Root CGD: 4065.70
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CBA.53.D (Libat III)
"What technology are you talking about?! I wasn’t part of some program other than what those sick beings were doing to us! No... I want to know how you knew I saw that you were about to kiss me before it even...," I began asking but stopped when that train of thought seemed confusing even to me as I was trying to arrange his statements into some clearer understanding of what was going on.

None of this vision stuff ever made sense to me, and it had been a very long while since I’d even had one. He couldn’t possibly have known I’d seen he was about to kiss me unless he’d planted that memory somehow, right? I’m missing something, a key to how he was able to…

"Look at your right hand," Keagan said.

I slowly turned my hand palm up, and there appeared to be a small oily-looking stain on it. I panicked!

"What is this?!" I screamed at him, wiping my hand on my pant leg vigorously. "Did you poison me? Why would you do that to me?!"

"You're looking at a completely organic oil-based absorption method for the chemical compound CPC-1, or as the Planetary Guild likes to call it—Conveyed Precognitive Catalyst-1. We believe those beings from Lyone, under the supervision of the Guild, were giving you CPC-1 to make it possible for you and the others held in those facilities to have visions, glimpses of possible futures."

"You... You should have told me before you did that to me! What...,” I couldn't continue and began shaking, chilled by the thought that the baby within me could be harmed now by this drug or that it could even lead to terminating its life.

I felt the tears welling…

"You ingesting the CPC-1 with the transport oil will do no harm to your unborn child; I can promise you that. The absorption method isn't the polyfluoroalkyl chemical they were using on Lyone. That harmful chemical was used to get the CPC-1 and various others inside of you, but also to promote the eventual miscarriages," Keagan stated calmly to reassure me he hadn't put my baby in harm's way.

"I don't give a...,” I began saying before I needed to wipe my eyes on my sleeve to stem them from leaking further.

The look on his face after I was finished slow any further complaining I was about to do—he looked like he cared about what he’d done, or maybe there was some other concern he had, like feeling bad about what had been done to me on Lyone.

“You still should have told me," I whispered when I felt I could speak.

"I'm sorry, but we needed to see for ourselves and weren’t sure you’d agree to a test of your capabilities to see into the future. There’s a race going on to figure out how the CPC-1 binds to the subject's brain when they are conveyed, which allows for precognition of future events or what you and the others that were interviewed called 'visions' or 'remembrances.'. We've seen your interviews with the Guild prefects and the evaluations of the doctors on Oenic and those from other survivors."

"So, you've had them yourself? How was I in one of yours?" I asked and saw him nodding.

"Yes, I've also had visions that involved you. Out on the cruise, way before we entered that store, I'd seen my attempt to kiss you and you refusing. So, I knew I would be trying to do that before it happened – just like those visions you’ve had Cam."

"How and why?"

"I'm a man; the CPC-1 only seems to work on the male brain in conjunction with being recently conveyed. During the particle conveyor’s disassembly of the body for transport from one location to another, the CPC-1 we believe is allowing the brain to see not only the current timeline but possible future ones as well. We, along with the Guild scientists, think we could potentially see futures not directly connected to us if we knew how to look for them. It’s theoretical yet, but there’s a possibility we could see into the future if we can harness the CPC-1 and the conveying process. It’ll take practice and experimentation."

"No... It's got to be more involved than that; it has to be. Yes, I was conveyed on Lyone, but I didn’t have visions so quickly, not like this one. One of those,” I paused, “That with you became real with, well, without you they were made real by surrogate means. Damn it, that’s like crazy…”

“CPC-1 has been refined and modified, especially over the past month. Your system is also less polluted with whatever else they were giving you while being held. We’re now seeing nearly instant recall of some future event being available to the subject shortly after being conveyed, the event approaching triggers the vision, so the foresight,” Keagan replied.

“Why me? How were you seeing me and I you? No one, to my knowledge, saw us being rescued or some other events or futures that weren’t related to someone we were connected to while on Lyone… Connected with emotionally, deeply," I pressed.

“We understand that, but the emotional connection is just one thread the brain could tap into, we believe—so does the Guild by the way. The running theory is there are threads out there, but we need to understand how CPC-1 worked within you. You’re sort of a hybrid woman at the moment, and the effects of the hormones you’ve been given have significantly altered the way your brain works.

