Seriously? This has to be a record, wait." Janel said.
Nora laid on the bed in the clinic. Surprise washed over Liem. He went to swallow to find his mouth dried out. They would need more power to protect them. He saw it too, the fear struck him
They'd need to be powerful. So much more than what Setton could provide. That meant accelerating the plans to bind another suppose.
"What, is it a girl?" Cerez said. Nora's hand was gripped tightly by Cerez who was in utter shock.
Kadir looked on nervously.
Kai looked puzzled at everyone, looking curiously at the image on the screen. He might be the first to pass Setton on to a female heir as his mothers eldest child. Since his mother had no female heir. These were not his genetic children, but there was next time. With their help, an heir would grow up in a healthy environment.
"No hold on, be quiet!" Janel said, his hands quivered as he manipulated the image.
"H-How did I miss it?" Janel said as he manipulated the image, laughing hysterically. His eyes widened. Identical twins. His pulse quickened. This was as rare as her last pregnancy.
"Janel? What is wrong?" Nora said and panicked, looking at the change in her friend's face.
"There's two again." Janel said, feeling his blood pressure rise. This had not happened for hundreds of years. It should not have. He opened the historical scans and brought them up. Scrutinizing them.
"They are from one pregnancy, it split. They should be genetically identical."
"What are you sure?" Liem said, anxiety welling in him.
"You just saw me check. This has not happened naturally for 700 years," Janel said.
"This stays between us. You cannot tell anyone. Ever." Janel said, thinking quickly on his feet.
He deleted the scan and pulled up her old scans from her last pregnancy and changed the date on it working quickly.
It had not been saved to any database yet. It should be fine. He would not let someone powerful know that you could split her female ovum without it being disastrous. He would never see her again, she would never see daylight.
Janel sweated profusely with stress. He opened up his interface and sent Clan Allari a resignation notice.
"What do we do?!" Kadir exclaimed.
"Do we destroy the machine?" Kadir said nervously.
"No, it has not been saved in corporate folders. It would look suspicious. I can reset the machine back to factory default as a precaution." Liem said and quickly set to working on the scanner bed.
"I have duplicated the old images. I need employment within the Quill clan effective immediately. I pledge confidentiality and fealty," Janel announced.
Nora looked at him with a very shocked face.
"I do not understand what is going on?" Nora looked at him worried.
Everyone talked over her as usual. Kai was quietly reassuring her with his hand. The others were making plans she had not even discussed with them yet.
Janel looked at her wordlessly. His face wrought with anxiety. She had never seen this man look this worried.
"Granted. We were going to offer it." Liem said. They were going to take him with them anyway.
Janel looked at them. He opened his interface and arranged the transfer.
"Can someone explain why this is happening? Don't my privacy rights protect me?" Nora asked.
"My Mother would have to report this. If they find out, they will be able to suspend your rights and perform tests to see what makes you so special." Kadir said.
"When they find that reason, they will certainly take you from us." Cerez said in Korean.
Nora's hand tightened around his. "Breathe Flower. We will keep you safe." Cerez soothed her repeatedly. He rubbed his thumb on her palm to ground her.
"We will be moving in the next day or two to the new building. You have a residence, clinic and lab. Do you feel confident that you can handle anything, or do you have staff we can trust with this?" Liem said seriously.
He was inwardly panicking. He was glad he had the foresight to come so early in the morning.
"Not with this. No," Janel said. It was too big. He saved the last image that Allari would have in its database.
"It is alright, we will make plans to change their appearances if they are too similar." Cerez said, it pained him. He understood his mother and fathers decision now.
"I can protect you. I will take you home if need be. Setton has a power plant. They cannot fire upon it unless they want a global catastrophe." Kai said, practicing his Korean to impress her.
Nora raised her brows at that comment. She was used to the very strong nurturing from others, his threats of violence were an amusing change of pace.
Cerez looked at her already round stomach. Two daughters. His mother was going to be shocked, he could not even tell her the whole truth.
'If she is discontent with her diet now, my efforts would now be doubled.' Cerez thought. He remembered how she had lost weight, hair volume and how her skin suffered last time.
Not on his watch. He was the father of those two. He felt an immense weight on him. His children were very special.
"I am going to need to eat my feelings. Cerez you are about to learn how to make iced cream." Nora said, craving the comfort foods.
It was her worst coping mechanism. She had finished processing the vanilla and had planned on making a cake, but she needed something harder. She knew it was a possibility that this day had come.
Sirona reminded her of her mother. She was going to have twins with Cerez who was the fairest of her spouses.
There was a good possibility that they would inherit the red mane or her eyes. She started to weep. She lost her twin, her identical twin sister. She did not have to guess what she would look like.
She remembered her vividly because she did not forget anything. She would never become a mother. Neither would Melody or Mia.
"It is alright Nora, it will be fine. Do not be scared." Cerez dabbed her eyes with a soft cloth.
"Kai, over here." Liem asked. "I need you to store some data in an encrypted file. Do you still have that ability?" Liem asked.
Kai nodded and opened his Interface.
