What Happens in Orbit

This time around, Cora had no questions. There was a feeling of unease that wouldn't abate.

Forget the other shit. We need to clinically research how to get rid of my stupid breeding kink.

Ray spent the week following her around nervously, catching the exact moment she started to shiver.

"Oh no," he whispered.

Cora doubled over. "Yep."

"What's wrong?"

Ray jumped at the sound of Tai's voice. "I have an appointment in the Crescent! I will see you later."

"Hoo- Shit. Gimme a moment. Okay. I'm carrying again. 's not his fault."

Tai blinked slowly at this, not easily processing what she'd said. "You're what, now?"

She stood back up, her face flush. "I'mcarryingagain, Tai."

"With..." He pointed slowly in the direction Ray had gone.

"Yeah, I think so. You know. Someone swapped his suppressants withnotsuppressants. I hoped this wouldn't happen, though. Whoo! Why is it moving so fast? I gotta go lay down. Fuck me. These cramps are different this time. God, Tai.Help." A cramp shot down her leg, nearly knocking her over.

She could tell he was trying not to laugh as he looked around the empty hall before scooping her up into his arms.

"I'm glad you think this is funny."

"I don't, I'm absolutely fucking relieved. Tor can't blame me for anything this time."

Well,somebody'smath had been wrong. Cora wasn't sure who was to blame, but the size her stomach now sat at was not a single-egg situation. It happened practically overnight.

Tai and Tor stood there, frowning.

"You can feel it, Tor. There's more than one."

Tor shook his head. "You're miscounting."

Tai rolled his eyes, yanking Tor forward to guide his hand over Cora's stomach, pressing in slightly in key places. "One, two, three-four?"

"Ow! Gently, please."

Tor let him do this, his confusion overruling his combative tendencies. "Four?"

"Why are there foooouuurrr?" groaned Cora.

"Did you fuck anyone else?" Tai asked, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible. If Cora didn't whack him, Tor would.

"He just came a lot. Maybe that was it."

"Cora.Didyou fuckanyoneelse?"

"No! Um... Not recently."

Tor made a face. "What is recently?"

"Mmm, couple weeks ago? Yeowch-" They were already moving.

"Coupleweeksago, that can't-"

"Couple weeks absolutely can, Tor. They taught us a range in school, to cover different lineages. Three days to sixty days."

"What?" whined Cora. "That cannot be right! Comeon, fuck!"

"Wait, who was it?"

"Do the math, Tor."

Tor looked at the ceiling, counting on his fingers. "...All of them?"

Cora cut in. "Yes, all of them, augh.All these stupid assholes were in heat. I know suppressants make everyone sick and I felt like an asshole eventhinkingabout asking anyone to take them."

Tai was about to say something, but the glare Tor shot at him made him shut his mouth, holding his hands up.

Leo came into the room. "Hey, Tor, where'd you put the- oh, what's happening? Oh. Oh,no."

Tai pointed at him, not looking away from Cora. "Go get your brother and Della.Now."

Cora waved weakly from the fetal position she now lay in. "No! I don't need all these damn people in here. Tai, yell at them in the hall."

Four culprits to find.

Erie was doing a fantastic impression of a calm, collected Roshak, even while Tai had him by his shirt, snarling threats in his face. Leo's soul had left his body in short order.

Della had felt brave for all of five seconds before Tai turned to him; then he found himself tearing down the hall and vaulting out the window. It was a beautiful day tohide on the fucking roof.

When Ray came out of the Crescent, Della stood, motioning wildly at him. Ray's tiny, distant figure caught sight of him, but it was too late. A taupe-gray blur shot out of the compound and tackled him to the ground.

Della wondered how long he could hide up here.

Tai jogged out of the compound, pulling Tor off Ray.Oh-Della sank low, inching himself back over the zenith of the roof, flattening himself against the warm stone tile.

He rolled onto his back. Fluffy yellow clouds drifted overhead, just visible through the gaps in the shades.I shouldn't be up here without a mask. Cora will be upset if I get sick like Tor did.

But it was so nice and warm out.

Feeling the urge to cough after several marks, Della inched his way back to the roof edge, heading for the window he'd escaped out of. It lay close to the rafters, allowing him to pull himself out and onto the roof.

He peered over the edge, coming face-to-face with Tai.

"There you are."

"Eugh-" said Della, jerking back. "Don't kill me."

"You weren't even in heat! What iswrongwith you?"