“The other men only saw women in their visions, but you saw me. No woman that has been interviewed mentioned having them, the visions, at all. If we can understand why that is, then maybe CPC-1 could be made to work on women, and they’d have a better chance at seeing those potential future timelines. Think of those threads as choices—follow ‘A’ thread, get ‘Y’ result, but getting the choice to choose which you follow would be a powerful advantage to have.

“That’s why we need to counter any Guild attempt to harness that ability; their track record and having such foresight to control events, events that once set in motion can’t be undone, is dangerous to all races of beings. I know the doctors told you there were differences between the sex’s brains; we think if we can understand how yours allowed this offshoot of what’s been typical with CPC-1 use, we could finally get there.”

We were both silent, he was giving me a moment to digest what he’d said thus far, and when I didn’t have anything to say he took a step towards me, reached out and took my hand again.

“Did you see anything else, anything at all besides the attempt to kiss you?”

I wanted to take my hand back but something in his eyes, the way he was speaking to me felt like there was something else I should have seen.

“No… Was there more I should have seen?” I asked.

“Possibly…”

“You realize, well… I’m not going to see every, neither are you. It never worked that way for me or anyone else. We got quick glimpses, not entire swaths of potentially shared time or futures.”

“I understand, but this formulation of CPC-1, it’s different and you should have seen more than the kiss,” he said softly.

I pulled my hand back slowly, “But, I don’t know you… How was I even seeing you in the first place? Were you held in one of their facilities, and were we meant to be coupled at some point?”

Keagan was slow to answer and looked visibly troubled. "No, but we do have our own connection. Allison..."

"Ali? You knew Ali?" I asked, shocked.

"I did; we... We had been together for almost a year before she went missing," he offered with a hint of regret, maybe even pain that he was sharing that with me, judging by his tone.

"I'm... I'm so sorry..."

Root CGD: 4065.75
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CBA.53.D (Libat III)
Keagan answered most of the questions I had about CPC-1 and the Guild’s involvement with those beings from Lyone using us as a source of food. He was gentle with me while talking about the miscarriages, but the point he wanted to make was that it had been done on purpose, and CPC-1 could have been studied without anyone losing their babies or lives for not complying with the demands of our hosts.

The Guild’s abducting us, and the methods they’d used to test CPC-1 were unnecessary he told me. They had chosen Lyone, and our unborn children were the price paid to have that research done out of sight. There was a cost to those beings also, the battle waged before our rescue had decimated a large swath of their ancestral lands, way of life.

“Are you saying they're nearly extinct?” I asked.

“Nearly… A small price for the Guild to pay for potentially controlling the future,” Keagan said.

“That’s insanity, but I can’t say I’m sad about that given what they did to us…”

“What they were ‘allow’ to do by the Guild. Much of what the Guild does and we allow them to get away with is insane, Cam…”

The questions Keagan couldn’t answer, I got the sense he really didn’t have an answer to them or would be misleading me by offering a guess/opinion.

We did argue briefly about whether the Guild was truly involved with the abductions—I still found that very difficult to believe. He assured me they were, saying he had no reason to lie about it and could provide proof. I’d have to be willing to work with him, let his team further test my abilities with the newer version of CPC-1, and he’d be happy to get me access to the proof. Until then I’d have to take his word for it.

I was still trying to decide if I trusted him.

His request to test me though stalled our conversation, and I told him I was done being caged or studied. He shared with me his being confused as to why I hadn’t drawn more of the Guild’s attention, especially after my debrief session and there being indications a hybrid such as myself might mean there was a greater chance at a breakthrough. After he’d gotten a look at the data the Guild had on me, the Ali connection made perfect sense as to why he was having visions involving me when they tested CPC-1 on him. That was the reason he’d sought me out.

I asked if we were still going to be needed for his smuggling run and got that it was a lure to get access to me. He knew if he’d come straight out and told Cheryl about his and my connection, she’d have tried to protect me from getting caught up in this mess after all I’d been through. The last thing he shared, after I’d asked, was that he didn’t know of a way to fully shield anything made of Hannal.

“Well, that kind of blows my hope for any future smuggling of Hannal,” I quipped.

