Acorus reached out and took Jo’s hand telling her to sit down and try to stay calm. Hardly able to catch her breath, Jeksa bravely continued, saying that she had been so upset, not knowing what to do. But the Xenorii’s escape had made her realise that she must do something, as she had reason to believe that Bezra had weakened the box somehow!
His face like thunder, Acorus demanded why she hadn’t spoken up before.
As Jeksa pointed out, she had no proof and Bezra was so powerful, who would believe a junior doctor. Which Sceriae could believe that one of their own race could be so evil?
Acorus demanded to know why Jeksa thought Bezra had weakened the box, and she told him that having run out of the headache medicine she had, naughtily looked in Bezra’s box for some, to save herself from having to go to the stores cupboard. In Bezra’s box she had found a metal bottle, which was not part of their usual medical supplies. Opening it and sniffing the contents she realised that it was a chemical that could be used to soften glass or what passed for glass on Scerior. She recognised it from her training days in a laboratory. Suddenly and fearfully she realised what it had been used for, and that was just before coming to see Acorus. Hardly able to believe it still, Acorus asked how she knew that Bezra had been selling human females. She told him that she had suspected on the last trip, as Bezra had insisted on euthanising all the rejected humans which Jeksa found strange, but as she hated having to do it herself, she didn’t think too deeply about it. Then she discovered a locked door into part of the storage area. One time she thought she heard sobbing and was about to investigate but Bezra had caught her and ordered her elsewhere, warning her that she would be punished for laziness. When they got back to Scerior, boxes were put aside, and she was told that they were going for repair, there were four of them and there had been four infertile humans, on that trip, who should have been euthanised”. As Jeksa stopped talking she put her head in her hands and cried quietly.
“I must get up. Call Khala to help me shower and put my armour on” Acorus ordered. “Don’t you dare get out of that bed. I didn’t sit up all night just for you to undo the good I have done” Jo snapped, pushing him hard.
To his surprise he was too weak to stop her and he roared at her “Let me get up Jo, or I will punish you severely for not doing as your master tells you!”
“At the moment, Lord General Acorus, you are not in charge here, I am, when you are better you can punish me all you want. Now don’t be so stupid, you need to be well to handle a problem as bad as this” then turning to Tchu she told her to go and find Belain, so that Acorus could tell him what to do.
Then she told Jeksa to sit down and wait until Belain arrived and pouring a drink took it to Acorus “You must drink plenty to flush the poison out of your system, at least that is what we do on Earth”.
Frowning at her he said “You are one difficult, bossy female. I may have to swap you for a gentler model”.
Putting her face close to his ear she whispered “You’d hate a submissive female. Think of the fun you’ll have ‘punishing ‘me!”
He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, but he quickly changed it to a cough, trying to frown at her ferociously. He soon realised that that was very painful so closed his eyes and sighed.
“That’s better, now be a good boy and I might, just might, let you get up tomorrow”.
Going over to Jeksa at the table she poured them both a drink and asked quietly why Jeksa thought that Bezra was selling human females to the Xenorii. Jeksa told her that after the last trip, she had been so worried that she had made her Escorii follow Bezra for days.
Then one day her Escorii reported that Bezra had met one of the Wracki people. When Jo asked who they were, Jeksa described them and Jo remembered the acrobats covered in golden hair. Saying that they seemed harmless, Jo wondered why Jeksa had thought that strange.
“Well, the Wracki are inter galactic, mm how do you say? Dealers is that the word? They buy and sell anything. Drugs, animals, precious metals, slaves, food, anything they can make a profit on”.
“Do you think they bought the girls?” Jo asked.
“I think so; they are the only specie, other than the Xenorii who would sink so low”.
“And then they sold them to the Xenorii?”
“Or had them taken off them. It would be too dangerous, I think, to trade with the Xenorii” Jeksa shook her head “but maybe”.
At that moment Tchu entered with Belain, “It’s good to see you recovered, brother, “he said as he hurried to Acorus’s side, “All is proceeding as planned”.
