Jack and I were in the new Harvester homeworld helping out on this big state-run farm and public park. The Harvesters were fairly technologically advanced, and thus had autonomous machines that normally handled such tasks for them, but today was special. It was as close as the Harvesters got to having a proper religious holiday. So, being invited to tend the fields with them, actually held a fair bit of special significance. I was especially receptive to the whole event because it reminded me of the harvest festivals they used to have back in my hometown.

Just I was helping Kalpana clear a row of some kind of gourd-like plants, Kalpana put down the tools she was using and said,

“So, um...You guys. I don’t suppose you’re like, in the market for some vassals, or long-time employees are you?”

I was still working. Methodically cutting the stem that connected the gourds to the main plant and “gently” tossing the gourds into the wagon that we were dragging behind us. I processed enough of the rest to dully shake my head, and genteelly manage a,

“Nope…” It would have been followed with an “at least, I don’t think so,” but then Jack spoke up and said,

“Uh, sure...Do you know anyone who’s looking for that kind of work?”

Which finally made me pause in what I was doing because I hadn’t known we were considering hiring anybody, for like, any kind of work. It wasn’t a big thing though. We had those quick couple-asides/mini-arguments that longtime SOs sometimes have, and since we were what we were it only took us a few microseconds of encrypted, high-speed, telepathy for us to work through the disconnect in our intentions and understandings of the current situation.

It was one of those situations where you and your partner have already had a long drawn-out conversation about a topic and come to a consensus. Like deciding to expand your kitchen, or adopting a pet, or more seriously, adopting a child. Then after you’ve made the decision, life happens, and you sort of move on without ever pulling the trigger. You’ve both essentially shelved the subject but it turns out you both have different definitions of what “shelving” means.

Which in this case means, I was kind of expecting a whole other discussion, that would confirm that we were in a place to consider clan-building again. Thinking about expanding our household, setting up a permanent home, and yes, accepting employees, vassal-members, or subordinate branches. But in Jack’s case, shelving meant that we’d already made our decisions regarding the rough sketch of our clan-building, but we were putting the fine details aside to later. So it was the difference between a runner who’d decided that they’d probably need to wait for some other day, because they’d already taken off their sneakers and shorts, and a runner who’d changed their clothes but was still wearing sneakers because they’d been told they’d be running that day.

I’m not entirely sure which is the more reasonable point of view. The discussion got slightly heated but ultimately, things quickly enough and smoothly enough because Jack and I were luckily on the same page about most of the stuff involved, I just hadn’t been aware that Jack was still actively thinking about that stuff. Which now that I was thinking about it, made me wonder if I should be giving that stuff more thought, and looking for a place for us to settle down and start building a family, because I was somewhere between hundreds and millions of years old by now. (Please Note: The passage of time in the Chaotic Sea was thoroughly fucked and barely worth trying to keep track of). I’d definitely reached the age where it was maybe time to start thinking about settling down.

Honestly, Jack and I had already been sort of reaching that point back in the 14th Pearl, that’s why we joined the FLD and the TPV in the first place. We'd been looking to add some stability into our lives.

Then all that nonsense, with the dying cultivators who’d wanted to make a bid for godhood by summoning an eldritch-hairball, happened...and Jack and I ended up having to yeet ourselves out of the Shattered World, to save the Shattered World. Which led to us landing in another nomadic stage, where we were just wandering around hunting, feeding, and gathering resources. That’s life for you, I suppose, constantly filled with complications and unexpected events that make it hard to find that “right time” for things.

Once Jack and I had reached a consensus, I said,

“Okay, so...No promises, but who were you thinking of recommending?”

Kalpana abashedly looked at the ground as she absentmindedly tossed another boulder-sized gourd into the wagon. Her warm, golden-brown, skin darkened as she flushed.

“I...Well, how about the harvesters?” said Kalpana.

“Huh, okay...Which Harvesters?”

“Uh, well, the Queens and Princesses of the Royal Council were kind of, maybe, wondering if you’d like to have all us working for you,” said Kalpana. Not quite looking at either of us.

“Uh...Huh...So, you mean your entire Colony wants to work for us?” said Jack. Sounding taken aback and more than a little skeptical.

“Er, yeah...Pretty much,” said Kalpana.

Jack and I exchanged another look and had another, hyper-speed, couple discussion.

“Um, we’re not saying no...But we might need to maybe think this over,” I said. Trying to be as gentle as I could, because it wasn’t every day that someone offered to have their entire species enter into your employ.

We thought things over, for a couple weeks...or maybe it was years. Then Jack and I went to talk to the Five Queens that served as the heads of the Colony’s ruling council, so we’d all know what each side was expecting. Then after all those Is and Ts were dotted and crossed, Jack and I finally made up our minds. We decided to go for it. Figuring that we were already pretty close to Kalpana, and we trusted and got along with the rest of the Harvesters well enough to give this a shot.

So, we pulled their world into a private dimension because it was safer there in the chaotic sea. Which ended up being a good call, because that’s when a whole bunch of war-gods, avenging angels, immortals, wild-fae, and devils showed up and things in the chaotic sea reached a whole new level of crazy.