Kaji's Challenge Read online

  The younger alien hugged and kissed each of the newly freed blue ones, and stroked their necks where those damn collars had been. He was the last to be freed, still taking care of them and the old one.

  The eight all seemed dazed, and Kaji couldn’t make mental contact with any of them, even with the collars off. They all sat still and stared blankly ahead of themselves, and he felt a mix of sorrow and panic washing over him. Were these ones of his people permanently damaged? Had they been rescued too late?

  He was sitting there staring at them, two of the collars still in his hand, when a tremendous shock went through the collars and his world went black.

  Chapter 5.

  He regained consciousness gradually, trying to sort out where he was and what had happened. It was like fighting through a fog of pain, and when he finally realized what had caused it he almost cried at the thought that his beloved had been subjected to this. But the Children were safe now, he realized, and back on the Crusader, in Medical, and being taken care of. Always taken care of now.

  The one who he had recognized as his third from the palace was right there beside him, curled up on Suna’s large lap, nursing sleepily from the big cook. Suna smiled over at him and shrugged. ‘I have lots to share, my friend.’

  Kaji reached out and stroked his beloved’s arm, but got no response.

  Suna looked unhappy again. ‘We still haven’t been able to connect with any of them.’

  To his horror, Captain Oki was sitting on the other side of him, and nursing Kaji’s adopted baby at his breast, the baby resting comfortably on the Captain’s rounded stomach.

  ‘Sir!’

  Oki purred down at the baby, and then smiled at Kaji. ‘The baby was fussing, and I wanted to be with you, too, so this seemed most efficient. Suki has our baby.’

  Kaji tried to sort out the various occupants of the chairs and beds around him, but Oki interrupted.

  ‘They tried to kill our children, you know. If those collars had still been on, they would all have been dead right now, along with the two humans. And we wouldn’t have known what happened, and they could have blamed us, said we mishandled them or something. Nasty little gatsu, those are. I think they will be sorry with the trade embargoes in effect, and ships not docking there anymore.’

  Maru started to speak, but Oki cut him off. ‘No. For the last time, we are not going to blow the entire planet up. There may be some useful plant species or something there.’ Maru subsided, distracted by the pull on his breast.

  ‘Sir, how can I be nursing Tari’s beloved? I don’t even have a second one in my triad yet, so I shouldn’t be able to. Not complaining, you understand, Tari and I are friends and I am glad to do this for him and the Children, but ...?’

  Oki shrugged. ‘Obviously you do have a triad somewhere, maybe two looking for you? Or maybe your triad has four people in it? Our world is expanding all the time, and many things are changing. I myself fought bonding with a human, because I thought it just wasn’t done, but look at how happy the three of us are now. And all the adopted babies who are not of our species but have made bonds with adoptive parents … I am told it is love that matters, not color or size or hair. Maybe the number who love each other doesn’t matter either?’

  Suna looked up in pleasure. ‘Our Captain is a philosopher! This is good. I think we’ll need more of that before this mission is over.’

  Dusa, the other cook, smiled too. ‘That and food.’

  Oki caught Kaji’s attention again.

  ‘You handled this well, and got the devil-spawn collars off them in time, thank the gods. You’re definitely in for a commendation, young Kaji. Once again you’ve proven yourself.’

  ‘You can’t make me be an Ambassador again, please don’t, sir …’

  Oki laughed, and Kaji relaxed, then remembered the promise he had made.

  ‘Sir, I made a promise … on our behalf. The two humans, one took care of our children for many years, and I think was made to suffer for doing so. Him and the old one, they will need help, and deserve honor.’

  Oki gave him a strange look, which Kaji didn’t understand.

  ‘You know you have a third?’

  ‘Yes, sir, of course.’ And he smiled over at the one in Suna’s arms, who would soon be in his arms.

  ‘And maybe another one?’

  ‘What?’

