Chapter 13
~ Carolyn ~
Wrapping one sad wing around her shoulders, Igor murmured softly, “You’re the only Maruvian queen who would mourn such a tragedy. I have failed you in every conceivable way, my sweet queen. Yet you cling to me, when by all rights you should replace me.”
“Losing one of our young is painful enough. I wouldn’t survive losing you as well. I know we were only expecting three, but finding out there was an underdeveloped fourth that didn’t make it breaks my heart. I kept thinking that he’d peck his way out of that tiny shell.”
“All our kind spend fifty-three days in the shell, no more and no less. It grieves me to say that our last egg won’t hatch, no matter how long you look at, for the window is now closed.”
“Let’s just give it a little longer, Igor. I can’t bring myself to leave yet.”
“It will be as you wish, my precious queen.” Pulling his wing tighter around her, she rested her cheek on his chest as she stared at the one remaining egg. It was much the size of a chicken egg, not having grown like the rest.
“Want to know something interesting, Igor?”
“Always.”
“I have three strong, healthy sons and that makes me luckier than any female in my line for three generations. None of them were fortunate enough to have sons and none had more than two younglings.”
“You’re pleased with that much at least?”
Tilting her head up to look into his dark eye, she nodded. “I’m pleased to have found you and I love being the Maruvian queen. I’m looking forward to the moment I can hold our hatchlings in my hands and cuddle them.”
Running a hand gently over her cheek, he responded tenderly, “I look forward to that as well. It won’t happen for at least ten days. They are too fragile to remove from the incubator before that time. All our young need those first few days to acclimate to their environment…”
Stopping in mid-sentence, he brought his com to his lips. Screeching softly into it, he turned to the tiny incubator housing their last egg. Suddenly, the room filled with attendants. They were all screeching at each other and she wished the scientist had been able to modify the multi-language virus to include the Maruvian dialects. As it stood, they could understand and speak English but she couldn’t understand them at all.
Igor tilted her face up to look at her. “You were right not to give up on our last hatchling. See for yourself.”
Immediately snapping her head to look at the tiny egg, she saw what appeared to be a small fracture running horizontally across the shell. Grasping Igor’s arms, she watched the tiny fracture become a crack, and the crack become a small tear.
There were excited screeches around the room as the edge of a wing came into view.
“Can’t we help him break free?”
“It isn’t done. He must prove himself worthy of life by breaking from the shell himself.”
“He stopped moving.”
“Give him time.”
They waited and watched as the tiny hatchling moved again. There were more cracks and tears, and it was clear the little one was exhausted.
“I don’t care about what is done. Remove the shell. I’ll not lose my young over tradition.”
Before anyone could react, there was a squawking screech and the shell literally exploded from around the little one. As he moved around the enclosed habitat, the fledgling hatchling made his annoyance with the world known.
The attendants burst into animated and excited conversation, their words fading into background noise as Carolyn looked at her tiny newborn. It was bizarre and thrilling and strange and heart-stopping to know this tiny creature was of her own making.
“You’ll grieve no more, my queen, for I have delivered you four hatchlings.”
“Yes, you did, my king. For that, I’ll be eternally grateful. Have I told you that I love you today?”
“I believe you just did.”
“Whether I say it or not, please know I mean it every micron of every day.”
Sweeping her up in his wing again, he ran his face over her cheek in a gesture of tenderness fit to melt her heart all over again.
Suddenly, a soft beeping sound accompanied by flashing lights drew their attention.
Igor screeched into his com and listened to the reply.
“Come, my queen. The drones have detected a star going supernova.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“There are several planets nearby, but only one is close enough to be destroyed.”
“Oh God, I hope there are no people on the planet.”
“Our drones think not, but we won’t know until we get close enough to scan the planet.”
Arriving on the bridge, Cassidy could see the huge sun throbbing in the distance. “It honestly looks like it’s about to pop.”
“As the core runs out of nuclear fuel, some of its mass flows into its core, causing it to become so heavy that it cannot withstand its own gravitational force. The explosion will be blinding but we’re out of the danger zone.”
There was more screeching back and forth before Igor announced with a jerk of his chin, “There are no evolved lifeforms on the planet in danger of being destroyed.”
A huge explosion burst from the star, expanding into a blinding white light. As it receded, they saw that indeed the small planet had been torn apart. The rubble consisted of different-sized pieces of debris, all strewn in along a trajectory towards their ship.
“Is the danger over?”
“No. We must monitor for a few moments to ensure the center of the explosion doesn’t coalesce into the beginnings of a black hole. If it does, we’ll need to move to a safe distance.”
