Ra looked at Hannah and me closely before she spoke.

“Twenty-four half human children would not adversely affect the overall population. I don't wish to confuse Damien and his family, but you will understand Mama. Your genes, as Hannah calls them, will not dilute the Paterian gene pool enough to be harmful if they stay under twenty-four children."

“Breeding numbers have been low," Hannah whispered. "The women on this planet do not conceive easily. It has been getting worse and worse. Humans breed quickly, Nu-reeh knows this. She will use you to increase her numbers. The permission has been granted.”

I sat and breathed slowly in and out. Hannah was strong, I told myself. My children would be strong, their testing showed it. I tried to calm myself.

“That is a Large number..." I mused.

“Nu-reeh's computations," Ra said softly, "have told her you will be superior in this use.”

Hannah growled at the comment and Ra calmly stroked her arm. I knew the phrasing, too. It was the way the men talked about slaves. They had not used that terminology around me in a long time. To them, I was no longer a slave. Obviously, to Nu-reeh, I still was.

In an effort to remain controlled I concentrated on my living child. She was so upset she was shaking Lightly. I tried to find a way to calm her.

“Your letter was brilliant," I complimented her. "I found your message the second night."

Hannah grinned suddenly and even Ra Looked proud. They had put a Lot of time and thought into that letter. Hannah explained how hard it had been to leave it in the right spot. They wanted it found by honorable men and not pesky outlaws.

Kein commented how good the tami leaves were. My men all thanked them for the treat. The conversation over the box was casual and relaxed.

Crunching feet got our attention suddenly. Men's voices were coming into the forest.

"I Love you, Mama," Hannah said rising and hugging me.

“Stay strong, I'll see you again. We will find a way to fix this...somehow. We have to Leave tonight, the women will fight us if we stay close to their men another night."

Ra gave me a quick squeeze and the girls melded back into the forest. We stood and I heard Basin's voice boom out. He cursed and swore. The General was angry, Damien and his Brothers were being troublesome today. First the fighting, now they disappear and hang out with me.

Damien was noncommittal in his response and just led me back to the Keepers.

He had to walk me all the way to the beach, since everyone was already there. His presence caused a great deal of turmoil as the girls all looked up at him. They cried and looked down, everyone feared the new punishments.

The Keeper told Damien he would let the respective owners know who had looked at him without permission.

"No one looked at me," Damien said bluntly while stripping me of my ornamentation, so I could swim.

The Keeper politely disagreed and Damien got in his face.

“No-one-Looked-at-me," he said forcefully.

The Keeper backed down and Damien stalked back up toward the Keepers’ compound.