3.3.

Dornodo’s arms wrapped tightly around her, and she felt safe. It was just a feeling. She knew that they were not really safe, but after the invasion of the brain-scry she had needed to do something to reclaim her autonomy and sense of control.

So she had claimed Dornodo.

He had been hesitant, at first. Sarah hadn’t told him what she had been through when she had practically jumped him, but he knew of her past. Of her treatment for a psychiatric condition caused by exposure to what the Earthlings called the Tunnel Drive. How it had caused her to focus on one of her crewmates to an extremely unhealthy degree, one that was cut off from the reality of the situation.

He knew how devastated she had been when the bubble had been popped and she had been forced to look at the truth. Because she had told him, in quiet moments while the students of the Toormonda were elsewhere. Because talking to him had felt good, and because she wasn’t ashamed of what she’d been through.

She had been returned to the Toormonda in the middle of the night. Their psuedo-night/rest period, at least. She had entered his private room and asked to speak with him. Rather than tell him what had happened, she had kissed him.

He had tried to protest, but she had begged him to “Be here for me, now,” and he had relented.

And it had been wonderful. A little taste of happiness to wash away the horror.

Now, as she lay listening to his breath and his heartbeat, she wondered how he would react when he awoke. Would he be angry for taking advantage of him? Would he see her as a vulnerable flower due to her medical condition and insist that this would be the only time they could be together?

She needed him last night. She had needed a sense of control, and he had helped her reclaim that.

But now? Now she was once more uncertain and afraid. She wanted this, she realized. Dornodo was a wonderful man. Funny and insightful, patient and willing to go to great lengths to explain things to her, he had made her welcome aboard the Toormonda and helped her adapt to the unfamiliar environment.

The Toormonda was his home. He owned the vessel and operated it as a business. He had welcomed her into his home when she had needed a place to recover. And when she had been hurt in a way that she didn’t really understand, he had helped her recover from that as well.

She might be in love with the Yonohoan teacher/chaperone, she realized. She explored the feeling while she enjoyed his embrace.

This felt right.

But so had her feelings for Diego.

Was she making the same mistake as before?

Or was this how it was supposed to be?

She didn’t know.

He stirred, and she realized he was waking. He yawned and looked down on her.

“It wasn’t a dream,” he said to himself.

“No, it wasn’t. Thank you for last night,” she said.

“I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you,” he said.

“I’m the one who took advantage,” she countered. “I needed you. I’m sorry. Thank you and I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “I sensed something was amiss. I should have said no, but something in my heart said that you would shatter if I did not show you that you could still know love. I do not know what happened in the days that you were away, and you do not have to tell me, but I hate the ones who took you.”

“They called it a brain-scry,” she said honestly.

He tensed.

“I am sorry that you were put through that,” he said. She could sense a current of deep anger under his words, but not for her. It was righteous indignation on her behalf. “It is a grave violation. I can understand why you needed me in the way that you did, now that you have told me.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I am not certain it should happen again, however,” He confessed.

“I know,” she agreed. “But I think I want it to.”

“Let’s dress, and go eat. The students were worried about you and it will be good for them to see you, and for you to see them,” he predicted. “We can talk about matters later, after we’ve both had some time to think, and you have had some time to regain your sense of control. I apologize for not being able to protect you against what you were forced to undergo.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said. “You were there for me when I needed you. That’s all I could ever ask.”

~~~~~~

Opala walked into the middle of the grassy field outside the village. Her shuttle had just landed outside the pastoral town and she had spent twenty minutes discussing matters with the local officials. This village had been lucky, almost everyone had been sheltering in place when the attack had come. Nobody had been driving a vehicle when technology failed them, so nobody had died.

She held in her hand what looked like a small iron stake. It was a stake, but it was not iron. She reached out with a muscle that wasn’t a muscle of her body and flexed, connecting her wetware to the device as she took control of it and began programming according to the information that she had been given.

The people of this city were unharmed, but their infrastructure was destroyed. It would take years for the Earthlings to completely replace and rebuild what had been lost using their own technology.

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In the mean time, Opala would help them find shelter using hers.

She finished entering the parameters into the stake’s software and drove it into the ground with her foot. She walked quietly away to where the villagers were watching her.

“It will take the rest of the day,” she told them, “But by tonight there will be a building here with running water and power. The quarters will be cramped, but you will be able to bathe, sleep, and cook for yourselves using the facilities inside. I apologize that I cannot do more. I will remain with you to show you how the devices inside function, but after you have settled I will have to move on.”

The alderman nodded and thanked her profusely.

Behind her, the building nanites went to work, stripping the material that they needed out of the ground and putting it to new purpose. The foundation formed as the soft ground turned solid, then graphite beams began forming a scaffolding that would eventually form the skeleton structure of the massive building.

There would be very little privacy with the open dormitories and communal spaces. But the refugees would have someplace to go while they rebuilt.

And when it was over, they would have a new symbol to remind them of their time of hardship and the relief that had come to them from the sky.

