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The Massive rarely knows the meaning of taking a break.
Even when temporarily stationed to refuel and restock the snack pods' supply, there are always pilots on the controls, crewmen running along the engines, and soldiers doing stuff inside. It's known that only the best of the best are hired to work aboard the Irken flagship. After all, the Tallest themselves resided there, so it must be at top condition 100% of the time.
In other words, the crew of the Massive was prepared for any unexpected surprises.
"THE SMEET IS COMING!"
...Okay, almost any.
They learned quite a few things about pregnancy ever since they discovered Lady Lena was smeeting. You can't blame them for not knowing. Most of them hadn't even seen a smeet before until Ilk came along, and she was a few days old when she arrived. Thus, they were unaware of their own natural reproduction.
In the first few months, the Irkenette suffered constant mood swings and ridiculously picky cravings. On one occasion, Lena wanted chocolate cheesecake (Tallest Purple was sent into the I-miss-Cheesecake fit whenever that word was pronounced when he was around). But when the snack was brought, she rejected it, saying she wanted vortian chocolate, not the usual irken fudge ones. And when the correct ones were delivered, she changed her mind and said she wanted irken fudge.
Another thing was that she created a sort of 'nest' in her and Tallest Red's bed with all the pillows, inadvertently occupying most of the available space. If anyone other than Tallest Red dared to go into the room, Lena would hiss and hide further into her nest. Only Tallest Red was allowed into the den (or the room, even).*
Speaking of Tallest Red, the crew noted he was also displaying certain… behaviors himself. He didn't want any other males near Lena (Tallest Purple was the exception because he was his best friend and co-Tallest). In the first two months, he sent many out of the airlock for just glancing at her. Whenever both were in the nest he'd watch over his wife, fascinated, as she slept and would give warning hisses at whoever came too close.
And there's also the moment everyone was anxiously thinking of lately: what happened when an Irkenette went into labor? Guess they were about to find out.
"WHAT DO WE DO?!"
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?! I'M AN ELITE, NOT A DOCTOR!"
"ARGH! IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE RIGHT DO IT YOURSELF! YOU GET HOT WATER, YOU FETCH TOWELS, YOU RUN AROUND IN CIRCLES AND PANIC!"
"Grruggl-aargh!"
"PURPLE, STOP EATING AND HELP ME!"
The doors to Red and Lena's bedroom opened abruptly. About a hundred panicked Irkens, Red and Purple among the front rows, tripped and formed a big pile of squirming and protesting bodies. And yet somehow Red managed to stick his head out from underneath Tenn's waist. "LENA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"
Lena merely blinked and stared at the scene. "Red, I told you it was only a kick."
The shouting was replaced by collected sighs of relief as everybody scrambled to get back on their feet.*
"Okay, everyone, get back to work or whatever!" Red snapped, not even bothering to apologize for scaring the heck out of them for no reason. He was the Tallest, he didn't have to do that! Well, there were exceptions, such as when he apologized to Lena for hurting in feelings in back in Hoth*, or to Purple over Cheesecake.
Once they were alone, Red sighed in frustration and let himself fall unto his side of the bed. "I swear, that kiddo hasn't even been born yet and he's already killing me…"
"What do you complain about? You're not the one who looks like you ate an irk ball!" Lena frowned, looking down at her tummy. It had grown considerably in the last trimester. It wasn't too big like a mammalian species, but rather medium-sized, slightly bulging out her once flat abdomen.*
"At least you sleep on the bed!"
"It's not my fault you move too much. You might kick the smeet."
Red chuckled and shifted closer to his wife to wrap his arms around her waist, gently stroking her tummy. "And this is your mommy, kiddo."
"Very funny," Lena said sarcastically before looking down at the unborn smeet. "That dork is your daddy, in case you're wondering."
The smeet shifted somewhat, but to Red's dismay, only Lena could feel it. "Did he move?" Red asked for the hundredth time.
Lena sighed. She felt a bit uncomfortable with her mate leaning this close to her abdomen. "A tiny bit." She groaned when Red instantly shifted even closer and started touching her tummy, even putting his head against it.
"Come on, smeet! Kick for daddy!"
"It's not that strong yet, you know."
"How come you can feel it and I can't!"
"Well, for starters, it's inside my body, not yours."
"Come on, little one! Could you kick a little harder?"
Lena sighed again. "Leave the smeet alone, would you? You'll have plenty of time to make him kick your hand later when you change his diapers."
