Chapter 3: Setting the Path Forward

“So like ... I was trying to relax, and Izzy was insistent that we do it again,” a man with a Cebravin accent commented to a female Shal’rein.

Sickbay was relatively busy at the time. Doctor Folar’sha, a Shal’rein doctor, was standing by Dean, who was sitting down on one of the beds. Folar’sha was a kind-hearted Itrean. She stood at around seven feet in height and had light gray and smooth brown scales on her body. Her purple hair was tied up in a bun on the back-right side, making it short on one side and wavy on the other. She had protruding fins on her tail, arms, and legs, much like any Shal’rein. She wore a pink and white lab coat that covered much of her frame. What was noticeable on her body was her protruding stomach. While it wasn’t large for her frame, it was still big enough that she would occasionally press her hand to it.

Petty Officer Dean was also well known on the ship but for a variety of reasons. He had pale skin and blond hair long enough that he had to tie it up. The way that the man spoke would make others think he was under the influence, but he always carried himself in a very laid-back and sometimes dumbfounded tone.

The sickbay was a room with six medical beds jutting from the deck. Sets of displays were relayed over each bed. Beside the beds were various medical equipment. Adjacent to this room was an enclosed office room and storage compartment where Cayetano was.

“Dean? ... Dean?” Folar’sha addressed him. Her hand was waving by his face.

“Oh, whoa...,” Dean remarked, snapping out of his quick daydream. “Sorry, like ... what was I talking about?”

“You were talking about Iz’tre.”

“Yeah ... Izzy’s like ... really great and all that, but ... ummm...,” Dean was trying to figure out how to say it.

“Dean, it’s ok to tell me. You complained about pain?”

“But, like ... it doesn’t seem really cool to tell you, Folie. Like ... you might get offended and all that. But, you’re like a bro, you know?”

Folar’sha smiled. “You don’t have to worry about hurting my feelings. Everything will be kept confidential.”

“Heh,” Dean smiled back. “Yeah, you’re right. Well, I keep getting, like ... pain down their Doc.”

“What sort of pain?”

“It’s like ... coming from my, you know what.”

“Pain from your genitals?”

“Yeah ... whoa, that’s a way better way of saying it than what I was going to say. Heh.”

“When does it hurt?”

“It hurts when I ... ummm,” Dean also tried to find a word for it. “Like, Izzy to suck on it and...”

“Oral sex?” Folar’sha finished the sentence.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s the way to say it. And well, umm ... Every time I’m reaching near the end of letting it go ... you know?”

“Climax?”

“Man, Folie,” Dean was shaking his head. “I’m glad you know all these words. Like, it just starts to hurt every time now.”

“I see,” Folar’sha paused and seemed to think. “Well, let’s see if we can narrow down the issue. How often do you engage in oral sex?”

“About seven times a day ... nope ... eight times.”

“Seven to eight times a day,” the Shal’rein put her hands to her hips while her finned tail flicked in the air. She looked in the direction of the chief. “I envy you, Dean.”

“I know, right? I just can’t figure out why it hurts now. In the past, it felt great, but ... I didn’t like ... get a disease or something, right? Because I want to make Izzy happy.”

“A perfect mate for a perfect mate,” Folar’sha said, tapping her finger on the bridge of Dean’s nose. “I can help explain why it hurts.”

“What is it, Doc?”

“Iz’tre is a Gersin, yes?”

“Yeah. She’s like ... ready to start taking care of babies.”

“And you’ve barely had any sexual intercourse besides oral sex, correct?”

“Whoa, how did you know?”

“I worked with Gersin in the past, Dean.” Folar’sha sat next to him on the bed. “The Gersin live by a very strict religious code when it comes to rearing young. Their belief is all devoted to breeding and ensuring that babies thrive.”

“Yeah, that’s why she has a lot of ... ummm ... milk and stuff.”

“Well, I also know that Gersin males ... well...,” Folar’sha briefly looked down. “Before Zilik’s Disease, of course. That the Gersin males played just as important roles in rearing young.”

“You mean? ... They had milk too?” Dean’s eyes were wide in surprise.