~~~~~~

“Across the affected lands, the Yonohoan relief efforts continue assisting law enforcement to make progress in restoring law and order to areas affected by rioting and unrest. Their use of what roughly translates into ‘building nanites’ are creating shelter points throughout the affected nations, allowing people to remain where they are while still receiving food, shelter, and medical care during this troubling time,” The reporter said.

“While some continue to view the Yonohoans with mistrust and suspicion, the majority of the public opinion polls are showing an overwhelming positive response to their humanitarian efforts in the wake of Europe’s bombardment by the Rosantean EMP weapon. The exact death toll remains uncertain, and the cost of rebuilding is expected to be significant, but everyone seems to agree that the swift arrival and actions of our new allies has kept a bad situation from getting even worse.

“While the Yonohoans remain strange to us in many ways, they continue to extend a helping hand. Earlier in the day, their chief spokesman Eolai has announced that the Yonohoans have declared war on the Rosanteans. This decision was apparently made immediately after the bombardment, and he expressed surprise that the people of Earth were not already aware of this fact. We go now to the recording of the exchange …”

Doctor Olivia Nunes tuned out the report. John was out playing basketball again. She regretted the new rule about the radio and the news being off limits to him until the furor of the attack settled down, but she still recalled the way he had first reacted with rage, and then abruptly went calm as he processed the attack on Earth.

She had promised him that she would keep him informed, but although he preferred having the radio or the television on in the background, she had determined that it wasn’t in his best interest to listen to the ongoing talk of death tolls and reconstructions. She had promised to keep him informed if anything else significant happened, but reminded him that it wasn’t his job to fight anymore.

Since he had decommissioned himself, he didn’t even have the ability to do so.

He was adapting well to his new environment, she reflected. It was less structured than the facility where he had been under observation until his body’s enhancements had faded, but she wasn’t worried that he would run off. She was in the process of getting him enrolled in school.

With Eolai of the Yonohoans providing the funding, she had decided to place him in a private school rather than public, and she was expecting a call from their office soon. The phone rang, and she answered it immediately. The caller was not the school.

“Hello Olivia Nunes. How is my father doing during this troubling time?” a musical voice asked. She recognized it immediately from the custody hearing.

“He’s adjusting,” she admitted. “Hello Eolai.”

“Has he asked to speak with his family since he was released into your custody?” Eolai asked, sounding hopeful.

“He’s adjusting to life on Earth. He’s very much looking forward to going to school. He spends most of his free time playing basketball. Are you familiar with that sport?”

“Vaguely, but if my father is interested in it than I will investigate it more closely,” the Yonohoan man said.

“Eolai, I wish that you wouldn’t call him that. I understand that by your traditions the clone of your father is your father as well. But he’s only twelve years old. It kind of sounds strange and creepy.”

“Apologies. It is not wise to call him by his true name, however.”

“He prefers to be called John now.”

“I see. I shall respect his decision. I wish to see him.”

Olivia chewed her lip as she considered the request. “I will discuss it with him whether or not seeing you is in his best interest. He is very concerned that you have reason to hate him.”

“Because he ripped off my arm? He is worried that I am angry with him? Or because he killed my Topoka?” Eolai asked.

“Yes,” Olivia answered.

“I am not angry. I was greatly saddened that I failed him when we retrieved him from the lost life pod that was discovered. Sorrow and worry is all that I felt as I fought to recover and find him once more. And despair when he activated his decommissioning protocol, followed by intense relief and hope when he survived it,” the alien explained. “You may tell him that I forgive him for what happened between us and that I wish to get to know him.”

“Thank you, Eolai. We’re taking things slow with his recovery, but I’ll discuss the matter with him over dinner tonight,” She promised. “How can I get in contact with you?”

“I will send you what your people have been calling a PHDA. It will be able to get in contact with me no matter where I am in the universe,” Eolai said. “But until the aftershocks of the Rosantean attack have calmed down, I will remain on Earth as the contact point to your governments. I would greatly like to see my – John, before I am forced to shift into a new role.”

“I understand,” Olivia said. She paused. “Are you still trying to bring him back to Planet Totola?”

“I am uncertain whether that would be in his best interest, to be honest,” Eolai admitted. “Until he has recovered from the training and programming that High-Command put him through, it may be best for him to remain in a low stress environment such as the one you have created for him. If he is returned to the Yonohoan people, I am worried that the dissonance between how he remembers us and how we are will cause him distress.”

“That’s very understanding of his situation, Eolai.”

“I must go now. Please contact me with your decision. If you do not, I will request visitation privileges through your court system, but I would prefer to keep things unofficial.”

“I understand,” she said, and the conversation came to an end.

A few moments later, John came into the house. He set the basketball aside in its spot near the door and went upstairs without saying anything. She read his body language and was fairly certain that he was just distracted.

That was fine.

He was doing well. She was happy for him.

She’d have to return to work soon, however, and she needed to get him into school. So she picked up her phone once more and called their office.

The joys of parenthood, she thought to herself as she waited on hold to speak with the principal.

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