I moaned as he pulled me closer. I still don't know what came over me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his settled around my waist. I didn't want to stop.

If Robert or any of the others were in the bridge, they would have been getting a steamy show but I didn't care. For those few mind-blowing minutes, it was like something inside me had snapped.

I gave into all the urges that I'd been denying for months. It felt right being in his arms like that with my breasts and belly pressing against my baby's father.

Maybe that's what the whole thing was about. Maybe I felt a primal desire for him borne from carrying his child. Regardless I was out of my shell but not for long.

I felt his wandering hands grab my breasts in search of my nipple and this had the immediate effect of pulling me back to reality.

Our lips separated and I jerked unsteadily backwards. His hand grabbed mine stopping my fall. I watched the look of horror mixed in with worry on his face.

Had I just pulled so harshly away from him to get out of his embrace? Was he so disgusting that I would rather hit the dirt than remain touching him? I imagined those were the words he was asking himself.

"I'm sorry" I said after regaining my balance.

His hand let go of mine and suddenly I felt empty. "It's fine" he dismissed.

It wasn't fine.

"My head's just so messed up" I explained hoping he'd understand. "It's like two different people are fighting for control"

"Dany, it's okay. I understand" He said again. His words juxtaposed his actions as he had now turned away from me walking towards the ship entrance.

I walked up to him and took one of his hands in both of mine causing him to turn again.

"I liked it. I'm just confused". I needed him to understand that. I didn't know why I was trying so hard.

"I'm tired from all the action today so I'm just gonna turn in early, if that's okay?" He said while moving his hand slightly which signaled to me to let it go.

It really had been an involuntary action on my part. I know I'd been enjoying it. I couldn't deny it but when he touched me, it felt like I was about to pass a point of no return.

Which was crazy to think because I was already pregnant. Wasn't that the point of no return?

It may have been delusional but even then it felt like I could still be Daniel again. That he was still alive inside me and I could deliver this baby and then undo everything that had been done to me.

But if I let him touch me like that, I was truly giving that part of me up forever. So why was Will walking away from me so heartbreaking? Did I want to walk passed that point of no return?

I was so confused.

Will never even looked back as he disappeared into the ship.

=^..^=

I sat outside in the cold clutching his jacket trying and failing to figure things out when I saw a pair of blue eyes approaching from the forest.

In the dark, he was nearly invisible due to his black fur. Only his eyes alerted me of his presence and that he was getting closer.

He was of the same species as both my assailant and my savior. Somewhere in-between the two of them in size. I stood and walked slowly up to him. He towered over me. I was sure his head alone weighed more than I did.

They weren't just mindless animals. They were so expressive and showed so many emotions, just in ways humans couldn't discern. What gave us the right to treat them as any less just because they communicated differently.

We came wondering it we'd find intelligent life down here. We did, and they were everywhere.

I outstretched my hand and looked away, trusting entirely in the feeling of mutual respect that he wasn't going to hurt me.

I felt my hand make contact and looked to see he had placed his head beneath my hand. I could sense his worry and fear. The feeling of an apex predator opening itself to you is a feeling I couldn't ever possibly describe.

"Is she your mate?" I asked. "Don't worry, she's okay. You'll see her soon"

He pressed his head against my hand again before turning and slowly disappearing into the night.

The ship was quiet when I finally went in. It seemed the day had really tired everyone out. I made a beeline for the med bay to find her sleeping on the autodoc. It didn't look very comfortable but she didn't seem disturbed by it.

"Pola, status".

"The creature has been successfully sedated. Its condition is stable. We do not have a name yet for this species. Would you like to select one?"

"No" I responded. "Let her sleep one more night before we force our will on her".

=^..^=

I had been walking to my room. I swear I had been at the start, so why was I now standing in front of Will's door.

I stared at the button on the door that would alert him to my presence. Pushing it would be my point of no return.

"Just go" I whispered under my breath "Go to bed please"

Why was I still standing there? Why was my hand moving by itself? Why was I pushing the bell? It felt like a bad dream but deep down, I wanted this.

I pushed the bell again before the door slid open to reveal Will on the other side. He wasn't even wearing a shirt. As if this wasn't difficult enough.

I took a step forward and he took one back. We repeated this motion until I was fully in the door and I could slide it closed behind me.

I had crossed the point of no return.

While keeping eye contact, I criss-crossed my arms and grabbed the hems of my dress pulling it over my head. I dropped it to the floor and let him drink me in.

All of my body to look at and his eyes seemed glued to be protruding belly. I took a step forward and another one bringing us within an arms length to each other.

I reached around and unclasped the bra. Adjusting my shoulders I let it fall to the floor. Each action seemed orchestrated by someone else. Someone that had been kept locked away for so long and now she was ravenous.

My breasts were average but even still, free and unshackled from their cloth prison, they managed to steal his attention away from my belly. I walked even closer to him still maintaining the same eye contact. I could feel his warm breath.

I took his right hand and placed it on my right breast. The same one he'd touched earlier.

