Across Our Stars: Victor

by A. Payne

  Oshiro stepped over and touched his hand to Victor’s back. “Go. You will need fresh eyes to solve this, Victor, and you have been running on fumes.”

  “But–”

  “No excuses. You have your own wound to tend to and Hamish is safe now. O’Reilly can take this down to Intel and let them research it.”

  “Right away, Doctor.”

  Victor sighed. “Take it directly to the lieutenant, O’Reilly. No one else. Ask her to please find out all she can about it and its manufacturers.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  While Hamish remained in hibernation under Oshiro’s watchful eye, Victor retreated to his office and tended to his own needs after pulling up a chair to a small mirror. He removed his scrub top and peered down at the jagged line of staples. Sloppiest work he’d ever done on himself, and he didn’t know whether he had Zoe to blame for the distraction, or if his hand had shaken as much as she claimed.

  “That looks like shite, Victor. Did you allow a local monkey to stitch you up?” Ethan announced his arrival with a joke at his pal’s expense.

  Victor grunted and continued to pluck the staples out of his shoulder. “It’s not that bad. It was barely a flesh wound,” he replied. “The bloody tosser fired a shatter round at me. It’s a piece of armor that punctured my skin - not the bullet. Didn’t puncture a blood vessel.” He dropped the final staple into the tray and sagged in his seat.

  “Ah, I see.”

  The two, simple words carried an entire load of connotation behind them. Victor sighed.

  “What do you want, Ethan? Hamish is stable, and I’ll be back to work as soon as I finish this. I actually planned to call you down once I reviewed the surgical exam.”

  “You work too hard, but in this instance I understand. Still, that’s not why I’ve come. I wanted to see if you were serious about this transfer request. A bit dramatic isn’t it?”

  Victor paused with his back to his friend. Ethan knew how to read him as well as Oshiro did, and that meant that he had to keep it cool. “Are you officially questioning my judgment, Commodore?”

  “Maybe. Or perhaps I’m simply trying to get a better handle on what happened.”

  “She disobeyed an order. When lives are stake, every order counts. I can’t have a member of our team playing favorites,” Victor said evenly.

  “Of course you can’t. But, and I want you to think back carefully, did you give an actual order? Or did you just not want any help? You doctors are always a stubborn lot.”

  Victor stiffened. “I gave a very clear order to attend to the man we landed to rescue. She ignored it.”

  “According to Daniels’ report, Zoe is the one who pinned him down after he shot you. Seems like he was well attended.” Ethan spread his hands. “Look, Victor, I know how hard onboard relationships can be. Why the hell do you think I avoid entanglements?”

  “Yes, and then you behave like a randy, ill-bred canine the moment we disembark from our ship. Not to mention your online behavior.”

  Ethan grimaced. “Right, well, there is that, too. But it’s more than just avoiding any sort of preferential treatment. You can’t swing too far the other direction either. If it had been anyone else on the team, would you be requesting a transfer?”

  Ethan hit a nerve. To avoid responding, Victor resumed cleaning his wound with a topical agent. He drew up a dose of pain reliever and reparative gel, and injected it directly into the partially closed wound. “I made the right decision,” he finally answered when Ethan stood by staring at him.

  “So… if I put her on the boarding team are you going to be useful, or are you going to be pacing the medical wards like a caged drake? I refuse to waste her talents in the armory.”

  “Maybe I’ve decided to end it and follow my commanding officer’s lead, you bloody hypocrite.”

  “By all means, go make the woman cry. Then you’ll be in your cot doing the same bloody thing by midnight, you wanker. Once this mission is complete, I’ll support whatever you choose… but I want you to know this, Victor: your Eloran is gone, but you’ve got a fine woman right here who cares as deeply. Don’t ruin it. Don’t chase her away because you haven’t the slightest clue about how to handle a shred of authority. You, most of all, know how much you deserve happiness.”