"Come on, you don't look that bad. I think you look cute," Red whispered as he leaned even closer to her if it was even possible. "Besides, it's been a while since we had a smeet here."
Ah, how he missed Ilk. He wondered if his baby was doing well on Sobr with that kryvtor husband of hers. He still had trouble accepting Blue as a son-in-law even after all the trouble he went through to help them win the Massive back from a bet. Damn you, Skoodge and Bob!
"Oh, yeah?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "From what I heard, lots of people around here threw a party when Ilk stopped using diapers."
"Hey, you've never smelt a smeet's… poop. It smells worse than Skoodge's socks!"
"How do you know that?"
"Believe me, you don't want to know."
Lena lay down against the pillows, sighing dreamily. "Think it'll be a boy or a girl?"
"I'm betting for a boy." Red chuckled. Half of the Massive had bet on a boy, Purple included. Besides, after raising a little female smeet, he kinda was hoping to have at least one little male.
Lena noted there was an undercurrent of… something in his voice. He was happy, alright, but sometimes he sounded worried about something. "What's on your mind, Red?"
Damn it, why did she have to be so perceptive? His hand unconsciously gripped hers. "...What if something goes wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if something happens…?" he had studied, indeed, and found that the mortality rate for birthing females was very high, especially if it was their first time. Ilk's biological mother had perished this way. "It's your first time… what if your body can't bear it…? Or what if the egg is too big and-?" He was cut off by a gentle finger on his lips.
"You worry too much, Red," Lena assured him. "Everything will be alright. We've been practicing a lot, remember?"
"How can I help it? I mean, you're not the only one who's on her first time!"
"What are you talking about? You've had Ilk."
"I wasn't present when she was born!"
Lena sighed. He had been like this during the past few weeks, especially now that she was near the date. It was getting on her nerves, really. She knew the risks childbirth entailed, she was a doctor, for Irk's sake! Because of this, she was also aware that stress could make things harder for her in the long run, which is why she tried to keep calm as much as she could. But Red wasn't helping!
She felt another kick. Red noticed. "Did it kick again?"
"Yes."
Red gently rested his head against her tummy again, rubbing it tenderly with a hand. He gave a whine. "Not fair! I want to feel the kicking! Come on, smeetie, can you kick a little harder for daddy?"
Lena sighed again. Well, at least he wasn't using a mini-puppet version of himself to talk to the smeet this time.*
Entry of Advisor Giro, Chief Counselor of Almighty Tallest Laven.
Date 53/02
Lady Cyanin's passing struck the Empire hard. She was a beloved empress. Her funeral was grim, but grand, with thousands of Irk's citizens coming to pay their respects. But the one who was most affected by her loss is Tallest Laven. He did not attend the funeral. He locked himself inside the smeet's unused nursery and ordered that no one disturbs him. Some cleaning drones who passed by heard screams of grief and furniture being torn to pieces. Nobody dares to knock. I fear for my Tallest's emotional state. Losing his wife was hard enough, but to lose his smeet on the same day, and its stillbirth being the cause of Lady Cyanin's own death, must have dealt a devastating blow.
Date 03/03
My Tallest finally came out of his self-imposed confinement, but something has changed. He's not the same. There's a darkness in him that I cannot describe, brought forth by his grief and despair. He wouldn't talk to anyone. The first thing he did was ordering all workers who were expecting smeets or who had one be fired. I suppose he cannot bear to see what he will never have now.
…
Date 07/03
My Tallest has made a new decree: natural reproduction is strictly forbidden. All expecting mothers are to have an abortion, and cloned smeets will have their reproductive organs removed. He claimed that it was for the good of the Empire, but those who know him well, I included, know otherwise. If he can't have a family, no one else can. I tried to talk him out of it, but he… didn't take it kindly. He's no longer the considerate, fair ruler we all know.
...
Date 10/03
Many people protested against the new law, but my Tallest wasn't moved. He organized an actual witch hunt, dragging pregnant irkenettes and newborn smeets out of their homes to be executed as an example. One of the victims was a high-ranking Irken Elite. No one has risen up in protest ever since.
"Hey, what are you reading?"
Red quickly hid his Irkpad from view. "Nothing." Sadly, he wasn't quick enough, and Purple extracted the device from his grasp in a matter of seconds.
Purple took a quick read through the contents. "Hey, these are previous entries from when Tallest Laven went nuts."
