Mira stepped off the ship, taking in a new planet, once again. It had been weeks since their proposal was approved, since the binding ceremony, and the the plan was set in motion. Now her belly was no longer swollen, it was plump. As she stepped out onto the platform, Ezra was right behind her, moving beside her as if ready to catch her at any moment. The larger she grew, the more worried he became.

He was afraid that she was doing too much, but he knew better than trying to really stop her from doing something she wanted. He had to trust she knew her limits, and apparently her limits were not set at organizing and moving to an entirely new planet.

The original plan was to have humans move there and then she and the other women could visit them. But in order to make sure the colonization program ran the way she wanted it to, Mira wanted to be here.

Obviously with a newborn baby, she would be more comfortable in the palace, surrounded by the top Jayku doctors. But she intended to stay on Zyoo for a few days to oversee the project, and then return to the palace to have the baby. Once it was born and a few months old, they'd return to Zyoo to govern.

Zyoo was a lot like Ezra's home planet, only it was a portion of the size, and almost everything was covered in water.

"I thought it'd be..." Mira paused. "Colder."

"I told you it was an ocean planet."

"Yeah, I was just thinking like ice. I didn't know you meant like the actual planet was just one big ocean."

He glanced out over the horizon, taking in the endless horizon of blue water and violet sky. "There are islands scattered throughout the planet. They just aren't as stable as this one. They flood more often."

Mira glanced behind her, taking in the sparkling city made entirely of ships and floating glass bubble homes. "And these are flood proof?"

"Yes," Ezra said, leading the way down the white docks towards the colony that took months longer to build than anticipated. "Occasionally, there will be a tropical storm, or sometimes, even a hurricane. But the colony is almost completely flood proof."

They walked along the dock, a long platform made out of a hard white material that floated. The water was calm, not like the giant waves in the oceans on earth and, as if reading her mind, Ezra began to explain. "We reverse the direction of the anti-gravity machines on the ships to neutralize the waves while we land. It's to prevent disruption to the environment."

For once, she didn't care how it all worked. All she cared about was that it did work. That's all that mattered, because seeing her family depended on it.

They reached the large white dome at the center of all the docks, and when she placed her hand on the white material and swiped sideways, the white material folded back like a curtain to let her inside.

"Oxygen levels in here compatible for human survival?" She asked.

"Yes, sweetheart."

She walked over the to railing, leaning out over the balcony to take the colony in. Below her, for what seemed like thousands of feet, windows lined the round structure all the way deep into the ocean. It was like a giant submarine hotel, filled with thousands of family apartments, school rooms, library's, and even a food court designed to look similar to a shopping mall.

Designed in every way to integrate humans into the Jayku's way of life, minus all the sex. The area went several floors underwater, like an ocean bunker, and spread out hundreds of miles out. In one of the sections branching off from the main dome living quarters, there was even a pool and sports courts—basketball, football, baseball, hockey. They were still working on the skate park.

"So," Ezra said. "What do you think?"

Mira shook her head in disbelief. "It's amazing."

It was everything she had dreamed of and more. "Let me show you our room." Ezra led her around the balcony to the other side where a small glass elevator was built into the structure. They stepped inside, and he pushed the correct third floor button before the elevator shot down to the proper level. When the elevator doors opened back up, and Mira stepped outside, Ezra took her hand and guided her around the balcony again as she took in the food court area. It looked like a mall all right, but the foods they were serving were completely alien. Pictures of alien fruits and veggies with the human version of the name for it, since most of their foods didn't have translations.

"Here we are," Ezra said, lifting his arm over a wooden, white door with an actual silver door knob.

Mira gave him a strange look, and wobbled closer to the door, opening it for herself. When she stepped inside, the smell of freshly filtered air and honey filled the area. A small living room sat next to an even smaller kitchen with a crystallized leaf counter island bar and an alien stove and fridge.

Next to the dark brown and fluffy green grass couch, a earth-style baby swing sat. She lifted her hands to her mouth.

"Is that... for her?" Mira asked, taking in the light blue strands of wood and green silk basket hanging.

Ezra nodded. "There's more."

He led her around the corner to the small hallway. Three doors lined the wall—one that led into their bedroom, one that led into a bathroom, and a third that led into a baby room.

When she stepped inside tears sprang to her eyes. A crib made with a giant shell bottom structure and softened with leaf pillows and blankets sat in the center of the room. A rocking chair sat in the corner with a bookshelf full of baby books in English and in Jayku. A dresser closest to the front door was crammed full of baby clothes, all made out of organic -alien materials. But, the most surprising thing of all, was the baby album book sitting on the end table next to the rocking chair.

Mira reached for it carefully, the old worn pages so familiar. She held it in her arms, almost afraid to open the first page.

"I had it brought here..." Ezra said, stepping up to her from behind and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Along with a few other surprises."

She swallowed hard, and the tears fell from her eyes and down her cheek. "They're..." her voice was hardly a whisper. "Here?"

Ezra smiled at her as she slowly turned around in his arms to look at him. "In the apartment next door," he said gently.

All the air in her lungs sprang to her mouth, and she gasped and heaved in shock. He let go of her as she fled the room, darting across the living area, back out to the balcony and to the next door over. She opened the door and stepped inside, and when she did, her little sisters face was the first thing she saw.

"Ava," her voice quivered.

The little girl leaped from the couch into Mira's arms, and they both collapsed on the floor, happy tears flooding down their faces.