Kelly sat in Ed’s office. Her office now. She was worried about Ed. She was worried about Anaya. She wasn’t really that worried about a cultural festival with the Janisi. These types of cultural exchanges were pretty typical, and the Janisi seemed very open to the idea. They weren’t ready to sign a treaty with the Union yet, but this exchange of ideas and information would be a step closer to an agreement.
She looked at Kermit the Frog on Ed’s desk and breathed a heavy sigh. She had always wanted to be Captain. But not like this.
The door buzzed.
“Come,” she said.
The doors wooshed open and Talla entered the room. “Here is the lineup for the cultural festival, the Union Choir is getting settled in the guest quarters on D deck. Also, Gordon has asked if he could sing an old earth tune for the festival.”
”I’ll check with the festival coordinator. I’m not sure how the Janisi will feel about a male performing. Maybe we could have him sing at the closing night party on board the ship.” Kelly suggested. “Anything else?”
“The twins are each requesting their own quarters now.” Talla explained, “Evidently Mac snores and it keeps Norm up at night.”
“Do we have the space right now?” Kelly asked
“With all the visitors on board, we are pretty full, but I told them I would see what I could do after the festival,” Talla said.
“Sounds good,” Kelly answered.
“Sir, if I can ask,” Talla said concerned, “ how is Anaya holding up.”
“Not good.“ Kelly answered. “ she spends all her free time in sickbay reading the Ankana to her dad. Honestly, I’m worried about her. “
“She’s a tough kid. She’s been through a lot, she’ll be fine.” Talla said reassuringly.
Talla’s com beeped. “LaMarr to Keyali,” it said in John’s voice.
“Keyali here, what’s up?” she asked.
“When you get off work, could you come to my quarters? There’s something I need your help with.”
Kelly gave Talla a sneaky look. Talla looked back with a grin. “Sure John, I’m wrapping things up now and I’ll be there in a few.”
“What’s that about?” Kelly asked, already knowing the answer.
“Some men just have trouble taking no for an answer.” Talla laughed.
“Go break his heart, but try not to break any more of his bones.” Kelly joked.
Talla practiced her speech in her head, “Look John it’s just not going to work, too many injuries, I’ll end up killing you.” She was ready to break his heart again.
She buzzed the door.
“Come in” she heard John’s voice say. She walked into the living quarters but there was no one in the main area.
“John?” she asked.
He appeared from the bedroom wearing speedos and some kind of glowing blue harness. Glowing straps crossed his chest and wrapped around his biceps and forearms. The same thing on his hips and legs. It looked like a quantum-powered bondage harness.
“What is that?” Talla asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“I call it the personal structural integrity field generator,” he explained. “ This should stop you from breaking my bones when we make out.”
“Should?” Talla asked
“There’s only one way to find out,” John said smoothly.
Anaya sat in sickbay reading the book to her father from a pad.
“then Avis said to the man, stand and walk, for I have healed you. The man stood and walked, then he praised Avis for all his days.” she read.
Dr. Finn was concerned. Every day Ed’s daughter would sit by his bedside praying and reading from the Ankana. It was straight-up creepy and it had gone on for too long. She had contacted Mrs. Jamison, her teacher, Grandine and Kelly. It was time for a full-on intervention.
Kelly entered the sick bay. “ Is she here yet,” she asked.
“Not yet,” Clair said.
Kelly hit the com on her wrist. “ Grayson to Sousa”
“Yes Captain,” Grandine replied.
“ We need you in sickbay. It’s time.” Claire said.
“I’m on my way,” she said.
Mrs. Jamison entered the sickbay. She had only been teaching Anaya in class for a few weeks but the young girl showed much progress. Her math skills were far above her peers, and her language skills were remarkable considering she was learning an entirely new language. But she was deeply worried about how missing this much school was going to affect her progress.
“Mrs. Jamison, I’m so glad you could make it.” Kelly said.
“I’m happy to help, “ she replied, “It’s really time for her to get back into a more normal routine.”
“Yeah, I don’t think this is healthy, “ Dr. Finn said, “she’s ruminating, obsessed with Avis healing her father. As if Avis will show up anytime and just magically heal her dad. It’s time she left sickbay.”
Grandine entered.
Anaya had reached the prayer portion of her new routine.
“Avis please, you have to wake Daddy up,” she prayed, “ You have to help Dr. Finn fix him. He’s not in your arms. He’s here in this bed, so wake him up now. Temeen Emedeen.”
“She’s still on this?” Grandine asked.
“Yes. I offered her a different book yesterday, but she didn’t want one.” Dr. Finn explained. “She’s going to read him that whole book before he wakes up.”
“Fortunately, he won’t remember it,” Kelly said. “He won’t, will he?”
“No,” the doctor replied, “at least I don’t think so.”
“We need to end this,” Grandine said. “Anaya honey, wanna go grab some plocka sticks?”
“No thank you,“ Anaya answered politely, “Avis is going to heal Daddy. I want to be here when he wakes up.”
