Image by Petr Ganaj from Pixabay

Fiera took her hat off and hung up her tool belt. Kuen and Phelix came in behind her. It had been Gaspare’s turn to tend the children and he’d rung the dinner bell a few minutes earlier. “I had help tonight, so I apologize in advance if it’s a little heavily spiced. I tried to keep an eye on him,” Gaspare said with a grin. “But Pascal really wanted to help.”

“He helps the rest of us all the time,” Fiera said. “We were cooking with our ma at his age. So long as you keep a close watch on him, he’s not too young to learn something in the kitchen.”

Dinner was a little heavy on the pepper, but no one minded, least of all the two men who were working as farmhands. They thought Pascal was absolutely adorable. “I made that,” he said as they ate the stew.

“You did a good job, Pascal,” Fiera said. “Next time a few less pinches of pepper and it’ll be perfect.”

“Did I get ‘nuff salt?” Pascal asked anxiously.

“The salt is just fine, Pascal,” Kuen said.

Pascal grinned. “Da wouldn’t let me add more in so I put another two big pinches of pepper in.”

“It’s not bad,” Hedric said.

“No it’s not,” Fiera agreed. “It’s just a little too heavy on the pepper for our tastes.”

“Maybe only one more big pinch of pepper?” Pascal asked.

“I think maybe a big pinch of paprika next time instead of pepper,” Phelix said. “I’ll show you which one it is when we cook together.”

“Okay daddy,” Pascal said happily.

“Don’t let him near the chili powder. Remember when we made that mistake as littles? No one could eat that meal,” Fiera said with a shudder.

“No, no, I’m moving that shaker far out of his reach,” Phelix promised.

“Okay,” Fiera said.

The comm went off. “I’ll get it,” Kuen said.

“I’m done eating. You’re not,” Fiera said. “You eat. I’ll grab it.” She got up and walked over to the comm unit. She answered to see Teigue on the other end. “You don’t usually call me.”

“Ma told me to call. I need you to do that Blue Butterfly thing of yers on General Athalos again,” he said.

“What’s going on?” Fiera asked, sitting down.

“There’s a virus makin’ the rounds on Aruistrides that’s threatenin’ t’spread,” Teigue said. “The Core won’t send in their medics unless the Colonies pay fer them and Aruistrides can’t afford it without indenturin’ their littles.”

“What’s that got to do with you?” Fiera asked.

“I’ve got my level three certs in medicine and epidemiology. I could be a full epidemiologist if those slag brained drek suckers in the Core would accept them as legit. I want t’go help but ‘cause our name is flagged I can’t get off this rock,” Teigue said. “Ma said ask you to go all Blue Butterfly on the general and see what you could do.”

“It won’t be the general I talk to,” Fiera said. “I’ll have to go to the High Command. I know we don’t have much time, Teigue. I’ll work as fast as I can.”

“It hasn’t hopped off world yet, but I don’t trust it not to. The sooner you can get me there the better, Fury,” Teigue said.

“Let me see what I can do. No promises though,” Fiera said.

“Okay,” Teigue said. The call ended.

“Kuen, I need you,” Fiera called.

Kuen was at her side in a moment. “What do you need?”

“Can you have your friend in the local CAF office get Seaton to call me?” Fiera asked. “I need something on a higher level than that vapor brain Athalos can give me.”

“Move. I should still be able to reach her now,” Kuen said.

Fiera peeled out of the chair and let Kuen have the comm. He got Lt. Coltrin, and she promised to put in the request. Not five minutes later, as the rest of the group was finishing their meal, the comm chimed again. Fiera answered and High Admiral Seaton was looking at her quizzically. “I never thought I’d receive a request to contact you directly, Butterfly,” Seaton said.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d need a favor from the High Command,” Fiera said. “Or I wouldn’t be calling.”

“What favor would that be?” Seaton asked.

“You know that new law that keeps us all stuck on our Colony worlds? It’s keeping my brother Teigue and several skilled medics on Sorus – and several other worlds – while a virus rampages all over Aruistrides. Teigue is an epidemiologist even if he doesn’t have one of your fancy Core degrees to prove it. He wants to go, but with the Rezouac name it’s an instant denial,” Fiera said.

“You know why the Rezouac family is being kept locked down,” Seaton said.

“Michi Nakano doesn’t want Kuen and me hunting her down to get our girls back. You know that as well as I do, Seaton,” Fiera said. “I don’t care what lies the Assembly is spewing for the rest of the High Command.”

“I was aware of that,” Seaton said. “What is your brother’s name?”

“Teigue Rezouac,” Fiera said.

“I’ll have him put on the approved list,” Seaton said. “The other medics with him will have the approval of the High Command to go treat the viral outbreak. I’ll pass this along to General Athalos so he can make the arrangements to get them off world before tomorrow’s pass code terminates.”

“Thank you, High Admiral,” Fiera said.

