The girls realised this and Veronica sidled over to press her hip against mine while she gently placed her arm stump around my waist."Don't get upset ...ev. We all love you and your children no matter what."She gently bent her head and kissed the tear of nervous disappointment that had leaked betrayingly from my eye."Don't worry love," she continued, just remember that when they reach maturity they shall have the option to go female, male or both. How many kids get that opportunity?" Oh that's. Inside, the place reeked of sweat and body odor, old moldy towels and ... something familiar, something...She saw him and was shocked to her core. He was standing, nude, the sweat pouring off of him and curling a bar that weighed more than she did. His face was locked in rictus of pain as he lifted the bar again and again and again. His legs trembling, sweat pouring off of him, and most horrifying of all, the source of that familiar smell. Blood. Blood was pouring from his nose, was seeping. You know that we’re buds and can talk. And please don’t make me sound like a total sissy.” I joked a bit. After a few seconds I heard a few rustles, and then he popped out his head. “Fine.” He pulled me in and I saw that he had been crying. But for what reason. “Why have you locked yourself up in here?” I asked sitting down on my bed. He climbed up on the ladder. “No real reason really.” “Well you’re going to need to tell me some reason so I can leave to tell Mike why you won’t be taking the. Our tech far surpasses theirs, a single one of our ships can decimate hundreds of Voidships, but all ships eventually need to resupply. On the ground the Voidlings are unstoppable, living tides of claws, chitin, and teeth. They cut our supply lines, stripping worlds of the resources we desperately need in surprise attacks that punch deep into our territory. It’s the perfect Catch 22. Do we spread our fleets thin to protect our supplies, but at the cost of the worlds we are sworn to protect, or.