They were at the midway point to the next way station. Allison was napping. Bit woke her up with an alarm. Allison jumped and hit her head on the canopy.

“What the hell Bit?”

Bit sounded concerned.

“Allison, Mary is having a seizure and contractions started approximately four hours ago. She did not want to wake you because they were very far part and she wasn’t sure. I was monitoring her and she started seizing. Both of their heart rates are erratic. Her scans are not making any sense. There is no way the ship medical scanners on the Ark Royal would miss her neural degeneration. I found it when I used your holo-phones medical scanner and looked carefully.”

Allison got on her knees and cushioned Mary’s head with her hands. Blood was dripping out of the girls nose.

“How long has this been going on?”

Allison tugged Mary’s tie lose and ripped the neck of her blouse open popping a few buttons.

“Six minutes. That denotes she requires emergency medical attention.”

Allison snapped at Bit.

“I know that Bit! Do see a hospital anywhere nearby?”

Bit let Allison’s angry tone go.

“It would seem our only alternative would be to initiate a wormhole jump to a beacon near a medical facility. I would suggest Earth. There are excellent natal and neurosurgery units at University Hospital in NAFTA dome.”

Allison breathed a sigh of relief when the seizure stopped. Mary was still unconscious.

“Bit, those bastards knew she was dying and let her just carry on like everything was fine so they could just take her baby when she died, probably to see what effects the Sal’nash signal had on in utero fetuses. To them she was like a dreg. Invisible and expendable. If it wasn’t for T’hyl they would have gotten away with it. All she wants to do is hold her baby. We can do that much for her can’t we? The Synthlin nanites can fix this. I know it. If we’d just fucking ignored protocol and went sooner. The Synthlin can fix this. They brought me back from the dead. They can fix her.”

Bit was quiet for a few moments.

“I agree. Getting her to the Synthlin medical facility is the right thing to do. Charging the wormhole generator and initiating emergency all stop.”

Mary cried out in pain as she regained consciousness. Allison trusted the starfighters inertial dampeners to stop her from smashing into the canopy and breaking her neck so she stayed leaning over the seat. Mary did not look coherent. She was clutching the Dark Mother pendant given to every student to wear as part of their uniform.

“I see you. Please my baby. Help my baby.”

Allison had tears in her eyes. She didn’t know this girl at all and what she did know of her beliefs really bothered her. Why was she crying? This was just some random cult member. Mary’s eyes locked onto Allison.

“I see her. Do you see her? She’s so beautiful.”

Allison added delirium to her mental list of symptoms to pass on to the doctors.

“I see her. She is beautiful. Don’t push Mary, do not push. I am going to get you help.”

Mary rocked in her seat clutching the pendant.

“You will. I will see my baby. I will hold my baby. She promised.”

Allison turned around and let her butt fall into her seat. She strapped herself in and started plotting a blind wormhole jump to the medical station system. Not just the system. The planet’s orbit. She could not risk further FTL travel with Mary and her baby so far gone.

“Bit this is going to get bumpy. All power to shields except what we need to generate the wormhole. Damn it this math is hard when aiming near a gravity well.”

Bit spoke calmly.

“You realize if you actually land in the planet, we’ll likely create a self-sustained event horizon that will devour the planet and everything around it eventually. Including us.”

Allison’s mind was racing as she plotted the orbital trajectory of the system and planets in relation to the absolute galactic center on their nav map, which was, the Earth beacon. This was likely the dumbest thing she had ever done, even beyond opening an anomaly in an anomaly.

“Bit, if we don’t make it, you can tell me I told you so.”

She hit the wormhole launch button. She did not close her eyes when going through. She was fairly sure she’d be in a mess of trouble even if she’d managed to target it precisely enough. She was right. The beautiful pink and purple planet was dangerously close and Bit was caught in its gravity well. The planet was just shy of a brown dwarf, so its gravity well was steep. Bit sunk into the outer atmosphere. Lightning struck the shield before Allison could get her scramjets and afterburners firing to escape the atmosphere. To use the wormhole the graviton drive had to be powered down. Her antigravs were close to overloading. Bit struggled desperately but finally burst free. Allison pointed at the shields.

“Hey, we still have shields left. Temporal anomalies one, sub-brown dwarf’s zero.”

