Scaden immediately taking one hand
while Randor the other. All three girls felt comforted by their presence, as another
wave of contractions hit. Cari squeezed their hands so tightly she was afraid
she’d hurt them, as she tried to breathe through the pain.

When the
pain seemed to pass, Scaden suggested taking her to their bed where she would
be more comfortable and began to pick her up to carry her there, when another
pain hit so quickly, and sharply she gasped for breath.

“No, no,
no… just leave me here. Don’t move me, please.” She begged, waiting for the
pain to subside.

Scaden
looked across her at Randor, and he immediately got up and ran to get all the
medical gear they had bought in order to help deliver the girls.

Scaden was
grateful when he returned not only with the red nylon bag filled with
equipment, but blankets to cover Cari. He knew from what he, and Randor had
been reading that it was normal for her to be sweating and shaking at the same
time, but still he was panicked over the pain she was in.

Randor and
Scaden stayed by her side for hours, watching the fetal heartbeat monitor they
had put around her stomach earlier, and trying desperately to help her while
she writhed in ever increasing pain.

When they
realized that the birth was not progressing as it should and Cari became
weaker, they became worried. However, they continued to do everything they had
learned to try to help as much as they could.

When the
fetal heartbeat monitor began to show distress, and Cari was passed out more
than she was awake, they knew their worst fears had come to pass.

Scaden’s
fear filled gaze met Randor's, and they both knew that the one contingency they
had hoped to never have to use, was their only way of saving Cari and the
little ones.

Randor
nodded at Scaden, knowing exactly what he had to do. Pulling a different cell
phone out of the emergency bag that held the equipment, he dialed the only
number on the phone.

“What is
wrong?”

“We’re
losing her and the babies. We need him now.” Randor answered the man on the
other end of the phone.

“We’ll get
him there. You guys try to do everything you can to get them to hold on. May the
All Father be with you, my friends.” The phone disconnected, and Randor sat
there in fear. Not only, for Cari and the girls, but for all of them if
anything went wrong getting help here.

*****

Amun got
the one call from Niklosi that he was afraid he would receive. Grabbing the
pack of supplies he had already assembled and hidden, just in case, he went and
got his two most trusted tech’s.

Walking to
the transport room, he took one look at the tech’s on duty, and they knew why
he was there. They had meticulously planned for this event, hoping they would
never have to try it.

As the
transport tech helped load them into the smallest and fastest transport in the
bay area on Adaria, he asked. “Will they be alright, sir?”

“I don’t
know, Matus, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure they are.”

“Give them
all our best wishes, Sir.” Ariki requested.

“I will.”
Amun responded as he closed the door behind him and prepared to launch.

*****

“Sir, there
has been an unapproved transport launch from Bay twenty-six!”

Councilor
Torenson looked at his personal security guard and nodded his head. He knew
that sooner or later the crew would make a mistake. It had taken a lot longer
than he expected.

The entire
crew had lied to him and Councilor’s, Macner and Lakatis from the second they
boarded the ship. And no matter how hard he had tried to break them, they
continued to tell them they had no idea where Scaden and Randor had taken Cari.

“Initiate
the protocols we discussed, let Councilor Macner know we are ready and have him
meet us at the designated transport.” Ivint ordered as he left the room
striding down the corridor to the transport bay.

He had
missed his son greatly, but his defiance against the Council and their orders
had left him no other choice but to follow this course of action.

Meeting
Duncar in the transport, they settled themselves in for the ride to the
strange, yet unique planet where his son was hiding with Duncar’s son Randor.

“Sir, it
was Amun and two Med-techs that left on the transport. The logs show that Amun
received a private comm from Balduen and Niklosi on the planet, and then he
left the ship.” A security tech informed him. 

“Maybe one
of them got hurt, and he’s going down to assist?” Duncar said hopefully to no
one in particular. As much as he wanted to see his son again, he didn’t want to
under these conditions. Right now, the most serious charges being leveled
against Randor and Scaden were treason, which was punishable by death. For this
reason, he hoped never to find them.

“If that
was the case, Amun would have notified us, as he was ordered to do before
leaving the ship. No, he is heading to our son’s and Cari. Is the tracking
beacon working?” Ivint asked the tech’s. He was glad he had the foresight to
have the tracking beacons installed on every transport on every ship in; they
brought, including all of those on the Adaria.

“Yes sir,
it's working fine. Their transport is much faster than ours, but we will only
be minutes behind them. The trajectory shows we are not heading to the location
of Niklosi and Balduen either, sir.”