“Yeah, sorry about that, but I needed to tempt you with that idea of a ‘future’ use of Hannal in the course of your off-books business ventures,” Keagan said with a slight chuckle.

“You’re jamming my wrist communicator; that’s going to cause Cheryl some worry.”

“Apologies for that, but I needed this time alone with you, and the Guild showing up, I believe, is because they were tracking us through that connection.”

“What’s next?” I asked.

“Obviously the Guild is going to want to talk with you,” he began, but I interrupted him.

“Because of you… You realize I wasn’t kidding about being done with ‘cages’ or ‘tests’ being run on me.”

“Yes, again, I apologize for that also. Look, they’ll want to know what I wanted; tell them as little as you can, but don’t think you can lie or deceive them—they’ll be able to detect that. Be truthful, just not willing to fully disclose more than you have to. It’s not worth being held longer than necessary, and they will hold you without promise of release until they are satisfied. Trust me, they know what we’re trying to do anyway, just not what a key to this mystery you might end up being.”

“Alright, so that’s it? No pressuring me to comply to your testing? I just walk out that door?” I asked.

“Yes, we’re not in the business of harming people, Cam. You were a long shot anyway, while promising, your chances of showing us the way was slim. I realize that now after speaking to you and will pass that on. You won’t walk out the door though, I’ll be conveyed out, and after that you can reach out to Cheryl to convey you to your ship. Can I… Would you mind if I asked you one final question?”

I nodded.

“Are you happy with Garrett?”

Why were you asking me that?!

Keagan’s connection to Ali certainly explained a lot of these visions I’d had of him and me together, but having him in the flesh before me, I wasn’t feeling that same attraction I felt for Garrett. Garrett had fulfilled the physical connection where Keagan had just been a vision of something that eventually happened between Garrett and me. My heart told me in this moment my future was with Garrett, not Keagan.

“I am… I know you loved Ali; I can feel that from all you’ve shared about her with me, but I’m not Ali. I loved her too; she was so kind to me when I first arrived on Lyone and was a very good friend of mine. She’ll be a part of me for the foreseeable future,” I answered softly.

“I can see bits of her in you… I know that likely doesn’t make sense, but I feel her within you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but I knew with certainty this man wasn’t the one for me. Why? I wasn’t really sure, but other than a few flutters I had regarding his appearance and knowing what pleasures those glimpses gave me physically with Garrett, I knew where my heart belonged.

I also wasn’t sure I wanted to be with someone solely focused on thwarting the Guild at every turn. Sure they were a monolithic pain in the ass for every being, culture, and discovered world out there, but Keagan and I would have nothing to bond us.

I smiled, stuck my hand out before saying, “I’ll take that compliment, thank you. I’d say it’s been a pleasure, Keagan, but what’s coming is likely not going to be a lot of fun.”

“The pleasure was all mine… Cheryl knows how to reach Jake; he’ll know how to contact me if you need something down the line or change your mind about helping us,” he said, releasing my hand and heading for the door we’d come in.

Keagan hadn’t taken two steps before he was conveyed out of the room.

With my wrist communicator still in masked mode, I thought, “Cheryl, can you lock on me?”

“Yes, Captain, we’ll be waiting for you…”

She sounded like she was stressed, and I certainly caught the meaning of her saying, ‘We’ll be waiting for you…’ That meant we had company on the ship already. Damn it!

“Understood, convey me up…”

Root CGD: 4067.22
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CBA.53.D (Libat III)
I’d been held and interrogated by Guild agents for two CGD days, part of which included a full medical evaluation, before they decided to release me. I did what Keagan had said to do and told them the truth; I just didn’t expand on my answers to the questions they asked unless pressed, and even then tried to limit what I shared.

“I’ve answered that question already,” I’d shouted at the Guild agent sitting across from me.

“And we can tell you’re being truthful; thank you for that, but there’s indication by our monitors that you’re withholding information.”

“Then ask a different damn question! I don’t know what it is you want from me. I’m being honest and forthright with you, right?”

“You are… Did you have a physical relationship with Keagan?”

“No! There were visions that involved him and me being intimate, but we never were together in the physical sense. I told the doctor Baker that during his reviewing of my test results after being rescued while on Oenic. I told the same thing to whomever that doctor was I saw yesterday,” I complained.

