by Greg Dragon
The ship’s interior was of standard medical design. Its walls were stark white and the air smelled of Lurenium medicine. Self-important men and women walked around, focusing on the read-outs on their tablets. Nobody paid attention to him as he walked by. Every room with a door had a glass that he peered through and, from what he saw, it made him very uneasy about Camille. Prisoners ranged from the slightly deranged to the mad, and they were being treated with the most archaic of procedures. The methods applied to these people seemed experimental at best, and having seen a functional, working psych facility on Helysian, Rafian wondered why an alliance ship would be doing this.
He thought about Camille and why she was sent there, and he wondered why they hadn’t committed her to the hospital on Helysian. Putting her on one of the remote Psych ships hinted at something more. The answer was obvious: Camille had killed someone near and dear to an important figurehead, and so they’d shipped her off as a form of revenge.
As he quickened his pace to find Camille, he knew that the engineers would be wondering why their partner was taking so long. It had been twenty minutes since he’d left and he wondered if he would have to get lethal with the rescue. An alarm began to go off and he pulled out his sidearm. An alarm on a medical ship meant they were preparing everyone for an invader. The guards would be looking for him and he suspected they would not be stopping to ask questions.
“All of you inside this room!” he commanded as he motioned the doctors in the hallway to enter an empty office.
The hallways quickly cleared as the guards began to look for him, but they didn’t realize the caliber of invader that was now searching their ship. He shot guard after guard that ran at him as he continued his search for Camille. As the situation worsened, a voice came over the intercom.
“Intruder, who are you and why are you here?”
“I am here because you have a friend of mine that should have been released a long time ago,” Rafian shouted. “What you all are doing here is a crime against humanity. If you want me to stop killing people, bring me the person in charge right now! You have exactly sixty seconds to comply.”
Rafian knew they could track him, so he cloaked to disappear, took to the ceiling and waited on the so-called leader of the psych ship to appear. Thirty seconds passed before a Geralos doctor ran down the hallway with a number of armed human guards. Upon seeing him, the rage that had built up inside Rafian turned into white hot fire and in a flash he was onto them, killing the guards with point blank shots, then taking the Geralos captive while pressing the gun against the small of his back.
A GERALOS! On a vessel owned by the Helysian, of all places. The thoughts ran through Rafian’s head a mile a minute, and he couldn’t believe it. This means that someone important has been mind-controlled, he thought to himself. Corruption was a weapon the lizards loved to use. But for it to happen so close to home made him wonder how many other ships had a Geralos on it.
“Who is your friend?” the Geralos was asking, speaking so fast that it took Rafian a while to figure out what he was saying. He sounded as if he were gargling water as he spoke, and it was the first time Rafian had heard a Geralos speak.
“How about we start with, why are YOU here? Why is a Geralos murderer running a Vestalian psych ship, and why are you torturing the mentally ill?” Rafian looked about quickly and then backed into a corner, dragging the Geralos with him. “Speak quickly, lizard. I want answers now and not when you think that there will be a rescue party coming for you.”
“We are everywhere, human. Not just on this ship, but on many ships, blended with your people,” he bragged, his flat, green face a mask of scales and self-importance. “On ships like this one, we cannot be detected. We have corrupted the entire staff. Everyone here will fight for me until their death.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I have no reason to lie to you. I recognize your uniform; I know what you are capable of. Spare me, and I will tell you everything.”
“What happens to the humans here if I kill you?”
“Their conditioning cannot be reversed. They would rise up and strike you down for killing me. They will see you as the enemy, very much like you see me now.”
“Wonderful. Now tell me. Camille YAN. Filan woman. Light hair, light eyes. Where do you have her?”
“Oh, YAN? She is in room fifty-five.”
“How many of you are on Helysian?”
“I’ve said enough, human. I have told you enough. If you want to know more, you must promise to keep me alive.”
“You conniving little cruta! You’re giving me the orders now? Thype you! “And with that, Rafian injected the Geralos with a freezing compound that put his body into instant stasis. He left him in the corner as he ran to the room where he was told that Camille was being held.
Camille YAN lay emaciated and weak from the days of “treatment” that had been given to her by her doctors. The doors opened and she steeled herself for what was to come. But the blurry figure that appeared in the doorway seemed to be a man in black, brandishing a pistol.
“Raf?” she asked with new life and hope echoing in her voice. Before she passed out, she saw the blurry figure rushing towards her.
When she woke up, she was onboard a familiar ship, flying rapidly through space. She was buckled into the co-pilot’s seat and Rafian was next to her, pushing the ship towards a huge blue planet that looked very much like Vestalia. Her mouth felt like it was packed with cotton and her muscles burned as if they had tiny cuts running all along them. She blinked back the tears as the painkillers wore off, and the things that had been done to her shot fiery lances through her nerves. But here was her Rafian; he had come for her. This was enough to make her stay strong and not let the pain overcome her.
“Is that… Vestalia, Rafian?” she asked, her head drooping off the side of her seat as she struggled to right herself again.
Rafian reached over to brush her cheek gently as he answered affirmatively.
