“Damn,” he said, his heart skipping a beat as he ran. “That’s the ground-car we gave Honey. Parked behind the Infirmary..”
“She must be working then,” Hunt said.
“I hope....” Nobody knew what it was Lance hoped because at that moment, there was an explosion so big that it seemed to suck the air out of the world around them. The power of the shock wave that hit them was such that it picked up the three vulpins and tossed them backward thirty feet before they slammed into the ground. Vikter shot to his feet, ignoring the pain of the impact, and began running toward the infirmary again, barely noticing the debris raining down around him. A few things hit him, but he barely noticed until he heard a sharp yelp from Lance.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yes, don’t stop, we have to get Honey,” Lance said, his voice as close to panic as anything Vikter had ever heard.
“I smell her,” Hunt said when they reached the nightmare of rubble that had once been the medical infirmary.
Vikter spun around to face his youngest brother. Hunt had always had the best nose of the three of them. “Where?” he demanded.
Hunt’s nose was on the ground as he cast about for a moment, then he leapt into the rubble, Vikter and Lance right behind him. They stayed back, letting Hunt search, though it was one of the most difficult things Vikter had ever had to do. He wanted to begin ripping and tearing through the piles of stone, dust, and wood beneath his feet until he found her.
“Here,” Hunt said finally from several yards away. “She’s here.” He began digging and Vikter and Lance joined him, flinging large stones and beams of wood away with their gigantic paws. Vikter realized that several other male-sets were arriving, trying to figure out what had happened, beginning to look for survivors, but all he cared about was Honey.
After several minutes Hunt told them to stop, and they did, though reluctantly. “She’s right under here,” he said. “I think we need to shift. I’m afraid if we’re not careful, we’ll send the rest of this rubble down on top of her.”
“Is she alive?” Lance asked.
“Yes,” Vikter said. “I can feel her. She’s unconscious, but I feel her.”
“Yes, I can too,” Lance said after a moment.
The three of them transformed back into their humanoid forms and began lifting away the remainder of the rubble covering their Arima. They discovered, much to their relief and surprise, that she had somehow managed to crawl partway beneath a heavy metal desk.
Vikter lifted her out from beneath it, and the three of them crowded closely around her. She was alive, that was the most important thing. Once they were certain of that, Vikter cradled her close against his body and climbed out of the remains of the infirmary, down to the ground where a crowd of people was waiting. Vikter saw a dozen Clan Jasani in both their humanoid form and their alter-forms crawling through the destruction, searching for survivors. He thought of the Xanti prisoner and discarded the thought. At the moment, he could not make himself care about anything or anyone other than Honey.
Doc hurried toward them, carrying his medical bag, his face white with worry and anger. “How is she, Vikter?” he demanded. “Is she alive?”
Vikter nodded, unable to speak.
“Follow me,” Doc said, then turned and hurried toward a grassy area free of debris. “Put her down.”
Vikter hesitated, then did as Doc said, kneeling on the grass beside her. Doc knelt on the other side of her and began checking her carefully. He opened the medical bag and began rummaging around.
“She’s got a broken wrist, broken ankle, and too many cuts to count though only a couple of them are deep. The head injury is the most worrisome.”
Doc put inflatable splints around Honey’s wrist and ankle, then cleaned the worst of the cuts before wrapping them lightly. He put a bandage over the wound on her head, just enough to keep further dust and dirt from entering it.
“Take her to the little clinic up next to the Lobos’ house,” he said when he was finished. “You know where that is?”
“Yes, we know,” Lance said. “Where’s Jareth?”
“Nobody seems to know,” Doc said. “He was supposed to meet me at the infirmary for lunch about ten minutes after the explosion occurred. I just hope he didn’t come early.”
Vikter’s jaw clenched tightly, but he said nothing. Instead, he slid his arms beneath Honey and lifted her once more, pulling her close.
“Don’t worry,” Doc said, “Between the Dracons and the Falcorans, there’s enough Water Magic to heal her head enough. Maybe not fully, but enough.”
