[Humans for Hire] - Part 161

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Vilantia Prime, Ah'nuriel Manse

As soon as the shuttle lifted off, Kiole winced and took several slow breaths before looking around and waddling toward the treeline, her scent shifting to resolve and extreme pain. Grezzk flicked an ear worriedly.

"Love, you are..."

A single nod was the immediate reply, with the verbal one following through clenched teeth. "I had hoped our daughter would wait, but I need a birthing grove now." The sentence was punctuated by small liquid droplets falling from her legs as she moved.

Grezzk shook her head emphatically. "No. We do not give birth in the trees, there is a pool for new life."

Kiole looked like she wanted to argue the point, but it seemed as though current events were making time a precious commodity. "I may need...help." The last word came out as if it were somehow humiliating to admit.

Grezzk smiled with a grim resolve. "We can call him back."

"We will do no such thing. He has a mission, and I have -" Kiole's voice broke for a moment as a contraction hit, rendering her insensate for a moment. "I have mine. Ours."

The manse quickly came abuzz with activity as Kiole was moved to a room that was large enough for four to sit comfortably around a tub of water - said tub was being filled with a sweetly-scented warm water. The expectant mother was still feeling objectionable, even as she settled into the tub to ready for the events that were about to unfold. Also in the room were Gleica and Ah'nuriel. Gleica was taking charge after a fashion, setting up small monitors while Ah'nuriel was busily setting up a tablet for a holo projection.

"This is wasteful. To use water once." Kiole's voice was tight and her scent pained.

Grezzk was calm as she wiped her wife's brow with a damp sponge. "Hush now. This is where Gryzzk and Gro'zel met the galaxy. The herbs are there to help with the pain."

Kiole pausing in her breathing. "There is. Coincidence, I suppose. To have her being conceived and born here." There was a hitch as the holo came to life, with news teams following Gryzzk's shuttle. "What in the worlds?"

Ah'nuriel snorted. "Pafreet broke the one ankle he has left and instead of going straight to the doctor insisted that we needed to watch the mercenary report on the Freelord's action at Eridani. Do not try to tell me you are not equally stubborn and were about to demand a holo of your husband." There was a pause. "Would you prefer we film the birth?"

Kiole's reply was sharp. "If we must watch something related to my...body, I would prefer footage of the conception - a much happier tiiiime!" The last word ended as an agonized howl and a wrenching of the tub-handles.

Grezzk blinked and let the comment pass as she watched the parade of purple on the holo. "They are...singing."

Pafreet poked his head into the birthing room. "They're singing...oh. Never mind." He stopped as he realized that there was a holo on and twisted his eyes to Kiole. "Freelady, accomplish your mission." From there he ducked back out, giving the women their privacy.

It was an exceptional foresight that the room was soundproofed and as Gryzzk spoke Kiole seemed to be cheering him on and adding in commentary that was well-seasoned with profanity. The entire room fell to a stop with snickers and laughter as Gryzzk accidentally spoke a bit too much, with Kiole finally adding the cherry on top as Gryzzk returned to speaking.

"That's right you godless bitches - get your flabby mudpie tits out of my husband's face and go be a deadfish lay for some pitiful Vilantian thumbdick who might get it right the fourth time he tries! And then bring my husband’s derelict ass here so I can kill him for this! Nobody kills him but me!"

The remainder of it was the hardest part of the labor, with Kiole emitting a fierce warcry and collapsing along the side of the tub as the infant moved out and was captured by Gleica. After the emergence it was swaddled as her mother lay panting heavily. Two of Kiole's eyes glanced at the holo, with the other four on the squalling new life in her arms. Grezzk leaned in and gently nuzzled her wife, as she glanced at the infant as its eyes opened. There was a shock of sorts; their daughter had inherited the eye color of both her parents - Gryzzk's light blue and Kiole's gold alternated at each eye-pair, forming an arrow-shape of sorts. There was only one thing to say.

