Neutral Space(49)

“Jackson, there’s three of them.”

“Three?” I swallowed.

“Kelsairans release several eggs at once to compensate for low male fertility. I guess humans are more fertile than Kelsairans.”

“Did you say three?” I was in shock.

“Now you’re mad.” She buried her head in my chest.

“No, I’m concerned there’s a difference.” I rubbed her back.

“How long do we have before they’re born?”

“Kelsairan children carry for 8 months, but Sarah said humans are almost ten sometimes. So I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d go with the lower end and say seven months.”

“Wait, seven? Kheda, you had your courses last cycle.”

“I know, that’s why I couldn’t believe it was true. Yet, I have all the symptoms, and the bio-scanners confirm it.”

“You checked while I was sleeping, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to worry you needlessly.”

“Come on, let’s go back to the ship. I want to see them.”

Kheda smiled at me. “Look at you. You’re happy.”

“Shouldn’t I be? I’m going to be a father. And these children will have the most beautiful mother ever.”

“I’m telling Saleena.”

We weren’t sure exactly what was going to happen as her pregnancy progressed, so I decided to put in a call to Jeannie. She was absolutely going to love this. I set up a secure channel and hoped she was working. She came up on the monitor and looked really unhappy about being disturbed until she saw it was me.

“Jackson this is a surprise. What’s so urgent that you risked calling me? You’re not in trouble, are you? No one is supposed to know about that base.” She rambled on worried.

“Jeannie, I’m fine.”

“Oh well. How’s the research coming?”

“Well enough,” Stephen walked into her workroom and said hello. “I see things worked out for you two.”

Stephen grinned and rubbed Jeannie’s shoulder. “So what’s up Jackson?”

“I need a personal favor.”

Jeannie sighed. “I don’t like it when you get that tone.”

“I need more info, but it’s for private use.” I wanted Stephen to leave, but he wasn’t getting the hint.

“For goodness sake, Jackson; I’m pregnant, not inflicted with a disease.” Kheda pushed me out of the way and sat down. Jeannie was howling with laughter now. “She would have told him anyway.” Kheda turned back to the monitor. “Jeannie, we don’t know what’s going to happen. This wasn’t exactly planned.”

“All right, Kheda, for you, I’ll do it. Good job, Jackson.” Jeannie glanced up as she ran a search. “The information isn’t that uncommon. You just have to know where to look. I’m sending it over now. Jackson stop worrying; you’ll work it out.”

“Thanks, Jeannie.” I smiled.

“And Jackson, congratulations. I’ll get word to your folks. I hear Sirus Seven is nice this time of year.” Jeannie cut off the transmission, and the monitors displayed the files she sent. I downloaded them to a pad for Kheda.

“Jeannie’s right, stop worrying.”

“Kheda, now I’ll have four to look after.”

“No, we’ll have three to look after. Go back to work I’ll make you something to eat. Then you have a wife to entertain.” I looked at her unsure, but she held up the pad. She’d pour through it to find out exactly what we could and could not do as well as how her pregnancy would progress.

We hadn’t been together for nearly a week since she found out unsure if we should. Although she hadn’t really wanted to be either. I returned to my work trying to keep my mind off other matters. When she came in that evening to get me for bed, wearing only a pair of black lace panties, I figured she’d found her answers.

Almost a month later, Kheda woke me early in the morning with cramps. She was uncomfortable and didn’t think it was a big deal but had me get her pad just to be sure. She got halfway through a paragraph and freaked out. She yelled at me to get a medkit, and I went running. She threw the contents on the bed and couldn’t find what she wanted. She started to cry. I pulled her in close and read her pad over her shoulder.

The cramps could mean she was losing the children and an injection of some Kelsairan drug could save them. But, we didn’t have it. Both were possibilities, even if one were happening, the other might not stop it. She was crying uncontrollably, nonetheless. I carried her up to the ship and activated the bio-scanners. We’d lost one. I started crying just as hard as she was. After several minutes I finally got control.

“Make a list of everything you’re going to need.”

“Jackson, you can’t. We barely escaped the last trade ship.” She was worried.

“Kheda I have to. We still have two left. I don’t want to lose them too.”

“Jackson,” she started but finally nodded. She knew I was going to do this, no matter what she said. “Will you at least go in disguise?”

“Anything to come back to you.”

So, two days later, I found myself as a Ceron stepping onto another trade ship. Three Kelsairans talked a fair bit but never bothered to actually start any trouble. You never knew with Cerons what you were going to get. Half of the time they had a nasty temper to match their brute strength. I purposely had Kheda cut my hair in my old army crew cut, hoping they’d think I was a mercenary. It seemed to do the trick. I returned to the safe house with everything Kheda, and the babies would need without incidence.