Reprise

"And you have confirmed that current R'ren'nkh'ia-jin narcotics will be sufficient for the purpose?"
       Nashi, the king's new liaison, nodded. "Yes sire. The Guard captured a scout ship in our homespace: the biotech team have experimented exhaustively and the natives' biology responds extremely well to one of the simpler Renjin compounds. It makes them very suggestible, easy to control." He smirked. "You can order them to do anything, literally anything, and they do it without argument or complaint."
       Vejiita nodded. "And where are the - subjects now?"
       "They - ah - had to be put down, sire. We - tested the compound to destruction. Of the subjects, that is."
       Vejiita frowned. "Hn. Unfortunate. But as long as we have the data we need..."
       "And more, sire."
       "Very well. Zha'haabron is returning to Vejiitasei in three days time. We will discuss the final details then."
       "Very well, sire." The tall young Saiyan hesitated for a moment. "Sire, is there any news?"
       Vejiita fixed him with an impassive stare.
       "No."
       Nashi laid his fist against his chest, bowed, and silently left the office.

Ti'aasaan was busy. No, Ti'aasaan was harassed. Definitely harassed.
       "What do I do now?"
       The little zn'hre bit back a sarcastic reply and handed over a small piece of meat.
       "Hold it to his mouth. Instinct should do the rest."
       Kayusu gingerly took the shred of raw flesh in her fingertips and pressed it to Kiraz' lips, smiling in genuine surprised delight when the little prince took it into his mouth and swallowed, gripping her fingers and purring. She glanced up at Ti'aasaan, who was struggling to hand out equal scraps of meat to all five of his offspring at the same time.
       "It worked!"
       Ti'aasaan sighed and shoved a handful of his hair behind one ear - he'd had no leisure to even attempt to plait it in the last five days.
       "Of course it worked. Now try Buahan."
       Kayusu did, with the same result, and the little zn'hre sighed with considerable relief. At least she could now be trusted to make sure Vejiita's offspring were fed...

Leteetza was still unconscious in the medical facility. The biotechs still had no idea what was wrong with her. She was stable, not in any immediate danger - but nothing anyone could do would wake her. Which left Vejiita's heirs without their royal nanny.
       The twins' attendants refused point-blank to help with the babies - though whether from lack of knowledge or from fear that Vejiita would kill them if they did the least thing wrong wasn't clear. At any rate, they had their hands full trying to deal with Sheftali, who had become absolutely unmanageable since the princes had been born. Vejiita - to everyone's complete astonishment - had all but pleaded with Ti'aasaan to help Kayusu take care of all three babies until he could find some more agreeable solution to the problem. Despite the fact that he hardly knew what he was doing with his own offspring, let alone those of an entirely unrelated species, Ti'aasaan, *knowing* somehow that the king was at his wits' end, had agreed, pending Leteetza's recovery...
       And almost immediately regretted it as Kayusu and the three hungry, disorientated and unhappy days-old Saiyans had practically moved into his suite, spending all of their waking hours - and a good proportion of their sleeping ones, too - sprawled on the sleeping platform, feeding, dozing, squirming, mewling, wailing...
       At least the little zn'hre princes had taken it in good part, fascinated by their new, tailed companions. To Kayusu and Ti'aasaan's surprise, the tiny zn'hre had actually proved to be good peer-mates to the warm-bloods, trying to communicate with the wide-eyed, intrigued, tiny Saiyans, keeping them amused and entertained for half hours at a time.
       But Ti'aasaan was flagging. It was difficult enough coping with his own lively offspring without trying to manage an inept royal consort and three royal heirs as well. There were nights, when everyone else had fallen asleep for a while, that he escaped to one of the balconies and wept, exhausted, his face buried in the soft flowers of the sweet-smelling climber that wrapped the railing, and desperately wishing his Ssii'iin was home...