"I want you" I whispered to him.

"I don't want your pity" He said to me and backed away.

"I..." I was stunned. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

"Look Dany, you had a hard day, emotional, I get why you kissed me. I also get why you pulled away and I get why you're doing this" He shook his head "You don't have to. I told you, it's fine".

"It's not pity" I tried to make him understand "I really want to do this".

He wasn't giving me a chance "You said it yourself, you're confused. And of course you are, you're a pregnant man".

That stung hard. Was he lashing out or did he really mean that? Did he want to hurt me because I hurt him or did he now see me as a man? And why did it hurt so bad?

"Just go get some sleep" He said finally, "you'll feel differently in the morning".

And for the third time tonight, he turned his back on me. There was nothing else for me there. I slid my dress over my head, picked my bra up the floor in a most shameful motion and left the room with his jacket lying there.

Quietly, I walked through the halls. Whoever had called it the 'walk of shame' when they'd had sex the previous night obviously hadn't experienced throwing yourself at someone and been shunned away.

When I got to my room, I locked the door and cried myself my sleep.

=^..^=

In typical fashion, soon it was morning. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have even considered leaving my room but I wanted to go see if she was awake.

I quickly got dressed in a loose maternity top and skirt combo and hurried into the elevator leading to the med bay floor all the while dreading seeing Will again.

"Where's Will?" I asked Pola while in the elevator.

"He left on an expedition alongside Cillian and Robert early this morning" She answered.

I guessed he was avoiding me too.

As soon as the doors opened, my eyes were drawn to her, very large and agitated and clawing at the access doors and doing quite a bit of damage.

"Hey hey hey" I rushed forward with my hand outstretched "It's okay".

She turned sharply and snarled but seemed to calm down a second later.

"Pola, open the access door".

The door swung open but she didn't leave immediately like I expected. Instead she approached me slowly.

I touched her head gently and then her neck as she rubbed my arm in what felt like an embrace. She sniffed my belly and then rubbed her head ever so softly on it. I placed my head on hers and it was the single greatest moment of this whole experience.

I'd seen the stars, traveled across them and even passed through a wormhole. All of those experiences paled in comparison to bonding with her like that.

"Kira" I said softly "It means 'shine' or 'sparkle'. May I call you that?"

She was so warm. So brilliant. It was in that moment I told myself I wouldn't let anyone hurt her or anything else on this planet.

=^..^=

Kira was long gone by the time the men returned. It saddened me but I was glad she was being reunited with her mate.

Will gathered us in the bridge to discuss what had happened yesterday. They'd gone out armed in case they ran into hostile animals but alas every last one they had come across had been friendly.

"Did you do something for it to attack" Robert asked me.

"No" I insisted "I was just standing there"

"It doesn't make sense" Will stated. He was obviously still avoiding me but he hid it well enough.

"If anyone, they should have attacked John" Cillian said "he's the one always fucking with them"

"I'm only testing the bounds of their indifference" John countered. "But yeah it is weird. They tolerate us at best but absolutely love her. Why would they attack her?"

"You know how they all have blue eyes?" I asked. They all nodded or gave some other sign of agreement. "That one had black eyes. The eyeballs I mean".

"That could be something" Will agreed finally acknowledging something I'd said.

"It sounds to me like whatever mutation the others have, that one didn't have it" Robert reasoned.

"Then there are many unanswered questions. Was it alone? How many others are out there? Why did it happen?" Will paced around the bridge "Could the rest of the planet be hostile? The beacons are already active. Are we bringing humanity to a planet filled with hostile beasts?"

"The beings on this planet are good" I disagreed.

"You were almost killed and you're defending them?" Will asked with a tiny amount of frustration seeping though. "We should be gearing up to go hunt those aggressive ones down at least. Atleast we know they're no match for our hoses."

"No!" I exclaimed. "We're the ones that came here. We're the invaders. We kill and kill, the same way we killed our planet."

He laughed "Overpopulation and green house gases destroyed earth, not wildlife control".

He had laughed at me.

"We..." I froze. They were all looking at me. "Do what you want" I said simply before exiting the bridge and eventually the ship.

=^..^=

I walked until I arrived at my usual forest path. I knew it was careless to be out there alone after what had happened yesterday but I just couldn't be anywhere near that ship anymore. Anywhere near him.

It seemed all he wanted to do anymore was humiliate me.

I followed the usual path while watching the trees for any eyes that weren't blue. I spotted the zoofle from yesterday. He was back and munching on a purple colored fruit.

We had a lot of naming to do. We'd have to start deciding what to call every last thing on this world. Eventually we'd build a working dictionary for the settlers that would come later.

I dreaded the other settlers' arrivals. I wanted Heather to wake up but I knew the more of them that arrived, the more of these beautiful animals that would be killed for food, pelt or worse for fun.

There was nothing humans loved more than an easy target. Every minority could attest to that.

'What should we call that fruit' I thought to myself as I walked.

I tested different words in my head searching for something that sounded right.

