Copyright 2024 – Daemon D. Hart
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The Human Bearer
Xeus was in their shared quarters, holding Junior in his lap and having, apparently, a tense conversation mind to mind, by how neither of them turned to greet him upon his arrival. Riordan watched for about a minute, hoping that he would eventually get noticed, but it looked like there was no chance of that.
"Are you scolding Junior for something?" Riordan eventually asked. "He looks like he's about to cry." He wasn't just saying that; the Xenolite's bottom lip quivered and he was staring at his grandpa from underneath his dark eyebrows that so uncannily resembled Riordan's. It was still hard to wrap his head around how much Junior looked like him, even if he had the flawless white skin of all Xenos and clearly inherited Xana's facial features.
"You are wrong. He doesn't cry," Xeus said. "He is simply stubborn and angry. Traits that are common to the Xeno race."
"Care to tell me what this is about?" Riordan itched to ask Junior directly about the reason for being so upset, but he had an inkling that some of that stubbornness and anger might just get directed at him, and he was a chicken when it came to stuff like that.
"He wants to have legs. Like you," Xeus said. "Did you put such ideas into his head? He's spending too much time with you."
Riordan groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. Then, he pinched the bridge of his nose and took one deep breath. "First of all, dad," he said, emphasizing the last word, "Junior here is a tiny thing still and he needs his mommy. Second of all, he is smart and a smartass on top of it all. If he wants legs, it's because he got it into his head. I didn't force my Earthian views about how many limbs he should have on him if that's your chief concern."
Xeus gave him a long critical stare and pursed his lips. "I was afraid this would start to happen. You're weakening our race."
"Well, I think His Excellency begs to differ," Riordan replied calmly. "He seems to hold us, human bearers, in high regard, and he wants us to start pumping out babies like on a conveyor belt. By the way, what's your two cents on that?" He wanted to steer the conversation off so that he didn't have to defend Junior's evident love for his mommy. Xeus was a stubborn mofo, and he shouldn't have been so surprised that his son's progeny took after him so well.
Xeus got up, placing Junior down on the bed with what seemed like too brusque a manner. Riordan frowned, but it looked like the little one was happy to have escaped his grandpa's scrutiny and now slithered his way towards the water tank. It was clear as day that he intended to ignore the adults in the room as he turned his back to them and saw about his swimming around and games.
"Xeus," Riordan began and then reminded himself that he was supposed to have this guy on his side. "Father, things are changing. I know that you might not like it, but don't you trust His Royal Chancellor? He knows what he's doing. And he likes what he sees in humans, as a species. Get to know us a little bit more. You might like us, too, who knows?"
"I like your kind just fine," Xeus said. Like Marn before, he was suspiciously close, and Riordan had to lean his head back to keep eye contact. The snakeman's eyes were deep pools of green, and he felt dizzy for a moment. Could they hypnotize you if they wanted? Most likely. He didn't want to learn what that felt like. So he chose to be the one to break away from that steady, searching gaze.
He made a move to go past his daddy-in-law and see about other things, but he was barred from doing so by a strong arm. Xeus's was so big it scared him to look at that muscular body from up close. Xana was far more delicate by comparison. Maybe he took more after his mom, or maybe he was still too young compared to his sire. Xenos had to be growing until way into their older years, so maybe that was it.
"You see, Riordan," Xeus said in a deep thick voice, "there is something about your race that makes you irresistible to us, and I call that weakness. I do not like it. We have always marched forward, using the species we discovered in our wake to incubate our eggs for us. And every time, we chose the strongest individuals so that we would strengthen our genetic makeup. Your influence is too great. We have no control over it, as we have no control over his unfathomable desire and hunger you wake up in us."
"That's hardly our fault," Riordan said quietly, not moving a muscle. He didn't exactly want to make that unfathomable desire appear in General Lei's usually cold eyes. "I guess the die is cast. Now we have to wait and see how the babies will turn out. I'd say that so far, so good. Unless," he added and raised his eyes to meet Xeus's gaze again, "you know that somehow our genes influence yours so badly that--" He stopped abruptly. He looked at the young Xenolite, frolicking happily and without a worry in the huge tank at the end of the room and felt a chill running down his spine. "It's not making them prone to crippling diseases or something, right?"
"No. They are stronger in some ways. Weaker in others. But there's a certain quantity of unpredictability that we dislike."
"And by `we', you mean Marn and you? Or are there others?"
Xeus didn't reply or correct him about how to address His Royal Chancellor. It looked like the conversation was over. This time, it was Riordan who didn't want it to end so soon. He caught his father-in-law by the elbow.
"Why was Xana sad? Junior mentioned it."
"Yes, I heard him as well. I was there," Xeus reminded him. "My son appears to be affected by this weakness you humans spread around, which is disconcerting seeing how he didn't spend time inside your womb like a Xenolite."
Riordan felt it on the tip of his tongue, a not-so-nice remark about how much time Xana spent there, cock and tail, but decided against it. "Could you tell why he was sad?"
"Yes. For having abandoned his son, or so he believes. He ignores how impossible the situation was at the moment and that he had no choice."
