The Twilight Galaxy Motel
by Arthur
Chapter 5
When the two soon to be fathers arrived back on Prime, they were met once again by a troop of Imperial guards as well as a huge crowd of well wishers who had come to see the saviour of their race, Thomas and Manam's sons were now a house hold name, the desire for the planet to see them safe and secure had gone all the way to the top of their priorities, everything they could do as a planet was put into action for the safety of the two fathers and the newly formed Ova.
As they drove towards their Estate, Thomas looked again at their escort, in front and behind them were a heavily armed and armoured land cruiser filled with twenty guards in each one, their Estate which had been given to them was no longer a place of peace for the boys, as they were so far out of the city they now had to be guarded by order of the Elders Council, there could be opportunity for their lifelong enemy to kidnap the boys or their quickly developing sons; from this point on, and until the boys were fully born from the Med Wombs, all of them would be under constant guard.
It was late in the evening of the fourth day back from their travels that Manam tugged on Thomas's arm as he slept, with a soft groan at being woken long before the sun would rise, Thomas gave Manam a bleary but loving look as he cracked open his eyes.
"What is it Love?"
"It's time, we have to go to the Fertility Dome in the city, hurry, we only have a couple of hours before the Ova come."
Thomas tried to shake the sleep from his head at hearing the news, as quickly as his sleepy body would allow, Thomas called for the familiar guards to make ready as he gathered a few things to take with them, he had no true idea what would be needed so took only a change of clothes and some sanitary gear, within five minutes they were speeding towards the city with the two heavy Land Cruisers close behind and trying to keep up.
Thomas saw his hands were shaking on the steering column as he sped along, he didn't know if it was from fear as he pushed the small two seater to its maximum speed or the closeness of the arrival of the Ova, all he could think of was his idea of seeing babies being born on TV back on Terra.
Twice Thomas was told by Manam that there was no need to go so fast as there was plenty of time before the Ova could be removed but Thomas still had the picture of TV births on his mind and refused to slow down, the last thing he wanted was to have to deliver any form of egg or baby in the small car.
Finally they arrived at the Dome, once inside and watching Manam remove his loose smock, Thomas could easily see that his boy's bump had enlarged considerably, there was also now a well defined slit in the smooth skin, Thomas could hardly keep his eyes off the sight, it was only the arrival of an Elder that caused him to look away, his mind trying to settle on the fact his future sons were inside that large bump.
Manam was laid on a trolley and wheeled into a sterile room, Thomas was allowed to put on a gown so he could watch, he only hoped there would not be any blood or other goo that might turn his stomach, even on Earth he was well known for his less that sturdy stomach at the sight of blood.
Thomas soon became fascinated at what the elder and his two assistants were doing, they slowly massaged the large lump on Manam's smooth belly, the slit opened slowly until Thomas saw one of the Ova start to emerge, it was larger than he expected and was more of a round shape much like a large ball than the expected oval shape of an egg.
As soon as the Ova was out of the slit, it was wiped with a damp cloth and placed on what Thomas assumed was some sort of incubator, the process was repeated for each of the other three Ova until there were four of them in their individual incubators, these were then attached to some thick tubes in the wall and Manam was cleaned.
Thomas watched as the now thin slit slowly closed, Manam was sweating slightly but had not shown any pain during the extraction only a little discomfort, Thomas, while happy to see the four Ova was more happy that Manam was now back to his normal self.
The two boys were told that Manam now had to rest for an hour before they could return to their home Estate, the four Ova would stay in the room and be watched over by the staff, the two boys could visit any time they wanted to and would be told when their sons would be ready to leave the Dome in four months time, all they had to do for the next two months was select the learning programs they wanted the boys to start off with.
Thomas and Manam went over to have one more look at the four Ova, Thomas was sure he could see the miniature shape inside moving but did not want to mention anything to Manam or those in the room with him in case he was just imagining it all although down deep inside he felt rather proud of the fact he had four sons on the way, he was sure his now long dead family would have been very surprised at the fact.
After their return to the Estate, Thomas settled down with Manam to learn as much as he could about running the place, he also asked about enlarging the property and with Manam's help, applied for their first new land, for the price of only 8,000 credits, they bought another six square kilometres, they now had enough land to more than triple their herd.