She heard Mary cry out and chastised herself for laughing at a time like this. She opened comms to the station.

“This is Shadow One, I have a medical emergency and need immediate landing clearance.”

Bit received landing instructions, which she followed while Allison started unstrapping Mary. The canopy started retracting the moment they had atmosphere outside the fighter. Allison saw a familiar Synthlin encounter suit waiting for them. She bowed her head. Several Synthlin moved to help Allison get Mary out of the cockpit and onto a hover gurney. One of them spoke in a chocolaty male voice.

“Battlelord, if you would remove your electronics, we will need you in the birthing chamber.”

Allison shook her head.

“Oh, no I am not going in there. I got her here. That’s my job done. Sorry.”

His soothing voice wormed its way into Allison’s ears again.

“She is in distress, and we are strange looking; A human face will do her a great deal of good.”

Allison’s eyes grew wide as she imagined what horrors she might see. She shook her head.

“No, no, no. She was delusional, had a high temperature, she was exposed to a Sal’nash signal that is disruptive to human neurology three weeks ago, we had many people die from it, some survived, you can probably get more information from medical professionals on Eden Prime. She is showing signs of advanced neural degeneration and has had seizures. She started contractions about three hours ago. And I have a package to deliver. Then I’ll be on my way. After I remove my electronics…”

She climbed in the fighter and removed her contacts, translator and holo-phone.

“I’ll be back soon Bit.”

Bit spoke.

“Strange that you’ll risk our lives to jump into a gravity well to try and save their lives, but you will abandon her in her greatest time of need. Humans are odd and continue to surprise me.”

Allison slapped her holo-phone on her seat in annoyance.

“If you’re done psychoanalyzing me, I have a package to deliver.”

Allison grabbed the case and stormed away from Bit. She asked the station’s computer where the Grand Eminence was. The soft Synthlin voice directed her to the medical observation room for birthing room one and lit up arrows on the wall. Allison power walked all the way there. She kept her back to the birthing room window and offered the case to the Grand Eminence. His wife was also present. Their wings were drooping they looked thoroughly demoralized.

“Grand Eminence this is a diplomatic package, as requested, delivered unopened.”

He looked at her in shock.

“She is dying, the baby is dying, how can you do this at a time like this?”

Allison bit her lower lip. She could hear Mary screeching about demons trying to steal her baby. Begging for the Dark Mother to return. Allison refused to look. If she looked it would be real and she did not want to see this, any of it.

“I apologize, I was ordered to deliver it at all possible speed by my CO. I will put it down here and leave you to your personal matters.”

Allison moved to leave. The grand eminence put his clawed hand on her shoulder to prevent her from getting out the door.

“Your fellow human is bringing new life into this world, if we were permitted, we would be in there with her. She cries out for you, why do you ignore her?”

Allison refused to look at Mary she tried to drown out Mary’s screams of terror.

“I can’t. I’ve done what I can.”

He released her and looked at his life mate. Apparently, Allison wasn’t done with her gauntlet of guilt trips. The next she had not prepared for Doctor Futama, and Futara. They were rushing towards the birthing room. They both looked happy to see her based on their wing position. Futara spoke.

“Are you coming with us to the birthing room? Your friend is not doing well. The Synthlin need our expertise with human physiology. We had heard you were leaving.”

She looked between the two Silwrath. Both of which had saved her life. Fear still gripped her heart. She did not want to see Mary die, or the baby be born. None of it.

“I… I can’t.”

Futara looked hurt.

“She needs you.”

Allison felt tears entering her eyes. She heard Mary’s screams of terror they were echoing through this section of the station. She sounded so frightened and desperate. The Silwrath shook their heads and hurried on. She wrapped her hand around her pendant and closed her eyes.

“Talk to me. Just tell me I need to go there. Please.”

Allison thought of Apiyo. Thought of her face if Allison just abandoned Mary. The look of utter disappointment. Keira’s crushed look when her mother said she had no daughter. She released her pendant and whispered; I understand. She took a deep breath and started heading towards the Birthing room. When she showed up they just let her inside. That was when she realized things were truly bad. They did not care about a sterilized environment.