“All your friends at school miss you Anaya,” Mrs. Jamison tried, “you should come to class, I am sure Dr. Finn will let you know as soon as your father wakes up.”
“The Anakana says that Avis will answer all prayers if you only have a drop of faith.” Anaya said, “I have lots more than a drop. I just need to be patient.”
“Well maybe you could be patient in your quarters, after taking a bath and eating something,” Grandine suggested.
“Now Anaya,” Dr Finn explained, “It’s going to take time to heal your father. Over a month at least. You can’t stay here the entire time.“
“That’s right,” Kelly said, lighting up with an idea, “Union rules say you can’t stay here more than two hours a day.”
“That’s right,” Dr. Finn said. “and Union rules say you have to be in school also.”
“True,” Mrs. Jamison said, it was union protocol for all kids to attend school so she didn’t feel like she was lying, “Your father wouldn’t want you to break the rules would he?”
“Anaya,” Grandine said in the grandma voice that said, you’re doing what I say, “You’ve been here for two weeks, that’s too long. You need a bath and a good night’s sleep. Well be at Janisi tomorrow there’s the cultural exchange and then Topa’s going away party is coming up, you don’t want to miss that do you?”
“Going away party?” Anaya asked, a little more upset, “where is she going?”
“She’s leaving for Union Point,” Kelly said. “I guess you didn’t hear, she was accepted for next semester. She leaves at the end of the week.”
Anaya didn’t know what to think. Topa was her friend. She knew that she would be leaving at some point, but she didn’t realize it was going to be so soon. She wanted to tell her dad to wake up and make Topa stay to play with her. But Avis hadn’t healed him yet. She just needed to have more faith.
Talla and John lay in bed very satisfied. The Personal Structural Integrity Field Generator had worked. John wasn’t hurt at all.
“So we should get back together,” John said “Make it official.”
“I don’t know, “ Talla said, “I’m second in command right now, I know it’s just temporary, but I’m not sure having a relationship with someone under my command is the best idea. In fact, this was probably a bad idea.”
“Bad idea?” John was surprised. “This wasn’t a bad idea, this was a great idea. Trust me, it will be great.”
“Look John, if we are going to be in a relationship then you have to be with just me. “ Talla said bluntly, “And I’ve heard that you might have a problem with that.”
“From who?“ John asked slightly offended, “Turco?”
“Among others,” Talla responded.
“Look, I promise, this is the real deal, I’ve spent months working on this just so we could get back together. Give me a shot. Please.” he begged.
Talla did like him. She wanted to believe him. “Ok, one shot,” she said.
The Janisi homeworld was an amazingly beautiful place. Like something out of a Tolkien novel. Beautiful ancient gothic structures set in immaculate picturesque landscapes. The Janisi President’s office was the most beautiful office Kelly had ever seen. Kelly was going over the final preparations with the president’s assistant, Dorianna, the festival coordinator.
“We have your Union Choir, scheduled to perform right before our girls choir tonight. “Dorianna said. “Then tomorrow is the medical exchange.”
“I have spoken with Dr. Finn and she is expecting the delegation on The Orville,” Kelly said. “They will have full access to all the equipment, and her and her team will be on hand to answer any questions.”
“Science and Engineering will be the next day, we’ve got our Desalination Plant and Fusion Generator available for tours for your engineering team.
“And of course The Orville’s engineering department is available. In addition to Commander LaMarr, our chief engineer, I have asked Commander Turco to assist with any questions, just in case some members of your group aren’t comfortable speaking with a male.”
“That is very thoughtful of you, Captain,” Dorianna said.
“I have a favor to ask,” Kelly started, “and if you want to say no it’s perfectly fine. But one of the members of my crew, a male, Commander Malloy would like to perform. He often sings for us on the ship and he has a lovely voice.” Kelly was worried this might be a bit much for the Janisi.
“We have no problem with your Commander Malloy performing,” Dorianna told Kelly, “we are going to allow a Janisi male to perform as well. It was the president’s daughter’s idea. She is our current high priestess.”
“High priestess?” Kelly asked
“A ceremonial title only.” the president explained. “It dates back to the ancient days of our people. Once a year, the high priestess is chosen from the most beautiful girls on the planet. She performs ceremonial duties at large events. It was a great honor to have my daughter chosen to be the high priestess.”
It reminded Kelly of the pageants other girls used to do in high school. “ Well congratulations then.”
“It was a bit of a surprise, she is quite the rebel. Priestesses are expected to produce a child within the year, it’s considered a great blessing. We call it the holy child. These children often grow up to be great leaders, artists, and influencers in our culture. The young man she wishes to sing is her boyfriend.” she said awkwardly. “She is quite taken with him. He will probably father my grandchild before the end of her reign. I understand he has a lovely voice. It will be the first time any Janisi male has performed on Janisi in over 100 years. My daughter is hoping it will help facilitate change in our culture.“
“Sometimes a small change can create a larger movement.” Kelly said.
“I am not sure we are ready for that big of a change.” The president said.
