Martinez’s datapad chimed yet again. Whether this was the hundredth or thousandth time tonight, he was unsure. After a few hundred, the shrill notification of another text message melded into all the others.
He languidly looked across his bed at the vibrating device, the lights from the activated screen filling his otherwise dark room in a wan blue light. He was alone tonight, not because he wanted to be but because he needed the time to focus on what would come.
When he and Lysa had returned to her home, She had passed out the moment she scarfed down a ridiculous amount of pickled vegetables and raw meat. The amount she had eaten would have made him sick, but all it did was force his Ruh’ah into a food coma so deep she did not even notice when he tuckered her into bed and left.
Lysa had messaged and called everyone she knew happily between bites of her meal, informing them of the happy news.Martinez had expected a few messages to result from her informing everyone in her contacts list, but nothing like what he was experiencing now. His datapad had not stopped ringing for nearly four hours.
At first, he had taken time to respond to them: Teacher, Surail, Lira, Feinel, and everyone else at the dojo. They all wished him the best and asked Martinez for his opinions and feelings.
God, why must they all be asking him? He did not know; it wasn't like he had gone out and planned to knock up his alien girlfriend. This was something that had just happened. Instead of telling their mutual friends that none of them answered, he simply told them he was excited, happy, and flying over the moon; basically, he was just shoving answers out the door to satisfy them for the time being.
The only one he could not lie to about it was Teacher. Martinez certainly tried to tell her the same canned answer as the others, but that sharp-witted shortstack somehow read his mind through a text message.
She had called him out on his passive response, saying he was lying and definitely was not being truthful. Thankfully, like the fantastic mentor that beastly woman was, she did not shame Martinez about it. Instead, she invited him for a cup of stulk and a nice little chat.
Martinez would take her up on that offer, but it was not like he had a choice. Teacher made it abundantly clear that either he would come to her, or she would to him.
Knowing that crazy meathead, Martinez would likely wake up tied up and being tossed into the trunk of her car if he attempted to get out of their little date.
He trusted Teacher with his life, but he could tell there was something about her that she made great efforts to keep hidden. That unknown, coupled with her strength and ability as a fighter, were plenty of reasons not to cross her. They planned to meet later in the week while Lysa was at work.
He was honestly unsure who was messaging him for the rest of the notifications. He barely had a dozen people in his contacts. How could so many people know his number?
Martinez rolled over, the silken sheets caressing his sore muscles.
He grabbed hold of the datapad and flicked away the notifications, swearing he would read them over later. Just as he was about to deactivate the ringer and vibrate, his datapad chimed again, but it was different this time.
Unlike all the other times, he saw someone calling him. It was a particular Aviex who had warmly welcomed him into her home and family. It was Nelya.
—--
Nelya sipped at her stulk, waiting for Martinez to answer her call. She knew it was not too late on that side of the planet, but it was pretty early for her. The suns had not even begun to rise. All she could see was the light green and oranges of the twin stars through the kitchen window.
She had not woken up early just to call him; Kyroll had returned to work earlier this morning, having had to leave at nearly midnight to be at the logging site on time for his two-week shift. But since she was already awake, she spotted a few messages from her daughter; they explained that she was pregnant, told her about the doctor overseeing her care, and that she was going to bed. Nelya had figured checking in on her dear daughters Ruh’ah and, hopefully, soon-to-be Gra’hu would be the best course of action.
Nelya knew Martinez likely needed a person he could chat with at this point. He likely felt alone and backed into a corner. Without trustworthy outlets, Martinez would likely lash out in unhealthy ways.
He was so similar to her Gra’hu, Kyroll, that she expected him to bottle up stress until he exploded. It was only logical that he would do similar things Kyroll did when he first learned Nelya was pregnant.
Back then, Kyroll had no one outside of his squad. But they were not the sort of people with whom you would have meaningful conversations. Because of that, Kyroll was incredibly stressed after returning to her, ultimately resulting in him breaking down and leaving her for two whole weeks shortly after Lysa’s birth. It would be a tragedy if Martinez and Lysa repeated the same horrible act.
“Hello, Nelya. What's up?” Martinez grumbled on the other side of the call.
Now, it was not that he sounded like he was about to be curt with her. No, Martinez's base-filled voice sounded more like he was nearly asleep but struggling to ultimately cross the border into dreamland.
“I just so happened to get a message from my little girl about certain developments. So I wanted to check in on you and see what is on your mind,” Nelya replied, standing to refill her emptied mug.
“I figured she would have called you for hours today. Especially with how eager you were to be a grandma,” Martinez replied as Nelya sauntered across the kitchen to the percolator.
“Don’t worry about that; we will later,” Nelya chuckled.
As Nelya spooned honey into her freshly steaming mug, Martinez broached a topic she expected of the Human. He was quite the sharp lad, after all.
“Why do you seem so calm about this?” Martinez questioned.
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Nelya could tell Martinez that she had lived through all of what Lysa had been through and that it was obvious. She could refer to how much Lysa had eaten when they were over, how tightly her daughter clung to him, and the morning sickness.
All of those things were common for Aviex during pregnancy. Due to their species' evolution in such an inhospitable world, the woman would eat nearly four thousand calories a day until the end of term.
As for the clinginess, her daughter would be going through many growing pains as her body shifts in preparation to care for their child for months without her being able to hunt on her own.
“Well, I knew,” Nelya chuckled, not elaborating on the signs she had observed.
“What do you mean you knew?” Martinez replied.
“I knew, that's what I mean. Lysa did not tell me until today, but you could call it a woman's intuition.” Nelya explained in a slightly jokingly haughty tone as she settled back into her chair. "The signs were there. I am surprised you did not notice."
As Nelya adjusted her robe to keep her full figure covered by the velutinous cloth, she could practically hear Martinez rolling his eyes as he let out a raspy chuckle.