“Pass something on to Kuen for me, will you?” Seaton asked. Fiera nodded. “He has a younger sister. Kagome Nakano was born eight months ago. Michi Nakano has been very close mouthed about her, but High Admiral Aceves doesn’t shut up. She is Kagome’s godmother and is forever sharing updates on the child with the rest of the High Command.”

“Does anyone know who the father is, given what happened to Kuen’s father and his entire family?” Fiera asked.

“The father was an anonymous donor courtesy of Dr. Asura. He refused to permit Michi to know who the male contributor was because he felt her reaction to the last one he provided for her was wasteful, or so I was able to learn from High Admiral Aceves,” Seaton said. She grinned. “That woman does not shut up when you get her drunk.”

Fiera barked a laugh. “I learned that the hard way attending parties with all of you. I’ll let him know. Thanks for clearing my brother.” Seaton nodded and ended the call.

“I have a younger sister,” Kuen said. “I feel so sorry for that child.”

“Worry about it later,” Gaspare said. “When we don’t have extra ears.”

“Let me call Teigue,” Fiera said. Gaspare started cleaning up after dinner. She called her mother’s farm. Muirne answered. “Minnie, I need your twin.”

“Teigue, Fury’s back on the comm for you,” Muirne called.

Teigue slid into focus a few moments later. “You’d better be ready to leave in the morning, Teigue. I don’t know that you’re going to get much warning. I’d suggest you find several others to go with you because I told my contact in the High Command you weren’t the only one going,” Fiera said.

“I’ve got just the people t’go with me,” Teigue said. “I’m cleared though?”

“She’s going to make sure of it,” Fiera said.

“Thanks Fury,” Teigue said.

“Thank me by keeping that virus away from ma and the littles,” Fiera said.

“I’ll do my best,” Teigue said. He ended the call.

Fiera went to the table and filled everyone in on what had just happened, leaving out the part about Kuen’s younger sister. “I’m glad Seaton’s actually helping,” Gaspare said.

“That’s good news,” Colin said. “We’ve got to get goin’, Fury. We need to get the skimmer back t’Nickel and head home.”

“Thanks for your work today. It’s much appreciated, as always,” Fiera said. The men nodded and left.

“I take it Seaton told you about Kuen’s younger sister?” Gaspare asked.

“Aceves runs her mouth too much to be good at keeping secrets,” Fiera said. “I discovered that during my years as the Blue Butterfly. She’s Kagome’s godmother, which leads me to believe that she’s been in Michi Nakano’s pocket for years.”

“She probably has been,” Kuen said. “I knew she had someone on the High Command helping her. I just never knew who.”

“At least with Seaton looking for the children Darkling has cover if he’s caught by High Admiral Leone,” Gaspare said.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Kuen said.

They cleaned up after dinner and put the children to bed. The movie that night was a tragic one about the destruction of a passenger liner when someone didn’t report a meteor in the flight path. Fiera shivered. This brought up far too many old memories from the destruction of the Lusitania, not a thing she should be watching when her younger brother was heading off into space the next day.

Their breakfast was interrupted by the comm chiming. Fiera answered it. Alena looked anxious. “Fury, the Roughlings and me are goin’ t’watch Teigue and the others lift off. Do you think you and yers can come too? It’ll mean a lot to Minnie,” she said.

“We can leave the work to our farmhands for a few hours,” Fiera said. “You’ll have to send someone to pick us up though. We can’t run off with their skimmer.”

“Nev can pick you up,” Alena said. “Keo’s waitin’ fer us now.”

“All right, Ma. I’ll get all of us ready. Send Nev our way,” Fiera said. Alena nodded and ended the call.

“I take it your mother wanted something?” Gaspare asked.

“We’re going to watch Teigue and the medics lift off,” Fiera said. “Nev’s on his way. If you two want to get the littles dressed, I’ll get Hedric and Colin started on their work.”

“Okay,” Gaspare said. He and Phelix took the children upstairs. Kuen went up to change as well.

Fiera caught Hedric and Colin. “Ma’s making us go watch Teigue lift off,” she said. “You two are on your own for a few hours. As soon as he’s safely away we’ll be back to help.”

“I figured,” Hedric said. “The Rezouac family sticks together and this is somethin’ big. What do you want us t’do?”

“Make sure the front fields get watered, and then check the plants,” Fiera said. “Make sure there’s no spots or holes in the leaves. If you see any problems mark the plants with the yellow markers and we’ll look them over when we get back.”

“Sounds good, Fury,” Colin said. The two headed out to the fields.

Fiera went upstairs and changed into her festival clothes. She’d seen what her mother was wearing and decided it wouldn’t do to go in her work clothes. The others were dressed as well as she was and about forty five minutes later Neven arrived. “Ma told me t’tell you t’dress up, but it looks like I don’t have to,” Neven said as they came out.

“I saw what ma was wearing,” Fiera said. “I figured she wanted us to wear our festival gear.”