"I... Probably would have been! Eventually."

"Not if you didn't go in there with them, you- Shit, Della, howdidyou get up there?" He tried and failed several times to find a handhold on the smooth tile.

"Why would I tell you that? I'm not telling you that."

Tai muttered swears, his hand patting blindly around. Della watched. He was completely missing the wrought metal rafters just under the tile. "I'm not arguing with you if I can't see you."

"No," said Della, rising to peer over the edge, keeping himself out of reach. "Not unless you promise not to throw me off this roof."

"Oh.I see." Tai's hand disappeared, his upper body coming around the roof as he, with great effort, swung himself up. "No." He collapsed to the tile, wheezing.

"You tore your thing open again."

"Shit." He pressed a hand over the socket that once held his fourth arm. "What possessed you to do that, Della?"

He sat, pulling his knees to his chest. "I don't know. I went into their quarters angry as I could be, then- I don't know."

"You mean Leo and Erie's, right?"

"Yeah. They were both in her... At the same time. In the same place." He started to blush, clasping his hands together and resting his chin on them.

"In the- Really? That's impressive." Tai stared up at the heavy fabric of the shades. His shoulder ached from overuse. The air was dry, but not too hot. He could hear the beginnings of metallic rainfall chafing against the other side of the shades. "Do you think Mar will change the laws?"

"Laws about what?"

"Colonies. Relationships. Families. All of it."

"I don't see why he wouldn't. Those laws got him a messed-up childhood."

"Do you think he knows that?"

Della snorted.

Tai rolled over, firmly holding the bloodstained patch on his side. "This isn't what I came up here to talk about."

"You brought it up."

"I know. But, seven kids, Della.Seven."

"My Ma had eighteen."

"Eight-There weren't that many when we were there. Eighteen?"

"Yup. Coming up those mountains was a pain for Foshar enforcement, and they rarely bothered sending anyone else. Ma always said, the more kids you have, the harder it is for them to get them all. Just yell, 'Scatter!' and hope for the best."

Tai was looking at him with a mixture of concern and pity. "That explains a lot."

"Yep. Oldest of eighteen."

"She's only got two mates."

"Yep."

"That's not a family, that's an army."

"We ran it like one." Della laughed, turning to him. "How're you getting back inside?"

"I have no clue."

Ray wondered if he had a concussion. He'd never thought of Tor as particularly strong, but the Engineer could put a lot of force behind his movements. Della had been trying to warn him from his rooftop hiding spot. Ray, unfortunately, didn't figure this out before he found his field of view completely obscured with furious green. Then, he was looking up at the sunshades, his ears ringing. Tor was shouting.

Why would Tor be angry with him?

Oh. Cora.

Tor was being lifted off of him. By... Tai?

He strained against his ringing ears. Tai was glaring down at him disapprovingly.

"Guess how many eggs just came out of Cora."

"Eggsplural?" Ray gasped, wincing at his bruised ribs.

"Four! She's got four fucking eggs!" snarled Tor, struggling as Tai held him back. And as Tai looked back to Tor, he caught a peripheral glimpse of something blue on the roof.Ah.

"Those aren't all from me!" cried Ray, scrambling to his feet.

"None of them should be from you!You're not a part of this fuckingfamily!"

"That's good, Tor, that's enough, you're going to hurt yourself. Agh- Hey! Fucker- Stop it- Tor, let's go check on Cora."

Those were, apparently, the magic words. Tor took a deep breath, wrenching himself out of Tai's grasp. "Fine."

Ray was left alone outside, bewildered. He'd studied human reproduction for so long that he'd forgotten some key things about his own kind.

For a second there, he'd beenveryconcerned.

He decided to reschedule his panic session for when the eggs started to show cracks. Hopefully, one of them wouldnot.

Hopefully.

One of the perks of the Milar governmental structure was that what the emperor said, went.

For this reason, when Sovey announced his retirement and Mar's simultaneous promotion, there were no protests. No trials. No challenges. They simply accepted it.

It was all his, what remained. The mountainous currency reserves. The vast spacefleet.

Everything would need rebuilt. The capitol had been leveled and doused, only a hospital just outside of the boundary left standing.

He would make sure it was all perfect. Safe, welcoming.

Then he'd get the children out of there. Tor, before Tai taught him anything else. He had to have hated what he'd done to Mar. He was probably having a crisis. Tor had always hated violence, hated hurting others. Tai had done that, turning Tor against him.

