Knollig: A Terraneu Novel ( Book 2) Read online

  “What do you think Amber?” Mairi had questioned her about the possibility of the women rioting. When she glanced over at Amber she realized she wasn’t listening, but was actually staring off into space. She waved her fingers in front of Ambers face…”Terraneu to Amber…Hello?” She laughed at her own joke. “Get it…Terraneu to Amber. Instead of Earth.” When Amber didn’t laugh with her, she let out a sigh.

  “Okay. What is wrong with you?” Before Amber could say “nothing”, Mairi lifted an eyebrow at her, “Don’t say nothing! Kniam, Knollig, Knaleg…all the Council members and half the males of the community have commented on your strange behavior.” Mairi leaned closer, “Is it that time of the month?”

  “No, it’s not that.” Amber leaned closer to Mairi, and pointed a finger at her face. “What does that look like to you?”

  Mairi squinted at the area Amber was pointing at. There was a miniscule red dot just at the tip of her fingernail. “I see a tiny red spot. Why?”

  “I think it’s a zit!” Amber wailed. “I have been here for what, almost a year now…and I have never had a hint of acne. Now look at me…with all the stress of the kidnapping, and poor Cebat and Tabec being poisoned. Then there is the trip to Antilles. The pressure that the men are under…don’t even get me started on the pressure that we are under! It’s enough to give me zits!” Amber ended in a huff, before Mairi could say one zit was hardly something to worry about, Amber jumped up, “Can we go sit outside in your garden? I really need some fresh air, and can I please have some more water?” Amber stood up and was walking toward the courtyard before Mairi could respond.

  “Of course.” Mairi took the two glasses to her water feature and refilled them. Then hurried out into the middle space of her living dome. Here she had planted every type of flora she could find. There were cover plants that were like Earth moss, short plants, medium and tall plants, and they were in every color Terraneu had to offer. She had made four small rock pathways to the very center, where she had placed nice rocking loungers. Knollig had crafted arched climbers for each path and the plants had quickly covered them to create a nice shading effect.

  Amber had her eyes closed, soaking in the afternoon sun. Mairi took the chair next to hers and waited. She hadn’t been sitting long before Amber was again complaining, “My mind is racing all the time with worry. I have made some really good friends with the males, and I am in a panic about the expectations they have.” Amber continued on, and Mairi was only half listening. She had the same thoughts running around her head too. The males were very excited for the females from Earth to arrive, and between Kniam’s classes and theirs they had to hope it was enough. “I almost wish I hadn’t fallen down that stupid hill!” Mairi shot up in her seat. There was something very wrong, if Amber could say that!

  “Amber! What in the name…” Mairi gasped.

  “I said almost, not that I did!” Amber snapped back. She lifted the glass of water for a drink and once she started didn’t stop until it was empty. “I am so thirsty!”

  Then it hit her like a thunderbolt and Mairi started laughing. “Oh…my…god!” She laughed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. When Amber made to try to stand up, Mairi held up a hand…”I’m sorry…I’ll stop...give me a second.” Amber just lifted an eyebrow and waited for Mairi to compose herself.

  “I’m so glad you find my suffering amusing!” Amber huffed clearly offended, tears welling in her eyes.

  Mairi turned to face Amber and decided to be blunt, “Do your breasts feel tender?”

  “Really…” Amber stopped tearing at the eyes and glared instead, “What do my breasts have anything to do with my worry over the men?” Amber bit back.

  Mairi kept going, “Are you more tired than usual? Have you missed your female time? Have you been having irrational mood swings?” Mairi kept hinting until she saw the shocked dawning on Amber’s face. “Yep my friend. If I had to make a guess I would say…you are pregnant!”

  Mairi watched the emotions play across Ambers face. All of the symptoms fit, except morning sickness. Which on Terraneu with the changes they went through, not being able to eat anything solid, there was no way to know if nausea was going to apply to their pregnancies.

  “I’m going to have Kniam’s baby!” Amber whispered in awe, her eyes brimming with tears. Her hands went to her belly, trying to feel if there might be any “bump”. Which of course there wasn’t. She had to be in the very early stages. “I can’t tell him until after Antilles. He will put me in the medical bay and not let me out. I have to be on this trip, the men are counting on this to go smoothly. I can’t let them down.”

  “Now just a damn minute!” Mairi was concerned about the effects using the port pad might have on a pregnancy. “I know you aren’t thinking clearly right now, the shock and everything…but you can’t go to Antilles. Your pregnancy changes everything!”

  “Don’t be absurd, I have to go…” Amber argued.

  “You don’t have to do anything but take care of yourself…and that baby!” Mairi was really getting worried. Amber was acting very unlike herself. She would never intentionally harm her unborn baby. It was time to bring in the big guns…

  Knowing the males working nearby would hear and the telepathic grapevine would get to him faster than if she tried to find him herself, “Kniam!” Mairi screamed at the top of her lungs and sat back and waited.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Knollig and Kniam were having “the talk” with the men of the community. All of them were in attendance either physically, or being relayed the information telepathically. This class was too important to miss, so they had all been linked so there would be no male missing the lesson.

