Maybe I should hire a male bimbo—a himbo—or some kind of male escort for the wedding, she thought. But where did she even begin to find somebody like that? She was a high school science teacher—she didn’t know anything about hiring a male prostitute!
“And that’s it for the Light Side of the ship. Are you ready to go see the Dark Side?” Iyanna’s bright, bubbly voice cut through her thoughts and Terra realized she’d barely seen any of what her guide had been showing her, which was unforgivably rude. She had vague memories of long corridors lined with climbing vines and glowing flowers and the soft blue carpet moss everywhere, but nothing else had stuck in her head. What a waste of a once in a lifetime experience!
I’ll do better on the other half of the ship, she promised herself. I won’t think a single time about Gregoryory and the wedding—I swear I won’t.
And, pasting a smile on her face, she nodded eagerly.
“Yes, I can’t wait to see the Dark Side!”
“Okay, it can be a little scary though—don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Iyanna winked at her. “Come on—let’s go!”
TWO
Tem’blx tended the arch of softly glowing Mating Blooms carefully, making certain the vines of the Queen Callers with their clusters of tiny, silvery bells were hanging freely—the better to sound the alarm when the time came. His pale blue skin was a lighter shade of the deep blue vines the bells hung from—or so he often thought as he tended the blooms and bells, which was his daily ritual.
Both plants were native to his home world of Colony Five and they had been brought aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship when a contingent of his ancestors had decided to make a genetic trade with the Monstrum Kindred.
Tem and his fellow Colony warriors were a result of that trade and now that their own universe had been overrun by Darklings, they were all that remained of their people—the Colony Monstrum.
“Don’t know why you bother with that shit,” V’rone muttered, as he pushed his way out of the dwelling they shared. “You think our Queen is suddenly going to walk under your little homemade Heart-finder arch and sound the alarm that she’s finally here?”
“She might,” Tem said quietly. “At any rate, I’m not giving up hope.”
“Right.” V’rone snorted in disgust and ran a hand over his horns—which sprouted from either side of his forehead just at the hairline.
As the Brawn of their small colony, V’rone had black hair tipped with red that matched his deep red skin. The skin itself was shaded with thick slashes of black almost like daggers running up and down his muscular arms. His markings showed he was the leader and protector of their group while Tem’s own arm markings—which were still black but more rounded—showed he was the carer or nurturer—also called the Soul of the colony.
“V’rone is correct, you know. The odds of our colony finding a Queen in this universe who can match with all three of us is approximately five in five million. Those odds are not optimal,” Rive said, also emerging from their domicile.
The third and final member of their small colony had deep green skin with angular black arm markings which identified him as the Brain or Intellect of their group. He had black hair tipped with silver and green and he wore oculars to correct his vision. The oculars, however, had not been prescribed by any doctor—they were a natural extension that grew from his temples and met at the bridge of his nose. They served a useful purpose, for Brains were often short sighted from too much time spent in study.
The black rimmed oculars were part of Rive, much like the short, sharp horns on V’rone’s forehead and the long, feathery antennae which grew from Tem’s own temples. In fact, all three were made of the same kind of organic material, which was crafted into different patterns to suit the needs of each colony member.
Speaking of his antennae, they were twitching now, Tem noticed. Most of the time they lay flat, blending in with his hair, which was black tipped with silver and blue, but they alerted him when something unusual was happening. The question was, what—if anything—was unusual?
Tem looked around him, frowning. The Dark Side of the Monstrum Mother Ship was lighter than it used to be. In fact, ever since the Glow Blooms had undergone a mating flight, it was more like a night garden than the endless black pit it had been in the past.
Tem had welcomed the change. Their home world of Colony Five had circled a Red Giant sun, which gave little light or warmth, but it had still been brighter than the Dark Side of the ship until now. The added illumination was a welcome addition.