Page 15 of Thalen

“His profile is now on your data pad. It includes a picture of him and several of his farms.”

I tapped the new icon that had appeared. Oh, my. He was a handsome one, alright. Broad shoulders, wings smaller than Prince Johree’s, so he was the other Dragonii genotype which could only soar and not fly, not that I minded that one bit. His skin was a pale lilac, with his scales slightly darker, with a faint metallic sheen I was realizing was usual for Dragonii, from the few I’d seen, including Jahr-el. He had red hair and eyes, and the breeze ruffling his long hair revealed two short dark purple horns. His smile was warm and engaging, and bam! I was instantly smitten. Not in love yet, but definitely smitten.

“He looks super nice," Jason said. “I can’t wait to meet him. You’re already my perfect human dad, and now I’ve got a perfect Dragon man dad too!”

“Ready to go?” Jahr-el asked me. “The shuttle pilot was notified at the same time you were.”

“Um, yeah, I guess. Oh! What about the food in my fridge?” I hated to think the food I’d just bought would all go to waste.

“I’ll make a note for all of it to be brought up to you. You’ll have your food and items you packed before supper time. Even your animals will be collected, as the Fleet veterinarian will need to give them additional immunizations and fill out the necessary paperwork. We’ll also handle the legal paperwork regarding Jason, as due to your match, both you and Thalen are now not only legally mated, but officially Jason’s parents due to terms of the treaty. We’ll handle it all; you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

I swallowed, standing up, as Jason cheered at the news. “Then I guess I’m ready.”

I grabbed my backpack as Jason stuffed his toys back into his. The two officers picked up the animal carriers and led us through a door in the back, where we walked up some stairs to the roof, where a saucer was coming in for a landing.

As it descended, I took a deep breath, centering myself. This was really happening. I had a son, a Dragonii husband, a farm, and a bunch of animals I was bringing to it.

“Do you think he’ll let me get a pony?”

I laughed. “You can ask him yourself when we get there, okay?”

“Okay. I bet he will. He’s my perfect dad, after all.”

7

THALEN

Iloaded the bag of experimental seed onto the back of my trailer. Like a lot of the seeds we tried out, these had appeared suddenly on the moon outside the mysterious monitoring station there. Each time, the containers contained a new type of seed that could be grown for food. First there’d been the wheat, then a type of oats. This time, it looked to be some kind of relative of maize, albeit with bright red, pink, purple, and teal kernels. Each mysterious delivery came accompanied by a simple message in archaic galactic common; “Approved for local system use.” After being tested that it was safe for Dragonii, humans, and the list of approved animals to consume, it was now being dispersed to myself and a few other farms to grow as a test crop. I had no doubt it would grow fantastically well, and unlike the maize grown back on the humans’ homeworld, this one was chock full of protein, enough that a single serving was close to an entire kilt-ha steak. It was also full of essential vitamins and fiber too, with the fiber content lending it a sweet taste which was certain to make it a favorite on local dinner plates.

I got into my flitter and was about to drive to the general store when my wrist comm flashed. I ignored it until I was parked safely outside the store, noting the new dog and cat water fountain that had pipes running underground to fill the newly installed troughs for horses with fresh water, which was collected in nearby rain catchment containers. The whole system recirculated so it was kept fresh, with filters keeping everything clean.

“For all the good boys and girls. Meow and Woof,” the inscription read. I shook my head in amusement. That Bob was certainly a character, and I knew he had to be the one behind the idea, which, admittedly, was a good one. Turning my attention to my still flashing wrist comm, which was using the yellow urgent colors, I tapped the screen to find out what the big deal was. I stared uncomprehendingly for several moments as the words slowly soaked into my brain.

“I’ve been matched, and we’ve got a son,” I finally whispered. “I’ve been matched, and I’ve also got a son!” I shouted, jumping from my flitter. I rushed into the general store. My house had two bedrooms, but one was currently being used as my farm office. That had to change, as my new son, Jason, was going to need it. “3D room addition, high priority, as I’ve been matched and we have a son,” I said to the clerk working there. It wasn’t the owner, but someone he’d hired from one of the many freighter hoppers who applied for an extended stay. I consulted the file I’d received. My new mate, Evan, was bringing all of his household goods, plus…how many cats? The number made sense when I saw they were barn cats and had a note attached explaining he’d assumed he’d probably end up on one of the other worlds. We didn’t have vermin like they did, and ships were thoroughly scanned for any before being permitted to land. Those barn cats were going to be pampered, getting to spend their days lazing in the sun while being fed suitable pre-prepared foods. “I’d also like to order several replicated cat trees, and please make the material suitable for indoor as well as outdoor use,” I said, thinking about placing some in the barn, another couple in the greenhouse, and a few on the front porch I’d added to my dwelling after admiring the one on the governor’s manse. It probably looked a bit odd on my dome shaped house, but I liked it and hoped Evan would too. “Oh, and a porch swing.” I only had a single rocking chair out there, which wasn’t enough for three people.