  Groaning, Victor ran his fingers through his hair and leaned forward against the table. “I hate when you talk sensibly. Go diddle one of your online playmates and leave me be.”

  “I’ll enjoy some downtime once you and the Lockharts are settled. How is he?”

  “I removed the device from his heart successfully and intel has their hands on it. He burns through sedatives like nothing I’ve ever seen though. Lil had to keep a constant stream going to hold him under for the surgery.”

  “A poor reaction to the drugs you think or something deeper?”

  “Not sure yet but I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with the meds. The initial drugs became ineffective before we returned to the Jemison but he didn’t wake up. He has a lot of security precautions, and I’m sure that one was intended to neutralize sedation and drugs.” Victor stood up from the chair and pulled his shirt on again. “C’mon. I’ll take you to him since you’re here.”

  Victor stepped over to the patient room. Hamish lay upon a hospital cot in a simple gown. His bland, emotionless stare focused on the wall opposite the bed while Trevor sat beside him.

  “Trevor?”

  The conscious twin scrubbed at his face with the heel of his palm quickly to dry away the moisture on his cheeks. “Oshiro let me in a minute ago after they finished the cleanup. I had to see him in case he wakes up. You know?”

  “No need to explain, mate, you’re fine. But would you come into the office with us for a wee bit? I’d like to review the results of the examination and surgery with you both. I promise, if he shows any sign of waking, we’ll come right back.”

  Oshiro joined them in Victor’s office as well, where they settled in seats and nervously prepared for the worst.

  A digital video replayed the events via high definition projection, transforming the doctor’s personal office wall into a macabre picture show. In three hours, they reviewed twelve hours of Victor’s hard work with scanning equipment and ended it with his surgery.

  “Using the intel retrieved from Campbell’s system, I managed to locate and disable a kill switch sutured into Hamish’s heart. It can’t threaten him now, but it was the least of his troubles. He also has extensive brain modifications.”

  “Is it beyond your scope of ability?” Oshiro asked Victor.

  “I’ve never operated on anything this complex in all of my studies. I don’t know how he survived brain wiring to this extent. Hell, I’m still trying to piece together how some of these parts work. All right, look there.”

  “The amygdala?”

  Victor nodded to Oshiro. “Yes. I believe that could be to blame for his bland affect. They installed a chip–”

  “Speak English, Doc. Please,” Trevor pleaded, cutting in.

  “The amygdala is the… you could call it the control center for human emotions,” Oshiro explained.

  “And many other things,” Victor confirmed. “Memory, aggression, our sexual orientation. Everything that makes us a feeling human being resides there.”

  “So they’ve done something to Hamish’s… amygdala. That’s why he’s zoned out?”

  “Yes. Until we can rule out any remote control and compulsion, we’ll have to maintain strict IV sedation, Trevor. I don’t like doing it, but it’s the only way,” Victor said. “It’s too great of a risk to allow him to awaken on his own.”

  “But he was awake. He talked to us,” Trevor said.

  “I know. The most that I’m able to discern at the moment is that there’s some sort of remote leash on him, for lack of a better term. Without their control signal in range he’s set to automatically hibernate.

  “Like a rig,” Trevor said. “I understand, Doc.”

  The twins h
ad been perfectly identical prior to Hamish’s disappearance five years earlier. Thanks to the traces of scar tissue marring Hamish’s body, no one would ever mistake them for each other again, even after his hair returned to its normal length and style.

  “Will he be… himself again?” Trevor asked the magic question on everyone’s mind.

  Victor practiced honesty at all times with his patients and avoided even the minutest falsehood if possible. Glancing at the video again, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I think so. When I threaded the cam into his abdomen for a look at the installations there, I noticed some adjustments made to his internal organs to make room for additional hardware. Nothing we can’t regrow in time with cloning. It’s his brain that concerns me. I can’t access the interior braincore software without the code. If I try, I run the risk of frying his brain.”