It was good that Martinez took the joke as just that, her trying to add a little bit of levity to what was a rather serious situation. It was just what he needed. Just like Kyroll did in the past, Martinez must have a million questions and what-ifs bouncing around his head. If he was calm, he would be more willing to speak his mind to her.
There was a long pause on the other end of the call—so long that she wondered if Martinez had managed to fall asleep. But just as she was about to ask if he was still there, Martinez spoke up.
“Nelya, can I ask you about something?” Martinez said, the lingering weight of his question evident in the slight pause between each word. It was as if he had to drag each word from the depths of his soul.
Nelya smirked, her sharp teeth shimmering in the dim kitchen lights. Hook, line, and sinker, she got him. It was honestly far easier than she expected. She had planned for having to essentially pull teeth, just as she had with Kyroll; apparently, Martinez was a far more open individual than she had first thought—or he was truly just that desperate for someone to be honest with.
“Of course you can, dear,” Nelya assured, doing her best not to sound overeager. “I am always here for you and Lysa.”
Martinez sighed, and Nelya could hear the sound of a bottle of liquid courage being opened. That caused her to raise a brow. She was well aware that when Martinez felt overwhelmed, he had gone to the bottle in the past. She prayed that she was not listening to the beginning of another downward spiral.
“I am being recalled by the Navy,” Martinez said, flatly as if that would be all she needed to hear to understand everything going on in his life.
“Okay, so what about it? Kyroll was on active duty while I was pregnant. Sure, that will be a difficult thing, but it’s not the end of the world,” Nelya replied.
“I won't come back,” Martinez muttered as if he was ashamed to say it.
Won’t come back? What in all the universe did he mean he wouldn't come back? GU militaries always return soldiers to their station, and he, as far as Nelya understood, was assigned to work at Drauns medical station. He was essentially a learning liaison for his species and the GU. Does Humanity not return soldiers to their families?
“I’m sorry, but I feel I am missing some context. Would you be willing to explain everything?” Nelya insisted
It took Martinez until well after the suns had risen to explain his entire situation. He explained how the Human military did not guarantee your return to a specific location in the galaxy; that when one's contract was up, you either were ditched somewhere the ship was planning on going soon, or you re-upped and kept serving.
They were not a logistical juggernaut and could not prioritize individual troopers' needs over the GU's ongoing demands.
Martinez also revealed something she had never expected him to. Martinez described a strange Human liaison for Draun, someone named Chloe. By the way he described her, it was evident he did not entirely trust the woman.
According to Martinez, she was a vicious, conniving, and stuck-up bitch. But if anyone could get him out of the stop-loss recall, it would be her.
Nelya would have objected, saying that Chloe was obviously not all she seemed to be, but Martinez explained that he knew Chloe was dangerous. She seemed to always be listening and watching him. He even joked that Chloe was likely listening to them right now. He was well aware that Chloe was likely some kind of spy but did not know precisely who was backing her and what their goals were
“I already set up a meeting with her for later this week,” Martinez admitted. “But I am worried about what it will cost me and if I even will make it back.”
“I see,” Nelya replied. "Well, this is worrisome,"
She looked down at the now-cold cup of stulk as she idly stirred the brackish liquid, taking a moment to gather all of her thoughts. Nelya wanted to tell him not to work with Chloe, knowing all too well the cost of getting involved with black site operations and the type of people who thrived there, but she could not do that. Nelya had to think of her daughter, their children, and Martinez’s future.
After a long pause, Nelya released a long-held breath, readying herself to recommend Martinez do exactly what she wished Kyroll had done.
“Don’t tell Lysa for now,” Nelya groaned, not enjoying recommending he lie to her daughter.
“But—” Martinez began, but Nelya plowed past his words and continued to speak. It was good that he would argue in favor of keeping her daughter in the loop, but for the time being, that could not be the case—for the sake of her grandchild.
“You cannot tell her. It will stress her out and not be good for your child. It is safe to assume that Chloe knows why you are willing to work with her and would agree to keep you there until your child is born. Use that and assure you are the loving Gra’hu Lysa needs until you two hold your baby. Once that is all done, you can tell her the truth,” Nelya finished.
Martinez groaned, not liking this idea any more than Nelya did. It was horrible. He felt like after, at long last, having someone he wanted to be with and now would be a father, he was jeopardizing their future.
But even he could see the reasoning behind her instructions.
If he could keep everything appearing typical for the time being and keep Lysa’s stress to a minimum, hopefully, their child would arrive with little issue.
“What about once she gives birth? I can’t just leave her alone,” Martinez argued as if he was trying to find some way to get out of having to lie to his love.
“She won't be alone. We will come over and spend time with her while you have to be gone. You are not on your own after all,” Nelya replied without hesitation.
—--
Martinez rolled back over, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed. He stared into the vapid black as if the dark would speak to him and make their plan any less horrible. Martinez agreed to nearly everything Nelya had suggested. He would lie to his paramour for the sake of their child and play off any odd behavior as just stress.
In addition, she and Kyroll arrived for the birth and remained for several months to take care of Lysa and the baby. Freeing him to pay the piper and fulfill whatever horrible things Chloe had planned for him.
Even if it was a plan and it felt like they had planned as best as they could, it still felt horrible. Martinez’s chest ached, hating himself and everything he had to do to keep her and their child safe. But if he did not go along with this plan, Lysa would be horrified for him, and the risk of her miscarrying would rise from probable to assured.
Just as he was processing the last of his emotions and felt like he had swallowed a bitter pill, his datapad chimed one last time. He glanced down and saw the name. Seeing her name on the notification only confirmed that he had made the right choice given these austere circumstances.
Chloe: I look forward to seeing you later this week.