The Dark Edge Chronicles - Clan War

Dodging Liliths

Truk, eyes narrowed in concentration, carefully brought the Nighthawk into the fjord's mouth under the watchful sensors of the perimeter guns protecting it. As the remarkably agile vehicle evened back out, Lash dropped into the copilot's seat.

"How are we looking?" the big vampire asked as he let his eyes scan over the readouts and displays.

"We're through the perimeter challenge and on final approach, Wolf," the former Van Tallert nestari reported. Like Narcist, he had been more than happy to accept Lash's invitation to join House Lash in whatever capacity the big vampire had for him.

Truk, after another scan of his readouts, then looked over at the Qos Viran Lord Commander.

"You catch that tomb time you were talking about? You're not going to get much once we're back at base."

Lash sighed. Leaving the adjuncts behind wasn't something he planned, even though it made Anna's extraction significantly less troublesome. That, however, had introduced a complication he hadn't expected, a uniquely vampiric problem.

With fertility such a strong focus for a species that had significant trouble procreating, laws were enacted in antiquity to ensure every demand by one fertile party on another fertile party was honored to its fullest extent. So Lash had been obligated not only by his own honor, but by laws ancient and binding to respond to every lilith that asked, pleaded for, or straight up demanded his time and essence. And in the last few days, those demands had come frequently.

The unfortunate side effect of having such heavy lilith demands on his person was his body had made several adjustments to compensate. Which, after things had calmed down after the extraction, he found those adjustments extraordinarily distracting. In truth, the best resolution would've been stealing Naryan for a half hour or so and having a chat about it.

But with three squads of Legion Vanguard aboard, she was sufficiently unavailable because of existing duties that he made the offer to Ellie instead. Which, of course, had its own challenges.

While she was a very willing partner, Ellie was also a little sister. And in a counterintuitive manner versus how liliths operated, she had severe restrictions on her reproductive freedom. Putting an unregistered child into her extremely willing person would be a death sentence for her, even if that child was fathered by an alpha prime belonging to a bloodline straight from the Ancient One, such as himself.

Thankfully Ellie was also open to putting his seed into places other than her womb. Or his discomfort would've been considerable. Regardless, it was a perfect illustration of exactly what he didn't want to be dealing with at the moment.

War needed to be his focus. Not fulfilling lilith obligations.

"More or less," he finally said in reply to Truk's question. "I just hope things at base are significantly more straight forward!"

"Doubt it," Truk said, his expression pragmatic. "With so many legionnaires there and providing escort or protection, the liliths will be wandering all over the place and, no disrespect intended, getting in our night-blessed way."

"Which means more hiding in the command center for you, boss," Narcist added as she stepped onto the flight deck and dropped into her usual spot at the electronic warfare officer's station.

"Unless you've somehow figured out how to not be an alpha prime with straight-line lineage and the Night Father's right hand of retribution?"

Lash grunted as Truk chuckled.

"Right hand of retribution; I like that one. Is that a Narcist special? Or did you overhear it?"

Narcist grinned.