Vikter took a deep breath as he felt some of the tension in his muscles relax for the first time since before the transport landed. He nodded his thanks to Doc, not trusting himself to speak.
“Is there anything we can help with down here, Doc?” Lance asked, not taking his eyes from Honey.
“No, I don’t think so,” Doc said. “There’s enough hands here now. You three take care of Honey. We need her.”
Vikter nodded silently, then turned and began to walk away, Hunt and Lance close beside him. They’d walked completely around the bomb site and were heading across the field away from the garrison when Garen, Trey and Val Dracon appeared in front of them.
“Doc told us of her injuries,” Garen said. “Let us speed-travel you up to the clinic.”
Vikter nodded his agreement. Moments later they were all in Doc’s clinic beside the Lobos’ house, the one he used for treating the residents of the ranch rather than the general public.
“We’re going back to help,” Garen said. “You three stay here, keep an eye on your Arima. Vox us if her condition changes.”
Vikter bowed to Garen, but Garen ignored the bow and stepped forward, placing his hands on Vikter’s shoulders.
“Consul Vikter,” he said. “Hear me.”
Vikter looked into his Prince’s eyes. “You are in shock,” Garen said. “It is understandable, but you must try to get hold of yourselves. You have our word, all that can be done for Honey, will be done.”
“Thank you, Prince Garen,” Vikter said hoarsely. Garen patted him encouragingly on the shoulder, then stepped back. A moment later, the Dracons turned sideways and disappeared.
The Vulpirans stood around the exam table where Honey now lay, staring at her for a long time. Then Vikter seemed to shake himself.
“Lance, Hunt, find some clean towels, would you?” he said. “I’ll find a basin and some soap. The least we can do is clean her up a little. That will make her feel better when she wakes up.”
Lance and Hunt went in search of towels, happy to have something to do. Vikter began removing the pins from Honey’s hair, then uncoiled the braid, surprised at how long it was. He debated for a moment before leaving the braid as it was. He laid it over her shoulder and down her side, then went in search of a basin.
By the time they had her as clean as they could manage without removing either her clothing or the bandages Doc had applied, there were several more people in the clinic, including the Bearens and Doc. Jackson Bearen went straight to Vikter as soon as he and his brothers arrived.
“How is she?” he asked.
“Alive,” Vikter said. “We are assured she will recover.”
“Nica is fine,” Jackson said, assuming, correctly, that Vikter would be concerned about the child.
“Thank you, Jackson,” Vikter replied. “We were worried, but didn’t want to leave Honey.”
“She is well, and under our care,” Jackson said. Vikter understood that the Bearens had set extra guards around their family, including Nica.
“What of Michael?” he asked.
“He was very helpful caring for the human victims pulled from the rubble,” Jackson said. “He is a scientist, but also a doctor with enough training that he was able to assist Doc.”
Vikter nodded in approval. “What are the casualties?”
“There were sixteen people in the Research Center,” Jackson said. “Thre
e male-sets, five human workers, the Damosion, and Sergio Farnswaite. And the Xanti of course. Of those, the Katre male-set on guard-duty at the Xanti’s cell were killed, as was the Xanti, the Damosion, Farnswaite, and two lab assistants. The receptionist at the front desk was severely injured, as were the other two lab assistants. Two Lobo male-sets were badly burned, but have been Healed.”
“Jareth was found?” Vikter asked.
“Yes, thank the stars,” Jackson said. “He arrived early for his meet with Doc, but was outside when the explosion occurred. He was knocked unconscious and covered in debris. He has some scratches and bruises, but nothing serious. Without his help we would have lost many more lives, both human and Jasani.”
Vikter nodded, understanding that Jareth probably didn’t have enough energy to heal Honey right away. They would have to wait for him to rest. “Were there other people inside the infirmary?”
“As far as we know right now, only Honey and Nurse Tesla were there,” Jackson replied. “Tesla did not survive. Honey did. Thankfully, the women that Honey was going to examine were not due to arrive until afternoon, so there were no patients in the building.”
