“We might want to hang onto a few of those. No telling when we might need to kill another Edant K’teth.”
Khala grumbled about my misuse of the term, but I ignored her and turned to my sister. “Come on, once I get the ship prepped you can go round up Lily and the others.”
I think it goes without saying that I made my way up the ramp with considerable trepidation, but this time we made it safely inside the ship without me taking a single bullet. We got through the airlock and for a moment I actually let myself hope that we wouldn’t run into any trouble inside the ship, but when the doors opened I knew I’d been dead wrong.
Becca lunged through the door and I covered her with phase fire, taking out one of the rangers, who had only managed to fire off a few half-hearted shots before my bolts struck home. Becca took out a second one further on down the corridor and I followed down the corridor after her as she leapt toward the control center.
The bridge was empty, and I plopped down at the controls initiating the pre-flight procedures. “Becca,” I winced and rubbed my hand over my not-quite healed wounds. “Would you look the ship over and make sure we don’t have any more uninvited guests?”
“What about you?” Becca hesitated at the door staring at me with those big magenta eyes.
“I can take care of myself.” I un-holstered one of my guns, held it up for her to see and set it down on the console. “Besides I’d rest easier if I knew there weren’t any hostiles on board.”
Becca nodded and disappeared from the doorway. I hated sending her out on the hunt, but the truth was I was in pretty bad shape. Khala was working to heal me, but our energy reserves were so diminished that it was taking ages.
Becca was back a moment later, and her face was a shade or two greener than it had been when she’d found out she’d killed Jake. “I found a pair of rangers in the engine room. T-they won’t be a problem any longer.”
“Here,” she added dropping a pair of power cells in my lap. “Those should help.”
I nodded and gritted my teeth as Khala stirred feeding on the energy within the cells. “The ship’s almost ready. Find the others, the sooner we get out of here the better.”
Becca looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded and disappeared out the door leaving me on the bridge, alone.
“Shit,” I cursed, grabbed my pistol and spun around to face the intruders as the came barreling into the control room only to drop my hand when I saw that it was only the doctor and Neada.
I set my pistol back down on the console and shook my head. “You’re lucky I didn’t pull the trigger.”
Neada nodded and moved in beside me. “How soon can we get airborne?”
“A few minutes,” I ran a hand over my sore spots and glanced back at the doctor. “I don’t suppose either of you have any spare powercells, do you?
“Most assuredly, not!” The doctor trilled bouncing across the control room before landing beside me. “Do you wish for Vakrexid to take a look?”
“Not now, doc. You haven’t seen the others, have you?”
“Yeah, Rebecca and Lily went off to look for Farris. We got into a scrape with some of Dahl’s people and we lost track of him,” Janet sighed collapsing into the seat next to mine. “The ship ready?”
“Just about.” I grimaced my hands scrolled across the control surface, mashing my thumb against the indicator which would begin the final ignition sequence. “Do me a favor, the next time I decide to charge in somewhere without knowing what’s waiting for us tell me where to shove it.”
“What do you wish to be shove and where should you shove it?” the doctor asked his body bending around my back so that I was looking directly into his eyes albeit upside down. I’d always know the doctor was flexible, but until that moment I had never realized quite how flexible he actually was.
“Doc, do you mind?”
“What do you wish to know about my mind?” Vakrexid blinked.
“Just get out of my face!”
Vakrexid pulled away and turned to Janet. “Vakrexid is most perplexed.”
Neada stared at the doctor and shook her head a slow smile forming a moment before she craned her neck to look over her shoulder. “Someone’s coming.”
Neada un-holstered her pistol then rose to her feet and position herself at the edge of the door frame. Her muscles were tensed and she looked ready to pounce on whoever was about to come through. She relaxed considerably when Lily’s face appeared in the doorway.
“Doctor!” she yelled, waving at Vakrexid. “Farris is injured. We need you now!”
Vakrexid let out a high-pitched warbling screech and went lurching out of the room his fingers twitching at his sides like worms wiggling around on the ground.
“Take the second door on the left!” Lily called over her shoulder then stepped inside the bridge glancing at Neada who still had my pistol clenched in her hands before she trained her eyes on me. I blinked and before I even realized it, she was right on top of me her arms flung tightly around my neck. “Lex, I’m so glad you’re alright. I-I thought you were dead.”
I groaned and pushed her away, or rather I tried to, but I was still too weak. Fortunately, she seemed to realize she was hurting me and pulled away. “Why don’t you go be with your sister? She’s was pretty shaken up when we found Farris. I can take over from here.”
I nodded and pecked Lily on the lips before departing from the bridge. I found my way to the room where they dumped Farris and the moment I stuck my head in the door and saw my sister weeping in the corner as the doctor worked and I realized what an idiot I’d been. I’d mistaken my sister’s feelings for Farris as simple infatuation, but never once had it occurred to me that those feelings might have been genuine.