“We could have Gordon perform at the closing night party on board The Orville.” Kelly suggested. “That way there aren’t two males performing on the same night.”
The President nodded.
“That would be equitable.” Dorianna agreed.
Back on the ship, Anaya was sitting in class. She wanted to be in sickbay with her father, instead, she was stuck here with all the kids. They all seemed so much younger than her now. She looked at the clock, just a few more minutes left in class.
Mrs. Jamison was at the front of the class trying desperately to keep the attention of a room full of fourth graders. “And that’s why chlorophyll is so important for plant growth. Are there any questions?”
There were no questions.
“Now I know several of you are going to the concert tonight, “ Mrs. Jamison added, “ anyone who wants extra credit can write me three paragraphs about the performance.”
The bell rang, and class was over. Kids poured out of the classroom into the hallway.
Anaya, headed toward sickbay. It had been almost 24 hours since she had seen her dad. She came around the corner and bumped into the twins.
“Hey Anaya,” Mac said, “ are you going to the concert tonight?”
“I don’t know,” Anaya said, “I need to go see if my dad will wake up.”
“He’s still asleep,” Norm said, “Lucky guy, I could use a nap. Getting ready for the Janisi visit has me worn out.”
“Worn out? “ Mac complained, “ You hardly did anything it was all me and Unk.”
“I did some stuff too.” Norm said, whining. “ So you coming tonight?”
“I don’t know, “ Anaya answered, “sorry but I have to go.”
She took off down the hall.
“If you change your mind,” Mac said, “we’ll save you a seat.”
Anaya was already gone.
She rushed into sickbay with full faith that her father would be awake and ready to come home, just as Avis would want.
He laid in the same position in his biobed. She sat next to him.
“I went to school today.” Anaya told him, “We learned why plants on earth are green.”
John LaMarr was bored. As chief engineer and part of the Union Engineering delegation, he was expected to be at the opening ceremonies. He wished Talla was here, then it could be a date. But she was in command of the ship while Kelly was on the planet.
The Union Choir sang beautifully. A lovely choral rendition of Tiny Dancer by Sir Elton John.
Through the crowd, a beautiful young Janisi woman was staring at John. He looked her up and down in an inviting way.
A young janisi man took the stage next. He looked a bit terrified. “I want to thank the President and ruling council for giving me this honor, I hope my work is not too offensive.” The music started and he sang with the voice of an angel. A beautiful love song about a woman he isn’t worthy of. It was the most beautiful song Kelly had ever heard.
Next up was the Janisi Girls Chorus. The director stood at her lectern and then faced the audience. “ Thank you so much for coming. We welcome the members of the Planetary Union and in their honor, we have selected a song from the Union database to perform and we hope that you will all enjoy it.
The girls’ choir breaks out into “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in an alien choir kind of way, which isn’t exactly bad, but kind of weird. John wondered if they had received the file from Malloy. He loved that song. He was always using it in the simulator for dance-offs with Mexican Bandits.
He looked up and the girl was looking at him again, in a way that made him think she was interested. He held her gaze until she blushed. He still had it.
The post-concert reception was the kind of thing John usually hated. He stood next to an exit, ready to bolt. But that woman from the concert was here and she was headed right for him. He checked his reflection in the window. He looked good.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hello,” John answered happily.
“You are a human, correct?” the lovely lady asked him.
“Yes ma’am.” He replied. “I am a human.”
“You are male, are you not?” she asked.
“I am most definitely male” John answered.
“I am the high priestess. Would you allow me to bless you?” she said somewhat seductively. Running a finger over his chest.
“ Sure, I guess.“ John said “Bless away.”
She ran her hand over his chest to his shoulder and around his back as she circled him examining his physique in detail. As she returned to his front she ran her hand into his crotch. This babe was smokin’ hot. His dick was rock hard.
She pushed him by the shoulder behind a curtain into a small service area. She grabbed at the waist of his pants pulling them down below his crotch.
“Whoa girl,” John exclaimed.
“ SHhhhh” she said, covering his mouth with her hand. “You don’t want them to find us do you?”
Being caught at a cultural festival with his pants half down was not something John wanted to have to explain to Captain Grayson.
“I must complete the blessing” she stated.
She began to caress his penis in a way John really liked. “I don’t even know your name,” he whispered.
“Aprina,” she said, taking his manhood into her mouth.
John LaMarr was a man of the galaxy. He had many sexual encounters with aliens from lots of different races. One thing he knew for sure, Janisi women gave the best blow jobs. Or at least this one did.
Kelly was a little later getting to sick bay to pick up Anaya. She had been there for over four hours. She had fallen asleep in a chair next to her father’s bed. Holding his hand.
Kelly hated to wake her. She would just pick her up and carry her to Ed’s quarters. She went to pick her up and realized she was bigger than she remembered. Like she had grown in the last 24 hours.
“Hey Claire,” Kelly asked. “ Is it just me or is she bigger than she was yesterday?”