“I love that blue on you, Fury,” Neven said.

“You look good too, peacock,” Fiera said with a grin.

They climbed in and made their way to the port. Several families were gathered, all dressed well, though it was easy to spot the Rezouacs with their dark cherry red hair and many of them in shades of blue. Gaspare and Phelix held onto their children as they joined the group joined the rest of the family.

General Athalos approached them. “I would like to know what you said to High Admiral Seaton, Butterfly,” he said. “That got her to approve your brother’s departure from this world. I have been arguing with the commander of the destroyer for the better part of the morning. He was determined to blow the ship up regardless if High Admiral Seaton gave permission because he answers to High Admiral Aceves. I had to remind him that he serves the entire High Command and that if he so much as breathes wrong when this ship lifts off, I’ll have him cleaning latrines with two broken arms – after I’ve given him to your family for a more lasting punishment for the loss of your brother.”

“I will take his loss personally, General Athalos,” Fiera said. “That is something you do not want.”

“I’ve convinced him to behave himself,” General Athalos said.

“Fury, is Teigue going to be killed over this?” Muirne asked, clinging to her daughter.

“No, Ms. Rezouac,” General Athalos said. “He is not. The situation has been resolved, and the medics are safe.”

“Yer sure, General?” Muirne asked.

“Very sure,” General Athalos said gently. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Thank you, General,” Muirne said. “Teigue is my twin, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him too.”

“She lost her husband when the CAF bombed us during the war,” Fiera said when General Athalos looked to Fiera for answers. “And her newborn daughter.”

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Rezouac,” General Athalos said.

“You can call me Muirne. I’ve learned to live with Nial and Hela’s losses,” Muirne said. She stroked her daughter’s hair. “I have Rhiannon now. She helps.”

“She’s quite lovely,” General Athalos said. He excused himself and went to speak to someone.

“He seems very kind,” Muirne said.

“He’s a far cry from the man I knew on Bouarus,” Fiera said. “I’ll give him that much.”

“Stay in the Colonies for any length of time and they’ll change you,” Gaspare said with a smile for Phelix and his children.

The shuttle lifted off and everyone cheered. Fiera watched, barely breathing, until she saw the flicker that showed the shuttle had engaged its darkspace drive. “Breathe, Fury,” Kuen said.

Fiera took a deep breath. She looked over where Teigue’s wife was standing. She had a worried look on her face. “He’ll be back soon, Mathilde,” Fiera said.

“I worry because of the virus. Will he catch it and sicken himself?” Mathilde asked.

“Teigue’s smart enough to take all the necessary precautions, Mathilde,” Fiera said.

“Come on, Mathilde,” Alena said. “Let’s take yer littles back t’the house. We’ll feed them somethin’ since they picked at their breakfast.”

“Okay Alena,” Mathilde said.

“If you need me for anything, call me, Ma,” Fiera said. “We’ve got fields to tend.”

“Do you need any of the Roughlings to come help?” Alena asked.

“I’ve got two extra hands right now, but I’ll need the help for harvest this fall,” Fiera said.

“Just call when you need them,” Alena said. “I’ve got farmhands comin’ out my ears. I can spare yer siblings t’help you.” The main Rezouac family headed in one direction while Fiera and her household headed in the other.

General Athalos caught Fiera’s attention before she got too far. “Butterfly, is your sister attached to anyone?”

“Minnie? No, she’s not attached. I don’t think she’s even looked at setting up a contract with anyone since Nial died,” Fiera said. She smiled. “Are you considering on making a move on Muirne, General Athalos?”

“I’m probably too old for her, but yes, I was considering it,” General Athalos said.

“You’re not that much older than we are, General Athalos. She’s in her thirties and you’re what, in your fifties?” Fiera asked. General Athalos nodded. “That’s not a huge difference. I haven’t heard you persisted in any of your bad habits since you came out here.”

“No, I left that man behind in the Core after the war, Butterfly,” General Athalos said. “And I’ve learned since our first meeting out here just how much I enjoy being in the Colonies, something I never thought I’d say. If I marry a Colony girl, I can retire out here with her. I don’t know if it’ll be your sister, but I would like to at least try.”

“I’m not sure I want you as a member of my family, General Athalos,” Fiera said with a smile. “But I won’t dissuade you from going after her if she’s the one you want. Muirne, like most Colonists, doesn’t favor Core manufactured items. So that’s something to keep in mind if you’re going to give her any kind of gift.”

“Thank you for the pointer,” General Athalos said. He headed for his office and Fiera rejoined her family.

“Fury, yer goin’ t’let that man pursue Minnie?” Neven asked.

“If she wants to encourage him, she will. If she turns him down flat, she’ll do that. I’m not going to interfere in Minnie’s life,” Fiera said. “Minnie will have my hide if I do.”

“Fair point,” Neven said. “Should I warn her the general’s chasin’ her?”

“No,” Fiera said. “Let her find out if he actually follows through.”

