He looked at her blandly with those peculiar eyes. “That was me.”
She blushed. “Right. Of course. You are the only other person here, aside from Rokar. Damn, that is going to be confusing.”
Addy turned her head toward the console. “Computer Rokar, can I call you Rocky?”
“Of course, Adelheid.”
Rokar looked toward the console, and he cocked his head. “That is rather disconcerting.”
“I know. Rocky is a perfectly good name for a medic.” She nodded, and watched as Rokar sprinkled in tealeaves and then used the dispenser to fill the teapot. He had definitely done this more than a time or two.
“It is a suitable name for a computer personality.”
She chuckled.
With the top of the teapot on, he brought the tray into the living area and took a seat on one of the ottomans so his wings draped behind him.
“So, tea is a thing.”
He chuckled. “Nearly every species has a restorative beverage created by leaves or beans and water.”
She groaned. “Oh, coffee. That is an excellent restorative broth.”
He glanced at her. “I will see about getting some seeds to add to the native species. We will design one if we can.”
She chuckled. “You can try. It is a weird thing. It smells better than it tastes, but it is mildly addictive and helps me get going in the morning.”
“Do you have to stew it?”
“No, a light drip of hot water through finely crushed, dried, and roasted beans is enough to create a delightful flavour.” She ran her hands through her hair. “It is so peculiar. Only a few months ago I was having a cup of coffee with the recruiter and learning that it would be one of my last. I didn’t regret it then. I am having second thoughts now.”
He laughed, a deep and rich sound. The width of his chest created an echo chamber effect, and she sat staring at him until he poured the tea.
“Everyone has regrets. The key is to learn to live with them and to move forward.”
She leaned forward and took the cup he handed to her. It was hot, so she worked to balance it carefully. “Can you tell me anything about Kelly? Did she get a family? She always wanted a family.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“I have. She won’t tell me. She deflects the conversation to my exercise regimen.”
Addy sighed and blew softly on the tea before taking a sip. It was good. It had a weird minty green tasted to it that she could get used to.
“Does she? Why would she do that?”
Addy wrinkled her nose. “If I had to guess, I would say it is because to her I am the same young person that she was next to for all those months thirty years ago. She doesn’t want me to think about everything I missed. The problem is that is all I think about.”
“Well, if you wish to, you could return home. I mean, even as you are, your contract allows you to return after your contract is up, and yours is definitely up.”
She shook her head. “No, I was one of the first accepted applicants. Our contract was one way. We had to go to our assigned places, and once the first five years was done, we were free to find a home on any world that would have us.”
“So, you don’t know that there was a second wave of Terrans after the first two thousand? Or that your world has its own Avatar now? She doesn’t advertise it, she is mated to the Alliance Ambassador, but she is the walking mind of your world.”
She sat and listened with widening eyes. “Rocky! Show me a timeline of the Terran population in the Alliance—”
“And the Nyal Imperium.”
Addy stared. “And the Nyal Imperium, from the first shuttle with Volunteers to present.”
“Is a population map of spreading genetics acceptable?”
“Yes, please.”
The display went up, and the original shuttle numbers went up, and Addy sipped at her tea and watched the bright lights of humanity spreading, mixing, and spreading again. “Oh my. That takes my breath away. Rocky, what was the survival rate of the first wave?”
“Ninety percent. Ninety-eight percent on the female side of the Volunteer population. The Terrans managed one of the fastest, if not the fastest, rise to Champion status that the Alliance has seen. The fact that it was all marginally talented females that managed it increases the exceptionality of the accomplishment.” Rocky’s tone was admiring.
Rokar smirked, “Perhaps it was a mistake to mix my mind with a computer’s access.”
Addy giggled, but after a quick glance at her guest-host, she returned her gaze to the celestial map that expanded as she watched it. Two thousand had turned into eight thousand, and then, another wave of Terrans had swelled the ranks. Now, there were over twenty thousand Terrans and descendants in the stars, and Addy thought it looked amazing.
Rokar reached up and spun the map projection, rotating it and gesturing to the lower segment. Two blue spots were on a planet, well, one was above it and the other on the surface. “This is you and Kelly, though the map is not to scale.”
She smiled and looked back at the expansion of humanity. “Wow, we put out.”
Rokar’s frown made her understand that her euphemism hadn’t been translated.
Addy explained, “We have a lot of children.”
“Interesting information.”
“Well, some do have multiple births.”
His shock was obvious. “I had no idea. Does it happen frequently?”
She grinned. “I was one of a set of fraternal twins, as was my mother, and grandmother and all the way back.”
“You left siblings behind?”
“Several. I felt the call to the stars, and none of them did. My mom wished me nothing but success. I think she wanted to go in my place.” She sat, and the realization that her mother might be dead by now was a sobering thought.
“You are thinking of family.”
She nodded, not sure that her voice was steady. It was taking all her effort to keep the world from shaking.
“You can speak to them if you like.”
Her head whipped toward him. “What?”
“Certainly. Your family can be fitted with a com unit, and you can make regular calls, if you are willing to. They have been apprised of your situation, if you were wondering. They know you are alive.”
“You have spoken with them?”
He chuckled. “The planets speak on a different frequency than humans. Gaia is just waking, and she eagerly speaks to any sentient world who is harbouring one of her children. Iratho has been in touch, and you have been a topic. They were told by the Alliance when you were in stasis, three decades ago, and they were told by the Avatar of Gaia that you were alive, conscious, and resuming life.”
“So, they didn’t just think I was lost?” She felt the tears pricking at her eyes, and the room began to quiver until she breathed in deeply.
“No, they knew you were safe.”
She leaned forward and extended her cup. He filled it without asking. The silence between them wasn’t arduous.