“I cannot tell you how long it has been since I was properly greeted.” The first avian woman said as she took my hand.

I helped her stand and step out of the nest. “I am honored, Honored Matron, even more than I had been a moment ago.”

The first avian woman let out a warble of amusement. “Was it really that pleasurable?”

“You know I enjoyed it.” I said and glanced down at her womanhood that was just starting to drip.

“(scout)!” The second avian woman said and the scout handed her the first avian woman's clothing and then she was holding something like a squeeze bottle between the first avian woman legs and hit a button. Most, if not all of my contribution was sucked out of her. After a few moments, she lifted it up to show the first avian woman and everyone's eyes were wide at the amount.

“Has it been very long since the last time you...” The (scout) started to ask.

“I was with Noma this morning.” I said and a shocked chirp came from most of them.

“I thank you for making such a... huge effort... on my behalf.” The first avian woman said and nodded at the (scout) and she tucked the container away. The cage she had carried the (tweet chirp) in was folded up and hung on her belt. The second avian woman helped the first avian woman dress again and the (scout) attached the short strings to secure the clothing back into place.

“You deserved nothing less.” I said and kissed her cheek. “I know this may seem a bit forward; but, may I ask why someone of your stature as come here to visit?”

“As you no doubt saw, we arrived in a troop transport.” The first avian woman said. “Another five troop ships and just as many ships with our supplies and things will arrive later today.”

I raised my eyebrows at her and she chuckled.

“If you haven't plucked it from my mind yet, we are coming with you.”

“We?” I asked and looked at the entourage around her.

“These are the heads of the various aeries that have decided that they needed a little bit of adventure. Our home world is just a bit too stifling for our liking and we need to spread our wings a little.”

“Honored Matron, I... well, I never anticipated that... I made some allowances for...”

The first avian woman chirped and warbled a demure laugh. “I have flustered the great False Tiercel.”

I smiled and ducked my head slightly in acknowledgement, then stepped back slightly. “As the owner of this ship, I greet the delegation from the Aviatoma with open arms, a strong heart, and the promise that an appropriate area will be built to house you within the ship in no less than a week.”

Nearly all of the women there let out chirps and warbles of amusement.

“We believe you can try.” One of them said and looked down at my still ready state. “Although, if anyone could claim they could build appropriate housing for twenty thousand families in a week, it would be the famous False Tiercel.”

“Zoe, have you found a good spot for twenty-five Aviatoma aeries?” I asked.

“Yes, Grandpa. I've ordered sections of the floor above the top hydroponics bay to be removed and the living quarters there converted into the appropriate shapes to give it both height and depth.”

“How long for the conversion?”

“Assuming the Aviatoma are bringing their own furniture and items from home and they don't have to be ordered or built, then the basic conversions to the apartments will be done in five days, sixteen hours, and twenty-seven minutes.” Zoe said.

“Thank you, Zoe.” I said and gave the Aviatoma an award winning smile. “You only have a short wait for you all to officially move in.” I said and looked at the first avian woman. “May I greet your second and (chirp squawk)?” I asked and she nodded. The chirp squawk was Val's title, since I couldn't speak her name.

“No!” The second avian woman chirped in her native language. “I have suffered...”

“Hush.” I said and kissed her, then I tossed her into the nest. She struggled and tried to fend me off, and I took her right there in front of everyone. She was indignant and kept cursing me, between her squawks and warbles of pleasure, and I gave her almost as much of a 'contribution' as I had the first avian woman. I left her exhausted and panting at the side of the nest and looked at Val.

“I think I miss this the most from our time in prison.” Val said and stepped into the nest.

“Things were so much simpler then.” I said and kissed her, then made love to her right next to the second avian woman. She didn't protest it at all, since it really did remind her of all the times we had done the same thing, and in the same nest, all those years ago.

“Now I see why they didn't give him anything but a censure for giving (chirp squawk) a human name without council approval.” One of the other head females said in their native language. “He really is a False Tiercel and has proven it multiple times.”

