Chapter 3: Making Dizyntk

Feya felt strange, she had for a couple of weeks. She could not figure out exactly why she was feeling off but there was no doubt in her mind that she was. She tried to push it to the back of her mind as she tended the garden. The sunlight felt good on her back, warming her in the chill morning. Michael was off checking the fish traps they had set in the nearby river. He had been her mate now for two months. That thought filled Feya with warmth from the inside to match that coming down on her back. She stood up after she finished and walked over to check the irrigation pipe. They had built many simple machines and tools since they had been here. After all, they knew that the backup generator on Michael's ship would not last forever. They had already quit using it for the majority of things so that they would have power for emergencies. Thus, Feya did not use the autohealer to check herself as to why she was feeling so odd. The machine was very useful but also used a large amount of power. Just as she finished checking the water flow, Feya heard the unmistakable sound of a weapon firing from the direction of the river.

Feya quickly checked that her weapon was in its holster as she took off at a full sprint. Michael had his own sidearm and they had found several in the crashed dizyntk ship. He had trained her how to use one and had insisted that they both carry one when outside. The planet they were on did not have any sentient life but there were plenty of animals, some of them predatory. Some of the predators were also quite large. Feya crested the small rise between the shelter and the river. She saw Michael running from one of the large brown predators that sometimes roamed the area. Michael had said they looked a bit like an earth animal called a bear. Michael turned and fired at the animal and hit it in the arm just as it caught up to him and swatted at him. The swipe laid his left arm open, tore into his chest and sent him sprawling.

"I'm done for." he thought as he lay half conscious and bleeding on the ground.

The animal approached slowly when a screech rang out from behind it. Michael could just make out Feya running up and kneeling a few yards short of the creature. It spun to face the sudden challenge. As it did, Feya fired twelve blasts of energy into the animals face and chest. It fell over dead, its fur smoldering from the searing energy that had killed it.

Feya ran over to Michael and saw that he was badly hurt. She quickly took his good arm, lifted him up, and supported him.

"We have to get back to the ship, you have to help me get you there." she said to him firmly.

Michael was weak and losing blood but he was still able to nod and start walking towards home. Feya was supporting almost half of his weight. It always amazed Michael how strong she could be. She was barely five feet tall and weighed 105 with her fur wet. He was about six foot one and weighed 195 pounds and yet here she was almost carrying him as they stumbled up the small hill.

She was able to get him to the ship after ten minutes and laid him as gently as she could on the cot inside. Then she got the autohealer up and running and the machine began diagnosing and treating his various injuries. Feya stayed inside long enough for the sedatives to render Michael unconscious and for the autohealer's estimation on his chance of survival. She was relieved to see that, while he had lost a lot of blood and had several broken bones, there had been no serious internal injuries. The autohealer's readout showed his survival chances were high.

Feya walked outside and sat on the ground in front of the ship. She had kept herself calm up to this point but now she allowed herself to cry a little. She had been terrified when she saw the animal hit Michael. She was scared that she had lost him, that he was going to die. When she finished she got up and took Michael's damaged and blood soaked clothing out of the ship. She knew that she would have to burn them. She then showered herself off and went about finishing her chores around the camp. She was still worried about Michael but the autohealer was taking care of him now and, as she only knew basic first aid, there was little she could do to help. Besides, if she did not finish her work today, it would just pile up tomorrow. Her mother had taught her not to let things she could not fix get in the way of the things she could. Dizyntk were nothing if not pragmatic.

After four days of work, the autohealer informed Feya that all of the repairs it was capable of were finished. It recommended that she keep Michael sedated for another four days to let the healing progress. Feya was just about to turn the machine off when she decided to have it do a physical on her. She was still feeling weird and decided that since the machine was already on anyway she might as well use it before shutting it down. When it printed out its report, Feya was shocked. She then had it run an analysis of her blood and Michael's. It showed unmistakably that humans and dizyntk were genetically compatible. It could have told them this at any time if they had even thought to ask. However, there was now no doubt as to why she was feeling strange. The autohealer had pronounced her completely physically fit, aside from the lingering internal injuries from the crash. It also informed her that her pregnancy appeared to be two months along and progressing normally. She was pregnant. There was no doubt. The autohealer had even printed out a small ultrasound picture of the fetus growing inside of her.

Feya sat down next to the bed Michael was sleeping on and just stared at the picture. She was trying to wrap her mind around it. She was pregnant. The thought did not upset her. She had wanted to be pregnant, wanted to have a child with Michael. She had accepted that this was not possible however. Now she was starring at proof that, not only was it possible, it had happened. After several minutes, she gently took Michael's hand and rubbed her face against it.

"Do I have a surprise for you when you wake up." she thought with a smile on her face.

Over the next four days, Feya worked with a newfound joy. She was doing almost twice the work she normally did but she scarcely noticed. She gathered in vegetables and prepared them for storage. She harvested the fish from the traps and prepared them for drying. She even went hunting an hour a day. Last, but certainly not least, she checked on Michael five times a day.

Michael woke slowly. He was a little confused at first. "Why am I in the ship?" he wondered.

Then he remembered the attack and Feya helping him to the ship. He saw that there were bandages on his left arm and his chest. He tried moving the arm and it responded albeit painfully.

"At least there isn't any permanent damage." he thought.

He noticed his lack of clothing and after he slowly, painfully, got out of bed he wrapped the blanket around himself and shuffled to the entrance. He blinked at little at the bright light outside. After a couple seconds, his eyes focused and he saw Feya working in the garden. Michael stood there for a minute simply watching her. He loved looking at her.

Finally he spoke. "Hello there, beautiful girl, how have you been?"

Before he even finished the sentence, she was on her feet and running towards him. Feya stopped right in front of him. She wanted so badly to jump on him, to feel his arms around her. She knew however that his healing was not complete, so she restrained herself. She simply took his hand and led him across the garden to the shelter.

"You are not ready to be out of bed yet but I suppose you will be more comfortable over here." she said as she led him inside to their bed. She gently put him on the bed and drew the covers up over him.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour so you stay here until then." she said sweetly. She leaned over and kissed him deeply then after she was done, said in a more stern voice, "You will not leave this bed unless I say. Do you understand?"

Michael laughed a little and nodded. "Yes, my love, I understand. And thank you for saving me."

Feya took his hand and kissed it. "I am so happy that you are alive." She then turned and went outside to prepare dinner.

For the next few days, Feya took care of Michael until his strength returned. A week after he awakened he was helping in the garden but Feya refused to let him do anything more strenuous yet. That evening Feya had decided that it was time to tell her mate of the child growing inside of her. Michael's arm was out of its wrappings now and for the first time since he had woken Feya snuggled her entire body tightly against him. She was facing away from him. Her bottom pressed against his stomach, her tail brushing against his chest the tip lightly stroking his face. He loved it when she did this. He wrapped his arm around her, his hands softly cupping her breasts. Michael's left arm was still stiff, but it was useable now. Feya knew she was going to tell him her secret soon and the thought made her start to giggle.