Free MicroLena by Viola Grace Page A

human?"
    She swallowed and paused for a moment. "If it is my child, I would love it no matter what it was. If it had two heads, I would love them both. I need to be a mother, it is all I have ever dreamed about."
    Dr. Rush smiled in relief. "Will you mind relocating for safety?"
    "As long as I can take my baby with me, you can put me wherever you want." A sense of anticipation filled her as he nodded and started prepping his materials.
    "Please, get on the table and let's set you on the path to motherhood."
    Nine months later…
    Sweat was drying on Raena's head as she looked down at her daughter. The crew of the ship was gathered around, looking admiringly at the tiny Nyvil arrival, snug in her mother's arms. "Lena. Lena Sinclair."
    Dr. Rush smiled down at the little one. "A lovely daughter and as strong as her mother. How are you doing, Raena?"
    She looked up at the physician who had become far more than a doctor to her over the last nine months. She thought about the insemination, the positive result and the harrowing flight from earth into the blackness of space. Pregnancy in the custody of a race she hadn't even imagined just months before had been fascinating, frightening and nerve racking.
    Raena caressed the caramel cheek of her little one, ran her finger across the fuzzy little head. "I have never been better."
    Twenty years later…
    Lena crept along the pathway, the huge tubes blocking her way, forcing her climb over them to reach her goal. "Eww."
    The enormous creature was gnawing away, cutting through the tubes and into the soft fluff within.
    "Control, it's an Earth rat."
    "Micro, feel free to destroy and administer repairs."
    "Acknowledged, Control." She clicked off her communicator and drew her sword. It was difficult to use electronics within electronics, and at her size, no miniature weapons packed enough punch.
    Steeling her nerves, she attacked the rat, and after a vicious fight of claw versus steel, she leaned over her very smelly and dead opponent. Gagging, she unhooked a canister from her belt and covered the body with spray. It dissolved the creature in seconds, leaving only a fresh scent behind.
    "Control, the rat has been dispatched. I will administer repairs and secure the area."
    She unclipped another canister and covered the gnaw marks on the wires. The spray separated, covered and hardened around the wires.
    Now that the short was repaired, she could spend time backtracking through the path the rat had taken. She crept through the trail, eradicating the other signs of the rat as she walked. She found the point at which he had entered the housing and spray sealed it.
    The sealant had a repellent inside it, and when her gauntlet sensors gave her a clear reading, she nodded and returned to her access point.
    As she wandered around inside the navigation station, Lena enjoyed her ability to shrink and grow at will. She had been part of an experiment by the Nyvil to combine their genes with those of other species.
    Her mother had been one of dozens of human women who were inseminated with Nyvil genes, and to date, Lena was the only successful birth. Why she had been chosen to survive, Lena wasn't sure, but when she looked into her mother's eyes, she had an idea of why the survivor had belonged to Raena. Her mother wouldn't have it any other way.
    The thought of her mother reminded Lena that she had to try and make it home for festival this year.
    She boosted herself over a circuit assembly and viewed the light streaming through the opening. Carefully, she assessed the expanse of the navigation station and she worked her way out into the open with deliberate attention. She had almost been stomped by a careless foot once and once was quite enough.
    Her most vulnerable time was in the shift from small to tall so she took care to verify her environment. Feet passed by with thuds that shook the ground she stood on and she waited only until there was a clear space before she ran forward and shifted, skidding