I finished with Val and climbed out of the nest. “If you will excuse me for a moment, I will clean up.”

“We will wait right here for...” The first avian woman stopped talking when I was completely covered in blackness from head to toe, then it slid away and became my black bodysuit again.

“By the Great Winged Goddess.” Several of the avian women whispered.

“Shall we wait for them to recover or bring them along?” I asked. “I can give you a tour of the main parts of the ship that are completed or nearing completion.”

“I suppose we can't leave them here in the middle of the hallway.” The first avian woman said with a smile.

“If everyone would step onto the transport section, we can get going.” I said.

“What?” A few of them said and I pointed down at the floor.

“You've improved it?” The first avian woman asked and I nodded. “Everyone, step on.”

They all shuffled forward slightly and I activated the transport pad that was thirty feet long and twenty feet wide. It was actually ten pads combined into one and it rose out of the floor six inches as a protective barrier formed around us. The guards looked a little worried and I tapped the barrier.

“Don't worry. We can't be attacked at all through this thing.” I said and the pad moved at a jogging pace up the hallway along the docking ring. “We're going to the main launch bay first.” I told the dummy AI in control of traffic and we sped up and went through several other hallways. I turned around and looked at everyone. “The main launch bay is where we reload the automated warships.”

“I still can't believe you've progressed so far in such a short time.” The first avian woman said and touched my hand. “We stopped contact two years ago because we became so busy with internal politics, and...”

I chuckled. “Let me guess. The internal politics was deciding to let you and those of like minds to leave the protection of the home world.”

The first avian woman nodded.

“You didn't want contact with me to influence their decision.” I said and she nodded again. “I'm glad it worked out because you didn't have to tell me that you wouldn't be coming along.”

She gave me wide eyes and I took her hand.

“If we had been in contact, I would have known you wanted to come along and if they said no, then I would have to come and get you.”

A few of the Aviatoma let out squawks of surprise.

“You can't possibly think you can... SQUAWK!!!” One of the females yelled as we entered the gigantic loading area and a hundred warship drones were being loaded with thousands of missiles. “That's not real! It can't be!”

I chuckled. “There's at least one person in every tour that says that.” I said. “I assure you, it's completely real.”

“But...”

“Believe me, if I wanted to come to the Aviatoma with hostile intent, they wouldn't stand a chance.”

“By the Great Winged Goddess.” She said, her tone subdued.

“I haven't, and I don't plan to.” I reassured her. “All of this is for The Order, which I've completely removed from ninety-seven galaxies so far.”

That made them all chirp in surprise.

“Thanks to Zoe's unrivalled mapping abilities, I've even rooted out all the hidden star systems in those galaxies.”

“Hidden?” The first avian woman asked.

“I didn't find out for quite some time that the galactic map that everyone had access to, was initially provided by The Order.” I said and that made them chirp in surprise again. “It's pretty damn easy to hide systems when you provide the maps.” I looked at the large bay. “Hydroponics, please.”

The transport pad zoomed out of the loading bay and took us down miles of hallways in moments.

“The hidden systems are well defended and are full of warships, troop transports, weapons platforms, defensive grids, and everything else that The Order uses to take over other planets.” I said. “They can't fight against my automated warships, though.”

“Why not?” One of them asked.

“We don't have to worry about protecting people onboard our ships anymore.” I said and they gave me odd looks. “They are remote piloted and can perform manoeuvres that no other ship can.”

They gave me disbelieving looks and I chuckled.

“Imagine what we are riding right now is a ship. We feel the acceleration. When we take turns, we sway that way. When we speed up or slow down, we feel it. Now imagine not having to feel any of that. How fast would you go? How quickly would you do turns or come to a stop?”

Their mouths dropped open in realization.

“You're getting it. No restrictions on movement. Barrel rolls, flips, sudden stops, and sudden speed boosts. None of it is felt the by pilot because they are relaxing in the comfort of their pilot seat right here at home.”