"Give it back!" Red tried and failed to retrieve his Irkpad.
"I've heard his wife died at childbirth and his smeet was stillborn. Talk about bad luck, huh? Why are you reading such macabre stuff?"
Red did manage to snatch the Irkpad from Purple. "Just… curious. I mean, must have been really mad to ban reproduction for such a silly reason, right?"
Purple didn't buy it. There was something to Red's face… he was grinning through grit teeth, and trying to avert his gaze. He knew because he was usually the one to make such gestures while Red suspected something was off. Oh, well, Red must have his reasons.
"Fine. Whatever." He took a bunch of curly fries into his mouth. "How's Lena? I haven't seen her around much."
Red sighed. "She won't come out of the 'nest' no matter what I do. Irk, I can't even sleep comfortably in my own bed because she took most of the space!" In fact, last night, Lena unknowingly kicked him off the bed in her sleep, forcing him to go sleep on the couch. "How you even got to sleep with Cheesecake and not get kicked out of your own bed is a mystery to me."
"He slept at the corner…" Purple sighed. "At least you have someone to sleep with at night."
Red regretted mentioning the overgrown lizard. Purple got into a semi-depressed mood whenever anyone brought the topic up. Admittedly, although Red was glad not to wake up to the smell of Indokuro manure reeking from his carpet, part of him did miss the troublemaking Cheesecake. Purple had chosen to leave him behind on Sobr where he'd be better-taken care of, but he could tell his co-Tallest sometimes seemed to regret that decision.
"I'm sorry, Pur."
"That's okay. I mean, at least I know Cheesecake's happier there, chasing after… something to eat." Purple chuckled at the thought. He lifted his empty vase of soda. "Bobby, get me a refill!"
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a few seconds as the technicians and pilots exchanged looks.
"My Tallest, you banned Bob and Invader Skoodge from the Massive, remember?" One of the communications officers, Jack, pointed out.
"Ah, right! I remember! It was because they lost the Massive on a bet and made us go through the hell of a time, right?"
Red shivered as he recalled all the awful things they went through back on Sobr, thanks to that issue. "Don't remind me!" The only good thing that came out of the experience was that they attended Ilk's wedding, and Purple was accepted as an honorary Indokani.
"What matters is that we got the Massive back, and we don't have to worry about suffering Lena's wrath over not having the snacks she craves for!"
Just then, Red got an Irk-mail from Lena. Red, think you could get me some Vort dogs? But fry them in baisok oil, not regular oil. "She wants Vort dogs fried in baisok oil*."
"What's a baisok?"
Red twitched his and slurped his soda noisily.
After some talk and deliberation, they had decided they wanted the smeet to be born on Irk for a change. There were better chances of having extra medical help should something go wrong (Lena repeated for the fifth time that nothing would go wrong).
Unfortunately for them, Tallest duty called. There was an emergency that needed their attention in Vort. Red almost dismissed it, his smeet was more important, plus he did not like being anywhere near Vort ever since Miyuki… But the Control Brains themselves ordered them to deal with the issue; apparently, a group of slaves was caught sabotaging the production lines. So somewhat reluctantly, the Massive made a stop in Vort. Ever since its conquering, it had been turned into the Empire's top military research prison. The Vortians were forced to keep building weapons, mechs, among other things, to further help the Irkens continue with their conquering spree.
As soon as the Massive stopped on Vort's atmosphere, there was an argument between two of the Tallest.
"You're not coming down, and that's final!"
"Why not? You heard the Control Brains, they want the three of us down there!"
"It's a military research prison, Lena! It might be more of a laboratory, but it's still a prison nonetheless! It could be dangerous!"
"Come on, Red, Vortians are bright scientists but terrible criminals," Purple pointed out with a shrug. He couldn't help but snicker at what he said next. "Their idea of rebellion is a hunger strike! They didn't last three days before they begged for food!"
Red rolled his eyes. "Of course, they didn't, we had them executed after 48 hours."
"Red, it'll be fine. If you don't want me around the Vortians, I could always go to the universe's most comfortable couch." Lena said, rubbing her tummy. She had always been curious about it, anyway. "I'm sure the smeet will like it." Almost as if emphasizing, the little one kicked just where she had placed her hand.