'Plumora?' I thought. The original owners of this world probably had a name for the fruit and now they're gone. Their language, culture and history vanished because a human pushed a button.

=^..^=

Eventually I arrived at the location where it had happened yesterday. There was a pack of animals feasting on the carcass. When they saw me approaching, they took off into the trees.

I inspected the area, the once majestic creature now looked nothing like it's former self. A little more than a puddle in the dirt.

I bent down to get a closer look, I could see the singed and burned flesh and organs, an obvious sign of where the beam had hit and passed through. It never stood a chance.

I heard leaves rustle behind me and I turned sharply. My heart had skipped a beat but it was only a small animal. Blue eyes. Harmless.

I relaxed as I watched it hop up to me, sniff my feet and then stare up at me with those eyes. So innocent.

How could I defend them again all of humanity, especially the cruel corporations that would exploit them, if I couldn't even stand my ground against Will and the others.

I was so pathetic. Constantly being saved by them and I couldn't even return the favour.

But what could I do? I was weak. But if I couldn't even protect them, how would I protect my child when I delivered them into this world in five months.

I thought about all the pain the animals here would go through when they faced humankind but could defend themselves like the animals back on Earth could.

I stared at the little creature with pity. Its genetic code was its prison. Its death sentence.

"I need you to fight back" I begged.

It just stared at me with those innocent eyes.

"Fight back" I repeated.

I reached forward with my index finger and pushed its head . It easily lost balance and fell in the dirt. It hurt me to see.

"Fight back" I repeated and pushed it again into the dirt. Still it clumsily regained its usual stance and just stared at me.

It was doomed. They were all doomed. Poachers would have a field day with them.

"Fight back!" I screamed at it and it hissed back. Baring its fangs angrily at me.

I outstretched my finger to push again and it lunged forward with a bite. With a quick action, I pulled my hand out of reach and it too stepped back in a defensive position hissing aggresively.

"Yes!" I screamed. "That's it. Protect yourselves"

I stood and did a quick turn around, a forest full of blue eyes watching me, "Fight back!" I screamed again.

In a second, the whole forest turned to chaos. All species named and unnamed clamoring and making whatever threatening noise nature had taught them.

I watched happily at the first show of aggression from these creatures. I raised both my hands out in the air and laughed maniacally as the forest erupted into shows of resistance and defiance.

"Dany!" I heard Will shout my name as he came into view. He must have heard me screaming. Even with all that had happened, he still came.

"Will" I said happily.

All the animals in view seemed to turn their attention to him and hissed angrily.

It only took one to charge at him for the others to do the same. When I realised what was happening, I was horrified.

"No stop!" I screamed at the very top of my lungs and as if on command, the charge stopped.

Once again, they stood dormant and gone were the ferocious beasts they had been only a moment ago.

=^..^=

"What the fuck was that?" Will asked as he walked back to ship and I followed.

"I don't know" I said.

"I heard you screaming again so I came to help and next thing I know, I'm being mobbed by half the jungle!" he was walking ahead of me and wasn't even turning to see that I was struggling to keep up.

"I don't know what happened either" I explained. We came in view of the ship and the others were standing outside which gave me a sense of deja vu. The only difference was that now my feet hurt from walking so fast.

When we reached the others, Will simply stated, "Everyone to the bridge".

=^..^=

Will told his version of events again which caused them to look to me expectantly for answers.

"I was just telling them to fight back, I didn't think anything would happen"

"Telling them how?" Robert asked.

"Fight back against who?" John asked

Lots of questions were flying in my direction and I was just as confused about what had just happened.

"Against humans" I said confidently. "What do you think will happen when everyone shows up? They'll all be hunted to extinction."

"I.. see where you're coming from but you're putting people's lives in danger" John told me.

"Their lives aren't worth less than ours" I argued back.

"They are" Will seemed fed up. I didn't care "Where is this coming from? They're animals"

"Are we just glossing over the fact that she can talk to them? And they listen?" Robert asked again.

"Yeah how can you do that?" Cillian asked me.

"I don't know" I told them again. "I've just been feeling a connection to them and they're there when I need them"

"This is crazy" John remarked. He had the same look of disbelief as everyone else.

"I know. I know it is, but it is because of this connection that I know that they're intelligent beings" I tried my best to convince them "They think, and feel, and love, and communicate"

I watched their faces carefully as they contemplated all I'd just said. It was my chance.

"Please, you have to help me protect them" I added as a final touch.

The group exchanged glances. Did they think I was crazy? Maybe we were finally going to use that detention room that the Pathfinder had.

My attention turned from Will to John to Robert and to Cillian. Not a word between them.

Will heaved a sigh. Ultimately it was his decision. I hoped deep in my heart that he wouldn't decide to punish me for last night over this.

He looked at me and after seemingly having considered all the options, he stated simply "Not over humans, but we'll do our best".

=^..^=

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I'm so excited about how far we've come in this story. Thank you for reading all the words. Hope you'll stay for more. Leave a comment.