“You were followed and avoided capture for nearly two hours. Are you saying you didn’t act on those visions you had with him?”

“No… I told you, he used me to test CPC-1.”

“Why?”

“I really don’t know exactly… Probably to see if whatever this newer form of the compound worked differently on me? Maybe he was trying to see if I’d have a vision of liking him?”

“And did it, ‘work’?”

“Yes, almost instantly after we’d conveyed to some buildings storeroom. I saw he was going to try and kiss me.”

“And during that time in this storeroom, you did not become physical with him?”

“Asked and answered… No, I did not have any physical contact with him other than his holding my hand and my shaking of his hand before he left me,” I said, knowing I sounded angry. “Look, I need to pee. Can I do that, please?”

After they allowed me to use the bathroom, I was brought to a different interrogation room, but this time there was a woman doing the questioning. I was asked the same questions, gave the same answers all over again, and after another two hours of that, I was left alone for nearly an hour before she returned to inform me I would be released.

It was time stolen from my life by the Guild; I’d never get back, but at least I was free!

Root CGD: 4076.13
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CAX.04.A (Caspia Aurora)
“You look tired…”

I smiled, caressed Garrett’s face, and kissed him lightly.

“Been a rough couple of days, I told you that,” I said afterwards.

“I shouldn’t have volunteered to help them with those satellite dishes on Varino,” he complained.

“If I remember correctly, someone tried to wave you off; I probably could have gotten us out of having to go get their technician if you’d given me a little more time to beat up on that guy.”

“Aye, Captain… Won’t happen again, ma’am,” he said, smiling.

“Better not…”

“So, the baby is healthy, no issues?” he asked.

I told him I’d been examined as part of the interrogation I underwent on Libat III after we’d picked him up from Varino. We were now in orbit over Caspia Aurora on a run to deliver grain starts, fertilizer, and other food generation supplies. Of course we also were carrying enough alcohol to last the outpost below us for at least six CGD months. I’m sure those from my crew down there on a day’s leave would help put a dent in that supply—if not smuggle some idiotic quantity of it aboard for their own private use.

Garrett got the full story of the second interrogation, including every detail I’d been told about the examination and that our baby was healthy. The most comforting news delivered was that the natal connection of the umbilical cord looked almost completely healed, according to the doctor I’d seen. I got the sense he was relieved as I was about that.

I told him the reason for the second run-in with the Guild was due to our client being a wanted man. Garrett hadn’t liked that, but I told him half the business we did moving freight was with people of questionable morals, and he’d better get used to it.

I wasn’t sure why he was asking about the baby’s health again, so pressed.

“I told you that already; are you worried?” I asked, looking deeply into his eyes.

“Until our baby is in our hands, I’m going to worry, Cam,” he replied softly. “Can you feel him?”

“Him? Please don’t tell me you had a vision and we’re having a boy,” I said, trying to get him to stay focused on my eyes and giving him a serious glare because I didn’t want any more ‘vision’ surprises EVER.

“No, I told you the last vision I had. I just… I want to experience that, feel him or her kicking.”

“I’m only about eleven weeks along; I won’t feel anything for probably twice that,” I said soothingly. “And what made you think we were having a boy in the first place?”

“I said ‘him or her’… Though you know I’m the decider of that, at least that’s what I understand.”

“Computer!” I called out, “Which parent influences what gender a baby will be?”

A woman’s sterile voice replied from my desk area, “The gender for a human child is determined by its father. Male sperm cells transmit either the Y or X chromosome, while the female egg only carries the X chromosome.”

“Didn’t trust me, eh?” he asked, placing a hand on the barely there tiny bump-out at my belly.

“Never said that…,” I replied with maybe a bit of a pout on my face.

I could feel his hand slowly slipping lower while our eyes were locked on one another.

“Miss me?” I whispered.

“Maybe…”

Root CGD: 4076.62
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CAX.04.A (Caspia Aurora)
Garrett making love to me never disappointed, and as far as I could tell, he felt the same way. Something about this particular session was different, though, more fulfilling, more…

“That was enjoyable,” he whispered in my ear while he was spooning me from behind. “Almost felt like you might have missed me more than I missed you.”

