Roco kissed Myeong on the mouth. 'See you shortly.'
'How long?'
'I don't know. They won't tell me what it's about, only that I have to come.'
'Do you think it's something bad?'
'I don't think so.'
Myeong gazed up at him with her big dark eyes. 'You're holding something back. You know you can't keep secrets from me.'
'I know.' He kissed her again. 'I'll be back shortly. Enjoy your meeting with the ladies.'
The door shut behind him and Roco paused to lean against it. He was reasonably sure he knew why Captain Ream was gathering his senior operatives. Rumours were spreading. He'd overheard a group of men speaking about it. He'd discounted it as fabrication but with this meeting suddenly coming up out of nowhere ...
Roco started making his way down. Myeong could definitely feel his unease, his excitement and disbelief. He knew it because she was echoing his feelings back. The Zibons he passed exhibited nothing.
Captain Ream's door opened. Though the room was large, it felt small with all the men gathered. Half a dozen or so heads turned as the door slid shut behind him. Roco nodded at all the familiar faces: Clint, Zibry, Quinton, Tor and Miktar.
'Good,' Captain Ream said as he stood behind his desk. 'Now we can get this done. I'm sure you've heard about the ship's recent developments.'
'I've heard some,' Roco said as he leaned against the wall, folding his arms, trying to act casual like the news didn't affect him at all. 'But it can't be true.'
Clint's forehead was pinched. Tor was looking between Captain Ream and Roco in confusion. Quinton and Zibry were expressionless.
'Strange that you know so little,' Captain Ream said. 'Considering it's been spreading like wildfire around the ship.'
'Well, we don't have as much reason to socialise with our workmates,' Clint said with a half-smirk.
Captain Ream snorted.
'What are you talking about?' Tor said.
'One of your Rictorians has fallen pregnant,' Captain Ream said.
Roco's heart skipped a beat. So it was true! Clint's eyes were wide. Tor was frozen. Zibry's mouth was open.
'But we don't know if it's viable,' Quinton said. 'We don't know if it'll survive. We don't know exactly what it is yet.' He shook his head. 'A Zibon-Rictorian hybrid ... I don't even know what that means.'
Zibry gripped onto a nearby chair and slowly slid into it, looking a lot like Roco was feeling. Roco raked his trembling fingers through his bristly hair.
'Who is it?' Zibry's yellow eyes darted between them. 'Where's Drake and Silo?'
'Silo's too unwell,' Quinton said. 'As for Drake ...' He let it hang in the air.
Tor's eyebrows shot up. Zibry leaned over his lap, his hands clasped between his knees.
'He's just found out,' Quinton said. 'They're both a little shocked.'
'No shit.'
'So, what does that mean for us?' Roco said.
'It means you continue as you are. To be with your Rictorians. To—' Captain Ream twisted his mouth into a sneer '—put your bedroom schedules as top priority. Except for Quinton, who we need right now, the rest of you are no longer required for duty.'
Tor stared. 'What do you mean?'
'Just as I said. Your duty is no longer to work. It is to breed.'
'I don't think the ladies would like you saying something like that,' Roco said.
'I don't care what they think. They don't need to know.'
'But they will know.' Roco tapped his temple. 'Our bonds.'
'Furthermore,' Captain Ream continued. He turned towards the window looking out onto space. Roco could just glimpse the distant star that was Rictor 5. 'It is now our aim to contact these aliens so as to acquire more fertile females.'
A hush fell over the room.
'Only if the pregnancy proves viable, of course?' Quinton said.
'Exactly so. Nothing will be done until we know for sure. That is currently your mission, Quinton, until the additional science officers arrive to take your place.'
'Take my place?'
'Like the others, your cellular research will no longer be a priority.'
Quinton looked down at his feet.
Roco felt no uncertainty. An extended holiday making love to a woman he adored in one of the most exotic places in the galaxy? He didn't really have much to complain about.
'Will we still get paid?' Zibry asked.
'You will get paid. Get paid for doing nothing.' Captain Ream scowled.
'To save our species,' Tor said.
'Don't get too excited, Tor,' Captain Ream warned. 'This may not work out. And if it does—are you prepared to go back to Zibon 8 and live your life as a father and nothing more?'
Roco suddenly had a vision of Myeong sitting naked in his lap, nursing their baby to her chest, Roco's arms wrapped around them both. He rubbed the back of his head as heat flooded his body, as the blood pooled in his hips.
Nothing more? What could be better?
*
Myeong paused as she stood before the doors leading onto their helmet room—or "meeting" room as she should now call it. She pressed the back of her arm to her head, then gripped onto the wall as she swooned. What was going on with Roco?
She felt a burn deep down in her pelvis that made her hips throb. Shaking her head, Myeong pressed her hands to her cheeks, trying to leach away some of the heat. She must be blazing red. It almost felt like she was having sex right on the spot. Then she saw it—an image. It was of Roco and herself. They were holding a baby.
Myeong felt a sickening swoop in her belly. Why? Why was he fantasising about such an impossible thing? The image seemed so real that her throat swelled and she had to fight the urge to burst into tears.
'Myeong!'
Myeong brushed her hair in front of her face. She turned. 'Hey Brenda.' She tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.