Folar’sha shook her head. “No, silly. But I do know that Gersin women would start to change how they performed intercourse with their mates during their pregnancy. To Iz’tre, she already has achieved pregnancy, but it’s up to you to ummm ... what is the word? Nourish her and the developing baby.”

“Uh ... but how?”

“I mean that Gersin males were known to make large amounts of semen and to replenish it on a quick basis. To the Gersin women they believe that ingesting semen during pregnancy is the passing of energy from you to the growing infant inside her. The more, the better.”

“Oh ... wow, like ... that’s really cool, but does that really work?”

Folar’sha looked away for a moment and smiled. “Ah ... Umm...,” she was thinking of telling the truth to him, but she decided to be diplomatic. “Let’s just say that to her, it does. Did you ever bother to ask her why she was switching over to oral sex so often?”

“Well ... like, Izzy is my best pal. I want to make her happy and stuff, so like, I just give her what she wants ... you know?”

“I know, Dean,” Folar’sha said. She pulled out her set of tilons and activated it. “Let me guess, the pain is strong in the beginning and begins to go away, later, right?”

“Yeah.”

The shark-like woman nodded. “I see. Here’s what I’m going to offer you, Dean. I think it will make you and Iz’tre even more happier than you already are now.” She got off the bed and landed on her digitigrade legs before heading into the office. She walked and leaned into the storage closet where only her long shark-like tail could be seen. Dean was wondering what she was doing before she finally walked out and approached him. There were two hyposyringes in her hand.

“If you want,” Folar’sha explained. “I have two things I can give you. The first is a nerve relaxant for your genitals. It will deaden the pain you feel before intercourse due to the large amount of intercourse you have each day. It won’t have any ill effects on your system. I kept a stock of these because I know a number of our crew are engaged in romantic relationships with Itreans. And, because Itreans typically have sex four or five times a day, humans aren’t used to it as much. It can be a little vigorous for human men.”

“Whoa,” Dean nodded. “Like ... including yourself, Folie, since you’re married to the chief. That was pretty smart to get that, you know?”

If Folar’sha could blush, then she would. Her shark-like eyes darted to the left in the direction of Cayetano as a subtle embarrassed smile appeared on her snout.

“Yes ... that too,” Folar’sha replied. “The other stimulant that I have will increase your semen production so you can replace it quicker. You can thank the T’rintar clan for this one. They kinda figured that humans would be taking up Gersin wives and needed a little boost.”

“Whoa ... like, that’s pretty nice. Are there any side things about it?”

“This will increase your appetite because your body will increase more production, but nothing else harmful about it. With Iz’tre, I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you. Would you like this?”

“Sure, Doc, I’ll take some.”

The Shal’rein woman took each stimulant, brought it to his neckline, and injected each one into him.

“There we go,” Folar’sha said. “I would recommend that you keep coming back for a few more injections every three days till the full effects are applied. The pain will be far less of an issue now. Besides that, you are in very good health.”

“I am?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” She pointed at the digital screen showing his body scans. “Since you came to the ship, your bone density is stronger. Your muscle tissue and blood count are very good. Even your lungs, which I was concerned about on your arrival, have improved in health. You said that you’ve been drinking her milk?”

“Yeah, it’s like ... really good, you know?”

“It is,” Folar’sha added. “It’s one of the reasons why your health has been improving these last few months.”

“Well, I have also cut back on the smoking,” Dean said. “Like ... I still take some hits now and then, but ... I don’t want to make Izzy sad, you know?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about making her upset.” She tapped him on the shoulder. “But, just let her know that you want to cut down on the oral sex a little bit. Four to five times a day is good enough for both of you. And engage in regular intercourse with her, too. You have that right as a mate to let her know.”

“Yeah...,” Dean was nodding as he really thought about it. “Yeah, that’s a smart idea, Doc. Like ... I will tell her that. Thanks, Folie.” The man gave her a thumbs up.

“Folar’sha,” Cayetano called out to her. “I’m going to need your help on this.”

Dean hopped off the bed as he and Folar’sha waved to each other. He would leave the room as the Shal’rein doctor approached her husband. Cayetano was a man with a mixed complexion, possibly coming from both Chinese and Spanish backgrounds. He had black hair and a goatee. He seemed to be stumped, with his attention directed to another Itrean in the room.