“I did not expect otherwise, with you in charge. But brother, I think that we have a great problem” and Acorus told Belain what he had learned from Jeksa. Belain heard him out, then smashing a fist into his other hand he said, “Maybe that is why the Xenorii have been so interested in what we are doing lately”.
“It seems most likely” Acorus replied.
“If they have tasted human blood and seen how good looking they are, they will be desperate to find the planet they have come from. We have a major problem on our hands” Belain said taking his helmet off and running a hand through his hair.
Then Jo suddenly said, as the thought struck her, “Bezra was one of the two who voted against us at the council meeting, wasn’t she? No wonder she was so rude to me. I was about to ruin her profitable business, by wanting the rejected girls taken back to Earth”.
“I think you have got that right”, Acorus said, “Now Belain we must act very slowly. Bezra has an ally at the council meeting, she might be profiting from this terrible business also. We must make sure that no hint of this gets back to Scerior before we do”.
“She must be arrested and punished” Jo insisted “Think of those poor girls. Whatever your intentions this is all the Sceriae’s fault!” and she burst into tears.
“Oh, no no, don’t get upset, “Tchu said taking her in her arms and looking askance at Acorus and Belain, who had the grace to look ashamed. Acorus tried to get out of bed to reach Jo, but fell back, weak as a kitten swearing to himself in Sceria. Belain nearly pulled his hair out, running his hands through it so roughly.
Jo pulled herself together and moved away from Tchu, “What about the Wracki, how will they treat the girls?” she demanded.
“They are not vicious like the Xenorii, but would probably take their pleasure with them” Belain answered.
“They’re just like the Sceriae then” Jo said acerbically.
“Jo please...” Acorus said.
“The truth isn’t very pleasant, is it?” she snapped.
Then Tchu said “Jo-Anna, you cannot go on like this. You have said that humans would have done the same to carry on their race; you must either accept that or have nothing to do with the Sceriae. Any of them!” looking from Jo to Acorus, as she made her point.
Crying once again, but quietly, Jo said “You are right. I’m sorry Acorus, Belain, but thinking what those girls would have gone through, makes me so angry”.
“Come here” Acorus said holding out his hand. As Jo took it, he pulled her onto the bed and wrapped his arms round her “It makes me angry too. You are right, it is my fault, we should have returned those girls to Earth, but we didn’t want the humans to become suspicious. However we should have realised that even if they had become suspicious, there would be nothing they could do to hurt us. All I can say is that, shamefully, we thought of your race as lesser beings. Slowly as we got to know human females it sank in that you are the same as us”.
“We are not the same as the Sceriae, we are much more difficult to understand, some good, some bad, some just ordinary, which no Sceriae is ever allowed to be”.
Both Acorus and Belain sighed and looked down, not sure what to say.
However Jo carried on “What we have to do now is try to make things better. For both the
Sceriae males and the human females”.
They all nodded and Jeksa jumped up saying “Lady Jo-Anna, anything I can do, I will do willingly. Anything at all”.
“Firstly” Acorus said “You will take over as senior doctor. Bezra will be removed from duty, but we will tell everyone that she is ill, and in quarantine, so nobody is able to visit her. While we are away from Scerior we will find out all of Bezra’s secrets”.
“No one likes her, so no one will miss her” Jeksa put in.
“Good” Acorus said, then putting his head back on the pillow he sighed, “I’m exhausted.
Belain, you know what you have to do. Find Bezra and quietly lock her away, then turn the interrogators on her, and Jeksa must be introduced as new senior doctor. Now please leave me, not you Jo, please stay with me” and he looked at her with such a plea in his eyes, that she lay down beside him.
As Belain, Jeksa and Tchu left the room Jo murmured to him “I’ll never leave you” and they both settled down to sleep.
