Nyx got up early. She made sure she was quiet as she slowly put support on her forelegs, muscles trembling as the Blackwing tried to be as stealthy as possible.
Her tail was stuck. Fawkes’ tail was over it. She carefully untangled her dextrous tail from his, and took a few cautious steps over to the side of the bed, staring down at the floor below. This would have to be a perfect step, if she stumbled, Fawkes could wake. Fawkes wasn’t allowed to wake. She needed privacy.
She skulked down to the floor and was now by the door, shifting her red-eyed gaze on Fawkes for a moment as she waited for the door to silently slide open. Flames knew that if Fawkes awoke because of him, Nyx would be gnawing at his arteries until he died of internal bleeding.
Clear of the room, she finally started breathing, taking a few pleasurable gulps of oxygen and letting her Blackwing, space-augmented Vorchan body regenerate its oxygen reserves.
Okay, she thought, looking around. As her eyes made contact with a maintenance port, Flames opened it, letting her slide in. It was getting harder and harder to fit through these maintenance ports, but this would hopefully be the last time she had to go down like this.
“Okay.” she said aloud this time, hopping out of the maintenance port, stumbling as instinct forced her to get to her nest as quickly as possible. She could feel the urge now, stronger with proximity. She stood over her nest, a nest that had taken ages to build. She needed specific leaves and twigs, from specific places, but she never knew which particular leaves and twigs she needed until she saw them, so a good portion of her time here was spent with Flames going through an encyclopaedia of flora until she found something that suited her. Flames had been a very helpful starship.
“Are you okay?” Flames chirped. Watching her standing over the nest, staring forward past the bulkheads, seemingly strained.
“Do I look okay?” Nyx growled. She had never laid an egg before. Her clutch had always been taken… stolen… from her surgically. She had never even been awake to see an egg for the first time. To hold an egg for the first time. Of all her offspring, only one had hatched before her eyes, others had grown without her.
But this one would be different, she knew it. This one was special. Fawkes’ first child. It took him long enough.
She pushed, until she felt agonizing pain, then she roared and stopped pushing, panting heavily, gazing under her at the empty nest. There were tears in her eyes from the exertion, but she was too afraid to lay the egg.
“Are you sure you don’t want Fawkes here?” Flames asked.
“I want to show him the egg!” she roared, “He doesn’t need to see this part!”
“Are you sure? You’ve been keeping this secret from him for quite some time.”
“Yes. I’m sure.” Nyx hissed, comfortable in this level of pain for the time being. She knew she would have to push again soon, she could feel the need arise, but she was afraid to, she dreaded the moment more than anything, more than Martock. She started to cry. “I’m a useless Vorchan. I can’t even lay my own egg!”
“What makes you think it’s one?” Flames asked.
“I told you not to scan me!” Nyx roared.
“I didn’t! I’m just—Vorchans generally lay more than one.”
“I don’t know…” Nyx was lying beside her nest, fixing it again.
“Well how many does it feel like?” Flames asked excitedly.
“A million.” Nyx hissed.
–
–
Fawkes left his chambers quickly, not looking up at the bulkheads or the ceiling. This had been the fifth time Nyx had left him in the night.
He had to get food. A shipment had been ordered from Liola III and they would be entering its orbit within the minute. Flames’ shuttle could take him the rest of the way down.
But it didn’t feel right. It was obvious Nyx had lost interest in him. The thought was disruptive. It made him stop by the shuttle bay, leant him against the bulkheads. It weighed him down as he tried to move, distracted him as he tried to think of other things. Not even the thought of lobster seemed to be helping.
Flames… what’s wrong with—
She’s pregnant and trying to lay an egg but can’t and won’t let me scan her and I think she’s dying you should really help here are her co-ordinates. Flames spat.
Wait wh—
Darn… Don’t tell her I told you…
Fawkes reviewed the co-ordinates. She’s there? That’s by your primary reactor.
She needed a warm place.
Environmental controls can –
Then you would have noticed.
I’m not supposed to know about this, am I? Fawkes asked.
Nope.
Why?
I don’t know. She’s Nyx!
Fawkes unfurled his wings, shooting up towards one of the maintenance hatches.
Remember! Flames reminded him. I didn’t tell you where she was!
Right. This must be some sort of trick. Nyx couldn’t be pregnant – a frustrated roar echoed through the maintenance shafts – maybe a little pregnant… Is she really pregnant? How big is the clutch?
I don’t know. I didn’t want to risk scanning her.
Good call.
Fawkes took a deep breath as he neared the dropdown point. It was definitely warm here, very warm. He was sweating. Or was that just anxiety? Or a mix of both – another roar, followed by silence.
