"So strange." Will shook his head.
"What is?" Charlie asked.
"How humans seem to get attached to specific ones," Will said.
"It is," Charlie agreed.
"What are you?" Maddie questioned.
Both Will and Charlie laughed.
"Ever the scientist." Charlie chuckled.
The two men turned their backs on her as they continued to study her brain activity. Will started to add painful stimulus to their study. At first, it felt like a tingling sensation throughout her entire body. The tingling turned into a prickling until it felt like tiny needles were stabbing at her skin. The sensations became stronger, causing her to ball her hands into fists. Maddie held her breath, refusing to cry out from the pain. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much she hurt.
"It's okay to cry, little one. We can see your physiological as well as physical response on the monitor," Charlie told her.
"Go to hell!" she spat out.
"Such spirit." Will chuckled.
"It will be a shame," Charlie agreed.
She didn't need to ask him to clarify. It will be a shame to kill her, he meant to say. She was going to die on the table, like a lab experiment. For what purpose?
Will continued to increase the pain through the electrodes until Maddie passed out. To her amazement, when she awoke, John was sitting next to her. She smiled excitedly at him and gave a quick glance around the room.
"John! Hurry up and untie me before they come back!" Maddie pulled on her restraints.
She watched anxiously as he reached across her but instead of undoing her restraints, he tightened it.
"What are you doing?" she asked feverishly.
"Trust me, you are going to want it as tight as it can go," John said.
His voice was flat and unfeeling. When he looked at her, she didn't see the man she fell in love with. His steel blue eyes held the same blankness that Will's held, as if there was nothing behind them. She shied away as much as the straps would let her.
"You... are not my John," she slowly said.
"I had hoped that another familiar face would relax you. I underestimated you," she heard Charlie's voice behind John.
"Relax? How relaxed would you be in my position?" she asked.
"Fair point, as ever. Instead, think of this as closure."
"What, so I could say my goodbyes?"
"You are a smart one."
"Only problem is, that's not my John. And that's not Will."
"I am sorry," John flatly said.
Even though his voice was void of emotion, Maddie could almost hear a hit of sadness. Maybe she just imagined it. She turned her head away and stared up at the ceiling.
"Why don't you kill me now and get it over with?" Maddie despairingly asked.
"Now isn't the time to kill you, not yet. But I do need something from you," Charlie stated.
"Of course." Maddie still stared up at the ceiling.
"Alright then, let's proceed." Charlie clapped his hands together.
He was so cheerful that Maddie envisioned punching him in the face.
"Don't be like that. You are a scientist. Think of this as giving up your life to improve on a scientific endeavor," Charlie merrily said.
"I'm thrilled. Make sure that's on my tombstone," Maddie emotionlessly said.
"You are unique in every way a clone is not supposed to be. Once I unlock your secret, you will live on in my new creations," Charlie stated.
A needle pricked her right arm, causing it to go numb.
"If you are squeamish, it's best not to look," Will said.
"You know I'm not. At least, the real Will does," Maddie said.
"Fine, then. Are we ready here?" Will asked.
"Proceed," Charlie commanded.
Maddie turned and watched as Will stood over her with a scalpel in his hand. Panic began to spread through her as he started to cut into her flesh. Blood dripped down her arm, which he quickly wiped away. As soon as the skin was cut, he scanned it with a handheld laser, stopping the blood flow. If it hadn't been happening to her, she would have been intrigued.
"Shouldn't she be asleep for this?" John asked.
"She can't feel anything. And we are searing it to avoid pain and loss of blood," Charlie said.
"Still..." John grimaced.
"Are you losing your nerve?" Charlie raised his eyebrow.
"No, sir," John told him.
Maddie watched in horror as Will proceeded to cut into where the upper arm connected to the shoulder socket. She was too petrified to move or speak. John stood to her left, slid his hand in hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Ligaments and joints were carefully detached as Will successfully removed her right arm. He quickly wrapped the stump left behind with a cloth. Her right arm was placed on a table next to her.
"Very good! I told you it would be successful," Charlie cheerfully said.
"That was highly risky," John pointed out.
"Worst case scenario is she dies." Charlie shrugged.
"I appreciate your concern," Maddie dryly said.
"You're fine," Charlie said, dismissively.
"What are you hoping to learn from my arm?"
"So many things about your biology. Rest assured, I will not need any other limbs while you are alive," Charlie answered.
"That's comforting.”
Her severed limb was placed on ice as John placed an ice pack on what was left of her arm and wrapped it with gauze.
"Soon the receptors that were injected in you to stop the pain will wear off. The ice will help. Let me know, and I'll get you some meds," John gently told her.
"No, thank you," Maddie stiffly said.
"There's no sense in being in pain, Maddie," John said.
"I'd rather not ingest anything you give me," she flatly said.
John shook his head and sighed. “Look, I know you must hate us-"
"I don't think hate is a strong enough word," Maddie cut him off.
"Don't put your body at further risk," John kindly said.
The coldness in John’s eyes sent chills down her spine.
“Why do you care anyway?”