Chapter 31
The next morning Acorus was feeling much stronger, and when Jeksa visited him she announced that she could find no poison in his system, but took blood samples, not only to make sure, but also to take back to the laboratories on Scerior. There they would be tested to see how the anti virus worked, and how the poison had affected his blood. Telling Acorus to have a quiet day, Jeksa bustled off, happy to have escaped Bezra’s malevolence. They showered together with Jo helping Acorus to wash himself, a novelty for Jo as that would usually have been an excuse for him to make love to her.
When Jo had dressed in a kaftan, Khala appeared to give Acorus a massage and Tchu sat and brushed Jo’s hair dry. It was so long now that it hung down below her shoulders, and took a lot of drying. Khala helped Acorus to dress and steadied him as he walked to a chair. He sat down gratefully, shaking his head at his weakness. Tjai insisted that Jo have a massage, for the health of the baby, rubbing oil into her swelling stomach and breasts. Jo admitted to herself that it really did make her body feel better and luxuriated in the pampering.
While Tjai was massaging Jo, Tchu and Khala went off to fetch breakfast, leaving Acorus with Belain who had arrived just as they were leaving. Belain had come to see how Acorus was and also to report on Bezra. She had been quietly taken away from the hospital, thinking that she was meeting Belain to discuss Acorus’s recovery. The guards, instead of taking her to the bridge, had taken her to a room in the prison sector. She had become suspicious and had started to make a fuss, so the guards had seized her and carried her the rest of the way. In the room, Belain had had a glass cube installed, and she had been placed in that. She could make as much noise as she wanted and no one would hear her. She had been given food and water and later that morning the Escorii interrogators would visit her.
Belain was sitting talking to Acorus, when Jo came out of the bathroom. Switching to English Belain said “Good morning, Jo-Anna. It is good to see you looking so well”.
“Hi, it’s good to see you, don’t you think Acorus is looking better?” she asked.
“Yes he’s very lucky to have survived. Maybe next time he’ll move quicker” Belain joked.
“Just as well it wasn’t you, brother. You always were slower than me. Acorus grunted.
“Boys, boys, play nicely” Jo laughed. Then growing serious she asked “Have you learned anything about the girls Bezra sold?”
“Not yet. She’ll be interrogated later” Belain told her.
“Right” Jo thought hard” Can I sit in on it please? Maybe I’ll think of questions you and the Escorii might not. There won’t be any danger from her”.
Before Belain could reply Acorus said “Actually that might not be a bad idea. Jo thinks differently to us or the Escorii”.
“Well, if you think it’s alright” Belain said doubtfully “But you must sit at the back of the room, away from the Escorii’s thought waves”.
“Alright, but you know I’m getting good at closing my mind” Jo pointed out”. Also, I’ll be able to tell Acorus what she said instead of you having to give up more important duties to do it”.
Tchu and Khala arrived with breakfast and Belain, who had had his earlier, left telling Jo he would send for her before the interrogation started”.
Jo was pleased to discover that Acorus had a healthy appetite, so they lingered over breakfast. He had many questions about Earth, even though the Sceriae had been watching Earth for a long time, they still didn’t know much about everyday life. Once Jo started talking about home she couldn’t stop. In a lull in her description of life on Earth, she laughed and said “You know, the best way to learn about anything is to live it. It’s a pity you couldn’t live on Earth for a while, then you’d begin to learn what it’s like”.
“That’s impossible. I think our body armour would stand out a bit”.
“Why would you need body armour? There is nothing there to harm you. The air is good to breath, and in ordinary human clothes you’d look like a man”. Jo said feeling excited at the thought, “I could come with you, we’d look like a couple. Oh, but we’d need money. Damn!”
“We have Earth money in our stores. Some of the females we took, had quite a lot on them. But the main problem would be disease”.
“I’m sure something could be done to stop you catching anything” Jo said shortly” after all I lived there for eighteen years and didn’t catch anything”.
“Yes I know, but you have an inbuilt immunity to Earth’s lesser diseases. If I caught any of them, I’d probably be seriously ill, and I do have responsibilities”.
