Sholan Alliance - AU Bk. 03 Ch. 01

Billy's eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped and his brain fizzled out for a few moments as he tried to process what she had said. Unfortunately every time it reset it came back to the 'She's Pregnant' before having to reset. Eventually he was able to speak. "Pregnant? But how?"

To put it bluntly his brain decided now was a good time for not just needing a reset to a total derailment of his train of though. It was rather obvious that he was trying to completely understand what she was saying but his utter and complete confusion was coming across the link. Satasha couldn't help but smile since she was feeling his confusion. What he really thought she wasn't sure since it felt like his brain shut down.

Billy finally closed his eyes and took a deep slow breath and used a technique an instructor taught him to slow his thoughts down. It took him some time but he finally calmed enough to think about what she had said. To be honest much of what he was feeling was simple shock. Even with what the doctors had been telling him about the genetic changes it had all been theoretical. Most of the rest of his thoughts were pride and joy. There was a definite feeling of 'I am a real man' in there as well.

Satasha had settled on the bed as he was trying to calm his mind down. It was a rather odd sensation since it almost felt like he was shutting down sections of his mind. It took him some time but finally his mind was calm and somewhat back to normal. She was pleased that he would be able to talk with a semi-rational train of thought. Well till she caught the bit with 'I'm a real man now' and almost smacked him.

Billy opened his eyes and looked at her and a wide smile was plastered on his face. "I am so happy for both you and us. God I can't wait to see our baby." He could feel her irritation with his thought and snickered at her. "Only real men can get women pregnant you know. If the parts are not original items they can't do dat. There for I am a real man..." He winked at her just for good measure.

Tasha actually growled at him and it was obvious she thought he was teasing her which he was to an extent. She could feel his happiness and pleasure though and she softened. Since they were alone she settled down on his good side and leaned against him and let her worries show in her mind. *I am scared Yilly. Some is the whole idea of carrying and bringing into this world a new life. Some is what the child will look like. I am so scared even though I am pleased as well.*

Billy wrapped his good arm around her and pulled her close. "Tasha I love you and will be here through whatever happens. I, personally, assume there is a reason for this though I have no idea why. We are not fertile with each other yet look at what we have been blessed with. I don't know if it is from your deities or one of ours but it isn't something random."

He turned his face towards her and rubbed his cheek with hers before gently nibbling her jaw and ear. "Now why don't you..." What he was going to say was interrupted by a chime for entrance.

"Ambassador Madlax, Lt. Commander Verzilon I am Shion senior priest of Vartra. I wish to speak to you for a few minutes. May I come in please?"

Billy swapped glances with Tasha and they swapped confused look. "Yes Father Shion but only for a short time since Yilly just came out of surgery and needs to rest." Satasha called out as Billy settled back in the bed where he had been. He watched Satasha walk over to the door and when it opened she greeted an older male in a formal looking robe.

"Good morning Father please come in and would you like a c'shar?" He had purple on his robe which Billy noticed almost immediately. He reached out and lightly touched fingers with her. She moved towards the dispenser as he came in. "As I am sure you know this is my bondmate Yilly Madlax and my Leska. If you don't mind I am going to leave off all the other lovely titles. For some reason I don't understand they make him feel old and tired." She collected some drinks and brought them over.

Billy raised the head of the bed up higher so he was able to look at the priest better. When he came in and Billy was introduced he held his good hand out. "This is a pleasant surprise, or I so hope. Welcome Father and please have a seat." When the priest touched his fingers Billy had to smile since the male felt very calm.

When Billy commented about hoping it was a pleasant surprise he gave him a gentle smile. "I have been meaning to come and say hello but didn't want to disturb you since you were recovering." He liked the feel of Billy's mind though it was rather daunting just from the light touch. Shion could feel his mind working away on several different levels that most people didn't have. "Thank you Lt. Commander for the drink."

"As I am sure you can figure out I am here for several reasons. First is to meet the first new alien species for close to a hundred years. Second is because somehow the two of you have formed a Leska link which is rather shocking. And of course because of the new life Satasha is carrying." After adjusting his robes slightly he picked the cup back up and took a sip.

Satasha had settled down next to Billy once she had handed the Father a drink. He listened to what the Father had to say and his face hardened slightly. "Whatever happened to privacy of medical information? I do not remember giving permission for any of my medical information out. I also know for a fact that Satasha hasn't given it either. I do not approve of or appreciate this information being given out without our being asked. We can talk about the first two items but till we have been given a chance to talk about the pregnancy alone it isn't going to happen."

Now he was sitting up and his expression hardened even more. "Speaking as the Ambassador this is very concerning. We have rules and regulations on the privacy of patient's personal information. I am going to see about requesting an investigation on how you seemed to have acquired this information. Till this issue is resolved and an addendum added to the treaty no questions will be answered. I will not have our private lives examined by anyone who we don't think should have it. Do I make myself clear Father?" He was ignoring Satasha's mental attempts to get him to relax.

