Free Machine World (Undying Mercenaries Book 4) by B. V. Larson

traditionally built aboard all large ships to simulate an outdoor environment. It was always popular with couples seeking a get-away during off-hours. During the day it was used for combat training.
    Overgrown with trees and riddled with sheltered nooks behind rocks and bushes, there was always a spot you could find that was secluded and at least semi-private. Artificial birds sang and brooks babbled, giving people the exact level of cover-noise they needed.
    We made love, and the sex was as good as it had always been with Della. She was possibly the most uninhibited girl I’d ever been with. I chalked that up to her upbringing on an alien world.
    “That was great,” I said afterward. “You aren’t still trying to get pregnant are you?”
    “No, of course not,” she said. “I wouldn’t do that now, it would be inappropriate.”
    I sighed in relief. Last time we’d been together, Della had been interested in procreating with me. Apparently, that was all over with.
    Putting my arms behind my head, I stretched out on the grass and stared up at the simulated starry sky.
    “Aren’t you interested?” she asked.
    “Interested in what?”
    “Don’t you at least want to know the name I chose?”
    I frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about, girl?”
    “Our child, of course.”
    Words failed me. “You mean…?”
    “Of course. We succeeded the last time. Her name is Etta.”
    I stared at her. Both of my eyes must’ve been as big around as a Georgia peach. She laughed at me, laughed right in my face.
    I jumped up like I’d been stung. “What are you doing out here in space?” I demanded. “Where’s our kid? You didn’t bring her aboard, did you?”
    “No, I wouldn’t do that. She’s far too young. She’ll make an excellent Scout someday, but she’s not ready yet.”
    “No… I didn’t mean that. Who’s taking care of her? That’s what I want to know.”
    “Her grandfather, among others. You remember the Principal Investigator?”
    I made a sour face. “How could I forget?”
    “Don’t worry,” Della said, “Etta will be fine. With your genes and mine, she’s as immutable as a stone in the desert. Everything will make way for her. Nothing will break her.”
    “But…listen, where I come from, parents care for their own children directly. If I’d had a kid back on Earth, I wouldn’t have joined the legions and come flying out here to the stars. I would have stayed home and raised it.”
    She cocked her head to one side and looked at me quizzically. “Are you upset?”
    “A little, yeah,” I admitted.
    “You didn’t enjoy the sex?”
    I snorted. “Of course I did.”
    She shook her head and combed leaves out of her hair with her fingers. “You people from Earth, you’re so sensitive. You worry about everything. How can life be worth living if you worry all the time?”
    If there’s one thing I’d never been called before, it was a worrier. But this was different. Della had gone and gotten herself pregnant—with my help of course—and now I’d been placed in the unaccustomed roll of responsibility. It was a shock.
    Heaving a sigh, I sat down beside Della, and I looked her straight in the eye.
    “We should get married,” I said.
    She frowned. She plucked at the grass around her knees and twisted the blades around her fingers. “I would’ve liked that,” she said, “a year or so back…but I can’t now.”
    “Why not?”
    She smiled at me. Her expression was almost shy.
    “Because, James…I’m already married.”

-9-
     
    Della’s twin revelations came as quite a shock to me. Not only was I father, the parent of a kid I’d never seen and possibly never would see, but she’d gone and gotten married in the meantime.
    Even stranger was her apparent attitude toward fidelity. I mean, she was a married woman and yet she’d slept with me without even telling me about it. I just couldn’t get over that. Culturally, we were about as far apart as two people could