“Yes I’m sorry. I know it would be irresponsible. It’s just the thought of being on Earth with you” Jo said sadly.
“Some Sceriae have been on Earth. We have spies who live on Earth regularly. Some have been ill, but none have died, so it’s worth thinking about”.
Having planted the idea, Jo changed the subject, discussing Bezra and why she had done as she did. Acorus found it very difficult to understand why a Sceriae would behave like Bezra had. She was at the height of her profession, lived in luxury as all Sceriae did and wanted for nothing. To him it was a complete mystery. Jo decided that she wouldn’t try to understand it, to keep an open mind for Bezra’s interrogation.
Seeing that Acorus was tiring she insisted that he must get into bed and rest. Calling for Khala and Tchu, she made sure that he was comfortable, and then went into the bathroom to put on her armour. Carrying her helmet she sat by the bed waiting for someone to take her to the interrogation. Acorus eventually dozed off and Jo sat quietly deep in thought. Mostly she wondered how she would feel when she saw Earth again. There was a gentle tap on the door and Jo went to answer it herself. A soldier bowed, then said that he had been sent to take her to the interrogation. Bowing back to him Jo told him that she was ready, and putting her helmet on followed him.
They went down two levels and along a narrow corridor to the room where Bezra was imprisoned. Quietly the soldier opened the door and they stepped inside. Bezra was in one of the ‘glass’ cubes. Around her stood seven Escorii and behind them five soldiers. Jo stood at the back of the room keeping out of sight. An Escorii touched the box and it opened at the front. Then he spoke to her in Sceria, The soldier next to Jo translated for her.
The Escorii said “Bezra, you are here because you are charged with weakening the box in which a Xenorii was imprisoned, causing the death of two Sceriae and serious injury to Lord Acorus and two Escorii. We ask you why?”
Even though Jo was well away from the Escorii with soldiers in between she felt the power of their minds, and closed her face mask in an attempt to dilute it. Looking around her she was glad to see that the soldiers had done the same. Bezra was screaming, holding her head and finally sinking to her knees. The lead Escorii repeated his question and the pressure of their minds increased. Suddenly the pressur
e ceased and Jo opened her eyes, which she hadn’t known she had closed. Bezra was crying and shouting in Sceria, which Jo’s soldier translated.
“Acorus and his whore are going to be the ruin of Scerior. These human females are inferior and should not be heard. They were taken purely to breed from and then they should be disposed of. They will pollute Scerior. Our descendants will be mongrels, that is all humans are. Mating for pleasure! Pure Sceriae will be an endangered species”.
Jo was so shocked she whimpered, and then bit her lip to stop it. Was this what a lot of Sceriae thought? What would happen if they managed to gain power? Whispering to the soldier she said “Get them to ask her how many others think like her? Are they organised? Who else do they plan to kill? Have they planned an attack on the Queen?”
The soldier actually gasped, then he worked his way forward until he got to an officer. Whispering in his ear he passed on Jo’s questions, causing the officer to stiffen, then bend forward to speak to the Escorii. Each question was asked singly, and slowly Bezra gave over the names of Sceriae who were involved in plans to change what was happening on their planet. Thankfully and to Jo’s relief there weren’t that many, and all were female. They hadn’t planned to kill Acorus or anyone else. Bezra had seen the opportunity and acted alone. They hadn’t planned to hurt the Queen; Sceriae females would not do that, just remove her support in council.
Then the Escorii questioned her about the human females, she had sold. She told them that she had sold them to the Wracki; they would fit in well as their slaves. Animals who ate other animals should live together! Jo was fuming with anger and when Bezra said she didn’t care who the Wracki had sold them to, she pushed her way to the front. Standing in front of Bezra, Jo said “You will care when we leave you for the Xenorii to find. They will have fun with an ugly female like you. You should survive for a long time being milked of your blood and raped regularly!”
Bezra started to scream at Jo in Sceria, saying that no Sceriae would do that to another.
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