Sitting in orbit around Taihorca IV, they had had one last briefing from the various diplomats and pundits that the Galactic Council had made sure would be there to advise Svetlana with the meeting. A bunch of rich bigwigs, most of them were clearly uncomfortable with the idea, but a lot of those were also uncomfortable with Thisbe. That showed those ones had horrible judgement. 

Others, though, were actually enthusiastic about the pregnancy news. Especially in light of the efforts to negotiate with Empere Ouzzhen.

“It shows a clear effort to support Supernatural rights,” one Kobaroian man said with enthusiastic nodding. 

“And an efficiency to childbearing that Zuumults would appreciate,” an Issiod’rian woman had added.

That had confused Svetlana, but they’d moved on before she’d gotten a chance to ask more questions. By the time they were done giving her compressed history lessons of the couple thousand years since the fall of the First Dynasty she’d fully forgotten. 

Instead she and the rest of the polycule were loaded onto an atmospheric shuttle, heading down towards Taihorca IV. It was a planet close to its red dwarf star; tidally locked with an ocean covering much of its surface, it was what some called an ‘eyeball planet’. Their destination was an island on the twilight band where the low sun essentially existed in eternal sunset. There were a number of beaches there and the temperatures were pleasantly in the low twenties. Great for swimming and relaxing.

If one moved too far into the daylight side temperatures could get dangerously hot, pushing 90C in places close to the eternal noon. Meanwhile moving into the darker side would plunge below freezing quickly. The difference could lead to major wind storms. But (for complex meteorological reasons that Svetlana hadn’t really paid attention to after the fourth hour of people telling her facts) those were seasonal and things would be calm at the moment where they were landing.

Actually coming down for a landing she saw it was very much a beach community, but it didn’t seem to be a major destination by any stretch. More a community that liked the water. The docks near the space landing point were filled with working fishing boats rather than yachts, and, while they passed a couple of hotels after disembarking, those were really more motels for locals instead of grand resorts.

She saw members of both Agent Lee’s security detachment and the general imperial guard at various rooftops and street corners, having likely swept the community for hours during her briefing. That made her feel guilty, wondering how annoyed the locals were with her. 

“This way, please,” the Kobaroian woman who was serving as their guide said, leading them into what looked to be a garage. 

Inside, however, they found a pair who were definitely not locals: one Human and one Lanthonean fashion designer who were in the midst of squabbling over designs as they arrived.

“Ah, your majesty,” the Lanthonean said, tapping down her antennae, a move that had caused Svetlana to realise their species was responsible for the galaxy’s equivalent to bowing.

“Yes, your highness,” the Human designer said in a soft Japanese accent. Despite a generally masculine presentation, something about their vibes said ‘non-binary’. “Apologies. We were just finalising some designs.”

“Designs? What’s going on?” Svetlana asked.

“Well, we couldn’t have you meet another imperial monarch in anything but the best swimwear,” the Lanthonean said.

“We’ve prepared swimsuits for the entire imperial family... Ms. Campbell included. I believe gothic lolita is your general style, yes?” the Human designer added.

“Oh, yes. It is,” Thisbe said, lighting up as she was handed a very cute red and black one piece, along with a parasol and a bottle of her own spf 100 suntan lotion. 

It turned out the other options were just as good. Plynx was given a sleek and sporty bikini, Vivian some surprisingly fashionable trunks and an efficient bikini top, Bokarza a white one piece that was was still designed to show off her abs, and Svetlana found herself with a black and daring bikini that had more straps that seemed necessary, but hugged her figure well. O’tmyil hadn’t been given anything, but that was due to her ability to change her holographic appearance to seem to be wearing any outfit she wanted. Clothes were redundant.

Auguste, however, stared at the speedo he’d been given with a slightly pale face.

“This is... this is it?” he asked.

“We tried to match your taste to the gender you now present part time,” the Japanese designer said. “You had always dressed daringly.”

“That... well, yes,” Auguste said. “But daring for a woman covers quite a bit more than daring for a man...”

Before either designer could reply Vivian tossed a Hawaiian shirt at Auguste’s head.

“Button it or leave it open... either way it’ll help cover you,” she said, wearing her own unbuttoned shirt. 

“Ooh. That’s a good look,” Bokarza said. “Can I get one of those shirts?”