Dr. Finn grabbed a scanner. She ran it up and down Anaya as she slept. The results surprised her. “You’re right, she’s grown 2 inches in the last 24 hours.”
“I guess she’s in a growth spurt.“ Kelly said.
“I’ll check her again tomorrow. I hear Krill children can have rapid growth spurts where they grow very quickly.“ Claire said.
Kelly picked her up. She was heavier than the last time. “You don’t think she will grow up completely before Ed wakes up do you?”
Claire shrugged. “Who knows? They are usually grown by three. I ‘ll have to see what I can find on Krill puberty.”
“Puberty?” Kelly asked, “she was just a little girl a month ago.”
“Welcome to parenthood,” Claire said smiling. “one minute they are waking you up in the middle of the night for a bottle, the next they are headed off to college.”
It had seemed like Topa had grown up in front of her eyes, but that had taken years. She hadn’t known Anaya for three months yet, but she had to admit, she was growing faster than any child she had ever seen. The child wasn’t even three yet she looked and acted 12 maybe 13.
John LaMarr woke up sore. The night had been a blur. His balls kinda ached. They felt heavier. He wasn’t sure what was wrong but he knew something wasn’t right. Maybe it would work itself out. Maybe he had just strained them somehow. He attempted to get up out of bed but his balls just wanted to stay in bed. Maybe he should see a doctor.
In sickbay Dr. Claire Finn was comparing notes with a team of Janisi doctors. Comparative histamine levels was the topic du jour.
John walked in awkwardly. He briefly thought about just walking back out, but his balls were straight up hurting now.
“Commander LaMarr,” Claire said, “ what brings you in here? Commander LaMarr is our Chief Engineer.” she explained to the Janisi.
“I can come back later.” John said, “it’s not that big of a deal.”
“No,” Clair said politely, “hop up on the bed, it will give them a chance to see how we do it.” motioning to the Janisi.
“I’m not sure this is something I want a crowd for, Doc? “ John said as she scanned him.
“What in the world did you do to your balls?” Claire asked.
“Why are you asking me?” John answered, “you’re the doctor. “
“It looks like there’s some kind of parasite in your testes.” Claire said “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Claire put the results up on the viewscreen.
“Oh Congratulations!” One of the Janisi doctors exclaimed. They all smiled at John. “You’re going to be a father.”
“I’m what?” John said, shocked.
“Judging from the size,” one of the doctors stepped forward. “I’d say conception took place about 6 hours ago.”
“John?” Claire asked, “Did you have sexual relations with a Janisi 6 hours ago?”
“No,” John said, upset with this turn of events. “Not really.”
“John.“ Clair said, looking at him knowing he was lying.
“Nothing that could get anyone pregnant!” John exclaimed.
The Janisi doctors laughed. “We were just discussing that difference in the biology between our species.” She threw a scan up on the monitor.
It was a cross section of a woman’s head. At the back of her throat where her tonsils should be, there were what appeared to be ovaries.
“You see,” one of the doctors explained, “when a janisi female decides to impregnate the male, she will take the males sperm into her mouth, use it to fertilize the egg, and then blow the fertilized egg back into the penis where it will find it’s way to the scrotum. It should develop there just fine.”
“They’re going to get BIGGER???” John exclaimed. This really wasn’t turning out to be his day.
“Oh why yes.” the janisi doctor said. “Have to make room for that baby”
To John the room was spinning. He couldn’t believe it. There was a baby growing in his balls.
Dr. Finn gave him a hypospray.
“What is that?” the Janisi doctor asked.
“It’s a hormone blocker we give to all pregnant patients.” she explained, “ It won’t hurt the baby. It just helps keep the patients’ hormone levels more level. Humans are prone to mood swings when they are pregnant. Those aren’t good for the fetus.”
“Got anything stronger?” John asked.
“How fast will it grow?” Claire asked.
“The typical gestation time is 15 to 16 weeks.” The doctor explained.
“I’m confused,” John said, “How exactly am I supposed to give birth to a baby?”
“Janisi children are born with horns,” the doctor laughed. “They use them to rip their way out of the scrotum, then they fall off after birth.”
John screamed in terror.
Claire attempted to bring it all back to reality. “That seems very dangerous for the father. How do you reconstruct the scrotum afterwards?”
“Janisi males usually only mate once.” the doctor explained. “There have been some attempts to do reconstructive surgery on the scrotum. But most research has been in trying to decrease that paternal death rate. We have reduced it, but sadly we still lose 73 men out of every 100,000 births.”
“We’ll need to look and see if John’s biology is going to be compatible with the full pregnancy, we might have to terminate the pregnancy if the danger to Commander LaMarr is too high.”
“Well boys can be terminated at any time during the pregnancy. But we don’t allow the termination of a girl. According to the DNA, this is a girl.” The Janisi doctor said.
“WHAT?” John said coming up off the table, which made his balls hurt even more.
“John calm down,” Claire said, “ we will figure this out.”