Of course I missed him, but what had just happened between us had felt more than our usual meaningful expression of our love for one another while having sex. There was a feeling of liberation I felt afterwards while coming down from an intense climax that had me shaking as the waves of ecstasy rolled over me multiple times.

I couldn’t put a finger on why I felt that right away. I mean, I got all the sexual highs I always got, and I felt in his release he’d gotten his fair share too. My own climax had more to it, though, an unexpected sense of comfort, an expression of deeper love if that was even possible, and a sense of being the real me with someone I loved. I was happy for that and wouldn’t ever complain, but it was a bit...

Shit! Was it because I’d finally come to understand Keagan wasn’t the one for me? Was I really all Garrett’s, freely and unencumbered now? There’d be no more veiled worry about being attracted to…

“Cam?”

“Yes… I, ah, I missed you, and that was… It was very special to me too, more than I can even begin to explain,” I replied softly.

“Why do I sense there’s something more going on?”

I needed to come clean…

“No… I, I do have something I need to tell you though...”

“You know you can tell me anything, right? Was it something I’ve done or didn’t do?”

He sounded worried, and that’s not what I wanted him feeling after arguably the perfect session of lovemaking we’d had since our first time together in the holding pens on Lyone.

“The Guild, I told you, was after Keagan. He… Look, this is going to be hard to understand, but I need you to believe me when I tell you that I’m in love with you like I’ve never been with anyone,” I whispered, but rolled over to face him so he could see my face, the sincerity of my words.

“I love you too, but this doesn’t sound good…”

“It’s confusing, but the end result of all that’s happened to me is I see my future clearer now. You and our baby—that’s my future; that’s where I want to focus my love and my life going forward,” I stated, but I was worried I sounded like I was pleading my case with him.

Was I going about this backwards?

“Alright, so tell me where he fits into all of this. I assume we’re talking about Keagan for a reason,” Garrett replied evenly.

“You know I had those same visions as the other men did, right? Well, mine… Look, this isn’t… Okay, it’s hard for me to admit because you were always there physically and…”

“Just spit it out, Cam.”

“My visions and remembrances weren’t of you, though each lined up physically with something you’d done with me. Like, like this one time you’d turned my head towards you and kissed me. I saw that, but couldn’t see that it was you I was kissing.”

“You never saw my face?” he asked, confused.

“Right, the man doing that was physically always you, but not in my visions. You were the one who said things to me, did things for me, but the visions were… They weren’t ever you.”

“Not Keagan?” he asked skeptically.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I never told you. I just thought it was some random guy I’d never meet, and I hated I hadn’t told you, but I fell in love with you and… It didn’t matter what I foresaw because I had you and the baby, and I was happier than I’d ever been,” I moaned as tears began falling from my eyes and I leaned my forehead against his chest while hugging him tightly.

Garrett didn’t speak for several seconds, and just as I was about to say something, he said, “Relax… I kind of assumed you were seeing me all that time, but I guess that explains a few of those times I thought we were disconnected.”

“I… I don’t want… To be disconnected... I huffed through sobbing into his chest.

“Well, neither do I, so unless this story has something more to it, I think we’ll be alright, don’t you?”

He was so understanding of my neglecting to tell him the truth it only made the hurt and shame I felt harder to bear. If I had told him, would we have ended up where we are today? If, as Keagan and the Guild were trying to prove, those given CPC-1 could see possible futures and choose one, I would have chosen Garrett. Yes… Absolutely!

“I only want you,” I finally croaked while trying to stem my sobbing.

“It’s alright, Cam. I’m fine, and I think I know you well enough to know you’re telling me the truth, so I’m not mad or worried. I’d like to have known sooner, but this has helped me know I’ve made the right choice.”

We hadn’t spoken for easily two minutes before I said, “I’d never seen his face, but he had a small scar on his hand, and that’s kind of how I put it together…”

“Was he held captive, and were you possibly meant to be coupled with him at some point?”

“No… That’s, wow, ah… He knew actually, he... Ali.”

“Our Ali?” he asked, surprised, and pushing me away a little to look at me closer.

“I know… That’s crazy, right?”

“It is… Did he have visions involving you?”

There was mild concern in his voice, but I was determined to tell him everything.

