“You want babies?” Dra’vik was looking at her intently for some reason.
Iyanna sniffed and swiped at her eyes again. Just thinking of what the scanner might have done to her was upsetting.
“I mean, not for a long time but someday, you know?”
“Did they say if it emitted any kind of radiation?” Dra’vik asked.
Iyanna shook her head and frowned, trying to think.
“No, they said…something about some kind of super magnet.”
“A super conducting magnet?” Dra’vik asked, raising his eyebrows.
She nodded.
“Yes—that. And I asked them to shield me but they wouldn’t—they said there’s no shielding someone from the magnetic field. Which I guess is true, now that I think about it.” She sniffed. “I was just so upset at the time. And then after they scanned me and my modestly patches fell off…”
She nodded down ruefully to the open triangular patches that framed her bare breasts and crotch.
“Hmm…” Dra’vik looked thoughtful. “I think I know why your patches fell off. And I don’t think you have to worry about your future fertility.”
“No? Why?” Iyanna asked eagerly.
“Okay, your patches were held on by really strong magnets, right?” Dra’vik asked her.
Iyanna nodded.
“Industrial strength ones—that’s what Kat told me when she made my outfits for me.”
“Right. But even an industrial strength magnet is no match for a superconducting one,” Dra’vik told her. “You put the smaller magnet in the larger, more powerful magnet’s field and the smaller magnet becomes demagnetized. In other words, the big magnet’s always going to win.”
“So that’s why my patches fell off,” Iyanna exclaimed. “You know…the guards didn’t start getting really horrible until they did,” she added in a low voice. “That’s when they suddenly decided I was a pleasure slave instead of a cherished wife, so I was free game.” She made a face. “Assholes.”
The big Drake shook his head.
“I’m so fucking sorry, little girl. I should have been there.”
“I don’t really blame you—it was a misunderstanding,” Iyanna told him. “But let’s not get separated again.”
“Not even for a minute,” Dra’vik growled. “I won’t fail you ever again.”
Iyanna could tell he was still beating himself up about the attack. She still felt shaken, but now that it was behind her, she was beginning to feel calmer and more like herself again.
“Let’s not talk about that,” she told him. “Tell me why you think my baby making parts are still okay. I mean, I had an MRI once, when I twisted my ankle, and they were really careful to ask if I was pregnant first.”
“Yes, but probably for what your people call ‘medical-legal reasons’,” Dra’vik said. “We have superconducting magnets aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship and we had female techs who serviced and operated them—back when we had females that is. I’ve never heard of a magnetic field affecting fertility.”
“Okay, thanks. That’s a relief.” Iyanna took a deep breath and blew it out, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her.
She had never thought much about having kids before—it was always something she and Ian had pushed to some vague point in the future. But the idea of not being able to have them because of some damage the alien scanner had done to her had been extremely upsetting.
Maybe I want kids more than I thought I did, she thought.
“You feel better now?” Dra’vik peered at her anxiously. “Now that you know you should still be able to have children?”
“Yes, thank you.” Iyanna gave him a small but genuine smile. “I’m still kind of shaky though—and really, really thirsty. Do you think there’s a water cooler anywhere around here?”
“If I can put you down, I’ll go see.” He raised an eyebrow, asking her permission.
Iyanna nodded.
“All right. But just…don’t go far, okay? I really don’t want to be left alone in a place where some strange man might come in at any time. Those bastards in the scanner room seemed to think they were perfectly within their rights to do any damn thing they wanted to me, just because I didn’t have a man by my side and my modesty patches were gone!”
She shivered as she spoke—she might feel calmer now, but it was going to take some time to feel safe again.
“We can leave and go right back to the Monstrum Mother Ship, you know,” Dra’vik offered. “Any planet where they think it’s acceptable to rape a female just because she’s unprotected isn’t one the Monstrum Kindred want to do business with.”
Iyanna shook her head.
“We can’t just abandon our mission. This isn’t about me or you—it’s about the survival of the Monstrum Mother Ship. I promised to bring back those new plants and I’m damn well going to do it!”
Dra’vik shook his head, a look of admiration on his face.
“You really are the most courageous female I’ve ever met. Wait here—I’ll find you some water.”
He left Iyanna on the couch and prowled around the room, frowning. Just as she was afraid he would have to leave the lounge in order to find anything he murmured, “Ah-ha!” and slapped a section of the wall.