[FolkMaster]

The medical officer shook his head. "No point in having you stand around here wasting time. I've kept you away from your job long enough. When he wakes up and checks out of recovery, we'll send him back to his room, and then I'll send you a notification with all necessary information." Costanzo saluted Han-jae before excusing himself. As head of the breeding program, he had plenty to oversee at almost all times.

Around late afternoon-early evening, Han-jae's tablet vibrated with a new notification. PIRAS GEORGIOU IS NOW AVAILABLE. PROCEED TO BREEDING QUARTERS ROOM 307 AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. There was also a map showing the quickest route between the artillery locker and Piras' room.

[stoichornet]

There had been a lot of pieces of armor to work on and a lot of new servos to install; Han-jae took a certain amount of pride in getting things back online and serviceable for combat use again, along with the other specialists assigned to the locker. As long as he was here (and not assisting in a more explosive and glamourous way, like Carter), he might as well take excellent care of people's rigs.

The new announcement at least coincided with the end of his shift although he had to do a few more suit servos in order to finish his current piece of work; he'd taken a bit of ribbing after he'd come back from his meeting with Costanzo and getting his "Resto license".

He headed for room 307 (Georgiou, huh? Was that Greek? Romanian?), trying to act casual on the way in. He knew, in broad terms, what to expect, but wasn't sure how Piras would be feeling or behaving- and frankly, he still felt like a shithead (conglomerated by the fact that he had to now not let on exactly how much of a shithead he had been). Han-jae sighed, smiled, and knocked on the door.

[FolkMaster]

When Piras initially woke up in the medical bay, he'd been confused, and rightfully so. The staff informed him of his unfortunate miscarriage, about which we was disheartened, but also accepted. He had no memory of being particularly attached to the unborn babes, so he wasn't too broken up about it. He was also disappointed to learn his assigned partner Briggs died in battle, but again thanks to his altered memories, it wasn't a devastating blow. They then told him about his new assignment with Han-jae and he brightened right up. Piras knew Han-jae even from before Milo. He greatly admired the Korean's intelligence and penchant for pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior.

The automatic pocket door slid open with a quiet -whish- and Piras stood there to greet the man. "Han-jae," he said with a welcoming smile. "What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?" It was a playful custom between the two to greet each other with a word game or piece of trivia.

[stoichornet]

"Let me see here...." Han-jae put a hand on his chin. He knew he should have been expecting a riddle here, and began to think in terms of time. "So the times it happens actually go down the longer the amount of time it is? ...Have you been watching science fiction again? Does it involve a traveling blue box and a guy in a bowtie?"

He glanced at Piras' braid with its trademark white. "No, that can't be it. Let's see. A thousand years is more glorious, as the Scholars of the Jade Hall say, so it's the stuff that's not written down by historians....no, that's not it either, it doesn't explain the other stuff. Hmm...." He was treating the question like a price of admission, lingering outside in the hall. "...Great, this is an English question, isn't it? Not fair, man. 'The letter M', isn't it, unless I've forgotten how to spell."

He was at least glad that Piras seemed to be feeling well enough to swap riddles. "All right, a Roman centurion walks into a bar and orders a martinus. The bartender asks him if he means a martini, and the centurion rolls his eyes and tells him, 'If I wanted a double, I'd have told you'."

[FolkMaster]

Piras was amused at how hard Han-jae had to think about this particular riddle. He thought it would be a rather easy one. "That's it!" When Han-jae told his joke, Piras laughed so hard he blushed. "You come up with something more and more clever every time I see you. But why are we standing out here? Come in!" He held the man's wrist and pulled him into the room with the door sliding shut behind them. His room was modest with a queen-sized bed and white sheets. Next to it was a white table with two drawers and a white lamp with a orange-colored shade. There were two white bookshelves packed with books. A holographic screen on one wall acted as a window looking out into a forest once common in the pacific northwest. Another table, this one black, held a variety of medical supplies that were standard for all breeder.

