Escape to Earth 1: Running From Fate by Saxon Andrew Page B

Lukas, “Unborn?”
    Lukas raised his hand at her and said to Pat, “That baby was not trying to kill me.”
    Pat leaned in across the table. “Every one of us predicted you would kill that fetus without a second thought. You chose not to do it knowing full well that the brain of that fetus would be visible to a Stalker’s Searchship in orbit. That infant’s brain would give away you being on the planet. You should have terminated it without hesitation.” Pat stared at Lukas and then leaned back, “But you didn’t.”
    Salud looked at Lukas, “What about that baby’s brain would give you away?”
    Pat shrugged, “Lukas is the baby’s father.”
    Salud pushed herself away from Lukas, “What!?”
    Pat wave his hand at her, “That brings up another issue.” Lukas looked at him. “The night you encountered your neighbor being attacked by the three gang members. Didn’t you realize that if you got involved, it could get you noticed by the Stalkers? Even your escape pod told you to stay out of it. But you went in and killed two of the attackers and saved her from the third. You then went to their warehouse and killed the other four. Why did you do that?”
    “She kept wailing all the way to her apartment that the gang members would be coming to kill her for what I’d done. I promised her I wouldn’t let that happen.”
    “Once again, all of us predicted you would walk by and ignore what was going on. Why did you intervene?”
    Salud looked at Lukas and said with her brow furrowed, “That was your doing?”
    Lukas turned his face to her and nodded. She saw his sadness and wondered if she believed any of this. She jerked her head back to Pat when he said, “Did you know she was planning to trick you into becoming a father?”
    “I didn’t at the time. She asked me to help her climb the stairs to her apartment and I carried her up. I didn’t know what was happening; I’ve never experienced anything like it and was swept away by how good I felt.”
    “You didn’t know that was how this species mated?”
    Lukas shook his head, “My pod told me later that she planned for it to happen with her fiancé.”
    Salud lowered her head, “They WHAT?”
    Pat waved his hand at her, “He is incapable of having children. They agreed that she would find a suitable…donor, and after telling him about Lukas saving her life, he approved her using Lukas to have a child.”
    “I didn’t know what was happening. I was just swept away.”
    “That is another issue.”
    Lukas looked up, “What is that?”
    “You said the experience was something you enjoyed immensely.” Lukas nodded. “And you were aware that every female that works here has been trying to get your attention to possibly repeat that with you. We predicted you would take advantage of at least four of them. Why didn’t you?”
    “I knew that if I were having a relationship with someone and the Stalkers arrived, they would kill her along with me.”
    Pat nodded, “That is to prevent anyone on this planet for knowing intelligent life exists elsewhere. But that would have never stopped a Welken Warrior. Which also begs the question about the death of that human named Tony. The Stalkers killed him. You defied prediction again. You should have celebrated that they took him and missed you. But you didn’t.” Pat stared at Lukas for a moment and said, “And you tried to help Miss Vazquez here by putting correct information in her work. If you’re so worried about not harming anyone, why would you help her develop the very thing that would bring devastation to this planet?” Lukas flinched at Pat’s remark and Pat leaned forward, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know what that equation was about?”
    Salud looked at Lukas and saw his eyes narrow. After two minutes he looked at her with fear on his face, “You’re building a force field.”
    She looked at him and shook her head, “Do not sit here and tell me you just solved that equation in your head that