“He’s part of whatever rebel research group that is testing something they were giving us in the Exhibit Housing. He took what they call CPC-1 and had visions of me…”

“How could that be? Wait, ah, that’s right, Ali… Wow, the odds wouldn’t favor you two actually meeting in a billion CGD years.”

“I know… That’s why I feel so lucky to have you.”

“And I’m happy to have you and the baby,” he said, slowly rising.

I wasn’t sure why he was getting up, but I did enjoy seeing his backside strutting across the room. I watched him fiddle with something in a drawer and return.

“Look, I’ve been anxious to… Okay, so this isn’t how I wanted to do this, but I’m sure I couldn’t love someone more or envision a future with anyone else,” he said softly and paused to see if I understood—I didn’t. “I’d like us to be united, coupled forever if you’ll…”

He didn’t get to finish asking before I was kissing him, sobbing, and being surprised by the ring he had produced. He’d just said something about making the right choice and I’d completely missed that!

Root CGD: 4280.02
CinT Ark Loc: Y3CAL.77.R (City of Oenic)
Zenia was more diligent than I had been with keeping in contact with us over the past nearly seven CGD months. We had sat-link calls at least once every month, but the last call from her had been holographic last week, and when I answered it, she was smiling and holding a baby in her arms. I might have screamed a bit in joy, cried a little because that just seemed to be my go-to of late, and since we were delivering a shipment of parts and lubricants to the Meridional Plannata of orbital planets close to Carillion V, the ship made a slight detour so we could see her and her newborn son, Michael.

Being here with Zen, instead of what we’d been doing the past seven months straight delivering goods, me being uncomfortable pregnant and waddling around, crying for now reason – this, this right now is what I wanted to be doing with the baby I was carrying. I wanted to focus on my baby, not jumping around the outer realms of space.

I’d held Michael yesterday, but the awe I felt doing it today was compounded, and I might have shed a few tears yet again. He was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

“I meant to ask yesterday, why Michael?”

“My father’s name… He passed a while back, and I always liked it,” Zen replied.

“He’s perfect…,” I whispered.

“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky… A week old now, and he both sleeps through the night and eats like I’m starving him. My breasts are sore!”

“Great, yet another thing I have to look forward to…”

“You look great! Come on, it can’t be that bad.

“I’m fat and ugly and ache…”

“You’re pregnant and you look amazing, beautiful while pregnant. I’m sure you’ve heard that from your man a few times…”

“Okay, yes, but I think he needs corrective eye surgery. And besides, I can list all my complaints about being pregnant if you want. How much time do you have? I’ve got a long list of them—in fact, this baby wouldn’t be happening if I’d known a tenth of what I’d have to have dealt with these past months,” I complained.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” she said, smiling back at me.

“Okay, a third of it…” I said, smiling down at the baby in my arms.

I did want this pregnancy to be over with and doubted very much if I would ever do this again.

“You’ll have yours soon enough, and all those pains will be long forgotten, at least until you decide you want to have another one.”

“Don’t count on there being a second…“

“How’s Garrett been dealing with all this? He looked like the proud papa-to-be when you both came by yesterday.”

“He’s really good, though I think when I go into labor, he’s not going to be happy about me yelling at him or not being able to take away the pain. I’ve had a couple instances of false labor, and he absolutely is pained, panicky. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, ‘Breath Cam…’ Like I’m going to not breath?!”

Zenia was laughing, and it was good to see her enjoying our time together, even at my expense. I missed her, missed talking with her, and wished I’d made a point of seeing her more.

“I know you’re coupled now, so it’s official. Can I ask if that means you’ve given up any ideas you might have had about going back?” she asked.

Going back, reverting to my former… I hadn’t thought about that since Garrett asked me to be coupled with him.

“Ah… So it’s not been something you’ve thought about much… Good for you; I think you’ll come to realize you’ve made the right choice,” she said smiling.

I had made the right choice, though on occasion something would bite me in the ass I wouldn’t see coming as a woman and would have handled differently as my former self. How I ran my ship and business was certainly different. In truth I was probably doing a better job of both as a woman, though I had put many a man or alien being in their place when they thought they were trying to get one over on me.

“If I can get past birthing this little monster inside of me and they’re half as beautiful as Michael, then I might agree with you.”

“Any further run-ins with the Guild? Keagan?” she asked.

