The effort to gather together the equipment for a communications broadcast had taken a fair while. Long enough that Svetna decided to take a nap on a proper bed. The Imperial Guard were working with Garcelle to round up the various Zumuult soldiers and lock them away for the moment, which meant it was safe for her to be under the minimal guard of Auguste, O’trayj, and O’tmyil while Plynx curled up beside her to sleep.

  When Agent Lee arrived a short time ter to take her and O’tmyil to go help with the press conference she was a bit slow to get up. It hadn’t been nearly enough to make up for all the poor sleep she’d gotten. Didn’t being pregnant earn her a bit of extra down time?

  Still, basically all she had to do for Vahr’s broadcast was to stand with O’tmyil at Thisbe’s side while she in turn stood at Vahr’s side. Garcelle fnked Vahr on the other side. Which was fair. It was clearly nearly as important of an ally as the Empress of the Gactic Commonwealth. Possibly a better one from what O’tmyil had told her about how she and the founder of the Second Dynasty had basically swooped in with a resistance force after letting the previous M’tethon fight the First Dynasty’s armies to a standstill around Throne World. So some Zumuults saw the M’tethon as the one to truly defeat them and the Gactic Commonwealth to just be a bunch of opportunist scavengers.

  The actual speech was basically entirely in Zumuult, Svetna having to rely on emotional cues from O’tmyil to know when to nod. Meanwhile, apparently Garcelle spoke Zumuult (perhaps a memory from the M’tethon’s st host).

  Eventually the transmission ended and they were forced to wait to see if the fleet above them would accept the coup or not. Considering how outnumbered they were by the fortress’ guards their position was not great... even with having released a handful of prisoners who’d been in the dungeon under Ouzzhen, those Zumuults’ loyalty was questionable.

  Several members of the imperial guard panicked over an unknown individual having managed to steal a messenger ship from the hangers and fled into space. However, the ship had sent back a departure message in English of ‘it’s a great day to go exploring’, which Svetna quickly recognised as the final words of her favourite comic. That left it clear who had run and she managed to talk I’phyl down from shooting at the ship (with a great deal of help from O’tmyil).

  Finally, the admiral upon the star breaker beamed down a reply, confirming recognition of Vahr’s cim to the title of empere and distracting everyone from the ‘mystery’ escapee.

  A’khaun insisted that the nding party needed to stay in pce for the new empere’s security during the transition period. Which meant more time stuck in that evil looking fortress. Though the official excuse for the dey was that they didn’t want to make her, the empress, travel on a shakey military ship while pregnant, and the others were very quick to confirm that she should definitely avoid that fate if possible.

  Plus, now that she had access to the nicer bedrooms, with their utterly massive Zumuult beds, she maybe didn’t mind being stuck here quite as much. Honestly, it was funny how good their beds where when, as gods, they had no need to sleep... it seemed they liked the decadence of it. Having some of her polycule present was also very nice, even if Thisbe was very busy with Vahr.

  “C’mon, Auguste,” she said, starting to sneak back to the bedroom, “I already cuddled Plynx for a bit, don’t you want snuggles too?”

  “I, um...” Auguste half whispered, voice pushed to a slightly odd pitched.

  In fact, the effort struck her as a bit familiar. “Are you... is this more of a girl time?”

  Auguste nodded, staying quiet but having her awkwardness and dysphoria written on her face. Finally she eborated in a quiet voice. “The military ship didn’t have a gender cannon.”

  “Oh. Oh you poor thing... there’s only one thing for it, I have to show you some of the moves Vivian used to use on me that managed to make me feel like a woman before I realised I was one,” Svetna decred, dragging Auguste along.

  She was honestly kind of excited to get to try the techniques out and test her memory.

  At long st a small Commonwealth star runner arrived in the system, accompanied by multiple cruisers and capital ships as a security entourage moments ter. Honestly, it was putting so many ships into the system that Svetna kind of worried skirmishes might be inevitable with all the tension between the two fleets.

