The Iriduan’s Mate by Susan Trombley
Epilogue
Ava bit her lip as she surreptitiously studied the slender form of the Lusian standing near the food replicator.
Luna glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Ava, and Ava cursed the fact that she’d dropped her mental shields in her distraction, allowing the other female to read her thoughts. No doubt she’d even projected her concern because Luna turned away from the replicator and made her way to Ava’s table.
“May I sit?” she asked, her voice taking on a more human rhythm with each passing day.
Ava nodded quickly, gesturing to the other side of the table. “Sure, have a seat! We really haven’t had a chance to talk much since you joined our crew.”
They’d only just left Hierabodos after a lovely visit with everyone that Luna had not taken part in. Like most of the crew, she’d remained on the ship, still retaining her Lusian distaste for prolonged exposure to groups of mentally unshielded people.
Luna regarded Ava with her large, ovoid eyes, framed by silvery white waves of hair that Ava envied. The other female was so ethereally beautiful and slender, with only very subtle curves to her body in comparison to Ava’s curvy form. She was also elegant and enigmatic.
Just like Roz.
“Too much like him,” Luna said with a wry smile. “We will not be at peace for much longer.”
Ava gasped, a flush of embarrassment burning her cheeks. “Oh! I didn’t mean to….” She waved both of her hands in front of her in negation. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t suggesting… I didn’t think—”
Luna dipped her head, her smile widening slightly. “I merged my mind with that of a human female. I understand your concerns and your doubts.” She chuckled softly. “I have inherited many of my own insecurities through the process.”
Ava shook her head, staring at Luna with fascination overtaking the small spark of jealousy that had begun to prick at her since they’d brought Luna on their ship. “I’m still amazed that you could do such a thing! It must have been very strange for you both!”
Luna’s smiled faded into a tight line of her thin lips. “To do such a thing is forbidden. My species does not allow it for many reasons. Nor would most of them allow me to persist in this condition.” Her gaze never wavered from Ava’s. “The process also destroyed the human woman, leaving me with her memory and identity—and her anger at being so callously murdered.”
Ava gasped, her hand lifting to cover her mouth. “Oh no! That’s terrible! Roz didn’t tell me that part.”
A smile played again around Luna’s lips. “The way he protects you—cares for you,” she glanced around before returning her focus to Ava, “I’ve never seen anything like it among my people before.” She waved a slim, three-fingered hand vaguely in the direction of the door that currently blended so seamlessly into the curved wall of the room that Ava couldn’t see it.
“This entire crew is so bizarre and unique.” Her smiled widened until it showed teeth that were more human than those Ava’s mates had grown during the changes they underwent when they fell in love with her.
“Their devotion to you is unwavering, Ava.” Luna’s tone held awe. “They don’t have eyes for any other female. My presence here won’t change that, though as I said, I won’t be able to remain with this crew long. We do not… mesh.” She shrugged one lean shoulder. “It was my human optimism that thought this would work, even though I know my species far too well to entertain that naivety.”
Ava grasped Luna’s hand impulsively, then gasped and quickly released it when the other female flinched. She’d momentarily forgotten about their telepathic sensitivity increasing through touch.
“Luna, you can stay here as long as you need to!” Ava insisted, knowing that Roz wouldn’t cast this poor, lost female to the stars without any aid.
Luna’s smile widened even as she shook her head. “You see only the best in them, don’t you? It’s… remarkable. In your eyes, in your mind, the director is a hero. It is little wonder he loves you when you allow him to see himself like that. It is not surprising that they all do.”
“Roz really does mean well,” Ava insisted, knowing that her beloved mate had his flaws, like all people did, but he worked towards the good of the galaxy—so some of his less pleasant actions could be forgiven when looking at the bigger picture.
“I hope I find someone who can love me as unconditionally as you love them,” Luna said with a fervent tone that sounded all human.
Ava’s heart broke for the Lusian burdened with the mind and identity of a human woman, filled with the same desires as any woman Ava knew. Even Luna’s body had changed to better reflect the mind that now shaped it.
Ava was struck with an exciting idea. So exciting that she clapped her hands together in anticipation as she announced it, though given Luna’s suddenly wary expression, she’d read Ava’s thoughts as soon as they occurred to her.
“We’ll find you a mate!” Ava said, practically bouncing in her seat. “There’s a whole galaxy out there filled with lonely males… or uh….” She gave Luna a questioning look.
