The real start of the tourist season wasn't too bad for those on Mieni, and it was truly something that they expected. After all, Mieni's first year in operation had gone well and had actually earned enough money that they were able to provide an expansion for facilities on the other islands that made up the atoll, which would include areas those Animalians that were bigger than humans by a substantial degree and for those that were more aquatic based than others. That served as a big part of what Animalia hoped for out of Mieni in that the atoll would serve as a spot where Animalians could enjoy a vacation from their own daily struggles.
Of course it didn't hurt that many people from outside of Animalia had seemed to have an attraction to Mieni as well. Some of it might just be scientific curiosity, as there were a few scientists that came from other companies that frequently came to Mieni, checked into the hotel and then talked with whoever was manning the front counter how they moved and breathed, particularly if they were a species of fish, and would then tour Horizon's offices in the area that been part of the military base on Mieni for more. Some of it might just come from those who many people called "furries" in the outside world. People who seemed to like the idea of sentient animals with very human like features.
And then of course there were the people that seemed to like Animalians simply for how they looked. All Animalians were rather well muscled and built to attract the opposite gender. When Gaz got her first sight of Andrew with his height and musculature she could see why some women had left marriage proposals on the various websites that were connected to Animalia, but she had Ran and Gaz found him very attractive as well, and she did love Ran. She'd actually gotten to know Ran very well since she was first uplifted, and while it was decidedly non-shark behavior, by mundane shark standards, she'd stay with Ran for as long as she could. The thing that was ultimately the most annoying/amusing with regards to people's attraction to Animalians was that some people just seemed to think that because male Animalians were well muscled and that many mammalian Animalian males would have some obvious indication of a large "package" and that female Animalians were very voluptuous with a chest that started at D and got larger from there was that many of these tourists seemed to think that the only thing that Animalians thought about and engaged in was sex.
So long as they kept their distance, they weren't too much of a problem, though the constant staring could be unsettling. However, their attempts at trying to win over an Animalian's attention when staring didn't work ultimately caused problems. The guy who had been in a recent series of humor driven videos had come to Mieni on vacation, and was presently limited to his hotel room and Mieni's Horizon facility because his color bone had been bruised when he tried to impress some Animalian with how much he could lift and then failed. Or at least Gaz thought he'd been trying to impress an Animalian. Susan and the group that found him ultimately had said that they didn't see anyone in the area and that no one had actually been in the area when the guy had started lifting.
But the fact that tourists came to Mieni was a good thing in the long run for Gaz. It kept Mieni functioning, though her mind was fairly heavily focused on some other things at the moment as she mad her morning rounds. Much of that related to her heavily swollen middle where her four children were developing. She had been strong enough to keep going in directing things, and Ran remained dutiful and on her beck and call, which allowed her to stay active, which Gaz preferred. Of course staying active wasn't the only thing, as some of Mieni's residents had started to have families as well. That would mean that Mieni might need other services too. Things like a school to educate the children as they grew up.
Her mind was focused on that as she ran into Sarah and Travis from Animalia Ambassadoria as they were filming one of the maps of the atoll that were put up to mark new additions to the atoll's development as a resort and Animalian colony. This puzzled Gaz a bit, as she though Animalia Ambassadoria had already seen the map and were aware of the things done to improve the attractions on the atoll. She thus paused to stop while feeling a slight twinge inside her, but for the moment she ignored it. She waited for them to pause in filming their segment and then spoke up.
"Don't you already have all that information?" Gaz asked.
"We do," Travis answered, "but since we're here as part of an update on what's been going on with the first colonies since the last time we were here... we're including shots of the guides. It'll help us with editing in some of the other shots to show things."
Gaz looked around and found that it was only Sarah and Travis. Normally, Animalia Ambassadoria seemed to travel as a pretty tight group when they left Animalia. It wasn't impossible to see them on their own, as Simon had been missing from many of their episodes while he'd been at Nevada's police academy, but for the most part it was common to see them together.
"So... where are the others?" Gaz wondered, resting one hand on her swollen womb for the moment.
"Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline are going with covering some of the Dinotopian's visit," Sarah answered, "and I think Sora and Yuki were wanting to fit Sophie and Pauline for swimsuits or they wanted swimsuits... which has them busy for the moment. Jessica and Roger are checking out the part of the atoll where you've carved cave openings that lead out to the ocean and the scuba tours that are being offered for humans from that area. Abby and Samson are looking over some of the other islands in the atoll where new things have been put in. Travis and I will run down any and all possible updates to existing structures... and I think Simon and Malice are making up for time being apart while he was at the police academy."
"Did he graduate?" Gaz asked curiously, and feeling another twinge within her. Still she ignored it for the moment.
"He did... but Nevada won't let anyone be employed as an officer until they turn twenty one," Sarah answered, "Both the Animalia and Lyre PD have expressed some interest and will be running something of a training program with him. They'll have him practice the physical exercises and making sure he stays mentally sharp before he takes the final exam on his twenty first birthday."