He would save them. They would be a family again. Maybe Cora would come to her senses. Tarina would make a fine queen.

Mar sighed, regretting it as his respirator fogged up. This was no time for daydreaming. There was so much work to do.

About a week later, Cora stood in the training yard with Tai, watching Della talk to the training coordinators through his personal drills.

"He's pretty good at teaching," said Cora, trying to keep her expression blank and her voice low. She was making the coordinators nervous with just her presence.

At break time, Della finally noticed them. "Oh! Cora. I didn't know you were out here."

"Mm-hmm! You're pretty good at this, Della. Did you learn at the academy, or..."

His expression had darkened enough to give her pause. "No. I learned before."

"His parents taught him," murmured Tai. "Sore subject."

"And then I practiced. Every day. I took care of my siblings. I taught them. When I had time to myself, I practiced more." His voice softened. "You get good when it's all you do your entire life. You don't have a choice." He looked pointedly at Tai. "And you hate every shot you take."

"I don't know that I'd recommend that," said Tai, light-heartedly.

"If I didn't, I'd be on that list right next to you," Della snapped.

Tai cringed, eyes darting to Cora.

"I already knew about the list, Tai. It's fine."

"No, it's not. I'd rather you didn't."

Here was Della again, his tone a hair short of hostile. "Why? You already make it pretty clear that you have zero problem taking lives."

"And if I didn't?" he shot back, just barely keeping his voice calm. "Where would we be?"

Della didn't respond, gritting his teeth.

"Iknowyou hate it. Theonlyreason, Della, that you get to choose mercy is because I never do. You get to be the way you are because you stay in this circle with me."

Cora tried to hide her grimace. He had a point, but man, what a fucked-up way to put it.

Della closed his eyes. "I know."

"Tai, what would-" Cora had started to speak before she even knew where her sentence ended. "What would a life, one where you don't have to live like that, what would that look like?"

He looked around, quickly arriving at a complete loss. "I... don't know."

Cora was doing it again. She knew she should have stopped the first time it became a problem. But losing momentum, having time to think, was terrible. It hurt too much. Days had started blending together again. She'd thought she could finally avoid the nursery.

But his little orange eyes.

All Cora's other children had her brown eyes. Why did his have to be that heart-wrenching pastel orange?

Oh, but there was so much to get done. Studying High Standard Sheevae. Conversation practice. Reading. Studying. Meetings. Receiving report. Report after report. Every time Cora felt as if she were spreading herself too thin, she simply pushed herself further. It didn't feel good, but it felt like what she needed. Anything to avoid the silence. She hated the silence. That was where Koramin lived.

And when Koramin had the decency to go away, that horrid silence was where thoughts of Mar lived.

She had to be strong. Dependable. Decisive. Everything she'd relied on him to be.

It was getting harder and harder to be angry at him. It started with a seemingly innocuous thought:What if I was wrong?Hadn't he been perfect? Hadn't he been everything they needed? Everything she needed?

Why had he done it? What made him confront the mutineers on his own? Did hewantto die? It had looked like he hadn't eventriedto fight back. And she hadn't evenbotheredto ask him what happened. Maybe she didn't want to know the answer.

It took Cora a nauseatingly long time to realize that she knew almost nothing about Mar. She'd happily answered his questions about her own life, and she hadn't thought anything of the way he avoided her questions about his. She'd had only his actions to go off of. Maybe he'd wanted it that way.

Butwhy?

Cora found herself wanting to cry again. But she'd already cried so much.

If I'd have stopped to think at all, this shit would have been so obvious. Maybe I wouldn't have done the trial, then-Cora knew that wasn't it. There had been no other way. She wasted an hour, an hour by her own judgment, eighty marks, theorizing and fantasizing. What if this, what if that. Nothing seemed like a better option, even with perfect hindsight.

Except.

Oh, it was a horrid thought.

What would it have been like? To run away with him?

Just him?

Cora reasoned with herself carefully.It wouldn't be bad to think about. You didn't do it, and nobody will know that you even thought about it.

"Cora."

Oh, she'd forgotten. There was always someone that knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling. At least thatsomeonewas in a pleasant mood.

Cool hands ran down her arms, stroking her fingers.

"You know, my dear, you've been divinely ordained to take my place. Even over my Tarina."

"You're using the word 'divinely' wrong."

"I'm not. You are exactly where you're meant to be, and have doneeverythingright."