  Still, it made a good backdrop for more diplomacy. Even though she was starting to regret having decided to put herself through twins, Svetna was on the ball enough to realise that.

  Also, the new ship brought the rest of her polycule. A fact that left her waiting excitedly at the docking bay as a shuttle descended. It did not surprise her that Vivian was the first to exit, marching over in a hurry.

  “Vivian!” she called out.

  “Svetna! Houyu!” Vivian replied, all but running the st few steps to then scoop the baby from Svetna’s arms and hold them close.

  Houyu burst out a series of happy gurgled goos and gagas as Vivian kissed their forehead.

  “I missed you so so much,” Vivian whispered, staring down at the small baby in her arms with a soft smile.

  The gentleness of it all was delightful, warming Svetna’s heart.

  Unfortunately she was a brat.

  “What about your poor wife,” she asked, pcing the back of her hand dramatically against her forehead. “Am I just chopped liver?”

  “Oh, come off it you dork,” Vivian said, shifting Houyu slightly so that she could lean down and kiss Svetna’s forehead. “I missed you too, don’t worry. It just wasn’t as significant a fraction of your life as it was for Houyu.”

  Before Svetna could needle her with any further teasing Bokarza lifted Svetna off of her feet, pulling her into a delightful hug that was rather delicate (by Kobaroic standards). Clearly being pregnant came with some consideration for not cracking her ribs.

  “You’re safe!” Bokarza said, her tail wagging furiously as she rubbed a cheek against Svetna’s face.

  “Yeah. As long as a gactic war doesn’t break out between the two armadas in the start system,” Svetna mumbled.

  Vahr needed to make a tour of the Zumuult domain, because apparently that was how the gaxy worked. They needed their monarchs to actually visit. An alien demand to a Canadian.

  As Svetna was pregnant with her child, Thisbe ended up managing to pull out puppy dog eyes (and a little vampiric psychic influence) to convince various advisors that Svetna travelling with them would be a good idea. It would show unity between Vahr and Svetna. She had to schedule quite a few in person meetings to make it happen, but it eventually worked and Svetna found herself touring yet another part of the gaxy.

  This time she had to admit that there were aspects of Zumuult society that struck her as deeply questionable... especially the clear stratification between their species and those beneath them. It was a reminder of why the First Dynasty had been so unpopur.

  “There is a way to fix it, I am certain,” Vahr said one day, as they sat in a space station above a green pnet pockmarked with crater impacts. “The Commonwealth will serve as a model... and as support. I’ll need to borrow your ships to help keep my own in line.”

  “They’re not my ships,” Svetna said, “but I’m sure the Gactic Council will be thrilled to see you turn into something less threatening out here.”

  Vahr nodded. “Of course, of course... I just... I do want it to be clear I don’t like this,” they said, waving to the pnet below and the other fortress stations around it. “And I want you to know I don’t just want peace for the sake of my own power.”

  “We know,” Thisbe said gently. “I can tell you’re a good person through and through.”

  What was not mentioned was the whispered suggestion Plynx and Bokarza had made some time ago that if power corrupted Vahr then Thisbe should suck them dry. Clearly those two did not fully trust a Zumuult monarch. After what Svetna had experienced with Ouzzhen she wasn’t sure she could bme the rest of the gaxy for being a bit jumpy, even if the Issiod’rians had only stepped onto the gactic scene during the Second Dynasty.

  It did surprise Svetna that Thisbe nodded with perfect composure in reply. At least until Svetna remembered some of Thisbe’s past escapades.

  Though it did seem like Vahr was genuinely disgusted by many elements of the empire they’d inherited, so there was little need to dwell on such dark things.

  One neat thing about being out in the gaxy was that no one batted an eye at Svetna’s pregnancy craving food requests. Either they figured those were typical human culinary eccentricities or they saw the fvour combinations as perfectly normal and valid.