---

Once everyone was dressed properly in the eyes of the designers (the Earthling designer having to assure the Lanthonean that lesbians were supposed to clash a little bit) they were allowed to head out towards the beach. It was maybe a kilometre and a bit from the garage-turned-fashion studio, but the walk was pleasant between the low red sun to one side and the cool breeze blowing in from the darkness. 

Honestly, a town that existed in eternal summer sunset struck Svetlana as a wonderful place to live. If she wasn’t stuck being empress of the galaxy she’d move her in a heartbeat (assuming rents were reasonable). 

Those thoughts were shaken from her mind as the group spotted Ouzzhen and their small entourage waiting on the beach. The Empere had their eyes closed as they faced the sun, possibly engaged in some sort of spiritual practice or maybe just enjoying the vibes of the place. Then again, these vibes struck Svetlana as good enough to be spiritual... maybe that was the Shinto influences from her father’s family? He’d ensured there was strong bond between the natural and the spiritual in her mind.

Behind the Empere, standing quietly but looking at the ready, were two other Zuumults and three Greys. 

As they approached, vaguely aware of the security detail shadowing them from an acceptable distance, Ouzzhen opened their eyes and turned to Svetlana with a smile. While their face and body language was androgynous, the long flowing hair perhaps leading Svetlana’s brain to nudge them slightly to the feminine, their choice of swimwear proved to be merely a pair of close fitting swim trunks. A very well toned chest was shown off as a result, the alien musculature a little different from a human’s but managing to somehow avoid the uncanny valley and instead exist as pleasantly symmetrical organic shapes. Like something art nouveau.

“Empress Svetlana, it has been too long,” they said, their smile showing off those sharp and shark-like teeth that were leaving Svetlana more than a little hot under a collar she was not wearing.

“Empere Ouzzhen... sorry about that. Been very busy with the new baby and all the goodwill touring. I’m sure you know how it is,” Svetlana said, crossing the distance and doing her best to play it smooth.

Attraction wasn’t the reason she was so frazzled, though. She could handle attraction plenty. It was the fear that was mixed in, the most basic parts of her brain insisting that Ouzzhen was a predator that could eat her up. Which was maybe (definitely) attractive in its own way. 

“I believe it is my turn to provide the meal, yes? I hope you can excuse me in this being somewhat less formal,” Ouzzhen said, before snapping their fingers.

Two of the Greys in their entourage hurried into a nearby shed before returning with something that looked vaguely like a barbecue that hovered. When they opened it up Svetlana discovered she was correct, the one Grey beginning to grill an assortment of meats and veggies on skewers. 

“Good food is good food, even if it isn’t fancy,” Svetlana said, glad there would be something other than diplomacy to talk about.

“Now, I have studied what you Earthlings do on a beach, but... today is not a good day for surfing and I fear volleyball would be rather unequal considering our relative sizes,” Ouzzhen said.

“Well, we could have one Zuumult on each team with one of your assistants? But... honestly, with the sunset lighting this place has, I don't really feel like doing sports. This is more ‘eat some food, grab a beer, listen to some music, and watch the fireworks’ energy. Though, no beers for me,” Svetlana said, feeling a bit embarrassed now that she’d brought it up.

Her focus on food may have been influenced by just how good the grilling meal was smelling. She swore she’d been more sensitive to scents lately.

“Ah, yes. I had heard. Congratulations are in order,” Ouzzhen said. “Which ones are the other parents?”

“Auguste and Thisbe,” Svetlana said, waving those two over. As she did so she noticed that everyone was standing off to the one side looking a bit nervous. “Come on, you’re allowed to chat and have fun. Ouzzhen’s people won’t--wait, your people won’t bite, right?”

“They’ve been told not to,” Ouzzhen replied with a laugh.

“There, see?” Svetlana said to the rest of her polycule. “So, Thisbe, Plynx, no biting either and we’re all good.”

“We-Issiod’rians do not bite the willy-nilly,” Plynx protested, though her tone was more playful offense than actual.

“I promise... though I wouldn’t mind knowing what more aliens taste like,” Thisbe said with a large grin as she and Auguste walked over to Svetlana’s side. 

It looked like her fangs were extending as she smiled, and Svetlana briefly wondered if she was getting territorial about having another Supernatural flirt with her love. 

Whatever the case it did not seem to deter Ouzzhen who reached down to shake both Auguste and Thisbe’s hands. “I hope your children will be born well.”