He could tell that she was in pain, as her blinks were hard twitches and she was drooling without being aware of it. Camille didn’t bother to ask him how it was that he was flying to Vestalia—a planet she knew was owned by the Geralos. She had to trust him in knowing what he was doing, even though it didn’t make sense to her at all.
When they broke the atmosphere, she bit her lip, so hard she tasted blood, to make sure that she wasn’t in a drug-induced sleep and dreaming. Rafian plunged the vessel into the ocean, losing the Geralese ships that had begun firing on them as soon as he was visible to their radars. Submerged below the waters, the enemy drones could not pursue them, and after an hour or so he flew into a submerged tunnel that twisted and turned before it ascended and opened up into a valley filled with mist and rain.
The tunnel system took a few hours to maneuver, but Camille’s steady zoning in and out of consciousness made it seem like minutes. It was a bizarre trip that she soon realized was a strategic route to stay off of the Geralese radar. When they finally crossed a broad expanse of mountainous terrain, the shielded high-rises of a tiny city appeared on the horizon and Rafian flew far west of it, banked and took to a rear point of entry in order to access what turned out to be the Phaser headquarters.
When he landed the ship and opened the cockpit, a hot, bright light shone down on Camille and she didn’t want to believe that it was the Vestalian sun. Warm rays poured into the ship, burning her in the most wonderful way possible. It hurt to smile but she did it, anyway, because she never thought that she would ever see—yet alone experience—her homeland again.
“How did we do this, Raf? How did we get here? How did you all… Rafian, how long have I been gone?”
Rafian lifted her from the phantom and cradled her like a newborn as he walked into the building towards the medical wing.
“Questions later, Cam. Let’s make sure everything is okay with you. Once you are up and out of danger, I will answer any question that you have of me
. Okay?”
He was so angry that he was shaking. Camille was one of the strongest women he knew and yet here she was, clutching his lapel as if she were a child scrambling for the safety of a parent. With every ounce of strength she could manage, Camille reached up and kissed his cheek. She looked pale and felt as light as a feather, but Rafian would not permit himself to lose focus.
After giving Camille over to the medical crew and watching her as they placed her on a bed to start their evaluations, he rushed back to his ship and gathered the sleeping Geralos tucked away inside the rear hatch. With the help of a few Phasers, he took the body to their interrogation wing.
Tayden Lark appeared and ran to Rafian as he stood watching his men handle the Geralos. She looked very tired and forced a hug upon him that made him finally relax. Tayden was always on time, no matter the situation, and he needed to calm down from the rescue that had put him on edge.
“There are so many questions, Raf.”
“There are answers, Tayden. But besides answers, there are heavy concerns, too. We have been compromised on the highest level. All of these mini victories, moon captures and whatever else we pat ourselves on the back for are nothing. That Geralos was in charge of Camille’s psych ship and had been running experiments on human beings unchecked at least for as long as Camille was there. We will need to inject Phaser agents into the staff of every high-level ship from here to Varien in order to find out who the traitors are and flush out any and all planted Geralos.”
Tayden squeezed his hand to get his attention. “Don’t do this again, Rafian.”
She had a stern look on her face as she said the words, her eyes never leaving the Geralos as the Phasers placed him in a holding cell.
“It was Camille, Tay. What was I supposed to do, leave her?”
“Look, I know how you feel about her and I know you would have done the same for any Phaser in here, but you can no longer go on unsanctioned missions. When you took command of this organization, you forfeited your right to act like a hotheaded pilot. No more. I will not have it, do you understand? What you should have done was to get me and Frank into a meeting, tell us your intentions, and let us cover your ass when you went for her. This was you letting emotions take a hold of you, and Rafian…”
She swallowed the words she was about to say, catching herself instantly because her voice had risen to a shout and she was now in front of him, flushed red with anger.
Rafian knew that she was right and he regretted his actions upon hearing her lecture. He was a commander now, not a wild cadet onboard the Helysian, hopping into his phantom and pushing missions at will.
“Go ahead, Tayden. I want to hear what you have to say.”
“Rafian, we do not need an emotional leader. We need a rational, clear-thinking leader. There are going to be losses. You cannot save all of us, and when your life is held in compromise of another, you are to choose yours, not theirs, because you are our leader and we need you here to lead!”
“And you call me emotional?”
Tayden ran forward and pushed him with all her strength to knock him down, but Rafian was like a mountain to her and while it forced him to step back, her push did not yield the result she wanted. In fact, it was she who bounced back from the force.
“I may not be able to push you, you giant oaf, but you light up that little sword of yours and I guarantee you that I can drop you with my sidearm.”
“Tayden, are you actually upset with me?”
“Don’t you ever let me worry like that again, Rafian! I dealt with it when you jumped to Luca and I dealt with it yesterday in an even harsher way. We look out for each other. You promised me that back when we were bunkmates. Did you forget?” she replied, and he could see her lips tighten and her jaw twitch when she said it.
“Tayden, I am sorry.”
“Say what I want to hear, Rafian or I swear to the maker that I will quit my post and leave you where you stand. Say it!”
“I will never do this to you again, Tayden.”
