Chapter Seventy-Nine Company (Patreon)

Larelu came down the stairs. Already she could smell the fish cooking. She was keeping a mental eye on the little ones, but they should be settled for now. They were clean, they were fed, and they were all playing in the playpen. She didn’t plan to leave them completely unattended for long though. That was just asking for trouble. Talu had been asking for a chance to look after her younger siblings lately, and this would be a good chance for it.

Entering the kitchen, she observed for a moment. Qelu and Kiru were working together making today’s midday meal. Watching them work stirred her heart. It was just so sweet, and nice to see her little Qelu had found someone. Kiru seemed like a nice girl. A very nice girl, and with the way she was blocking her. It seemed obvious that Kiru had talent, strong talent. Qelu had done well to find such a desirable partner. Her heart swelled with motherly pride at the concept. Especially with how Qelu had already managed to get a child with her. Such genes could only lead to a strong child. A part of her couldn’t wait to meet her first grandkid. It would also give her something to brag about since she was the youngest of her own blood sisters, and none of them had grandchildren yet. Although some of her blood sisters had more children of their own.

Her line of thought was broken by the ringing of the bell. Both Qelu and Kiru looked up, but she informed them that she would get it. It seemed the rest of her guests for the day had arrived. Larelu hurried to the door, and used the monitor to check the external house sensors before opening the door. Outside she was greeted with a familiar face One she wasn’t entirely happy to see, but she had invited her over. For Qelu’s sake, she could bury her feelings for a bit, and not cause a scene. Standing next to her were two cute little Neku girls, one seemed to be about six, the other eight. A third Neku girl was coming up from the truck freshly parked in the street, with a basket in hand.

“Ah, Maru, glad you could make it.”

She smiled, “When I heard Qelu found someone she likes I just had to come over and meet the girl.”

“Do come in, and I don’t believe I’ve met these two before.”

“Ah, I took them in after our little split.”

She gave Maru a look, “you mean kidnapped them after we split don’t you?”

Maru giggled, “You make it sound so immoral and illegal. Besides, its only kidnapping if the birth mother was Iniri.”

Larelu sighed, she didn’t particularly want to have this conversation again. Maru’s little jab was meant to remind her about the laws, but they both knew that Maru was only following the letter, not the spirit of those laws. “Let’s not have this talk again. We aren’t here to talk about old problems anyway, but to celebrate Qelu finding a girlfriend.”

Maru nodded, “Yes we are, but only if she picked someone worthy of her.”

Larelu smiled, “Oh, I think she has good taste.”

Larelu just hoped that Maru would agree. As Qelu didn’t need her causing trouble and poking into her life. Especially since she knew that Maru would have preferred Qelu hooking up with another Iniri. Maru seemed to look down on any Neku that she didn’t personally raise. Although there were a couple of exceptions. She hoped Kiru would impress Maru.

Kiru was checking the fish, when she heard a bit of a commotion. Looking towards the entrance, she noted three younger Neku girls, and an unfamiliar Iniri woman entering. Accompanied by the familiar face of Larelu. It seemed they were indeed expecting company. The two Iniri women weren’t talking, but she had the distinct impression they were communicating telepathically. Not only that, but there seemed to be a tension between them.

She glanced towards Qelu who also noticed the newcomers, and her expression told her everything she needed to know. Today was going to be far more interesting than she thought.

After her outburst the director said nothing for a moment or two. Letting the spectacular sight of so large a vessel being destroyed in a single shot speak for itself. At least for a moment or two.

“That, Admiral, is our newest weapon, the photon lance. It’s based on a precursor weapon described to us in the data brought back from our teams aboard the ISS Constellation. In simple terms the photon lance is a particle laser. It fires a highly coherent stream of charged particles and photons. Better yet, it doesn’t even use traditional spatial lensing field generators to focus the beam. Allowing us to make the weapon smaller. Although it does have some fairly hefty power requirements. Not to mention there is a lot of room for improvement, but then again our photon lance is merely an imperfect replica of the phase lance that was described to us by the data.”

With results like that, she could believe it. However it might certainly be worth it. Imperfect replica or not, a few of those could change the war. Only one question was on her mind. “How soon before we could roll these out to the fleet?”

The director sighed, “Six months, minimum. Possibly longer.”

“Six months!!! The war could be over by then!” If what she feared was true, they needed these things now.

“I’m sorry, but that is the best I can do.”

“If what I suspect is true that might not be good enough,”

Her expression shifted, “I know, but there is nothing I can do. We need time to work out refit plans, and retool military factories to produce certain components. That six month figure really is the best we can do. As it is, the six month plan is going to put a severe strain on our resources to accomplish.”

“I see,” the admiral looked back out to the wreckage, “In that case, how soon can we have a few outfitted to a small number of ships? A rapid response force, if you will.”