"So, I heard your application to the breeding program was accepted and that we're a match. I don't think many breeders and soldiers actually know each other before being paired up." Piras sat in a bright green chair shaped like an egg and gestured for Han-jae to sit in its matching partner. "Do you think it will bother you, knowing me personally?"

[stoichornet]

"No, I don't." Han-jae sat down in the other eggchair and looked around the room, taking in the details. "In fact, I'm sort of relieved; I already know what you're like, and I like the idea of there being lots more of you running around doing smart things and hoarding books." That wasn't the full reason he was relieved, but it would work. "...How involved do you want me to be? I know you like your privacy- would you want me to come to appointments and injections and things like that?"

The screen was pretty; were there still forests like that down below somewhere? He wondered where they'd gotten the base pictures from.

[FolkMaster]

Piras laughed. "Well, technically they'll be you and me running around. I'm sure they'll be too smart for their own good, but I much prefer them that way." When Han-jae posed his question, the young man paused to think. "I like my privacy from strangers. I hardly think of us as strangers, Han-jae. Being a breeder is a responsibility I take very seriously."

He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "I couldn't become a soldier, so I see this as the next best contribution I could make to the war effort. Your level of involvement is completely up to you. I will respect whatever decision you make. Not all the soldiers here have a strong paternal instinct, so they do the deed-- so to speak-- and never come back until it's time to do it again. I've seen other soldiers take an interest in the process. I think they tend to have curious minds like you and me. They take it as a learning experience." Piras chuckled. "After all, it wasn't always the case that men could bear children."

[stoichornet]

"You're right- and it actually seems sort of weird that that was the case. So much for 'natural' biology," Han-jae shrugged. "I wouldn't mind watching it to see just what it is you go through as part of your job. I probably won't be able to make it to all the things they do to you since I usually wind up doing a lot of stuff, but I can try." He found himself looking over Piras' body- Costanzo's "cosmetics team" had done a pretty good job, macabre as their task had been (he decided not to think about what they usually had to do). The breeder had some nice padding at his hips and thighs, and a solidness in the chest he liked.

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Carter woke up late in the day with a headache. He knew he'd missed breakfast and either he missed lunch or it was just about over. Pulling on a pair of jeans and throwing on a dark red muscle shirt, Carter jogged down to the mess hall to see what kind of leftovers he could get his hands on. Luckily, the service line was still open. He inhaled deeply on the smell of pulled pork and grilled cheese sandwiches. He grabbed a tray and piled four onto his plate. He also picked out three corn on the cobs, a bowl of watermelon, and two bowls of chocolate pudding.

It could never be said they didn't eat well in the towers.

Carter sat himself at a table and started eating, but he knew in the back of his mind that he'd have to go talk to Ryne at some point.

[DragonKnight]

Ryne went to mess hall and started to pile on as much food as his tray could hold. He walked towards the tables and noticed Carter. Usually he would go over and sit next to him. Instead, he turned his head and looked away as he passed Carter and sat far away from Carter.

[FolkMaster]

Piras chuckled, but then he offered, "Do you want to know how they did it?" He noticed Han-jae's lingering gaze and assumed the man was wondering what sort of miracle of science allowed this break in nature's rules. "They explain all of it to you before you get the actual surgery." Piras stood up and pulled off his shirt, revealing a trim stomach and a chest and arms someone might have if they swung a baseball bat or swam lamps. He even undid the button and zipper on his jeans to show off the slight sloping in his lower belly. "So the uterus is here in the front where this little pudge is. They had to reduce the size of my bladder and shorten my large intestine to make room for when it expands. Apparently, they thought about trying to open a vaginal cavity, but they designed it like a... oh what to birds have? Oh! It's like a cloacal instead, so my cervix and intestine go to the same place. My ovaries sort of go off like this on either side of my bladder." He gestured with his hand while explaining all of this.

When Piras felt like he'd covered everything, he looked back at Han-jae and grinned. "So that's about it."

[stoichornet]

"Advanced engineering and plumbing to replicate organic materials, huh?" Han-jae followed the explanation with interest. "...What did they make the uterus out of? Obviously something stretchy." He wondered idly if the injections the breeders got included anti-rejection drugs to prevent their body from deciding to have the immune system attack all that high-tech internal plumbing, and patted the forward curve of Piras' lower belly.

