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Chapter 4 – Fiera

Stepping off the shuttle from the station onto Sorus was like emerging from a pit after being almost nine years underground. “By all the stars, I’m actually home,” Fiera whispered, tears pricking her eyes.

“Come on, my phoenix,” Kuen murmured, taking hold of her arm. “Let’s not block everyone else.”

“Right. Let’s go. It’s a three mile hike out to the farm. Hope you two are up for that,” Fiera said.

“Are you?” Gaspare asked, concern flashing across his face.

“I will be. The gravity here feels right,” Fiera said.

“It’s higher than the high grav worlds I’ve been on,” Gaspare said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “But I’ll manage.”

“Fury? That you?” someone called.

Fiera turned around and grinned. “Hey Nickel. Long time no see.”

Nico Veld – the man everyone called Nickel – leaned against the security fence and grinned back at her. “Stars above, girl. Yer ma will have a heart attack. She’s been thinkin’ you were dead these past few years.”

“Nah, I called ahead. She knows I’m comin’ home today. Listen, want t’do me a favor and make a few extra credits?” Fiera put one hand on her hip and waited.

“What you got fer me?” Nico asked.

“There’s a delivery comin’ in fer me later today. It’ll be on the next shuttle down from the station. It’s pretty big or it would’ve come down with us. Can you deliver it out to the farm?”  Fiera asked.

“It’ll be tomorrow mornin’. My skimmer’s out ‘til this evenin’. New law in place – can’t have more’n one delivery skimmer ‘cause those CWA bastards don’t want us marchin’ on ‘em with mobile guns or some stupid thing.”

“Tomorrow mornin’s fine, Nickel.” She walked over and passed him some credits. “I’ll pay you the rest when you bring it out.”

“Fair deal,” Nico said, pocketing the credits with nod. “See you in the mornin’.”

“Who was that?” Gaspare asked as soon as they were well away from the shuttle port.

“Nico Veld. Most ‘round here call him Nickel. He’s the main delivery person if you’ve got more’n what you can carry. Used t’have a whole fleet of skimmers. Sounds like the new laws are makin’ his life hard,” Fiera said.

“Have I mentioned lately how much I love listening to you talk?” Kuen said with a grin.

Fiera laughed. “This is nothin’. Get me with my family and you’ll hear it all day long.”

“Fury? That you?” an incredulous voice asked.

Fiera turned around. “Hey Sami. Yeah, finally made it home. No thanks to those CWA bastards. You headin’ out towards the farm?”

“I’ve got a delivery t’make at Shelby’s place. You and yer friends want a ride?”

“We’d love one. I’m still recoverin’ from what they did t’me durin’ the war,” Fiera said. She paid the woman and gestured to the pile of boxes she was hauling. “Hop on, boys. We’ll knock ‘bout half the trip off hitchin’ a ride.”

Kuen and Gaspare climbed on the trailer, as did Fiera. Sami got the skimmer into the air, and they zipped along. “The air here is so clean,” Gaspare said in Fiera’s ear. “It’s odd. I’m definitely used to the Core.”

“You’ll get used to it. Yer lungs will thank you,” Fiera said with a laugh. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to be home.

Kuen was quiet, his dark eyes watching their surroundings. She knew he was probably keeping an eye out for threats. It made sense. This was, for him, enemy territory.

As they passed various things Fiera relived brief glimpses of her past, something the DiME programming had almost stolen from her. She reveled in the feel of the wind on her face and tilted her face to stare up at the sky. Wispy white clouds were all that covered the intense cerulean and Fiera couldn’t help but grin as she felt free for the first time since waking up on Sorus Station as Fiera Molohaney.

They reached the farm closest to her parents’ and hopped off the trailer. Shelby came out and greeted her with a shout of surprise. “Fury, ya daft ketch. When did you get in?” Shelby ran over and hugged her tightly.