Brenda paused before the doors. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine. It's nothing. Just ... thinking.'
Brenda was smart enough not to ask questions. She nodded at the doors. 'Do you know what this is about?'
'Only that the men have their own meeting.'
'Hmm. Well ...' she tossed her long red hair over her shoulder '... let's see who's inside.'
She swiped open the door. Myeong smiled as she saw Juan, Chloe and Aisha waiting for them.
'Hello everyone!' Brenda said.
Juan leapt up to hug her.
Next, he swept Myeong into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. 'Looking good, girl. Bonding suits you.' He laughed.
Myeong swept her eyes over the rest of them. Chloe gave her a wan smile. As for Aisha ... Myeong gasped—she was bonded!
Aisha's cheeks flushed. Her smile was small. 'H-how are you?'
'Good. You look good.' Myeong studied her a moment but couldn't see any obvious changes.
Aisha nodded. She gestured her to sit.
'How is everybody?' Brenda said brightly as she sat next to Juan. Her eyes twinkled. 'You're looking beautiful, Aisha. I'm so glad.'
Aisha nodded again, the blush in her cheeks turning red. Brenda swept her eyes over Chloe with a gentle smile. The girl lowered her eyes to the table.
'So ... we might as-as well get started,' Aisha said, folding her hands together.
Myeong raised her eyebrows.
'You called this meeting?' Brenda said, equally surprised.
'What about Karina and Alexis?'
'Th-they're not coming.'
Juan raised an eyebrow.
'Silo is unwell and Alexis ...' She twisted her mouth. 'She's ... she's ... pregnant.'
Juan's jaw dropped. He snapped it back up. 'Wow, just spit it out like that.'
Brenda and Myeong looked at each other. Myeong felt her stomach drop.
'But she can't be,' Brenda said. 'Zibry said it was impossible.'
A knot was slowly tightening in Myeong's chest.
'It's-it's been confirmed. They-they thought we couldn't.'
Chloe was leaning towards them over the table, her eyes bright.
'Thought you should know. Th-that's what the men are meeting about. That's why I brought you here.'
Aisha tried her best to explain what happened, though she was having difficulty with so many eyes upon her. Like Myeong, she seemed unused to being the centre of attention. Juan's mouth was hanging open again. Brenda was listening avidly. Myeong's ears were ringing. There was a funny taste in her mouth. So that was why Roco was having such strange thoughts. Strange thoughts of a future that simply couldn't be.
'They-they're going to return to Rictor 5—I mean Earth. To-to get more women.'
'How many more?' Myeong asked. It was a stupid question, but she felt like she had to say something, anything to make it seem like she wasn't dissolving from the inside out.
'They haven't said.'
Juan leaned back in his seat, hands on his head as he gazed up at the ceiling. 'Wow.'
Brenda was drumming her fingers against the table, frowning, a deep crease between her eyes.
'So, why isn't Alexis here?' Juan said. 'Wouldn't it be better if she told us?'
'It's-it's personal.'
Juan stared at her, then looked away towards the door. Myeong looked down into her lap. She was feeling sicker by the moment, the knot in her chest tightening and tightening. She suddenly stood. 'I think I need to go back.'
'Me too,' Brenda said, also standing.
'Why don't we all stay and chat?' Juan said hopefully. 'Catch up, you know?'
Brenda shook her head. 'Sorry, Juan. I'm just—I'm just not in the mood.'
Brenda hurried towards the door. Myeong followed. The door snapped shut behind them. Brenda was looking pale. She gave Myeong a shaky smile as she turned and hurried away down the corridor.
Myeong waited until she was gone before following. She tried to hold her feelings back—there were too many Zibons to witness—but it was impossible. She hung her head, her eyes a blur, as the tears quietly dripped down her face. It didn't matter anyway. Even if she could hide her tears, she couldn't hide her feelings. Not from Roco.
Their room was empty. The first thing she did was get herself a glass of water. But all she did was grip onto it, standing at the kitchenette staring at the wall. She tried to put it down but missed the bench. It smashed on the floor.
Myeong stared at the gleaming shards of glass. She rushed into the bathroom. She hardly knew what she was doing as she stripped herself off. Then the water was pounding on her head. It helped conceal her tears but it did nothing to drown out the sound of her sobbing.
She needed to purge herself before Roco came back, but she couldn't stop crying. Stepping out of the wet, she went over to the rack, picked up her shirt and screamed into it. She screamed and screamed before stepping back into the water.
Finally, that tightness in her chest began to ease. The tears slowed. She could breathe again. Wrapping her arms around herself, she dropped her chin to her chest with a sigh, staring numbly as the water circled around her toes and disappeared down the drain.
Feeling more normal, she was about to turn off the water when she turned at the sound of the door opening. She tried to keep control but the sight of Roco made her eyes flood again. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. She could feel it, she could see it in his shining yellow eyes as he watched her sadly, the same grief reflected back at her; the same understanding that only a childless mother could know.
He walked inside, ignoring the wet as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.
'I'm okay,' she gasped, gripping onto his sides. 'I'm okay.'
Burying her face into his shoulder, she burst into tears again.