She took a deep breath and politely asked the janisi doctor. “Are there no exceptions? Whatever happened , John was not aware he was going to get pregnant from that act. Some cultures would consider that rape.“
“She told me I was getting a blessing!” John exclaimed, in full on freak out mode.
“Oh this is the holy child! And it’s a girl!” the doctors were even happier if that was possible. “The last 3 holy children were all male. It will mean so much to the planet to finally be getting a girl.”
John stood in Kelly’s office. Talla was there. She did not look happy. He could feel how painful this was going to be.
“You know how important this cultural festival was, John.” Kelly was dressing him down. “ Do I need to refresh your memory on Union protocols on sexual relations with non-Union species?”
“No Ma’am” John said. “ I wasn’t…”
He looked at Talla, “I wasn’t planning on having sex with her, or anyone.”
“Tell me what happened, and don’t bullshit me.” Kelly said.
“She cornered me and asked if I was male, and then said she wanted to give me a blessing. Next thing I know she’s got Mr. Happy in her mouth and is going to town.”
“Did you tell her no?” Talla asked.
“She said it was a blessing.” John said defensively, “I didn’t want to cause an incident.”
“You didn’t want to cause an incident!” Talla shouted at him, obviously not buying this shit from him. “I should have known you weren’t capable of change. Captain permission to be dismissed?”
“Granted,” Kelly said. Talla stormed out and the doors wooshed closed behind her.
Kelly looked at John. “ Well this IS an incident.”
“Captain please,” John begged, “you have to help me. I am not ready for my balls to get ripped open by a baby. You gotta talk to the Janisi. They need to let this one go.”
“I don’t think I can John.” Kelly explained, “this child is socially significant to their culture.”
She spun her computer screen around where he could see it and hit a button.
A news program filled the screen. Two female anchors sat at a desk while a third stood at the end of the news desk. Tha main anchor spoke.
“And ending the story on a happy note today, the holy child has been conceived and it’s a girl!”
Side by Side photos filled the screen. Aphina’s headshot next to John’s Union portrait.
“The father is a member of the planetary Union. They have been in town this weekend for the Cultural Festival.”
The scene flipped back to the wide desk shot.
“From all of us here at Action News, congratulations to the happy couple!” with the news script over the anchors went into their scripted banter.
“Has there ever been an alien hybrid holy child?” the co-anchor asked as if she had just thought of the question and it wasn’t written on the promoter in front of her.
“That’s a great question, “ the main anchor said, “we’ve got Jolena standing by to answer it.”
“There’s has not been a hybrid holy child in 300 years” Jolena said looking straight into the camera like a good reporter as video of an older Janisi woman “the last one was Martique Jontalt who who served as Supreme Litigator for 20 years before retiring.”
“I guess this girl’s going to have some big shoes to fill.” the co-anchor joked.
Kelly turned it off.
“Fuck.” John said realizing he was really in deep shit this time.
“You might have to have the kid.” Kelly said. “I am meeting with the Janisi president, who is also the grandmother of your child, to discuss the situation. I can only assume they will want the child to stay here on Janisi prime. You have a decision to make. You need to decide if you want to keep your child or give it up to its mother.”
“Keep it or give it up?” John exclaimed. “I don’t want to have it. They can’t make me have it. Can they?”
“I spoke to the Union Admirals myself,” Kelly explained, “ they all agree the easiest course of action that will cause the least amount of trouble is for you to have the child and let the mother take custody of it,”
“So you’re telling me, not only do I have to have this child, but then I have to let my rapist raise it?”
“It’s their culture.” Kelly said, “we are supposed to respect that.”
“You can’t let them do this to me.” John begged.
“You did this to yourself.” Kelly turned on him. “You had sexual relations with that girl. And you can claim it was a blessing all you want, but anyone who knows you isn’t going to believe it. You brought this on yourself. You just can’t ever seem to keep it in your pants and now you are going to have to live with the consequences.”
She stood up from behind the desk. “It’s time for you to start taking responsibility for your actions. Dismissed.”
John walked out with not just his tail between his legs but his balls too. They felt like they had grown even more just in the time he had been sitting there. He headed for sickbay.
In sickbay the doctor and Grandine were trying to pry Anaya away from her father. “Anaya, it’s been over two hours.” Dr. Finn said. “ It’s time to go. You can see him again tomorrow.”
“But he’s going to wake up today, I know he is.” the girl exclaimed, “I prayed to Avis for him to wake up and take me to Topa’s party.”
“I will take you to Topa’s party.” Grandine said, lifting the girl up by her waistband. “ Come on, let’s go. If your dad wakes up he can meet us there.”
She attempted to pick the girl up and physically move her but her back gave out and she dropped Anaya with a thud. Before falling over herself. The child was simply too heavy for her.
Dr. Finn rushed to help Grandine get up. Anaya was stunned but got up on her own.
Grandine was embarrassed and felt bad, “Anaya honey I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop you. You’re just getting so big.”