Li’lo was a typical Yutilian, being around the same height as an Aksren. She had green scales and greenish-yellow feathers that protruded from her head, arms, and tail. Her apparel was the typical brown and white overlapping dress that she usually wore. She was sitting on the bed with her digitigrade legs and red-wrapped clawed feet hanging from the edge. Among something noticeable was her distended stomach. Much like Folar’sha, both appeared to be in the mid-term of their pregnancy.

“What do you need help with?” Folar’sha asked the chief.

“I’m trying to figure something out,” Cayetano said, the hint of his Chinese accent could be heard. “Li’lo’s estrogen and progesterone levels have decreased since her last visit, according to last week’s reading. It’s dipped below even human levels. Is that normal?”

“Yes. For Yutilians and Aksren, it happens within two months and five months of pregnancy. It will happen to me in another month. During this time, our bodies does a... ‘Kop click Nnn Dondre.’ I don’t know the translation for it, but during pregnancy, our bodies does a check to see if the baby is going to live. If it doesn’t, the fetus is rejected, creating a miscarriage.”

“Oh...,” Li’lo replied with a gasp. Her feathers rose up in alarm.

“I see,” Cayetano said.

“Not that you have to worry about it, Li’lo,” Folar’sha assured her. “According to your scans, your baby is healthy.”

The Yutilian did her quick nods before her feathers lowered down.

“Right, well ... in that case, Li’lo,” Cayetano remarked. “You’re in good health.”

“Yeay,” Li’lo remarked in subtle cheer as she hopped off the bed. “Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Folar’sha.”

“You’re very welcome. Now, if you excuse us.”

“Take care.” Li’lo lowered her head a little bit to them before she left, her feathery tail swinging back and forth. The two waited for Li’lo to leave the room before they spoke to one another.

“Mmmm...,” Folar’sha moaned a little bit to herself as she leaned upon the bed. A big smile appeared on her face. Cayetano put his hands on his hips and gave a hint of content for her.

“You seem happy,” the chief said. “At least happier than usual.”

“It ... feels so different than being on the Garja. I was so used to it ... how everyone behaved. Being on the Lifen, I can see it all their eyes ... joy ... joy of new life.”

“Didn’t you deal with pregnant Shal’rein on the Garja?”

“Yes, but ... we always had that fear of death. With Zilik’s Disease...” Folar’sha looked down. “I had to tell them that the boys in their wombs were going to...” The doctor shook it off. “I was used to it. Sometimes, I remember seeing my pregnant friends, and it was chance. It was that lingering feeling. Sometimes, I remember talking to those that wanted to be mothers and ... were afraid. Now, I can see it in Li’lo’s eyes ... my eyes ... Dean’s eyes ... everyone. It just ... feels good to be here, you know?”

“Yeah ... I hear you.”

Folar’sha reached with her hand to grip his. “I’m ... happy,” she said. “I’m happy to be happy.” She made a smile, but it was a profound one.

“Well...” Cayetano patted their gripped hands. “Let’s not lose focus on today. We have a new Doctor on this ship, and we need to be ready for him. Something tells me this big meeting today is going to impact us for a little while.”

“Do you still want to go to it?”

The chief seemed to think about it. “I’ll go, but you stay in case we get any stragglers. Our ship is on its way to becoming a full-blown maternity ward at this rate. Doctor English may be at the meeting, and if he’s there, I can bring him here after the briefing finishes.”

“Ok,” she said.

Cayetano reached with the gripped hands and kissed Folar’sha’s fingers before they let go of each other.

Javier and Shira both walked ahead through the passageway of the Lifen’s centripetal ring. The hallway seemed quite empty. Any person who wasn’t in the briefing room waiting for the CO and XO was on watch at their duty stations. Javier kept a tablet in hand while Shira walked with her hands wrapped behind her back.

“It’s so quiet,” Javier said.

“Does that trouble you so?” Shira calmly asked.

“It’s just different. It almost feels like we have the ship to ourselves.”

“Would you prefer it that way?”

“Sometimes I do ... an entire ship just for us. A place for our children to grow up.”

“It is quite inefficient to build a ship this large for two individuals.”