"Tomorrow."
       "Truly?"
       Zh'leet nodded, smiling her satisfaction. "He's recovered sufficiently. He can travel tomorrow."
       She gave a most undignified squawk as Zha'haabron picked her up and hugged her tightly.
       "You will, of course, stay with him."
       The ko'ish'n frowned. "My place is here with you."
       The king gazed at her, golden eyes pleading. "I want you to be with him. Please. You know it's important to me."
       Zh'leet sighed and smiled. "Very well. On condition you take extra care of yourself on your return here. And let Rhoi'i'dat'hzziu look after you, too. If he tells you to rest, do it."
       "Very well."
       He glanced over his shoulder. Radittsu was holding Zha'haarak upright, supporting the zn'hre's weight as he took several limping steps, gritting his teeth against the residual aching pain through his body and revelling in the fact that he could now walk again. Not well, or swiftly, or very far, but he could walk. Already. And sit. And turn over in bed without having to forcibly drag the left half of his body across himself.
       And he could breathe again, properly, deeply. For the first time in decades.
       He'd spent a lot of the last four days trying not to weep with happiness. Rhoi'i'dat'hzziu and his heart-brother had spent as much time with him as they could, holding him, caressing him, wrapping him up in *love*. It was overwhelming. And it had healed him faster than anyone could ever have hoped. The reset bones had almost finished knitting, the fine scars where the lasers had cut him open to effect those near-miraculous (to Zha'haarak) repairs inside him had paled to the finest silver threads across his skin...
       He couldn't remember ever feeling so wonderful. Even the pain felt good.
       And now he was travelling to Vejiitasei, to spend time with his sibling's zn'hre bondmate. To heal. To meet the future kings of R'ren'nkh'ia. With Zha'haabron and his zkai'da. Even knowing the bondmates would have to return to R'ren'nkh'ia in a very little while couldn't mar his joy. He twisted in Rhoi'i'dat'hzziu's arms and hugged the big primate with all his strength, surprising a chuckle from the Saiyan.
       "We're happy too." The big male kissed his cheek, wrapping his tail a little more securely around the invalid's waist. Zha'haabron smiled at the pair, then glanced at the chronometer and sighed. "I must leave you for a while."
       Radittsu nodded understandingly.

It had taken extensive questioning, some complex narcotic expertise, and considerable discomfort on the big lizard's part, but Zha'haabron had finally been convinced that Gh'heegonan would make a good regent. He was about to experience the first test of the High King's confidence in his abilities.
       But Zha'haabron wasn't taking any chances. He'd impressed on the chief the importance of the rôle he was about to take on - and the painful consequences of betrayal or failure. Bri'seiyis, and Sh'reaanon and Tal'orrin - two of the more confident, stalwart zn'hre - had agreed to act as advisors (and overseers) to Gh'heegonan until their king returned, and Radittsu had ordered Suguri (of the elite guard and in command of the Saiyan force at the king's enclave) to support the zn'hre if any problems arose.
       Although neither bondmate anticipated any. With Zha'geekaan and Dhr'ovaanon still imprisoned and under Saiyan guard, Zha'haabron's rule well on the way to being accepted (albeit reluctantly by many of the chiefs, although since hearing word of Zha'haabron's defeat of his sire no-one was prepared to challenge him), and with a substantial Saiyan force still onworld, it was unlikely anyone would risk the inevitable reprisals.
       Nevertheless, they didn't intend staying away for long. Just in case.