Dr. Finn scanned Grandine, “ You’ve got a hematoma forming on your hip. Nurse Gallaway, bring me an arterial regenerator.” she turned and scanned Anaya. Her eyes popped. “Well it’s no wonder you couldn’t lift her, Anaya you are growing up so fast. This says you’ve grown another 3 inches since yesterday and gained 20 kilos.”
“Is she ok?” Gradine asked, more worried about Anaya than herself.
“From what I can tell, she’s growing at a perfectly normal rate for a Krill.” Dr. Finn replied, running the Arterial regenerator over Grandine’s hip. “ There ya go, good as new.”
Claire looked at Grandine’s overall scan results and something caught her eye, “ I should run a…”
Grandine cut her off, “no you shouldn’t. There wouldn’t be any point in it.”
Claire pulled up Grandine’s medical records. She was taken aback by what she saw. Grandine had Peripheral Vascular Disease, it was just a matter of time before her circulatory system failed completely.
Grandine could tell by the look Claire face that she had figured it out. SHe looked Anaya and then back at Dr. Finn.
Dr. Finn didn’t know what to say.
Fortunately right then, John walked in. He hadn’t realized there was a giant bulge in his pants. But everyone else did.
“Doc, you gotta help me,” he said.
Grandine got up off the bed and made space for John. “Come on Anaya, we’ve got a party to go to.”
“What’s wrong with Commander LaMarr?“ Anaya asked.
“He’s pregnant.” Grandine replied matter of factly.
“Really?“ Anaya asked, “On Krill only women get pregnant.” She stopped at the door. “How do humans get pregnant?” she asked Grandine as they walked out the door.
Dr. Finn felt a bad for Grandine, but focused her attention on John. She scanned his crotch and the image of an unborn tadpole appeared on screen. The horns were starting to form.
“I may have a solution to your problem. I need to run a few more tests. We will be meeting with the Janisi today. If they will allow it I think I can perform a fetal transfer into another host, but it will have to be done soon.” she said kindly, after the beat down from Kelly it was nice to have someone have his back.
“I’m just glad there’s someone who understands.” he said.
“Oh I get it,” she said “you aren’t the type to have kids.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” John asked, a little offended. “I could have kids.”
“You’re having a kid.” Dr. Finn explained. “Look, being a parent isn’t for everyone, that’s ok. You don’t have to feel bad about it.”
“What makes you think I don’t want kids?” John asked a little offended, though even he had to admit the thought of having kids had never really crossed his mind.
“You’ve never offered to watch the boys,” Claire said, “in fact every time I’ve asked you to watch the boys you have found some way to get out of it.”
“OK” John admitted, “ I honestly hadn’t thought about it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t think about it at some point in the future.”
Walking down the hallway with Anaya was getting awkward. She just kept asking about John’s pregnancy. Grandine decided to flip it.
“So how do women get pregnant on Krill?” she asked Anaya.
When a man and a woman want to have a baby they go to the temple and get married. Then they pray to Avis and the baby comes.
“Did John pray to the Janisi god?” Anaya asked as if she had an epiphany.
“Well he did get blessed by a priestess, so maybe,” Grandine laughed.
They arrived at Topa’s quarters. It triggered another question in Anaya, “wait if Topa’s parents are both boys how was she born?”
“That is a question for your biology teacher.” Grandine said, “do not bring it up at this party.”
“I won’t,“ the young lady looked a bit dejected.
Grandine looked at her. Dr. Finn was right she was growing up fast, she looked about 16 today.
“It involves eggs.” Grandine said slyly.
“Eggs?” Anaya asked wide eyed.
Grandine nodded. She had seen a lot of kids grow up, it always seemed like it went quickly, but this was faster than anything she had seen. Yesterday the girl looked 13, today 16, at this rate she would be an adult by the end of the week.
The doors whooshed open. Topa stood there now a good inch shorter than Anaya. Topa threw her arms around her and hugged her anyway. “Anaya, I’m so glad you came to my party!”
“I can’t believe you are going away,” Anaya said.
“I will not be that far away. And you can contact me everyday. We can talk on subspace communications.” Topa said, trying to lighten the blow.
“I know.” Anaya said. “I’m just going to miss you.”
“Topa received the highest score of any new cadet on her entrance exams” Klyden said beaming.
“I’m sure she is going to make a wonderful officer,” Grandine added. “I’m sure she will be running a ship of her own in a few years.”
Everyone seemed happy. Everyone but Anaya. She wished her father was here, or Dalia. She was certain Dalia would have liked Topa, and Grandine and all her new friends.
She walked over to the table to get a drink.
“Would you like a piece of cake?” Bortus asked her, holding a plate. The cake said Congratulations Topa, We Will Miss You”
“No,” she replied a little sad, “I’m ok.”
Outside the president’s office a group of Janisi women were protesting. From what Kelly could tell they were protesting John being the father. Signs read “unholy child” and “no alien babies”
Kelly would have rather been at Topa’s party. She was hoping they could wrap this up in time for her to catch the tail end of it. But John had really stuck his dick in it this time and she was the one cleaning up the mess. She wished Ed was here to deal with it. But he wasn’t so it was up to her.
