Copyright 2024 – Daemon D. Hart
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The Human Bearer
In the aftermath of the attack, the ship was livelier than usual, and Riordan knew that he would be no exception to the general rule. Xana had his council meetings to attend and learning more about what had happened from His Royal Chancellor, while Riordan had a bunch of friends to check on. One of the things Xana hadn't been able to tell him because of a lack of updates was the state of his homie Kyle, and that was the first thing Riordan wanted to see to because, otherwise, the people he cared about were out of danger, for the time being, at least.
As much as his usually paranoid mind wanted to pull him into the path of suspicious thoughts, he felt like the present was calmer than ever before. They must have got rid of those traitors after all, and the rest of them, if they still existed, were far away. Gamni Gafilos and Galatea had been sucked into space, and the ones on Tu'lek had been eliminated.
In other words, it was a great time to be alive, and Riordan had to admit that having such a light heart for a change, felt unfamiliar. One look at Junior, who still loved to be carried around by his parent, and the feeling grew more reassuring. His young one didn't look at all like he and the rest of the Xenos, Xenolites, lizard guards, and humans on the ship had been in a fight for their lives. There was still so much for him to learn about how the mind of young Xeno worked, because he couldn't quite wrap his head around how Junior appeared to be so unaffected by what had happened on Tu'lek only less than a month ago.
"I was in the fight, dada," Junior replied his unspoken question and pulled a handful of Riordan's curly hair to steady himself while leaning back to look at his parent.
"So your daddy told me. I was worried sick for you. You slipped from my arms so easily." His child could read his mind to some extent, but Riordan didn't feel uncomfortable with it anymore. Junior was strong, a Xenolite, and even his mind was different from that of a human child.
"I protect you," Junior said with pride.
The same thing those imaginary children had done for him and the ship. Wasn't it odd for parents to be in the care of their children? Sometimes, Riordan felt as if he were living in an upside down world.
"What's up and down in space?" Junior asked a question that seemed childish at first glance but was right on point and proved how sharp his intellect was.
"On most days, I wonder the same thing," Riordan replied. "Do you know where we're going?"
"To find Kyle," Junior replied promptly.
"Do you know him? You were in his care very little."
"I know Kyle. He gave me cookies, the same you like, when you weren't with me," Junior explained.
"He is not just a bot," Riordan said. "He is a friend."
"I know," Junior replied. "Dada's best friend."
"Yes." Riordan kissed his child's forehead and continued his walk down the long corridor. According to the information he got from Xana, Kyle or what was left of him had been deposited in one of the storage rooms until Marn had a chance to take a proper look at the bot. Due to the recent developments, repairing him must have dropped a few places on His Royal Chancellor's list of priorities.
Riordan had time on his hands. And he wanted to meet Cario and share everything with him, and he wanted to pay Florent a visit to see how the empath was faring, and he wanted to see Lewis and his husbands and his Xenolites, even check on Jasno to see if the guy was alright, after everything doll face had been through even if there was no lost love between them. But, right now, his number one priority was his friend Kyle.
"When can we go see Dario?" Junior asked.
"Soon," Riordan promised. "I have to check on Kyle because he has helped me so many times that I feel indebted to him."
"What does `indebted' mean?"
"That is when someone does more for you than you for them. You must repay the kindness they show you."
"Dario is indebted to me," Junior said with determination.
"How so?"
"He got scared and cried. I protected him." Junior was proud of his accomplishments, so Riordan placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
"During the fight, you mean?" Riordan still felt apprehensive and cautious about discussing such things with the Xenolite in his arms, because this species' attitude towards trauma was one of a kind. For certain, Junior didn't appear to be traumatized at all. Was it because these guys believed themselves invincible? It could be, but Riordan didn't want his and Xana's son to get blindly in the way of danger because of that.
"Yes. He is weak and gets scared often," Junior replied.
So, not all of them thought they were invincible. Riordan couldn't help but ponder over the obvious differences between Junior and little Dario. Dario was older than Junior by several months, and yet he showed a different sort of emotional evolution. Could it be that the human influence in his development while still an egg was responsible for that? But Cario, the boy's parent, was courageous, too. Of course, not in the same manner Xenos were, as if the sky could fall and nothing would hurt them, but his strength was real.
"Then you must take care of him," Riordan said.
"I will," Junior promised.
The lab where Kyle's remains were seemed to have been subjected to a storm or an earthquake. There were pieces of other bots that must have been destroyed during the attack spread on tables, chairs, even the floor. Riordan had to be careful where he stepped so that he didn't lose his balance.
There was no mistaking where Kyle was, though. Riordan knew that he would recognize his old friend from a thousand. It mattered that Marn's latest upgrades were in full display, in the sense that the weapons Kyle had been stacked with poured out of his damaged frame.
