Chapter 11 – Redeant in Coniunctionem (Reunited)
Aboard the battle cruiser, the commander of the small task forces sat back with a smile on her face, her blue eyes beaming with pride. She could look at her main screen and see just how much of a beating her ship was delivering to the smaller one in front of her.
"Master Commander, Blue's shields have dropped down to 40% and still falling. They haven't so much as dropped ours to ninety," spoke the ships gunner.
"Continue firing, all batteries, until that ship has been destroyed," replied the cruiser's commander.
"Mam, we have another ship shifting in... it's the Ember. Were we expecting another ship?" asked the battle cruiser's operator.
"No, but they are welcome to take part. As long as they help ensure Blue does not get away, I don't mind."
"Of course... wait... mam... they're locking their weapons onto us!" shouted the operator.
"What!?" shouted the commander, "Redirect our shields to..."
The commander didn't get to finish her sentence before explosions erupted all around her. The ships attacking Blue had all faced the bulk of their shield power in the direction of their target. As the resistance only had one cruiser, they had no reason to be concerned about a sneak attack from behind. They had no idea there was now a second resistance ship. The battle cruiser was quickly destroyed, the oncoming heavy cruiser emerging from its flames.
On board Blue, the dire situation changed from one of defeat, to one of hope.
"Commander, the new ship just took out the battle cruiser!" shouted Tsubael.
"I'll be damned. This is why I don't quit until death! Never thought I'd be so happy to see a bucket full of devil girls," spoke Kensuke.
"We're receiving a transmission from the new ship," spoke Tsubael.
"Put it on the main viewer," spoke Ekaril.
The crew sported shocked expressions at the person who appeared on the main viewer. It was the person who had betrayed them, Tsegael, commanding the ship that was helping them.
"Blue, this is Commander Tsegael of the Ember. We're here to take some of the pressure off. Do you have use of your Emil Force Drive?"
"Tsegael! Of all people! Are you fucking serious!" shouted Kensuke.
"Quiet Kensuke! Our drive is down, Hisoka expects it'll take another 45 minutes to get our drive back up and running," answered Ekaril.
"That's gonna make things a little more difficult. We'll do our best to keep these two cruisers off of you. And get someone to throw out my sword. It's a fake I made and put an Arume tracking device into. That's how this fleet found you in the first place. Tsegael out."
"So they were tracking us the entire time," spoke Tsubael.
"And they were taking their time to do something about it. Kensuke, go to Seigai's quarters, and destroy that sword. Last thing we want is for them to jump us again after we shift. Hisoka, our savior has just arrived on the scene. What's your status?" asked Ekaril.
"A lot better without the ship rocking around as much. Still have at least another half hours worth of work down here. I nearly had to rebuild several parts of the power transfer system from scratch," replied Hisoka.
"Keep at it. The sooner we can get out of here, the better," spoke Ekaril.
Kensuke acted upon his order, and quickly made his way to Seigai's old quarters. He was swearing to himself on the whole trip.
"Damn it all, that bitch comes back, now to save us, after putting us in this situation in the first fucking place. I don't know whether to be happy, or to strangle her!" Kensuke shouted, as he smashed the replicated sword into pieces. Upon smashing the hilt, a small electronic device came out of it. Kensuke stomped it into pieces.
"How the fuck did something that small cause us so much trouble. All the other things he had were fucking briefcases!" shouted Kensuke, as me went up to the nearest communications terminal.
"This is Kensuke, tracking device destroyed."
"Good, get yourself back up here when you can," replied Ekaril through the terminal.
On the bridge of the Ember, Tsegael was watching her targets closely. She was able to disable one of the cruisers, before both of them reoriented their shields to full coverage. The last cruiser brought all of their guns to bear on the Ember.
"Just one on one now," spoke Nerael.
"Good odds. Keep firing on them, and keep them busy. That ought to give Hisoka time to get Blue's Emil Force Drive back up and running," replied Tsegael, as the ship shook a little from the hits she was taking.
