Sitting on a park bench with just the 2 of them, Hotaru took the book from her purse and opened it to the next chapter. Morva put his arm around her shoulders like they were going out and leaned his head against hers with a familiarity that made Hotaru a little uncomfortable. She couldn't think of doing anything to him since he had treated her to coffee and…and he was the last Saturian male, the last of their people, like her.

Chapter 5:

The Process of Control

In order to have the perfect army, Apollo knew he had to maintain

A form of population control over the Saturian race.

That control forced the people of Saturn to have certain organs harvested.

Without these certain organs, they could not breed at will and thus, Apollo had

Control over their lives and destinies.

To have offspring, the harvest organs had been preserved in a manner that allowed

Them to go and develop but remain separated from the organs of the others.

Taking an egg from the Mother organ and Seed from the Father, the "Breeder Machines"

Combined the 2 together, creating a new life that was contained in its own

Growth chamber and set aside to grow without being disturbed.

When the offspring was fully developed, their "manufacturing" was considered

Complete and they were released from their growth chamber,

Being sent to the nursery where they underwent the beginnings of subneurual education.

These children developed normally but they did not have the organs for breeding, the genes

Being eliminated at one month of creation and they were forever unable to carry or

Produce a child since this was passed on to their children as well.

"That's horrible! What would possess anyone to do that to another living creature?" Hotaru demanded, closing the book on her lap. Morva shrugged, his eyes closed. Hotaru felt her heart drop into the deepest depression she had ever fallen into as she put a hand on her lower stomach. "…I guess that I'll never become a mother now…I'll never have a family of my own and…and when I die-the Saturian race will truly come to an end…"

Morva put his hand over Hotaru's, not removing his arm around her shoulders. "The machines may have been destroyed but the Mimas Castle can create one for us as long as the Titan castle can sustain itself with the added networking. You can be a mother still. You can still have a family. We'll raise them here on Terra and have our children never know the terrors of war and pain of taking life. Our race will still survive as long as we do."

Hotaru closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek. Morva shifted, tightening his hand on hers as the tip of his tongue touched her skin, licking up her tear. He kissed the eye it had come from and then he tenderly kissed her lips. For the first time since she found the book, Hotaru felt hope fill her heart once again and lift her up enough to kiss her past lover back.