Every three days they went to look at their fast developing Ova, after two weeks Thomas was surprised to see that the outer shell of the Ova had broken and there were now four miniature baby boys laying in the incubators, from then on the small figures grew rapidly until, at the age of two months, they were crawling around their new enlarged incubators, the Elder told them it would only be another week before they could be taken from their incubators and allowed free rein in a nursery room.
When the time came to take all four boys home, Thomas and Manam had arms full of small boys that looked as big as four year olds, they were also now well schooled and full of energy, had it not been for the Edu-programs, the boys would have been a handful, as it was they were well behaved as they had been taught by the program, they were also very happy that they could now go home with their fathers.
Thomas and Manam had worked hard to design the two new bedrooms for the boys, as it turned out, two of the boys looked very much like Thomas and the other two looked very much like Manam although the boys paired up as one of each when it came time to leave the Dome.
As they were now old enough and big enough to leave, it was now time to name them as this was the way it was done on Khaladasian, the naming had been the centre of many discussions by both parents as they both wanted to use names from both Earth and Khaladasian, they finally settled on giving the boys two names each, one from Thomas's family and one from Manam's.
The four boys seemed to be enthralled by the two cruisers that escorted them home, the guards had now been increased to double the number now the boys were coming home, the Elders had decided that there would be no chances taken on the safety of the first born sons.
Once back at the Estate, the two new parents sat and laughed as they watched their sons run around looking at everything, opening cupboards and doors, the loud sound of childish voices ringing through their home brought many smiles to their faces, Thomas had no idea how much energy the boys had, everything was done at a full run, their laughter and squeals filled the house and made Thomas and Manam smile widely as they sat and just let the boys run around and investigate their new home.
It was an hour before the boys became tired and each pair went to find a comfortable place on their father's knees, within minutes of getting comfortable, the four boys had closed their eyes and were fast asleep, the excitement of coming home at last had caught up with them.
While the little ones slept, Manam started talking to Thomas about all the requests for his sperm, the well advertised multi births had made the requests more than double in number, while other boys from Earth had found partners and many had twins, they were the first ones to have quads.
Thomas had got a call from Noah to ask him to come to his joining, he had found a young Khaladasian that he said just loved Noah's extra large bits, they were to be joined in five days time, he had also got an invitation to Marco's joining in two weeks, it looked as though all the boys would soon have found their partners.
Manam called the computer to pull up all the requests for Thomas, by the large number Thomas saw he was going to be a busy lad for some time to come although Manam had said he only had to select those he thought worthy, Thomas had thought deeply about it and decided to accept all of them, he could see no reason to withhold any of his excess emissions just because some had more credits or a better position than another.
Much to his delight, Thomas found he already had a lot of sperm saved in the Fertility Bank thanks to Manam's careful collections, as yet there was not enough to fulfil all of the requests but many would be able to receive his gift.
Manam began the process of informing all the applicants that their requests had been accepted, the computer began to send out the notices while Thomas sat back looking rather flushed as each one was sent, as he sat and watched Manam do all the work, he heard a loud knocking on the door, leaving Manam to get on with it, Thomas went to answer the knock.
On opening the door Thomas saw one of the guards standing with a clip board, as he looked up at Thomas he said.
"Most Revered Loved One, there are a number of transports at the main gate, they are asking for entry."
"Uhm, what are they, we haven't purchased anything lately?"
"Most of them carry stock for your estate, they are listed as gifts for your donations of DNA, there is also a request from the armed forces officers to join the training barracks, they looked at your improved knife and want to see more of the way you fight."
"Ok, thank you, please tell the officers that as soon as our sons have settled in I will come and begin lessons, how many transports are there?"
"There is a small one for the house and twenty seven for your stock."
"The stock transports can take the Banafil out to the pastures, they will see where the others are, the one for the house I am not sure of, what does it contain?"
"It says here they are small pets for your sons, they are a gift from the Fertility Dome Elders, it is in recognition of the first multiple births on Khaladasian for centuries, it says here they are well trained and should bond with the boys quickly."
"Ok, thank you, you can bring them up to the house, what are they called, Manam has never mentioned that Khaladasians liked pets?"
"They are called Minims, they are a four legged creature, they grow to a size large enough for the boys to ride, they also become very protective of their owners and have a very nasty bite if you are a stranger or someone that would try to hurt their friends, with the boys having a Minim they would be very well protected as you will see when they get here."