“But... wouldn't you need...”

“Not all the ships are in combat all the time and a pilot isn't restricted to flying just one ship.”

“WHAT?!?” Several of them yelled and I laughed.

“I got the idea from the way pilots can remote pilot shuttles when they have to stay on the ship. They can do it with multiple shuttles at once, as long as they follow the same protocols for each one at the same time.”

“That's amazing.” The first avian woman said.

“No, what's amazing is, none of the ships have to travel the same as normal ships.” I said.

“What do you mean?”

“We've become so used to making jumps to close systems to recalculate jump coordinates to get to the next safe system. Well, what if you had something that could just send you the coordinates from your destination? Would you have to stop then?”

“You stop to give pilots and crew a rest and...” One of them started to say, then she chirped. “No crew!”

“You got it.” I said. “One long jump from start to finish. It's a little taxing to get out that far, because you're essentially establishing a road. Once there, though...”

“You can pop all the way back in barely half the time.”

“A quarter, actually.” I said and she squawked. “It's all in hyperspace. No real obstacles or anything to run into. The only dangers are gravity wells and spacial anomalies. As long as you know where they are, you can program your path around them. With real-time coordinates in established systems with satellites in them, going back out is just as quick.”

“Have you told anyone else this?” The first avian woman asked.

“Just you and your people.” I said. “It's the first time this has come up in conversation, actually.”

“But... why wouldn't anyone else ask?” One of them asked.

“Most people just ignore anything out of the ordinary.” I said and gave her a smile. She blushed and her feathers fluffed out a little.

“She has a Tiercel.” The young Aviatoma beside her said.

“Do you?” I asked and she blushed.

“False Tiercel.” The first avian woman said and I chuckled.

“My apologies. I'm still a little worked up for some reason.”

Whispered chirps and tweets spread among the others.

“Here's the first hydroponics bay.” I said as our platform floated out of the hallway and into a huge open area. “I know it seems a little cramped. That's because the dirt is ninety feet deep and there's only ten feet left for everything else.”

“Ninety feet?!?” One of the exclaimed.

“It's going to be a long journey and we need the versatility that much dirt is going to bring us.” I said. “I've got five floors of it, so it should be more than enough to supplement the food rations.”

“Supplement? It's not enough to feed everyone?”

I chuckled. “Each of the five floors has forty-seven hundred square miles of crops.” I said, to their surprise. “The ship is a hundred miles long and sixty miles wide, and we are right below the main central shaft, which means this is the widest part of the ship.”

“Why did you pick an ellipsoid shape for the ship?” The same one asked.

“I thought about going with a rectangle, then realized a lot of the protective barriers I have are circles and spheres. Rather than try to engineer flat ones to try and merge them together to protect the ship, it was easier to change the ship to fit the protective barrier.” I said and brought the transport pad to a stop. “Medical bay, please.” I said and the ceiling opened up above us to reveal a curved shaft. “Going up.”

The platform rose up into the shaft and we went along the curve of the ship and stopped fifty floors up. The floor closed and we zoomed back along the side of the ship closer to the middle and came to a stop. All of the Aviatoma were shocked when the blast doors opened into a medical bay that was a bigger than their space stations.

“Medical Administrator Hen!” I squawked loudly in her native language and used Presence to carry it through the massive room. An answering squawk and a warbled laugh answered me from the distance. “She loves it when I do that.” I said to the surprised Aviatoma. “Here she comes.”

A small platform zoomed across the floor towards us and came to a stop.

“False Tiercel, what brings you down here to...” Hen started to say, then she let out a startled squawk when she saw the group behind me, grabbed her three kids, and pushed them to the floor. “Honored Matron.” She chirped and tweeted in respect and bowed deeply.

“The False Tiercel greeted me with full respect on everyone's behalf.” The first avian woman said.

Hen let out a warble of relief and let her children go. They knew better than to chirp and tweet their displeasure at being forced to the floor in front of guests, so they straightened their clothing instead.

