XVI

When we got back the sun was peeking over the horizon. Most of the Asura were starting their day already fully awake. I wanted to go back to the nest to sleep. Without the feeling of dread clawing at me I would be able to sleep. However, Aleksi insisted I come with him. To a new building not far from the Jivka housing. Vinci had clearly been a busy boy. His team had to be hating my guts with all the things I had asked them to add to our home. That they had done so much to the cave while also doing this was amazing to me.

It looked to be a completely included glass dome with trees and bushes. I thought it was pretty but not as pretty as the bed would be to me right now. I was about to start whining when I saw crates. Three of them. It made me stop what I was about to do. Especially when I felt them pluse as one with telepathic power. I hadn't felt a pulse like that since I was kicked out of the Breeding House and banned from the Barn.

Without thinking much of it I went over and yanked the lid off the first one. Inside were five Kira eggs in stais beds. Stais Beds were one of the newer technologies human had come up with. More than a few Alien races had access to their own versions but since humans were considered lesser by most races we had to make our own. I could think of more than a few people who had been pissed when negotiations for the tech had fell through. It had taken another hundred years before our scientists had managed on their own.

I removed each bed of the crate carefully on one there was a sealed envelope from. It had my name across the front and the UPD seal on the back. I opened it and read,

'Dear Avabelle,

We at the UPD hope this gift finds you well. It was brought to our attention during you trip that you were not accompanied by a companion. We found it odd as Mr. Gintya Suvine, mentioned you had shown signs of Telepathy.

After some discussion we decided sending companions you could raise yourself, and would therefore be much better matches for your bond, would make a great mating gift.

Sincerely,

University Planets Directive'

These were mine. The UPD had given me eggs to hatch and raise. I opened the other two boxes to find two Kegan eggs and three Kindon. "Holy fuck!" I cursed. There was a few hundred thousand credits in this box. I moved those eggs even more carefully than I had the Kira eggs. If Kira eggs were the size of my calf, then Kegan eggs were the size of a forearm. Kindon eggs were comparable to my torso.

The Stais Beds themselves weren't small. They were made of heavy metal. For the power supply they had a solar panel to recharge whenever possible as well as a charger port where it could be plugged in. There were two spare power banks that when fullly charged and could maintain full functionality for at least four days. They were all a stark white color with a green panel at the bottom. The panel displayed the internal and external temperature, health of the egg, and power supply remaining. As well as a section where settings could be adjusted as needed. This model missed the parts that would supply nutrients throughout the sleep as the eggs wouldn't need it. If they had already been hatched or a child the beds would be at least double the size to hold the needed supplies.

Moving the eggs was a slow process that had drawn a crowd. One or two of the males seemed to consider asking if I needed help before thinking better of it. The third box contained paperwork, tagging, and baby food mix. Once I opened the Stais beds my real work would begin. I needed to get a sleeping area set up for me because once I started I couldn't leave until they hatched or died.

I saw a couple bags in the corner. Their dark green color well hidden among the plants. They were my bags. I ran over and unzipped them in quick succession. Some held the things I had picked up on the journey here but one held my camping gear. I had worked hard back on Ethem to earn enough to buy these things.

An inflatable bed, sleeping bag, a couple blankets, water, ration and energy bars. I quickly set up close to the eggs before making sure I had my headphones and solpad. I opened the first Stais bed and placed the Kira egg a bit further away. One after another I positioned them. I put the Kira eggs further away and the Kindon eggs closer. As soon as I had opened the first one I had to start thumming for it.

I realized I could have all the eggs fairly close so I moved them all an equal distance away from the bed. I settled myself on the bed and began to meditate. I needed to conserve as much as I could. I felt someone approaching and saw an adult female trying to catch the child moving forward.

"It's okay," I called out to her. The little boy seemed to be unsteady on his feet as he kept moving his tail and had his arms out wide.

"Wvat are vou duin?" he asked me. His mom stopped him a bit away from the eggs since he seemed like he wanted to touch one of them.

"I'm hatching them," I said with a smile. My response slow as I had to keep the bulk of my attention on the eggs.

"How?" another called from the crowd. I hadn't realized but I had drawn what I assumed was almost everyone one in the Clan.

"I will thum for them until they hatch."

"What is 'thum'?" Now they were all getting in on it. At least they kept it to one at a time.

I smacked my hand on the ground at even intervals, "It's like this but with telepathy."

"How long?" Aleksi asked.

"Until they hatch."

"How long until they hatch?"

"That depends entirely on how old they are." Stais beds were able to drastically reduce the time one needed to maintain the thum. It also cause weaker hatching. Those hatchlings grew into fragile adults. While Stais beds kept the eggs alive that did not stop the growing of the embryo inside. Stais only worked on what it could come into direct contact with. When humans entered Stais we needed to be pumped full of nutrients through tubes and needles.

Families that wanted to save money would use Stais beds so they could produce a large number of eggs in a short time. Kira and the like would not breed if they're masters weren't actively encouraging them to do so. When we were focused on thumming for the eggs we could not give our Bonded the attention necessary. Instead like now we maintained a state of peace. A steady pluse of Telepathy letting the eggs know it was safe to hatch.

If they went to long between the safety signals the eggs would become dormant. It was said the eggs could be hatched still if they were thummed the right way but no one had been able to reawaken dormant eggs yet.

"So when will you move then?"

"When they hatch." A properly thummed egg for a Kira could hatch in just ten hours. The growth speed of the embryos increased under the mental stimulus. We believed that it was an Evolutionary trait to increase chances of the eggs hatching. Under the wrong thumming they could take a week. The current growth state shouldn't have advanced very far yet. Everything still felt undecided. I could only wait for them to hatch.