“Sounds good,” Neven said. Lt. Coltrin caught Kuen and spoke quietly to him for a moment before slipping back into the crowd. They all climbed into the skimmer and headed back towards the farm.

“Da, where’s Unca Teigue going?” Pascal asked.

“He’s off to help some sick people,” Gaspare said.

“Is he going to get sick too?” Pascal asked.

“He’s smart enough to wear a special suit that keeps him from getting sick,” Gaspare said. “He should be safe.”

“Okay. I like Unca Teigue,” Pascal said.

“We all like Uncle Teigue,” Phelix said.

They got back to the house. Phelix and Gaspare got the children inside to change them. Fiera caught Kuen as Neven sped off. “What did Mouse want?” she asked.

“Darkling let her know he’d try to reach out to me today,” Kuen said. “He’s got something he thinks we should hear.”

“I should try to fix us a snack then,” Fiera said.

“It’s almost lunch time. We need to feed the farmhands,” Kuen said.

“Let’s get changed and you can come help me,” Fiera said.

The two put together a hearty lunch. Gaspare and Phelix came down with Pascal. “Gael is napping,” Phelix said. “She wore herself out watching the liftoff.”

“What did you fix for lunch?” Gaspare asked.

“A whole pile of sandwiches, some salad, and vegetables with Pascal’s favorite green dipping sauce,” Fiera said.

“Yay,” Pascal said, staring at the food on the table.

“I’ll go call the farmhands in,” Kuen said.

He rang the klaxon and aa short while later the two men came in. “How’d the launch go?” Hedric asked as he washed his hands.

“They got away safely and are on their way to Aruistrides,” Fiera said. “There was a tense moment because of High Command politics, but it was worked out beforehand and our medics are going to be able to help where they’re needed.”

“That’s good,” Colin said. “How’s Minnie dealing with Teigue bein’ off?”

“She’s handling it better than Mathilde is,” Fiera said. “Ma’s going to have her hands full with Teigue’s wife.”

“Well, I can understand that one,” Colin said as he sat down. “Mathilde came from a world where Teigue dealt with a virus, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did,” Fiera said. “So she knows what he’s working with.”

“At least they got off world safely,” Hedric said. The two farmhands dove into their food.

Once the food was eaten, Fiera and Kuen cleaned things up. She caught Phelix’s arm. “We’re expecting a call,” she said. “A very important one. I’ll be out to the fields after we get it.”

Phelix looked at her and switched to twinspeak. “Does this have to do with your girls?” he asked.

“Darkling’s going to call today and while he’ll be calling for Kuen I want to be here for it,” Fiera said, switching languages as well. “I’m not willing to wait until I get back in to hear the news.”

“I don’t blame you. I’ll tell Gaspare,” Phelix said. He and Gaspare grabbed their tools and followed the farmhands out.

Fiera and Kuen played with Pascal, keeping an eye on the time and the comm. About two hours later Kuen went upstairs to get Gael. While he was gone, the comm began to chime. Fiera answered it. There was young man dressed in a rumpled CAF uniform on the other end. “I’m looking for Kuen Rezouac. I’ve got some information for him,” he said.

Fiera saw the rank insignia – captain – and the last name “Drake” on his uniform. “Darkling,” she guessed.

Captain Daniel Drake grinned at her. “I love that nickname,” he said. “Is Kuen around somewhere?”

“He went to grab our niece. Give him a moment and he’ll be right here,” Fiera said.

A few minutes later Kuen appeared. Fiera slid out of the seat and took Gael from him. Kuen sat down. “I’m here, Darkling,” Kuen said.

“Was that the Colony girl you were in love with?” Captain Drake asked. “The one who turned you around on the whole Core versus Colony thing all those years ago?”

“She is,” Kuen said. “We’re married now and have been for the last five years.”

“I assumed, when Mouse sent me the heads up about your littles,” Captain Drake said. “I’m glad you found her again.”

“So are we,” Kuen said. “Captain now? You have been busy.”

“Eh, I like my job and I’m good at it. They don’t get many like me in Intel, so they have to promote us to keep us happy,” Captain Drake said with a grin. Then the smile faded. “Kuen, you’re not going to like what I’ve got to say.”

“What is it?” Kuen asked.

“CAF tracked a ship of unknown origin leaving Sorus about the time Mouse says your girls were taken. It broadcast the appropriate code, so it was let through, but it was tagged. It jumped into darkspace, but something made it drop out only a day later. Then we lost track of it for about three days,” Captain Drake said.

“What happened to it?” Kuen asked. Fiera’s blood ran cold.

“We found it on Zebrore. It looked like their darkspace drive malfunctioned and that’s why they originally stopped,” Captain Drake said. “The reason we didn’t see them take off again was because everyone was dead. There were the bodies of two nearly identical women and three men found near the ship. No children were found, though a child’s toy was discovered under one of the seats.” He flashed pictures of the two women on the screen. “Do you recognize either of them?”

