Page 27 of LeX

“Thankyou,ANDI.Youhave been a great help as always.Theinformation you were able to acquire in all your years onEarthhas now become priceless.”

“Iam glad to be of service,MedicLeX.Weare nearing their new planet, andIwill temporarily be out of range for the rest of the rotation.DestinyandIboth seem to be streaking through the stars on opposite sides of this solar system.Ifmy calculations are correct, you should be able to seeDarveriusandFalcorwithin the next rising.SafetravelsMedicLeXand take care of myLittleSpaceParticle.”Witha bow, he disappears.

Eventhough allIwant to do is reach back out toRylie,Iturn away from her bed and head for the main communicator.Ineed to make sure thatSCOUThas notified them of our incoming medical needs.QuickerthanIthought, my big brother’s massive face appears on the screen. “SoL, you big lug, how are you?”

“Goodrising,LeX.Lifeis treating me well, how has your trip been?SCOUTrecently updated me on all that has occurred while you have been gone.Youguys were being held in the hand of theLordofLightwhile in thatNebula.”

“Weare blessed to be returning, that’s for sure.Howis your lovely mate?Ido not see her in her usual location.Hasshe finally figured out there are other chairs in the command center more comfortable than your lap?”Alana’sbeautiful face appears on the screen.

“NopeLeX,I’mstill here!Ofcourse, you would comm right whenIstep out for a few.Youare still just as pretty as ever.Oneof these daysI’mgoing to dye my hair that exact same color.”

Growlingplayfully behind her,SoLhas me smiling as she loves to tease him. “Alana, you are beautiful just the way you are, and it feels as ifIhave been away from you all forever.Simplybeing able to comm you is such a relief.DidSCOUTtell you guys that we are in need of the med chamber?”

“Hedid, but we didn’t realize you were so close until earlier this rising.TheDestroyeris making some serious time as she heads our way.”

“Thisship is remarkable, and a true asset to our fleet for sure.Herthick hull and integrated system saved all our lives many times over.Andin the meantime, she has become quite smitten with ourANDI.”

AlanaandSoL’slaughter lightens my heart and gives me hope that one dayIwill be holding my own mate in a similar way, discussing things with others.

“Brother, theExplorerhas been drydocked for several lunar rotations after a mechanical flaw in her main thruster almost cost us the ship and her crew.Luckily, she was able to detect the problem and shut down before it caused any true harm, but we had to tow her back toFalcor.”

“Isthe medical chamber functioning,SoL?Embercannot be brought out of stasis until her body is healed fully.Theyoungling did a number on her insides.”Alanainstantly butts in.

“Youngling?Whatare you talking aboutLeX?Noone told me about a little one.SoLdid you know about this?”

ThelookIsee onSoLis a male caught. “Alana, it must have slipped my mind.”

“Whatthe hell ever,SoL. …LeX,I’mso extremely grateful you all are returning safely.”Ibecome worried when she wipes a stray tear off her face. “I’msorryLeX, we’ll talk more when you get here.”Shepushes herself offSoL’slap andIwatch from this side of the screen as his eyes follow her out the command center’s door.

“SoLforgive me, butIam at a loss as to what just happened.”

“It’san ongoing argument.Shewants a youngling.”

“Ido not see the problem.Youare the favoriteUnkaafter all, so we all know how you love the younglings.Ifigured you would have a whole slew of them running aroundFalcorby now.”

“Haveyou seen how largeIam?”

“Hardto miss,SoL.”

“Thenyou see the problem.Sheis so small, andIwill not take the chance of losing her.Iwould rather argue until the end of time than be the cause of why she is no longer with me.Allyou have to do is look atEmberand the condition she is in to understand my worries are sound.Icannot and will not put her through that no matter how much she begs me.That’sthe reasonIdidn’t tell her.Iknew what her reaction was going to be.”

“Ember’scase as well as every one of our mate’s circumstances is differentSoL.Alana’sbody changed; she is more like you than you realize.Thereare so many ways we can help her through pregnancy.Evenif the child must be taken early, we have the means for both of them to survive.Youcannot base your andAlana’ssize differences as the main decision factor.Iunderstand your fears, but you both would make fabulous parents.”

“SCOUTalso has tried to reassure me.Especiallywhen she didn’t talk to me for rotations after she found out thatZurais also pregnant.Theonly thing that has made that slightly better is knowingZurawill be carrying the youngling for quite a while.Withmy mixed heritage,Ihave no idea the amount of timeAlanawould be pregnant.Thereare just too many unanswered questions, andIam not willing to sacrifice her health or life.”

“Iam assuming you have spoken these words to her?”

“Manytimes.”

“Letme speak to her when we arrive, andIwill see if we can answer some of the questions bothering you both.AllIask is that you be open-minded.Ifthis is something she wants passionately, and you don’t at least try, she may never forgive youSoL, and you could lose her either way, big brother.Iknow you are itching to go after her, but before you go, will the med chamber be functional when we dock?”

“Yes,Ihad the maintenance bots reroute the main wiring to be separate from the rest of theExplorerand they finished it early this rising.Wewill be awaiting your arrival to help transferEmberfrom theDestroyerto theExplorer.HowisViNunder the circumstances?Ican’t wait to tease him about this.”

“Hewas managing fine last rising, butIhave not spoken to him yet this one.Youknow he is not one to lounge around if he thinks there is a problem, so that fact that he is not in medical as we speak is a good sign.Heneeds to sustain the youngling as long as possible, and if my calculations are correct, that may not be as long asIoriginally thought.Embercarried her almost to term; that little human there is one strong soul.Noneof us had any idea the amount of pain she was hiding until we took the youngling.Iwill discuss this more with you when we dock as we have much to catch up on.Goon and sweet talk your mate,SoL.Strengthand honor, brother.”

SoLnods his head, and the screen goes blank, asIjust sit here wondering, what now?

Chapter Sixteen

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