“Where is Michael now?” Lance asked. “He should be informed of Honey’s condition.”
“He’s been told that she is alive, but injured, and is awaiting treatment,” Jackson said. “He decided that he would be of more use helping Doc at the site than here, with her, since she is being cared for.”
Neither the Bearens nor the Vulpirans understood such thinking, and it bothered them, though they tried to hide it. It was not their business to judge Michael for his actions regarding his wife.
“He asked for directions on how to get here,” Jackson continued. “After all of the injured had been treated and moved, he returned to the guesthouse to clean up. Then he will come here.”
Vikter nodded, his mind beginning to work as his shock wore off. “How long before the Lobos retrieve the off-site security vids?” he asked. Since the garrison was on the Dracons’ ranch, every building was required to allow full internal surveillance for security reasons. With the growing number of families with children living on the ranch, no one objected to it. The images were transmitted in real time and stored in a location known only to the Lord Protector himself, Faron Lobo.
“They’ve already collected them and are reviewing them now, with the Dracons,” Jackson replied. “They will come here when they are finished.”
“We had our own security measures within the Research Center as well,” Vikter said. “There’s a vaulted room where all of the data is sent. It also contains our core processors, the results of every test we performed on the Xanti, and the bio-suit.”
“I’m sorry, Vikter,” Jackson said. “I did not see anything standing as large as what you describe.”
“You wouldn’t,” Vikter replied. “It was beneath the ground.”
“In that case, I would say it probably survived,” Jackson said with a relieved smile. The loss of the living Xanti was a huge blow. That the bio-suit may have been saved was much needed good news.
Everyone turned to face the door as it opened, revealing Prince Garen, Prince Trey and Prince Val. Behind them were Faron, Dav, and Ban Lobo. The Princes stood together with the Lobos beside them, their faces grave as they waited for the room to quiet.
“We’ve reviewed the surveillance vids,” Garen said, getting right to the heart of what everyone wanted to know. “It shows the human man, Sergio Farnswaite, leaving his cell and walking through the detention wing toward the Xanti’s cell. There are some oddities. He appears to be walking strangely, and was sweating profusely though the ambient temperature at the time was quite cool. Also, his eyes were wide open, staring straight ahead in every shot we could find that showed his face. We cannot be certain at this time, but we believe that he had a Controller, and was attempting to fight it.
“He was confronted by the Katres on guard duty outside the Xanti’s cell, but he never responded to their questions. A moment later, the body of Sergio Farnswaite detonated like a bomb. How this was possible we do not yet know. We will share the answer to that question as soon as we have it.
“We believe that Sergio was implanted with a Controller when he was in the Xanti’s possession,” Garen continued. “The signs of an active Controller are obvious, and he displayed none of them during the months he’s been here. We speculate that, somehow, his Controller was activated this morning, causing him to perform the actions we just described. Again, we have much investigating to do before we know anything for certain.”
“Excuse me, Prince Garen,” Vikter said, his body suddenly tense with the idea that had just slammed into his mind. “What time did Farnswaite leave his cell?”
Garen glanced at Trey, who nodded and answered the question. “Ten forty-five.”
Vikter looked at Hunt, whose eyes widened in understanding. “Yes, that’s exactly right,” he said.
“We must bring Michael Davis here at once,” Vikter said. As soon as the last word left his lips, the door opened behind the Lobos and Michael stepped into the clinic.
Michael froze as every eye in the room went to him, the suspicion and speculation so heavy he felt it almost as a physical touch. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Vikter let out a long breath and tried to calm himself. “Michael,” he began, “would you object to some tests that Doc needs to perform right now?”
“No, of course not,” Michael said, frowning. “I’d like to know why though.” He stepped further into the room, approaching Vikter. “Is this about those headaches? Because honestly Vikter, I feel fine now, and there are a lot of people here in much more need of medical attention.” As he spoke, Michael’s gaze drifted around the room until it fell on Honey, lying prone on an exam table behind the Vulpirans.