  Oki shifted so Kaji could see the odd group on one of the beds. Dasu was cradling their adopted baby, his and Suna’s, and also nursing the old one from the palace, and from the look on the big cook’s face they had just found their third. This tired old human, who they had thought had come here to die in peace, was the third that the two large happy cooks had been looking for? Gods, this was getting strange!

  And, curled up with them, stroking the old one’s head, was Kaji’s human beloved. His beloved? He remembered thinking that just before he’d been knocked out. That was real?

  Oki laughed. ‘Oh yes, I think very real, although you may have a job convincing him of that.’

  None of the ones from the palace were alone. Tari and Maru were side by side on a big bed nursing Tari’s two, and the three member crew of the supply team had three between them, still working as a team.

  Two more of the palace Children were curled up together nursing on a large crew member who Kaji didn’t know well, who he thought maybe was from engineering or maintenance – maybe named Setan or Desan? Yes, Desan, in Maintenance. He had an ample lap, and lots of room for both of them at his breasts, and from the look on his face, lots of room in his heart as well.

  ‘They are my triad, but I don’t know their names. They don’t know who they are.’ The big one looked sad, but then cheered up. ‘But they nurse from me, and I can give them feelings of love and belonging, so it’ll be alright. It has to be. We are always together now.’

  One of them looked up at Desan when he said that, and he smiled down at him. ‘Yes, beloved. Always here for each other, now and always.’ The two curled more tightly into him, and he purred at them. ‘We’ll go back home to my family group, find their family groups, find ways for them to heal. Whatever it takes. I can’t even explain it – I feel complete now. I never really understood triads before, but now I do.’

  “It’s going to be alright”, Oki assured them all. “We’re just waiting for the DNA matches to come back from the registry at home, and then we’ll know their names and family groups, and anyone who wants to take their beloveds home can, at any time.”

  He smiled at Desan. “Their family groups will be very eager to see their children again, and meet you.”

  “Those who wish to take a sabbatical from their duties but stay on the ship will be permitted that as well. Everything that can be done we will do.”

  Suna stood and gently transferred Kaji’s beloved to the bed beside him, and Kaji wrapped his arms around him and pulled him onto his lap, holding him as he would a child. He rocked him quietly, and purred, and prayed to the gods for all these children.

  Over the head of his beloved he met the eyes of his other beloved, who looked, among other things, puzzled. Kaji reached out mentally.

  ‘Friend? Thank you, and much honor to you for helping them and us. Do you have a name?’

  ‘I must have, but I don’t know. I was on a ship, and there was a crash, and the old one here took me in and looked after me, but then both of us were captured by those gatsu. That was many cycles ago. They put me to working with the blue ones because these seemed to understand me a little. I told many lies, that the old one was my father and had magical powers with the blue ones, so they let him live.’

  His friend, his beloved, sank back, exhausted.

  ‘It’s alright, you are both safe with us now. Your old one, he is bonding with Dasu and Suna, you see this?’

  His friend nodded, hesitantly.

  ‘They’re good people, they’ll take care of him and love him, always. You can rest, we’ll talk more later.’

  ‘But, two of them …?’

/>   ‘Yes, we bond in triads. It’s all good, sweet friend. You’ll see.’

  His friend didn’t look happy, and Kaji caught the thought that a relationship that consisted of two large aliens and one small frail human didn’t seem right, but he’d let the old one explain how that worked. The old one didn’t seem to be having any trouble with the concept. In fact, he looked very content where he was.

  Kaji thought that he’d have to talk to Caleb, see if there were any records of ships crashing on that planet, or disappearing near it. Twice, at least, because the old one had got there somehow. Maybe they would have an excuse to blow up that planet after all. That would make Maru happy.

  Chapter 6.

  As though there weren’t enough people in the room already, Tad, another of the humans who had joined their crew, joined them, along with his beloved Jevan and their baby Eko. Their third beloved, Karo, was the Medical Officer, and already there.

