Gods,tothinkit'sbeen fifteen years since I crash-landed on Strafor. So much has changed.I'vechanged.
And I have no regrets, though I certainly did in the beginning, but that had more to do with my own mistakes and the unseen consequences of being booted off the ship, a ship whose name I can no longer remember. Then following these unfortunate circumstances, I was attacked and rescued, and then later I was kidnapped by the alien who’d bought me.
It was a hectic first few rotations on Strafor, but everything ended perfectly.
Our life of three soon became four, then six, and now soon to be seven, and I couldn't be happier. I'll never forget the day I held my little boy in my arms for the first time. I was a terrified mess, but Wen and Olo were with me every step of the way, letting me know I'm not alone, caring for this tiny life all by myself.
And in a matter of eight lunar cycles, Olo's heat sparked mine and Wen's seed took… in both of us. We gave birth within a mere few cycles of each other, a boy for Olo and a girl for me. I still remember Olo's tears as he held his son, a feat he never thought he'd achieve. I guess one good thing came out of being kidnapped by aliens—two, if you count the aftermath of it.
See, another good thing to come out of it was Wen becoming a council leader. With him at the helm, he was able to guide this new council to greater things. He didn't want the position at first, but Olo insisted on it. This also meant he was there to oversee all the changes Strafor soon underwent.
We use the alien's spaceship we were trapped on to travel now. It belongs to all of Straf, and it's opened up trade opportunities with other colonies. There are dangers that come with it, of course, but we were able to mitigate all potential problems early on.
Before trade opened up, though, the ship was looted for supplies before Wen was able to stop the other Straforians. It was about a full seven cycles after our freedom from the alien ship when Wen finally made his way back to Straf. He claimed a council seat and told them to put everything back on the ship. Luckily, no one had started scrapping it.
The ship was repaired and restocked and ready to go. Turns out the transmission system was in full working order too, so the council reached out to Earth and informed them of the other kidnappings. Clija, whose real name I still don't know, kept meticulous records, and we were able to give earth the coordinates to his home planet where he and his people had thousands of humans.
The council asked if they needed support in recovering the imprisoned humans, but the government was a bit of a dick. They didn't want to risk mutation, so they declined the offer instantly. We shrugged off their cold shoulder, and lo and behold, two lunar cycles later, we received word that the humans were liberated and the planet essentially destroyed.
G.S.F. and Earth went in, guns blazing, when the aliens decided to disobey orders to return our people. Serves the bastards right.
Most surprising was the “gift” we received soon after. Earth had sent us three ships filled with technology and other humans eager to join us. That was when the council decided to officially register Strafor as a separate entity from Earth and join the intergalactic alliance.
We couldn't risk more of Earth's inhabitants joining us without our knowledge, since it caused a massive disruption to our lives when the three ships landed. We couldn't risk Earth finding out about our extended lifespan and coming in mass droves, all in the name of immortality. Those seeking an immortal life would no doubt flock to Strafor and corrupt our peaceful existence, something we couldn't allow.
Earth was pissed at our decision, but fuck them—they abandoned Strafor first.
The technology from Earth was certainly handy, though. Most of it was for a high-tech defense system that surrounded our entire planet. I don't know the specifics of it—all of Wen's technical talk went over my head—but basically it's like an alarm system that alerts Straf of anything or anyone entering our atmosphere. If the entity is hostile, the missiles are deployed with a click of a button.
The button is under the control of the council, a council that now consists of three alphas, three betas, and three omegas.
Another great piece of technology were the holosets, which allowed us to contact others with holosets, even off-worlders. I managed to get a hold of my parents, who had long since settled on Remora by the time I hunted down their holoset ID code. Within three lunar cycles, they’d relocated to Strafor with my siblings in tow.
The council had decided to grant their request for a transfer, since my arrival on Strafor had been so unusual. All those who had arrived before, and even the ones after, had volunteered for this life. As for myself, I had intended to join my parents and siblings on Remora, only to get booted. They made an exception due to the odd situation, and I couldn't have been more grateful.
They've all ended up settling on Strafor and have been here close to ten years, and I'm now a proud aunt to three wonderful nieces. Both my parents and my brother revealed as betas, and surprisingly, my sister revealed as an alpha. Both my brother and sister have found their partners and are happier than I've ever seen them.
So many good things have happened in these fifteen years, and I'm so damn proud of Wen for the hand he's had in most of it.
"Mom!"
I smile. Wenry, our brown-haired, blue-eyed daughter, is playing with her siblings, gesturing for me to join in. Before I can respond, Olo drops into the porch swing beside me.
"Mom needs to rest, my love," Olo says with a soft smile.
When Wenry pouts, Nos and Yule use the distraction to gently tug her pigtails before fleeing. Those two boys of ours are troublemakers through and through, but they are awfully protective of their elder sister. When their cousins are visiting, though, the boys are nowhere to be found. I don’t blame them; together, the four girls are little terrors.
I giggle, rubbing my distended belly absently while cuddling into Olo.
"Wen still hasn't finished butchering the delk for tomorrow's gathering?"
"He's been too distracted," I say with a laugh. "The kids have been barging into the shed all afternoon."
Olo laughs. "Nos is the ringleader, no doubt."
I sit upright and frown at him. "Are you trying to say my little blond angel is a menace?"
"That's precisely what I'm saying. It's not my little green-eyed angel starting trouble." He struggles to keep a straight face.
I don't bother holding in my laugh and lean back into him with a happy sigh.
Gods, what a life I've been blessed with. And to think I have hundreds of years left to enjoy it. I wouldn't want it any other way.