The Ember and the other heavy cruiser continued their slug-fest against each other. Neither ship had an advantage over the other. It was a straight up endurance match, while Blue was getting back up to speed.
On Blue's bridge, good news kept coming in.
"Ekaril, it's Hisoka. We're almost done with the Emil Force Drive. We have power going through it again. We just need to repair the main pressure chamber, and then we'll be able to get out of here. At the very least, we can probably maneuver again."
"Thank you, Hisoka. Tsubael, point us in the direction of that other cruiser. Let's see if we can return the favor," spoke Ekaril.
"Happily, Commander," replied Tsubael.
Blue turned around the join the assault on the last cruiser. With the fight changing from three against one to two against one in the other direction, the battle immediately took a different turn. The last attacking heavy cruiser's shields were whittled down to nothing, before the ship was finally destroyed. The pair of heavy cruisers quickly turned their guns at the disabled cruiser, quickly destroying it as well.
"Thank the Mother," spoke Tsubael.
"Thank Her indeed. Hisoka, all set?" asked Ekaril.
"We're all set, drive spinning up now," replied the ship's engineer.
"Then let's not waste any time. Blue, send to commander Ember, we're heading for these coordinates," Ekaril stated.
"Cooridnates sent," came the voice of Blue's computer.
"Kensuke, get us out of here," spoke Ekaril.
Kensuke nodded, and shifted the ship to another organic layer. The Ember was quick to follow.
The pair of ships arrived in another layer of the universe. This one full of nebulae and streaked with stars, but without planets of any kind. Both ships powered down. The commanders of both knew a very difficult conversation lay ahead.
"Tsegael, are you sure you want to go on their ship? After what you told me of how you left, I don't they're going to be happy to see you," spoke Nerael, as the pair boarded a shuttle in Ember's hanger.
"No, they won't, but we need to do this. I don't want to take any chances of them doubting our intentions here. Not to mention they might find the schematics of the Gigaal to be of good use. It's the one bargaining chip we have, along with my now perfect memories."
"They might shoot you on sight."
"It's a chance I'll have to take. You don't have to join me, you know. You can choose to stay here on the Ember. You don't have to take the risk with me."
"I've already taken the risk with you. I've joined you in turning our back on our people. At this point, we've already made the hard decision. Joining you for this? It doesn't compare."
"I guess so, hun. Alright, let's get this over with, then. Their gonna arrest the both of us, so be prepared for that. They're not going to be gentle with us."
Nerael nodded as the pair entered the shuttle. Tsegael piloted the shuttle out of the hanger, and requested permission to dock with Blue. Permission was granted, and the shuttle parked inside Blue's hanger. The hanger deck showed signs of the last battle, with a few fallen beams and debris scattered about. A couple of the fighters were damaged, but Tsegael knew she could always lend her resources from the Ember, assuming they weren't all taken from her by force. Tsegael and Nerael emerged from their shuttle, both of their hands in the air. Kensuke, Hisoka, and Azanael already had guns trained on them.
"Welcome aboard," spoke Ekaril.
"It's good to be back. Do what you have to do, we won't resist," replied Tsegael.
Kensuke and Azanael put cuffs on both Tsegael and Nerael, and escorted both of them to the brig level. Instead of being placed into a cell, there were taken to a room meant for interrogations. They were both secured into interrogation chairs, before the cuffs were taken off their wrists. Azanael and Ekaril left, knowing the Forime were going to want to do this themselves. They merely offered to stay outside, until they were needed. Kensuke walked up to Tsegael to begin the questioning.
"How many are aboard your ship?" asked Kensuke.
"Just the two of us," answered Tsegael.
"Just two of you, to control that ship?"
"That's all that's needed. One person could operate one of our ships if needed. We learned this when we rebuilt this one..."
Tsegael was interrupted by a slap across the face.