“I don’t know their names, but I do know the type. Those are two of the Devas,” Kuen said. “The elite assassins and infiltrators in the employ of Michi Nakano.”

“And this toy?” Captain Drake asked, showing them an image of the object found.

“That’s Nafisa’s doll,” Fiera said, leaning over Kuen’s shoulder. “It’s her favorite. She never goes anywhere without it.”

“I think someone with a grudge against Michi Nakano found out she’d kidnapped your daughters and took down their captors. There’s no sign of weapons fire so this was done up close and by hand. The problem is I don’t know who or where yet,” Captain Drake said. “We searched Zebrore, but it turned up nothing.”

“Zebrore is a high grav world, isn’t it?” Fiera asked, her mind reeling as she realized who it was who’d probably grabbed her girls.

“It is,” Captain Drake said.

“My father could be behind this,” Fiera said cautiously. “He hates Michi Nakano and – and I was always his favorite. He wouldn’t want his granddaughters in her hands any more than I do. I don’t know how he’d manage to hide himself or them, but I do know if he found out about the kidnapping plot, he’d do what it took to get the girls away from her same as I would.”

“Eire Rezouac is one possibility I hadn’t considered. With him still being a wanted criminal, he would find it very hard to get back to you on Sorus,” Captain Drake said. “He’d have to find someone he trusted to bring the girls back to you.”

“And that would take time because the CAF’s rounded up most of those he trusted,” Fiera said. “And you’re watching the rest. It’s not a guarantee that he’s the one who did this, but it is a possibility.”

“A very strong one, considering all five adults were killed by sheer brute force and not with the use of weapons,” Captain Drake said.

“That sounds like my da,” Fiera said. “He’ll use guns when it suits him, but I get my temper and attitude from him. He’s the one who taught me to hit a problem until it went away. Plus with littles in danger, he’d want to minimize the risk of hitting them.”

“Given that he was a kericopac player and from what my sources have been able to determine is still a very physically fit man, he’d have no problem overpowering them if they weren’t expecting it,” Captain Drake said.

“Da can look like a harmless old man if he wants to. It makes sense they’d be taken by surprise,” Fiera said. She tried to hide her excitement. If her father had the twins, then Michi Nakano couldn’t hurt them. It didn’t mean she’d be seeing them any time soon, but Eire would die rather than let that woman get her hands on them.

“I’ll look into this some more. This was assigned to me so I can legitimately state talking to you is intelligence gathering as now I have a lead to follow. Thank you for that,” Captain Drake said with an impish grin. “Of course, I’d keep you in the loop anyway. These are your littles I’m searching for, even if High Admiral Leone doesn’t realize it. Now that I’ve got a name, I can do some digging, see if he’s been on Zebrore.”

“Thanks, Darkling,” Kuen said. “I appreciate this.”

“Oh, anything to shove one up that ketch’s backside,” Captain Drake said. “I lost a lot of friends in that war she started. High Admiral Leone doesn’t realize just how many of his Intel team works with the renegades. We’re keeping it that way for as long as possible.”

“Don’t get yourself caught,” Kuen said.

“I won’t. Remember, I can get in and out of places no one else can,” Captain Drake said. “That’s part of why I’ve got the rank I do. Not to mention I’ve got High Admiral Seaton to fall back on as a scapegoat for me getting caught. She’s as nosy as they come for someone not in Intel.” He gave a cheery wave and ended the call.

Kuen stood up and Fiera hugged him. “She doesn’t have them,” she said.

“No, she doesn’t,” Kuen said. “We don’t know who does though.”

Fiera bit her tongue. She couldn’t tell Kuen that she had a very good idea who had them because that would be admitting she’d called her father for help. “I can live with that so long as Michi Nakano doesn’t have them,” Fiera said. “I’m heading out. Keep an eye on the littles. We’ll have to explain all of this to the other two when we come back in.”

“Right,” Kuen said.

Fiera grabbed her tools and headed out to the fields. “How’d it go?” Phelix asked in twinspeak.

“The news was interesting. I’ll explain later, after it quiets down for the night,” Fiera replied in the same language. Phelix nodded and got back to work.

Kuen called them all in for dinner a few hours later. Fiera sniffed appreciatively when she walked through the door. “Smells good, Kuen,” Gaspare said.

“It should. Pascal and I worked hard on dinner, didn’t we?” Kuen asked, looking down at the boy.

“Uh huh,” Pascal said. “I helped make the sauce and stirred the vegetables.”

Dinner was steaks, vegetables in a lovely light sauce, and rice. Once the farmhands were fed, they took off. Gaspare and Phelix waited until after the children were in bed before they cornered Kuen and Fiera. “All right,” Gaspare said. “What happened when Darkling called?”

Kuen gave them a rundown of what was discussed. “My mother doesn’t have them. We don’t know who does, but the twins are not in her hands,” Kuen said in conclusion.

