Blend and Defend Read online

  She smiled. “We have just had a few dozen women defend our world against hundreds of thousands. We know what we can do.”

  Lameera nodded to the com officer. “We have sent you the code to the ionic shield, please come and greet your kinsmen after all this time.”

  The invitation was out. The captain smiled. “We are on our way.”

  Lameera nodded and the communication ceased.

  Diferno chuckled. “Well done. They will be here within the hour.”

  Kabriuk looked at Duel. “This is going to be strange. I haven’t seen Liddirm since he was a child.”

  Ubrandu laughed from the other side of the room. “Don’t worry. He always liked to do things by the book. If he tries that here, he is going to get broken in a lot of places.”

  The members of the Nine laughed, and Nyvett had to ask, “What does that mean?”

  Diferno murmured, “It is common for us to retrieve our children, bringing them back to our home worlds.”

  “That isn’t going to work here.”

  Diferno grinned. “We know. That is what makes it so funny.”

  * * * *

  It was a joke shared by all thirty of the Nine and their mates. The pilots weren’t quite sure where the funny part was. Nyvett looked at her one and only kinsman. “Shall we get going to the landing site?”

  Iffendro laughed. “I think this is something I definitely don’t want to miss.”

  * * * *

  The bots lined up at the far edge of the landing area, and those that were gathered waited.

  The gleaming spot of the incoming ship was rather exciting. The first invited alien to land on the soil of Hera and it was related to inhabitants that had been there for centuries.

  The pilots were standing separate from the others. They were not dignitaries, nor were they members of the Nine. They were descendants of the Nine. That left them firmly as Herans.

  The Herans stood and waited as the small shuttle landed and disgorged no more than ten people.

  The thirty members of the Nine rushed forward to greet their own people with their mates slowly trailing after them.

  The Herans stood back and waited.

  Corbyn watched closely, and a woman separated from the group and walked toward them. It was the human woman from the first vid conference.

  Corbyn stepped forward, and she inclined her head. “Hello, Gaian.”

  The woman smiled. “Hello, Heran. I have to tell you that I had some frantic words with the archivist on Gaia. We did find a mention of other colony ships, but we didn’t know that they had launched.”

  “Your people were through the gateway by that point.”

  “I gathered as much.” The woman chuckled. “I am Signy Rothaway, but call me Ziggy. I have to tell you, the Nine are excited beyond belief at the appearance of the survivors here. They kept muttering about the potential of this place, and the word ultimate came into use a lot.”

  Corbyn looked down at Ziggy. “My name is Corbyn, but if you want to gain information, shake Kiida’s hand or Duel’s. They know things that I can’t even guess at.”

  Ziggy blinked in alarm. “What?”

  “Your hand is glowing, and you are speaking Heran without an accent. Even the city folk speak to us with an accent, so, you must have touched one of the guys or their wives and learned our language from there.”

  Ziggy looked shocked for a moment, and then, she inclined her head. “You are correct. You have height, Gaia gave us enhanced senses. I can read a person’s experiences from a touch of their skin.”

  Corbyn leaned forward. “Don’t touch Hima then. She was crushed on Burning Day.”

  “Thank you for the warning.”

  “Who did you touch?”

  Ziggy knew what she meant. “I bumped into Reeda Leving on the way here.”

  “And so, you came toward me. Sensible.”

  The Gaian woman laughed. “Thank you. I have to say, this situation is quite peculiar.”

  Corbyn extended her hand. “Grab hold and find out how peculiar it truly is.”

  The crowd of the Nine were slowly moving toward them, and Ziggy quickly extended her hand, clasping Corbyn’s.

  There was a moment when Corbyn felt light-headed, and then, Ziggy was looking at her with wide eyes.

  As the Nine reached them, Ziggy shrieked out her most shocking discovery. “Bees?”

  The pilots heard, and they started to laugh. It was deeply relieved laughter, well earned and well meant. The progenitors of the Herans laughed at the word, and only the Nine had no clue as to what it meant.

  Ziggy wrapped her arm around her husband and introduced Rothaway to Corbyn and the pilots. He had the same general structure as Kobriuk, but he was far less colourful and slightly smaller.

  Ziggy made the introductions from one human to the others.

  Corbyn nodded politely until she saw the leaf-green eyes of the winged Zephren Argoth, medic and historian.

  He extended his hand to her, and with her eyes locked to his, she reached toward him. Myxiorden shouted a denial, but the contact was made.

  Corbyn looked at the silvery green man in surprise, and his own expression was bewildered as to his actions. She let go of his hand, and he stepped toward her.

  Myxiorden stepped between them and pushed the other man back. “Oh, no. You are not doing any of that with my granddaughter. She’s one of the pilots, you idiot. She can’t leave.”

  Reeda put her hand on her mate’s arm, and she squeezed. “Choice doesn’t enter into it, darling. If she wants him and he wants her, they have to find a way to make it work if she reacts like I did.”

  Corbyn cleared her throat. “What just happened there?”

  Myxiorden’s dusky cheeks coloured. “Ah, I suppose that I didn’t have that talk with you.”

  Reeda sighed. “In old human terms, it is about the birds and the bees.”

  Corbyn frowned. “Bees?”

  Duel shouted, “Sex. They are trying to tell you that Nine compatibility for intercourse and genetic blending is determined with chemistry at first contact.”

  Kabriuk had a bright grin on his face.

  Zephren was looking a little surprised by the confusion and shouting. “How do your people find mates?”

  Corbyn cocked her head. “We are all female, so we generally meet them at work or at clan social events.”

  His eyes widened. “Do you have a mate?”

  “No.”

  The relief in his expression was amusing.

  “What would you do if I did?”

  He blinked. “I don’t know.”

  Corbyn nodded. “Good answer.”

  It struck her that the whole conversation was being had around her grandparents and surrounded by the Nine and the survivors.

  She looked around at the bemused pilots. “What? We have to figure this out now. Frankly, they are the only guys near our size, and it is better that we figure out the protocol now before the other seven thousand ladies see them. Some of them are bound to want to try mating with an actual man instead of being implanted.”

  Corbyn stood by as her grandparents covered their faces in embarrassment while the rest of the gathering stared at her in shock. Well, everyone but the pilots. They were leaning against each other and howling with amusement.

  Corbyn silently sent a signal to Myx and he loaded his plasma whip and sent an echoing snap into the air.

  The pilots still giggled, but they straightened and tried to look serious.

  Lameera sighed. “We have a meeting place prepared. Come this way.”

  The group followed the elder, but the pilots remained at the back, elbowing each other and snickering. Boys were a new addition to their world, and they were going to come up with rules for dealing with them.

  It was really a whole new world expanding around them, and it was time to finally explore the potential of Hera. It was definitely about time.

  A
uthor’s Note

  And so ends the Innate Wright series. I am delighted that I managed to get out six books in seven weeks, and I am never going to do that again.

  The world of Hera has been set up, and the contact between the two species is going to be explored in the upcoming series Heran Wrights. Some of the ladies will join the Nine around Gaia, others will explore the universe, and more will explore the world of Hera itself. It is about time, after all.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace, the very tired

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.