  Trevor’s expression fell and all signs of hope evaporated from his wistful features. “So… you’re saying that my brother’s going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life?”

  “Far from it, mate. We have the best intelligence agents in the United Empire tracking down information,” Ethan assured him.

  “Thank you, sir. I just… How are we going to find anything?”

  “Tech like this came from somewhere, Trevor. Nisrine has the fail-safe device I removed from Hamish’s heart. She’s tracking down all leads on the logo etched into it.”

  “Thank you, Victor. All of you. I… I couldn’t even bear to write home to mum. I can’t tell her about this until I have good news.”

  “Now you do. Tell her we’ve found her boy and that the doctors have sworn to do everything in their power to help him recover.”

  If I can help it, that woman will be talking with her son by this week’s end.

  ***

  Jem’s usual music serenade crescendoed until it roused Victor from his sleep. His grumpy protests while attempting to roll over and hide his head beneath his pillow failed utterly in making the noise go away.

  “Lieutenant Shahid Amir requests a conference at your earliest convenience to discuss recent findings regarding Hamish Lockhart.”

  “And you decided to wake me up? How long has it been?” Jem’s worse than a mother hen.

  “Her request came an hour ago, but I determined six hours was insufficient rest and allowed you to remain asleep.”

  Victor groaned and rolled to his back. Allowed. God, what I wouldn’t give for five more hours. Victor wasn’t entirely sure which had exhausted him more; his stern confrontation with Zoe, the tedious twelve hour examination, or his talk with Ethan afterward.

  A quick shower and a fresh change of uniform later, he made his way up to the restricted halls where the intelligence and operation departments were housed. Jem provided a dim trail of blinking lights to Victor’s destination.

  “Please come in,” Nisrine invited after his knock. She adjusted the black veil over her hair, which led Victor to wonder if she lowered it when in the privacy of her office or room. He had never seen her without the traditional garment associated with her people. “Did you get enough rest?”

  “A few hours, yeah. Thanks.” Victor crossed to the desk and practically collapsed into a chair. “What have you found?”

  “The first logo actually led me to Hephaestus Tek. You’ll recall them from Athena. The base of the device was their design; a common pacemaker and quite harmless.”

  “But this has been modified.” He plucked up the small piece of tech from a glass dish.

  “Yes. And from that I picked up images and impressions of its makers.”

  She swept her hands over the desk to send the other screens away, then manipulated one to a larger size. A gold and black icon dominated the upper left hand corner, depicting a double helix within an upraised robotic arm. She swiped down and zoomed in on a small picture of a researcher in pristine white scrubs. “This is what I saw. Only they wore tight hoods too, to cover their hair and necks.”

  “DNAturals.” Victor read. “Wait, I recognize the name. They pioneered the nanobot technology for vein restructuring. Like what Zo– Sergeant Raines has equipped in her arm.”

  “Yes, and they have developed other technology for the Empire as well.”

  “Do you think it’s an inside job? We know about DuPrie and Campbell, but are there many others above their rank who were working with them? How far could this possibly go?”

  “I will not know until I sift through their financial records. If you and Doctor Oshiro are willing, I would appreciate a list of equipment and tools required to maintain such cybernetics. As well as any other unique requirements pertinent to these operations.”

  “Absolutely, I can have that to you within an hour.”

  “Commander–”

  “Victor, remember?”

  Nisrine bowed her head. “Victor, there was something else I picked up while handling that. Something that disturbs me.”

  “What is it?”

  “I felt pain. Hamish was awake, I think, for many of their procedures. Aware,” she clarified with particular emphasis.

  “That’s common for a craniotomy,” Victor explained. “In order to safely navigate the brain you need your patient to be able to respond to you.”

  “Yes, I know, but they did much more. I received the impression they kept Hamish awake for more than what was necessary.”

  Victor stiffened. “You mean he felt it. They didn’t sedate him?”

  “I believe so.” She looked away and folded her hands together. “They wanted him awake during the limb replacement. Someone missed a nerve connection during the first surgical procedure, which cost them time and money to correct.”