"I'm sorry, Ssii'iir. Neither of them is available to speak with you at the moment."
       Ti'aasaan gripped the edge of the console, fighting down tears.
       "But surely one of them must be free! Is there anything wrong?"
       The ph'ti'pa shook her head.
       "There is nothing wrong. I will pass your request to the Ssii'iin or Ssii'iir Rhoi'i'dat'hzziu as soon as possible. I'm sure one or both of them will speak with you soon."
       Without waiting for his answer, she closed the connection, and Ti'aasaan bit his lip, wiping at the tears on his face. He hadn't been able to speak to his Ssii'iin since he'd agreed to help out with the heirs - on the few opportunities Zha'haabron had been able to call him, the little zn'hre had been elsewhere or otherwise engaged and not heard about it until later. He'd asked Vejiita to pass on brief messages in his regular communications with Zha'haabron, and had received brief messages back - that everyone was well, that Zha'haarak was steadily improving - but he was desperate to talk to his Ssii'iin, to see his face, hear his voice...
       His shoulders slumped as Kayusu's querulous voice called to him from the bathroom. Time to get back to work. He'd just have to wait until Zha'haabron was free.

To say that Zha'haarak had enjoyed the trip to Vejiitasei would be an understatement: he'd never been offworld before, of course, and had spent most of the ten hours gazing wide-eyed out of the viewing port, Zh'leet monitoring him to ensure he suffered no ill-effects. Knowing how hectic things were likely to be, Zha'haabron had slept, replenishing his reserves of strength, while Radittsu had spent the time reading and dealing with reports from Hijau in the hope that he'd have more time to spare for Ti'aasaan and Leteetza later.
Vejiita had requested their presence on their arrival, but Zha'haabron had insisted on taking Zha'haarak to the suite first, and the king had had no choice but to agree. The zn'hre did, however, authorise the offloading of the pharmaceuticals he'd provided at the king's request, which would keep him satisfied for a while as he decided how they could be best employed for his first steps on the way to establishing his empire...

Zha'haabron paused outside the door to the suite, frowning. Beside him, Radittsu - Zha'haarak cradled in his arms - glanced at his bondmate, alarmed: a loud mix of wails and hisses, counterpointed by a high-pitched Saiyan voice and Ti'aasaan's soft enunciation (at the moment sounding hoarse and a little desperate) reached them from within the suite. Zha'haabron opened the door.
       Ti'aasaan looked over his shoulder from where he was perched on the sleeping platform, surrounded by the anxious zn'hre infants, Buahan in his arms, trying to soothe an almost hysterical Kayusu as she rocked the howling twin princes. At the sight of Zha'haabron he lay the cooing baby girl gently on the bed - then jumped up and across the room in what looked like a single leap, flinging himself into his Ssii'iin's arms and wrapping his arms and legs tightly around the startled king's powerful body and burying his face in Zha'haabron's neck.
       "Oh, my love - I'm so happy to see you!"
       "We thought we would surprise you." Zha'haabron cupped the little zn'hre's chin and pulled his face up, wiping at his tears with a gentle thumb and frowning worriedly. Ti'aasaan looked terrible, dark shadows under his eyes, his hair an untidy tangle - and the king was sure he'd lost weight.
       "Sweetheart, what has happened here? Where's Leteetza?"
       Ti'aasaan swallowed. "You haven't heard?"
       Zha'haabron sighed. "Obviously not." He gazed over the little zn'hre's head at the sobbing Saiyan and wailing infants on the bed. "You can tell us about it shortly. Let's sort this out first."

Radittsu gathered the zn'hre princes to him to keep them out of the way as Zha'haabron calmly took control. Taking his host-sib from his bondmate's arms and settling him carefully on the platform, he lifted the red-faced, screaming princes from Kayusu, handing one to Zh'leet and holding the other himself. Zh'leet rocked the howling baby, crooning as she walked up and down: slowly the little prince settled, and after fifteen minutes had fallen asleep. Meanwhile Zha'haabron held the other against his heart, stroking the fine hair and making soft, soothing hissing noises: within seconds the child had calmed, lying quietly against the cool chest and gripping the king's plait in one tiny hand. Ti'aasaan, meanwhile, led Kayusu out to the balcony, hugging the sobbing female and talking to her in a low voice. Buahan still lay on the platform, gurgling and laughing.
       Once the babies were quiet, Zha'haabron seated himself cross-legged on the bed, still holding Kiraz close, and beckoned for Radittsu and Zh'leet to join him. Shortly afterwards Ti'aasaan came back in, arm across Kayusu's shoulders: the Saiyan was snuffling, but no longer hysterical. As she sat on the platform Zha'haabron twisted so he could see them all. He glanced apologetically at Zha'haarak.
       **I'm sorry. This is hardly an ideal homecoming for you**
       **Do not trouble yourself, heart-brother. Perhaps I can be of assistance in this situation**
       **Let's find out what has happened. Then I will decide whether this is the right place for you**
       **I do not want to go back to R'ren'nkh'ia**
       Zha'haabron frowned. **You need time and peace to recover**
       Zha'haarak's eyes were pleading: the king sighed.
       **We'll see...**

