Mama and the Alien Warrior (Treasured By The Alien #1) - Honey Phillips Page 0,21

room, even Kwaret, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now, Vedeckian,” Hrebec said, looming over the smaller man. “Tell us where she came from.”

Kwaret looked around nervously, but began talking readily enough. “We stopped on Trevelor for supplies to outfit the, um, lab. I was at the hospital completing the transaction when a Cire female was brought in. She was in labor and she died after giving birth to the infant.” He looked at Tiana, now sucking happily on her bottle. “I didn’t know what else to do, so I purchased the child. Commander Khaen was not pleased.”

“They let you buy her?” Hrebec asked, his face stiff with anger.

Kwaret shrank back, but he kept talking. “I don’t think they knew what else to do with her. The Trevelorians are a very different species.”

“And the female had no family?” Hrebec’s eyes were focused on Kwaret.

“Since she came in alone, the hospital didn’t know and they didn’t have time to investigate. There was an outbreak of some kind of disease at the same time. Someone mentioned that she was headed for the spaceport, but I think that was only speculation.” He looked around at his audience and gave a helpless little shrug. “I swear that’s all I know.”

“Are you sure they said heading to the spaceport? Not coming from it?”

“I think so. Does it matter?”

“If she was living on the planet, there could be more Cires there,” Hrebec said slowly, exchanging a look with Mekoi.

“Many people fled when the plague was escalating.” The medic shook his head, the same look of resignation on his face that Abby had seen on Hrebec’s the previous night. “They didn’t know that it was pointless. Perhaps some ended up on Trevelor. I’m not familiar with the location.”

“It’s a small planet,” Kwaret volunteered. “Sparsely populated even before the Red Death, but they didn’t seem as affected as many of the other planets in the Confederation. Their dyes are highly desirable. You should see some of the fabric that can be created—” He broke off, looking embarrassed. “Forgive me. I realize that trading opportunities are not of interest to you.”

Hrebec didn’t appear to have been listening. Instead, he frowned thoughtfully at Mekoi. “We should see if there are any records available on Ciresia. It’s unlikely, given the chaos of the times, but it’s possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hrebec gave Kwaret a stiff nod. “Thank you for your assistance, Vedeckian.”

“His name is Kwaret,” Abby said impatiently. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand, Kwaret. How did you keep Tiana alive if she wouldn’t eat?”

“I was giving her injections of vitamins and nutrients, but since Commander Khaen did not approve, I had limited opportunities to do so. He said that if she couldn’t thrive on the standard nutrition, that no one would be willing to purchase her.” He shot a nervous glance at the Cires. “He also wasn’t sure if there was a market for her, since you have a reputation for being um, law-abiding, and he wasn’t sure what her value would be elsewhere.”

“I can’t believe she survived,” Abby said, tucking the baby closer.

“I had my doubts. I was only able to get her to take the nutrition once.”

“But you were successful one time. How?” Mekoi asked.

“I don’t know. I was giving her an injection when the automated feeding began and she actually took some sustenance.”

A light clicked on in Abby’s brain. “Were you holding her?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Of course. All babies need to be held, but maybe it’s an actual physical requirement for a Cire baby.” She looked at Hrebec. “You said you tried to raise babies. Were they also in labs like the one on the ship?”

“Yes. Do you really think it would make a difference?”

“I don’t know. I am basing this on a data set of one baby. But you said they were still trying. Can you ask them to try again, this time holding the babies during feeding? And tell them to heat the formula?”

Hrebec and Mekoi stared at each other, an almost reluctant look of hope on their faces.

“Could it really be that simple?” Hrebec asked.

“It seems unlikely the solution will be that simple, but I will communicate our recommendations immediately,” Mekoi said slowly, then slanted a glance at Tiana. “She will be a good point of comparison.”

Abby didn’t like the speculation on his face, and gathered the now sleeping baby closer. “She’s a baby—she’s not some damn lab rat you can study.”

He looked horrified. “No, of course not. I just meant that the fact that she is thriving