“Why are we chancing it?”
Looking down at her, Igor sighed. “You’re much different from our queens. They would push us even now to investigate the rubble for the stones they covet so greatly.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“Maruvian queens covet the Heart Stones above all else in the verse, for they feed their endless desire for pleasure. They tear worlds apart in their quest to discover ever purer specimens, sacrificing many drones in the process. Among our people, they are the primary unit of currency.”
“If we can obtain the Heart Stones safely, I wish it. The beings of this sector know nothing of them. Dignitaries from all the member worlds of the Galactic Council will take notice of us if we gift them with the stones, thinking we have more to share. Wealthy traders will pay whatever we ask for the privilege of stocking them.”
“We agree. It’s the reason we brought you here.”
“Pass the word, Igor. No drone is permitted to speak of the origin of the stones. Such knowledge would result in greedy beings tearing apart worlds in this sector and I won’t have that.”
“A wise decision, my queen.”
“We’ll only harvest them in the rare instance of naturally occurring events, for I don’t approve of the mindless destruction of worlds.”
Some screeching occurred, and Igor took her hand in his. “I’m told the star is fading away rather than turning into a black hole. Our initial scans reveal approximately seven metric tons of the stone. It appears to be some of the purest we’ve ever found.”
“Begin harvesting it when you’re certain it’s safe for my drones. I’ll not risk even one drone on this mission. I wish to speak to you and Talon alone.”
Secluding themselves in a meeting room, Carolyn explained her thoughts regarding the Heart Stones, “I wish us to separate out enough for every drone to have a stone for his own pleasure and that of a potential mate.”
Talon commented smoothly, “That is a generous gift.”
“I also wish to have approximately five hundred smaller-sized stones to smooth the way for our recognition by the Galactic Council.”
“I can have them packaged properly, perhaps with a small note on their use.”
“We’ll reserve a full metric ton for future use by our sons, for we don’t know if or when such an opportunity will arise again. I’ll have them do without the means to attract a queen when the time comes or the means to soothe themselves in their time of need.”
“We’d have never thought with an eye to the future. Your wisdom is remarkable at times.”
Grinning at Talon’s warm compliment, she continued, “Thanks, my actionator. I wish to set aside three tons for trade. Once we make it known that we possess such a treasure and are willing to trade, I doubt many on the Galactic Council will refuse us trade rights in this sector. The rest we’ll put in storage and our future needs will determine how it’s utilized.”
“This is a very sound plan. I’m pleased that you guard against squandering the Heart Stones. Our people hold them in high esteem.”
“Thank you, Igor.” Turning her attention back to Talon, she asked, “Do you usually have tiny remnants left over from processing?”
“Naturally, we do; why do you ask?”
“I wish you to have them shaped into small thumb-sized oval disks.”
“They would provide very little in the way of pleasure, my queen. Those are the bits our males are usually given. We work them into tiles for our own limited needs.”
“Our males will now possess full-sized stones for their own use. I wish to have these fitted into small pouches. I plan to hand them out to the women of Earth as a token of our esteem. Though the tiny stones are barely adequate for a male, females are much more sensitive to their effects. Human women are very tactile creatures. They will be fascinated to see and touch the small stones.”
“You wish to draw them to us?”
“I abhor the Krylon custom of purchasing women. It’s an indignity that I won’t subject our males to. My intention is to openly display all that we have to offer a woman by resettling on our world. Most will be put off by the insect heritage, but some will have the ability to look past that and find true love for our people.”
“Will it be enough for every unit to have their own queen?”
“Earth has millions of unmated females. If even a small number are fascinated by our ways, it will be enough. We’ll welcome all who wish to join us.”
Igor tilted his head. “You think to put a small stone in their hands, and hope they wish for more?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a clever strategy, my queen. Our drones will be the envy of the verse if women choose to come to us of their own volition, while everyone else pays for the privilege.”
Looking into his handsome face, she had a difficult time remembering why she found him less than attractive. “You’ve captured my heart. I know other women will see what I see when I look at you.”
“For the sake of my Maruvian bothers, I pray what you say is true.”
“Have I led you astray yet?”
“You haven’t. In fact, it’s our privilege to acquiesce to your wishes, for your every thought is but for our wellbeing. Your knowledge of the species of this sector outstrips our own ability to comprehend such things. I thank the gods every day that you became our queen, rather than your precocious sister. You alone have the maturity and wisdom to see us settled in his sector.”
“Your words are like sweet music to my ears, Igor.”