Ember grabbed a piece of steaming hokor and made her way over to her squadron's table. She sat down cautiously, catching Nimash's eye while the rest of the squad laughed and chatted. Her seat was usually beside the female Loki'irian, and today was no different.
"Are you tired again?" She questioned.
Ember nodded slowly, lazily grasping the piece of meat. "It's been stressful keeping up with you all," she sighed, rubbing her head.
"I've studied the new Nera'ak bodies," Nimash told her, grabbing her attention. "Tomes and such on your biology. You aren't very different to our Nera'ak, and that means you should have at least become used to it."
"Well I haven't, alright?" Ember growled loudly, drawing attention from their squad members.
"Are you two alright?" Yujik asked. Yujik was their squad leader, ranking Motigo while they were Nimgo, the lowest rank of regulars in training.
Ember glared at Nimash for a moment, but sighed and shook her head. "We're fine, Yujik," she said, a bit of annoyance in her tone.
To her left, Prongo, the second in command, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ember, you need to tell us if something is wrong," he said in a lower tone. "Nimash has seen you in pain recently. There isn't a healer on this ship. If you've been injured, you need to tell us now."
Prongo was very vicious in combat, but outside of a battle, he was very calm and caring. Some would say a bit too caring. Even so, she pulled his hand away and started to eat. She'd felt weak all day, but she believed she just needed food to get herself going.
The months had gone by fast… and boy was she glad. Her training had escalated quickly, after practicing marksmanship with rifles and hand-to-hand combat, they went on to practice family weapon skills. Each clan, especially the Signa, were trained in a certain weapon. Yujik's clan were men of the spear, shown by his personally made spear with a symbol carved into the head. Prongo's clan were masters of the mace, his own brutal weapon resting beside him. As for Nimash, she and her clan were experts with knives and daggers.
The thought never occurred to Ember about what her father and his family used. Her father used a blade, like her fiancé, one of her uncle's used a spear, and the other (who was long deceased) was skilled with a hammer. Before them, her grandfather was remembered as a deadly axe wielder. As such, she went with the one weapon she'd used since the age of five. Her bow.
She felt confident in her ability to use her weapon, but she was put in impossible trials that the other children eased through. The instructor, a female archer, helped her to see that the impossible was just harder than the possible. She learned how to determine the power for a shot, how to fire several arrows at once, what direction to fire her arrow in certain conditions and other amazing skills. What she learned, was that an archer's best friend was their blade. Be it a short-sword, regular sword, or a dagger, their close quarter weapon was the most important tool to their survival in battle.
Ever since then, she'd learned valuable skills that made her about as strong as most Loki'irians on the ship. She was ranked in the top half of her platoon, which was no easy accomplishment for someone like her.
However, all of her work had made everything all the more painful. Cramps and aches were bolstered by two fold, her headaches were becoming more frequent, and she felt weaker and weaker with every passing day.
"Ember," Nimash called, her hand touching Ember's claw. "You… you carry the Doshu'um's son… don't you?"
Ember's scales hadn't turned dull like they normally did for a dragoness carrying an egg. Then again, she didn't know what exactly she was carrying… not after all the sensations she was feeling. Whenever a Signa passed through the ship, or when she would pass near Homooru, they would give her a bow as usual but an odd glance as well. The Signa undoubtedly sensed an energy within her that wasn't her own, and yet she was reluctant to tell someone. She didn't want to leave just yet.
It wasn't that she didn't want to tell her father… she wanted to have Draco with her when their child was born. However it happened, at the very least.
And so… for Nimash's answer, Ember shrugged. "I… I've been told… and I've felt it," she admitted at last. "I haven't shown signs of it… at least those specific to a dragon."
"But you carry a child," Prongo reminded her. "Ember, you should not stay on this ship. You must return to your kind so that they may care for you."
"Isika, please." Isika was a term most Signa females used for a close friend. Or someone they considered as close as family.
"I'll only be here another month, Isika," Ember smiled to Nimash, grasping her hand softly. "I give you my word. And you as well, Prongo. But you must both promise to keep this a secret. The Signa know, but no one else does. Can you both give me your word?"
Prongo sighed and turned to Nimash. She sighed as well, but finally smiled and shook her head. "You're as stubborn as most Nera'ak, Isika," Nimash laughed. "I give you my word."
"Then mine as well, I suppose," Prongo chuckled hesitantly. "Neither of us will say anything."
"Thank you," Ember smiled. "I've been meaning to ask why haven't any platoons been training."
The two nodded with growing smiles. "Today is a traditional day," Nimash stated with a joyous clap of her hands. "On this very day, almost a thousand generations ago, we defeated Drepshol and restored order to the galaxies."
Ember's ears perked and her eyes widened. "Your kind brought peace to the galaxy?" She questioned disbelievingly.
"Every Loki'irian learns this at the age of five cycles," Lilax, another female of their squad, laughed. "The darkest battle of them all."
"The day our forefathers fought with Minira and the first Makti Reku'un!" A warrior from the other side of the mess shouted.
"Every being in the galaxy was saved with our armies together!" Yujik laughed boisterously. "Each regular laid thousands of soldiers to rest while the Signa wiped clean thousands of HORDES!"
"AH-HOO!"
"My great-forefather kept a journal of that battle," another warrior announced, gathering the room at Ember's squad's table. "There wasn't a sky that day. Only horde upon horde upon horde. Gungrich were in the millions, the soldiers doubling that number, and the Alphas tripling that number!"
"And we numbered in the trillions!" A girl shouted, a unified chant echoing through the room.
"We fought tooth, nail, Rite, blade, bows, weapons, ship, and Nera'ak. With Reku'un's sacrifice, we not only won the battle, but the war, and made the galaxies a better place for all!" Yujik continued. "Let us all hope the birth of another Reku'un secures our TRUE victory! The death of the horde!"
"AH-HOO!"
"Do you think he can do it?" Nimash questioned Ember.
"How would the offworld Nera'ak know?" A boy beside Nimash laughed, spurring others to do the same.
She stood up, headbutted him, and placed an arm around Ember's shoulders. "She is the Doshu'um's lover," she announced. Every warrior that wasn't in their platoon dropped to a knee and bowed formally, a knuckle on the ground while the other hand rested on their lifted knee.
Once they did that, they all jumped to their feet. "Have you seen his strength?" One asked.
"Can he do it?" Another questioned.
"Will he get us through this?"
Ember stood up, silencing them all. "Dra-Reku'un has an unbreakable drive… he promised to fight these monsters… and win," she said softly. "He'll make sure we win… and make sure you all stand on their corpses when we win this war!"
"AH-HOO!"