“Just today. Ma knows I’m on my way home. So glad t’be out of that festerin’ medical center,” Fiera said, hugging the woman back. “You do not want t’know the kind of food they kept tryin’ t’feed me.”

Shelby barked a laugh. “Get on then. You want t’be home before the littles get there so you’ve got some time with yer ma before she gets swamped.”

“Sounds good. I’ll drop by one of these days,” Fiera said. “You still owe me a rematch, Shell.”

“Any time, Fury,” Shelby said, turning her attention to her delivery. Fiera led the two men off.

“Rematch?” Kuen asked.

“Shelby and I play cards sometimes. She beat me the last time we played, which was just before I left. I swore when I got back, I’d beat her,” Fiera explained.

“You’ll have to teach us the games you play out here. I’m sure they’re nothing like what we played,” Gaspare said.

“Oh, they’re close but yer right. We’re a lot more cutthroat. Come on. See these fields? They belong to my ma’s farm. We’ve still got a ways t’go t’get to the house, but I’m finally home.”

As they reached the main path to the house, Fiera saw something was very wrong. Her mother was arguing with a few of the farmhands. She got up to where she could hear what was going on, Kuen and Gaspare hard on her heels. “There’s no protectin’ him, Alena. We caught him red handed,” one of the farmhands was saying.

“What in the name of all the stars are you talkin’ ‘bout, Lem? Herry’s been in the house with me all day. No way he stole from the fields,” Alena said.

“That hair’s too easy to see. Turn him over or we’ll call the sec ops and have ‘em take him and all yer littles, Alena,” one of the others said.

Alena saw Fiera. “Fury, these slagheads are tryin’ t’kidnap Herry.”

“Slag that,” Fiera snarled. She wasn’t as fast as she used to be, but surprise was on her side. She slammed her fist into the face of the first man before whirling and kicking the second person in the gut. The third went down to a double punch to the stomach and the fourth took a blow to the side of the head like the first one.

A few drops of blood dropped to the ground. “Fury, yer nose is bleedin’,” Herry said.

“I noticed. Ma, you got a kerchief on you?” Fiera asked.

“Here you go.” Alena handed a handkerchief to her.

Fiera pinched her nose. “Fiera, Em warned you not to get into any fights for a while,” Gaspare said as he looked at the bodies on the ground.

“Slag it, Gaspare. I’m not lettin’ some drek take my baby brother off.” She caught a flicker of movement off to the right. “Kuen, the rocks. Third from the right.”

Kuen covered the distance faster than she could even though he was a featherweight on a high grav world. The child squawked as he was unceremoniously lifted out of his hiding spot.

“Vapor brains,” Alena spat at the men groaning on the ground. “That’s one of Lanre’s brood. His hair’s two shades darker’n ours. You want him. He’s all yers. I’m tired of Lanre’s get stealin’ from my fields.”

The men dragged themselves to their feet, glaring at Fiera as they did so, and took the struggling child from Kuen. They dragged him off towards the town.

“What will they do with him?” Gaspare asked.

“Prob’ly the DC, if he’s lucky. If not, he’ll get rehomed and Lanre loses another one,” Alena said. “But that’s his watch, not mine.”

Fiera’s legs buckled a little and she grabbed Kuen’s arm. “You okay?” Kuen asked.

“Just a bit dizzy. I’ll be fine,” Fiera said.

“Fury, you don’t get dizzy from a little fight like that,” Alena said.

“I’m still healin’ from my injuries, Ma. Shouldn’t be fightin’, but it was easier than tryin’ t’get these two t’save Herry,” Fiera said.

“Herry, open the gate fer yer sister and the boys. Let’s get ‘em inside,” Alena said.

“Yes Ma,” Herry said. He undid the intricate latch and let Fiera and the other two inside. Once they were safely through, he latched onto his sister with a ferocity only another member of the family would understand.

“Hey runt,” Fiera said, hugging him with one arm while keeping the other hand on her nose.

“Not so runty now. I’m a whole meter and a quarter tall, Fury. I hit hard too,” Herry said with pride.