I stepped forward and gave Hen a quick head grooming to make her laugh, because I never find anything, then I gave her a kiss on the lips.

“He's still diligent in his efforts, False Tiercel.” Hen said.

“I told you that I have to keep checking because you're too cute not to.” I responded.

“That's the worst lying truth that ever passes your lips.” Hen laughed again.

“How are my cute little chicks doing?” I asked and knelt.

“We haven't been chicks for three years, Uncle Hunter.” The male Aviatoma said and gave me a hug. He was thirteen going on thirty and he believed his life was going to be wasted as a medical technician, because he wouldn't be allowed to work on his own people. He was also the first to hatch, which made him the older brother to his two sisters and he was greeted first.

“My mistake.” I chuckled and looked at his sister. “You're looking well groomed today.”

She blushed a little and ducked her head. “Please check for me.”

I gave a glance to Hen and she nodded. I did a quick check on her head and only found a single tuft of down. I dissolved it before anyone saw it, though. “You're such a good (warble chirp tweet) for taking care of yourself so well.” I said and gave her a hug.

“Thank you, Uncle Hunter.” She said and I let her go to look at her younger sister.

“I have lots in mine!” She exclaimed loudly.

Hen laughed. “She avoided her father all week because she knew we were having dinner with everyone tonight.”

“Should I wait until then?” I asked, teasingly.

“NO!” The youngest daughter yelled and grabbed my hands, then shoved them into the feathers on her head. “Ahhhh.” She warbled happily as I gave her a good grooming and pulled out all the extra down and fluff she had built up.

“Wow, look at this!” I said and held out the large handful of fluffy down. “You're like a down reactor!”

She warbled a laugh and grabbed the down from my hands and stuffed it into her pockets. “Thanks, Uncle Hunter.” She said and hugged me tightly, then let me go.

I stood up and stepped aside, then waved at Hen.

Hen put her hand on her son and introduced him to the first avian woman and her entourage, then her first daughter, then her youngest daughter. Even though they were born within minutes of each other, they still had to observe proper greeting protocol from eldest to youngest.

It wasn't until halfway through the tour of the medical bay that Hen and her children found out that the first avian woman was bringing twenty thousand families onto the ship. The son was a bit too shocked to really understand the significance of that, because all he could think about was his skills not being wasted on humanoids that weren't his own species. He would eventually realize that he would also have access to a lot of females for courting purposes.

The two sisters however, both had understood that aspect right away. The only boy they knew was their brother, so it excited them a lot more than they wanted to admit that they were going to meet a lot more of them. Their minds raced as they thought about finding new friends among the new people that they would soon have to examine. They both looked at me and hoped, beyond hope, that they could find at least one Tiercel that could make them laugh and be happy with.

Like your father is to your mother. I thought to them and they both blushed and nodded. I'm sure you'll be turning them away, because there will be so many wanting your attention. I smiled at them and continued the tour.

We made it back over to the platform we arrived on and the group praised Hen and her children for maintaining such a huge medical bay all by themselves. What the guests didn't know was that I had a thousand HR-B medical droids in cabinets all along the walls between all the medical supplies.

“Hen, it is a pleasure to finally see you in the position you should have had back on our home world.” The first avian woman said.

“It's a pleasure to finally be here, Honored Matron.” Hen said and bowed.

The first avian woman gave me a knowing look and then looked at Hen. “Should we tell him about the welcoming gift we have for him?”

“Now would be fine, Honored Matron.” Hen said with a matching knowing look to me.

“Do I even want to know?” I asked and they warbled a laugh, as did Val and a few others.

“It has taken tens of thousands of hours over the last twelve years and countless consultations with thousands of medical professionals in dozens of star systems; but, we finally did it.” Hen said excitedly.

“Did what?” I asked and then I got the thought from her mind. “You didn't!”

Hen and the first avian woman nodded their heads.

“We broke the species insemination barrier.” Hen said, proudly.