“Fury’s right. It’s probably our da,” Phelix said.

“That’s a possibility,” Gaspare said. “It could also be someone on Zebrore didn’t like the looks of the Devas and killed them, took the girls, and is hiding them from the CAF.”

“They’ll do a broad sweet genetic scan of the planet,” Kuen said. “If the girls are on the planet, they’ll find them. Those frakking gene scans are brutal. They can find anything.”

“They won’t still be on Zebrore. Da will have taken them off world as fast as he could find a ride,” Phelix said.

“Flicks, why are you so convinced your da is the one who has the girls?” Gaspare asked.

“Tell them,” Phelix said, looking at his sister.

“Flicks, they’re going to be mad at me,” Fiera said.

“Tell them anyway,” Phelix said. “It’ll save on them theorizing about who has the girls.”

“What aren’t you telling us, Fury?” Kuen asked.

“The day the girls were taken,” Fiera said. “I called Jacin Andreasen. I made him give me a way to contact my da. I knew he’d have it because da would have trusted him even though Jace later turned in everyone he knew about. He didn’t turn da in because he’s scared of him.”

“You called your father,” Gaspare said.

“I did,” Fiera said. “I told him that Michi Nakano took our girls, and I wanted them back. He promised me he’d find them and bring them home, even if he had to go into the Core to retrieve them. Da would have been on Zebrore because he’s probably got friends there that Jace didn’t know about.”

“It would make sense for Eire being on Zebrore,” Gaspare said. “In fact, it would be necessary for him to be there.”

“What makes you say that?” Kuen asked.

“Eire can’t survive long on a light grav world. He’s Gaiteran,” Gaspare said, leaning against the wall. “He has to be on a high grav world, or his body starts to break down. Zebrore is one of five populated high grav worlds in the Colonies. Sorus is already out for him, two of the others are too heavily populated so they have a strong CAF presence, and the fourth is currently home to a major CAF military training base. Zebrore is the only one he could manage to hide on for any length of time.”

“Eire could take the twins to the Core for a while,” Kuen said. “There are more high grav worlds there, and he isn’t so well known in the CWA as he is here. He could hide them there for a few months while he tries to reach contacts.”

“Angeliki,” Fiera said. “He could take the twins to his sister. She’s on house arrest. Who’d bother checking for the twins with her?”

“The CAF would,” Gaspare said. “She’s probably out too. He might have stayed with her for a few days while he made other plans.”

“Fury, we’re not mad at you for asking your father for help,” Kuen said. “I wish you’d trusted us and told us sooner, but we’re not mad at you for it.”

“After da shot you, I didn’t think you’d want me asking for his help,” Fiera mumbled.

“You have your reasons for putting your faith in him,” Kuen said.

“Da has never broken his word to me,” Fiera said. “He’s sometimes kept things from me, but once he promises me something, he keeps that promise. I knew if I could get him to promise me to bring home the girls, he’d find a way. I still don’t trust the CAF, Kuen. I know you do, at least a little, but I don’t. I never have and I probably never will. For all that he’s done, I still trust my da to keep his word. When he promised me he’d bring the girls home, I trusted that he’d find some way to do it.”

“I can understand that,” Kuen said. “Maybe with both the CAF and Eire working to bring our girls home, someone will manage it.”

“Where would Eire take the twins?” Gaspare asked, drawing them back to the subject of the conversation.

“Da could take the twins to Annorth,” Phelix said, frowning in thought.

“What’s Annorth?” Gaspare asked.

“Annorth is a high grav world that’s controlled by the Arpathi,” Fiera said. “It’s one of the few actual worlds left in the Colonies under their complete dominion. A lot of heavyworlders visit and there are even a few who live there unofficially. The Arpathi tolerate us being there so long as we follow their rules, and da wouldn’t be seen as a criminal by them because they don’t have the same sense of law as we do. He could hide there with the twins and not be bothered by anyone. Even the Assembly and the CAF won’t go to Annorth unless there’s a good reason. The Arpathi and the Kwarron, who help protect Annorth, are vicious and will eradicate anyone they think is a threat.”

“The Devas wouldn’t be able to go to Annorth either, would they?” Kuen asked.

“No. They would scream predator and the Arpathi would kill them on sight. Have you ever seen an Arpathi fight, Kuen?” Fiera asked.

“No, I haven’t,” Kuen said.

“They don’t start out fighting with weapons,” Fiera said. “They start with heir claws – they have retractable ones, like a feline – and they use them to warn you off. They’re sharp, they’re painful, and they will do damage if they connect but mostly they’re just trying to tell you to back away.” She let her mind go back to the one time she saw an Arpathi fight. “If you don’t take the hint, they go for their blades. You think I’m scarily efficient at fighting? I learned from my da, who got some lessons from the Arpathi. They’re deadly with their blades. If they only draw a single blade you might survive. If both of their daggers come out, you’re dead. I don’t care if you have a gun, a vibroblade, or something else. I have seen people shoot an Arpathi and they still keep going until the person who shot them is little more than chunks of meat on the ground.”