"I know you're a warrior, Junior, but how about helping dada put Kyle together?"
"You can do that?" Junior's eyes grew wide, making Riordan's heart fill with pride and delight at being looked at like that.
"I can try."
"What was your coat on Earth, dada?"
Riordan barely kept in a snort. "Street punk." Damn, he shouldn't have said that, because Junior would just have so many other questions now.
"Can I be a street punk?"
"I'd rather you don't think of that as a career choice."
"But you're brave, dada. You weren't scared of those when I was."
Junior was talking about his brothers and sisters, and the way he had seen them in the pond. Riordan let his boy slip out of his arms and began cleaning a chair so that he could sit while examining the state Kyle was in.
"Trust me, baby, when I tell you that I have no idea how to explain your brothers and sisters to you."
"They weren't real," Junior said and shook his head. He didn't seem as shaken as that time talking about it, and he grabbed one bot arm with both hands to examine it. His mind was already on other things, and Riordan believed that the boy would love all his siblings once they became real and truly his brothers and sisters.
Riordan pulled up the now empty chair and set to work. He didn't nurture any false hope that he'd be able to succeed where brighter minds had failed, but he knew Kyle, and, as they said on Earth, he knew what made the bot tick. Literally tick, he thought as he picked the chip that represented, for lack of any other comparison, Kyle's heart.
"We will have to come back tomorrow," Riordan said as the frustration finally got the better of him. The main components that made Kyle what he was had been damaged to such an extent that it made Riordan wonder if he hadn't thought himself better than he was at repairing things. This was superior technology to whatever he had got his hands on while still on Earth, but he hadn't had such troubles before when fiddling with Kyle's circuits. After all, plenty of Xeno technology had ended on the streets on Earth during the time after the snakemen's victory over the blue planet, and that was how Riordan knew a thing or two about it.
That thing or two, however, wasn't enough. Not when the damage was so extensive. He hated to give up, and he wasn't. Only that he needed professional help, so he'd have to ask Xana about introducing him to an engineer on the ship. Or he could talk to Marn, but he still had his hang-ups about getting in touch with His Royal Chancellor. That talk would have to wait until he was no longer in the mood to punch Marn again.
"He is a thing made up of things," Junior recited. "You can just replace the things that are broken."
Something of how Junior said that sent a ripple through Riordan's brain that was gone as soon as it happened.
"Well, we could, but Kyle is special, and if we replace his memory cards with just any other pieces, that would make him not Kyle," he explained it in a way that he hoped Junior would understand.
He had to commend his boy for being patient while his parent had fiddled with machinery he didn't completely understand, without making a fuss or getting bored. On the contrary, Junior had proven to be the perfect little assistant, handing him the tools he requested and watching over his shoulder with great curiosity.
"I will have to ask for a second opinion on the matter and see if there's an engineer the ship can spare," he said as he got up and stretched, working a kink in his neck. "Let's go see your friend Dario and his dada," he added and opened his arms for Junior to curl against his chest like usual.
To his surprise, Junior shook his head. "I can do it on my own."
"But I carried you here," Riordan reminded him with a small smile.
Junior seemed set on his decision. "No, I am big enough now."
Ah, so his Xenolite wanted to show his friend Dario how strong and big he was. Riordan shrugged. After all, they did grow up so fast, and he needed to get used to it.
"We've spent quite some time here. Are you hungry?" The lab was as good a place as any to breastfeed Junior, but, again, his offer met another shake of the head.
"Can we have ice cream?" Junior asked.
Riordan laughed. "We'll see if Cario's bot can make it once we get there."
"It can," Junior said, talking like he knew what he was saying.
Now, Riordan had an inkling that Cario must have spoiled his boy rotten while he'd been away, lost in space or who knew where. Since Cario was so kind, that wasn't that big a surprise. Also, since Xenolites were so much stronger than human babies, he doubted that too much ice cream would be a problem for them. The only danger there was overindulging and having their way whenever they wanted, but even about that, Riordan had his doubts. After all, before having a baby with his dear alien husband, he had known jackshit about parenting.
"Jackshit," Junior repeated out loud and snickered like a naughty boy.
Riordan tsked to show his displeasure. "Sometimes, dada uses really weird words in his head. You don't have to repeat them."
"Why?"
"Because they're ugly words."
"Why?"
"Really? Are we doing this now? Here's your answer, you little punk. Because I say so."
Junior giggled as if tickled. "I'm a punk like you, dada."
"You sure are," Riordan confirmed. "I get that you don't want me to carry you, but how about holding hands?"
"Yes," Junior offered with generosity and took Riordan's stretched hand into his smaller one.