“Don’t misplace kindness with weakness.” Charlie glared over at John.
“What difference does it make if I’m going to die anyway?”
Maddie questioned.
She knew it was futile, but she wanted to do anything she could to show she was more than an experiment. She refused food and water over the next two days. Will placed an IV in her remaining arm to keep her alive. She ignored the pain throbbing from where her arm had been attached and refused to speak to anyone. John continued to beg her, but she wouldn't break her resolve. She heard what sounded like explosions in the distance but no longer cared. She felt like she was past the point of saving anyway.
"Watch her," Charlie ordered John.
#
As soon as Charlie was out of the room, John's face became distorted. His features quickly changed as his appearance changed from John to Grant. Maddie was still staring at the ceiling and didn't see his transformation.
Maddie barely heard the fighting in the distance but was starting to become more aware of it getting louder. The door burst open and John rushed in with Jackson and Mack following behind him. John raised his gun toward the Grant look-alike, who threw his hands up over his head.
"Don't shoot. I'm not armed," Grant said.
Jackson shoved Grant out of the way.
"Oh my God." John rushed over to her.
John gently stroked her cheek, but Maddie made no movement.
"We don't have time to waste. We've got to get out of here," Mack hurriedly said.
"Wait! If you remove the electrodes, it could cause damage. Let me shut everything down," Grant said, pulling himself up off the floor.
"You are helping us?" Jackson asked.
"I know what it looks like, but I am not your enemy. I am only keeping this appearance becau
se we Mihun do not want other races to know what we actually look like. I'm a merchant, not a killer. I didn't want to be a part of this in the first place, Grant said, shutting down the computer.
"Then why are you here?" John asked.
"My leader is the one posing as your Commander. Death follows those who defy him," Grant explained.
"So what you are doing..." Mack began.
"Will most likely lead to my death, yes. But I would rather die doing what is right then continue my existence, knowing the harm I may have caused that one." Grant nodded toward Maddie.
"You care about her?" John asked.
"What has happened to her isn’t right. She is a special lady. Take care of her."
"I will," John vowed.
Mack quickly removed the electrodes as Jackson carefully removed the IV from Maddie's arm. John freed her from the restraints.
"Take this. It will answer the questions that you have," Grant said, handing a flash drive to Mack.
Mack looked unsure but accepted the drive.
"I kept her alive as best as I could. I really am sorry," Grant said.
"Come with us," Mack implored Grant.
"I cannot. You'd better hurry."
John grabbed Maddie's chin and forced her to look at him. Her eyes were dark and unseeing. He scooped her up in his arms and she laid limp against his chest. Mack nodded toward Grant then the team rushed out the door.
"Is she going to be okay?" John asked.
"I don't know," Mack shook her head.
The team sprinted back to their ship where Seth was waiting for a quick take off.
"What the hell happened to her arm?" Seth questioned as they climbed into the ship.
"Didn't exactly have time for questions. Let's go," Mack ordered.
"Yes, ma'am. Where to?" Seth asked.
"PS-5478," Mack ordered.
"That base was abandoned years ago," Jackson pointed out.
"Exactly. No one is going to look for us there. We need time to regroup and assess her," Mack said.
#
Seth skillfully landed on the planet of Mack's choosing. The planet had been left devoid of all life years ago after a race known as the Saiks had stripped the land until nothing remained. The base stood several yards away from their ship. If it hadn't been for the fact it was the only structure remaining on the planet, it almost could have blended in. It was made of gray stone and steel and looked as dead as the rest of the planet.
"It's been too long since anyone has been here. I hope there is still enough juice in the generators to turn on the computers," Jackson said.
Mack passed out flashlights to the team from a large bag she had in the ship. John cradled the still unresponsive Maddie in his arms as he pushed the large door aside. The soft glow from the flashlights was the only illumination in the abandoned facility. The only sound in the building came from the scuffing of the team's boots. The flashlights beams swept the hallways as the team moved through the debris of broken rock and fallen ceiling.
Jackson found the generator and, after working on it for what seemed like ages, the lights began to hum overhead. Mack looked around, dismayed at the rubble that seemed to be all around them.
Thankfully, they found the computer lab in semi-reasonable condition. Seth cleared a long table so John could lay Maddie down. Mack pulled out a hand held scanner from a medical bag and read Maddie's vitals.
“Well?" John prompted.
"Physically, she's fine. Her arm was removed safely without damaging her," Mack said.
"It looks clean, too," Jackson added as he removed the bandages on Maddie's stump.
"It is. It must have been an unusual process. I wish I could have seen it," Mack said, studying it.
The others looked at her in horror and disgust.
"For scientific purposes...sorry," Mack apologized.
John stroked Maddie's cheek then tilted her head to meet his gaze. This time, Maddie's reaction was immediate.
"Stop!" Maddie cried out in horror.
John stood back a little, alarmed at her reaction. Maddie's eyes were wild with fear. Reflexively, she turned away and covered her face with her hand.
"Hey, it's okay," John soothingly said.
