“Completely avoid!”
“Aren’t you dying to know?”
“Completely dying!”
“I’m already dying,” I said, only half listening to them at this point. The air seemed to have become molasses it was so thick in my lungs. If I didn’t know better, I would have been sure I’d contracted a case of hyperpneumonia.
“Oh, well, we installed shields,” KN-B said.
“The shieldiest shields that ever did shield,” added KN-C.
“Wasn’t that clever of us?”
“So clever.”
“Perfect for this exhibit, don’t you think?”
“Completely agree!”
Jack stopped, so I stopped. I didn’t mind right off the bat because something about their words told me they were talking about this strange part of the gallery we were in. “Why do you need shields here?” he said as he adjusted his grip on his weapon.
“For the same reason you have those weapons.”
“Totally same.”
“The completion of our task is dangerous, after all, and we are grateful for helping us finish. Would you like to join the festivities?”
“So fun!”
“Task?” I asked. “What task?”
“This doesn’t sound good,” Jainon said, her face hardening.
The two drones laughed with sinister, harmonic voices. They spun around each other and then danced around for a few seconds before recomposing themselves. “The eradication of the Kibnali!” KN-B replied.
“Time for them to go!” KN-C tacked on.
Tolby, keeping the rear secure, glanced over his shoulder, dropped his brow, and growled. “What did that thing say?”
“We were saying we’re so happy you stupid, brutish, worthless furballs didn’t’ figure out what was going on before we got the webway operational again,” KN-B said.
“So stupid,” KN-C added.
“Remember when you asked about Adrestia and the Nodari? And I replied ‘Oh, I have no idea what you’re talking about?’ And you morons believed us. I only wish we could’ve accomplished this sooner, but alas, stupid paradox backlash problems. We could only insert the Nodari into the timeline here and now.”
“You’re responsible for all of this?” I asked, both shocked at the news and mad at myself for ever trusting the little bastards. After all, we’d known the facility on Adrestia had been made to send the Nodari fleet to invade the Kibnali, but we’d thought that wasn’t going to happen for a couple of years.
“Me? I’m not that good,” KN-B replied, spinning about. “Group effort. Go us!”
KN-C joined the fun. “Go team, go!”
My eyes narrowed, and I raised my arm, intent on telekinetically punching one of them through the other. Instead of launching my famous attack, however, I dropped to one knee and emptied my stomach. And it wasn’t a normal puke either. It was thick, chunky, and had flecks of dark blood in it.
That’s probably the only thing that kept my Kibnali buddies from vaporizing them as well, as they both instantly tried to get me back up on my feet.
“She doesn’t have much time,” Jainon said, speaking to Tolby as if I weren’t there.
Tolby growled. “I know.”
“Oh, that is not a good look for her,” KN-B said.
“Not good,” chimed his twin.
“Maybe she’d like some chicken noodle soup and a good rest.”
“A great rest.”
I coughed again, and it hurt, but at least I had enough strength in me to talk again. “We’re going to the medbay.”
“What a fine idea,” KN-B said. “The medical facility here has been specifically designed to meet the needs of all registered omega-level family membership holders.”
“Specifically designed!”
“Can it take out this venom?” I asked, my hatred for them both taking a back seat to the hope I’d find a cure.
“In theory, yes,” KN-B replied.
“In theory!”
“What do you mean, ‘in theory’?”
“You’ll have to infect one of your own,” he explained. “Seeing how you didn’t seem to appreciate your part in eradicating the Kibnali, you might object.”
“Possible problem!” KN-C added.
“But in your case,” KN-B went on, “I think you would more see it like self-defense than anything. I’m sure you could rationalize it as such if you’re having a moral quandary.”
“Completely rationalize!”
“Look out!” Jainon yelled.
Out of instinct, I dropped to the ground and dragged Jack along with me. A bright, superheated beam of plasma flashed between us and struck KN-B dead center. Whatever shields he might have had apparently weren’t enough to stop this blast. Most of his body vaporized, and what was left of his shell collapsed to the floor. KN-C flew away with a shriek as Tolby and Jainon put a half dozen shots back the way we came.
The Nodari scout who’d suddenly appeared behind us caught their shots with its face and chest. It crumpled to the ground in a smoldering heap.
For the next few seconds, Tolby kept his weapon up and trained back the way we came while Jainon covered ahead of us. Eventually, he glanced over his shoulder. “Looks like the Nodari have found a way in,” he said.
“Let’s hope it’s only a few,” Jainon added.
The giant tigress pulled me up, but I fought her off for a moment when she tried to put me across her shoulders. I had something I needed to say first, something that nearly got caught in my throat as I spoke. “Tolby…”
My bud hurried over and dropped a massive paw on my shoulder. “Don’t listen to them. This isn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t know. I swear.” My eyes watered, and despite the lack of spare time we had, I threw myself into him. The ugly cry came. The ugliest of uglies. “I’m sorry. If I had listened to you from the start, if we had never gone in the Vela and never messed around inside the museum, none of this would’ve happened.”
Tolby squeezed me tight, which only made me cry harder.