Father Shion tilted his head and pricked his ears forward as the human spoke. To be honest there was a fair amount of truth to what he had to say but the Brotherhood of Vartra was outside the laws. "That is clear Ambassador and I will make note of it and bring it to the attention of the appropriate people as well. I will not apologize since there are some things you simply don't know as of yet. At your request I will not touch on the coming kit other than to say congratulations. Would you mind calling for Z'Marl to come in? This conversation will have an impact on her as well."

The fathers tone was even without yielding any trace of emotions. He met Billy's anger and let it roll over him and it showed. As he had said apologies were not going to be given at this moment. He really hoped that once he had a chance to really sit down and talk Billy would start to understand.

The door opened a moment later and Z'Marl walked in and blinked at the Father. "Good morning Father." She nodded at him before going and sitting on Billy's other side. Even she could feel that he was angry but with what she didn't know.

"So what do you have to talk to us about Father?" Satasha asked since she could feel Billy's irritation and that he wasn't in the mood to be anything more than civil. He truly was upset that news of her condition had been allowed to leak without their permission.

Shion took one more sip of the char and set the cup down. "Actually this information is for the three of you and is something you are going to need to consider." He looked straight at Billy when he spoke. "We are aware of the genetic changes that all of you have started experiencing since you have been seen for the ni-uzu virus. This is especially true of Yilly and Satasha. Currently Leska's are seen as a couple and the link for breeding new talents, stronger talents. As the children of those Leska's grow and pass on their genes over time they are spread out through the population. We have been tracking these changes for centuries. One thing many of the current population doesn't realize was that during the time of the Falling Skies they were actually a triad. Usually it was two warriors and a female and the warriors cared for and protected the female while she birthed the next generation of telepaths."

He took another sip and even had Billy's attention though his mind was still hard and angry. "Normally the Leska linked warrior and female were the main partners in the triad. The third was on the edge of the link but still part of it. He would also provide genes for the next generation as well. Over time the third male or female was no longer needed for the protection of the mother and children. When that happened triads began to vanish since the Leska's no long needed to find or search for their third."

Shion looked at the three to see what they might have to say. He gave them several minutes and simply smiled. When Billy spoke he almost grinned. "Okay, for the moment assume I bite on the tasty bit on the end of the sharp pointy thing. What does this mean for us and apparently Z'Marl? If you are saying she is our third then why have we not felt the link pulling us together or how would we know?"

Shion gave him a pleased nod. The human was extremely smart and wasn't bothering to play any games at the moment. "If the link is going to happen then it will happen at the right time. Presuming you are going to link this impacts her by becoming your third. Since both you and Satasha are warriors your jobs would be to protect her when she is pregnant. Currently since Satasha is pregnant it would be your job to protect the two of them and Z'Marl's job to take care of Satasha. There is one last bit of information I have for you and then I will depart. If the triad so chose they would hold a three way life bonding ceremony. Vows would be exchanged, you would share blood and light incense to Vartra. There is also a special piece of jewelry for the triads as well."

He reached into one of the copious pockets and pulled out three small wooden boxes and set them on one of the bed side tables. "Take a look at them and the data on the cube in Yilly's box. Read it discuss it and please when you come to a conclusion contact me or my priest for the Telepath's guild." He stood and silently left the room as they were contemplating the box.

Billy looked at them but chose not to touch his box as of yet. "We will need to discuss this in a few days. Right now I am to out of it to make a rational decision and I am going to bed and fall asleep. I would love to have both of you beautiful ladies curl up with me if you are tired." He turned to Tasha and gave her a Sholan style kiss and a light lick to the end of her muzzle. Billy then turned to Z'Marl and did the same before he leaned back and tried to get comfortable.

~~~

The pirate engineer had finally broken down several days before. He had informed them that he would tell them everything he knew and didn't care what sort of deal they offered. At that point he had been assigned an excellent lawyer to represent him. As far as the lawyer was concerned he was an idiot to give it all up without any deal on the table. He spent several days talking with the man before they had finally ended up with a deal for the protection of his family. Beyond that he was not concerned.

The deal wouldn't be sealed till he knew his family was safe and off planet where the Organization couldn't get them. He also agreed to have one of the Sholan's in the room during questioning. They had informed him it would be a telepath at which he almost sneered. If the silly git was stupid enough to want to wander through his mind all the more power to him.

Once he had been given sufficient proof that his family was safe, well other than his ex who he hated, he started answering questions. That had taken a fair amount of time since he had gathered a goodly amount of information over the years. Most of it was on the makeup of the ships and bases but he had a few guesses on who some of the players were.

Out of all the interrogation sessions he was only able to provide the location of one base. He couldn't swear if it was still active since it was one of the primary ones that the Pearl had served out of. Once she had been taken it was very possible all the combatants had been removed as well as much of the materiel items as well. The slave population would be removed from the equation by the simple act of removing all the air and blowing the locks.

~~~

The General was sitting in his room aboard his command ship and was looking out the window. Below him was a glowing star but other than that there wasn't anything worth recommending to this hell hole. That was one reason they had picked the system as their current base of operations, nobody had a reason to come here. If anyone did it would most likely be some tramp miner and they were easily taken care of.