“I am sorry about the protestors,” the president said. “ There are some very conservative members of the government who want to use this incident to increase their own power.”
“Dr. Finn thinks there is a way that she can transfer the fetus to another host, maybe one a little more excited about birthing the holy child.” she explained to the President and her advisors.
“I’m shocked he wouldn’t want to have her child,” the president said, “does he realize what a great honor this is?” she asked.
“Honestly, between you and me,” Kelly said, “John isn’t really the kind of guy who deserves this honor.”
Aphina entered the room, she had two male servants who held her train. She turned to them, “Leave us.”
They turned and left. The moment they were gone, the president dropped her guard.
“An outsider?” she asked her daughter sternly.
The president’s advisors looked at each other and slowly walked out. Kelly wondered if she should get up and leave too.
“Mom, don’t be so retro. It’s wonderful to meet you, Captain Grayson.” she said, reaching out and shaking Kelly’s hand.
“You didn’t even get his permission.” the president chastised her grown daughter.
The daughter was having none of it.
“I asked him if I could give him a blessing.” she explained, “ It’s not my fault he was too stupid to know what that meant.”
“Maybe I should go,” Kelly started to get up.
“No, please stay,” the president insisted.
Kelly sat back down.
“My daughter needs to realize that her actions have consequences. This could jeopardize our relationship not only with the Planetary Union but with the more conservative members of our own government.” the president explained.
She sat down. “I am inclined to agree with Captain Grayson that this John LaMarr is not suitable to be your lifemate,”
“Definitely not,” Kelly said.
“The union doctor says she can transfer the baby into a Janisi male. This will be done at once. Call your boyfriend, what’s his name?”
“Harrie?” the girl asked in disbelief.
“Yes Harrie, he is of suitable age and lineage to be your mate, “ the president declared, “ we will transfer the child to him.”
“But that would ruin his voice.” Aphina whined.
“You did this on purpose didn’t you?” the president asked. “You picked this outsider just to save your boyfriend.”
“Well he and I agreed he should focus on his career.” Aphina stated, “ a voice like his is so rare in a male.”
“That is not acceptable.” the president said. “You don’t get to knock up some alien just because you know he’s leaving town. Did it ever occur to you that he might take the holy child with him back to the planetary union?”
“As if.” the daughter stated indignantly.
Kelly had to agree with her, if there was one thing everyone on board The Orville knew, it was that John LaMarr wasn’t exactly daddy material. But she kept it professional.
“John has not expressed that interest,” Kelly explained, “The union council have no problem with him staying on Janisi for an extended time if need be to have the baby and keep good terms between both governments. But if you will allow the transfer I think he would be happier. “
“Harrie will report to The Orville for the fetal transfer immediately. You will take him yourself.” she said to her daughter. “That is an order.”
In sickbay John lay on one of the two biobeds. Dr. Finn was continually monitoring the growth of the child while they waited on the arrival of the new father.
John looked at the monitor. The tadpole was a little bigger. It barely had features, but for a brief moment John saw himself in it.
“Hey Doc,” he asked, “if I decided I wanted to keep the baby, could you get it out of me without it exploding my balls?”
“I don’t know, maybe” she looked at him as if he had lost his mind, “why?”
“I don’t know. It might be nice to have another little girl on board. Give Topa and Anaya someone to play with.”
“ John, Topa leaves for Union Point tomorrow and Anaya will be fully grown by the end of the week. “ Dr. Finn “What is this all about?”
“Everyone says I’m not ready, I’m not parent material,” he said, “but I have to wonder what it might be like to have a little female John LaMarr running around.”
“If you are having second thoughts about this procedure, now is the time to say something.” she asked John.
Harrie and Aphina entered the sickbay with the Janisi doctor.
“Let’s get this over with.” Aphina said loudly. “There’s a party I need to get to.”
“If you just want to wait in my office, this will take a bit.” Dr. Finn said.
“Whatever.” Aphina said walking into the doctor’s office.
Dr. Finn showed Harrie to the bio bed next to John. She pulled out a comm pad and handed it to Harrie. “I will need you to sign this consent form agreeing to the procedure.”
“Consent form?” the Janisi doctor asked.
“We get consent on all procedures that aren’t emergencies,” Dr. Finn said.
“On our planet, the consent form is signed by the woman who holds claim to the man.” the Janisi doctor said proudly.
“Well here we require each person to give their own consent.” Dr. Finn said, “ they have to agree that they are willing to have the procedure.”
Dr. Finn looked at Harrie, “ Do you agree to the procedure?”
Harrie stopped for a moment. No one had asked his opinion on it, or anything ever.
“ I don’t…” he stammered for a minute. The Janisi doctor looked at him disdainfully.
John LaMarr broke the silence. “ Dude if you don’t want to do this you don’t have to,” he said.
“Yes he does,” the doctor responded. “sign the form for the doctor.” she demanded.