"Good idea, it is good to have all these scans and reports for ourselves." Janel said as he initiated the download. He grabbed Kai's wrist and put it near the scanner.
"I have altered all the old reports. I am glad I got it done yesterday." Liem said as he uploaded the new reports about his initial findings.
They finished quickly. He looked at the clock. They had time before she would wake up to check, knowing that their appointment was today.
They rapidly worked on altering the reports that they had on file about her and wiped the logs clean on the scanner.
Once it was done, Liem sighed in relief. He checked to see if the files and reports had been accessed by anyone else and was relieved to see only his and Janel's authentication on the important and vital data.
"Thank you. We will see you in a couple of days when we move to the new building. Go and pack up and leave. I will explain your transfer to Allurai. I gave you time off to relocate." Liem said.
He knew that he could trust Janel completely when he took his life in his hands just now to help them cover this all up. He was quick and acted before he was begged to help.
He would ensure to support and protect him for the rest of his life. He still felt helpless, knowing that Janel knew. Janel was loyal, but he knew better than anyone that loyalty could change.
'If it came to that, if Janel ended up in the wrong hands, would he protect their secret? Would I be able to look at myself in the mirror if I killed Janel?' Liem thought
Nora and their children could easily be taken away and farmed and everyone else in Quill would be killed if their many secrets leaked.
'Can we keep this up without them coming for us? How much can we really protect ourselves now?' Liem brooded.
'Is it almost over? What will happen when the world finds out? I think that with some time I can fix it?' Janel nervously thought about the future ahead of him.
This would be his final career move. He knew he was their friend, but he held a lot of secrets now. He ran and reviewed Sirona and Astra's genetic reports and knew that they were the first generation in hundreds of years to not have the defect caused by the early geneticists' work to save their species.
Nora confirmed his hypothesis by doing the impossible, having a female ovum divide naturally inside her. Time would only tell; they still had to gestate normally and without defects. He would be certain then and could only persuade her then. He was looking at the Maternal savior of the species. Regardless of what he did, her children would go off into the world and spread the cure naturally.
"I am so excited that you are going to be coming with us. Sirona and Astra would miss their Uncle Janel if you did not," Nora said.
She shot her uneasy friend with a smile. "I have no other family but you. I am glad and thankful to have your care, Janel." Nora's hormones started to get the better of her.
"They have no one to count on from my side of the family, so I am glad that my children have you in their corner." Nora started to blubber to her friend.
Janel felt his heart warm in a way that it had not since his parents had died.
'Family.' Janel thought as his eyes started to water.
"I will always be by your side, Nora. You are right. I am your brother because family does not need to be related to each other", Janel finished as a tear ran down his cheek.
Kai looked on at Nora's tears, still making sense of the situation.
Nora often disappeared to see this man. He now understood why. It was healthy to have friends. He was at first surprised by the lack of people around her, and he understood that there were reasons why.
Now that he knew that she had relief from the isolation, he felt better. Everyone needed friends. He was still surprised every day by the way Nora treated males.
"You know Monil can move with you as well. I will hire him permanently. Talk to him about it." Nora said.
"Wait, you and Monil? The Monil." Kai said, piecing things together. Janel laughed. Nora laughed.
"Yes. That Monil. I thought you knew we were friends?" Nora said. He was a fan of Monil's.
She constantly surprised him. He was falling in love with her more and more each day. He felt a sense of protection building.
He felt like they should accelerate their plans; they would likely talk about it in their secret language tonight. He found it hard to keep the casual tone that they requested.
He was still getting accustomed to the language. It was a brilliant move. They were missing key members of their team in order to move onward with the plan.
Talan of Hudai might be the hardest to acquire for their plan. He was younger than them, he knew him more than the others did. He could identify the ones who had escaped from their clans due to a lack of choice.
Clan Hudai were the developers and makers of the Interface components and software, the devices that the Intraworld Council requires to be inserted into all infants on their post-natal check-up. Its benefits were numerous; its drawbacks were painful punishments and death. Those drawbacks were put there to prevent disobedience, ensure compliance, and for personal protection of females initially. They soon became wicked tools to control, punish, and kill. Hera was adept at using tech to the fullest.
Nora had never opened the interface. Not even to keep overzealous admirers from observing them. She even thought of the possibility of finding some kind of benefit from something that kept her trapped.
She called it a "silver lining. He did not understand some of the sayings she had, but he thought it might be optimistic. The family packed up and went to retrieve the twins from Allurai.
Nora could hear the crying from inside their entrance. Sirona was fussing in Dorien's lap while Astra was trying to sign to unaware adults. Her eyes welled with tears.
"What is it, Astra? Tell Mother?" Nora said and signed as she noticed Astra looking over from Hillian's arms.
Astra began to sign Mom, Help, Hurt ", and then she stuck her fist in her mouth.
"Can Mother look?" Nora signed as she spoke. Astra chewed on her fist, and her eyes shifted over to Sirona. Nora stepped in front of Sirona and Dorien. "Sirona. Can Mother look?" Nora signed. Sirona calmed down enough to nod but was still fussing. Nora opened her mouth and saw a little bit of a tooth poking through Sirona's gum. She was beginning to wonder when this would happen. Astra was truly the mellowest and smartest of her children, she too had started to teeth. But had chosen to tell her mother that she was hurting. Astra was probably going to be smarter than she was.