“Are you fightin’ already? Slag it, runt. We don’t need you runnin’ with the Roughlings too,” Fiera said.

“Don’t hit nobody who don’t deserve it,” Herry said firmly.

“He definitely takes after you Roughlings. Thank the stars Shiv and Joei are more like me. Don’t know that I could deal with all of you turnin’ out like that,” Alena said.

Fiera grinned in spite of her growing dizziness. Her steps were slowing and only Kuen’s hand on her arm kept her from falling over entirely. “Sounds like they’re a right handful, Ma.”

“Oh, you have no idea, Fury. Herry’s ‘bout as bad as you were. Stars be praised he isn’t as strong as you, though,” Alena said. It was obvious that she was relieved by that fact, a relief Fiera shared. They didn’t need more littles with Fiera and Phelix’s level of strength and Fiera’s temper.

“That’s good,” Fiera said. Kuen had to duck to get in the house, a fact that made Fiera want to giggle. Once inside, he could straighten a little. He got her on the couch.

Fiera felt herself go limp. Ah starfire, she thought. Ma’s goin’ t’worry somethin’ fierce over this.

“Fury?” Alena’s panicked voice was very audible.

“It’s all right, Alena. Emele, my sister who’s the medic who took care of Fiera for the last several months, warned us this might happen if she fought too soon,” Gaspare said. “She’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

“What’s wrong with Fury?” Herry asked.

“She got hurt real bad and wasn’t finished healing from it when she protected you,” Kuen said. His way of speech surprised Fiera. He was taking to the more casual Colony speech better than Gaspare. “She’s just taking a nap. Give her a few minutes and she’ll wake up.”

Herry giggled. “Naps are fer babies.”

“Or for someone who’s been real sick, and you know how Flicks and Keo slept a lot when they first got home,” Alena said.

Fiera’s heart contracted in her chest. He had made it. She’d said he had but he was home. As if his name had summoned him a painfully familiar male voice responded, “Someone say my name?”

That voice, more than anything, drew Fiera out of her stupor. She managed to move her head so she was looking at him. His words were slurred but for Phelix she’d come back from the dead. “That any way to greet yer sister, ya daft twint?” she asked, slipping into twinspeak as naturally as breathing.

Phelix’s eyes widened. He bounded over everything to hold out his hand. She saw that his left arm was strapped to his body. She took the proffered help and got hauled to her feet and into the tightest hug she’d ever experienced. Given she was nearly breaking his ribs the feeling was mutual.

“Stars curse it, Fury,” Phelix said, responding in twinspeak. “Where have you been?”

“In hell. These two got me out and healed me up best they could. Thought I’d do better at home,” Fiera said.

“The tall one Kuen?” Phelix asked.

“Yes. The other’s Gaspare.”

“He’s cute. He antero?” Phelix asked.

“No clue. And no poachin’ him so soon. We just got here,” Fiera said with a laugh.

“Hey, I’m just lookin’,” Phelix said innocently.

“For the love of…Basic, you two. Speak Basic,” Alena said in exasperation.

“Why?” Phelix asked.

“We were catchin’ up,” Fiera said.

“Faster our way,” Phelix added.

Alena glared at them both until they dissolved into laughter. Phelix helped Fiera sit down on the couch again, then sat down on the two-seater next to Gaspare. “Kuen, Gaspare, this is my twin brother Phelix. He’s the one I keep calling Flicks,” Fiera said, still grinning.

“Thanks fer bringin’ Fury home,” Phelix said. “We’ve missed her.”

“Ma, the boys and me had a thought on our way here,” Fiera said, rubbing the back of her neck. “You might not like it though.”

“What is it, Fury?” Alena asked, shooing Herry off.

“You know some hot hand’s goin’ t’sort out where these two came from,” Fiera began.

“That’s one of my big worries, yes,” Alena said.

