Escaping Relativity

Xander sat in his bed, his head leaning against the wall, while Charlie laid sleeping, her head on his stomach. She was always careful, even in sleep, to keep from touching his phaser wound. Her soft black hair lay in a messy blanket over his stomach and chest, her long sexy legs peeking out from the extended tail of his oversized shirt. She loved that damned shirt. He wanted her out of it more, and she sure didn’t mind taking it off for him, but she put it back on too. Every other day she wore it, no matter that they had stopped and bought them all more clothes a couple of terms ago.

In the last stem, they’d made love more times than he could count and each time she fell asleep intertwined in him. She would train, she would play with his antique weapons, cleaning them, putting them back together, and making ammunition for hours until every single one was working perfectly.

Brick was doing well, he and Rolara had grown quite close themselves in the last stem of terms. Xander imagined his little brother had found the last woman he would ever love. It was a strange feeling, knowing you were done; knowing there would be none other. There was a comfort and a security in it Xander had never imagined existed, yet here it was, laid on top of him, sleeping soundly. Sometimes he found himself simply watching her, thanking God he’d found her for all the right and all the wrong reasons.

His only worry was, what to do with her now? Everyone would be after them. He was certain Sojo was after them, he wouldn’t take being bested easily. Additionally, The Allegiant was expecting The Time Keeper as well. However, he wouldn’t give her up to anyone. It was a common argument amongst the family they’d become.

“Why can’t we just go somewhere we’d never be found?”

“Because I refuse to run and hide for the rest of our lives.”

“Why don’t we just call The Dilligara out?”

“Because we would all die, there would be no surviving The Dilligara.”

They were left with a tension and frustration among them, and time was running out, he knew it was. So he took these moments, and cherished them, because the only thing he had found for certain was that Charlie was indeed the ancestor to the preceding Time Keeper, not the heir. Which meant she was going to have at least one child.

Would it be his? Or would they breed her surgically the way they did The Allegiant?

The only one he asked the question to, was the only one with the technical knowledge, Lennie. The Wizard could definitely keep a secret, and was so ridiculously loyal to Charlie for saving his sister, that he hacked into The Allegiant’s com system over and over until he found the answer for certain. Until they found the answers for everything. Yes, he and Lennie had definitely become a standing team.

Between Lennie’s answers and the safety health scans, Xander had learned quite a lot.

The human Time Keepers must have the particular genome, and the anomaly could not be replicated in any scientific environment. Charlie would be pregnant, and she would carry his child, because there was no way in hell that she would carry anyone else’s child. He would kill anyone who tried. He would not turn her over to The Allegiant, doing so, may mean they would artificially impregnate her. Or they may try. He would not have her done that way. Never. Not if he could stop it. So his plans were taking shape, and they would culminate soon. Very soon. They had to. He had no other choice.