"They just started teething," Nora explained. She reached down and picked up Astra from Hillian's arms.
"How did you teach them how to communicate like that?" Dorien asked, amazed.
"It is an old Northern language that is easy enough to learn. It is for those who cannot speak or hear. It was great when we hunted together in groups. So you do not scare away your prey." Nora lied, she was getting so good at bullshitting. She would not forget the facts she spun.
"Perhaps someday we can learn such a good thing? To be able to communicate with an infant at this level is astonishing." Dorien said. He was briefly skeptical, he had given up on doubting her. She had brought so many benefits to the Clan already. His granddaughter was immensely popular already.
"Perhaps I might. I used to teach in the North. Thank you, Hillian and Dorien. We will take them to get settled." Nora had started freezing chunks of fruit for them to chew on in advance. Liem was surprised about this fact, she was a natural teacher. But he had never brought it up to her.
"Wait, do you have any fresh oil?" Kai said, remembering an old obtuse family trick. He grabbed a pair of hard toys that they prepared for this and dipped them in the oil. He then passed one to Nora for Astra and the other to Kadir, who now had Sirona in his arms. Nora gave him a look and then shrugged. She was open to a change in the game plan if it was more effective and did not present a choking hazard.
"You are kidding me, the tricks you learn from different families and cultures are so beneficial," Hillian exclaimed. Astra was immediately soothed. The whole room looked on with blank faces at the interaction between parents, spouses, and infants. It was mind-blowing to see an eight-month-old communicating so clearly. Using their hands when they can not speak.
"We are lucky to have you here. I wish you all would consider staying longer. I get to learn something new or get to taste something different with you here. It is never boring." Allurai said. The Northern practices, foods, and customs were innovative yet so simple to practice, use, and make. Using oil like this was also very different. The Quills were so eccentric.
They were even going to the extent of creating new species of vegetables, fruit, and now grasses. Usually, grass is fed to animals. They had identified a crop and created a product called flat bread that was popular at home. Recently, they brought 'Cookies' to dinner. The round disc-shaped objects had dried fruit and grass products in them; they were sweet, and they were sure to be a hit. Allurai was constantly amused by the new things she tested. She was really not happy about them leaving, but they were doing really well. She could not think of any other excuse to keep them in the building other than child care.
'Oh no, I know that look. He must be holding out on some huge news. He looks like his father when he has a request.' Allurai thought bemusedly as she looked at Liem.
"Mother, I am transferring Janel to Quill's internal hospital. I have sent you a list of candidates to replace him. We are more comfortable with his care in comparison to going to Sacred Tree for care." Liem said, looking at his Mother with confidence. The difference between Liem now and from a year ago was shocking in retrospect. Her ascetic son had returned home and gained confidence, all thanks to the influence of a female from another culture. Changes were noted in Kadir, Cerez, and now Kai as well. Every story she heard about each of the men that Nora bound was the same.
'They were all men that had emotional issues and were defined as treatment resistant. It seemed like all these men needed was the guiding hand of a young Matriarch from another culture. Was their culture the cause of mental health problems and suicide among young men?' Allurai thought.
"Tomorrow evening, we will be throwing a banquet to celebrate your move," Allurai said aloud. "
We are not moving far, Allurai. We will be able to visit often. I do not want to separate Astra from her future spouse," Nora said. Astra and Daven were glued together whenever they had play sessions with all the infants. Allurai was finding herself less stressed since focusing on motherhood more. Her spouse was happier now that she let them take over projects and have responsibilities. She was glad she had saved Leilanna from following in her stressful footsteps. She had missed so much and caused so much damage, focusing on the external world.
'Hopefully, she or one of the other girls like him. I cannot bear to think about him with some twisted older woman.' Nora thought with a shudder as she looked at Hillian, who was her age. Allurai was a kind woman, but Hillian was old enough to be her son.
'Please do not ask her about her appointment. Hopefully, this will distract her a bit. I just took her favorite employee.' Liem prayed in his mind. Nora was doing an excellent job of manipulating Allurai from not discussing it.
"I am going to be making something special because of that, then. Would you like to try something new tomorrow evening, or would you like me to bring some cookies?" Nora said, starting a line of distracting questions as the group made their way to the door.
"New? That sounds exciting. Will it be sweet?" Allurai asked. "It can be used both in a sweet and savory way," Nora said, intriguing Allurai further.
"Looks like my spouse's are heading out the door. Thank you for the oil." Nora cheerfully said. She turned around before Allurai could remember to ask her prying questions about her unborn children. The family quickly found themselves relatively safe at home.
"We'll be having Crêpes tomorrow. They are easy to make and will not be a problem to make. So do not worry." Nora said.
"I do not want you on your feet. Do you remember how much they swelled last time? And the dizziness." Cerez said, brushing his hand down his face in stress. She was carrying a high-risk pregnancy as well, and she was making commitments to bringing food to a banquet.