Page 21 of Trove’s Purpose

Chee seemed completely unaffected. Did she not know whatever Ikvar had found, or did she know and she was just really good at hiding it?

“You’re all clear then.” Ikvar looked back at Tanin. “As requested, I’ll put in the registration for this new ship of yours. Everything will be in order by the time you get to the next space station. If there’s a problem, comm me back.”

“Thank you for your assistance as always, captain,” Tanin said, but there was still a tight suspicion in his gaze. He definitely noticed what Trove had. But he didn't bring it up either.

Without any fanfare or farewell, Ikvar cut the feed. The moment he was gone, Alred popped his light form up next to Tanin. He was the only member of their crew that they kept hidden from Ikvar, but that didn't mean he wasn’t witnessing the conversation. And from the look he and Tanin shared, he had also noticed his strangeness.

The others were all leaving to go about their business – Ikvar had demanded to see them all to make sure everyone was still present and accounted for. The females were heading off together, Chee among their number, still grumbling about the name that they were tittering at. Trove watched them go, coming to stand beside Tanin and Alred, sharing the same look with them.

“So, what was that about?” He asked without preamble.

Neither male needed him to specify what he meant.

“He didn't react to either Chee or Hyde’s name,” Alred said thoughtfully, stroking his chin, tail slowly whipping behind him. “But whatever he found on his system certainly gave him pause.”

Tanin crossed his arms. “What would make a captain of a peacekeeper vessel like that freeze? What could be so surprising that he would be struck dumb, even temporarily?”

“Alred, did you find any trace of this Hyde guy?” Trove asked, knowing full well that Alred would have immediately tried to find both Chee and Hyde once he’d unblocked the communication relay and had access to the subnet again.

Alred, however, shook his head. “There are many people named Hyde throughout the Coalition. It’s not a particularly common name, but it’s not uncommon either, and it’s so easy to make that multiple species and languages have their own version of it. I couldn’t find Chee, but I can find Chastity Miracle Whittaker, and from what I see of the public record of her registration, there’s nothing untoward at all. She’s a sponsor case, about two tendays off her planet, nearly three now, and, yes, Hyde is her registered sponsor. But that’s it. Just Hyde. No other names – no last names, first names, second, third names, aliases, identification numbers, species. Nothing. Just… Hyde.”

Tanin frowned. They’d played sponsor to both Garnet and Goldie when they first found them, so Tanin knew what was required to be done for that. Trove had seen him do it. Tanin was the only one of them without a second name. He still used his birth name because, despite all the crimes he definitely committed on Rik-Vane, he didn't actually have any associated with him.

And his entire birth name, his bio signature, everything about him had to be on that registration. In case something happened, Tanin was wholly responsible for the females he sponsored, and therefore Tanin had to be known in every way possible.

But Hyde was just… Hyde.

Who exactly was this male?

Chapter 8

Chee

“So, you’re Trove’s mate?” Goldie finally said, breaking the easy silence that had fallen over the girls as they paused to eat their frozen sweet treat or take a drink of something fruity that Chee didn't recognize. They had finished ribbing her over her name and invited her to the rec room for treats, drinks, and chatter. And unlike before, this offer had been made genuinely, so Chee had accepted it and, to her surprise, found she actually liked these women.

Haven was a little energy goblin who had problems sitting still, but she was quite possibly the most intelligent person Chee had ever met. She taught herself Standard by listening to it instead of through the language imprint directly beamed into her brain. She helped create this whole ship. She designed and built it by hand in places. And she had done even more besides. If it weren’t for the obvious ADHD that made her an easily distracted energy ball, she might be terrifying.

Goldie was right next to her in impressiveness though, as she was learning alien medicine online – essentially – and was acting as the ship’s medical officer. Including as the gyno for the three pregnant ladies who were all carrying alien hybrids. And sure, alien pregnancies were, apparently, easier on the body than human ones, but that didn't make it less impressive.

Grace and Garnet were the two obviously pregnant ones, and they weren’t unimpressive themselves. Sure, they weren’t teaching themselves alien science, but they had still helped build this ship while heavily pregnant, out in the middle of nowhere, with only themselves to rely on. Grace carried herself like nobility while Garnet slumped backward, lovingly stroking her baby belly. The former looked like the picture perfect ideal of what a pregnant lady aspired to be in maternity photos while Garnet seemed like she’d shoved a beachball under her dress that was filled with sand and was weighing her down. But both of them were smiling as they ate their alien sherbet and got to know Chee.

It was all going pretty well. They’d asked about her life on Earth, what it was like being an event coordinator, what kind of events she coordinated – mostly weddings, but there were also reunions and lavish birthday parties and corporate events, etc. They talked about the various ways they had come into space, which seemed to be different for all of them. Garnet and Goldie were kidnapped, Grace had matriculated after being part of the Lunar Experiments conducted on humans by the Coalition, and Haven, in probably the most ADHD genius thing Chee had ever heard, had snuck aboard a ship and just stowed away across the universe. She’d learned spaceship mechanics with the same ease she’d learned Standard as a language and once again, Chee found herself nearly intimidated by the girl wearing an alien jumpsuit under a letter jacket from her high school.

It was all very innocent and benign and fun.

Until Goldie finally said the part they had been deliberately not talking about. And now all of them were looking at her, waiting for her answer.

Chee took her time finishing her alien treat before saying-

“Biologically, it would appear so.”

“That’s one way to answer,” Garnet snickered. “You don’t seem happy about it.”

“Neither did he. I suppose in that, we are perfectly matched. I think this is a situation where we shall be two ships passing in the night and let it be.”

“Yeah, right,” Garnet snickered.

“Trove didn't want to pursue this?” Haven asked, her words a bit slower than the others. She still had a bit of an accent, but apparently she was a lot better at talking than she used to be. So long as she focused – if she was rushed, her Standard became more broken. “Trove loves being with women. I’m surprised he’s not all over you.”