I’d told her the story about Keagan months ago, and much like the idea of reverting back to my former self, Keagan was someone I hadn’t thought about for a while.

“The closest I’ve been to anyone from the Guild was an inspection of some machine parts we were delivering a few months ago. As for Keagan, I’d heard about some conflicts on Theta-Spect, and I wondered if he was involved with any of that,” I answered thoughtfully.

“No more visions, well, since that one you had with him?”

“None, and I’m thankful for that. You?”

“No, the only vision stuff I have now is brought on by the smell of my son and knowing I need to change him,” she said all giggles.

“Good answer… So, work was good the last time we talked. How long do you have time away, and what will you do with Michael when you have to go back?”

“I get the first two years of his life off, though I need to keep current in training and certifications—all things I can do from home. I’m guessing your employer doesn’t have something like that?”

“She’s a bitch…,” I chuckled. “Actually, I’m not sure what we’re going to do after the baby arrives. Garrett’s gotten a taste of running the ship and likes it, not that I’d ever replace Cheryl as my second, mind you, but she’s talked about buying her own ship at some point. Maybe we put the baby and me someplace, and he does short hops delivering things on a more local basis, like a day or two max round trip from wherever we call home.”

“You might consider Carillion V as a home base; Oenic is a big enough city in this sector to keep your ship busy with any of the surrounding cities on any number of the planets close by. It would be fun to have our kids know one another. I know there are several units in this building for rent,” she said, smiling.

“It would be something to consider and I’d like nothing more than being close to you two… Hey, you hear from Liam? You haven’t mentioned him in a few months.”

“Funny you should ask… I got his first Guild-mandated support payment of five thousand credits two days ago. Outside of that, nothing, and truthfully I’m fine with that.”

“I’m sorry…,” I said, standing and bringing Michael over to where she was sitting. “I’m going to guess this stirring and minor fusing is someone getting hungry.”

“You’d be correct,” she said, taking him, undoing a clasp on the dress she was wearing to expose her breast beneath it and make it available to him. “Don’t freak out if yours doesn’t latch on right away; it’s a very common thing. They will not starve themselves—though you’ll probably have to deal with a lot of howling until they figure it out. That’s if your baby doesn’t get it right away. Still not interested in knowing the gender?” Zenia asked.

“No, we want to be surprised. Though on our last visit the doctor about slipped, and now Garrett is convinced it’s a boy.”

“Got any names yet?”

“I told you I was pushing for Allison if it’s a girl… Did I tell you Garrett wants to name a boy after his grandfather, Garth? Me, I just want healthy and problem-free. I remember being a real challenge for my parents when I was younger.”

“Are they talking to you any more now?”

“It’s been better; neither of them fully accepts this version of me, but I think they’re both bending that stance a little because of the baby and not wanting to miss out. I think my dad secretly likes Garrett...”

We talked about nothing important, other than babies, for the next hour. We commented that neither of us had heard from any of the others we’d been held with since we’d all split up. It made us a little sad, but also appreciative of what we had in regards to our friendship. I left shortly afterwards but had to promise I’d bring our baby back for a visit because she doubted she would have the means to travel to wherever we had ours.

“You’re likely about two weeks away from delivering… Unless you want to do that out in deep space and without a doctor, you’re going to want to be close to civilization,” she told me, after hugging me and seeing me to the door.

“Our next couple runs won’t be anything in the Metagalactic realms or worse. I’ll let you know when I’ve got my own bundle of troubles.”

“Thanks for coming by, Cam. Stay safe until then and promise me you’ll be back…”

“I promise…”

::: --- :::

Author's note: Don't ask me how I managed this chapter, but I did. The next will be a shorty and the final in this slice of life that's been Cam's journey from male to deciding whether to stick it out as a woman.

Don't be afraid to click the "Kudos" (Thumbs Up) icon for this story if it's done anything for you. If you comment, I will reply.

If there are problems or you have criticisms you'd like to share privately, feel free to message me on the site (you’ll need an account) or via email ([email protected]) - I'd love to address them if I can and have fixed many an “Oops!” after posting a story (Thanks to All for those assists – very much appreciated). I'm still growing as a storyteller; I'm far from perfect, so any help is much appreciated and valued.

Thanks for reading...

Rachel M. Moore