  Kaji started wondering how soon he could take his two beloveds and move them into his quarters, where they would have a bit more privacy. He saw Dasu and Suna stroking each other and their new one, and knew they were thinking the same thing. To be alone with his beloveds, to be able to begin the ritual bonding …

  Tad coughed softly, to get his attention, and Kaji looked at up him and the musical instrument he was holding. ‘You made a flute? That’s nice, music is always good …’

  ‘Not music, exactly. There was something in those damned collars, some frequency, a level of vibration, that did the damage, so I’ve been working with the Science Officers to try and find something that may be an opposite frequency, if you know what I mean …’

  Kaji held his third protectively. ‘It can’t make it worse?’

  ‘No.’ Tad shuddered. ‘I put one of those collars on myself, just on my hand for a moment, and then we tried this. It made it better.’

  ‘Karo let you?’

  ‘Karo did not know’, said an angry voice behind him.

  Tad touched Karo gently. ‘I had to, beloved. We did check that the collars weren’t energized any longer, it was just a residual charge. But I could, so I had to.’

  He brought the instrument to his lips and blew softly, as though it was indeed a flute. It made a pretty sound, and he took it up and down several notes, watching the ones from the palace. Their eyes seemed to focus a bit, and they shook their heads as if to clear them. The one on Kaji’s lap raised his head and blinked up at Kaji. ‘Beloved?’

  The he pressed his face into Kaji’s chest and began to cry, softly, like a very tired child. The reactions from the others were similar, and Tad quit playing, obviously not sure how much would be too much.

  ‘I have a very clever beloved’, Karo said, ‘and if he ever tries anything like that again …’

  ‘But it works. And maybe our very clever doctor can work out how much of this treatment everyone needs …?’

  Kaji interrupted their argument. ‘I’m feeling much better, so maybe I can take my beloveds back to my quarters? I think we can all continue to heal, and faster, if we’re all on the same bed holding onto each other …’

  ‘Deka. I. Am. Deka. Beloved.’ The one on Kaji’s lap spoke as though it had been a long time since he’d said anything, and then looked startled at the sound of his own voice. Kaji held him tighter, and his human friend came slowly over to touch them both.

  ‘There is something, a bond, isn’t there? This isn’t just some game?’

  ‘It’s not a game, it’s very real, beloved. Body and mind both heal with the bond, and the nursing, so your memory will come back too, we hope. And there is one on this ship who is clever with the computer, who may be able to figure out what your ship was, and there will be ships’ logs … ’

  The large crew member, Desan, looked up from his beloveds and smiled happily at the others in the room before leaning over to kiss one and then the other on the top of their heads.

  ‘Raki and Tasin, these are my beloveds.’

  Voices murmured around the room, and Karo sat down and cried. Kaji’s beloved human looked puzzled at this, but Tad laughed, although he looked like he might cry as well.

  ‘Karo cries when he is happy.’

  Kaji hugged his triad partners in relief and joy.

  ‘Will you come to my quarters, so we can spend time alone together, begin the bond?’

  His human beloved looked uncertain, and Kaji reached out to stroke the soft pale hair on his head. ‘You are free, now and always. But the bonding will help Deka, and I will never hurt you. Does the bond not tell you this?’

  ‘Yes, I think so. The old one …’ but the old one was already being lifted gently in the arms of one of the big cooks, while the other one carried their baby. He looked a bit dazed, but not at all unhappy, and the cook stroked his head and murmured gently to him. The old one wrapped his thin arms around the cook’s strong blue neck, and nuzzled into his throat as they left the room.

  Kaji heard the old one’s voice for the first time. ‘I’m alright now, my friend, now and always. We both are, thank the gods and these ones who came for us.’

  Chapter 7.

  Kaji wanted to carry his beloved Deka, carry both of them, but Karo suggested that he let them walk as much as possible.

  ‘It will help to get the blood flowing, bring back energy. But go slowly, for Deka and your human lover – that one has been badly hurt as well, and we don’t know as much about healing his body.’