She slipped in between the group of Synthlin and Silwrath that were struggling to stabilize Mary so her baby could survive. She did not understand any of the medical jargon. She had no translator. She took Mary’s hand.

“I’m here Mary? Do you hear me? You’re safe. Your baby is safe. Just have to get through this and you can hold her, and you can smile at each other. Just hang on.”

Mary looked at Allison through her haze of pain and hysterical fear.

“Am I going to be a good mother?”

Allison squeezed her hand, she sniffled.

“You are going to be the best mother. You just need to hold on.”

Mary nearly broke her hand squeezing. Futara placed a white device on her forehead. She said something Allison did not understand. One of the Synthlin moved off quickly. Mary was struggling to get hand free to remove whatever was on her forehead.

“Shh, shh, it needs to be there. What is her name going to be? Your daughter?”

Mary focused on her Allison again.

“Allison, just like your daughter. I want her to be strong and brave like her. Just like her.”

Allison was crying openly, now she shook her head.

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“No, there are much better names then that, Sarah, Samantha, Joanna, Apiyo…”

Mary squeezed her hand as another contraction ripped through her body. Mary looked at Allison again.

“Help me, please… help me. My girl, make her safe.”

Allison wished she had some magical power to make this all work out. She felt truly powerless in that moment. She felt the power welling up in her chest again. Things began shaking in the room.

“Not now!”

Everyone looked at her. Futara put a calming hand on Allison’s back. Allison felt the rising power dissipate. She released Mary’s hand.

“I… I can’t be here. It’s not safe.”

Mary reached for her hand desperately and Allison stumbled away from her.

“Don’t leave me Dark Mother. I need you.”

Futara put her hand on Allison’s shoulder.

“Please Battlelord, Allison, she stated stabilizing as soon as you took her hand. Please. We can save them. Just keep giving her whatever hope she is clinging to the baby is almost out. Once it is we can use nanites to save her, but we need her to push and she’s refusing to. Coach her please. I will touch your shoulder when it is time, just tell her to push in your language.”

Allison took her hand again. Mary stared at her.

“Why did you leave me?”

Allison shook her head.

“I didn’t, I was here I was checking on your daughter. She’s almost here. Just need you to push when I tell you. Push and you can hold her.”

Allison with the help of Futara guided Mary through giving birth. Mary screamed in agony. Since Allison had arrived there had been no fear. A silver scaled Silwrath rushed in. The woman placed her hand near the top of Mary’s head. The silver scale lifted her head in deep concentration. She spoke but she sounded not at all like a Silwrath.

“I am here… where am I?”

Everyone was looking at Allison as if she should know what was going on, she had no clue. She just said the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re with the doctors. They are trying to save you and your baby. You are not pushing when you need to. Can you push when I tell you?”

The Silwrath sounded scared and confused.

“I can… I can.”

Futara spoke to Allison in Silwrath.

“Allison, you can’t tell her this… she is going to die. We cannot repair the damage it is too catastrophic, parts of her brain are already dying and she has multiple brain bleeds, her blood vessels are completely disintegrating. She is beyond help. If her last wish is to hold her baby, she needs to get her out now. We need to ask her a very important question. Does she consent to being kept alive on life support so she can provide milk for her baby. She needs to agree when she is clear of mind that is why the silver scale is here. Ask the question then we need to go.”

Allison nodded she could not stop herself from crying.

“Mary, I have two very important questions for you, if you cannot be saved, do you authorize the medical team to keep your body alive to provide milk for your baby.”

The silwrath sounded terrified now.

“I need to see her, I need to hold her.”

Allison closed her eyes.

“I know, I know, and you will but she will need your milk if you cannot give it to her. There are no other humans here.”

Mary spoke through the silver scale.

“I.. I want to be a good mother. I want to give her milk.”

Futara started to move to finish the birthing. Allison held up her hand.

“Mary, if you do not survive, do you want your baby to go home to a human family?”

The silwrath sobbed.

“No, I don’t want her to be taken like me.”