“No he doesn’t.” John said, looking at the poor guy. “Look I ended up in a bad situation, but that doesn’t mean this guy’s life has to be ruined. I’ll just keep the baby. It can grow up here on the ship.”
“John, are you sure that’s what you want?” Dr. Finn asked.
“No.” John said, “but I don’t. But making someone else pregnant against their will… how does that make me any different than that bitch Aphina?”
“That bitch is my girlfriend,” Harrie said, “you may have your freedom, but you obviously don’t understand the responsibility of raising a holy child.”
Harrie signed the pad. Dr. Finn handed it to her assistant. Just lay back. “John are you ready?” she asked, handing him the pad.
John took one last look at the monitor. He signed. “ Yeah, I’m ready,” he said, “let’s do it.”
You two just relax and this will be over before you know it. Engage sterile field.”
The environmental simulator was decked out in the finest regalia. Banners for both the Union and the Janisi hung side by side. Gordon was on a small stage performing with his band.
John was glad his balls were finally back to a normal size. Harrie’s balls were bulging in his pants.
“Look man, no hard feelings,ok?” John told him.
“None taken,” Harrie said. “This is our way. My daughter will be a great leader, someday, maybe she will be able to make changes.”
Across the room Dr. Finn spoke to the Janisi doctor. “I’ve come up with a procedure that might help with your paternal mortality rate, it’s similar to a procedure we do with some patients. It’s called a cesarean section. I think it could reduce your paternal death rate greatly.”
“It sounds fascinating,” she responded. “ Please send me your research.”
Kelly and the president of the Janisi looked across the room.
“This has been a good festival.” the Janisi president said. “despite everything.” She looked at Kelly, “we should do it again. This exchange of cultural ideas, I think it is a good thing.”
“Let me apologize again for Commander LaMarr,” Kelly replied.
“There is no need. He is not to blame for the situation. If anything the situation has taught us a great deal about the Union and its values,” the president said.
“I hope this hasn’t negatively affected your opinion of us,” Kelly said.
“Your ways are different than ours. I am sure your ways, like ours, are also steeped in tradition. I read some of your history files you shared with us. It appears that your world, earth, was dominated by men for a long time before women received equal footing.” she said
Kelly nodded, “ it was, but we don’t hold it against them, that was a long time ago, and those ideas about gender stereotypes aren’t prevailant in our culture anymore.”
“Well then, it looks like we both might have something to learn from each other.” the president laughed, “until we meet again Captain Grayson.”
“Until we meet again.” Kelly replied.
The Janisi president left with her entourage. Kelly watched them leave. They weren’t leaving as allies, but they weren’t leaving as enemies either. Kelly figured that had to be good.
In the shuttle bay, Klyden was fussing over Topa. Many of the crew had gathered to see her off.
“Here are all of your favorite foods.” he said handing her a data disc, “ I doubt the union replicators will be programmed with Moclan food at Union Point, but perhaps they will allow you to add some.” Klyden said. He was almost crying. He sucked it up and said “For the journey is long and we all must walk it alone. “
“I am unfamiliar with that quote,” Topa said.
“It is the quote my father said to me when I first left Moclus.” Klyden explained “ it’s from the ancient text – The March of the Lightbringers.”
“It is beautifu,l papa.” Topa said.
“Within the halls of greatness your banner shall fly,” Bortus declared
“Mountain of Solitude by Hevenna ” Topa said, certain of the quote.
Bortus smiled.
“Yes,” Bortus replied. “We will miss you. Let us know when you get settled.”
Norm stood a little taller and said “There is no problem with the island.”
“Jurassic Park?” Mac said “ That’s a terrible quote.” He stood taller and said “ With great power comes great responsibility.”
“You’re going to make fun of me quoting Jurassic Park when your quoting Spiderman?” Norm said, poking Mac back.
“ I will miss you both,” Topa said, “ I often find your banter amusing. Please take care of each other.”
Topa walked down the line “ Grandine, do you have a quote for me?”
Grandine looked confused, “excuse me?”
“At a time like this it is a Moclan tradition for everyone to say an inspiring quote from their favorite writer.” Kelly explained.
Grandine thought for a second. “Don’t panic.” she said. Everyone looked at her. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, – Douglas Adams.” she replied.
“It is wise advice.” Topa said, “I will remember it always.”
Kelly looked at Topa, “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants, – Coco Channel, she wasn’t a writer, but it seemed appropriate for the day.” Kelly said.
“It is a good quote.” Topa answered. “ I will take it to heart.”
Anaya was next, she only knew quotes from one book, she thought for a minute, “ Go forth and be fruitful and know that I am watching over you always. – Avis.”
Topa smiled. “That’s very sweet Anaya. “
“These are the words of Dolly Parton,” Topa said. “So I will go, and yet I know, I will think of you each step of the way.”
She turned toward her shuttle. Looked back once and then waved goodbye to her friends and boarded her shuttle.
And with that Anaya’s world got a little bit smaller.