  They made their careful way to Kaji’s quarters, the human and him on either side of Deka, supporting him. Every crew member they passed wanted to touch Deka, and he seemed to gain strength from each of them. The human was obviously not so happy to be touched. Kaji looked at the scars on his thin body, and thought it was no wonder. When was the last time his beloved had been touched with kindness? And perhaps he was nervous about his new people’s traditions?

  Kaji looked at him curiously. ‘Caleb and Tad have told me something of your species’ mating habits. What do you know of ours?’

  The human looked somewhat alarmed. ‘Not much. Your people told me a bit, before those gatsu put the collars on them. That they, you, are androgynous and then morph into hermaphrodites once you have met your true loves, is that right? And bond in triads?’

  ‘Yes, triads, and then are all for each other, always. Did you nurse them or they nurse on you?’

  The human looked embarrassed. ‘Um, yes, I did, um, nurse them, it was strange, but it seemed to make them feel better, it was the only thing that did, towards the end. I saw, in Medical, they were nursing – those were their triad partners, that’s what you call them? - that they were nursing off of?’

  ‘It wasn’t strange, it is normal, for us.’ He hesitated, not wanting to lecture his beloved, but not sure how much that one knew about the large and diverse universe they shared. ‘Normal is different for every people, maybe. Morphing, not morphing, pairs or triads, whatever, but loving is always good.’

  He was suddenly alarmed. ‘Are you even the same species of human as Caleb and Tad? Your people, they are not celibate, are they? Or parthenogenetic? Touching is a good thing for you, isn’t it?’

  His human made a funny choking noise. ‘Oh no, yes, maybe, I mean yes, but we bond in pairs, and touch intimately, but in private. After having been a slave for too long, I like to have control over who touches me now, you know?’

  ‘Ah. Sweet friend, I’m sorry. You will always have control, trust me. You are our beloved. And pairs, triads, maybe not so different. And our people, within the triad we all share everything, you understand? And in private. But only when you are ready, when you have healed. The bond is already developing, I felt it as soon as I was on that planet, and knew it was you the minute I saw you. Just as your old one knew Suna and Dasu, and they knew him. They travelled the stars looking for him, believe me. He will have a lot of love there, and they have an adopted baby already, so he has a family to love him.’

  Entering his quarters, he smiled and gestured to the crib
where Suki was bent over little Kennan.

  ‘These quarters belong to all of us now, not just me, and we already have our own baby, adopted and bonded, so we are all a family, too. Suki is in a triad with a human, so he or his beloved Caleb may be able to answer questions you have.’

  The human just shook his head, and looked embarrassed again. ‘I don’t know what to ask. And I am tired, and so is Deka. Can we just rest, please?’

  ‘Some of these humans are not as comfortable talking about coupling as we are,’ Suki said privately, ‘and they are used to mating in pairs. Caleb says to give him time to adjust.’

  Kaji thought about it, and nodded. ‘I am still morphing, as is Deka, so we have time to learn each other’s bodies. And we can couple in pairs first, until he gets used to it. He is very clever, so I’m sure it will be fine.’

  Suki was laughing when he left.

  Kaji thought about it, then lifted Kennan up and offered him to Deka to nurse. Deka looked like he was going to cry again, and sat down, cradling the baby against his chest, rocking back and forth. ‘I didn’t think I would ever have a chance to do this! To nurse a baby!’

  Kaji sat beside him and stroked his head, and then ran a hand over Deka’s soft belly. ‘One day soon, beloved, if we are blessed, you will be bearing one of ours, or I will, or our beloved third will. Many babies in our future, I hope. Much love.’

  Their human looked alarmed, and backed into a corner. ‘Um, I’m a male, human males don’t have babies.’

  Kaji smiled lovingly at him. Their human was definitely going to have to meet Caleb, who was a human male and very obviously bearing.

  ‘It’s all good, beloved. We love, share seed and spirit, the universe decides.’ That was as good an explanation as any, for now.

  Kennan wasn’t really hungry, having just nursed from Oki, so he was soon sleepy and put to bed in his cradle. Kaji hesitated, then pulled out some loose silky robes for Deka and the human.