"Our daughter. Our beautiful daughter..."

Kiole nodded and leaned against Grezzk, speaking with a heavy voice. "Thank you. Thank you all. For all of this." She fell back into the water for a moment to rinse after a fashion before the holo was interrupted by a call from Gro'zel and Nhoot.

Gro'zel was bouncing a bit with her eyes bright. "Mama, Mama! Turn on the holo!"

Nhoot added helpfully, her voice equally fully of happiness. "Papa's kicking wholesale amounts of ass!"

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Vilantia Prime, House of Parliament

Gryzzk was not in his happy place. In fact it was almost the opposite of his happy place, as he looked up to see a railing just high enough that he couldn't easily scramble over. On the one side was him and Minister Larine. On the other was a battalion representing four worlds fighting against approximately a third of the elected and hereditary representatives of one of said planets. It was in a word, chaos punctuated with battle-cries and insults - mostly revolving around the mothers of the nobles who wanted a fight. The positive side of this was that the other two-thirds of Parliament decided that they wanted no part of this particular adventure and thought highly of their mothers, if the orderly rush to the exit was any indication.

The regrettable portion of this came to Gryzzk as he tested his leg and found it rather wanting. He leaned and looked up toward the rail, where most of the bridge squad was fighting fiercely to get to their commander's spot - just in case anyone else decided to hop the rail and spill more blood. Gryzzk closed his lower eyes, regretting his words before he even called out to them.

"I require...uppies."

Reilly all but squee'd as she threw a devastating blow with the stock of her shotgun at her opponent and leaned over the rail. She and Larion were both able to haul Gryzzk up to the area where the brawl was ongoing.

"Where to?" O'Brien's voice was calm and collected, even as blood trickled from her mouth.

Gryzzk pointed. "Center. We need to get to the center. We'll go from there."

There was a nod of acknowledgment from the sergeant major as she turned, roaring something that sounded like "lamb-laydeer-aboo" as she shifted and swung fist and knee into the noble and noble-aligned skulls that stood between her and the center. Gryzzk stood next to her and began clearing a path with the butt-end of the Legion Javelin, mostly aiming at the noble house decorations of the various robes in front of him while they pressed forward in a V shape with Gryzzk and O'Brien at the fore. As the parliamentarians saw what was coming they scattered as effectively as they could within the confines of the crowd - which was not exactly an easy process since there wasn't any sort of cohesion amongst their foes. During this Gryzzk did take several blows in return, mostly from thrown items and even a clan cudgel that caught his forehead. Over the course of wading through the crowd, O'Brien took a quick stock and called back to Larion. "Chewie! Come get the Major, everyone else diamond up around him!"

Gryzzk was quickly pulled back as the squad formed around him, with Reilly hoarsely calling out to any who could hear to "come and get one in the yarbles, if you have any yarbles" and even Larion declaring that he was here to chew bubblegum and kick ass - and he was in fact out of bubblegum. Meanwhile Edwards declared that Skyrim belonged to the Nords, and if it wasn't a serious fight Gryzzk might have rolled all of his eyes.

Anger, fear, and blood all fought for attention in Gryzzk's nose as they were able to slowly wade toward the center with Gryzzk in the middle and O'Brien moving implacably forward like a ship through heavy seas. The rest of the squad turned their attention to keeping Gryzzk safe by laying about heavily with fists, gloves and by using their firearms as blunt objects. Since it was a civilized altercation in Parliament and not a dust-up at the Grand Warrior pub, Gryzzk kept his attacks restricted to using the butt-end of the Javelin. Unfortunately he was still doing significant-to-others damage as one of the constant refrains he heard was "Not the face!" while the squad moved to the center of the melee. There were a few hurled objects on the way, along with some severe language that hopefully would get lost on the way to the recording microphone and news station. Gryzzk caught a paperweight to his skull, which made him blink and look around as he saw the thrower get mobbed by several others. To what purpose it was uncertain - it was quite possible that the thrower was being chastised for hitting Gryzzk, which seemed more likely as said thrower was mobbed and advised of the error in their decision-making by several purple-clad individuals.

