To Sammen’s credit, they delivered the medical vat much like Peter used for the delivery. That and several jars of slugs. Omega and child were in the room with my Oma as well. Normally, Peter would be resting in his room, but he wanted to stay. I suspected it was to make sure my Oma relaxed. With quiet voices, Sammen explained the functions of the slugs. Attaching such foul creatures to my Oma is something I would never allow... before.

One held up a red slug and stared at my Oma. He nodded before she placed it on his chest. “This will assist with drawing out the impurities. Your body can then concentrate on rebuilding muscle tissue. Especially for your inner organs.”

A fatter yellow one went along his stomach. “Optimizes your digestion and converts the food into special cells. It’ll fight any normal disease and infection you may encounter.”

I exhaled hard. Some newborns were notoriously ill at first before their Volardi immune system grew. Even contagious sometimes. Having my son cause my Oma distress isn’t something I wanted to think about yet had to.

The green was last, and it wiggled more than the rest. “A safety system. If anything happens to your body, it’ll affect this first.”

“Canary in the coal mine,” said Peter. We all turned to look. Redness flashed over his face while he explained how ‘miners’ in his area used to take a bird into the caves. If it fell, they knew there was danger from natural gases.

What a strange world.

“Close,” said one of the women. “It won’t just alert but take the injury instead.”

Once finished, both women stayed there as if waiting for me to do something. I did. I swiveled on my foot. My fist went out, and I cupped it into my other hand then bowed slightly. The gesture was returned. I walked over to the triangular shell that represented Soturi, Dara, and Femeni. Three points and one for each. The shell was invaluable…

Both women listened while I explained even if I suspected they already knew the meaning. My voice was low, “My Oma… he has hope. You assisted in delivering my child.” I pointed to the shell. “Nobody on the planet has one this large. It’s yours. A gift from one leader to another.” I pointed to each point. “Ryba, Human, and Volardi.”

Their black eyes widened before they both bowed slightly.

“I will arrange for delivery,” I said. “Let’s hope this is the first of many exchanges.”

***

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

PETER

I was royalty, but that didn’t mean I could do whatever I wished. Power was an opportunity with rules and restraint. Per the terms of the re-population program, I couldn’t directly contact my family back in Tennessee.

Normally.