Seeing there was no other way out of it, Red reluctantly agreed that Lena accompanies them on the condition she would not fraternize with any of the inmates. They drove down to the planet on a zhook cruiser accompanied by their elite bodyguards, the only branch of the Irken Military said to hold a candle to the Sobrekt themselves*.
The building they landed, in particular, was, like Lena imagined, a mixture between a maximum-security prison and a research facility. From the cruiser's window, she could see the seemingly endless conveyor lines with hundreds of Vortians assembling all the weaponry and vehicles used by the Irkens. Some were models she had never seen before, most likely prototypes of newer models.
The zhook cruiser landed in a docking platform filled to the brim with Irken vehicles. All had been moved aside to make space for the Tallest, however. There were already guards stationed in the pathway that led to the inside. There was a particular Irkenette who was noticeably taller than the rest, almost Lena's own height, only a few inches shorter. She had sharper edges and a thinner waist. Oh, how she envied her! She didn't look like she swallowed a space-bowling ball.
As the three Tallest emerged from the cruiser, all the guards stiffened into a salute and waved their lekku. Similarly, the taller Irkenette bowed her head and wiggled her own lekku respectfully. "Welcome, My Tallest."
"Save us the formalities, warden Sei," Purple said impatiently in between munching a doughnut. "Just take us to those rebels, so we see what to do with them; the sooner we deal with that, the sooner we can go back to the Massive."
"Certainly, My Tallest," the warden noticed Lena's presence, mainly the round bump in her belly. "With all due respect, Lady Lena, I'm not sure if it was wise to come down in your… state, especially since the Vortians have been causing trouble."
"My wife has only come to see the most comfortable couch." Red clarified. "I want your best soldiers to escort her there and keep any potential threats at bay."
"Of course, sir."
"Red, I insist, they are Vortians. What's the worst they could do?"
-IZ-
Oh, sweet Miyuki, this couch really lives up to its name. It was even more comfortable than Red's bed on the Massive, and that is something. Even their bed back on Irk couldn't hold a candle to this. Too bad the Vortians had never made a second one.
She wondered if the smeet could feel it too; he probably did, but since the eggshell formed, she couldn't feel the movements anymore. It was partly a relief, as the little one turned out to have quite the energy. It was uncomfortable at first, especially in the middle of the night, but eventually, she came to enjoy it. She'd even croon and make clicking sounds while rubbing her tummy; it was instinctive behavior so that the smeet would get accustomed to her voice from the womb. She liked to think that he could hear her.
She was so relaxed that she completely forgot about her escorts, who were stationed down on the couch's feet.
"Ma'am, sorry to interrupt you, but we have orders from Tallest Red to bring you back to the ship at 1900." Was it seven already? Wow, she really must have lost track of time.
"In case you don't know, he always arrives an hour late, so he won't mind."
"Ma'am, with all due respect, we have our orders."
Lena sighed. There's no reasoning with these guys. "Can you at least show me to the bathroom first?" The guards exchanged uncertain glances. "What?"
"Ma'am, it might not be wise for you to visit those filthy mammalian restrooms. The Vortians get it all dirty with their germs. "
"Look, my hormones are all scrambled, and my spooch-sac is putting pressure on my bladspooch to the point my PAK can't get rid of its contents artificially. So I really need to get to the nearest urine disposal as soon as possible unless you want to explain to my husband why my dress is wet." That did the trick.
"N-No, ma'am! The restroom is this way!"
Satisfied, Lena climbed down the couch with her PAK legs and followed the guards a few corridors away to a pair of doors. She recalled mammalian species tended to have a bathroom for males and one for females. Lena couldn't help to think of the mixed-gender bathrooms in Sobr. How would Vortians react if they were forced to use a bathroom for both genders?
She went straight into the females' bathroom, telling the guards to stay outside while she discharged her body's liquid waste.
While Irkens usually didn't need toilets, as their PAKs eliminate the extra nutrients they got from food, making bathrooms virtually useless, smeeting Irkenettes consumed thrice the amount of food. The PAK was too busy dividing the nutrients evenly between its host and the smeet to bother with the leftovers. Not to mention that the spooch-sac in which the smeet was housed put pressure against the bladspooch, resulting in a need to urinate for the first time ever. On Irk, the closest thing to a toilet for these cases is a particular machine that inserts a small tube into the bladspooch and drains all the urine.
Lena had a small, portable version of this machine, which would drain her urine into the toilet. Damn it. She couldn't wait until the smeet was born-
"Ma'am, are you Tallest Red's wife?" Oh, my! Lena turned around and saw a female Vortian looking up at her. When did she get in?