He had expected at least a few whispers around corners from people he hardly knew, but all he got were nods of the head and greetings infused with respect as he walked towards Cario's quarters. Had his absence of three weeks been explained to the others, or had it been just the type of detail not many thought about while piecing their lives together after the gruesome battle? Riordan could still see that story in the scratches on the walls, and a few stains now and then that nothing had been able to remove completely. He hadn't asked Xana about the extent of their losses and wondered whether his slight hesitations while the Xeno deity had tried to convince him to use his powers and his children to protect the ship hadn't played a major role in that.
A sigh left his lips, and he continued. And he had the nerve to question Marn when who knew how many had given their lives on these corridors. He felt ashamed too, although he couldn't very well split himself between what he believed to be his righteous anger at having been used, along with Xana, in Marn's experiment, and how he actually thought about things from a different perspective now.
He hurried, pulling Junior along, although there was barely any need for that. Because of his tail and how fast he could move, Junior made him realize that it was his child holding back to fall in step with him, and not the other way around. The fact that Junior still liked to be carried in his dada's arms, at least now and then, showed that it was a bond, an act of love behind it, not an actual necessity.
For all this, he felt the righteousness of his anger slipping away. After all, he and Xana would have those kids with them. Nothing was lost.
The moment the doors to Cario's quarters opened, their owner rushed through and threw himself at Riordan, wrapping his arms tightly around his visitor. Riordan had to lean back under the weight, but he didn't mind it at all. His heart only filled with fondness and vibrated in synch with the tremble in Cario's body.
"You're alive, Riordan," Cario said, his voice full of wonder and astonished happiness.
"I'm glad you're well, too," Riordan said and hugged Cario back to give him the assurance the guy seemed to need. "Thank you for taking care of Junior while I was away."
"You don't have to mention it, really. Where have you been? How did you survive?"
Riordan wondered briefly whether he was supposed to share his strange adventures with his friends and decided that it was his right, after all. Also, Marn hadn't exactly forbidden him to talk about these things.
"Trust me, you won't believe it."
"Come, come," Cario urged him while grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.
Junior seemed familiar enough with the place because he slithered his way in without any invitation. His interest was direct, in the sense that he hurried towards his friend, who was curled on the bed, having in front of him a tray with what looked like Earth-inspired foods.
"Don't gobble all the ice cream by yourself," Riordan warned his little one.
Junior only nodded shortly, paying him little attention. He was too busy wrapping his arms around Dario and kissing his cheek. They had to be communicating in their own way, but Riordan chose not to pry into their conversation. At the same time, Cario was pulling him towards the opposite corner so that they could have an adult conversation without letting the little ones eavesdrop on it.
Dario wasn't like Junior. He had been shaken by the attack in ways that Junior hadn't been. That was something that required proper consideration and Riordan wanted to offer his friend all the help he could give, although heart-to-heart talks weren't exactly his forte. For the sake of a dear friend like Cario, he would give his best shot.
"How are you?" he asked.
Cario was a master of composure, but now he looked a bit disheveled and not his usual self. "I asked first," he said with a small nervous laugh.
"I have a feeling my story can wait. What's up, man? You're a bit spooked. Because of me? `Cause that would make sense, but something tells me that's not it."
Cario hesitated for a moment and stole a quick look at his son, offering an assuring smile that wasn't quite his usual.
"Your husband's on the mend, I heard," Riordan added.
"Yes, he is," Cario admitted and his face turned sad.
Riordan hesitated but he took Cario's right hand in his. "I'm not some great empath like Florent, but I can tell you're anxious for some reason. What's going on?"
"Dario," Cario started. "It's about him. I don't know how to start."
"With the beginning, but whatever point you choose is fine," Riordan joked, hoping to ease his friend's anxiety a little.
Cario rubbed his forehead and then gave Riordan a long look as if he was trying to figure out something. "Have you heard of many empaths, Riordan?"
"Is that a trick question? I think humans have the potential for it, at least that's what I've heard until now. Florent is exceptional in that regard, and I think you have that a bit, just like me, because, you know, we got better fast at the mindreading Xenos are known for. Compared to others, at least. Why are you asking me this?"
Cario worried his bottom lip and then blinked a few times. "But have you heard of a Xeno empath?"
Riordan shook his head slowly. "Isn't that redundant in their case? I mean, they're all mindreaders."
"Yes, yes," Cario confirmed hurriedly, "but they aren't called empaths for it. Because it's an analytical, logical thing for them. They don't feel others' pain or any other emotion when they pick someone's brain."
"Okay, I agree with you," Riordan said, still at a loss where his friend was going with this conversation. "What's going on? Have you met a Xeno empath?"
"You can say that," Cario replied and turned his head to look at his son again, a glance that talked of worry and love at the same time. "I think Dario is one."
tbc
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