"Stop it. Just kill me now. I can't take you looking like him anymore," Maddie whimpered.
"Looking like who?" John asked.
"Looking like John," Maddie replied.
"Oh, baby. It's me."
"No, I don't know what you are, but you are not John," Maddie fired back.
Mack moved in front of Maddie and forced the clone to look at her.
"Not you, too," Maddie whimpered.
"What do you mean?" Mack asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Kill me. Get this over with. What's the point in prolonging this? Is Charlie getting a kick out of my pain?" Maddie’s voice broke from desperation.
Mack and John exchanged worried looks.
"You are safe, Maddie. We have you," Mack gently said.
Maddie closed her eyes as tears began to fall. John grabbed her arm and forced her to sit upright.
"Look at me," John said softly.
"I can't," Maddie weakly said.
"Madison, look at me," John commanded.
The inflection in his voice caused Maddie to exhale slowly as she opened her eyes. She searched John's eyes, expecting to see the coldness she had witnessed before. Instead, John's blue eyes looked at her with concern and love.
"It is you!" Maddie cried out.
John wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could. Jackson wrapped an arm around Mack's waist as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You are okay, sweetheart. You're safe," John comforted.
The emotions that had bottled up inside her came flooding out. John buried his face in her hair.
"He took my arm," Maddie whimpered.
"I'm going to fix that," Mack spoke up.
Maddie pulled away from John enough to turn her attention to Mack.
"The removal was clean. I believe I can get you a robotic arm that will work," Mack informed.
"Thanks," Maddie sheepishly said.
#
Mack powered on one of the computer stations and inserted the flash drive.
"What's that?" Maddie asked, jumping off the table.
"Grant gave it to me, said it would explain everything," Mack said.
"Grant? Grant wasn't there," Maddie shook her head.
"No, he was," Mack told her.
"No, John and Will were with the Commander," Maddie corrected.
"Interesting," Mack said, turning back toward the computer.
The flash drive contained a folder with Maddie's name on it. When Mack double-clicked to pull it up, a text file loaded. In it, explained that the Mihun were a race of shape shifting merchants who was negotiating the sale of Mack's satellite system. The Mihun had been impersonating Commander Westlake to get hold of the system which was how the impostor found out about Maddie.
"So, wherever I was, that was a shape shifter impersonating John?" Maddie questioned.
"I believe the same one was impersonating Grant by the time we got there. Which would explain why you saw John and Will. They were never there. It was a Mihun," Mack explained.
"He was going to dissect me," Maddie somberly said. "He had already started with my arm."
"He wanted to find out why you are special, in hopes to replicate and create an army of clones," Mack informed her.
"An army of clones. Disposables to do someone's will," Maddie commented.
"Exactly," Jackson agreed.
"I'm no one's Jango Fett," Maddie stubbornly said.
Mack's eyes lit up. "That's what I said!"
Mack rose her hand for a high five, but Maddie looked like the other woman had lost her mind. Maddie involuntarily shuddered, rubbing the spot where her right arm used to be. Jackson patted Mack on her shoulder as she lowered her hand, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Once he figured it o
ut, he was going to sell his information to the highest bidder," Mack said.
"He wasn't going to stop with me, was he?" Maddie asked.
"My death had also been planned. The files stated that, after they were done with you, the same experiments were to be performed on me," Mack confirmed.
"You sound like you already knew this," Jackson pointed out.
"I quickly figured it out when I was tied down to an observation table, getting tests run on me and being told that I was going to die soon," Maddie said.
Maddie continued to rub her right shoulder; the spot where her arm had been removed was tingling. Her body felt lopsided and out of sorts.
"You knew this before you left Earth." Maddie eyed Mack.
"Will told us a few things before we left. I didn't know about the Mihun though. Hopefully Balise will be able to fill in some blanks," Mack said.
"Balise?" Maddie asked.
"Yes, Madison," a flat voice behind her caused her to jump.
"This is Balise, Maddie. He is our dearest friend. His race, the Isgurd, was the first one that Earth made contact with," Mack introduced.
"Hello, Balise," Maddie greeted.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Madison Rhodes," Balise spoke in monotone.
"You may call me Maddie."
"I only use formal names, Madison, if you do not mind," he told her.
Maddie looked at the strange looking being with great curiosity. Maddie guessed Balise was male, by Mack's comments, but she couldn't outright tell the sex of the alien. He was short, approximately four feet tall, with a long skinny neck and body. His head seemed too big for the rest of him. He had large coal black eyes and didn't appear to have eyelids but was still able to blink.
"Balise is here to help," Jackson said.
"Mackenzie sent me a secure message before Seth landed your ship. She thought I could be of use, and she is right. I have some information to share as well," Balise said.
"Are you going to help create an arm for me?" Maddie asked.
"I am going to do more than that, Madison," Balise told her.
"Balise, one of the Mihun that kidnapped Maddie handed me this." Mack motioned to the monitor.
Balise read the file and nodded.
"This information matches with the intelligence I was going to talk to you about," he confirmed.
Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars Page 255
