John sighed. "No. I think it's about the same, Erin. I've gone through the torture three times now-and none of those were my choice."
"Then ya know I'm right about this," Erin said firmly.
Nate's gaze bounced between John, Erin, and a snorting Angus. "I only had the ceremony once. The other four times, it was just a matter of signing and filing the right forms."
Angus turned and lifted a brow. "Which ceremony took for ya, Admiral? Which do ya remember? There's something binding about standing before yer fellow men and declaring yourself to be the keeper of one woman and one alone."
"I'm just saying it doesn't necessarily matter to the end result of the match. It only matters to some women," Nate finished, even after realizing how lame he sounded. Marrying Sheena was the only one he remembered. It was the only time he'd invested his heart in a relationship. He nearly winced when Erin snorted at him and glared.
"It matters to all women who know the man they're promised to will be the last and only one she lets bed her. That's no small thing and should not be seen as one by her matchmakers or the people of the planet she's saving. Every woman in this program is a fecking heroine-no, she's a fecking warrior-and should be honored as such."
"Maybe we should get married and show these Universe 10 bastards how it works," Angus declared.
"Don't start," Erin said, turning her glare on Angus. "Yer not an alien, Angus. I'll marry ya when I'm good and ready, and not one day before."
Angus smiled at her answer. "Well, that's not the sweetest yes I've ever heard, but I guess it will do, considering the source."
Erin let an exasperated breath escape before turning her attention fully back to John. "Will ya put in a good word with the Guardians for us? That's all we're asking."
John stopped in front of a conference table and crossed his arms. "Alright. I'll sponsor your request. I doubt they will agree to your suggestion, but we can try."
"Thanks be to ya, John. That's all we can ask of ya," Erin said, favoring her superior with a smile.
"Angus?"
"Yes, John," Angus said, his attention on the screen now.
"Did you get your kilt yet?"
When Angus looked at him, Nate shook his head. He gave John his full attention too. "Who was delivering to the ship? It hasn't arrived."
John smiled. "Well, the delivery I actually sent to you was a bit more complicated than I'd originally planned. Let me check into the matter and I'll get back to you with an estimated arrival time."
Nate nodded once. "Very well."
Good-byes were said and then the com screen went blessedly blank. Nate could barely wait to leave the room. For once, he was more than happy to be heading to his empty quarters. He needed a break from the MacNamara madness.
"You haven't blinked once in thirty minutes. It can't be that fascinating."
Still dazed over what she was seeing, Sheena lifted her head from her private com to stare at her snarky sister. "I think I'm wrong about them being clones. Or at least I hope to hell I am."
Bri took the seat on the other side of the table. "I've waited all my life to hear you admit you might not be right about something. Why are you ruining the moment with that startled look like you just got tranquilized?"
"Their DNA is perfectly flawed. They both have disease markers that haven't been seen in a millennia on this planet. Yet they also have a level of DNA health that barely exists in New Earth humans who were born before the alien biologics were released during the invasion. Their DNA-for a lack of a better way of saying it-is as innocent as Angus and Erin are."
Bri waved a hand at the com Sheena leaned over. "I won't pretend I understand even a quarter of what you do, but are you saying they actually are our freaking ancestors?"
Sheena shrugged. "Strictly from a DNA standpoint-yes."
"Huh," Bri said. "So they were telling us the truth, just like they said they were. I like them, but this whole time I really thought they were lying."
Sheena shook her head trying to shake off her conclusions, but it just wasn't working. She didn't like where her mind had gone. "I just thought they were programmed with the story they gave us."
"I don't get it. If they're our ancestors, where the hell did they come from?" Bri asked.
Sheena frowned. "If they're clones of Mom and Dad's ancestors, their existence is the biggest success this world has ever seen in self-replication. Any clone with DNA this complex won't die early. Instead, they'll thrive like born humans. Can you imagine the ramifications? Natural reproduction has been challenging for anyone exposed to the alien biologics during the invasion. Though they never said, I had the sense that was why Mom and Dad waited so long to make us. I don't think conception was possible for them in the normal way."