Jainon broke the silence. “You are not at fault, Dakota,” she said. “They did this to us. Not you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be the one to set things right.”
I sniffed, cleared my eyes, and then blew out a massive bunch of snot. “Thanks, but…”
“No buts,” she said. “Take whatever anger you have for yourself and unleash it on our enemies.”
I sucked in a deep breath and tried to ground myself in her words. They helped, but I’d be lying if I said they worked completely. It’s not like they teach you in school how to deal with a mindscrew like the bomb that had just been dropped on me. “Right,” I said. “I need that medbay, though. How much further is it?”
“I’ll check,” Jack said before trotting a dozen paces to a console.
Once he was out of relative earshot, Tolby spoke to me softly. “I think he’s using you.”
“Why would you say that?”
“He cares not for his new family,” he said. “I can see it in his eyes and the way he looks at the others. He’s distrustful of my species, and thus is distrustful of you. Those who are like that only seek to manipulate and get what they can before cutting loose and running.”
“I think he has every right to be distrustful of the other Kibnali,” I said. “To be honest, I don’t trust them either, and they didn’t experiment on me nearly as badly as they had on him.”
“I’m not even speaking about the Kibnali who live here. He’s distrustful of not only me, but Empress, Yseri, and Jainon.”
“I think wary is a better word,” I said.
The conversation halted when Jack came running back over with an excited look on his face. “The medical facility is right around the corner. They had it listed as ‘primary support’ which I guess was an awkward translation of ‘first aid.’”
“The gods bless us still,” Jainon said with a huge grin.
I couldn’t help but smile as well, but for other reasons. “I
guess even Progenitors mess up their translations from time to time. I don’t suppose there were any clues as to what that whole infecting business was all about?”
“No, but let’s hope that’s another botched translation,” he said. “Because as far as I know, I’m the only other human around, and as much as I like you, I’d rather not be infected with anything.”
“Agreed.”
We took off for the medical bay, and I didn’t get but a dozen steps before collapsing against the wall. Pain seared all through my body. My eyes felt as if they were going to explode, and my joints felt as if each one had an invisible ice pick stuck in them and was digging around.
“I’ve got her,” Jainon said, scooping me up with one arm and slinging me across her shoulders.
I probably should’ve been used to it by now, but I was really starting to hate being slung around like a sack of potatoes. It’s painful. It’s not dignified, and it made me feel like a three-year-old kid. I tried to make myself useful as we ran down the hall, but since the pain continued to grow worse, most of the time I had my eyes clenched shut. Thankfully, we reached the medical facility in short order.
I heard a whoosh right as we entered, and caught sight of a large, translucent door sliding to the side. The medical bay’s waiting area was arranged in a crescent with several benches along the walls. Above the benches were large paintings of tropical landscapes, some of which looked more like they belonged hanging over an ancient bar at Key West than they did in an alien facility—probably a few more pieces the Progenitors had procured from Earth way back when. Or was it way forward when? I guess it all depends on how you look at time travel.
Next to those benches sat a few ferns with purple and red leaves, and near the center of the room beneath a lovely crystal chandelier was an elongated, sleek, black desk that had a single monitor sitting in the middle and a cushy chair with a back that fanned out in multiple colors much like a peacock. I imagined that was for the doctor or the receptionist or whoever normally staffed this place. Since it was empty, much like most Progenitor facilities we had been in, we pushed through the waiting area.
“At least there isn’t the line,” Jack said, opening the next door.
“Or questions about insurance,” I said as I forced a small grin. “I’m pretty sure this area would be out of network.”
We entered a wide hall that ran for a few dozen meters before turning to the left. We didn’t run its length, but rather entered the first door on our right, which ended up being an exam room—or maybe operation room was more accurate.
It was spacious and rectangular with rounded corners and a large ceiling that stretched overhead. Hanging from the ceiling was a rounded mount that held a number of robotic arms and devices, many of which reminded me of what I’d seen TG2 use to operate on Empress not long ago.
Beneath that mount there stood a hefty, padded operating table that had a large white-and-blue ring surrounding it, presumably to scan whoever the patient was. A cart about as tall as I am and twice as long sat nearby, and on its trio of shelves and top, it held a number of baskets filled with surgical tools, packets of who knows what, and at least half a dozen techno whatchamacallits that probably did something immensely cool, but I had no idea what.
Numerous computer consoles stood idle on the wall to our right, except for one screen which did display a blinking cursor in the top left corner. Finally, at the far end were three large cylindrical tanks, much like the bacta models made a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (but ended up being junked due to poor performance in extremely cold weather). All three of them were empty, thankfully, because if one of them had been holding a Nodari scout like the stasis tubes we had stumbled on back on the other Progenitor planet, I’d have lost my mind.
“Do you have any idea how to use this?” Jack asked me as Jainon eased me on to the operating table.
“No,” I said weakly. “But a lot of the Progenitor tech I’ve used before has been automated once I told it what I wanted it to do. If you connect into that console over there, maybe you can get it to fix me.”
“All right. I’ll give it a run. Try not to die on me in the meantime.”
“Tolby! Can you hear me?”