He had just finished reading the report from his analysts and wasn't pleased. They now had definitive proof there were two completely different drive signatures and two different technologies. That indicated there was at least one more hyper capable race out there that they knew nothing of. As of now all they had was sensor data on the strange ship. Of the ship that was destroyed it hadn't left much behind. What had been left behind tied it to the ship they had destroyed.

Based on this they were looking at a minimum of two planets of enemies which changed things. He had since shot off a message to high command but they hadn't gotten off their fat ass's as of yet. Chances were good they were holding off on orders to see if he managed to fuck up. That would allow the damn egg-lickers to get rid of him since he was one of the Emperor's favorite Generals.

After reviewing deployment schedules and the status of his parasite craft he called his assistant in. "Get the drone out of here. I am done with it for the time being. Also call for a staff meeting in one hour. Have food delivered while I am getting clean." The drone was already getting out of the bed and went to stand by the door. The last thing the General needed was to smell of sex at the meeting. It would distract the crew from what was needed.

"Yes General, I will take care of it and what do you wish prepared for the meeting?" He knew what his General would want but it was always safer to ask. If one didn't it tended to lead to a short painful life at the hands of the priests.

The General scratched his chin with his fixed claws and finally gave the assistant some orders before turning away to the shower. When he came out the food was there and he quickly ate before heading to the briefing room. He would be the first in even if that meant the others had to wait. If he played this right he was going to be elevated even higher in the Empire.

~~~

Once the briefing was done new orders went out to the various scouts to reorganize how they were doing the recon's. The last thing the General wanted was to alert the enemy that they were still there. This was going to require the recon's to take more time in approaching the systems. He was changing this to reduce or eliminate the possibility that his ships would be located and identified.

~~~

Back on earth the trial for the crew of the pirate ship had been finished. Death sentences had been handed down to the entire remaining crew. Other than the engineer none of the crew had been willing to make any sort of reasonable bargains. All of them had smirked and asked for immunity or no deal. Since they had taken that route the prosecutors had tossed the book at them. This included the table and rest of the library of law.

Once the trial was over and they had been convicted they had been sentenced to death via hanging. The execution was to be carried out forthwith and no chance of leniency. The sentence was to be carried out three days after the sentence was decided. For that the crew had been moved to the ultra high security wing with a view of the hanging pits. They had the excitement of watching everything being tested and verified to be working.

By now the so called Capt. Jack Sparrow was medicated to return him to sanity. He had been diagnosed with a chemical imbalance of his brain. It hadn't been enough to save him since they had records showing he had voluntarily gone off the medications a number of times. Each time he had he had committed some heinous crimes. The guards were not being subtle about the amusement value they were getting out of his reaction every time one of the trapdoors was tested.

Eventually the day arrived and once they had been fed their last meal the first five were led out of the cells. There were two guards per convict to ensure they didn't try something stupid. Once they were led out to the gallows and carefully hooked up the guards took up a position on each side. An officer would read the charges and sentence. Once done he asked for any last words.

Most of the guards had to snicker at that since they were mostly sworn at. One guard leaned forward and whispered in one pirate's ear. "See you in hell ya mangy ape. See you in hell." Moments later the trapdoors opened and the men dropped. Though they tried to struggle with the heavy weight that had been attached to their ankles it was futile.

After a check the bodies were cut down and placed in plain pine coffins and taken away. The noose ropes were replaced and the next five were hung. The last two were led out of the cells and hooked up. The officer spoke the charges and sentence. "Do you have any last words Percival Rochester?"

Percival glared at the officer. "I am Capt Jack Sparrow and will be addressed as such you pissant. You will get your comeuppance before you know it. Your family will be killed from the oldest to youngest while you live. Once you have seen your entire family die brutal deaths it will be your turn." Just for good measure he spat in the officers direction.

The officer raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating, how are you going to kill the family of an orphan? I wait with bated breath to see that happen." He turned to the person manning the levers. "Release the trapdoors." There was a click and thud as the trapdoors opened. Due to the force of the release they were slammed against a backstop and caught by a simple hook to keep them from swinging.

The weight dropped and a slight sound of the ropes snapping straight with the force. After the prerequisite time the bodies were cut down and placed in a pine box and carted away. "All guards are to report to medical and are to be on leave till confirmed for active service again." It was traditional to ensure the mental stability of the guards and executioner.

~~~

Undersecretary Nelson was in his office at home watching the execution on TV. It was rare that they were publicly broadcasted but in this case due to the defendants it was allowed. As each group of men were brought out and hung he felt a sense of satisfaction. It wasn't satisfaction that they were killed but satisfaction that potential leak had been plugged. The other leak had been plugged as well when the air car Ricky and Marcella had been in had suffered a drive failure and crashed into the ocean from one hundred thousand feet. There hadn't been enough left to try and salvage other than the black boxes.

They showed exactly what was needed to ensure it all looked like a horrible accident. That had taken some time to organize but since it had started the moment the new of the capture had gone out they had plenty of time. Now that he had hopefully fewer worries about the potential security breach of the Organization he could relax.