"I'd choose your pronouns carefully. There is no 'we' between you and I," spoke Kensuke.
"I'll try to keep that in mind," replied Tsegael.
"Good. How many other tracking devices did you plant on this ship?" asked Kensuke.
"Just the one in the sword. It's a replica I made for that purpose, after searching through Seigai's memories, and learning they were important to the three of you. The real one I had with me before you arrested us," replied Tsegael.
Kensuke slapped Tsegael again.
"We found two more in your quarters," spoke Hisoka.
"Easy with the hits... yes, there were two more, but they were fakes, as was the one I pulled out of my desk before I left. The idea was to make you look for a specific item. I didn't want you, or one of the Arume on board, to think I had a much more smaller Arume tracking device on me," answered Tsegael.
"How many other traps did you put into Blue's computer?" asked Kensuke.
"Just the one. It's all I needed. Doing something like putting in a hidden self-destruct, or something like that, didn't really appeal to me."
"So you'd have rather killed us yourself, then?" asked Hisoka.
"That's what the me of the time wanted, yes."
"The you of the time?" asked Hisoka.
"Yes. The me right now is not the same. After you shot my fighter in my escape, the resulting damage gave me a concussion. It affected the consciousness transfer, somehow waking up Seigai. After having several conversations, and after feedback from my wife, we decided to merge and become one mind."
"And when that happened, you changed your mind about killing us?" asked Hisoka.
"Yes and no. I now have two people's worth of memories. Tsegael hadn't lived as long as Seigai. He had more memories. I suppose you could say it tipped the scales in that direction. I still maintain loyalty to both my people and yours. But I have more people here, then on Arume."
"You have more people?" Kensuke asked.
"Yes, that's..."
Kensuke punched Tsegael in the face. White Arume blood trickled down from a cut put on her face from the hit.
"You have no one here! You're no one to us!" shouted Kensuke, "How dare you say otherwise, you blue-eyed devil."
"I was wondering how many questions you'd ask before falling back to your familiar slur."
Kensuke slapped Tsegael again. She spit out white blood from the hit.
"Kensuke, ease up. She can give us more information alive than dead," spoke Hisoka.
"Oh, relax, I won't kill her. Not yet," spoke Kensuke.
"Before you do that, I have a data crystal with me that may be of some use to you. It contains full schematics for the dreadnought leading the invasion, the Gigaal. You might be able to find a way to take the ship down if you look them over," spoke Tsegael.
"Oh, and where do you have that? Don't see any pockets on that cute uniform of yours," spoke Kensuke.
"It's in my bra. If you don't mind letting one of my hands free, I could get it out for you."
"Not happening, little girl."
"Fine... but you're not grabbing it. I'd feel more comfortable if Hisoka retrieved it."
"I bet you would, you little bitch!" shouted Kensuke, before hitting Tsegael again. He ignored her request, and dug around inside her bra for the data crystal in question. He pulled back his hand in disgust when he finally found it, and gave it to Hisoka.
"I'd clean that off before putting it in anything," spoke Kensuke.
"I bet that felt good to you, huh?" spoke Tsegael.
Kensuke turned around, and punched Tsegael again. The hit left Tsegael's nose broken, and more white blood streaking down her face.
"Stop! Stop hurting her!" shouted Nerael.
"You shut up, brat, or you're next," spoke Kensuke.
"Hun... please... I'll be okay..." wheezed Tsegael.
Nerael nodded and kept silent.
"Let me check the data on this crystal," spoke Hisoka. She took the data crystal to one of the terminals in the back of the room, and looked over the data contained within.
"So, what's there?" asked Kensuke.
"What she said would be. At least I think so. I would want Tsubael to check it over first. Make sure it is what it's supposed to be, and doesn't have any nasty traps within," replied Hisoka.
"Good. Now onto the next part. How many ships do you have as part of the invasion force?" asked Kensuke.