Duncar and
Ivint glanced at each other, and braced themselves for the confrontation they
were about to have with their sons.

*****

Amun and
the tech’s ran into the door being held open for them by Randor. Not bothering
to look around at the strange dwelling, Amun headed straight for Cari, who was
laying in the middle of a floor, obviously passed out.

He
immediately set to work with his tech’s trying to determine why the life signs
of her, and the girls were fading. After what seemed like hours to Scaden and
Randor, but was only really a few minutes he sat back on his heels.

He directed
the tech’s while explaining what had gone wrong to Randor and Scaden.

“The babies
are a lot larger than expected, due to the Valendran cell structure. If it was
only one baby, this probably would have gone better. They are stuck and can’t
move into the birth canal properly. The stress and contractions have weakened
all three of them.” Amun grabbed items out of the tech's hands and began setting
up instruments around Cari.

“We’re
going to have to make an incision into her abdomen and remove the babies. It’s
the only chance they have.” He barely glanced up in time to see Randor and
Scaden nod their heads.

They had
read up on cesarean sections during her pregnancy, both hoping that they
wouldn’t have to worry about such a thing and that the birth would go well.

Once Amun
and the tech’s had everything set up, he applied the pain blocker to the lower
body and woke Cari.

“Amun…” She
said weakly as she opened her eyes.

“Well
hello, beautiful lady. Are you ready to hold your daughters?” He tried to smile
brightly, and not frighten her.

Randor and
Scaden each squeezed one of her hands gently, as she nodded her head. She knew
if they had called Amun, that her daughters were in danger. She could feel the
fear for them from all the men in the room. The silence of her daughters had
her very worried.

Amun began
making the incision into her abdomen when the front door burst open and began
filling with armed men. Scaden and Randor jumped up ready to do battle. Amun
only spared a glance to the men before continuing his work to save the babies
and Cari.

The men
parted as Councilor Ivint Torenson, Scaden’s father, and Councilor Duncar
Macner entered the room.

“Uh Sir… Amun
seems to be cutting her open, should we stop him?” One of the men immediately
asked, looking a little sick at what Amun was doing.

Ivint and
Duncar, tried to take in the scene as quickly as possible, but both could not
seem to remove their eyes from the woman’s hugely swollen stomach.

“Councilor,
I recommend your men stand down. If I do not help deliver your great-daughters,
they will die along with their mother.” Amun said angrily, not bothering to
look up from what he was doing.

Scaden and
Randor stood tensed, ready to do battle if they had to in order to protect Cari
and the babies. The entire room was tense; Ivint and Duncar continued to stare
at Amun and Cari’s stomach as if not believing their eyes, as were most of the
men in the room.

Hearing Cari’s
moan, both men dropped back to their knees and held her hands, trying to
comfort her as best they could.

Chapter Sixteen

Ivint had
no idea what to think. The scene before him so surreal he couldn’t look away as
he tried to comprehend what was happening. Amun had made a large incision in
the girl’s abdomen and was reaching inside of her.

He stood in
shock as Amun pulled a tiny little baby girl out of Cari’s stomach and handed
her immediately to a waiting Med-tech, issuing orders on how to care for the child.

He watched
as his son leaned down and lovingly kissed Cari’s forehead and smiled at her.
“It’s our Tessa baby. We should have known she’d be our first born.” Cari
laughed weakly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Randor
gently wiped the tears from her face and promised, “Amia will be fine to honey;
Amun is getting her now.”

When Ivint
saw Amun pull the second baby from her stomach, he staggered and almost fell.

“By the
One!”

“They were
telling the truth! There were two!”

Ivint tried
to process the words of his men, and what he had seen with his own eyes.
Looking at Duncar, he saw his shock mirrored in his eyes.

The men
they brought, surrounding them, crowding the small room, all began speaking at
once. He tried his best to pull himself together as two little cries were heard
and the entire room erupted in cheers and gasps of shock.

He watched
in amazement as Amun, and his tech’s worked on all three girls. They began stitching
the incision he made into Cari’s stomach, and cleaning and warming the two
babies. The happiness and fear in the room overwhelming him, leaving him
speechless.

The tech’s
handed the two bundled babies to Scaden and Cari, while Randor grabbed a pillow
from the nearby couch and placed it under Cari’s head. Ivint had never seen two
people smile brighter than his son and Cari as they held the two babies.

“Councilor
Torenson, would you like to hold your great-daughter? Her name is Amia. Scaden
is holding Tessa.” Cari asked him, holding the little-girl upwards for the room
to see clearly, as Scaden held up the child, she called Tessa.

“They are
exact!”