As they arrived at the center, they held and continued fighting even as the parliament security force began wading in to make an attempt at restoring order to the session. Even as part of Gryzzk dearly wanted to ensure that every opposing noble felt some manner of anguish this day, another part of him recognized that they'd done quite enough for one day. He tapped his rank for a channel to Rosie and waited.

"Tucker's Masochism Emporium - ask about our two-for-one special on testicle torture, how can we hurt you today?"

"Chief, advise Rosie I need a channel to the battalion."

There was a momentary pause before Rosie came on. "Channel open Freelord."

Gryzzk had to raise his voice slightly. "Battalion, we are exiting Parliament. Everyone outside, mount up and prepare for rapid deployment to your respective ships - everyone in the building advance toward the nearest exit. XO's begin negotiation of fines and damage assessment."

The battalion began the slow progress of extricating themselves from the general brawl, which wasn't nearly as clean as Gryzzk would have liked - the parliament security forces did their best, but a few nobles exercised their privilege to make a valiant attempt at salvaging their honor that did not go as they expected. Gryzzk helped as best he could, but the nobles seemed rather focused on him and not the other troops around him.

Gryzzk started slowing as they moved closer to the exit, splitting his squad up in order to have them act as guides to get everyone out. As he left, Gryzzk took a final look at the now mostly empty auditorium; there were medics and security officers restoring order and distributing bandages and painkillers as needed. He wasn't certain he'd ever be invited back.

Once outside, he saw that the shuttles had done brisk and in all likelihood pre-emptive work at moving the battalion from the ground to the waiting ships. He tapped his rank quickly for Rosie.

"XO, ship status please."

There was a soft snort. "Pissed that the officers get to have all the fun. Passenger list is down by ten overall, we got a few people coming with and a couple that are gonna take a long vacation before they hitch a ride back to New Casa. Stores are loaded, your family's aboard. Fun fact, the actual name for that speech is being voted on, with 'Papa Bear Takes the Cubs To School' and 'Freeclan Free-for-all' being the top two vote-getters. Now clean up a little, Lodora's coming in hot and wants a quote."

As if on cue, Lodora and her camera operator were hurrying toward him, with Lodora walking backwards as she spoke to the camera.

"...as you can see, order has been restored - the Minister of Culture has assured us that conversations have taken place regarding today's session and are considering new rules with respect to non-Parliament speakers." Lodora quickly turned to Gryzzk. "Freelord, do you have any comment on today's events?"

Gryzzk tried to put on a calm face, but the day had been energetic and if he being honest he was a little woozy. "Well - it was educational, but I would prefer the day have ended differently. As things stand, we would ask that the honored members of Parliament vote and make laws that can be comfortably scented in a future that includes our cousins and friends who adapt to our world and our ways. It's regrettable that we fight now, but if it means a peaceful future I will fight."

"What would you say to the Greatlords who are calling for your arrest?"

Gryzzk replied rather dryly. "I thank them for their restraint and civility. It is a change of pace from the multitude of calls for my death."

"Last question - what will you do now?"

The initial response was an exhalation that spoke of a deep-seated patience for the inane. "I will go with my family to our home. From there we will pray for safety and wisdom to take hold of all who require it - even myself."

There was a soft laugh. "There you have it - we'll go back to the studio for more analysis later." The recording light went off and Lodora's professional smile dissipated like a morning fog. "Freelord, may I speak candidly for a moment?"

There was a bit of a blink. "Well, I suppose you should."

"You've made a lot of enemies in the past few days. You'll win now, but you need to take your own advice and start thinking about the future. What happens when Hurdop tries to make their own laws to tax your clan? There will be wars you can't win by simply showing up with warships and guns." There was a glance around. "My cousin is very seriously considering joining as a communications specialist. I should very much like to not have him on a ship that does not have a death-mark."