"I don't have the answer for that. We can always build more ships, and send more in. It's not a fixed number, but we have a few hundred ships in our navy ready to go at any time."
"Of course you would. And where is your main base of operations?"
"The Gigaal. The entire invasion is being coordinated from her in orbit of the planet. Destroying her would disrupt the entire invasion."
"Uh huh... and how many dreadnoughts do you have, huh?"
"Just a few. They're quite expensive and difficult to build. They're roughly three times the size of a battle cruiser, and have enough weaponry to wipe out an entire city in an instant."
"Is that so? Then why don't they do that, huh? Wipe us all out? Isn't that what you want?" asked Kensuke, the anger in his voice gradually increasing.
"Our goal is conquest, not extermination. Killing all of you would do nothing for us. For our goal."
"And just what is that goal, huh?"
"It's classified. All I know is that the survival of our species depends on it..."
Kensuke slapped Tsegael again.
"The survival of you depends on you conquering us? What a load of bull shit."
"I don't know all the details, I'm not a scientist. You can ask Ekaril, if you don't believe me."
"Feh, maybe I will. Later," spoke Kensuke, "Hey, Hisoka, anything else you wanna get out of the girlies?"
"No, I've heard enough. The idea that our commander... that Seigai would become one with one of them..." Hisoka said, before slapping Tsegael herself, "is nonsense."
"That slap... I remember that slap. That night, outside the bar in Kure. The old me remembered this one wrong. Yeah, I remember. I was a little drunk, and was feeling a little bold. I asked you out, but you turned me down. I kept asking you why over and over and over again. And then you finally told me it was because you were gay, and that you wanted to keep it a secret. And then I laughed at you, and asked you if the curtains matched the drapes. Then you slapped me, and I finally passed out from drinking too much. Booze must be why old me couldn't get the memory correct."
Hisoka looked Tsegael straight in the eye after she finished her telling of the memory. She looked carefully in her Arume blue eyes for something.
"Seigai... you're really... you're really in there, aren't you?" asked Hisoka.
"Yeah, I am. I'd make a joke about how things could be different, now that I'm a chick, but I'm taken, so... wouldn't work, since we make better friends, anyway.
Hisoka, full of emotion, couldn't hold back and quickly embraced Tsegael, her eyes full of tears. She quickly undid the restraints holding her down.
"It's okay, I'm back now. And I'm an Arume. And... it's weird. Like, part of me is happy, and other part of me thinks you're all barbarians, but that part of me has been fast fading away."
"Hisoka, damn it, why did you have to let her go, huh? So she got her facts straight now, big surprise there. Probably had time to put it all together before getting here. At least she brought us another ship to use," spoke Kensuke.
"Kensuke, I can see it in her eyes. This is Seigai. Sure, in a different body, but it's him. He is in there. That's why he saved us," explained Hisoka.
"Oh, really?" asked Kensuke, before walking up to Tsegael, while pushing Hisoka aside. Kensuke immediately punched Tsegael in the face, knocking her down to the ground.
"You know what I see in those devil blue eyes? My enemy!" shouted Kensuke, and he kicked Tsegael in the gut, forcibly rolling her over. Tsegael gasped for breath, spitting up more milky white blood.
"Uh... I remember those hits... from that one fight... over... Takumi Yokoyama," Tsegael said, while having a little trouble breathing, "we had... one too many... that night..."
"Shut up!" shouted Kensuke, before kicking Tsegael again. The angered man reached down, and grabbed the Arume by the throat, lifting her up, and pinning her against the wall.
"You lost that one... remember?" asked Tsegael.
Kensuke threw Tsegael on the floor, before kicking her again.
"I said shut up! You might be able to fool Hisoka, but not me! Not me, you little freak!" shouted Kensuke, as he dove onto Tsegael's prone form. He pinned the Arume woman down, and started punching her again.
"Stop it!" shouted Nerael, with tears spilling out of her eyes, "you're killing her!"