“I don’t want no innocents gettin’ caught in the crossfire. So I’m thinkin’ of takin’ my five plots and startin’ my own farm. Take these two with me and make ‘em my farmhands since I won’t be fit t’do most of the work fer a while yet,” Feira said.

“If you don’t mind the CAF knowin’ where you are you can get ten plots, Fury,” Phelix said, speaking slowly to make sure she understood him. She realized half his jaw had been replaced. “Us vets get the double they promised, if we don’t mind havin’ ‘em know where we’re livin’.”

“CAF prob’ly already knows where I am anyway,” Fiera said.

“And if I throw my ten in with yers it’ll be twenty, more’n enough t’get a decent yield,” Phelix continued, eyeing his sister.

“You’d toss yer lot in with us?” Fiera asked.

Phelix snorted. “Just try and stop me. Besides, you’d do the same if we were flipped.”

“Truth,” Fiera admitted.

“Fiera, is Phelix offering to join his farm plots with yours to give us a bigger area to work with?” Kuen said, frowning.

“He is. And you might as well get used to usin’ our nicknames. Most people ‘round here don’t bother callin’ us anythin’ else,” Fiera said.

“What’re you goin’ t’use to start the farm with, Fury?” Alena asked. “I’ve got some seeds saved I can give you but that’s it.”

“We thought ahead, Ma. I’ve got some stuff comin’ in tomorrow mornin’ – Nickel’s deliverin’ it – that I need you and the other Roughlings t’sell since I don’t know the markets ‘round here no more. Figure we’ll take the money from that, after we share up with you fer yer help, and use that t’start,” Fiera said.

“Smart girl,” Alena said with a smile. “Hope it’s sensible stuff.”

“All practical, all stuff that can be used out here. Made sure of that,” Fiera said.

“Okay, tomorrow mornin’ Fury and Flicks, you go down to the registration office and get yer plots. You know where you want to settle?” Alena asked.

Fiera looked over at Phelix. “Flicks, our favorite spot still open?”

Phelix nodded. “Was last time I checked.”

Fiera looked at her mother. “Think so, Ma.”

“Perfect. You boys will stay here and help me do some house repairs. Don’t need all four of you in town,” Alena said.

Kuen stirred restlessly beside her. “Kuen, it’s smarter this way. Plus you can be here t’help ma with the stuff when Nickel delivers it. Flicks can keep me on my feet,” Fiera said.

“I know.” Those two words spoken carried a lot of emotion behind them, and Fiera understood.

She leaned against him. He wrapped an arm around her. “It’ll be okay, Kuen.”

“Right. Fury, you up t’helpin’ me do some cookin’? Or you too tired?” Alena asked.

Fiera held up her hands. They were remarkably steady. “Think I can help for a bit, Ma.”

“Good.” Alena leaned back in her chair. “Keo, Thea, Flicks is helpin’ me right now. Go get the littles from school.”

Keoni and his wife Thea came down the stairs. “Fury?” Keoni took a side trip to scoop his sister off the couch and hug her tightly. “Stars’ own truth, it’s good t’see you, little sister.”

“Good t’see you too, Keo. Now quit breakin’ my ribs and go get the littles,” Fiera said, hugging him back.

“Fury, if you ever want t’talk, I’m here t’listen,” Thea said in her soft, sweet voice. “I’ve done what I can t’help Keo, Flicks, Marc, and Nev. I’d be glad t’try t’help you if you’ll let me.”

Fiera frowned before remembering that Thea was a trained therapist, though she wasn’t allowed to hold her official title. “I…might take you up on that, Thea. So long as you don’t tell no one what we talk about.”

“Doctor patient privilege, Fury. I haven’t said what the others told me. I’ll keep it quiet.” With that Thea and Keoni were out the door.

“Fury?” Gaspare was looking at her.

“Thea’s a trained therapist, but ‘cause of the stupid laws from the CWA she can’t officially practice out here. But she’s good, and she’s good t’talk to if you’ve got problems. Love her dearly and if she’s been helpin’ my brothers, I might talk t’her,” Fiera said.