“How is it
possible?”

“How do
they know which is which?”

“Are they
even normal?”

The
questions being spoken by his men around the room, and Cari’s offer to hold the
child, after everything he had done to keep her and Scaden apart, broke him
from the shock he had been feeling.

“I want
every one of you to take up positions around the dwelling. You are to make sure
nothing dangerous or threatening comes close.” He ordered the closest man.
Grabbing another man he ordered, “You get on the transport Amun used to get
here, go back to the ship and get Councilor Lakatis, my mate and Randor’s
mother and bring them here now!”

“Sir, what
do I tell them when they ask why?” Ivint hesitated at the question while Randor,
Scaden and Cari looked at him expectantly and hopefully. He looked at two
identical, beautiful little faces peeking out of their blankets at him.

“Tell them
they need to come and bear witness to the miracle, my son and his mate have
given to us all.” He barely got the words out before he choked on a sob and
dropped to his knees next to Randor. He didn’t even notice when the room
cleared as he stared at the two little girls.

Scaden
handed Tessa to Randor and helped Cari up, so she could hand Amia to his
father. Ivint looked at his son questioningly, making sure it was ok for him to
hold the little girl; he accused them all of lying about.

“This is
Amia, Councilor Torenson. Uncle Randor is holding Tessa.” Cari told him softly
as she gently placed the tiny babe into his arms, the girl; he accused them all
of lying about. 

He stared
in shock and amazement at how tiny the little girl was and looking over at
Tessa in Randor’s arms he could not tell them apart. They truly were exact
copies of each other. Twins… he had never in all of his travels heard of such a
thing. How did they know them apart?

“How do you
know, which is which? They are exact.” He looked up as Cari, Scaden and Randor
all laughed.

“Sir, if
you look closely at Tessa, she has a small black beauty mark in the corner of
her right eye, and Amia has no such mark.” Cari smiled gently as Scaden’s
father looked in wonder from one baby to the next, finally seeing the
difference between the two. Little Amia felt so tiny in his arms; he had never
seen a babe so small and began to worry.

“Amun, are
they alright? Is Cari alright? They are so very small. Are they sickly?”

“Sir, they
are all perfectly healthy. Their size comes from several factors, one of which
being they are females. It’s been so long since we’ve had a girl child on our
planet, we have most likely forgotten that they are usually much smaller than
the males. And then there’s the fact that there were two of them growing in the
same space. They are a very good size all things considered and extremely
healthy.”

He moved
the blanket farther away from her face, freeing one of Amia’s hands. He sat
spell-bound as she wrapped a tiny little hand around his finger. He barely
noticed that Randor had handed Tessa to his father, and Duncar sat next to him just
as enthralled.

He couldn’t
seem to stop looking at both little girls. If he hadn’t seen them, both come
out of Cari with his own eyes, he wasn’t sure if he would have ever believed
this wasn’t a trick of some kind. Looking at his son lovingly trying to make
his mate comfortable made him feel guilty for not believing them.

“Son…”

“It’s ok
Father. As long as you and the Council don’t plan on taking my family from me,
all is forgiven.”

They spend
the next hour passing each of the babies around the room to each other,
including the security tech’s who remained inside to keep them safe. They all
had a laugh at the looks of panic on their faces, afraid they would somehow
break the tiny little girls.

By the time
Cari’s great-mother, Randor and Scaden’s mothers showed up, there wasn’t a face
in the room that wasn’t laughing or smiling at the precious little girls who
had charmed everyone.

It was
Ivint who laughed heartily while explaining to the women the trick to telling
the little ones apart. And chatted excitedly about the strong grip Amia had
when she had held his finger tightly in her tiny hand.

Scaden and
Cari just smiled at each other and everyone else and answered what seemed like
a million questions from everyone. When Cari began to slump against Scaden, he
knew she was too exhausted to stay up any longer.

“Amun, is
it ok to move her to our bed upstairs?” He didn't want to take a chance on
hurting her after all she’d been through. The room went silent while they all
waited anxiously to hear if she was alright.

“She needs
plenty of rest, but other than that she is fine and will heal well. I don’t
recommend she try any space flight for a while though. I want to make sure the
incision heals completely before we try anything that stressful on her body.”
Amun made sure that Ivint was looking at him when he said the last.

“I have no
intention of ordering anything that may harm my son’s mate or my
great-daughters. We will keep them safe here, for as long as we have to and
move only to Scaden’s ship when they are ready.”

“Let me get
Cari settled first. We have a lot to talk about Father. Mother, Councilor
Lakatis, can you help me settle the girls into bed after I get Cari
comfortable?”