"Enough Kensuke! It's him! Can't you see it!" shouted Hisoka.
"I see only my enemy!" shouted Kensuke, as he hit Tsegael again, white blood staining his hands.
Tsegael coughed up more blood, before looking Kensuke in the eyes, and making a twisted grin.
"Yeah... that's right... I'm your enemy... you're nothing but a primitive barbarian, Forime! All you can do... is bang your fists... in rage... so go ahead... kill me... kill me! Do it! You won't!" shouted Tsegael.
Kensuke hit Tsegael hard at that last comment, but her twisted grin remained.
"Yeah... that's it... do it... do it, you bastard! Kill me... and watch as the last person you ever called family dies by your own hands!" shouted Tsegael.
Kensuke wrapped his hands around Tsegael's throat, and started to choke her. She started spitting and gurgling as her air supply was cut off, but she didn't let her grin fade. Kensuke kept tightening his grip, but before he could finish his gruesome job, his mind drifted to the night outside of the academy. The night when he had a tumble with Seigai. He had a sudden clarity of the memory. He remembered their tussle had ended just like this, but with Seigai on top of Kensuke. Instead of beating him to death, the two started laughing. Laughing at how absurd it was for them to end their friendship over a woman. He remembered that their struggle ended with them promising to never fight over something so pointless again.
And then he heard another voice in his head. Kensuke remembered a moment from one of his first missions with Azanael. He remembered her explanation of what she had been in the past. Why she had worked hard to change about herself. And about her warning of what would happen if he allowed his revenge to consume him. And then he looked down at the girl he was on top of, choking the life out of. At last, he could finally see his old friend in those blue eyes, and he loosened his grip.
"I... I... you... bastard..." Kensuke started to say, the man's emotions finally boiling over, his eyes filling with tears. Kensuke took his hands off of Tsegael's throat, and instead buried his face on her chest, and began to cry.
"It's okay, old friend... it's been hard... for all of us..." spoke Tsegael, as she gently hugged Kensuke.
"I... I almost..."
"Forget it, I'll live... urgh... I probably look like I got into a fight with a bowl of cereal and lost, though..." Tsegael said, a smile passing on her face. Kensuke chuckled at the joke.
"Heh... you do, you know... I'm sorry about that," Kensuke said, as he got off of Tsegael. He offered a hand to help her get up.
"I guess I should take you to the med bay. Damn blue-eyed devil."
"Devil... angel... what's the difference anymore?"
While Kensuke was beating up Tsegael, Hisoka had decided to release Nerael from her bindings. The pair were about to forcefully pull Kensuke off of Tsegael, but then it became unnecessary. The pair of them were laughing at each other, just like they had in the old days.
"What... just happened?" asked Nerael.
"I don't entirely know... but it looks like Seigai... I mean Tsegael, is safe for now," replied Hisoka.
Kensuke gently pulled Tsegael out of the interrogation room. Upon leaving, they ran into Ekaril and Azanael. The pair quickly noticed the state Tsegael was in.
"You bastard... what the Hell did you do to her!?" shouted Azanael.
"Oh, we were just rough-housing, that's all, right buddy?" asked Tsegael.
"Yeah, just like the old days," replied Kensuke.
"I... what.. what is going on?" asked Azanael.
"Long story," answered Kensuke.
"I'll give you the super short version: Seigai put inside me; Seigai woke up, Seigai and I became one," explained Tsegael.
"I... see," spoke Ekaril.
Azanael simply nodded.
"I need to uh... go to the med bay... I'm a bit of a bloody mess right now. We can talk later. Or you can ask Hisoka," spoke Tsegael.
"Feh, easy on the talking. I damn near crushed your throat. Let's go," Kensuke spoke, and he continued carrying the injured Tsegael.
Hisoka and Nerael emerged from the interrogation room shortly after. The pair of them explained what had happened, and how Tsegael and Seigai were the same person now. It took some convincing, but eventually Azanael and Ekaril understood.
