Page 47 of Meteor Storm

“Human,” I said, tapping my hand on a white panel to initiate a scan of Penny’s body.

Stepping back, I watched white tendrils of light descend from a panel above her to assess the damage. They gently slipped beneath the makeshift bandage I’d put around her and began their work, reading, copying, and mending whatever they needed to.

“Your heart is racing unusually fast,” Yuros said. “Perhaps you need a scan of your own.”

“My heart does not race from sickness.”

“I did not mean to scan you for injuries, my friend.” I looked up at him to see his mask receding into the texture of his bio-suit. “It is female, then.”

“She is female, yes.”

His eyes shifted, studying Penny’s strange form. “She is bipedal. Small. I have never seen one, but the elders say they are a part of the maker’s offspring. Seeing her now, I can believe it, though it does not appear that humans have evolved much in physical strength.”

He leaned over her, soaking in the features of her face. She had a similar kind of nose. Hair atop her head, though it was much softer than my own. She even had five fingers like monrians did. I didn’t doubt for a second that she and her kind were descendent from the maker.

“From what I gathered off her wrist device, humans haven’t had the need to evolve physically. They’re reliant completely on their technology, primitive as it is.”

“For now,” Yuros said. “Give them time. They have finally come to join the ranks of the maker’s children among the stars. Adapting to the hardships of space will come.”

Monrians were not as religious as other races, but we all had our origin stories. Penny did look similar in many ways to monrians. To valerians and even gek’tal. We were all four children of Akurion, according to elders and ancient records. The original. The one every race had a different name for.

Penny whimpered softly, her eyelids fluttering. I stepped in and slowly untied the bloodied cloth from her waist and pulled it away to monitor the healing progress.

“We must share DNA if the medlights are fixing her so quickly,” Yuros added. “Even further proof we are descendants from the same original DNA.”

I nodded, tossing the bloody cloth into a waste disposal slot on the wall. “Red blood. Like us.”

“Her skin is so dull and soft.”

“She is quick. Light on her feet. She has survived longer than even I suspected.”

He paused for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. “I have heard of Pek-Tol’s games and what they entail. Did you and this human…”

He trailed off, but I knew what he was implying.

“Regretfully,” I said.

“You forced her.”

I could hear the edge in his tone. It had changed, turning into something less friendly. I leaned on the table and looked at him, unyielding.

“Judge me however you like. I have much to answer for. Pek-Tol first tortured me to force—”

“Pain is not a reason to do something against your will, Tuross. We both know that.”

“And then he tortured her,” I added. “To use against me. I am ashamed to have complied, but I did not know what a human could withstand and neither did Pek-Tol. I was weak to his taunts, but in the situation, I had to choose which crime caused the least damage.”

Yuros scrutinized me for a bit, and I did not blame him. Forcing a woman into breeding was among the worst kind of crimes. First, because it tarnished our honor. We were a population built on self-control. Second, because spreading our seed outside of approved pairings was frowned upon. Some stricter factions even thought it appropriate to execute those accused of doing so.

“I will put some thought into this,” Yuros said. “And when she wakes, I will hear her side of it. Should we scan for a pregnancy once she is mended?”

I shook my head. “I at least have enough control not to impregnate a woman. Although… Pek-Tol gave me something that compromised my mental stability. I may not have been as focused—"

“She cannot get pregnant,” a voice said.

We both turned to the doorway to see Sunhai standing against the frame.

“Identify yourself,” Yuros demanded.