Gryzzk leaned heavily on the Javelin for the moment, as the biology of conflict gave way to the aftermath of pain. "You've given me...something to consider. Thank you Lodora. Please, excuse me but I need to find a seat on a shuttle."

As soon as the hatch closed, Gryzzk pulled up his robes to finally examine his leg with a soft groan. O'Brien took one look and unbuckled herself from her seat, grabbing a medical kit as she moved to him.

"Major, you daft bastard. You need to call out if you're hurt - especially a nasty thing like that. Doc'll never forgive me if you bleed out trying to be a hero, on top of your wives never inviting me over for lunch." The sergeant major was cross as she took a knife to Gryzzk's uniform and sprayed coagulant and antiseptic on his wounds, whistling softly as she looked. "Sir. If anyone asks, we patched this up a bit ago. Any different and they'll give us all a fierce amount of stick."

The ride up was blissfully smooth and quiet, and the moment Gryzzk stepped back onto the ship he had Grezzk waiting with Nurse Ogawa. His wife all but leaped into his arms and smothered him with vigorous nuzzles.

"My handsome hand, never again. Now come to the medbay, there is something for you to see while your leg is attended to."

"It was just a flesh wound, my rose."

Grezzk gave him a look and a harrumph. "We saw it happen. Your daughters saw it. That was no flesh wound. Now hurry, Kiole would like to show you something while your leg is attended to."

They made it to the medbay which was thankfully clearing out - Gryzzk yielded the Javelin to Ogawa, who subsequently handed it to persons unknown for replacement in the dayroom. A curtain was drawn back, revealing two beds pressed together. One was empty, but the other was quite full, as Kiole was trying and failing to pout while a soft blanket surrounded an infant. She looked up at him and smiled softly as Gryzzk's head went light and foggy for a moment.

"Come and greet Fizeht. Our daughter's first sight of you was to see you fighting a Vilantian Greatlord and letting him live in infamy. A good omen for our child."

All was forgotten as Gryzzk beheld his daughter, moving and leaning in almost immediately to nuzzle them both gently. "I'm sorry I could not be there. I wasn't...we could have delayed."

There was a headshake in return. "Never. It is life and not everything happens according to plan."

Gryzzk tried to form words as he settled on the medbed to hold his daughter, his tongue suddenly heavy with regret. "Perhaps...if the gods favor us, I can be present for the next time."

Kiole flicked an ear at him. "Remember that sex we were planning on having, ever again?"

As Grezzk groaned softly, Nurse Ogawa looked up from her work cleaning and putting a proper bandage on Gryzzk's leg. "Not to intrude Corporal, but your husband lost a good bit of blood on top of getting his head dinged a couple times. He may be saying things that sound smart to him, but are really kinda dumb." She looked at Gryzzk sternly. "When was this patched?"

"Earlier today. You may have to ask the sergeant major for specifics." Gryzzk moved slightly. "Could I perhaps trouble someone for some water?"

There was a heavy scent of doubt in the air from the nurse. "Mmm-hm." Gryzzk felt a slight prick in his arm, and looked up to see several bottles hanging above him. "Give it a few minutes - mostly saline, but there's also some painkillers in there."

Grezzk looked at the nurse. "How long before..."

"He'll be out in about five minutes." Ogawa gave a light smile and left.

Grezzk nodded, leaning into both of her spouses in turn, her voice tight as she nuzzled them. "Both of you. How did it come to pass that the gods gave my heart to two of the most stubborn...pig-headed individuals in the entire galaxy." She leaned back, looking at both of them. "Light gods throw brains at my husband and wife, and if there are none to spare throw rocks until they notice their errors."

There was no response; Grezzk looked for a long moment before she realized that both her spouses were breathing slowly and regularly, their heads touching and a daughter comfortably between them.