"That sounds..." Gaz began and began to grit her teeth as whatever was going on was now starting to hurt, "Sounds..."
"Gas, are you okay?" Travis asked.
"I... I think it's tiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Gaz groaned out as she felt her water break.
It wasn't quite like the way mammals gave birth in that the infant was connected to the mother via an umbilical cord, but the doctors at Horizon had noted that there had been some fluid that was present to help cushion the eggs within her before they hatched. Horizon's scientists also guessed from some of the images they were able to get of Gaz's four children within her that once eggs hatched that she would go into labor, which she thought was now happening. As she ended up going down to a knee, she could hear Ran come running calling her name as he did so.
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Ran, Sarah, and Travis managed to get Gaz from the main hotel area to Horizon's offices on Mieni which served to function as a sort of command and control center many of the technological and scientific research aspects for Mieni. It also had the areas that were being set and used as a medical area. The medical team was more than ready as Gaz was lead to a large tank inside its own research area. It was the same take where Horizon had performed its first formal uplifting of fish and marine reptiles at Mieni, but now had a different purpose. Harold was there to greet them as they arrived in the room with the tank.
"Are you sure it has to be this way?" Sarah wondered as she tapped the glass and then looked up at the platform to where Harold and Ran were helping Gaz into the tank, "Shouldn't Ran and Gaz's children have lungs?"
"We think they should," Harold answered while Gaz and Ran moved to disrobe enough so that Gaz could give birth, "but the process of uplifting fish has included the use of grafting lungfish DNA and specifically for a lungfish's lungs onto another fish is something that is potentially complicated... and it should be remembered that mundane lungfish are not known for running around on the surface of the Earth and avoiding water entirely. Their lungs help them breathe air when they need to but they're not so fully developed that they're going to be great air breathers to begin with. In this it will be healthier for Gaz's children that they born under water. That way if there is any stress related to the birth... it won't traumatize them into overworking their lungs and letting them use their gills which are fare more developed. We also have some guess as to how well their shoulders and hips will be developed. They're there... but from the images we have from Gaz's earlier medical appointments it may be that for her and Ran's pups that they will develop more post birth than anything else."
"You will make sure that Gaz is okay?" Ran asked to the converted Sea Krait Animalian.
Harold nodded to him, seeing some worry in his dark eyes. As he slid into the water to help assist Gaz in, he held his breath until he came back to the surface. As he surfaced he looked to both Gaz and Ran.
"Gaz will be fine," Harold assured Ran and then looked to Gaz, "and you'll need to remember to relax between contractions."
Gaz nodded and slid down beneath the surface for a bit. Sarah and Travis were filming, which she didn't mind but she did keep herself positioned so that they wouldn't be filming straight up between her legs. Having video of her children being born actually sounded rather nice. She remembered having pups in the past, though they were all mundane sharks and she had no real idea where they were now. As an Animalian, though, Gaz had gained the same desires for and love of family that all Animalians had. And these four were to be hers and Ran's family, and through the pain of labor, she could smile at that... though the shots that would be given would be from the side, just to make sure that no one would see anything they'd find gross.
They then went through the lengthy and painful process of labor. It wasn't quite the same as mammalian labor, as Gaz as a Great White Shark Animalian was still a fish, but because Great Whites gave birth to live young there was a fair amount that was rather similar. The biggest thing, though was that labor for Gaz went quickly, especially when compared to human births. Ran was by her side holding her shoulders and Harold was there to help through the process of delivering the shark pups, though Harold did need to periodically pause to move to the surface to breathe. However, that worked rather well and soon four Great White Shark pups were swimming around the interior of the tank with Ran holding her close.
There were two boys and two girls, and as Harold predicted, while their shoulders, arms, and legs were there, they weren't at the same proportion as they were on Ran and Gaz. This confirmed to Harold that it would be likely that their arms and legs would mature more as they grew up. For the moment they swam moving their tails side to side as any shark would, though their arms and legs while they weren't yet strong enough for movement on land, they were good at guiding them through the water. Gaz also noted that all four did have their teeth, which would mean that it might not be the best idea to immediately breastfeed them, as they might bite down too hard and do real damage with instruments that were designed to slice through meat.
"So, what shall we name them?" Gaz asked to Ran.
"I was thinking... what about Raz and Taz for the two boys," Ran answered, "with Sandy and Mira..."
"Mira?" Gaz wondered.
"Yes... our younger daughter looks a lot like you," Ran answered, "almost like a younger reflection of you. And Mira sounds sort of like the word mirror... so..."
"I think they're fine names," Gaz answered, "and now we'll have to prepare for a school for them and all the others born/hatched here on Mieni."
"In the future," Ran answered his bond-mate.