  “We never conduct nerve grafts while a patient is awake. It’s too painful a procedure.”

  Disgust twisted his belly into a cold, hard knot, and then an overactive imagination pieced together a detailed portrait of Hamish’s five years in captivity. Pain. Torture. Madness. If some part of him did remain alive beneath their programming, they faced a large chance of discovering he was no longer the man Trevor and Ethan remembered. He would be lucky to have a shred of sanity.

  “Did you know him before this?”

  “A little. He was best known for his pranks. Silly, harmless things.”

  “He ever get you with one?”

  Nisrine shook her head. “No. We were not well acquainted so he never targeted me. But I remember him.” A faint smile curved her lips for a brief moment. “He always had a book in his hands.”

  “A few months from now, I want you to tell me that he finally caught up with you. I hope it’s a good prank.”

  It’s going to be the best prank he’s ever pulled off if I have anything to do about it. I’m going to do everything I can to recover this man’s mind. No one deserves what happened to him. They did more than take his body. They raped his soul, Victor realized. He’d spent countless hours and very little sleep since Hamish’s rescue, determined to bring him out of a vegetative state. I have to do this.

  Chapter 28

  The intelligence department worked nonstop to sift through everything in the Empire records on DNAturals. The small technological corporation held a few exclusive contracts with the Navy but the bulk of their work was independent.

  Without contacting United Command, the CO laid in a course for the third habitable planet in the Eloran system.

  Zoe spent a hectic hour in the armory ensuring everything was in top notch condition for the team. Might as well go out on a high note, she grumped to herself.

  Daniels cleared his throat. “Sergeant Raines.”

  “Yes, Commander?” She looked up from her pack, tense and ready to accept the next twist life threw at her.

  “Good luck on the boarding team. It sucks to lose you now, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry to see you go.”

  I guess that means its official then… Her attempt to dredge up a smile failed dismally. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Don’t suppose I can convince you to stay, ca
n I?”

  Zoe arched a brow. “I wasn’t aware I had a choice in the matter.”

  “Didn’t you request a reassignment?” The easygoing smile dropped from Daniels’ face. “What’s going on?”

  “Raines!” a voice barked out from behind her.

  Zoe’s spine stiffened. Ever since the end of their passionate vacation on Elora, every act between them – whether initiated by Zoe herself or Victor – appeared to place their relationship in further jeopardy. Nothing seemed stable anymore and with a comatose patient on his table, they lacked the time to talk as desired.

  Daniels glanced past her shoulder then back down to her apprehensive face. A supportive pat on her arm accompanied a quietly muttered, “Shrug it off.” He moved past her toward the shuttle.

  Alpha squad, led by Daniels and Doctor Matthews, had already loaded. Zoe was due to join them in the rockskipper at any minute. Meanwhile, Chief Nwosu, leader of the demolitions experts in Bravo Squad, shouted orders to his team about their equipment.

  Apparently, Bishop didn’t plan to leave anything up to chance. The Jemison planned to deploy their fighter pilots and their heavy bombers to accompany the marines on foot.

  “Raines,” Victor called again. “A moment please.”

  Is he going to kick me off in front of everyone?

  She turned around to address him. “Commander del Toro, how may I help you, sir?”

  Victor wore his scrubs. During the mission briefing, Daniels told them Doctor Matthews planned to fill in for the man during the mission. Some of the others were thrilled about seeing the so-called vampire in action, but Victor’s absence left a small hole in her heart.

  Is he staying back for Hamish’s sake, or is it because he lost control… because he can’t serve with me anymore?

  “Don’t ‘sir’ me right now, all right? I know you’re upset at me but… we can talk later about things after the mission. About what happened.” He drew in a deep breath then squared his shoulders. “I came to perform a brief maintenance check on Creswell since this is his first mission on the team. Thought I’d have a look at you as well.”