“She helped slow down the nightmares,” Phelix said. “They’ll never stop, she says. But talkin’ t’her made it so I do get some sleep now.”

Fiera nodded. Talking to Thea might be worth it then. “Okay Ma, what’re we cookin’?”

“Pasta.”

“Oh Ma, are we pullin’ in the stuff from the garden?” Fiera asked, her whole face lighting up.

“You know it.” Alena smiled at her daughter’s response.

“You two have never had anythin’ so good as fresh, homemade pasta made with stuff taken from a garden,” Fiera said.

“Flicks, take ‘em ‘round and show ‘em where everything is,” Alena said. “Kuen, Gaspare, had to figure out where to pack you in since I’ve got ten of my eleven kids at home right now. Teigue’s off world, Fury, nothin’ t’worry ‘bout. So, Kuen, yer sleepin’ on the floor in Fury’s room and Gaspare, yer on the floor in Flicks’ room.”

“The floor sounds better than some places I’ve slept,” Kuen muttered. He followed Phelix out of the room.

“You and that Kuen somethin’ more’n friends?” Alena asked as Fiera got up and washed her hands.

“We were, Ma. Right now though? We’re just friends.” Fiera wrapped her hands around her abdomen. “I can’t – I can’t talk ‘bout it but some things happened while I was captured that make it so I don’t want nothin’ t’do with that.”

Alena’s expression, which had been stern, softened. “Yer not the first woman I’ve seen come back with that experience, Fury.” She hugged her daughter tightly. “Thea’s had her hands full. The frakkin’ CWA ‘specialists’ they sent in t’help us ‘adjust’ kept tellin’ the girls it was their fault for fightin’ in the first place. Messed ‘em up pretty bad. We had a real problem with suicide fer a few months ‘til our own people got involved.”

“Sounds ‘bout right,” Fiera growled.

“So, tell me ‘bout these boys of yers. They seem like a clever pair,” Alena said.

Fiera giggled. “Very clever, but oh they’re a handful.” She launched into some of the safer adventures she had as the Blue Butterfly with them, and then told her mother about teaching them Colony ways on the trip there.

Food was simmering by the time Keoni and Thea got back with the children. The rest of Alena’s brood was off work and they came in with the children. Fiera was mobbed by her siblings, and she hugged them all. Kuen had come back down. According to him, Phelix and Gaspare were discussing farm machines. Phelix was detailing the actual mechanical workings and Gaspare was completely hooked.

“Sounds like you might have a buddin’ mech on yer hands, Fury,” a new voice said.

“Hey Marc,” Fiera said. Of all her siblings, Marc was the one she got along with the least, though they were all Roughlings together in the end.

He crossed the room and gave her a hug. “Missed you, ketch.”

“Missed you too, ass. What’re you doin’ out of the fields so early?” She hugged him back.

“Not a farmhand. I work in the market. Last battle messed up my back somethin’ awful so I can’t do no heavy liftin’ or real hard work. Standin’ there, lookin’ pretty, I’m good at that,” Marc said.

“Yeah, you were always the pretty one,” Fiera teased.

Marc grinned. She stepped back to look at him. He had acquired Alena’s looks more than their father’s. He and Neven were the most attractive of the Rezouac siblings. “So do I pass?” he asked, smiling at her scrutiny.

“You should consider wearin’ blue, if you can get away with it. You’d break more hearts in it,” Fiera said.

Marc glanced at his clothes. “You think so? There’s a girl I’m sweet on and I’d really like to impress her.”

“One of the things I learned while bein’ on my job was how t’dress well. Blue suits our coloration pretty well. And you’ve got ma’s color more than da’s, which means yer goin’ t’shine in somethin’ like teal or sapphire,” Fiera said.

“Thanks Fury.” She could tell he meant it.

“Come help me set the table?” She turned and started pulling plates out of the cupboard.

“Sure. You okay?” She heard the concern in his voice.