“Th-thank you,” Auguste said, looking mostly intimidated.

It was funny, the most obvious change in him as a man was that he liked shorter partners those days. Once he was having a feminine day he’d probably be swooning for Ouzzhen... if they were feminine enough for his tastes.

Thisbe, meanwhile, continued to show no fear.

After that Ouzzhen moved on to make brief polite conversation with each member of the polycule. They congratulated Vivian on how healthy little Houyu looked, while offering general pleasantries to Plynx and Bokarza. Both of them were a bit stiff in their replies, sticking close to Vivian.

As for O’tmyil, the two were perfectly polite in tone and words, yet Svetlana could feel the tension... ok, that was probably mostly because of her and O’tmyil’s bond, but she could tell the others were picking up on some of it as well. So Svetlana swooped in and pointed out how delicious the food was smelling.

The meal was actually quite interesting, the local sea life tasting rather like chicken, but... more oceanic. The vegetables, meanwhile, were spicy and complimented the meats well. As they ate the two Greys who were not cooking and one of the Zuumults set up a sound system, setting it to play Earth music. Mostly the Fire Hearts, but that was to be expected with them being the Earth band to do the biggest galactic tour so far. 

“I hear the singer of this band is a demi-god,” Ouzzhen said, having finished their fourth skewer.

“Really? I’ll be honest, I’ve been way too busy for... uh, well, about a year now? So I haven’t really followed celebrity gossip,” Svetlana replied. “I think I heard something about them having a kid? And, well, heard about them being non-binary.”

“Yes, they’re the child of...” Ouzzhen trailed off a little, before the other Zuumult who had been shadowing them from a polite distance stepped forwards. 

“Cupid, Empere.”

“Cupid, yes. That was the name. It surprises me to learn there are deities still so active on your world. By your stage of development generally they’ve built rather a wall of abstraction between themselves and the mortals or have been driven to extinction,” Ouzzhen said, pausing to stare over at the hills away from the water and the sun.

Some had the golden glow of dusk (or maybe dawn) but others were in darker shadow. There were a few stars visible that way, but it was mostly too bright for anymore.

“We’ve got lots of old gods that are still talked about in poetry and songs and whatever but aren’t widely worshipped,” Svetlana said, waving her skewer vaguely. “Cupid somehow took over a whole holiday from Christianity, though. So, goood for him... Oh, and then some old religions that are still rather full of small and personal deities. Shintoism. Hinduism... various other things like that.”

Ouzzhen turned to her, shaking off their brief moment of thoughtfulness with another smile. “Oh yes? Perhaps you could tell me more?”

“Uh, well, I don’t know all that much about Hinduism... and half of what I know from Shintoism comes from anime,” Svetlana mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She’d learned some ways of thinking from her grandfather, but not much about specific deities and practices.

“Anime?” Ouzzhen asked. “Is that... is it related to the ‘animism’ I read some things about?”

Blinking, Svetlana looked up at Ouzzhen and couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Oh, no. Anime is something very different... but also something I know a lot more about.”

---

Applying a bit of suntan lotion, even though she suspected the faint red light of the star they were orbiting wouldn’t do much to a vampire even as close as they were, Thisbe noticed the empere’s assistant was attempting to approach her quietly. It seemed that, despite their size, Zuumults preferred to move as shadows. 

“May I help you?” she asked, not looking up from her lotion application.

“You really are a Supernatural,” they said. 

“Not only that, I am also a thing that goes bump in the night and strikes terror from the shadows,” Thisbe replied.

“And yet... she truly loves you?” the Zuumult said.

The question struck Thisbe as showing such genuine awe at the idea she couldn’t help but turn to look at the one asking. Their similarity to Ouzzhen was unmistakable, though they wore their hair short and showed a nervousness that Ouzzhen was surely incapable of.

“Forgive me,” the Zuumult squeaked. “I am out of line, approaching a lover of an empress without introduction. I am Vahr, smaller sibling of Ouzzhen, and the empere’s closest servant.”

“The empere’s sibling? That doesn’t seem any great gap in rank from a consort of an empress’ consort,” Thisbe replied. “Not that I’m one to pull rank anyway. I’ve always been annoyed by the sort that do.”

“You do not understand the succession of our people, then,” Vahr said. 

“I suppose I don’t,” Thisbe replied. “But... to get back to your question, I was simply surprised by your tone. Did you think your older sibling’s efforts were doomed?”

