Chapter 287: A Place To Call Home
We managed to find Emily a suitable room a few levels down from my quarters. She happily locked herself away with a tablet that Jun Li had given her so that she could learn more about the universe and where she wanted to settle. If she even did.
The guys and I were in the living room a few days after returning to Jun Li, eating dinner like we always did. I was still trying to rack my brains about how to bring up the idea of finding a planet to settle on, but the longer I put it off, the less I wanted to bring it up.
I let out a long sigh and poked my fork at the spaghetti and meatballs in front of me.
"We think we should find a place to call home," said Ye’tab abruptly, setting down his knife and looking at me.
"You are leaving me?" I asked; the very idea was like a knife through my back, and I was not happy.
"No!" growled Raguk and Midnight at the same time, turning to glare at the Saalistaja male. "After spending so much time on Earth, we thought that it might be nice to find a planet to call home instead of just flying around aimlessly in Jun Li," explained Midnight as he picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles.
"You thrived on Earth while we were there. I had never seen you so happy, and we want that to be your new normal," he continued, looking deep into my eyes.
"So you aren’t planning on dropping me off on a planet and then leaving me there by myself and taking Jun Li away?" I asked, oddly specific. Midnight only chuckled and shook his head ’no.’
"The only way I would ever leave you is if I was dead," promised the male. "And even then, I would not leave you. You are my tether to the world, the reason for my existence. Where you are, I am. There is no question and no doubt."
"I would like that," I said hesitantly. "But what about Jun Li? He needs me here?" I love how I was talking like I hadn’t desperately wanted to live on a planet.
"I can assure you, Mei Xing, I do not need you anymore," said Jun Li over the speakers, cutting through our conversation.
If I thought it had hurt when I believed that the guys wanted to leave me, it was nothing compared to Jun Li telling me that he didn’t need me.
"What?" I stuttered, my mind spinning. "But being an AI is still considered to be a death sentence, even with the Alliance gone."
"It is," agreed Jun Li. "But I have found a way to work about it. Thanks to you."
Ha! Thinks to me I made myself pregnant and homeless. Great.
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to work through the lump in my throat. "What did I do?"
"When we went back to Earth, I ordered 150 new androids," answered Jun Li smugly. "75 are for me, and the remaining 75 are for Sha Shou. Now, neither one of us has to worry about looking strange without a captain or crew. And best of all, they are all controlled by us!"
He really did sound so happy and excited about the fact that he was now completely self-sufficient. I had no idea how to respond. I literally shot myself in the foot the first time I brought him to Earth so he could have a body. I wonder how long he had been coming up with this plan. One hundred fifty androids would take more than two and a half weeks to make, so it must have been a while.
There was a queasy feeling in my stomach as my thoughts raced. Thankfully, my mates remained silent as I worked through everything in my head. I should be happy for him. But there was also a large part of me that was pissed he did this behind my back.
He was my only home.
"Congratulations," I said, forcing the cheerfulness into my voice. There was no way he would be able to tell if I was actually happy or not. I had managed to fake this level of happiness for the majority of my life.
"Thanks! I even asked Sha Shou what types of bodies she wanted, and I let her pick them out, too," he continued like he wasn’t gutting me here and now.
"So, Sha Shou knew too? Fantastic!" I smiled and picked up my fork.
"Yes. I thought you would be very happy that I asked for her input instead of just telling her what she wanted," he added.
"You did great," I assured him. The smile on my face not slipping for a second.
I guess it was a good thing that the guys mentioned finding us a planet. I didn’t know just how long it was going to be until I got evicted.
"Don’t worry," said Midnight, his voice so low that even the guys didn’t seem to hear him. "It’s you and us against the universe. We will find the perfect planet and build a life there."
I nodded to show that I had heard him, but the tears in my eyes were starting to affect my vision.
I had no idea where to start searching for a planet. But it seemed to be a lot harder than looking for a house. I would have to take into account the weather patterns, landscape, dangerous animals... I let out a long, shaky breath... and I would need to either find a home already built or build one myself.
All before the children were born. Whenever that was.
I had a clock ticking down in my head, and there was no definite time on it.
"We can do it," muttered Midnight, still not letting anyone overhear him. "As long as we are together, we can do anything. I’ll get Ye’tab, GA, and Da’kea to start looking at suitable planets to narrow them down."
I nodded my head and stood up, ignoring the rest of the food on my plate. It all tasted like ash anyway.
My head held high, I walked out of the living room and went to my quarters.
Crawling into my nest, I pulled up my favorite furs and burrowed deep within their comfort.
I could do this. I wasn’t alone.