Riordan felt some anger of his own bubbling to reach the surface. "He did, actually, and made a choice. He came for Junior on Gamni Gafilos's ship and he fought him to save us."
"As you did. With no chances of success. Only with the thought of self-destruction. If I hadn't come, you would have all been dead."
Riordan stood as tall as he could. "That was no thought of self-destruction. It was a proof of love. Yes, that strange Earthian concept you all despise. I will soothe Xana's sadness if that's the root of it. He showed his son how much he loved him."
"By fighting a battle he couldn't win?"
"Exactly."
He hated that Xeus was right, that if he hadn't come when the situation was at its direst point, neither of them would be here, on Tu'lek, alive and well. But he didn't hate the Xeno for it. Unlike this stubborn species, he made some room for understanding them.
"I'm going to be forever grateful to you for doing what you did, no matter how or what you think of it. And I think you Xenos love in your own way, only that you haven't found the time to give this thing you feel a proper name."
Xeus surprised him by leaning over and brushing his lips against Riordan's forehead for a moment.
"Make Junior understand that he can't have legs," Xeus said. "It is not healthy for a Xeno to wish for things that aren't in his power."
Riordan wished he knew more about that and what it meant, but Xeus was already out of the room. He turned his attention to Junior. Not only for Xeus's sake, he would talk to his smart Xenolite about the differences between humans and Xenos. Apparently, with this race, there was no such thing as being too young to start learning about the heavy stuff.
Seeing how the ship's leaders decided that there was no traitor on the loose, and Kyle's guess on a third Xeno that might be against the current status quo had been deemed as unreliable by the powers that be, Riordan took it upon himself to start roaming the corridors of Tu'lek how he had used to. Also, staying cooped up indoors with only Junior as company was bound to make him go a bit nuts after a while. Apparently, adults needed other adults' company from time to time, and therefore he sought that of the closest friend he had at the moment, seeing how his old homie Kyle had such an important status now. Now that was something that made him glad, to see his bot getting the recognition he deserved. Even if the rational part of his brain told him that a bot couldn't exactly `feel' accomplishment the way a living and breathing creature could, he was still happy for that piece of machinery he had come to consider an ally and a friend.
Cario had to learn about the big news and why not hear it from him first? Without a doubt, Marn would let him know once he established everything needed for the first crèche to happen, but Riordan liked giving good news lately. With everything that had happened on the ship and outside of it, good news was a precious commodity.
He was bouncing Junior up and down as he walked down the corridor where Cario's quarters were, and the Xenolite appeared to appreciate it because he was laughing and throwing his head back. His hair was already so long, and Riordan wondered if they needed to adjust its length. He couldn't recall Xana ever cutting his hair, and other Xenos seemed to lack the need for a hairstylist, as well.
"We're going to see Dario. How do you like that?" he asked Junior while smiling back at him.
"Dario," Junior said with enthusiasm.
"Play nice with him, and don't scare him, okay? You're bigger than him."
Junior appeared to take that as a praise. He didn't say it, and he didn't communicate it telepathically either. As far as mommy was concerned, he very much preferred regular, human speech. In a way, Riordan appreciated it because it served him better to keep his image of Junior as a toddler. Hearing him in his brain asking complicated questions or issuing demands such as wanting to have legs would surely make things more difficult.
There was some noise down the hallway, and Riordan stopped abruptly. A group of bearers followed by bots blocked the view, but it sounded to him like a fight was taking place. Junior tensed in his arms and strained his neck as if he could see over the heads of those crowding at the end of the corridor.
A pair of lizard guards ran past him.
"What's going on?" Riordan asked and stopped, although Junior was becoming restless in his arms.
No one replied back. The smartest thing to do was go back to his quarters. His curiosity had no room here, as he needed to protect Junior in case something nefarious was at work. However, as he tried to turn, a wave of more guards began pushing him towards the crowd.
"Hey," he shouted and struggled to get through.
Junior moved so brusquely that Riordan lost his balance. One moment, the Xenolite was in his arms, the next, he was no longer there. Riordan felt his heart stopping for a moment and looked around. He saw Junior slithering over the shoulders of the guards towards the source of the noise.
"Junior!" he shouted.
He pushed bodies out of the way, trying to get to the naughty child, but he was so fast that Riordan lost him out of his sight. In his desperation, he didn't care that he was punching and kicking left and right. When he got hit in the face by one guard, he stumbled and the only reason why he remained standing was because there were so many others around, holding him, whether they wanted it or not.
Riordan shook his head and continued to force his way through, holding one arm up to guard his face. What the hell was going on?
"Junior!" he continued to shout.
He had no idea how, but he was suddenly in the front line of the audience. Before his eyes, two adult Xenos were writhing on the floor, engaged in a silent battle. They were hissing at each other and trying to bite, while their long tails twisted and jerked.
And the entire circle around them was first and foremost made out of small Xenolites, most likely escaped from their human parents' arms. They were keeping the distance, but they looked excited for the fight. The air was buzzing with their telepathic conversations, apart from the shouts of their alarmed parents. Riordan couldn't tell how that happened as Xenos were completely silent when they used their native way of communicating, but he was aware of it, not as much as a clear sound, but as a vibration in the air.