“Then the Arpathi falls over dead too, right?” Gaspare asked.

“No. This is why the CAF doesn’t want to get into an all-out war with them,” Phelix said soberly. “Arpathi can take damage that would kill even the toughest heavyworlder and brush it off like it’s nothing. I’ve seen them caught in explosions that killed people I worked with and haul the wounded out as if they weren’t wounded themselves. The Arpathi are…scary. And they are nothing compared to the Kwarron.”

“The only disadvantage the Kwarron have is that they’re amphibious, so they have to have access to water. The Arpathi don’t have that kind of weakness,” Fiera said. “Any terrain, any gravity, any planet type – so long as they can breathe an Arpathi can survive.”

“It’s actually hypothesized that Gaiterans, and the other heavyworlders, are derived from Arpathi genetics,” Phelix said.

“It’s why we’re so tough,” Fiera said. “Why we have the greater bone density, why it’s harder to take us down. Gaiterans are crippled because they have to have the pull of their gravity or their systems shut down. That’s not a common trait and many think it was bred into the Gaiterans to force them to stay on their world as slaves to the CWA from the beginning.”

“How do you know that one?” Gaspare asked.

“I’ve been doing a lot of reading since I figured out who my da was,” Fiera said. “I technically hold a dual citizenship. The Gaiteran government was more than happy to give me access to their history archives when I proved this, and I’ve been reading when I have a spare moment. There is a lot of anti-CWA stuff in their history. Did you know that Gaitera wanted to join the Colonies when we originally broke off? The motion was voted down by two votes in their planetary assembly. Those two were later found out to have been paid by the Assembly to keep Gaitera in the CWA.”

“I didn’t know that,” Gaspare said.

“Gaitera uses the least amount of tech for a Core world,” Fiera said. “There are only three other worlds who use a similar amount. No one uses less because to do so would be to fully embrace the Colony lifestyle. They aren’t able to do that for some reason, something about needing to maintain a certain level of technological readiness.”

“No wonder your father found the transition to the Colonies so easy,” Gaspare said.

“If you live with low tech on your homeworld it’s easy to transition to almost no tech out here,” Fiera said.

“Wait, how can the Councilor from Gaitera and his wife survive on Bouarus if they have to remain on a high grav world?” Kuen asked.

“Grav suits,” Fiera said. “Councilor Kakoric and Angeliki wore them under their clothes. Gaiteran manufactured grav suits are thinner than standard issue grav suits and are designed to create a self-contained field of energy that acts like Gaitera’s gravitational field. It’s not foolproof, and if it breaks down, they have a few days before they start feeling the effects, so they always keep at least one spare and they have a specialist on staff that can repair the suits quickly.”

“Interesting,” Gaspare said.

“I’ve been thinking about finding a way to contact Angeliki,” Fiera said. “I want to know what da was like when he was younger, and I can’t ask him directly. I’d have to be careful about it, so I don’t get her into more trouble for contacting the Colonies.”

Gaspare nodded. “Let me see what I can do. I don’t have a contact on Gaitera, but I know someone who can approach the Councilor obliquely,” he said. “This is going to take time because this will be a very roundabout way of doing things.”

“Thanks, Gaspare,” Fiera said.

“Have you forgiven her for trying to kill you?” Kuen asked with some amusement.

“No, but I understand better what her thought process was,” Fiera said. “I don’t blame her for it anymore. She was doing what was the most expedient.”

“Sometimes expediency isn’t the right answer though,” Kuen said.

“I agree,” Fiera said. “As I said, I haven’t forgiven her. I’d still like to talk to her.”

“So, who’s up for a holo tonight?” Gaspare asked.

“Nothing sappy, nothing tragic,” Fiera said. “I need a good laugh.”

“I’ve got one in mind,” Phelix said. “It’s an old favorite of ours.”

“Sounds good to me,” Fiera said.

“Me too,” Kuen said.

The next day Gaspare stayed in with the children. Fiera worked her way over to her brother. “Okay, twint,” she said in twinspeak. “Something’s eating at you. I saw it at breakfast. I noticed it last night during the holo. What’s going on?”

“Fury, do you ever think this stupidity with the Core is going to end? Or am I going to have to be afraid for Pascal and Gael for the rest of my life?” Phelix asked, a haunted look in his eyes. “I’m not sure I’ve got it in me after all.”

“What brought this on?” Fiera asked.

“That worry with Teigue and the fact that the clinic called a couple days ago and said Eli and Elian, those twins we’re slated to take in, are almost ready to come home,” Phelix said.

“Flicks, you know me and Kuen were afraid every day of the twins’ lives that the ketch would do something. It turns out we were right, but we wouldn’t trade a second of time with Nafi and Lao for the peace of mind we’d have had if we never had children,” Fiera said. “We’re already talking adopting because I can’t have more littles. Or using a surrogate, though we might choose someone other than Minnie this time.”