  The months had gotten away from her. Travelling through Zumuult space had taken a couple. Then she’d needed to actually visit the Kobaroic home system. Which was then followed by needing to tour Issiod’rian space for a bit. Only for the Lanthoneans to have gotten impatient about how long it was taking her to visit them.

  Then there’d been a brief rebellion by supporters of Ouzzhen, trying to free them from custody. Thisbe had wanted to hurry back to support Vahr, while Bokarza had gathered a Kobaroic fleet to deploy in support as her domain was the closest to the Zumuult territory.

  Thankfully once the fleets actually arrived things ended pretty quickly, the rebels having apparently not banked on the Commonwealth forces actually supporting Vahr if their power looked shaky.

  Or something.

  Svetna only sort of understood politics at this point and Zumuult politics was extra alien, with it running on minds not shaped by evolution but by fears and superstitions of other peoples.

  Ah, and then after all that there was a couple weeks sitting with the fleet just to hammer home the message. Followed then by returning back to Throne World, with Vahr in tow. People were somewhat upset about that, but the combined facts that Ouzzhen visiting hadn’t resulted in the pnet blowing up and Vahr having behaved themself so far kept it from getting too bad.

  There had then been negotiations, Svetna finding herself dragged along because Vahr liked her personal touch on matters even though she didn’t have any power. Though she did suppose she provided a counterbance to the fear of the bulk of the Gactic Council as they discussed new trade retions and a bunch of other diplomatic details that sort of made her eyes gze over.

  And then...

  And then she was almost ready to pop. Twins did have a habit of coming out early, so she felt she deserved at least some sck for having lost track of time.

  Knowing how precisely the date could be calibrated with gactic medical technology she sent a message to her parents, hoping that they could show up. Somewhat reluctantly she allowed Auguste to message his parents. Well, she was mostly reluctant about his father, she had kind of liked his step mother for the brief amount of time she’d gotten to talk to her.

  Thisbe didn’t have anyone she was close enough with to call halfway across the gaxy, even if she did have a whole vilge of great great (add a few greats) nieces and nephews that she kept vaguely in contact with.

  To her surprise, the day before the actual due date, the Wong family also showed up, Vivian having invited them. As did Mynx, the girls having apparently decided it had been too long since they’d hung out.

  It all felt like quite a bit of pressure to do things properly on the big day. Only to be reminded on the actual day off how smooth things went out here. Especially inducing instead of letting bour kick in as they’d accidentally done with Vivian. The kids practically slid right out after what felt no worse than an intense workout from O’tmyil.

  And so Svetna sat there, only mildly tired, surrounded by her bizarrely rge family as they cooed and squealed over the two babies. Babies that had grown in her body (and that looked very different, taking after their respective other parents). Something that had seemed su--no, had been impossible only about a year earlier.

  It showed how crazy her life was.

  But it was wonderful.

  Though Thisbe really needed to notice how uncomfortable Vahr was about babies soon.

  Sitting there, staring down at the twins about an hour ter, she realised she needed to name them. She’d looked over quite a few gender neutral baby names, but, actually looking at the kids, she wasn’t sure about the ideas she’d had.

  “Not to rush you,” her mother said, walking over, “but you are pnning to come back to Earth soon, right?”

  “Hm? Of course?” she replied.

  “Good, because Eliza had only signed up for a six month term as Governor General.”

  Staring at her mother, Svetna’s mouth twitched slightly. “I totally forgot about her... oh no.”

  Staring at the paperwork in front of her, Eliza Haliwell decided that she deserved a knighthood for all the extra months she’d spent doing Svetna’s job for her. At the very least. Maybe even a duchy. All the forms to sign. All the meetings. The boring dinners where she had to smile and be polite to Reformist Party politicians. It was horrible.

  Actually, she would also accept being able to punch some of those jerks.

  ... Honestly, that might be better than a knighthood.

  AnnouncementAnd there we have it. The final main chapter, released to celebrate that the final version is now for sale. On Amazon and Itch. With a short epilogue about robo-Svetna and illustrations.