“I would be
honored. And please, call me Mother Caretia.”

Cari gave a
small smile at her clan mother and Scaden’s mother as they followed them up to
the stairs to her and Scaden’s room. She kissed her little girls and Scaden,
before dropping into a deep sleep.

The women,
including Randor’s mother followed Scaden into the nursery next to where they
had put Cari and exclaimed over how beautiful the room looked. After tucking in
each of the girls, in the same crib for now, they couldn’t help but stare at
them in amazement while they slept.

Whispering
quietly to each other they chatted to each other about how perfect the little
ones were and how truly exact they looked. They never even noticed that Scaden
left them to head back downstairs.

Scaden
entered the living room, and found it cleaned up. He’d have never guessed that
his daughters had been born right here not hours ago.

“Randor
helped us figure out how to put the room back to rights. Duncar and I would
love to see these horse creatures that Randor said you’ve been working with.”
His father told him with a broad smile, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

Scaden
agreed to leave the house and his family, knowing that if anything happened,
one of the women would come running for them. The way they had doted over his
daughters and Cari had been wonderful. He had no doubt that one or all of them
would not be leaving his girls until they were well enough to travel.

He led his
father, Duncar, Amun and a dozen other men out to the stables to show them the
horses and explain as much as he could have of what he had learned, not only of
the planet, but of his girls. And Gibly, of course, he couldn’t leave out their
new friend.

As he
spoke, their expressions ranged from shock, to amazement, to total disbelief at
some points. However, he knew after everything was said, and with Randor there
to lend credibility to his words, that they believed him. The miracle of his
daughters was proof enough to any of them that anything was possible.

Come
morning, he knew everyone was getting hungry and since no one was inclined to
leave, Scaden and Randor set about making a huge meal for everyone. Steaks were
of course, being the main menu item.

*****

It had been
a week, and not one person had left the house to go back to the ships. Scaden’s
parents, Randor’s parents and Cari’s great-mother all stayed close to Cari and
the babies. Delighting in every smile the girls made, and exclaiming over every
move they made as if they had never seen a babe do the same thing before.

Scaden and
Cari laughed at the antics of the adults as much as at the antics of the
babies. They knew their girls delighted in charming everyone around them. Even
the normally stoic security techs would smile and coo at the little darlings
any time they were near them.

And the
girls couldn’t help but make sure the Council would do everything they could to
keep their friend Gibly and his kind safe.

Cari still
laughed at the shock on the faces of Scaden’s and Randor’s parents as well as
her Mother Caretia’s; when they came down to breakfast one morning and told
them about the girls taking them to see and speak with Gibly.

Each of
them spoke with disbelief until they began realizing that they all couldn’t
have heard and seen the same things as each other, if it had only been a dream.
When they realized it was all true, they were in even more awe of the girls and
their abilities.

And instead
of fearing them, their pride in their gifts had them constantly on the comm’s
bragging to anyone and everyone back on Valendra about how talented and amazing
the twins were.

And true to
his word to Tessa and Amia in the dream, Ivint sent orders back home that the
Sibiox was never to be harmed under any circumstances. He also ordered
observations of the animals to determine a way for them to communicate with the
intelligent creatures, without the assistance of his great-daughters, who were
far too young right now to help them learn how.

The days
had passed quickly and pleasantly, but they all knew the time was coming to
leave. The people in town were becoming a little suspicious about the amount of
food they had been getting almost daily in order to feed everyone. And they
knew that they couldn’t stay with this many people here, without someone coming
out to investigate.

They had
carefully chosen many of the security techs and brought them into town as
Randy
and
Scott’s
cousins, who were staying to help with the horses and land.
The townspeople accepted them as easily as they had Randor, Scaden and Cari,
and were thrilled when they started by cattle from them as well as horses.

Everyone
had loved the steaks and other food items so much, they agreed to raise the
cows in order to supplement the food supply on the ships. And it was always
nice when one of the crews, from one of the ships called down to thank them for
the wonderful food.

So it had
been agreed by all, that the ranch would be kept as a place for the little ones
to come to often as well as Cari, Scaden, Randor and their parents. A place for
all of them to learn about this world where more children like Cari would
hopefully be found, along with survivors of the outpost.

Even though
things had worked out so well for her new family, Cari couldn’t help but
continue to worry about Jess. She could only hope that they would find her
soon.

She
finished packing the clothes that Randor and Scaden had gotten Cari in town, after
the babies had been born. She was far too happy to wear her own clothes and not
the elegant dresses she had to wear the last time on the ship.