She stood looking at him for a time and he shrugged in defeat as he regarded her.
“Are you being honest with me?”
“What can I say, Tayden? It was instinct, and old habits die hard. So when I thought about my girl being detained for so long over an accident, I began an investigation outside of Phaser protocol. This business with the Geralos and the rescue – it came from out of nowhere. You need to believe me that I am all about this crew we have put together. But if it were you or Marian that were gone, just like Camille was? I can’t lie and say that instinct—not emotion, instinct—would not take over my mind and force me to act.”
Tayden’s hard edge diminished as she rested her hands on her hips. She sighed and walked past him towards the elevator that led up to their offices. Rafian recognized the need for them to take their conversation beyond the eyes and ears of their subordinates so he fell in behind her at a distance. When she reached the shaft, she waited for him to enter before closing it and waving her hand across the panel. As they reached her office, Rafian banned access to their current floor via the elevator’s override and then followed her. By the time he caught up to her, she had removed her long Phaser coat along with her boots and was pouring herself a drink from the bar.
“This is my first time seeing your finished office,” Rafian said as he admired the hexagonal shaped room with its off-white walls and dark green carpeting. It was cozy and everything was tiny, just like Tayden. She walked over to where he stood and placed a glass of brandy in his hand. Next, she let her hair loose and retreated to a circular loveseat that sat in place behind her desk.
“Did Marian know about your adventure today, Commander?”
“No, Rhee doesn’t know about any of this.”
“I didn’t mean to beat you up verbally earlier. It’s just, well, although I never like to talk about what it is we have… you know, beyond us being old bunkmates, the Jumper academy and our history.” She sighed. “You do understand that if you get hurt, it will kill me, right?”
“Tay, I know that you care about me,” he said as he approached her and touched her shoulders, the way he always did before kissing her.
“I know that you thought we were coming up here to thype, Rafian,” she said, wiggling her shoulders so he would remove his hands. “But that won’t be happening. I needed privacy to talk to you about something personal.”
He felt disappointed at her rejection because he wanted her badly. She was angry but cute, and her brown, almond-shaped eyes had hinted at wanting him, too. He wondered if she were merely delaying the inevitable. He would answer her questions, then take her to the couch and do the things he’d wanted to do since coming back.
“What’s on your mind, Tay?”
“You know, Raf, those three plus years ago when we were forced to spend the night together in order to secure our Jumper bond, I knew you would become our leader. The way you took charge of a terrible situation for all of us and made me—a perfect stranger to you—comfortable enough to go through with it, showed your ability to talk me into anything. But I have watched you since your return and I really hate how you treat us… women, I mean.”
Rafian was shocked. He had no idea what he had done to give Tayden the opinion that he was in any way negative towards women. Tayden was always quick to tell him when he was wrong and she was normally right, no matter how much he wished she wasn’t. The thought that he was hurting the women in his life made him anxious so he simply stared at her in silence.
“You willfully brought Marian into a world where Camille had given herself to you. During the Jumper trials, we not only had sex when they made us do it, but we kept on doing it weekly after they told us to stop. You slept with several other girls while pretending to be true to Camille in your heart. She was really messed up during that time, Raf, and you were too busy thyping everything with hair and legs to notice. She was imprisoned for a year and what does she come back to? Her ma
n freshly married to a drop-dead gorgeous woman from another galaxy. You and I continued to mess around even with your wife and broken girlfriend still in your life. See where I’m going with this? Look, I took the same oath you did… our bodies belong to no one. I get it, but I have feelings for you, and to be honest with you, I don’t thyping want them, man. It is beyond thyping and giving our bodies up, Raf. You are missing something and you are trying to find it through sex and using the women who actually love you.”
Rafian couldn’t believe what he was hearing and he wished that Tayden could understand how hard it was for him. She would not understand. He wanted to leave her and her judgment as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to hear anymore, and while he had always relied on her to share her bed with him, she was now judging him for doing so. It was not what he wanted to hear…not from her.
“If I could fix my woman issues I would, Tayden. What would you have me do? Divorce Marian, jump her back to her galaxy, and then swear myself to Camille YAN? It has crossed my mind several times, but if I did that, I would probably just stay in Luca with my wife, where things made sense for me. But I can’t make that choice, now can I? The amnesia, the two girls; it made a mess that cannot be cleaned up.”
“I want you to be true to your wife unless you are on a mission, Rafian,” Tay said.
It burned her to let him go, but the long nights of worrying and waiting for him had gotten old. She realized that he would never commit to her, and now that Camille was back, she would fall into the dreaded number three category. She respected herself too much now to be his plaything, but she loved him and wanted him to do better. “How hard is it to be a decent man until situations force you to be otherwise? I doubt it would be very hard for you. The honor is there and the love is there. You just need to keep it in your pants.”
Rafian threw up his hands and rolled his eyes at the hypocrisy. Tayden had been sleeping with him since the days of their recruitment and it hadn’t slowed down after he married. Now she was scolding him for being with her, as if she had no part to play in it. She read what was on his mind and put up a hand to stop him from arguing.
