Page 12 of The First Alpha on the Planet
“What is schmeat?” Fel wrinkled his nose. “Is this another euphemism?”
“Yes,” Doc and I said simultaneously.
“I understand themeatsubtext, but where does the sch- come from?” Fel rubbed at his chin, brow furrowed.
“His ass,” I said, earning a swat from Doc.
“It’s a Mater Terra-ism where they add the prefix to some words for added social effect and it has no other derived meaning other than social context and verbal memetics.” Doc wilted a little as he rubbed his temples before stomping off. “Where the fuck is Noel? This is his territory.”
I didn’t know, but Fel beamed. “He came by this morning and got scanned. He’s gravid, and so soon after the first. Practically unheard of without chemical intervention, but stranger things have happened.”
“Ahh, damn. I’ll go by and check on him. How upset is he?” Doc straightened up his jacket and readied himself to head out.
Fel shrugged. “Vil seemed pleased. And you are friends with Vil, so you will be very busy come nesting time.”
It took me a moment to realize his meaning, but when I did, it jarred me. “Oh, right. Uncle Wallace can be counted on, I suppose.” I took a seat, careful of my tail, as I continued to study my body.
A chirp went off around the room, the tone eerie and jarring. Fel reacted with wide eyes and glanced toward us nervously. “That is the approaching vessel warning.”
We all paused as I hesitated. Doc and I could gather our crew and get off-world pretty damn fast. Doc made a polite call off tothe side to check on Noah. Noel answered the call, and they had a quick conversation that made his face go stern.
“I think Roan’s found us.” Doc stared at the floor, face twisted. “Fuck.”
“We do not have to drop our cloaking if he’s bad news.” Fel stared him down.
Doc groaned, and I shrugged. “They have a longstanding feud with Vil.”
“He’s a pain in my ass.” Doc rubbed at his face. “If he’s on his way, he’s got a crew full of roided-up hybreeds.”
Fel glanced over with interest. “What isroided?”
“Channeling Noel here!” Doc took a deep breath. “An elder Mater Terra-ism from back in the day, where athletes, in order to enhance their performance, used synthetic hormones to increase muscle mass to make them more like their dominant sex.”
“Dominant sex… So everyone wanted to appear as an alpha?” Fel tilted their head.
“In Noel’s younger years… That term referred to a toxic subculture of patriarchal…” Doc waved his hand a bit.
“They idolized sires to the point that it became custom to disrespect their bearers and eventually, the disdain grew both ways. Birth rates fell—and that’s about the time that the Progenitors arrived.” I shrugged it off. I’d never even set foot on Mater Terra, but the airspace was still open when I was young.
“And then half the population up and died sixteen or seventeen Mater Terra solar rotations after that.” Doc huffed. “Trying to play gods with Noel’s body.”
Fel’s face went hard as Doc mentioned it. “A lifeseed is never meant to be conscious because of what they do to them. The whole barbaric practice is unethical.”
I nodded in agreement. “And they didn’t even try to make it bearable, as long as they got their money, their status, and what they wanted in the end.”
Fel shook his head. “I cannot imagine what would happen… Nevermind. We wouldn’t permit them to leave.”
“Excuse me, what? Who to leave?” Doc whipped around, eyes wide.
“If Noel bears an omega child, they will also be a lifeseed. It is how they are born. Eggs retrieved from a lifeseed are fertilized. The result, if omega, is a lifeseed. If he bears a lifeseed, we will not permit that child to leave. We know what many would do to him.”
“Lucky for you, Noel doesn’t seem to want to leave.” Doc huffed and approached me with a strange device that they used to draw my blood. I tilted my head and winced as they pulled a small sample from my neck.
“That is for the best.” Fel nodded once. “The universe is vast and our enemies line the world.”
“When you sayour?” I glanced over and his tail went limp.
“Naleucians… And Colthraxians. As a parasitic union, I understand what I am. I have never known another body. I infected an egg before I truly had consciousness, and once I knew what I was, truly, I knew to make more of myself was wrong, because in my mind, IamNaleucian. We werenevermeant to infect infants. And that is how the resolution came to be. But the damage had been done.” Fel’s tail stayed limp.