My windows didn’t have any curtains on them, either. “Can I please see what’s available for curtains?” I selected three different pairs, not wanting to go overboard and not really being the decorating type. Which was okay, as the list of household goods they were arriving with included wall art and cushions and things too. No doubt Evan would end up changing the curtains to match the color scheme of his furnishings. As for the furniture I already had, I was more than happy to put it all in the recycler for conversion back into base matter. We’d get credit for it, and could either spend it at the store for more goods, or towards more 3D printed buildings, or take it as containers of base matter for our home replicator. That was something Evan and I should choose together, I decided.

Hands trembling and my wings out twitching, my tail waving about in excitement like a kit, I returned to my flitter. I needed to get this corn in the ground and the house cleaned and ready. My family was arriving in four days, after all.

I couldn’t believe it. I had a mate and a son. Two of my fondest dreams had just come true, and I couldn’t wait to meet them. The matching system said we were ideal for each other, that he was the one the stars had chosen for me. I was one lucky Dragonii.

“Ev-van,” I tried his name on my tongue. “Jay-sson.”

Yep. The names felt perfect.

8

THALEN

The first two and a half days days seemed to crawl by, then suddenly so rushed that it was the evening of day three of my wait. That last day, I had breakfast, and after letting the kilt-ha out of their barn and into the pasture, I fed the jump-a-longs, placed them in their outdoor pen, collected the eggs both species left, and brought them inside. Since I only had females, there was no need to check to see if they were fertilized, so I placed the baskets of eggs on my old kitchen table and set to work dealing with the dust left behind from the 3D printing process. Bob had suggested an actual whole addition rather than just one room, pointing out that we might have another kit later, so three more extra bedrooms were a good idea, for a total of five. And the galley kitchen would be more human traditional farmhouse if it became a “mudroom” and a whole new eat in kitchen was also added, along with a pantry with both a freezer and a stasis unit for helping preserve fresh food.

Thanks to the bonus credits I’d received by growing the first of all the new crops and raising the first gen of the kilt-ha and hop-a-longs and sharing the data on growth, impact on soil, and all the rest of the information the scientists working to keep New Haven pristine asked for, I had more than enough to pay for all of the house expansion plus the replication of what Bob assured me was a genuine human style kitchen. He even showed me several pictures so I could pick out which chiller unit with its own mini freezer I thought would look the best, as well as the stove and the cabinets and flooring.

We’d gone for a turquoise and white checkerboard floor in there with flat fronted cabinets of replicated wood in a species the humans called oak, with a replicated bamboo butcherblock countertop. The chiller unit, which Bob said they called a fridge, stove, and a dish cleaning machine that used actual water to clean the dishes, all were in a shade of lighter turquoise than the floor. The replicated table and chairs the general store made and delivered had a matching top in some kind of plastic, with little sparkles embedded in starburst patterns. The seat upholstery matched as well, while the edges of the table and its legs and those of the chairs were polished tibidium, which apparently looked just like polished chrome but, unlike that, would never rust and was very scratch resistant.

The walls were a soft white except behind the counters, where turquoise, soft white, yellow, and orange tiles in a random pattern covered the space. I’d chosen blue curtains originally, but they didn’t match, so I’d hung those up in one of the new bedrooms, leaving the kitchen window bare for my mate to choose the curtains. For all I knew, he already had some he was partial to, and that would do.

Once everything was wiped down, I placed the eggs on the counter and began the process of emptying out my furniture. Originally, I was going to simply have the general store send someone to collect it all, but then I’d run into Jesse\, and he’d stopped me, suggesting instead that I let Evan see what I had and choose what to keep and where to put it all. I agreed, since Bob actually built five bedrooms in the new addition, and three bathrooms, one of which was an ensuite to the new master. I’d discovered this after coming back from plowing the west field and resetting the machine to plant the maize. My original bedroom and bathroom had been modified as well, which I couldn’t let myself be annoyed about, as I had told Bob to do what he thought best. I wanted Evan and Jason to find our place familiar enough to feel immediately at home, or at least to do so after a few days once they got used to being here. That wasn’t possible with the outside, as I’d gone for the easily printed and finished in one day dome home, one whose roof area was made of nanite embedded glasteel, so they could either be transparent or opaque. The new addition had the same, so during the day, the rooms were flooded with natural light, and at night, the endless stars shone brightly above us. Well, during the rain period, one got to see the clouds and watch the storm too. I liked that, especially during the warmer part of the year, as we sometimes got the a bit of lightning high up in the sky.