  Kniam had covered the basics of the rules for the hundredth time.

  1) Sexual relations with a female does not mean she is your mate. The females can choose to have sexual intercourse with as many or as few of the men they are attracted to, until such time as they want to either date, or choose to enter a relationship with one male, or choose a mate. The females will have complete freedom in their choices. AS long as they don’t intentionally deceive a male, that would be severely punished.

  2) No physical harm must ever come to a female. To purposefully harm a female is a crime punishable by death.

  3) No female is to be offered a partnership when it was known that she was already in a partnership, or dating. This was to include terms the females might use like “boyfriend”, “lover”, “courting” any term that meant the female was bound to that male could apply here.

  4) If a female offered a partnership, when already in one, they were honor bound to decline. No male was to interfere with an existing bond. If the female and male involved insisted they were willing to accept this kind of duel partnership, the matter is to be brought before the Council for remediation.

  5) If a male and female became mates, the females considered this to be “married” and “husband and wife”. That pair is committed to each other for life, and to pursue a mated female is without honor, and punishable by death.

  6) Any female found to be purposefully pitting two males against each other, would be punished severely. The males were to use honor and duty above all else when dealing with the females that were coming, and remember they were all brothers first.

  7) No physical altercations over women. Males found to be fighting over a female, would be punished severely. Knaleg had some training missions planned just for those offenders. (This threat had all of the males shuddering in their seats.)

  The rules just went on and on. The males knew them all by heart, Kniam was just trying to ease his nerves with talking about a topic they all knew. The sex education class that they were trying to give was an entirely new subject.

  Knollig laughed at Kniam’s uncertainty with talking about sex. Between Amber and Kniam, and Mairi and himself, they had been caught in multiple compromising situations. The men were a little more aware of what male and female sexual relations meant. He was sitting b
ack and enjoying Kniam’s version of “the talk”.

  His brother cleared his throat, “All females will be different. Some may want physical contact right away, others may want to get to know different males before initiating a sexual relationship. You are to respect a female’s choice.” Kniam paused, wondering where to go next in the conversation

  Kniam must have decided to go over what the class would entail, “We will cover human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, emotional relations, sexual abstinence, and birth control.” Kniam stated.

  Knollig broke in, “Birth control is easy. We all voted on and agreed to the medical procedure to prevent pregnancies in females. When you are mated, you can choose to keep the procedure to prevent a pregnancy, or you can relay your desire for offspring to the Council for a vote. Just remember it will have to be you and the female informing the Council of that decision together.”

  Kniam continued, “So on to sexual anatomy.” Kniam pushed some buttons on the console, and a generic holographic female representation spun into the space in front of the class.

  “This is a female.” Kniam stated the obvious, another sign of his discomfort with the topic, he clicked again. “This is a male.” Another generic holographic image came up, this one male. “The female as you all know from the first Council meeting with Amber, has mammories or breasts as they like to call them. “ Kniam frowned over the memory of all the males seeing her holographic image, which he had personally deleted from the database! “The breasts as explained during that meeting are for sexual stimulation, and when offspring are produced the mammories supply nutrients to the baby.” Kniam zoomed into the uterine area, “This is where the offspring are held during a pregnancy. The female has eggs here, “Kniam clicked and moved into the ovaries, “The eggs are released and if male sperm is present, an offspring can result. A male deposits his sperm when he reaches orgasm, here…” Kniam zoomed the image to between the female’s legs turning the holograph into a decidedly x-rated image.

  He smiled over the crowd of men, then his gaze swung to Knollig.

  “Knollig can continue with the male anatomy.” His brother gave him a smug smile.

  Knollig knew that his brother was trying to make him uncomfortable. “The male anatomy.” Knollig clicked and the image of the female returned to normal, then zoomed into the male, “Starting at the top. You may feel sensitivity on almost any part of your body when you are physically attracted to a female. Her hands might feel good rubbing your scalp, her fingers working their way through your hair, even just resting her hands on your shoulders might arouse you. This is a good sign. The male mammary are not like the female. We don’t have the necessary hormones to create nutrients for offspring. The male mammary can be sensitive, so may or may not be sexually stimulating to you. You will be able to tell your female what feels good to you.” Knollig moved down the male body, until he got to the male reproductive organs, “You have testicles and your male member will grow enlarged when you are attracted to a female, or when there is stimulation present that causes a physical reaction. After you are released from the genetic block, and are able to have an erection it might not always happen because of a female presence.” Knollig had to laugh, he was just as nervous as Kniam. “The sperm resides in liquid found in the testicles. During sexual intercourse you can reach a ‘climax’ that releases those fluids. ” Knollig thought he was getting pretty good as this. “You don’t always have to have a female around to have a climax or orgasm…also you don’t always have the release when connected sexually to a female.”

  Suddenly there was a flurry of voices, all calling out to Kniam telepathically. Mairi had just yelled for him. Kniam’s head picked up, and he was instantly on his feet from the chair where he had been lounging. Looking over at him, Knollig just said “Go, I can finish the class.” Before he had even got “go” out, Kniam was already running for the door.

  Knollig wondered what was going on, but Mairi and Amber were good friends. If he were needed, Mairi would have called for him as well…so without Kniam he continued on with the lesson.