“My last several months haven’t been good ones, Marc. My boys had t’rescue me from hell, and then I had t’recover. Still not fully healed,” she said, passing the plates over to him.

Marc helped her set the table. Kuen entertained the children with a completely safe story about dragons and a princess, something he said he’d read in a book years earlier. Fiera giggled to herself. It was better than trying to recite the Art of War at them.

Neven and Muirne came in and soon the whole family were gathered around the table. Food was piled high on plates. Gaspare’s eyes widened when he took a bite of the food. “Okay Fury, I thought you were full of it when you said what you did,” he said.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Fiera grinned. “We’re goin’ t’have a garden on the farm so I can make stuff like this.”

“It’s very good,” Kuen agreed.

Alena fairly glowed with pride. “I’m not good at much, but I do know cookin’. I worked in a hostel fer a few years cookin’ fer the people who came to Sorus, and I learned how to do this professionally. I carried a lot of what I learned over t’fixin’ food fer my family. Glad it works so well.”

“I’ve told you before, Ma. Yer one of the best cooks ever,” Siobhan said, shoveling food in her mouth.

Fiera felt a moment of disconnect from her family. She took a second to reckon up ages for everyone. Keoni was thirty-six. She and Phelix were thirty-four. Marc was thirty. Neven was twenty-seven. Teigue and Muirne were twenty-four. Joana and Siobhan were nineteen. Callie was seventeen. Herry was twelve.

“Fury, you okay?” Callie asked, noticing her older sister’s distress.

“Just realized how long I’ve been gone,” Fiera said. She tucked into her food again, ignoring the lump forming in her throat.

She was suddenly swarmed by her siblings. “Don’t matter how long you’ve been gone,” Herry said.

“Yer our Fury,” Joana agreed.

“Yer home now,” Siobhan said.

“We love you, Fury,” Neven said quietly.

“I love you bratlings too,” Fiera said, just enjoying being mobbed by the siblings she’d fought so hard to protect.

“Okay, okay, let yer poor sister eat her dinner,” Alena said after a few minutes.

“Yes Ma.” They all went back to their own food, grinning.

Alena had Kuen help her clean the dishes while Fiera rested. It was her turn to be peppered with questions by the others and she told them the sanitized version of what she’d been up to, emphasizing on how she wished she could come home more than once. She didn’t bother hiding her anger at their father – an anger they all shared. Finally, Alena chased them all upstairs.

Phelix caught Fiera while the mob was going up. “Fury, we need t’talk. All four of us. I just thought of somethin’ that could be a problem, if we’re tryin’ t’hide who the boys are.”

“What do you mean, Flicks?” She pushed him off to the side, so they didn’t get trampled by Thea and Keoni’s children.

“Non-native farmhands get gene scanned. It’s a new rule from the CWA t’prevent Colony sympathizers from gettin’ too numerous,” Phelix said.

“Do they gene scan married couples?” Fiera asked, thinking fast.

“No.” He caught on quickly. She knew he would. “The marriage contract?”

“Two years and they’re considered natives at that point anyway so no gene scans if we don’t formally marry ‘em,” Fiera said.

“But will they go along with it?” Phelix looked worried. “Kuen might, since I know he loves you. But Gaspare isn’t antero, is he?”

“Don’t know. It never came up. But we can fake it fer the time being. If he does turn out t’be antero and you two get along, even better,” Fiera said with a shrug.

“And if he isn’t, I’ll introduce him t’some girls who’ll love him,” Phelix said.

“Okay, drag him into my room after ma goes t’bed so we can talk undisturbed,” Fiera said. Phelix nodded and the two drifted upstairs at the back of the crowd.

Kuen was lying on the floor when Fiera entered her room. “This will take some getting used to.”

“Sleepin’ on the floor?” Fiera stripped down and pulled on one of her nightshirts.

“Your family. Are they usually so…so…?” Kuen’s words seemed to be failing him.