I crept into the room, careful not to disturb the doctor and wrapped my arms around Becca. She stiffened at my touch, but then melted into my arms like butter. After a few minutes the room started to quiver and quake, indicating the ship was taking off, but either Becca didn’t realize or didn’t care because she didn’t stir a bit. The world slowed to a standstill as her tears dripped onto my shoulder. She squeezed me, which was painful, but I didn’t say a word. What right did I have to complain? I’d caused her enough grief butting heads with Farris.
“Vakrexid has done all I can,” the doctor pronounced after just a few short minutes.
“W-will he live?” Becca asked pulling away from me.
“Vakrexid cannot say. He is most badly injured. He may pull through he may not. If I had access to Vakrecid’s equipment I believe Vakrexid could save him, but as it is only time will tell if he survives.”
She nodded and turned back to me collapsing into my chest. I grunted and cradle her in my arms. I’d been such a fool, and it was only after Farris was on death’s door that I finally realized the full extent of it. If he died I’d have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. Becca, didn’t show any signs of moving so I held her close and comforted her the best I could. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, and still I held her in my arms…
“Touching down,” Lily said just a second before the whole ship shuddered which was followed by a loud metallic groan.
I nodded and looked over the decaying ruins of New Anaheim, my birthplace and former home. Of course, getting there had been no small task. The gray skins had tightened their patrols and we’d only just barely managed to slip through unnoticed. It was fortunate, Lily’s sensor trick still worked or we’d have been in a world of trouble.
It looked so different than my vague child recollections. The city had been so bright and alive, but now it looked dull and lifeless. Our scans had been able to determine that my appraisal was for the most part correct, only housing a few hundred human life signs. There were thousands of animals, but most were rodents. “Get the holocloaker up as soon as you can. I don’t want any passing patrol ships to be able to pick us up.”
It was Lily, Janet and me on the bridge, the doctor was back ensuring that our landing didn’t rattle Farris–whose condition was still quite tenuous–too much. Becca hadn’t left his side since he’d sustained his injuries and I doubted she would until his condition change either for the better or worse. Becca wasn’t very talkative since he had come so close to death, but the strain on our relationship caused by my aborted attempt on his life was no longer in evidence. Whether or not it was gone for good, was another question entirely.
“You got this?”
Lily nodded and I departed returning again to the doctor’s makeshift infirmary where Farris was being kept. “Any changes?”
“He is showing some small signs of improvement his skin has regained much color and his breathing is much less laborious,” the doctor said turning to me with wide eyes. “Vakrexid is more optimistic that he will recover.”
“Well, that’s good,” I said and turned to Becca who was kneeling next to the bed we’d made by tearing apart one of the crew bunks. “You doing alright?”
She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Why don’t you go get something to eat and catch a few hours of sleep? I can look after him while you rest.”
She glanced back at me, concern mirrored in her eyes and I caught a flash of uncertainty in her eyes. Maybe she hadn’t been as quick to forget my feud with Farris as I thought.
“I promise, nothing will happen to him under my watch.” That seemed to reassure her and she nodded before disappearing from the room. I knelt down next to Farris’s bed and watched as the doctor departed.
“Farris.” I sighed and shook my head. “You might be a major pain in the ass, but you didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“That’s big of you to admit.” Farris’s eyes popped open and I jumped back startled by his sudden pronouncement.
“Farris, you’re awake!”
“Obviously.” His eyes cracked open and he looked up at me. “Thought you were dead.”
“Not, unless this is the afterlife.” I shuddered and glanced up at the ceiling. “In which case… I must have really done something to piss someone up there off.”
Farris chuckled then closed his eyes and winced before glancing over at me. “So, obviously you’re alive and I am… I guess. What about Becca? A-and the others?”
“Everyone’s fine. I just barely managed to convince Becca to go get something to eat. She hasn’t left your side since they brought you in. Why don’t I go grab her? I’m sure she’d love to talk to you.”
Farris nodded and I swept out of the room only to return a moment later with my sister in tow. Needless to say she was ecstatic to find that Farris had finally awakened. I didn’t speak, but merely watched from the doorway. I was starting to see what she saw in him. Sure, he could be an ass, but when he spoke with her it was like I was seeing a different side of him. He was kind and gentle, a far different person than the Farris I’d come to know and detest. He had changed, but I hadn’t really seen it until that moment and if he could change it was about time I did too.
Chapter Twelve
Farris continued to recover and by the night before my birthday he was able to sit up in his bed, though the doctor didn’t think he’d be able stand for another few days at least. Things between Becca and I had definitely taken a more positive turn, but we really hadn’t spent any time discussing what had occurred. She’d been so focused on Farris’s recovery that I hadn’t quite figured out how to broach the subject. That was about to change.
I’d asked Lily and Becca to meet me on the bridge after our morning meal and since I’d been so nervous I hadn’t had much of an appetite, I’d been the first to arrive.
“You sure about this?” Khala asked seated in the pilot’s seat her feet kicked up on top of the console.
“Yes.” I sighed and bit my lip. “Just be quiet for a moment would you? I need some time with my thoughts.”
