The first weave jump

Dustin was unsure of where he should be right now, despite mentally debating his options for over an hour. Sola was coasting out from Earth, her reactors humming with power that all too soon would be directed to the weave engines for their next jump. The issue Dustin was wrestling with was whether he should be down in the nursery with his children and their mothers - to support them through their first weave jump as a family - or if he would be better placed on the bridge, ready to jump in to give orders if their first destination turned out to not be the tranquil uninhabited star system it was supposed to be.

In the end, the desire to be with his family won out over his paranoia about their first jump dropping them into immediate combat. The weave-flight itself was a short one - barely over an hour - and so he nodded towards his security officer who rose from her seat as he stood. “Yril’k, you have the bridge - Sammie’s got the jump sorted, if there’s anything amiss when we arrive then take appropriate action and call me back. I’ll be in the nursery.”

The Vex’ess woman nodded, his pilot giving him a thumbs up as she did so. He paused as the door slid shut behind him and considered that thought a moment. Not his pilot - his fiancé. And a fiancé that he would be marrying rather soon if nothing got in the way - and assuming that the officiant didn’t object. Smiling to himself, Dustin strode down the corridor in the direction of the nursery, pulling his tablet from the clip on his belt and double checking yet again that he’d not had any messages since leaving Earth.

Wedding planning for Sammie had been chaotic to say the least - between the impending arrival of Dustin’s three children and the crew getting used to the Tho’unn princess, plans had been made and remade at least five times since Jaisyl had joined them. What they’d settled on in the end was so very Sammie though. She’d wanted to get married in space - preferably on board Sola if she could. But, unlike Meli, she’d wanted to do so while the ship was underway rather than in orbit.

That had complicated things. The fact that she wanted a wedding with the simplest ceremony and least important officiant they could find complicated it further. After trying and failing to find a registrar or priest willing to officiate while they travelled for even a short flight, they’d been at a loss until Meli had reminded them that captains were also considered officiants on Earth. At that point they’d then had to explain patiently to Aricia and Defia why that didn’t mean that Dustin could just perform his own wedding ceremony… and then Sammie had nodded to herself, wandered away from the group, and sent a message without consulting him.

The pilot’s family had upgraded their business from inner-system haulers in the aftermath of the battle of Sol to running regular inter-system trips - mostly supplying Earth’s various outposts on allied worlds, no human colonies having yet been established. As it happened, their current trip had seen them heading to the same place Dustin and the others were - the world Izzy and her girlfriend were living on. He wasn’t entirely sure he was fully prepared to not only meet her father properly for the first time and have the man officiate their wedding shortly after, but that was what was in his not-too-distant future.

So, their trip to Lemth space now had two objectives; Dustin and Sammie’s wedding, and to allow Izzy and Terri to meet the trio of infants who were napping contentedly when he stepped into the nursery. Meli was flat out as well, the Velca’s ears twitching lightly in her sleep, but Trea’k at least was awake. The Vex’ess woman was sitting, quietly sipping her drink and considering something on her tablet when he entered.

Walking over, he kissed her upturned face then slid into the seat next to his insectoid lover. Speaking softly to not wake the others, Dustin gestured to the tablet. “What are you watching?”

Trea’k turned and smiled at him. “Rye was kind enough to set me up with a feed to the room she is building for my… other offspring. I believe we discussed my producing a few Vex’ess to protect and serve our daughter?” She gestured to the tablet. “The room itself is not finished yet, but Rye is currently working on it, and I can see that it is nearly done; I imagine it will be finished before Bleu permits me to leave this room.”

The last part of that explanation was delivered in a far more petulant tone than Dustin had ever heard from the otherwise calm and collected envoy. Taking her hand in his and squeezing softly, he tried to offer some comfort. “You really struggle with waiting to lay your eggs, don’t you? But you know Bleu only has your health - and that of C’harl’ette - at heart. She won’t keep you cooped up here any longer than is necessary.”

The Vex’ess woman sighed and nodded. “I know. It is just…” she paused, glancing past Dustin and smiling, before continuing “…extremely frustrating.”

A warm presence settled into the seat on Dustin’s other side, softness pressing into his arm as Meli leaned against him. “It is extraordinarily frustrating, husband. Yes, I am exhausted. Yes, I have some lingering pain, although it is nothing untoward before you panic, Bleu has checked. But I am also eager to begin balancing my time as a mother with those of my duties on board ship - not to mention taking our sons to see the gardens.”

Dustin was about to reply when Sola cut in, the ship’s AI announcing their weave jump would be commencing shortly. All three moved closer to their sleeping offspring at that point. There really was nothing to worry about - kids were taken through the weave by their parents all the time, and indeed there had been more than one child born in that strange alternate dimension with no side effects… but that didn’t settle their worries that maybe something would happen this time. These were, after all, half-human hybrids - and humanity’s relationship with the weave had already turned out to be somewhat weird.

The shift was swift - and nothing happened, save a slight scrunching of William’s nose when Meli exhaled a little to heavily as she let out the breath she’d been holding. All three parents looked at each other and smiled. “Well, that’s one dimension transition they handled without any difficulty,” Dustin said, turning towards the automat. “Do you ladies want anything? I’m going to grab a mocha and something to eat now my stomach isn’t twisting up with needless worry.”

Quite some time later C’harl’ette cooed contentedly as she rested in Dustin’s arms, one hand rather firmly holding on to her elder brother’s ankle. Du’van didn’t seem to mind, and given the most recent attempt to separate the two babies had led to the normally quite contended half-Vex’ess girl showing that her lungs were every bit as powerful as either of her brothers… they’d opted to leave them as they were until such time as either she grew bored or fell asleep. That, naturally meant that Dustin had to remain close to Du’van and Meli who was holding the middle child, while Trea’k cradled William who appeared to have decided that as the eldest of the three he didn’t really care who was gently rocking him, just as long as someone was.

The more time he spent on quiet moments like this - him, his lovers and their children - the more Dustin felt foolish for being so worried about being able to be the father his offspring deserved. As Sola counted down the seconds to their emergence into realspace once more, he finally let himself totally relax. Trea’k glanced up and smiled. “About time you stopped stressing, my mate. Meli, beloved, his pheromones have finally settled.”

Dustin wasn’t entirely sure what to say in response to that, but before he could make up a suitable reply the door slid open and a trio of women peered in. “Are you okay for visitors?” Naera asked, the shortstack standing at the front before leading Emely and Yaerwen into the room at a nod from Meli. “The others will be around later on - but we figured now you three are done worrying that the weave is going to make the kids grow extra limbs that you’d probably appreciate some company. Oh, and Bleu says if there’s anything left of this when she gets here she’ll keep you under observation for longer,” the Caenii said, holding up a hamper of food and grinning.

As the chatter rose around him, Dustin smiled. He definitely didn’t have anything to worry about here. While the threat of Fractals and Durathisians remained, he knew that his family would remain strong no matter what.