  “Emotional relations and females.” Knollig sighed, this was going to be tough. “Females are not always emotionally involved when it comes to sexual relationships.”

  Knaleg came to the front of the class to “be of assistance” and Knollig frowned. How was he supposed to teach the males of Terraneu about female emotions? This was something that he hoped the females had covered.

  “You need to be honest with any female you try to have a relationship with, and hope that they are equally open with you. Any problems with communication will lead to misunderstandings. Always keep an open mind, and ask your female questions. Even if they don’t want to answer, when you sense something is wrong press for a reason. Usually conflicts can be worked out if you are working sincerely at making things better.”

  At the end of class he figured they may not be ready for everything that came with having females in the community, but they were as ready as they were ever going to be. Knollig ended the class after answering as many questions as he could, then went in search of Mairi.

  Walking outside he could feel the excitement so thick in the air around Terraneu you could wear it like a coat! He noticed all of the men working out even harder, to refine their bodies and hone their battle skills. He was hoping they didn’t plan on using those skills against each other. If it came to that Knaleg had his men ready to intervene if things got nasty between males. They had also created a new dome for incarceration in the event of extreme cases.

  The men he passed were all practicing the rules of etiquette that Mairi and Amber had been pounding into their heads. Say this, don’t ever say that! Say please and thank you. Ask a question, don’t assume you know. Don’t tell an Earth female what to do, unless it’s an emergency. Respect their feelings, honor their wishes, and help them live out their dreams here on Terraneu.

  He rushed toward New Haven, interested to know what she had needed Kniam for.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What did you do that for?” Amber yelled. “It is only a matter of time before Kniam shows up now!”

  “You are acting irrationally, and Kniam is the only person I know that can talk some sense into you.” Mairi defended herself, “When he gets here, I will give you privacy…but you are telling him.”

  Amber’s eyes filled with tears, “I don’t know what is wrong with me. Why am I acting so crazy?” She ran her hands through the hair at her temples.

  Mairi gave her a hug, “It’s going to be fine.” A loud pounding sounded from the front entry. Since Kniam was authorized to enter their living dome, she just yelled…”Come in!”

  She gave Amber a reassuring smile, and then headed to her entryway, when she got to Kniam she just motioned over her shoulder to the courtyard. “In there.”

  Kniam was off like a bolt, rushing to his mate’s side, “Amber…are you okay?” She saw him drop down on his knees next to her. “Please tell me what is wrong. We always said we would be honest with each other…” Mairi was at the doorway when she heard him shout, “Pregnant,” when she looked back it was to see him pressing kisses into Amber’s stomach. ‘Are you sure little female?” Kniams voice was thick as smoke.

  She hurried out the doorway, and paused at the balcony. A walk around New Haven sounded nice. She called, “Cebat…Tabec…come!” If the Sacath were anywhere near, they would be a nice addition to her stroll. She often “borrowed” them from Amber if she was going to be walking alone.

  She had cleared a few laps around different home sites with the sacaths, when she spotted Knollig rushing her way. Telling the pets to “Go home.” She picked up her pace to get to Knollig.

  “Mairi, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” He sounded panicked and she was instantly sorry for causing him alarm.

  “I am so sorry. I was giving Amber and Kniam some privacy. Did you see them?” Mairi asked as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

  “No. There wasn’t any
one in our living quarters when I arrived. What is going on? Why did you call Kniam from the class?” Knollig put his arm around her, and they were making their way back to their home.

  “You will have to ask Kniam.” Mairi hedged, she didn’t want to break such important news, if Amber and Kniam had decided to keep it private. On Earth a female could have complications up to the third month, and she didn’t want to cause an uproar in the men. Besides, it was Amber and Kniam’s news to tell if she wanted.

  Knollig got a suspicious look in his eyes, and then went “blank” telling her, he was doing just as she had suggested. He was talking with his brother. His face remained impassive, then he said, “There is an emergency meeting of the Council. We need to go.” Grabbing Mairi by the hand, he hurried toward town. Knaleg soon joined them.

  “Do either of you know what this is about?” He asked. Mairi just shrugged innocently. She really didn’t know what the meeting was about, she could guess what caused the need for it though.

  “Mairi knows something, but Kniam isn’t talking…and I don’t have any idea.” Knollig responded to his brother. Before Knaleg could start pestering her, as she knew he wanted, Knollig stopped him, “Leave it alone. We will find out as soon as we get to the meeting.”

  Knaleg gave a shrug of his massive shoulders. “Then we might want to hurry.” He suggested.

  “That is fine with me.” Knollig laughed, grabbing Mairi up and over his shoulder both brothers started running. Mairi was laughing with them, and since Knollig was holding her securely it was a quick run to the Council chambers.

  The three entered the dome to find Kniam and Amber along with Asteen and Thian. The only member not present was Ailech, they would have to wait for him. Just as Mairi had that thought, he entered behind them. Breathing heavy he held up his hand, “Sorry, I was scouting out the North property for the next expansion. I was quite a distance away.” He took in deep lungfuls of air until finally he said, “I’m ready, what is the emergency?”