Radittsu's expression became ever more anxious as Ti'aasaan told them what had happened and what he knew of Leteetza's affliction. Zha'haabron glowered.
       "And you have been left here, to cope by yourself, with no help?"
       The little zn'hre nodded hesitantly. His Ssii'iin's expression did not bode well for whoever had caused the situation - which was Vejiita, he supposed.
       The big Saiyan leaned forward. "How is she?"
       Ti'aasaan shook his head. "I've heard nothing for four days. 'Stable but unconscious', I think the biotechs said, last I heard."
       Radittsu glanced at Zha'haabron, who nodded and beckoned to his offspring. The little princes obediently settled around him.
       "Of course. Find out if there's anything we can do."
       As Radittsu left for the medical facility, Zha'haabron turned to Zh'leet.
       "Would you be prepared to help Ti'aasaan manage the heirs, as well as caring for Zha'haarak? Until Leteetza is well again?"
       "Do I have a choice?"
       Zha'haabron hesitated for a moment, not wanting to make it an order, and Zh'leet smiled.
       "Of course I will. Gh'veen will assist. Between us we should manage just fine."
       The king sighed silently, relieved, and turned his attention to Kayusu, who was cowering against the little zn'hre fearfully.
       "I am not going to hurt you. But I do expect a little more self-control." He gestured to Zha'haarak. "My sibling has recently undergone a series of operations and requires a tranquil atmosphere in order to heal. You are welcome to remain here for the time being, but only if you are willing to share the responsibility of caring for the children - and not cause Zha'haarak any distress."
       Kayusu nodded wordlessly, and Zha'haabron smiled, handing Kiraz back into her arms. "Good. Now, I have to meet with the king shortly: Zha'haarak must bathe for a while, and I would like Ti'aasaan to bathe with him. Zh'leet will assist them," he glanced at the ko'ish'n, who nodded, "then will help you with the children." He looked down at the tiny zn'hre, who beamed up at him and scuttled off to the bathroom. He inclined his head to Ti'aasaan.
       "You have been teaching them Common?"
       He smiled tiredly. "Leteetza. She is a good teacher."
       Zha'haabron nodded and reached for his sibling, pulling off the gentle zn'hre's body suit and carrying him through to the bath. Ti'aasaan followed. A moment under the hot spray and Zha'haarak and the little zn'hre were soaking in warm, effervescing water.
       Zha'haarak's eyes were huge - this was a completely new experience for him. "Ssticha! This feels... It is very good..."
       Zha'haabron smiled. "And it will speed your healing. Bathe as often as you wish, and when Zh'leet tells you to." He stroked Ti'aasaan's shoulder: the little zn'hre was working the tangles out of his hair with his fingers. "Ask Zh'leet to comb and plait your hair for you. And later we will teach Kayusu the skill: it is about time she made herself useful."
       "Don't be too hard on her, my Ssii'iin. She has been trying, truly she has. But she has had to care for her sister's offspring as well, and she really does not know how. It has been very difficult for us all without Leteetza."
       The king nodded, frowning. Hopefully Radittsu would have some good news on his return...