Allison nodded. Futara touched Allison’s shoulder. The teenager followed her instructions guiding the temporarily clear-minded Mary through giving birth. There was silence, then a baby cried. The silver scale collapsed on the ground. Mary began screaming again but then when the baby cried again she looked around. Futara handed the still goo covered baby to Mary. She held the girl in her arms and their eyes met. They smiled at each other. Futara started pulling various pieces of equipment off of Mary the rest of the medical staff left Futara, Allison, Mary and the baby alone. All that was left was the brain and heart function monitors. Slowly her brain function monitor slowed in its soft beeps. The end was near. Her eyes were closed then they were wide open, tears dripped from them. She stared past the wall as if she was seeing some point off in the distance. She smiled and said.

“She is surrounded by so much love. She never forgets me…”

Her head lulled to the side. The life left her eyes but her last look made it look as if she had experienced a moment of pure joy.

Futara knew the end was coming and had supported her arm, so the baby did not fall. She quirked her head to the side and poked at something on the baby that sparkled like diamonds even in the soft calming light of the birthing room. She looked at her claw and there was a small flash of light and the substance vanished. Futara shook her head and gently picked the baby up. The Silwrath moved her over to be weighed and cleaned. Synthlin rushed in and started measures to stop cell death. A slime tube was rushed in it all must have been waiting outside. Allison kept holding Mary’s hand because she had no other idea what to do. She had never seen another human die before. She didn’t care for it. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she looked at the empty eyes of and the mouth that just hours before had been laughing at her at a thousand-year-old television show. Just like that she was gone. She barely knew her, how was it going to feel when she watched this happen to her babu, her mother, her father, Tyler, eventually Robin, and even Aryna.

She was falling into a deep dark pit of despair when she felt something as cold as death touch her cheek. She looked at her reflection in the window across from her. It was almost like there was a shadow in front of her, or she had a second reflection. It evaporated as if had never existed. She touched her cheek but felt only her own skin. Whatever it had been, whether it was imagination, delusion, Mary’s ghost, it had left her with a sense that her mother had just touched her cheek and told her she loved her. Allison was pulled out of the moment when she felt Mary’s hand being pulled out of hers.

“Please, Battlelord, we need to get her into the support medium immediately.”

A Synthlin pulled on Mary’s hand. Allison released it. She stared at Mary as she was submerged in the slime tube. Suddenly her heart and breathing monitors started beeping steadily as the slime took over for her brain’s electrical signals. Futara gently guided Allison out of the room. Allison slid down the wall she was by and pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, buried her face in her knees and had a good cry.

Futara touched her shoulder. Allison peaked out of her little personal sob fortress.

“Allison, I am so sorry, but we need you again. Human medical literature says that skin to skin contact is very important in the first hours of life. With her mother gone, little Allison needs you.”

Allison nodded and tried to pull herself up but she was cramped. Futara helped her stand.

“Come we’ve prepared a maternity room to give you some privacy. We have milk to provide her. She got the first mouthfuls from Mary while she was still with us, but she needs more.”

Allison wiped her face with her jacket sleeves.

“She’s still with us, just in slime.”

Futara sighed heavily, her wings drooping.

“No, she is gone, everything she was joined the universe once her neural pathways degenerated completely. There is just a shell. Thankfully without having to be concerned about… her… being her we sealed the body’s brain bleeds and reduced the pressure. We can keep the body’s functions going until Allison can decide to it is time to let the body cease all functions.”

Allison looked up at Futara.

“That could take twenty years.”

Futara bowed her head.

“Yes.”

Allison was angry she couldn’t say at what or who, she was just angry and apparently this was an outlet.

“That is offensive, you can’t just leave her like that in suspended animation so she can produce milk forever she’s not a cow. She’s a human being. If you can keep her alive your nanites can fix her! You can fix her like you fixed me and Tyler!”

Futara took Allison’s anger in stride.

“Allison, she was a human being, now it is just an empty shell kept alive by a microorganism. The body’s brain has no functions and without a scan prior to the damage we have no way of rebuilding it. Even if we had that scan, we would not be able to. The damage was… catastrophic. Even a week ago we could have done something, we would have had something work with. There would be brain damage and she would never be able to function on her own as an adult but she could have lived on as her. It was a miracle she lasted as long as she did. She endured agony to get her baby here. Her pain is gone. Only the body remains.”

Allison stopped and glared at Futara.