"Huh… Yes." Lena felt something pressing against her waist. Glancing backward, she saw another Vortian, a male, pressing a small ray gun on her back. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Sorry, ma'am. Nothing personal." He said.
"L-Look, we can talk about this." Lena stuttered, instinctively placing her hands on her tummy. "There's no need for that…!"
There was a knock on the door. "Ma'am, is everything alright?"
"Y-Yes!" Lena said quickly. "Don't come in, I'm still in the middle of it!"
The male Vortian added quickly. "Yeah, don't come in! We're busy!" His companion shrieked.
"GOR!"
The door burst open, and the guards burst in, weapons at the ready. Gor panicked; his hold on the gun nearly faltered, but his companion snatched it from him and pointed it at Lena's abdomen while Gor held Lena's arms back by the wrists. The Irken soldiers pointed their spears at the prisoners.
"One more step and I'll blow her and her smeet up!" the female Vortian said.
"Get away from her, Vortians!"
"Lower your weapons!" Lena ordered.
"But ma'am-!"
"Now!" She hissed harshly. The last thing she wanted was to get in the crossfire and risk her smeet getting shot.
"Good Irkens," the female Vortian praised mockingly as the soldiers lowered their spears. "Now, if you do as we say, you can have Tallest Red's wife and smeet back without a scratch. You can start by stepping out, this is a lady's bathroom if you don't mind."
The guards exchanged looks and reluctantly stepped out, never removing their gazes off Lena. She heard echoes of footsteps from the outside. Lena guessed someone was going to inform Red what was happening. Sweet Irk, he was so going to like this. She could already hear him saying 'I told you so.'
The uncomfortable sensation intensifying and making her feel like her bladspooch was going to burst reminded her of the reason she had come to the bathroom in the first place.
"Um, excuse me, would you at least let me discharge my bladspooch?"
"Sir, I assure you-!" Sei flinched when Tallest Red towered over her in his PAK-limbs.
"You said you had the Vortians under control!" Red all but roared at the Irkenette.
"They are, my Tallest! This is j-just a-"
"They are?! You think them being able to hold my smeeting wife at gunpoint is having them under control?!" Red hissed. "I swear, if something happens to my wife, I'll personally see to it that you're stripped of your rank and tried for treason!"
It was supposed to be a simple examination, damn it! They were just going to check how things were going, go back to the Massive and head back to Irk! Ah, but then this has to happen! Lena's held hostage by a bunch of disgruntled Vortians who were asking for a ship in return for her safe return. Damn it, if a fucking wendigo comes through the wall-!*
"S-Sirs, the Vortians want to speak to you!"
"Oh, don't tell me!"
Purple coughed loudly. "Um, Red, maybe you should let me do the negotiation."
"What, are you-? It's my wife they have in there!"
"That's the point, Red. You're more likely to lose your head if you talk to the Vortians in your current state. You should let me handle the issue."
Red would have protested, but the more rational part of him knew Purple was right. Reluctantly, he stepped back, allowing his co-Tallest to take charge.
There was a big group of soldiers just outside the bathroom door, all pointing their spears towards it. They stepped aside to let the Tallest through, but only Purple stepped closer to the door.
Alright, he could do this. He just had to talk to the disgruntled Vortians and get them to lower their guard.
Purple coughed loudly. "Hello?"
"Are you Tallest Red?"
"He's… indisposed right now. I'm Tallest Purple."
"No offense, but we want to talk to the other one."
"What part of 'indisposed' didn't you understand?" Purple had to bite his tongue before the word 'goat' could escape his mouth. "I might not be Tallest Red, but I'm sure you've heard that I am the more ruthless of the two." He imagined the goats shuddering.
"F-Fine, but stay outside! We got Tallest Red's wife and unborn smeet, and we're not afraid to do what we must!"
"Lena, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Purple." he heard Lena say. She didn't sound like she was coerced into doing so.
Another deep breath. He was so going to hate himself in the morning. "What do you want, Vortians?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"We want a ship with the fuel tank completely full and no tracking devices!"
"That's all?"
"Yeah!" Purple heard hushed whispers. "And some of your snacks!"
The Irken automatically clenched his teeth and fists, his body tensing up. Not the snacks! He glanced at Red, who was hurriedly motioning him to come closer so they could discuss the issue. Purple sighed.
