Due to their unique biology, Aekosi pregnancies are rare, sacred, and biologically demanding. Gestation lasts approximately eleven standard months, and the physical toll is significant—even for a species with regenerative capabilities. This is because the fetus draws heavily on the mother’s bio-reactive particles, depleting her reserves at a rapid rate.
To survive the strain, pregnant Aekosi require frequent feeding from a healthy Aekosi donor. Bondmates typically fulfill this role, but when unavailable, others within the community will step in. These shared feedings are culturally accepted and viewed as acts of survival, not intimacy. Without regular infusions of Aekosi blood, death of both the mother and fetus is possible—especially during labor, when the physical demand on the body peaks.
Free Aekosi communities revere pregnancy and surround it with protective care. Med-techs, companions, and even full-time caretakers are sometimes assigned to ensure the mother’s well-being and provide immediate feeding support when needed.
In contrast, pregnant Aekosi slaves rarely survived during the first century of their race’s enslavement. Sovereign captors failed to understand their biological needs and often drained or neglected them, leading to widespread maternal and fetal death. Over time, the Sovereigns learned to force-feed pregnant Aekosi using other slaves as donors, but even then, care remained minimal and survival uncertain. Pregnant slaves are still viewed as burdens or breeding stock rather than lives to be protected—used when convenient, discarded when not.
Aekosi pregnancy is a vulnerable, emotionally complex journey—a biological risk, a sacred calling, and an act of defiance in a galaxy that has tried to erase them.