“You keep calling her the body, it, like her life meant nothing. She had hopes and dreams. She wanted to be a good mother! She wanted to see her grow up! Her name is Mary!”

Allison was crying again. She started hitting Futara’s upper chest. The silwrath wrapped her arms and wings around Allison. She held her tightly.

“Shh. Allison. She got to see her and held her. You did that. You made that possible. You made sure that Allison will grow up free. She will grow strong because her mother’s milk will make her strong. She will grow up knowing she is loved because you are going to hold her and feed her right now. Then her new mother, Ember, will hold her and feed her. She will know that the Battlelord risked her life to get her here so she could be born. She will be able to go to the hall of heroes and say, she held me when I was a baby. She watched me grow. She will be able to do all of that because Mary fought to get her here. Her life is full of meaning. It is up to you to tell her daughter her stories when she is older so that Mary’s life will have more purpose. But the empty shell is just that, an empty shell. Mary is out in the universe now her energy has rejoined it. She will be reborn again somewhere in the future. Her spark will ignite the fire of life in a new body. Do not insult her by calling that empty shell her, she is so much more than that now.”

Allison clutched onto Futara like she was going to evaporate on her. Futara kept her wings wrapped around Allison.

“I think we all forget you are still just a child. You have done and seen so much. I am sorry you had to see this with your own eyes. It is the reality of my work. It is not for the eyes of children. Come, we must tend to the babe.”

Allison released Futara. The Silwrath led her to a cozy room. Allison removed her jacket and blouse. She wrapped the silk blanket around her shoulders and over the baby. She offered the milk. She smiled and watched the newborn drink. She spoke quietly.

“I think, maybe to avoid confusion, I’m gonna call you Allie. So, Allie, you have a crazy life ahead of you. Filled with dragons, badgers, plant people, and so many more different crazy things. I know your dad. He’s a big red dragon. Your mom has red scales too. With a silver tinge. So, she’s probably a mind reader. You’re not going to get away with anything. Your aunt is very important too. I’m not her biggest fan. Don’t tell her that though, she made you possible.”

The baby’s big blue eyes stared up at her.

“You’re really lucky, as a rule I hate babies. You see the Dark Mother… well shh, don’t tell anyone, but she’s, my mother, like Mary was for you. She sent me this vision of how mad my mom, she’s like Ember, would be if I didn’t help you get into the world. So, here we are. You staring up at me wondering who is this crazy girl sticking bottles of weird tasting stuff in my face. Me wondering if you’ll remember any of this. You won’t. It’s for the best. Look at my face. All red and puffy, I could star in a horror movie right now. Even on good day scarecrows are less frightening than my face.”

Allison made a scary face. Baby Allie reached up and very clumsily touched Allison’s nose.

“I know, it is so huge. You could use it as a navigation beacon in space. Oh, there’s Auntie Allison’s nose, better turn left so we don’t run into her fat head.”

Allie smiled at the teenager.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to smile until you’re two months old. Are you a quick learner, I think Ember and the Grand Eminence might be in serious trouble with you, you little devil.”

Allison noticed some spots on Allie’s upper arm. They looked like tears had dropped on them and left streaks. The skin looked perfect. She touched the strange birth mark.

“What these little Allie? Are they the tears of an angel crying for your mother, hmm, what do you think? I think that’s the story I’m going to tell you when you grow up and you ask me why you have them.”

Allie snuggled into Allison’s chest. The teenager rocked her gently until she fell asleep. She called out softly.

“Uh… help… someone?”

Ember opened the door and peeked in, she looked at the baby who was snoozing away bottle in mouth.

“So precious and fragile.”

Allison gave up on bashfulness for the moment and just wrapped Allie in the red silk blanket and offered her to Ember. Ember turned away so Allison could get dressed. Allison left her bra, tie and jacket off, just pulling on her uniform blouse. Her hair had long ago fallen out of the bun. She peaked at Allie’s adorable sleeping face. Allison looked up at Ember.

“You know, human babies, cry… a lot. They’re kind of little terrors.”

Ember kept bouncing and rocking Allie.

“Unless they breath gouts of plasma, I think we can handle it. You do not want to burp a Silwrath baby that has gas.”