“Fine, do try not to screw this up. I have a feeling this could really blow up in your face.” She stood up and reach up to touch my face and I was still more than a little skittish when it came to feeling the touch my symbiote’s illusionary form. She vanished and I turned back to glance at the door fully expecting them to arrive at any moment. They didn’t keep me waiting for too long, but I was jittery that it seemed like much longer. Lily appeared in the doorway first, but my sister was only a few steps behind.
“Lex,” Lily said dropping into the same seat Khala had vacated just a few moments before. “What’s this all about? What’s going on?”
“Everything alright?” Becca asked taking a seat a good five feet away from Lily.
“No.” I bit my lip and collapsed into a seat facing them. “I-it hasn’t been for a while.”
“Jeff, if you–”
I held up my hand cutting my sister off before she could continue. “Just let me talk, please. This is important.”
“Just before, Kaya died, Khala offered to return me to my male form at least on a temporary basis, but at some point I would have had to return to female form so she could reproduce. At first, I was so caught up in my budding relationship with you, Lily, and my sister’s return that I barely gave it a seconds thought. Then Kaya died and… I started thinking about it a lot more.”
“Oh, Lexa.” Lily started stood up and moved across the room and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Why didn’t you say something? Don’t you think I of all people would understand?”
I took her hand and returned to my feet looked her in the eyes. “I was afraid you’d reject me like Kaya did when I first changed.”
“Lex…” she bit her lip and kissed me on the lips. “I will support you no matter what choice you make. You gotta know that.”
“I know I’ve been a bit… unbalanced lately. Kaya’s passing hit me pretty hard, and I think I hit my lowest point when I tried to kill Farris.”
“You WHAT!?” Lily gasped backing away and staring at me with those big magenta eyes.
“I found him on top of my sister,” I said giving her a pointed look. “I’ve been so mixed up. I keep thinking of Jellfree and Lexa as if they… I was two separate people. I couldn’t decided which one of them I wanted to be, but then I realized that Jellfree is Lexa. They are one and the same. All this time I’ve blaming my darker impulses, all the violent things I did, on Lexa, but the truth is I’ve always had it in me to do those sort of things. I think everyone does, it just comes easier to some of us.”
“What are you trying to say?” Becca stood up shaking her head. “What’s this all about?”
“Why don’t I just show you?” I stepped back bit my lip. “Khala do it.”
It started almost immediately and fell down to my knees as the changes started. It didn’t hurt at quite the same level as it had the first time. Khala was dulling the pain quite a bit, but I still felt every little crack and pop reverberate through my slender frame. I put my hand out and watched as my skin and fingers morphed. My chest felt as if two boiling hot bowls of soup had been pressed against it and when I reached up to touch my breasts I could feel them remolding themselves to the contours of my new body. Finally, it was all done and I gasped and looked up. I was feeling a little off balance to say the least, but I managed to climb back to my feet and stared at the Becca and Lily.
“What do you think?”
“I-I’m confused.” Becca glanced at Lily. “You’re still a woman.”
“I don’t want to spend my life shifting between forms. If I took Khala up on her offer I’d have to shift back every time she wanted to reproduce. I can’t live a life where I can only be happy with my body some of the time. If I’m going to be Lexa then I want to do so wearing a face that’s undeniably mine not some weird mixture of my old self and an aunt I barely knew.”
Lily blinked and approached me. She looked me right in the eyes then slapped me. She hit hard, but I knew how strong she was and the blow could have been a lot more powerful. Still it hurt enough to b
ring a tear to the corner of my eye. “You stupid, stupid woman! Didn’t you think you could have at least warned us!” she yelled then grabbed me by the collar of the shirt and kissed me. “Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again!”
“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Becca demanded rounding on the two of us.
I bowed my head, bit my lip and grabbed my sister by her shoulder. “I haven’t felt quite right since Khala changed me. It’s taken a while for me to figure it out. At first a lot of it had to do with being the wrong gender, but it’s not just that. I don’t quite know how to say this, but I-I haven’t exactly felt like myself either. Now, I’m as close to being me as I can be.”
“I’m still not following.”
“Don’t you get it? When Khala transformed me, she remade my body by combining my DNA with Mara’s, but I realized I didn’t have to be stuck wearing that face any more. I had her recombine my old genes with yours.” I blushed and glanced down at my chest which was just big enough to make my blouse and bra feel tight and constrained. “Granted I think she may have idealized my appearance a bit, but I’m about as close as I can be to what would have looked like had I been born a girl.”
“Why is this so important to you? I mean I’m happy if you are, but what does it matter what face you wear. You’re still my b… sister.” Becca winced and took a step back.
“I don’t really understand it myself, but I feel like I can be me in this body. I feel like I’m making a fresh start. A new face, for a new Lexa.” I beamed and wiggled my eyebrows at her. “Of course, my bra may require a little alteration.This one’s a little on the uncomfortable side now.”
“This,” Lily stood up on her toes and frowned. “Will take some getting used to.”
“I take it that you’re okay with this?”
“No, I still think you should have warned me, and…” she paused and took both of my hands. “in the future I fully expect you to discuss any bombshells you might have before you pull a little stunt like this again, got it?”
Battle For Earth Page 46