He took this opportunity to leap out of the maintenance hatch. It smelt like flora in here, there were twigs all over the chamber, some caught in the small vortex of the spinning power core in the centre of the room. It gave the entire section the smell and feel of an autumnal breeze.
Nyx was lying there, coiled up by some twigs, body heaving as she sobbed quietly. Her tail was whipping back and forth. She hadn’t even bothered fully furling her wings. They lay tattered and partially spread, covered in bits of twig and rippling with every breath.
He didn’t know that to say, or do. He felt so… he didn’t know what he felt like. But he had this overpowering instinct to pull over by her side. But survival instinct was telling him to stay clear of that tail.
Red eyes, they suddenly locked with his. He was about to say something, but she looked away, defeated. Flashes of that night on The Kahless shot through his mind, when he had asked ‘why’. When Gaius and Throbb had told him about her secret: The lab, her eggs, how she’d cried.
And here she was, crying again.
“Don’t cry.” Fawkes said, trotting over to her side. Her tail slowed, curving around his back as it came to rest.
“I’m so useless.” she muttered.
“You’re not useless.” Fawkes cooed automatically. He had to squeeze under her left wing to get beside her. She didn’t even seem to notice. Fawkes watched her, hoping she would make eye contact, but she was staring straight ahead, past a bulkhead.
“I can’t even… lay… this… egg…” her breathing was becoming more rapid, and strain overtook her body, her wing went rigid, pinning Fawkes as she took a pose and pushed for a few seconds, only to collapse again, this time against Fawkes. Their wings were folded into each other, a tangled mess, and her body had pushed Fawkes on his side, and pinned his feet.
“I’m right here. I’ll always be here.” Fawkes said, nuzzling her neck. “You probably have a clutch. You must have been storing up all of my… you know… from your anxiety. Vorchans can do that!”
“Oh?” Nyx asked weakly, “Really?” She rolled onto him. “Because that’s what I would want – right? To lay several eggs at the same time.”
“Well… I just thought… since you would be—“
She roared again, claws extending from her pain. They dug into Fawkes’ forelegs. “Graaaaaaaaahhhhhhh” she collapsed again, knocking the wind out of Fawkes as she fell atop him with her full weight.
This sort of reminded him of that thing he hadn’t experienced for the better part of a month. But then with significantly less pleasure and significantly more pain.
“Don’t… arrrr… pffff… grrrr…”
Fawkes watched Nyx’s expressions change rapidly from rage to pain to resignation back to rage, then to desperation. “I can’t do it!” she cried, pawing at him in frustration with her extended claws.
Lie her on her back! Flames chimed in.
WHAT? Fawkes asked. Getting Nyx on her back was probably one of the most difficult challenges he had ever faced. Up there with defeating the New Coalition and vanquishing Martock.
She needs to relax. She can’t relax when she’s upright! It says so right here! Flames had found a book on Vorchan egglaying from GalNet.
Fawkes took a deep breath, and pressed on Nyx with her paws. She wouldn’t budge. She didn’t even seem to notice his efforts. That’s not working.
Flames pumped extra adrenaline into Fawkes’ arms, and excited the muscles with electrostatic impulses, forcing the cells to fire at a significantly faster rate. The end result was a powerful push that sent Nyx falling onto her back.
Now bite her neck! Flames said.
You sure you aren’t just making this—
Nyx suddenly bit Fawkes neck, making him collapse on top of her as he tried to display his submission. He whimpered plaintively as the incisors dug deeper and deeper into the scales on his neck.
She let go to take a deep breath, straining again.
“That was… that worked!” Nyx was delirious, she roared at Fawkes, “Your neck!”
Fawkes pulled off her, but Nyx lunged after him, jaws around his neck. She moaned as she bit, entire body straining. Fawkes moaned too, from the pain of having her teeth digging into his neck. They both roared for what seemed like an eternity, and then collapsed, bodies heaving and slick with blood and sweat.
“You have no idea… how much that hurt.” Nyx said, breathing more calmly now.
Fawkes felt the gaping wound on his neck and was about to say the same thing, when he noticed the black egg on its side beside Nyx. He instinctively nuzzled it upright, watching it glint red as the dim lights of the chamber reflected off of it.
He had never felt this satisfied his entire life. He surmised he probably never would. This was definitely his egg. He knew it with every fibre of his being. His own egg. His genetic offspring. Not the result of a concubine or a lab… but his. All of his efforts at getting Nyx on her back… and on her stomach… and on her side… and … well then there was the tail, the tail which he instinctively had to dodge and move and manoeuvre around. A tail which was sneaking in on his periphery. He tried to dodge only to be smothered by Nyx’s wing, her tail coupling with his. She was so beautiful. They stared at the egg for a while, not saying anything. Then Nyx carefully nudged it over to the nest she had made, and curled up on top of it