“Honey!” he gasped, hurrying to her side. He reached out, then hesitated as he saw the field splints and bandages. He turned to Jackson Bearen, an accusing expression on his face.
“You said she was injured, but you led me to believe it wasn’t serious,” he said.
“I apologize, Dr. Davis,” Jackson said. “I saw no reason to upset you more than necessary, and her injuries are not immediately life threatening. The Healer, Jareth, will fully heal her as soon as he is able.”
Michael relaxed and nodded, before realizing that all eyes were still on him. “What’s going on Vikter?”
Vikter looked at Garen, who nodded. “Michael, we suspect some sort of signal was sent to Sergio Farnswaite, activating a device planted in his body that caused the explosion.”
Michael nodded, waiting for Vikter to go on, but he fell silent and waited. Michael was not considered brilliant for nothing. It took him only two seconds to put it all together.
“So the headache I had was a signal going to Farnswaite,” Michael said slowly. “Which probably means that the earlier headache was receipt of a signal by something inside of my head. If that’s true, then the headaches I had on my way to Berria also had a devious purpose.”
Vikter swore silently to himself for not having already thought that far. “You’re probably right. I would guess a device inside of you sent data out as soon as you left the ranch.”
Michael went gray. He turned around, his eyes searching the room until he found the person he was looking for. “Doc, please, find out what’s in me and get it the hell out.” His voice was tightly controlled, but everyone in the room heard the horror and disgust in his tone.
“Come on over here,” Doc said, walking toward a bed at the far side of the room with a machine over it.
“Michael,” Vikter said, following him, “can you think of a time when the Xanti might have had a chance to do such a thing to you?”
“I’ve been to eight different conferences in the past sixteen months on a variety of different worlds,” Michael said. “Now that I’ve seen the Xanti bio-suits, I know that it could have been done at any time, anywhere.”
Michael climbed onto the table
and laid down, trying to relax as Doc pressed buttons on the scanner panel. “Now that I think about it, it was probably done after the conference where I met you, Vikter,” he said. “It was no secret that you invited me to come to Jasan.”
“You’re correct,” Vikter said. “I apologize for putting you in such a position, Michael. We should have been more careful.”
“It’s not your fault,” Michael replied. “I just hope that whatever they did can be undone.”
“Let’s find out what they did, first,” Doc said. He pressed another button and a wide, narrow scanner lowered from the ceiling until it was inches over Michael’s prone body. Beginning at his feet, it passed slowly over his body up to his head. Then it rose back to it’s docking station in the ceiling and went still. Everyone waited tensely for Doc to review the data and display the images on a large screen mounted on the wall above Michael’s head.
“It’s not a Controller,” Doc said, giving the important news first. “It’s a micro data processor connected to what looks like a transceiver. My guess is that it collected information, probably from a device within Farnswaite, then sent it upon receipt of another signal, probably from a Xanti ship.”
“Since Sergio was all over the ranch, and the inside of the Research Center, it’s safe to assume the Xanti know much more than we imagined,” Garen said. “They certainly know we captured a live Xanti, and since Farnswaite went to the Xanti’s cell before detonating, destroying it was certainly the intent.”
“What’s that?” Lance asked, pointing toward a dark area on the scan near Michael’s shoulder. Everyone had been focused on the object in Michael’s head and hadn’t noticed another object in his shoulder.
“Damn,” Dav said. “I bet that’s one of those body bombs, like we took out of Lio just before it went off.”
“The activation signal for the device in Lio penetrated the barrier around the ranch,” Faron said. “We should probably get that out as soon as possible.”
“I don’t believe they can do that now that the Damosion has aided us in strengthening the barrier,” Vikter said. “The timing of Michael’s headaches, and the duration of the ones he described when he left the ranch to go to Berria, indicate that information was sent and received only while he was off the ranch.”
The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga Page 16