“So up into everythin’?” Fiera supplied.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Kuen said wryly.

Fiera flopped on her bed. “We’re a physical bunch, Kuen. Always have been. Hugs, punches, kisses. It’s just our way. You’ll see a lot of that out here in the Colonies in general.”

“Are large families normal out here?” Kuen asked.

“Have t’have hands t’work the farm, and who better than yer own brood?” Fiera shrugged. “If da hadn’t run off, ma might’ve had another kid or two by now.” Her face fell. “We’d have had Morrigan and Morgana too if not for that frakkin’ famine.”

“I remember you telling us about that, Fury,” Kuen said. “I’m sorry.”

“Not yer fault, Kuen. You didn’t know better at the time. I don’t hold it against you,” Fiera said. “Not anymore at least.”

Fiera listened and it seemed as if the house itself gave a sigh. “Ma’s gone t’bed.”

“How can you tell?” Kuen asked.

“The way the house sounds and feels. It’s always different when ma goes t’bed.” There was a soft sound on her door, like something dragging against it. She bounced up and pulled it open.

Phelix dragged Gaspare through. “I told you she’d hear it.”

“Used t’sneak into each other’s rooms all the time after ma went t’bed,” Fiera explained as Gaspare stared at her. “Couldn’t knock ‘cause she’d hear. We figured out how t’let each other know without makin’ too much noise. Keep yer voices down so she don’t get upset we’re stayin’ up so late.”

“No matter how late we’re up we have t’be movin’ at dawn so keep that in mind,” Phelix added.

“What did you want to talk to us about?” Gaspare asked.

“Okay, Flicks brought up a real problem with the plan and we didn’t want t’bring it up in front of ma,” Fiera said. “Especially since our solution would prob’ly upset her.”

“What is it?” Kuen asked.

“They gene scan non-native farm workers, chasin’ off Colony sympathizers pretty quick,” Phelix said.

“Which would also work against us since they’d tag our families fast,” Gaspare noted.

Fiera nodded. “Which is why we came up with an idea. You prob’ly won’t like it either, but it’s what we’ve got to work with.”

“What is it?” Gaspare asked.

“Contract t’marry. It’s a two-year contract that says we’re testin’ out the waters of bein’ married. It means you two take the Rezouac name, you don’t get gene scanned, and at the end of two years we either register that the marriage won’t work and go our separate ways, or we actually get married,” Fiera said.

“It’s common practice out here,” Phelix said. “Lots of people do it t’see if they’re compatible. Only thing is if there’s littles – either an antero couple adopts or a non-antero couple gives birth – it’s a done deal. You don’t get t’separate. You have t’get married.”

“Divorce can only happen five years after the first child is born, and that’s only if there’s no littles in the house under five years of age, since that’s the youngest you can send one t’school,” Fiera said.

“What does antero mean?” Gaspare asked.

“Anterosexual. It’s the easy way of sayin’ you don’t follow the normal gender binary fer yer partner,” Phelix said. “‘Cause we get most of our words fer relationships from the Arpathi out here, we’ve got somethin’ like seventeen different ways to express that. They’re all a mouthful.”

Fiera snorted. “That’s puttin’ it mildly. We use anterosexual just t’make it easy, and it’s recognizable by pretty much everyone.” She frowned. “Gaspare, antero’s used Core and Colony. You never heard that term before?”

Gaspare shook his head. “I never even knew it was a possibility.”

Kuen put his hand on Fiera’s arm. “High Admiral Benoit kept Gaspare ignorant of that kind of thing, Fury. It went on in the military – you can’t put people together and not expect relationships like that to form – but you didn’t talk about it. If you did you were severely punished and if you were lucky, you didn’t get reassigned to extremely dangerous duty stations on separate sides of the galaxy from each other.”

“Bloody bastard’s got a stick up his ass ‘bout bein’ antero, sounds like,” Phelix said.

“Sounds like,” Gaspare agreed, with a troubled look on his face. “Flicks, you’re antero?”