After the explanation was finished, Nerael rushed to the med bay, to check up on her wife. She found Tsegael laying down on a bed, while the automated equipment on the bed started doing what it needed to in order to stabilize Tsegael's broken body.
"I'm not a doctor. The rest is up to these machines. I'm sure she'll be fine," spoke Kensuke.
"You could have killed her," Nerael said in a firm tone.
"Yeah, I suppose I could have. And I would have. I guess it's a good thing Seigai... Tsegael, I guess, is convincing. Hey, what should I call you, anyway?" asked Kensuke of Tsegael.
"By my Arume name. It's more fitting, given my current body and all."
"What's it even like, anyway. I mean, you've now been both a man and a woman, right?" asked Kensuke.
"It's interesting... urgh..."
"You alright?"
Tsegael was trying to speak, but couldn't.
"The machine is currently fixing her throat. We'll have to wait until it's done. She's not going to be able to speak. You'll have to wait to indulge your curiosity later," spoke Nerael.
"You're awfully calm towards me after I nearly beat your wife to death."
"My anger would do nothing. Besides, she clearly likes you as a friend. I don't think she would want me to hurt her friends. You're also physically stronger than me, anyway."
"Feh, I guess I'll leave the two of you alone for now. You can watch her as she recovers."
"I would rather you not be here, anyway."
"No, I don't suppose you would. Just get one of us when she's done."
"It won't be you, but I will."
"Damn blue-eyed devil, fine, have it your way," Kensuke said, as he left the med bay.
The machines continued to work on Tsegael. The recovery leaving Tsegael tired to the point of falling asleep. She was soon joined by Ekaril. Nerael welcomed the company of another Arume.
"Hello... Nerael, right?" asked Ekaril.
"Yes. And you're Ekaril, the commander of this vessel?"
"I am."
"How do you put up with that Forime."
"He's good at what he does."
"Killing? I don't see how that barbarian would be good for anything else."
"It's a little more than that. Mostly that, though. You have to understand, in the beginning of the invasion Kensuke lost his entire family. He has been blaming all of our people for it. He's even threatened to kill Azanael, Tsubael, and myself multiple times. He believes, or at least he did believe, that the only answer for him was wiping out our entire race."
"Does understanding him and his motivations make it easier, then?"
"It does. The same goes for all of the Forime. Understanding what it is they are working towards, and watching the steps they take to achieving those goals are how I have learned to live among them. I would imagine Tsegael would be able to tell you the same."
"Would she?"
"She has the memories of both Arume and Forime. If there is anyone capable of understanding both of us, it would be her."
"I guess. Honestly, aside from her willingness to help in this cause, she's the same as she was before."
"Maybe. Or maybe her and Seigai were similar the entire time."
"If that was true, that would make everything one giant coincidence. I'm not sure how I feel about that."
"You want my advice, Nerael? Don't think about it. Just take it all a day at a time."
"I'll try. At least having Tsegael here makes it easier for me. Being on a separate ship helps, as well. I don't think I'm ready to try to live around Forime all the time."
Ekaril nodded in understanding.
"It is probably better having your wife with you. Good luck," Ekaril said, as she made her way back to her station on the bridge.
After a few hours, the machines working on Tsegael signaled they had finished their work. Nerael was the first to check on her. Tsegael looked much better than she had, but she was still stuck in bed.
"How do you feel now?" asked Nerael.
"I've been better, hun. I can still feel some pain, but I'm fine otherwise. What does the machine say?" asked Tsegael.
Nerael looked over the reading on the machine, and noted what it said of Tsegael's current condition, and its recommendations for what Tsegael should do after.
"Looks like you're mostly okay, but you had a couple of cracked ribs. Does that sound right?" asked Nereal.
Tsegael ran her hand down the side of her body. She winced in pain and stopped immediately.
"Yeah, sounds about right."