Thomas just nodded and tried to work out what the hell the creatures were or looked like, as the guard left he returned inside to where Manam was finishing up the long list, the four boys were once again awake and searching for something to eat, it would become a common occurrence in the house, Thomas was to learn that while the boys were so young they would eat almost continuously until they reached the equivalent age of eight years old, which in Terran terms was in another three months, they would then slow down and start to age like any other Khaladasian.
Thomas had noticed that the two boys that looked like him were also much like Terrans in that they showed they had small nipples on their chests while the two that looked like Manam had no nipples but two small bumps, one under each arm, Manam had told him that was where their second set of arms would grow whereas the other two did not seem to have them, they also were missing the normal navel that Thomas was used to seeing.
Thomas told Manam about the gift for the boys, Manam looked up with a startled look on his face.
"Minims, they are being given Minims, oh hell, we are in for a rough time my loved one, we will have to teach the Minims to accept us so we can get near the boys, the best way is to make sure we are the only ones to feed them, that way they will accept us around the boys."
"Are they dangerous?"
"They can be unless you are the one they bond with, in our case we will have to make sure they know we are the parents and the ones that feed them."
"But what about the boys, we can't have a dangerous animal around them, they may get hurt."
"I hardly think so, when they get here let the boys go and select the one they want, we will have to get some Banafil meat and feed them straight away so they know where their meals come from."
Just as Manam finished talking, they both heard a transporter pull up to the house, calling the four boys to them they went out to see the new arrivals, what Thomas saw in the metal cage was not what he was expecting, as Manam tried to settle the boys down after they had seen the small creatures, Thomas took a good look at them.
The Minim looked like a medium sized dog but that was where the similarity ended, on each foot were three very sharp looking claws, their tail was long and curled and completely hairless much like an opossum on Earth, their head looked quite small for their size but, as one yawned he saw an upper and lower set of long sharp fangs, their eyes were of the brightest green he had ever seen and their body was completely covered in long soft looking fur.
As the boys jumped up and down and wanting to go and pat the Minims, Manam tried to tell them to sit down and wait until their two fathers had fed the pets, to this end he carried with him large cuts of fresh Banafil meat, giving half the meat to Thomas he coached him in how to approach the creatures while their four sons bounced in anticipation on the veranda behind them.
Thomas, along with Manam, neared the cage, the four small creatures watched them intently as they got closer, another similarity to a dog was again removed as the small creatures raised their hackles at the approach of strangers, Thomas now saw the other thing that made them different, from the long soft fur on their necks protruded four long sharp spines, Manam told him they were loaded with a special poison.
Thomas was now more than ever not sure if their sons should be anywhere near these animals, one mistake and boys could be killed instantly, Manam came to his rescue and told him that even under the most trying conditions, the Minim would never attack the boys once they bonded but Thomas still had his doubts that anything that looked as lethal as these things were, was not a good idea around their boys.
Slowly Manam coached Thomas how to offer the food, like all young creatures, they were permanently hungry, within a few minutes the first one came close and quickly snapped the meat out of Thomas's hand, barely missing his fingers, it ran to the back of the cage and began to chew happily on the fresh meat, the others seeing it was ok came forward and quickly snapped up the meat.
Once they were properly fed, Manam had the four boys sit quietly on the ground near the small transporter, it was up to the Minim to select his owner, once they were selected the animal would then bond with the boy by rubbing its scent on the boys hand, Manam told the four boys to stay still and not move until the Minim had finished with the scent bonding.
The four boys sat with the usual impatience of the young, moving slowly, Thomas and Manam stepped to the rear of the cage and opened the door, Thomas was almost a nervous wreck as he watched the first Minim leave the cage and wander slowly over to where the boys waited, it went to all four boys and sniffed each one, finally it selected one of the boys and happily curled up in the boys lap while rubbing its head up and down the boys arms, there was no sign of spikes or fangs as the creature settled into the boys happy arms, the other three followed close behind and selected which boy they wanted in the same manner.
The four Minim were almost as big as the boys and yet they seemed very gentle with them, there was no display of claws, fangs or spikes, they looked just like a very large bundle of fur, each boy was busy rubbing the small round ears and scratching between front legs, the Minim seemed quite happy to sit and lap up all the attention, while Thomas still had some reservations, the boys seemed very happy with their pets.