Luna chuckled. “Preferably male, but I am more concerned with any potential partner’s mind than their body.”
Ava nodded, her own mind racing with ideas on how to find “the one” for Luna. She was certain Roz could help with that, doing his future-telling mojo to see the best possible destiny for Luna.
Even if he’d been blind to his own destiny with Ava until she’d made it very clear to him that he belonged with her and that he was her destiny too.
“Will you let me help you find a mate?” Ava asked belatedly, even though Luna wasn’t exactly protesting the direction of her thoughts.
Luna slowly nodded, an uncertain expression on her face as if she wasn’t sure this was a great idea. “I am willing to try. At least, the part of me that feels very human is willing. What remains of the drone,” she shrugged, “is nothing but knowledge at this point.”
* * *
Hierabodos, one year later….
“Mama!” little Jenice cried out as she rushed towards Molly, one small hand pointing towards Nashi. “Nashi says he won’t marry me because I’m just a little girl and little girls can’t get married!”
Molly shook her head at her daughter, grinning widely as she glanced at Nahash’s son, who little Jenice had developed a strong crush on since coming to Hierabodos last year. “Maybe he’ll change his mind when you’re both all grown, Jen.” She hugged her daughter’s fragile body close, patting her back. “But even if he doesn’t, you will find the perfect person to give you your happily ever after!”
Jenice wriggled in her hold after returning her hug hesitantly. The six-year-old was still growing accustomed to parental affection. She’d been taken from her human parents, who had both been slaves in a breeding facility before she’d had a chance to bond with them. She couldn’t remember her mother and had never even seen her father, but Molly and Shulgi had discovered that both had died, long before Sha Zaska’s secret mission was able to break the humans free and relocate them.
When Mogorl and Grundon had brought the young child to the Akrellian facility where the freed slaves were processed and given options for relocation, the girl had come right to Molly, her frightened eyes wide as she’d tugged on the skirt of Molly’s dress. She’d asked where the waste bucket was, her little body just skin and bones, already bearing the scars of a slave, lashing across her small back.
Molly had struggled not to weep as she’d shown the child the bathroom and explained how to use it. It wasn’t long before the child refused to leave her side, following her everywhere as Molly told her about the wonderful future she could now look forward to and introduced her to everyone working at the facility. When she’d had to leave to return to Hierabodos, the girl had cried inconsolably, prompting Molly to contact Shulgi and tell him she’d be staying for a little longer.
When she told Shulgi she wanted to adopt the child as their own, he’d immediately agreed, joining her at the facility to meet their new daughter. She’d taken to him even faster than she had to Molly, fascinated by his wings and his “pretty” hair. He’d picked her up and flew her around the facility, much to her endless delight. They’d given her a name because she’d never been allowed to have one before—one that she vocally approved of—then went through the paperwork to make her their own and bring her home to Hierabodos V.
Little Jenice had been hesitant at first—about everything. Then she’d met the other children, and had been instantly intrigued, drawn out of her nervous shell. To Molly’s relief, all the hybrid children had welcomed Jenice into their group, and she’d quickly latched on to Nashi, becoming his new shadow. Given how gentle he was with her and how he protected her when the others got too exuberant in their roughhousing, it wasn’t surprising that she’d taken to hero worshipping him. Molly didn’t assume anything bigger was growing between them, but Cass would often smile at the sight of her son playing with Jenice like she sensed that he cared more than he let on about the girl.
Even as their daughter grew more comfortable in her new home, Molly and Shulgi were already in the process of adopting two more children from the facility who had no home to return to, realizing that this was always the way they were meant to grow their family.
There were so many more in need that it made Molly’s heart break every day that she received communications from Mog and Grun that showed the crowd of freed slaves seeking new homes. Far too many of them were no older than she had been when she was taken from Earth. Some of them had even been born into slavery, like little Jenice.
Molly and Shulgi worked through an often flawed and frustrating bureaucracy to decrease the incidents of slavery in the galaxy, especially in Syndicate space. Though a lot of legislation already existed to stop slavery, it wasn’t evenly enforced, so organizations like the Akrellian facility and Sha Zaska’s secret work on the Rim were vital to their efforts in putting an end to the horrific practice.
Their work would never end and that was a sad truth that Molly and Shulgi understood well. Yet, even though their efforts often seemed fruitless, they would never stop working to make the galaxy a better place. Nor would they give up their efforts to bring the same happiness they felt now that they’d found each other into the lives of others.