“I am. To be specific, I don’t like girls. At all. I prefer males. Technically Fury’s antero too. She don’t care if her partner’s male or female, so long as she’s got a good relationship with ‘em before she beds ‘em,” Phelix said.

“A chunk of ma’s brood is antero. Marc’s same as me – male, female, don’t matter. In his case though he don’t care ‘bout the friendship. If he’s attracted, he’ll pursue ‘em,” Fiera said. “Nev has no attraction to anyone. He’s straight up not interested in anything like that. He’s still classed as antero because that’s a part of it.”

“It seems so convenient to have one word for all of these things,” Kuen said.

“Used to be ‘bout a hundred words or so fer every aspect of this mess,” Phelix said. “Someone came up with the bright idea of usin’ anterosexual to mean it all and it stopped a lot of fightin’ in the group. Then it got more normal to accept us, least it did out here, and it’s been a lot easier fer a few centuries now.”

“Some places still look on us like we’re sick in the head,” Fiera said. “Remember that ketch Adralis?”

“Yeah, I remember. She got what she deserved though. Got taken out on Totov when the Core made its final push. Got herself killed because she wouldn’t evacuate with me and Fidel,” Phelix said.

“Did Fidel make it home safe?” Fiera asked.

“Oh yeah. Rest of Phoenix Squadron made it home, ‘cept fer you and Synon. We heard what happened to him. Least he wasn’t a POW,” Phelix said.

Gaspare coughed. “Can we get back to the discussion of being married?”

“It’s a contract, not an actual marriage, Gaspare,” Fiera said. “It just means we’re livin’ together, tryin’ t’see if we can be married. Way it’s goin’ t’have t’play out is Kuen and me will be one pair. You and Flicks will be the other.”

“Hope you don’t mind,” Phelix said.

“I don’t,” Gaspare said quickly. “It’s just going to take some time to get used to the idea.”

“How do we do this?” Kuen asked.

“Flicks, can you still do the contract over the comm?” Fiera asked.

“Should be able to. Just need t’put yer thumbprint on the contract like always,” Phelix said.

“Let’s go down before ma comes after us and get it done so it’s on file when we go into town in the morning,” Fiera said. “It’ll save time.”

“Wait, how can you do a thumbprint on a comm?” Gaspare looked confused.

“Our units are all in one,” Phelix said. “Come on. We’ll show you.”

“Mind the stairs. Don’t step on the ones with the giant spots on ‘em. The knots make ‘em super creaky and ma will have our hides for sneakin’ down so late,” Fiera said.

They got downstairs without incident and Phelix pulled up the necessary documents. They all read over them and then signed their respective contracts. Then they went upstairs to their rooms.

“You think Gaspare really didn’t know ‘bout what it means t’be antero?” Fiera asked once they were both settled on their beds.

“I know he didn’t, Fiera. He was confused the one time he saw two men kissing in a holo we watched together. I had to explain that they were a couple, and he had no idea that was even a thing,” Kuen said.

“You think he might be antero, and that’s why the admiral kept it away from his son?” Fiera asked.

“He may have shown signs of it as a child. But it would have been beaten out of him,” Kuen said.

“You don’t get that beaten out of you. You just learn t’hide it well. If it’s there, Flicks’ll bring it out. If it’s not, Flicks’ll find him a nice girl he can settle down with. My twin has a knack fer settin’ people up,” Fiera said.

“Fiera, what you said about children,” Kuen began.

“I can’t, Kuen. After what they did t’me, I can’t even think of doin’ that,” Fiera said in a quavering voice.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him reach up one hand. She slipped her hand down to grab hold of his. “When you are ready, Fiera. Not a moment sooner. I won’t push and I won’t ask.”

Fiera felt a rush of gratitude. “Thank you.”

“I still love you, no matter what,” Kuen said. He sat up enough to kiss her fingers before laying back down. Neither let go of each other as they drifted off to sleep.