“We all have communication pads, Mama," Kennedy informed me just before she left.

“Use them sparingly, but contact us if you need to talk."

They were gone a moment later, springing into the air and flying off with bold strokes of their wings.

I couldn't stand and watch them dwindle to a speck as they flew boldly off. I turned away and hurried back to Armant's shop and found the Brothers just leaving. Today they would go to the fields and harvest. I would stay and do the work in the shop.

"You have become very slow in the fields," Armant informed me. "The other men thought you were merely getting larger. Now that we know you carry a new life, none of us want you beyond the safety of our camp. Females that are heavy with a child rarely spend much time outside the main camp. Their Sisters take up their responsibilities or they are shared by other females. You have no Sisters and you do men's work, so we will help you.”

I had enjoyed the hard work in the fields, but the labor was quite taxing. Bending to pull weeds was very difficult and I was frequently out of breath. The inside work was still tiring, but it was easier to get done.

“It it is truly a female of T'vailk heritage," Reil continued, "that would be quite a unique thing.”

The Brothers all agreed and I suddenly realized I had not asked Kennedy about that. In the rush to find out about the warships, I had not asked about the baby's parentage. My hands rested automatically on my Large belly.

I smiled wondering if this was Kein's little one growing inside of me. Hannah had told us his line was from those strange, wild mountains. The girl in my stomach rolled under my hand as I thought about it. If she was his, I was sure this would be a wonderful, strong girl.

"T'vailk females are unique," Armant said knowingly, “we've never seen them, but we've heard about them."

The Brothers all agreed about the interest in my belly as they headed out. I wondered what that knowing comment referred to. I would have liked to have them stay and talk, but this was not a time for idle conversation. We had much to do and less hands to do it with. Taking my cue from Armant's family, I settled down to stitch as quickly as I could.

My family traveled far from me in the coming days. I felt the distance between us and it made me yearn for them. It was only the knowledge that they protected my precious boy that made it bearable. The Little one inside of me craved contact with her male breeder. As the days passed I sensed her struggle to stay connected to him. Both of us missed them terribly.

Rose and I moved our things into the rooms our men Lived in. Both of us worked to make the dwellings cozy for our families when they returned. We had faith they would come back to us. Even when our bond with them felt weak and fragile, because of the distance, our love for them was as strong as ever.

The little one in my belly was restless and upset with the loss of her male breeder. There were times we couldn't feel the men at all. She wanted him and his experiences, but that just wasn't possible.

I read all I could, whenever I could, but it wasn't enough. She wanted more than I could give on my own. I quickly found that while others could not completely satisfy her, it did tame the curiosity.

I sewed in the small shop all day, every day. When men came in I started to ask them for information. Anything would do really, it just had to be something I didn't know already. It quickly became a game in the camp to see who could give me the most amazing piece of new information, It was all I could do for my girl, but it seemed to partially satisfy her.

The men from the camp told me things I never would have thought to study. They taught me history and geography. Other days it was plant life and survival skills. It was all immensely interesting and I was grateful for the effort they put into soothing my growing daughter.

A moon passed and we knew the warships were still gathering above our heads. As a woman carrying a female, perhaps a very special female, I was not encouraged to go outside. Men and women talked about sightings of the crafts zipping through the sky. They may have been real or imagined, either way the stories were unnerving.

Everywhere I went, even though it was inside, I always went completely armed. The sword stayed on my left hip and the gun on my right. When we were attacked it would be everyone fighting. I was no exception.

I felt the men sometimes. My child and I relished the snatches of communication with them. They were restless and bored. Everyday they paced the underground tunnels keeping themselves ready in case of attack. As soon as the fight started they would spring from beneath the surface and protect the other men.

It was a long and frustrating wait and one day, it all changed. The warships cut through the air on the day of the attack. We'd known they were gathered at the edge of our system of moons and weren't surprised when they blasted through our atmosphere. Still the sound was deafening and I cringed on the floor of the shop for a moment.

My training took over and I got up off the floor almost instantly. I had a station, just like everyone else. My job was to help any men that came back injured. I went to the area we'd set up and waited with Rose.