She looked thoughtful for a number, “That might be doable. I can order more components from the same foundry that produced the parts for the prototype. They aren’t equipped for mass production, so it will be slow. With the parts we already have, we could outfit one battleship by the end of the week. Anymore will have to wait.”

“How many ships do you think can be done in two months?”

“Conservatively? About ten.”

That wasn’t a lot, but it was better than nothing. It might not be enough, or it might be too slow. Still, they had to try. She requested for the director to get a move on that plan.

“I’ll get it done, but I hope this effort proves unnecessary.”

“So do I, but I fear the Neku are about to launch a major offensive. Their recent moves only reinforce that impression. I just hope I am wrong, and am reading too much into things. If not...” she let the end hang.

The director excused herself, leaving the admiral standing there. Worrying for the future.

Qelu sighed, as she picked at her plate. At the moment she wished she could be anywhere but here. Telu however had wisely gone upstairs with the little ones. Leaving her alone with her two mothers. Honestly she knew she should have said no to this whole thing, but Larelu was her bond mother. She couldn’t really say no to her mothers, and especially not her bond mother.

She glanced at Kiru. Tempted to plead with her to do something. Qelu may not be able to do anything, but Kiru could. Part of her wished Kiru would rescue her from this. Especially as her mothers continued their never ending war. It never ended, they were always arguing over one thing or the other. It just never ended. Where was a good pit when she needed one?

Meru glared, “I’ll admit that she is talented, and pretty, but that doesn’t mean she is good enough for my little Qelu.”

“Oh, get off that high chair of yours. Kiru is an excellent pick for her first mate.”

“Well if she is so dead set on a Neku for first mate. Why not my little Kirie?”

“Kirie? She’s twelve! Way too young for that!”

“Not a problem. Sure they can’t have sex just yet. It just means the two will have more time to bond before things get serious, and Qelu would have time to mature a little more before she actually settles down and has a kid.”

Qelu slumped in her chair a bit. It didn’t help that they were arguing over who she dates. It was her choice. Mother had always made that clear, but it seemed Nana had a bit of a problem with who she had picked. Honestly, she didn’t understand it. By every metric Kiru was perfect. She was fun to talk to, beyond cute, and oh so delectably special. Part of why she had rushed to have a kid with her. Something she wasn’t sure Nana would react well about. Mother on the other hand, she knew would approve. She glanced back at Kiru who didn’t seem to be enjoying the meal any more than she was. A part of her once again tempted to ask her for help out of this situation.

Kiru suddenly pushed out of the chair and stood. Both of her mothers looked towards the Neku girl, who spoke. “Qelu, could you show me the bathroom?”

Qelu blinked, and then her eyes widened. Perhaps a little too eagerly she nodded, and wrapped a tentacle around Kiru’s hand. Leading her out of the room, and down the hall. She went towards the bathroom of course, but she had a feeling that Kiru didn’t actually need to use the bathroom. Perhaps they could have a little fun, and avoid the argument for a few minutes?

As the door closed behind them, she kissed Kiru deeply. Kiru was slow to respond at first, but soon their tongues were dueling for a moment. Only for a moment, however, before they broke apart.

“Thank you, thank you for getting me out of there!” Qelu gushed happily. She was more than glad to be away from her mothers when they were having a disagreement.

Kiru scratched her head just behind her ear cutely, “Well I had a feeling you were just as uncomfortable as I was. Probably more so.”

“Well since we are both here, care for a little fun? It might buy us a little extra time...

Kiru smiled, “hmm, I think that does sound like a good idea. While we are at it though, mind explaining what exactly is up with your mothers?”

Qelu sighed, “Beyond the obvious?”

Kiru nodded.

“Well, um. My mothers don’t exactly agree on many issues. Especially when it comes to the Neku.”

“Yeah that much I figured out.”

“They also have a fair number of disagreements about me. I hate it when it happens.”

Kiru started stroking her back. It helped, as she felt a lump she wasn’t aware of slowly work itself out from the stroking. Something she leaned into. After a moment, she started speaking again. Explaining what she knew about this. How her mothers were pretty diametrically opposed on many issues. How they disagreed on the raising of Neku children, and so on. Some of it went unsaid, especially the parts that she herself was uncomfortable with. She knew Nana’s feelings about the Neku quite well. Qelu didn’t share them, never had, but that didn’t seem to mean anything to Nana. Despite her flaws, she still loved Nana, and didn’t want Kiru to hate her. So she left off everything that made her uncomfortable with Nana. Perhaps it was wrong, and a part of her was torn about it. Yet she had this strange sense that Kiru knew she was hiding something, but Kiru never pried. Instead, when she finished Kiru gave her another kiss, and then whispered into her ear. Her heart fluttered and she felt herself grow warmer. Then she sensed Nana coming. She pushed Kiru down, “Nana is coming. Let’s have a little fun now. She won’t bother us if she sees us having some fun.”

Kiru smirked, and ...