Cora knew this was a slippery slope.

"Mar could not bear how strong you've become. You thought him brave, but he was the most cowardly of all your mates."

Oh, but it was so comforting to hear. Maybe shecouldbe right sometimes.

Later, Tai found Della in the courtyard, watching the kids with the attendants.

Della looked at him briefly as he sat. After a moment's silence, he spoke.

"You know. I've been thinking about why Mar left."

Tai shook his head. "It's better not to. He's always had issues. Growing up without a family, I mean," he tacked the last bit on hastily as Della gave him a sour look.

"We all have problems." Della looked down at his hands. "But Cora doesn't keep us around for them. Not for our skills, or anything like that. She likes us. We can relax. This isn't work now. She can- She's strong, too. She can protect herself."

Tai turned to Della, dangerously calm, speaking slowly. "And should sheeverhave to?" His upper lip twitched, almost imperceptibly.

"No."

It was easier for Tai to manage his temper with Della. Every time he looked at him, he remembered the lanky adolescent Roshak, nearly failing out of Milar-taught Officer's Academy before Tai got him onto Sovey's personal Hunter roster.

It was nice, finally seeing him have something to be passionate about. Someone to stand up for.

Later, Tai returned to the main hall, approaching Tor. Cora had her back turned.

Perfect.

He walked directly up to Tor, raising his arm as if to reach past him.

"Tor, I'm curious about something."

"My condolences," he responded simply, not releasing the firm grasp he now had on Tai's wrist.

Tai had noticed something familiar in Tor's stance, in the way he'd move when lashing out. If his guess was right, a half-spin now would-There.

"You two..." said Cora, a warning in her voice.

"No, no, I'm not attacking him. Can I- Could I speak to him in private?"

After a moment of staring at him, Cora nodded. "But if I hear screaming, I'm gonna come punt you like a football, regardless of what Tor is doing."

Tai still wasn't completely sure what a football was, and was now particularly unwilling to learn.

Tor followed him out and into the armory. "What'spuntmean?"

"Probably something from her dialect. Someone should ask Ray later," he responded, digging a heavy canvas roll out of their personal cabinet. It was nearly as long as he was tall. "Here, catch."

Tor caught two stone rods, ornately carved and well-worn. "Oh. Are these...?"

"Yeah, I thought so. Where did you learn Tongdosa? They began banning it whenIwas still a child."

"Dosa?" asked Tor, most of his focus on finding the balancing point of the rods in his hands.

"Right, the syllable rules. Itusedto be called Tongdosa. You said your colony was dismantled when you were four journeys?"

"Five. They taught it at the school in Sundak."

"How'd that get past the city council?" Tai unrolled the canvas further, setting aside more rods.

"They got tired of being attacked every time they went outside. Parents would riot every time they tried to ban it."

"Did you enjoy it? Dosa, I mean."

"My mom forced me to do it from the time we got to Sundak until I left to apprentice."

"So... Is that a no?"

Tor tapped the rods together, smiling as he found the right angle to make them ring out. "No."

"Did you learn four?"

"Yep."

Tai tossed him two more rods with no warning, watching as he easily caught them. He'd always noticed the extra coordination that Tor had in his secondary set of arms, not normal outside of dancers. It made more sense now.

"Have you done it since you left?"

"Nope," said Tor. "I don't remember anything."

Tai stood and stepped forward, turning his body to extend his arm past Tor's opposite arm. Before he could think about it, Tor did the same, bringing his elbow back to strike their rods together. "Yes, you do," said Tai, finding Tor's surprised smile contagious.

"Did you ever learn staff?" His missing arm would make dancing four difficult.

"No, we never had anyone to teach it."

"Could I teach you?"

Several hours later, Cora found Tarina staring out the hall window over the courtyard, looking rather sad.

"Tarina?" She'd been looking for Tai and Tor, who'd disappeared, but she'd never seen Tarina this way. It worried her more than the prospect of Tor strangling Tai to death, somehow.

"They're dancing the Tongdosa. It was my mother's favorite."

Aw, hell.She cringed. "I'm sorry."

Tarina tilted her head to Cora. "You keep apologizing. You are aware, Cora, that nobody could ever sneak up on my mother?"

"No?"

"She knew you were coming to kill her. Nothing got past her. You never got to see my mother at her best. There was a reason she was our longest-reigning queen." She turned to face her. "Don't think for a second that she was popular, or beloved.Or stupid."