“How can you, knowing what you do about the world the children will be facing?” Phelix asked.

“I asked ma once if she knew things were going to work out when we were born. Know what she told me?” Fiera asked. Phelix shook his head. “She didn’t even know if she had enough to put food on the table for her, da, Keo, and us. She and da were afraid the farm was going to fail with us littles and the Core demanding more and more of the crops, leaving less and less for the people.”

“What did she do?” Phelix asked.

“Ma was the one who came up with the idea of having her own garden. Core couldn’t touch those crops because they weren’t in the fields. Personal gardens were exempt. Only reason the three of us survived as long as we did was because ma fed us on what she grew in her garden and the scraps she could pull together from the most basic supplies. And this was after she and da had been married for almost twenty years,” Fiera said.

“I thought da knew all about farming,” Phelix said.

“Da knew less than a nanogram about farming, Flicks. Ma was the one with the know-how and even she didn’t know how to manage something on the kind of scale they were working with. It was something one of the farmhands said to da that made him take the botany courses one winter and by the following spring da knew what to do. He got the farm turned around and by the time Marc came along things were a lot better,” Fiera said. “You know how much even a single good season can help. Da figured how to make the farm work for him right up to the first frost and maximized crop yield. He just got better every year until the CWA hit the fields with whatever it was that they tagged us with.”

“Then ma and da were back to the beginning, only this time it was with thirteen littles and no way to provide for them,” Phelix said.

“That’s why we lost Morgana and Morrigan,” Fiera said. “They were too young to handle the famine. That’s when da turned hard and ma had to deal with him losing his mind, eleven hungry littles, and a pack of Roughlings who were always getting into trouble.” Fiera shook her head. “You want to talk to someone who knows what it’s like to live through pure misery, Flicks – go talk to ma some time. She’ll set you right.”

“How did she do it though, Fury?” Phelix asked. “How did she have so many littles knowing what kind of world she was bringing them into?”

“She told me that each of us gives something back to the universe, and that’s why she had us. She and da considered stopping after Neven, but they decided they wanted more. Da because he wanted farmhands, but ma told me she wanted more because each of us was so different from the others she wanted to see what each combination of her and da could bring to the universe,” Fiera said. “After Morrigan and Morgana were born she got herself fixed because she felt thirteen was enough. Not to mention she felt she was pushing the safe limit age-wise. Ma’s over ninety now, Flicks. With as many of us as she had, she wanted to be sure she was still around to see our littles.”

“What are you two talking about over there?” Kuen asked.

“Family stuff,” Fiera said.

“Ah, okay.” Kuen focused back on his work.

“He has so much trust in you, Fury,” Phelix said, resuming the conversation in twinspeak.

“Of course he does. As I do in him. He has literally held my life in his hands more times than I care to count, and I’ve held his in mine,” Fiera said.

“Gaspare and I don’t have that kind of trust,” Phelix said.

“No, you’ve got something Kuen and I don’t have,” Fiera said.

“What’s that?” Phelix asked.

“You have the trust of a man who never even knew what being antero meant, Flicks. He trusted you not to hurt him while he explored a side of himself he didn’t really understand or even know how to accept,” Fiera said. “That kind of trust runs just as deeply as what we have. You trusted him to be completely honest with you. You trusted him not to hurt you, not to lead you on and then drop you. You gave him your heart and were patient while he figured out what he wanted. You have a relationship built on mutual understanding and discovery. Kuen’s and mine started based on mutual hatred of each other and developed into something else.”

“Did you really hate him?” Phelix asked.

“Oh, I despised him,” Fiera said. “Let me tell you a bit about what he was like when we first met.” She told him then of who Kuen had been during the early days of their relationship, of the young man who’d scoffed at her pain over losing a friend. How the truth had come out that he hated the Colonies because of what the CAF made him do, and how he’d been so brainwashed by the propaganda machine during his life he knew no other way. They still disliked each other after the mess on Cova, but they’d come to mutually respect each other.

“He sounds like we’d have thought he was a waste of poor genetics back then,” Phelix said. They reached the end of their row and moved on to the next one.

“Oh, he portrayed himself that way. Then I learned to see behind that mask. I saw the broken man inside and he learned to see the damaged woman beneath mine. I saw the Core from his and Gaspare’s perspective – I even learned to like some Core Worlders and came to understand that not everyone on the Assembly and in the CAF wanted the Colonies subjugated. I taught them to see the Colonies from my view,” Fiera said.

“It sounds like you both had a profound effect on each other,” Phelix said.

“We did,” Fiera said.

“Talk less, work more,” Kuen teased from where he worked.

“You’re just jealous I can talk, work, and I’m still faster than you,” Fiera teased back. Kuen made a rude gesture in her direction and everyone laughed.