“I know. But wouldn’t it be nice to have our own yacht? To have a pleasure cruise to every water planet out there and just...”

He paused as he stopped the conversation. He knew that Shira was going to tell him to keep his mind focused and not let his emotions pour through. A briefing was about to come up, and he would deliver it like he usually did. Not to mention, he was still in a professional work environment. Displaying public feelings and being the top chain of command in that environment might not have been wise.

“I would too,” Shira replied. The statement took Javier by surprise.

“And here I thought you were going to say something else.”

“Perhaps after this war ends.”

“Ah...,” Javier pointed his finger at her and smiled. “I knew there was a catch.”

Time was up. The two approached the door that led into the main officers’ stateroom. Javier took a deep breath.

“This is going to be quite a doozy for the crew,” Javier remarked.

“They are prepared for this,” Shira replied.

“Right...”

Javier put on a straight face, knowing that all eyes would be pressed against him from those whom he commanded. He tapped the door panel, and it slid open.

“Stand by!” Javier announced loudly. Everyone inside the room, except for the few civilians, quickly stood to attention.

“Attention on deck!” Javier said as he stepped aside for Shira to step in. She did so as Javier followed behind her.

“At ease,” Shira stated. The door closed as Javier watched everyone sit back down.

The room served as a briefing locale. There was a large central display table, chairs wrapped around it, and numerous seats lined by the walls. Displays lined some portions of the walls. Most of the officers were there. At least thirteen individuals were present, including Doctor English, Chief Cayetano, Petty Officer Mizu, Dean, Stone, Ioren, and more.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Javier addressed the room. Shira approached and sat down on the chair near the table. The crew had long adjusted to the towering Shal’rein woman who commanded the ship. However, in these briefings, many were used to Javier being the main speaker, relaying what the CO and the chain of command’s orders were. The XO accessed one of the panels on the central table, causing a display screen to project for everyone. The lights began to grow darker inside the room as Javier’s activated tablet interfaced with the panel.

“How is the Paloran system treating you?” Javier asked, breaking the ice with his crew.

“You see one system, you see the next,” Patterson remarked. The pale-faced officer showed signs of sleeplessness on his face, almost as if he didn’t want to be in the room.

“Like ... I think it’s nice...,” Dean remarked.

“From rustic planet to ice-ball city,” Chief Engineer Amelia added. “Had nothing but problems getting shipments of new parts.”

“Hmph...,” Stone remarked with a hard grunt.

Javier noted all the faces, from new to familiar. The XO noticed something quite peculiar with Doctor English. Despite the dark room, the man still didn’t take his tinted glasses off. How could the man even see? He wasn’t going to question it for now.

“Needless to say, I miss Mars too,” Javier remarked. “Five weeks of being here, with only our rear ends pointed to Palora. But we continue to get new crew members. We have our new cook now, Chef Bransen, and yes ... thee Chef and Champion Bransen, along with some new Itrean compatriots. I don’t know about you, but I have a good feeling our meals are going to get really good.” Javier gestured his hand to English. “And this is our new doctor, Doctor English.”

The doctor lightly bowed his head as a gesture of hello to everyone. He remained quiet as the rest of the crew briefly looked at the stranger. His clothes did help him stand out a little bit amongst the many red and blue jumpsuit uniforms. Shira’s hand interfaced with one of the panels for the table. The imager began to reveal a 3D projection of the Picarin asteroid belt. The long string of rocks merely represented the trillions of asteroids traveling together.

“Let us focus on our given orders,” Shira calmly remarked.

“Right,” Javier said. “As many of you are well aware of, UHN ships in this system are typically tasked with Palora’s asteroid belt patrols. The two most important places of interest in this system lie in both Palora and the neighboring asteroid field. From there, mining ships will venture into it, mine the rocks, and break them down to their basic elements before making the jump back to here. The minerals found in the system provide enough resources to help build new ships, parts, equipment, etc.”

The map layout of the asteroid belt changed to show large red spheres that lined the rear and mid-section of the field. The rest of the field was highlighted in yellow.