“Larger sibling, not elder,” Vahr mumbled, a soft sort of correction before they moved on. “But, no... I had merely thought it diplomacy.”

“Mhm, well with Svetlana nothing is ‘just’ diplomacy. If she’s offering someone her heart then she means it. Despite the benefits of it, it took her actually getting to know Bokarza before accepting her proposal for marriage,” Thisbe replied. “It’s... well, maybe it’s a silly thing about her, but it’s also something I can’t help but love.”

As she said it Thisbe felt flush with the feelings she shared with Svetlana. And, mixing in, were feelings for Vivian, Auguste, O’tmyil, and Plynx... as well as a fondness for Bokarza, even if they lacked any specific spark.

“All of them... even with them being mostly mortals, I can’t help returning their love,” she said.

Only to find Vahr’s eyes somehow managing to seem unfocused, despite no sort of visible details in those pools of darkness. 

“Are... are you alright?” she asked.

They shook their head. “I’m sorry, I had not known you were a projecting empath. The feelings you have for them are... powerful. I... I am certain my--the empere will be glad to know how genuine of a bond you and the empress share.”

With that Vahr hurried off before Thisbe could manage any other sort of conversation.

---

“So, like... uh... you guys...” Vivian began, before pausing, not sure she was really going to ask the Grey what she was going to ask.

“The amount of anal probing was greatly exaggerated,” the one Grey replied, shaking their head. “There was some harvesting of reproductive material of a variety of Earth species, as a precaution in case you destroyed yourselves. But the anal probing was... limited. Only a portion of abduction stories are true.”

Vivian nodded at that, glad that she hadn’t had to actually say the words. Bouncing Houyu slightly, she did have to admit she wasn’t certain what to do next, though. Where did you go from ‘anal probing’?

“Are we out of the danger zone now?” she offered.

“Of blowing yourselves up? No. Not in the least,” the Grey said. “I am not tied to the weapons manufacturing corporations, but I do know that your United States are purchasing an impressive amount of weapons for not even controlling a single planet. Now that markets are open several other nations are also buying.”

“Oh... of course they are,” Vivian said, letting out a sigh. “Of course they are.”

She decided that was enough depressing conversation for one day and so headed over to chat with Bokarza instead.

---

“And so that’s why Questers is my favourite fantasy anime... but Ramia is my favourite character in the series. She’s much more fun,” Svetlana explained, deciding against doing an impression of her laugh, despite being better able to match the pitch now.

“I... see,” Ouzzhen said quietly. “I suppose I can understand the appeal of determination and cunning triumphing over all else,” they said. “I have a few days here, perhaps we could watch some episodes?”

“Oh. Right. We’ve got, like, a whole long weekend. I’ll have to pick out a few of my favourite episodes from each of my favourite anime,” Svetlana said. “But... dang, I’ve been totally dominating the conversation, yakking your ear off about anime. What sort of stuff do you like?”

The question seemed to throw Ouzzhen for a moment. Probably because Svetlana had been gabbing so much that they’d needed a moment to actually form some proper thoughts. She did that to people sometimes, when she got a chance to share a passion after too long bottled up with other matters. 

And she had been very bottled up ever since Houyu had been born. Close to two months of shaking as many hands as she could without her arm falling off. Or, at least, that was what it felt like.

“We are mostly told stories of our forebearers,” Ouzzhen said at last. “If we tire of that... strategic games are our other main diversion. We were deities of war originally, so our interests trend towards martial matters as a culture.”

After another small pause then they flashed a grimace. “It can be suffocating and quite boring.”

Before Svetlana could reply the crack of fireworks drew her and Ouzzhen’s attention. Someone was setting them off on the dock near the landing port, which was a decent enough distance to not be unpleasantly loud. Looking out at the town she saw the locals were leaning out from windows and balconies to watch them.

Right, because those were an Earth culture thing that might not exist out in the galaxy.

Turning to Ouzzhen she saw a fascination on their face as they watched the display. 

“They’re very... primal,” they said.

“I suppose they are,” Svetlana said with a small smile, before reaching her hand over to try to hold Ouzzhen’s... though the size difference meant she wouldn’t be able to grab very well. 

It seemed they understood the gesture, though, and took her hand in theirs as they watched the fireworks.

Things were going pretty decently.