[FolkMaster]

"It's real, actually. The medical scientists grow them in jars from tissue salvaged from women who died during The Arrival. They call it The Farm, the lab where they grow everything. I went in there once when they were testing my blood type to find a suitable match. They grow other stuff in there like lungs, hearts, livers, kidneys... Anything a wounded soldier might need replaced when they get hurt or sick with contamination. It was kinda creepy, but necessary, I suppose.

"If you're ready, then we should get started." Piras pulled up his pants a little, but he didn't bother closing them. He then walked over to the little table laid out with marked syringes. "We use similar procedures as in vitro fertilization. A few minutes before we have sex, you'll need to give me a shot of progesterone at the base of my spine. That will aid with implantation. I'll also inject myself in the stomach with this cocktail of medications here, which basically stimulate ovulation. I actually need the progesterone every day for the first two weeks after we have sex. You can either come to my room in the morning to help, or I can have a staff medic come do it." Piras wasted little time inserting the needle into his lower belly and pushing the plunger. Obviously, this happened enough times that he was used to it. Next, he picked up the second syringe and approached Han-jae.

"Ready to do this? Base of my spine, right in the center."

[stoichornet]

"Right." Han-jae found the spot at the base of Piras' smooth back, and rubbed it in a tight circle. "Here, then?"

He wasn't used to injecting people, but slid the needle's point in at the spot and slowly pushed the plunger down, hoping it wasn't hurting him- he was pretty sure that hitting a spinal nerve or something wasn't very helpful for the experience. "There you go. ....I kind of feel like I should at least be buying you dinner first. Maybe later, huh?" Han-jae kissed Piras on the cheek and jaw.

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Carter noticed Ryne easily and rolled his eyes when the boy made a blatant point of sitting as far away from him as possible. Grumbling under his breath, Carter picked up his food and followed after the little breeder. "You know, acting like a spoiled teenager really doesn't help," he said when he took a seat beside Ryne. "I don't even get why you're so mad. You're the one who said some pretty hurtful things to me, not the other way around."

[DragonKnight]

"Really? I haven't seen a Sovereign up close, but I know a lot more about them and their capabilities. For instance, their blood shines like a sapphire colour yet it's completely tar like." Ryne said as he looked away from Carter as he started to eat.

[SimonBrownMpreg]

Carter was about to snap, but then he just sighed with a tired smile. "Not quite, doll. Their blood is black just like tar, and thick like molasses, but it has glimmering blue flecks in it that resemble sapphires. Trust me, I've severed enough of their limbs to know." He poked the watermelon cubes with his fork. "Ryne, you get why I was upset last night, right?"

[DragonKnight]

"Their blood is also explosive. One lit up match could destroy the entire battlefield. And no, I only listed my concerns and I get in trouble for it." Ryne said as he took a bite from his sandwich.

[SimonBrownMpreg]

"This isn't a pissing contest, Ryne!" barked Carter and he pounded his fist on the table, making their trays and dishes rattle. "It doesn't matter which of us has more knowledge or experience with Sovereigns! For fuck's sake, you're actin' like a spoiled brat! You know what I remember from last night? I did the best I could to pleasure you and even offered alternative kinks t'get you off again, but you just whined about wanting sex when you know damn well sex is against the rules! Being a good soldier is important to me and that means following the rules! I feel like you don't respect me when you keep pushin' me and pushin' me to do something I don't wanna do! And yeah, fine, I get you're scared of the Sovereign, but it sure as hell isn't fair to use that as a weapon against me. When I tell you the tower is safe because I've spent the last three months out there shooting them down, then give me the courtesy of trusting me!"

[DragonKnight]

Ryne teared up at Carter's outburst. "I only want you to be safe! I lost my home and my parents to those monsters! I don't want to lose you! I don't want you to forget how dangerous the Sovereign are! But if you're so sure that they're not dangerous, you can go and leave! You don't have to worry about me anymore!" He yelled before he ran back home, crying the whole way as he locked the door to his room.