"I'm going to… consult it with my co-Tallest! Be right back! And you better not lay a hand of her while I'm gone!"
"A ship?! Snacks?! Are they-?!" Red hissed once Purple got closer.
"We can't comply with those demands. If the Vortians can coerce us into giving them stuff, how long will it be before the other enslaved planets do the same?"
"Then we go in there ourselves and kick their Vortian asses to a billion particles!"
"It's too risky. Lena might be caught in the crossfire."
"What do we do then?! The longer my wife stays there, the more stressed she becomes! What if it affects the smeet?!"
"Red, Red!" Purple grabbed his co-Tallest by the shoulders. "Calm down! Everything's going to be alright, okay? Take a deep breath!"
"But-!"
"Take a deep breath!"
Red tensed up, clenching his jaw and fists. Easy for him to say, it's not his wife and smeet in there! Nevertheless, Purple was right. Red inhaled and exhaled a few times. "I'm fine, I'm fine…" he whispered afterward.
"Okay. Don't worry, we'll think of something. We just have to-"
BOOM!
-IZ-
When the time to lay eggs come, smeeting Irkenettes are known to go completely feral under certain circumstances. Usually, they'd go back to their previously made nests and stay there during the whole laying process until all their eggs are out of their bodies. However, if stressed out or feeling threatened, they become wildly aggressive and attack anything they deem dangerous.
Lena wasn't sure of what happened. One moment she was being held hostage at gunpoint by the Vortians inside the bathroom, and the next, she felt something leaking out from between her legs. Afterward, everything became a blur as her mind went blank. Who were these horned creatures? Were they predators?
"Um, guys… I think something's wrong with her."
"What do you mean?"
"Her water's broken!" The shout startled Lena into defensive mode. Hissing, she stepped back from the horned ones. Her PAK-legs unconsciously emerged as she climbed onto the wall, staring at the strange predators apprehensively.
"What the hell? What's she doing?!" Gor cried out.
"From what I've heard, Irken females go feral when they're going to lay."
"What do we do now?!"
"I don't know, I'm thinking!"
"Let's get her down before the Irkens figure it out!" Gor pointed out his gun at her.
"Don't-!"
The next ten seconds went fast. Gor fired his gun, but the plasma bullet missed it's target and hit the ceiling as Lena dove out of the way. With a shriek, her PAK-cannons came out and fired wildly around the bathroom, sometimes hitting the Vortians, other times merely knocking them off their feet. In that state, the Irkenette wasn't really aiming, her PAK-limbs merely reacted to the high adrenaline and went off randomly. As the rain of plasma stopped, the Vortians had either been burned to a crisp or knocked out by the debris.
"What on Irk was that?!"
"Screw this! I'm going in!"
"My Tallest, wait-!"
Red kicked the door open and ran in, only to stop at the sight of the destruction. His squeedly-spooch sank as he imagined his wife crushed underneath the debris until he heard a hiss from above.
"Lena!" Red sighed in relief. "Are you okay?" The only reply he got was an angry hiss. "Lena, it's me, Red!"
That voice… Lena blinked a few times. "Red? What…?" She took in the destruction around her and noticed she was on the ceiling. "What happened?"
Red sprung up from the ground with his PAK-limbs to join his wife, holding her. "Oh, Lena! I was worried! I was afraid something might happen to you and the smeet-"
"Um, Red?"
"What is it?" Lena touched her robe's skirt in the humid area between her legs.
"...My water broke."
The three barely managed to get to the Massive just as the contractions started. Red found himself yelling and shouting at everybody that the smeet was coming, and ran around in circles as soon as they landed. Once again, Purple had to smack him across the face to get him to calm down. All the while, Lena was immersed in her breathing exercises, just like she had often taught her patients when entering labor.
It wasn't until they arrived back to their quarters that the actual labor began. However, Lena insisted that Red wait outside with Purple. Ancient Irken tradition dictates that female Irkens are to go through birthing alone. She didn't give him any chance to protest, anyway, as she locked herself into their quarters before he could.
That was three hours ago, and Red has been pacing around the lounge ever since. He wasn't like Purple. He didn't forge himself in food when dealing with stress (though he had eaten a bag of nachos). Instead, he'd pace in lines, twitch his lekku constantly, bite his nails, murmur to himself, amongst other things.
"You know, if you weren't hovering, you'd make a ditch."