It was Yseri over the comms. She sounded relieved, which I took to mean that they were relatively safe. I say relative not only because we were in the middle of a Nodari invasion but compared to my predicament, unless a giant, cybernetic space squid was using her body as a toothpick, she was probably safer than I was at that moment.
“You’re coming in clear,” Tolby said. “What’s your status?”
“We’re on the northeast side of the city,” she said. “We ran into one of the largest swarms I’ve seen on the ground, but thankfully we got away. I think some managed to get into the tunnels. Be careful.”
“They have,” Tolby said.
“Are you at the ship yet?”
“Negative, we’re at a Progenitor medical bay,” he said. “We’re going to try and extract Nodari venom from Dakota first, then move on to the ship. The hangar is close by.”
“Will you be able to meet us there?” Jainon asked.
“I think so,” Yseri said. There was some chatter on her end I couldn’t pick up. It sounded like Empress saying something, but it was too muted to tell. “There’s a lull in the fighting here. We’ll move now.”
“Good, then Inaja’s luck is still with us,” Jainon replied.
Yseri gave an uncharacteristic, lighthearted chuckle. “It would seem so. We’ll see you soon.”
The conversation had no sooner finished than Jack clenched a triumphant fist in the air. “Got it. I think it’s going to diagnose you now.”
An announcer, whose voice had more energy than a junkie binging on hypercrack, spoke from unseen speakers. “Greetings and salutations, lifeform, and welcome to Excel-Care, where treating every guest with the utmost state-of-the-art technology is our primary mission. We are having a special on micro sutures today. Buy twenty and get three free! Would you like to hear more?”
“No,” I said, grimacing. “All I need is this Nodari venom taken out of me.”
The announcer laughed. “Leave the diagnostics to us,” he said. “It has been shown that nine out of ten self-diagnosed problems are wildly inaccurate, and they are often the cause of undereducation or mental illness such as hypochondria.”
“I’m not a hypochondriac,” I said. “I’m sure.”
“We at Excel-Care appreciate your candor and commitment to mental health. We also offer insurance against mis-self-diagnosis. Customers who purchase this are seven-point-six times more likely to experience a positive clinical visit and report three times as much peace of mind as those without. Would you like to hear more?”
“No.”
“It sounds as if you are saying no. Due to this highly irregular statement, please confirm.”
I groaned. “Yes!”
“Wonderful! We’re so glad you decided to purchase platinum-level insurance. After a brief survey, meeting with your doctor, review of six references, and a small deposit, we can process your claim and have it back to you in as little as seven years—terms and conditions may apply.”
“Tolby, make it stop,” I whimpered.
“Look, sales guy, we’ll buy whatever you want after you fix her,” Tolby said. “But we don’t have a lot of time. So, if she dies, I promise I’ll make sure you never make whatever quota for the year you’re aiming for.”
“You will? How glorious! I love it when a whale—er, I mean, VIP customer comes through the door,” he replied. “You’ll be glad to know that we take all major forms of universal credit cards, including MISA, Domni Card, Progenitor Express, and Explore.”
A new wave of pain ripped through my body, and I curled into a fetal position. I tried to speak, but all that came out was a pathetic cry of despair.
“She doesn’t have her wallet with her,” Jack said.
“Hmm, that could be problematic. Proper medical a
ttention is costly.”
“Charge it to her membership, then,” Tolby said. Though he sounded confident, I could tell by the look on his face that he was making a Hail Mary.
“Membership? What membership?”
“She has an omega-level family membership at the Museum of Natural Time.”
“But that hasn’t even been built yet!”
“So?”
“Well, we’ll have to run a background check, then,” he said. “But the good news is, once you pass, we can sign you up for a new Domni or MISA card, and you’ll be eligible to earn ten thousand frequent light-year points on your first thirty seconds of purchases. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Whatever. Do it already,” I said.
“We’re so glad you’re agreeable. Stand by for initial scans. Creditworthiness and preliminary diagnostics will now begin.”
The ring that circumscribed the table sprang to life. Bright, yellow light emanated from its inner edge, and the entire thing slowly moved over me, starting from my feet and working up to my head. As it did, a faint smell of ozone wafted from the device, and a loud shrieking noise came from above like metal scraping against metal.
I cringed at the horrific assault on my ears. “Am I the only one that thinks that’s loud?”
“No,” Tolby replied, grimacing as well. “I hope these doors are thick enough to keep it from attracting the Nodari.”
The scan didn’t last much longer, thankfully. When it was finished, the announcer spoke again, this time with an equal mix of shock and respect in his voice. “You’re Dakota Adams?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely a whisper now. “But not for much longer if you don’t hurry up.”
“The Dakota Adams? The one who beats Master of Records and trashes Adrestia?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“How exciting! Why didn’t you say who you were in the first place?” he said. “You’ll be pleased to know your application can be auto-approved.”
“Great. Please, just treat me,” I said. “I can’t take much more of this.”
“Of course! You’ll see the bill on your next statement,” he said. The ring sprang to life again, whirring along as it made another scan. When it was done, the announcer spoke. “Oh, this could be bad.”
So Close to Home Page 14