Allison giggled in spite of the tragedy she’d just witnessed. A picture of Allie spitting plasma out when she burped was too much for her to maintain composure, or maybe it was just her mind relieving stress. Ember’s wings perked up.

“Battlelord, I am honored to meet you. I am honored to raise this child as my own. She will know of you and what you did for her. I will take her to the hall of heroes, and I will point up to your statue and I will tell her, that is Allison Wanjala, the woman who saved your life. Who held you in her arms to feed you for the first time. I sense the exhaustion in your mind and a weight on your spirit. You need to rest, child. A room beside ours has been prepared. Please, come and hold the baby anytime.”

Allison couldn’t sleep. She held herself as she drifted to a free observation lounge. She looked at the gas giant. She heard the door open. Leshy, the six-armed Synthlin that had saved her life and been instrumental in keeping Mary alive long enough to see her child seemed to hover across the floor to stand beside her.

“It is different when it is in a hospital then on the battlefield, isn’t it, child?”

Allison nodded. She motioned with one of her arms.

“I was not always an extended life and nanotech specialist. We Synthlin live very long lives. I spent my youth accelerating the ending of lives. It is fitting I spend my twilight years undoing my misdeeds. You are troubled. As you were once our patient, the station’s VI monitors you even now. I am concerned about you, you require sleep, sustenance, your dose of supplements is late.”

Allison continued holding herself.

“It seems so senseless. There are so many worse people than her. If she had to die, why did she have to suffer like that?”

Leshy hovered behind Allison and picked up a piece of fruit from a bowl. Allison had assumed they were decorative. Leshy offered it to Allison.

“Eat, child. Or I will use a sedative your nanites cannot fight and have you force fed by IV. We are all for anatomical autonomy here, but I am not above spanking an errant child once in a while.”

Allison wasn’t sure if the female Synthlin was teasing her or not. Their voices sounded delicious, but it was often difficult to catch inflections, such as sarcasm, or teasing. Allison did not want to take the risk, so she took a bite of the sweet fruit. It tasted amazing. She quickly ate it. Her lack of appetite had apparently not been a lack of hunger. Leshy bowed her encounter suit’s head.

“You are seeking a reason, where there is none. Sometimes there is a natural end to a life, whether by violence or by natural causes. That is what this facility is for. So that we can extend a life until they meet their natural end. I see death every day. There is a look when someone is ready. They know it is their time. Your friend knew it was her time. She sought one thing before she released herself from her pain, to hold her baby. We, you included, all worked together so when she met her end, it was her natural end. I know this is no comfort to one so young. I was not expecting to bid farewell to a patient today, I was expecting to welcome two. That is life, young Battlelord.”

Leshy motioned with her arms as if welcoming a sunrise.

“There is a saying amongst many of the League species. Watch the sunrise, appreciate its beauty. Then appreciate the beauty of the day. Then watch the sunset, appreciate its beauty. Then if you do not wake on the morrow, your last day was a beautiful one.”

Allison smiled at the corniness of it. Leshy motioned to Allison’s face.

“Ah, a smile.”

Allison blushed. Leshy continued speaking.

“Do you know that one hundred percent of the sentient species we have encountered are capable of smiling. Only forty percent can frown. Why do you think that is?”

Allison’s brow wrinkled.

“Is that actually true?”

Leshy sounded like she might be laughing, it was hard to tell.

“I have no idea, but isn’t it a nice thought that all sentients are hardwired to show happiness?”

Allison could not resist smiling.

“Ah there it is, the universe is not so dark as it once was. Much like you did when you helped us save the infant, you brought joy to this dark universe. Many of our end-of-life guests have asked to see the new life we brought into the world together with her mother. Many smiles have lit up this place where people go to die. So, when everything is at its darkest, when you feel there is no hope. Remember that you made someone’s last wish come true, and you put smiles on the lips of the dying this day. Eat some more, lest I be forced to follow through with my earlier statement of fact.”

Leshy threw Allison another sweet-fruit and moved to leave the teenager to her thoughts. Allison looked at Leshy and called out.

“Leshy, could we… could we have a memorial service for Mary? I didn’t know her very well, but I think saying goodbye would help me get closure.”

Leshy turned to Allison.

“Yes Child, you may use the large observation lounge, tell me what you need, and I will see it is done.”