"It's been three hours, twenty minutes and forty-five seconds and still no word from her! What if something happened?!" Red snapped.
"The computer would have already informed us."
"Damn it, of all the places for this to happen, it had to be bloody Vort!" Red glared at said planet from the window, clenching his fists. "I swear, those goats will wish to have never messed with my wife!"
"Oh, come on, you have to admit Lena handled it pretty well! Besides, we got the footage of how she blew them up!" Purple snickered. "I can already picture your smeet asking 'why did mommy blow them up?' And you and I struggling to tell him how he was born!"
"Purple, this isn't funny! Anything could have happened in there! She might have been shot in the abdomen, or in the head, or both! She might have miscarried, and-! Argh, there are so many possibilities that I wouldn't know where to begin-!"
"Is this about what happened to Tallest Laven's wife?" Purple interrupted, his expression serious. The following silence and the look on Red's face were all the confirmation he needed. "Come on, Red, that was a separate case. Tallers rarely die in childbirth, the reason Cyanin didn't make it was because she was naturally sickly. Lena's far healthier, she has better chances of-"
"It's not only about that."
"Huh?"
Red gave up, sighing as he leaned against the wall, his gaze cast downward. "I'm afraid, okay? Not only about Lena and the smeet's health, but also of what I would do if I lost her, the smeet, or both. You've heard of how Laven became a tyrant and killed newborn smeets in their mothers' arms just because he couldn't bear the thought of other people having what he couldn't.
"Remember when Miyuki died? I didn't want to face it at first. I was in complete denial and told myself that the creature that ate her would spill her out eventually or that she'd be rescued. I'd even tell myself that she was just faked her death..." Red closed his eyes shut. "But when I finally realized that she was gone and wouldn't come back, hell broke loose. You saw how I got afterward. My performance diminished, I'd pick up fights over random things and talk back to superior officers... I took out my grief on everything and everyone around me, you included."
"Red..."
"I just... I don't think I can cope with another loss like that again. If something ever happened to you, Ilk, Lena, or the smeet, I'm afraid of what I might become."
"Master, the mistress says you may go in now." Red straightened up, his lekku straight. Finally!
Purple smiled. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go in!"
"Aren't you coming?"
"In the current state Lena's in, she'd probably attack me. Besides, as the father, you have every right to be the first to see the little one before anyone else."
"Okay. Would you call Ilk meanwhile?"
"Sure thing!"
Taking another deep breath, Red stepped into the dormitory, the doors closing behind him. The lights didn't turn on automatically, so he guessed Lena had deactivated them for the time being. The pillow den was 'swollen,' meaning his wife was in there.
From his extensive research on smeeting Irkenettes, they preferred to be in the dark during and after the laying. The reason they made dens during the late period was that they became vulnerable; when their abdomens enlarge, they find it more exhaustive and challenging to move around. Their mates would guard the nest and sometimes join the female inside when she allowed it.
"Lena?" Red spoke softly.
She didn't reply, she just stuck out her hand from the den and motioned him to come in. Red tentatively lifted some of the cushions and crawled in. There was his Lena, curled up on her side, cradling something in her hands.
"Is that...?"
Lena didn't reply. She just gave him a tired smile as she shifted and carefully placed her treasure on the cushion: a tiny cyan-green egg that looked like it was glowing. Red could faintly see the smeet's curled up shape inside shifting every now and then. He tentatively touched it with his finger. The smeet squirmed.
Red couldn't help it. His eyes swelled up with tears as he took the fragile egg in his hands, smiling. "It's beautiful..."
"And a bit stubborn." Lena finally spoke. "Who do you think he got it from?" Red squinted his eyes and pulled the egg closer to his face. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to see if the lekku are straight or curly."
"It's hard to tell. We'll have to wait until he or she hatches to check it out."
"I hope it's a boy, that way, we'd already had kids of both genders."
"Oh, come on, you should give Ilk more credit."
"I'm not saying I'll make differences, just saying it'd be nice to have a son too."
Lena sighed as she cuddled against her mate. "Good point."
"How are we going to name him? If it's a boy, that is."
"Well..." Lena thought. "How about Rouge?"
"Rouge?"
"It's an alternate word for 'red,'" Lena explained.
Red chuckled. "After daddy. I like it."
Lena snuggled into his embrace as he returned the egg to her, watching her fall asleep while holding their little one in her loving embrace. Red soon joined his wife, closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.