In the evenings, Thomas saw that the boys were a lot happier to settle down with their pets and the usual displays of displeasure in having to go to bed were soon a thing of the past, the Minim turned out to be very docile when around the boys but, should one of the guards venture too close then there was a loud hissing growl and a showing of all of the pets formidable armoury, it took more than week before Thomas was fully satisfied with the pets and their ability to protect the boys.
Over the next few months, Thomas and Manam were invited to many joinings, all their time seemed to be filled with either new joinings or sperm donations along with the running of the Estate, Thomas also now had three days a week training troops to handle the new form of fighting with the long Katana that was now a very big industry.
All of his training sessions were conducted with imitation wooden Katana, with the Khaladasians extra arms it became a very formidable close quarter weapon, from the first early days, Thomas also spent time teaching the boys Martial Arts for self defence, it became part of their education along with the Edu-Programs during their sleep.
As the blossoming population grew larger, there came many murmurings from out of the system, the planets that had not been included in the rescue were starting to make noises of war if they did not have some of the Terrans on their own planets, the answer of course was NO, there would in no way be any trading of the Terrans just for diplomatic purposes and definitely not under the threat of war by the Bunalkar, the first stirrings of war reared their ugly head.
The four sons grew fast and were soon of a size where they were considered younglings, this accorded them certain rights but also imposed a great deal of responsibility, with the gifting of over fifty Banafil for his services, Thomas and Manam now had an ever growing herd, along with their other produce they were quickly becoming self sufficient.
Although Thomas thought he would have little to do with all the automated systems he found that in truth his days were filled to capacity, along with the responsibility of the Estate he also had his training sessions with the military, then there were the four boys, as young and exuberant as they were, it took a great deal to keep up with them.
Unlike on Earth, the four boys had freedoms never thought of, they had their own hovers so they could go out and meet friends or use them to visit their ever growing family of new brothers, the Khaladasians found that the Terran boys all had very high sperm counts and therefore the number of multiple births grew rapidly which also meant the boys themselves had growing families.
For Thomas and Manam, within one year they were housing a family of ten boys, in the evenings, as they sat alone on the darkening veranda, Thomas would mention to Manam the size of their family and then their young age, he had never thought he would be a family man at seventeen and definitely not with ten sons.
Manam had laughed and told him his family was as yet small but he would have many more sons to watch over him in his old age in about a thousand years, Thomas's eyes widened, he had not even thought of the time frame, he was still getting used to all the newness around him, even now, after one full year, he was still in awe of their situation.
As the rhetoric about the war continued to rise, Thomas became nervous about their safety, Manam tried to put his mind at rest as he told Thomas that it would normally take a number of years of arguing before any form of conflict came close to taking place, on this issue Manam proved incorrect, the enticement of the Terrans boys and their valuable sperm brought the threat to a head faster than first thought.
It began with a raid on one of the outer planets without warning, however, when the fighting got to be at close quarters, the Khaladasians had a distinct advantage with their new training skills and the attackers were decimated, this brought a lull in the action and allowed the Khaladasians to use a large part of the military to push well into the Bunalkar territory, within seven months and with a lot of hard fighting, the Khaladasians agreed to a truce between the two warring factions.
With the loss of five planets, the Bunalkar had little option but to cede the planets to the Khaladasian forces and withdraw, their ambitions of having Terrans boys for their own use cost them not only large numbers of troops but also a lot of territory that they had to withdraw from, the Khaladasians now had new well formed planets to move the ever growing population to.
It was almost one year to the day when the last of Thomas's friends, little Marco and Stilta were allowed to be joined, somehow Stilta had got Marco to settle down a little so he was not his normal flighty self, while they would not be allowed to have sons yet as Stilta was still considered to be too young, they were allowed to hold the ceremony to make them feel like a couple along with all the other Terrans boys, all of whom had found partners and were enjoying the life they had been given.
Thomas found it hard to think back to his time on Earth, around him was an ever growing family, he had a totally devoted partner and an Estate that would give his family a good start in life, there were odd occasions when he would think back to what he might have had on Earth but, it would only take one glace around at his laughing and playing sons to make him realise he had everything here that he would ever have wanted, for now, he was content, he had his challenges and his new family, what more could he have wanted.
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