"Junior!" he shouted, ignoring the fight between the two adult Xenos. Whatever was that those two needed to fight for, they should have taken it behind closed doors.
Finally, he spotted the dark head. It was a blessing to have a child that looked so unlike the others because it made it easier for his parent to find him in that sea of blond hair.
Riordan ran towards his son and grabbed him quickly. Junior seemed surprised to having been pulled from what must have seemed like a pretty excited thing to him.
"That's it," Riordan said. "Young fellow, you're grounded!"
Junior struggled to get away from him, but Riordan was ready this time around. He pushed his way through, with one shoulder forward, murmuring apologies to bearers and guards alike. Whatever that was, he needed to extract Junior from there and fast.
"Dada!" Junior cried out reproachfully.
"Don't you `dada' me," Riordan said through his teeth.
Cold sweat had already pooled at the small of his back, and going through that crowd was getting harder and harder. Confusion ran rampart, and it looked like no one understood that the corridor was way too cramped to accommodate so many bodies.
He ended up pushing his way through until he reached one wall. That didn't make things easier. Riordan groaned in pain as his shoulder was pressed against the metal paneling. Why the hell weren't they breaking those two up already? And why weren't any Xenos with their heads on their shoulders already at the scene? He really needed to learn from Ferix how to send a distress signal to Xana, Xeus, or Marn, when such things happened.
The wall opened suddenly and he found himself falling. He didn't have time to react as someone caught him and pulled him inside. When he found himself face to face with Cario, he realized that he must have ended up by the guy's doors.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked. "And how--"
Cario pressed a finger to his lips and then glued his ear to the door. Riordan waited, holding Junior tightly in his arms, pressing his head against his chest.
Eventually, Cario gave up on listening in and turned towards him. "I heard your distress call when you were by my door."
Right, Cario had his own telepathic gifts, even if he considered them weak.
"I'm glad you did. Do you have any idea what that fight is all about? And why do our Xenolites react like this?"
Cario sighed wearily and made a gesture at the water tank where little Dario was. He wasn't playing and lay curled at the bottom, his arms crossed. He was frowning so much his little face looked pinched in the middle.
"I apologize for being less than ready for receiving guests. We just had a big fight," Cario explained.
"I had to chase Junior all over the corridor," Riordan explained. Since Junior struggled to get free, he let him. The Xenolite went directly for the water tank and dove in it with a splash.
Great, now there were two small pinched faces judging him and Cario from behind the glass.
"I was coming to tell you the big news," Riordan said as he accepted the invitation from Cario to take a seat. "Marn gave the greenlight for the crèche, although he warned me that these little punks tend to get quite violent in their efforts to assert themselves. Therefore, he advises to work with small groups at first."
"Thank you," Cario said and held one hand on Riordan's arm. He looked a bit spooked, his usually serene demeanor gone. "Although I must admit that I had no idea I would have such a hard time controlling my boy. We've had our little battles of wills until now, but this is beyond wild. As the noise outside broke, Dario went completely mad. He wanted to go out and see. I'm not used to being in the dark, so this time, it's my turn to ask you what you saw out there." He threw an unsettled look at the doors, as if he wanted to make sure that they weren't going to open and let whatever danger lay on the other side get in.
"All I can tell you is that two Xenos are at the end of the corridor engaged in a big fight, and that about a dozen or so of Xenolites got there to witness the freaking MMA match," Riordan said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Clearly, the bearers in charge of them couldn't control them, no matter how much they tried. Then, a bunch of guards hurried to the place of the incident, so you have two fighting Xenos, a bunch of bearers and their kids, their bots, and an entire platoon of lizard guards crowding in that cramped corridor. Thank you for saving us. I was afraid we would get crushed."
"Happy to help," Cario murmured as he threw scared looks at the door. "Why would they fight? Did you notice anything about them? Do you know them?"
Riordan shrugged. "I was too busy chasing my punk ass child down. He's never been so misbehaving. It's like he couldn't miss that fight for the world."
"Dario kept telling me that he needed to see it," Cario explained. "And he was so agitated that I had to threaten him that I would tell on him to his father. I never do that, just for the record. I'm always on his side, but this time, he really got on my nerves."
Riordan could tell Cario felt apologetic towards his Xenolite for berating him, but this was one of those times when even the most doting parents had to put the foot down.
Both he and Cario jumped when the doors opened. Then Cario sighed in relief when a big Xeno came in. Riordan couldn't tell he remembered Drato Menor from the time when he had witnessed Cario giving birth, but it had to be him by how his bearer hurried to welcome him.
He looked away as the Xeno wrapped one arm around Cario's shoulders and kissed him on the lips.
"Drato, what's happening?" Cario asked as soon as he was allowed to breathe.
The Xeno looked over at Riordan. "Riordan Lei," he said. "I see that you two managed to keep the boys in here. Good. I commend your choice."
"Hi," Riordan said. "And thanks, I guess, although it was more an imperative than a choice. What happens out there?"
Drato frowned for a moment. "The inevitable," he said and added nothing.
tbc
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