“The asteroid field consists of the remains of two planets, Oracip and Picaro, that collided with one another. In order to help protect the field and render assistance to the mining ships, two bases were constructed. Valdivia and Valradena serve not only as checkpoints but also as gate arrays for mining ships. They also act as defense stations against pirate activity. I know that many of you know this, but the asteroid field is a hub for rogue activity. Due to the sheer density of the field, it’s difficult to establish a perimeter. I’m sure that many of you already know the history our crew went through several months ago when the Jian Seng was attacked, although that was by a Shal’rein clan scout ship.”

“Yeah ... that’s something you don’t forget,” Patterson lightly noted.

“Quiet down,” Stone said sternly to Patterson. “The XO didn’t give you permission to speak.”

Patterson tried to hold back an annoyed response to the CMC. The man’s eyes said it all.

“It’s alright,” Javier said as he resumed his briefing. “You may ask questions freely as long as you remain professional. With the conflict of the Itreans, it’s now believed that the Shal’rein and Aksren clans have a vested interest in helping the Nova Pirates attack the civilian mining vessels. While T’rintar and UHN intelligence believe that their roles are limited, they’re still providing equipment, shuttles, and weapons to these terrorists. Pirate attacks are on the rise in both portions of the asteroid belt by 35% in the last six months. Those attacks are increasing more and more. The UHN is attempting to counter this by having more patrols, but there’s never enough ships to be able to accomplish it. With the recent encounter on the Jian Seng, they are installing a defense platform on the main portion of the destroyed planet of Picaro, but...”

“It still leaves a large portion of the field defenseless,” Patterson added.

“Exactly. The fact remains that the field is so dense that it makes it difficult for UHN warships to venture into it, let alone the areas where the pirates can hide and avoid weapons fire. It’s believed that in the next two months, these attacks will increase by another 15%. The mining unions have called emergency meetings. They’re threatening to go on strike if the belt can’t be made safe for mining.”

There were a couple of officers that looked at each other. The projection of the field showed a large red oval line that formed around it.

“Due to the fragile nature of the region,” Javier continued. “Both Captain Shira and the Paloran UHN Command have discussed plans on how to counter the pirate activity. Admiral Thiago has given us new orders pertaining to two objectives that are outlined under Operation Libertad Rocosa.”

“Heh,” Patterson chuckled a little bit. “Rocky Liberty? Really?”

“More like ‘Rocky Freedom,’” Javier shrugged. “I agree not much for taste when it comes to names. But, anyway, our new assignment will be to patrol the outer boundary of the Picaran Asteroid Field for the next two weeks. While I know many of you are going to state the obvious that this is a transport ship and not a battleship, the Lifen’s weapons are far better than most transports in the UHN inventory. We are more than capable of defending ourselves while providing support to any friendly ships in the area.”

Javier walked up to the table and tapped a button. The projected image zoomed closer in on the Oracip portion of the asteroid belt. Eventually, a small box formed in the mid portion of the field. This created a second screen that showed a large freighter. It had two spinning centripetal rings, large storage compartments in the front, and robotic crane arms on the bow’s dorsal and ventral sides. The front portion of the bow was heavily armored.

“Seven days ago, the Cantera De Margo was sacked in the Oracip debris field,” the XO continued. “The crew were lost, and their cargo was taken. The UHN is currently debating with the UWA if civilian ships are to be armed, but the public is against it. It was located in what is called the Lignumvitae Basin, a safe region inside the belt where mining ships can jump in when the field is the least dense. Originally, Palora had established a set of gun platforms in the basin to help protect the civilian vessels, but it was reported that the guns were compromised and turned on the Cantera De Margo.”

“Compromised?” Stone huffed. “It would require a high-ranking officer’s access codes to override them. UHN equipment is designed to be impenetrable against cyber-attacks, or at least it should be.” His eyes narrowed at the idea.

“Correct,” Shira added.

“Which is where this gets into the second phase of our mission,” Javier continued. “It’s as the Master Sergeant suggests that an officer of high rank is working for these pirates. I won’t pretend to state that Palora’s history dealing with corruption has been anything remarkable. Sometimes UHN members and security forces are paid to look the other way so smugglers and pirates can lurch past defenses, most notably in the Camino Delgado region. Admiral Thiago and the President of Palora are cracking down on it, finally.”