Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Why walk when we can fly?

It wasn't the men—it was Tallie along with several other women that were on the ship that had been shadowing Tallie's progress to Megoth. All the women had come for the wedding. They all met when they'd been captured by the Siloth, and held with Kaitlyn and Lauren. The only women missing were a few that stayed behind to care for the released captives on Dorvan.

Kaitlyn squealed and pulled the alien woman into her arms. "Tallie, you're here!" She was so happy to see her friend. Tallie looked young and fragile. But time and time again, she proved she wasn't.

She watched her friend get passed around to Lauren and Makayla for hugs. The other women took their turns, too. Tallie's pink tuft of hair on the top of her head bobbed excitedly as she greeted everyone, and the smaller one on her tail dipped in unison. She had long pale limbs, pale gray eyes, small lips, and a long thin face and fingers. It was an ethereal look. One that made most men and some of the women they'd met treat her like a child and not take Tallie seriously. They thought she was flighty or someone incapable of protecting herself.

That was their first mistake. Tallie was one focused and determined alien. If she didn't already know how—she soon learned to use any weapon she was handed. On the slave ship, once they broke out of their cell and used the passageway up in the ceiling to plan for their freedom, Tallie made it her mission to search for and gather any of the alien weapons she could find and then teach the human women how to use them.

Next to her sister and cousin, and now their mates—Kaitlyn would choose Tallie for backup on this alien planet—every time.

The noise on the ship grew as everyone chatted and exclaimed about seeing each other again. Makayla stepped up after a few moments and whistled loud and long to get everyone's attention. Kait had to smile at that. Her sister had used the same method to call them in from the pasture, for as long as she could remember.

When the noise died down, Makayla nodded at Kaitlyn.

She reached out and took Tallie's hand. "You made it. Any more problems with the men?"

Tallie grinned. "No. As soon as we landed, Viktal and Daxter boarded the ship. Falcon was waiting outside." She giggled. "I almost felt sorry for the men on my ship. Your mates said they were going to have a discussion with them and do some type of survival training. When I opened the door to the bridge, I walked out, and every man was dressed. The ones who could speak told me they were sorry they scared me. The ones… well, there is only one that was never taught to speak. Not in any language. He doesn't have a translator, and he has some extreme issues. But he made a motion with a hand over his heart and his eyes downcast." She turned and looked at Kaitlyn. "Is he too old to teach, do you think? I mean, he is a grown man who is unable to speak any language. Would he learn?"

Shrugging, Kaitlyn was honest. "Maybe. Learning anything isn't a matter of age. Willingness to learn plays a big part. And then there can be emotional or physical reasons that affect not only the ability to learn, but to speak. For instance, being deaf or blind would make it harder to learn, but not impossible. We can talk with those who know him best and see what might work."

"Thank you, Kaitlyn. I think he needs help."

She nodded and took a breath. Looking at Makayla and Lauren for support… she reached out again for Tallie's hand. Knowing this announcement might hurt her friend because she couldn't have children. "Makayla, Lauren, and I have something to share with all of you." She waited for everyone to look over at the three that were now standing together.

When they had everyone's attention, they said together, "We're pregnant."

Dead silence lasted for two seconds… and then the room erupted. For several minutes, there were more hugs and loud exclamations.

When the noise died down, Natacha said softly, "You are excited and a little fearful about the births. And mad at your mates. What can we do to help?" The alien woman had some psychic ability. She was always serene. Or seemed like it. Her head was overly large by Earth standards, and she had big brown eyes with no hair or eyebrows. She was quite beautiful. Her body was always covered from neck to floor in a robe dress. She was calm, wise, and had been born into slavery.

She had a translator and was able to speak English to Lauren and Kaitlyn before they got translators of their own. In many ways, Natacha had saved them. She used her ability to speak to them, shared her advice on how slaves stayed alive, and often used her Precog abilities to warn them when something was going to happen.

Kaitlyn had suggested to Lauren and Makayla that Natacha be the one to marry them all. She was like a spiritual leader to all the women and had gladly accepted their request.

Kayla grinned. "Oh, you got it, Natacha. We are mad. Birth control conversations took place between all three couples. The men made promises they didn't keep. It surprised the three of us to discover we were pregnant. The men either weren't surprised or they admitted they screwed up. So, yes—we are pissed."

Natacha grinned. "I believe we need to go out into the desert. Back to the Siloth ship. We can put all this anger and irritation to good use. And have some fun. You want to tear that old ship apart, correct?"

Makayla nodded. "It's a good idea."

All the women whooped. Rachael, one of the twins, said, "I'm up for a hike into the desert. How long before we leave?"

Makayla laughed. "How about now? And why walk when we can fly? I learned how to fly this spaceship, and everything we need for a few days in the desert is onboard. Let's just go."

Everyone gathered on the bridge just before Makayla flew the spaceship over the men's heads. She turned on the bottom screens so the sisters could enjoy the shocked expressions of their mates. Kayla didn't bother to hide her satisfaction.