"According to the computer, you should rest for the next week in order for your ribs to heal. No lifting, no vigorous activities."
"Oh, great. Stuck in bed again. I feel like I just got away from having to rest and do nothing."
"It'll probably take them that long to repair the ship. I doubt they're going to go anywhere while the Blue is in her current condition."
"No, I don't suppose so. Well, if I'm gonna be stuck taking it easy, I'm at least going to take it easy on my ship. I hate leaving the girl by herself, and honestly... I feel naked without my sword. Which is saying a lot, seeing as these uniforms are pretty revealing."
"Its the same uniform we've always had."
"I'm as much used to this as I am the much more modest Forime uniforms. They're both white, so I guess that's the same. Completely different otherwise. You know how I feel about white, right?"
"Yes. 'White clothes are white only once,' right?"
"Exactly. Literally both of my halves think the same way on that. Still, uniform is a uniform. Although none of the Forime are wearing their uniforms. Hmm..."
"What are you thinking about?"
"Why are we still wearing these things? I'm wearing mine, you're wearing yours, Azanael, Tsubael, and Ekaril are still wearing their uniforms. It's not like we're answering to anyone anymore."
"Well, we didn't exactly bring extra clothes with us."
"Ah, yeah, good point. I mean, Seigai's clothes would fit me, but... they'd be a little uncomfortable in the chest area. That settles it, first thing after the war, all the clothes shopping we can handle."
"I think we'll be waiting a while."
"Never hurts to start planning now."
Nerael chuckled.
"For someone who has to constantly think about a ship and her crew, and what to do with both, you always have the capacity to think about something random."
"Have to take the pressure off somehow. Running a ship is tough business. Arume me has always been in command. Forime me actually had to answer to someone for most of... his, can I say his? Well, I did, so... his career."
Nerael nodded in response.
Kensuke entered the room a moment later. He looked relieved to see Tsegael up.
"Oh, I'm not interrupting, am I?" asked Kensuke.
"I'm can't do anything like that for a while. Again. Thanks for the broken ribs, jack ass," spoke Tsegael.
"Any time, blue-eyes, any time."
"You're lucky I can't move around easily right now."
"Yeah, yeah. So about that question from before. You can answer now, right?"
"The one about what its like having been a man and a woman?"
"Yeah, that one."
"I hate to say this," said Nerael, "but, I'm also a little interested in the answer, too."
"Well... ya know, it's not really that different. I mean, things stick out in different places now, and all, but that's really it. We Arume have the same form as Forime women, but we don't function the same. We don't have to worry about monthly cycles, and we can make children with each other. We're effectively hermaphrodites in a female body. All of the perks, and none of the setbacks... well, except for getting pregnant, but if we want to try to conceive, we decide in advance who is going to be carrying the child."
"Huh... so... could you do that with humans?" asked Kensuke.
"It's possible, yeah. But... we all only like women. I guess it's possible for something to happen with a man, too. For sure with women, though, obviously human women can't get each other pregnant, so the roles would be fixed in that instance."
Kensuke nodded in response to Tsegael's explanation.
"What are you thinking?" asked Tsegael.
"Nothing..."
"Kensuke. One, you can't convert us into liking men. Two, I'm not sharing my wife with you."
"I wasn't thinking that.
"Yes, you were. I've known you for too long."
"Feh, it would feel wrong with one of you, anyway," Kensuke spoke, as he left the room.
Nerael looked at Tsegael, an uncomfortable expression on her face.
"Tsegael, did he that man seriously go from wanting to kill all of us to wanting to sleep with us?"
"More like he went back to his old self. He's always been like that. Don't worry, he talks big, but won't actually do anything. And if he tries, I'll kill him. In the slowest, and most gruesome way possible."
Nerael nodded in response, and gave Tsegael a quick hug. She helped Tsegael back onto their shuttle, the pair of them returning to the Ember for Tsegael to recover while Blue's crew went fast to work on repairing their ship.