Heretic

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Shadows danced across the room as people walked over the grates above. Li’ara knew she was insulting a being that most would compare to a god, but right now she didn't care.

  You have every right to hate me. It will take more time than we have for you to see as I do, but it is my hope that you will come to understand my actions.

  “You want me to understand? Then start at the beginning.” Li’ara dropped onto the makeshift cot and waited patiently.

  I will, but right now we have to take care of your leg…

  Li’ara frowned and looked down at her leg. How had she not noticed the robotic-looking worm coiled around her calf? It appeared burnt across the surface, with scorch marks and holes throughout, but the end was clearly sticking into the side of her leg. The commander jumped up and shook her leg instinctively, but the worm remained firmly attached. She stopped moving for a minute and wondered why she couldn't feel it.

  “What is it?” Li’ara asked frantically.

  Before the explosion, you were distracted by the sight of me. The cube took advantage of this and extended one of its tendrils. I was able to shield you from the blast, but not quick enough to prevent it from reaching your leg. The rest of it was destroyed in the explosion.

  None of this made Li’ara feel any better about having an alien parasite stuck to her leg. She went back to pacing while searching for a sharp implement to prise it off. The panic was rising inside of her, with thoughts of Professor Jones creeping into her mind. With no tool in sight, Li’ara reached down and gripped it with both hands, determined to tear it from her leg.

  Don't do that…

  Sef’s warning was too late. The worm constricted and the pain shot through her leg and up into her back, almost crippling her. Li’ara collapsed to the floor and screamed, gripping her leg as she did. The pain brought tears to her eyes and threatened to consume her. As the world began to take on a blurry edge, Sef was suddenly crouched over her, his exposed hand cupping her face. Li’ara felt the ground fall away and with it the pain. She was in Sef’s arms, looking up at his flawless face.

  I can keep the pain at bay and stop it from spreading deeper into your body.

  “Get it off of me…” Li’ara managed.

  I was in the middle of preparing another room before you awoke.

  “What kind of room?” Li’ara was gaining her senses back, now that the pain was subsiding.

  I will try and remove it as best I can but… my telekinetic skills are not as fine as is required. Savrick only trained us for war, I'm afraid.

  Li’ara knew exactly what he was saying. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”

  Once…

  “Is it sterile, the other room? Do you have sedatives or, anything?” The thought of her leg being minutes away from amputation made Li’ara feel uncomfortably nauseous.

  Have no fear. Sef’s face suddenly became very hard to define, along with everything else in the room. I will take care of you, Li’ara.

  Li’ara wasn't sure if hours or days had passed when she next opened her eyes. The light was blinding and the world still held its blurry edge, but the sounds of machinery and a constant beeping found her ears. She tried to speak but her mouth was dry.

  Remain calm. Sef’s soothing tone came from everywhere.

  Li’ara caught a glimpse of the Gomar out of the corner of her eye, moments before the world went dark again.

  This happened at least two more times that she could successfully recall before Li’ara finally felt the strength to lift her head. The room was brighter than the others and illuminated by multiple floating orbs, with no natural light. The gurney she was lying on was surrounded by monitors and holographics, displaying her vital signs and the levels of different drugs that were apparently in her system.

  Her body was covered with a sheet and a blanket, her top half hidden beneath a black vest top. For the most part, she felt numb and stiff, leading her to believe that she had been lying on the gurney for at least a day. That was when everything came flooding back to her. The parasitic worm strapped to her leg! Li’ara sat up and tried to ignore the wave of nausea, as she pulled back the sheet covering her legs. Her gasp was cut short where she lost the will to make any sound.

  Everything below her right knee was gone.

  A sense of dizziness soon replaced the nausea, which left almost immediately after Li’ara vomited on the floor. She wanted to get up and run away from the whole scene, but she had just enough sense to know that running was something she could no longer achieve.

  Easy…

  Sef appeared by her side, surprisingly quiet for someone wearing so much armour. Using telekinesis, the Gomar helped Li’ara to stand, which she wasn't ready to do yet. Sef caught her fainting form in his strong arms, and Li’ara felt a mental tug which stopped her from losing consciousness.

  You need to eat and drink. You’ve been out of it for a couple of days.

  “Days..?” Li’ara couldn't take her eyes off the wad of bandages wrapped around her knee.

  I was unable to remove the infected nanocelium with telekinesis. I tried for some time to take it out molecule by molecule, but it continued to use your tissue to feed its replication.

  Sef carried her over to a table at the other end of the room, where a plate of hot food and a glass of water was waiting for her. There was no pain, which was about the only thing Li’ara could be thankful for right now. The smell of the food reminded her stomach how hungry she was, though it was clear to see from the hanging bags of fluid surrounding the gurney, that Sef had kept her hydrated.

  Halfway through the meal, Li’ara was able to collect her thoughts. “Where did you get all this stuff? I assume we’re still in the capital?”

  There are countless rooms and access corridors behind the walls of the capital. Most are abandoned now, repurposed for sewage works, water supply and miles upon miles of cables that run the length of Clave Tower. I have been able to use these tunnels to move around unseen, and my telekinesis allows me to take objects without actually being there.

  “Do you know what’s going on out there? Have you heard anything?” Li’ara was only thinking of a handful of people she needed to know were okay.

  Sef looked away for a moment as if he was unsure of how to proceed. I have spent months building a network of programming designed to infiltrate various levels of Conclave security. I’m good with electronics. I have been able to listen in on chatter between the ships, as well as a few private conversations between the upper echelons.

  “Did they make it?” Li’ara just needed to know and Sef was telling her everything but. She needed to know if Roland made it out of Protocorps and if Kalian and Esabelle discovered anything in the Helteron Cluster. She needed to know they were alive.

  Roland survived, though he has already disappeared again. His Terran vessel makes it hard for the Conclave to track him. I haven't been able to piece everything together yet surrounding the events in the Helteron Cluster, but I know the Gommarian has been destroyed.

  Li’ara stopped chewing when she heard that. There was nothing that could even dent that ship, let alone destroy it.

  “What about everyone onboard?” Li’ara wasn't sure she was ready for the answer.

  They have been evacuated and are currently being relocated, but I haven't discovered the new location yet.

  Li’ara exhaled, unaware that she had been holding her breath.

  Kalian has returned, along with ALF.

  Li’ara looked up at the Gomar with wide eyes and the first feeling of hope she had felt since before the explosion. Judging by Sef’s expression, she could tell that he wasn't done with the bad news yet, and Li’ara realised he had yet to mention Esabelle.

  I came across chatter between High Charge Uthor and a member of their science division. The scientist was annoyed with Uthor for denying him the chance to perform an autopsy... on Esabelle. Apparently, Kalian won't let them near her body.

  Li’ara sat back and put her fork dow
n. Esabelle was gone. They had never developed a substantial bond, but Li’ara had always appreciated the help she gave Kalian, even if they had been closer than she liked. Either way, death was not something she would have wished upon her. What could they have found in the Helteron Cluster that could not only destroy the Gommarian but also kill Esabelle, the most powerful Terran in the galaxy? Professor Jones had been strong, but he was no match for the two of them. When Li’ara’s head had filled with enough questions, she looked back to Sef and saw how upset he was with this particular news. His blue eyes had filled with tears and taken on a glassy appearance.

  “I know Esabelle was with all of you on the Gommarian. A part of your interface with the ship. I’m sorry -”

  Esabelle was more than that…

  Sef stood up from the table and made to leave, but Li’ara wanted to stop him. The commander stood up and held a hand out to catch the Gomar, but her right leg kept on going. She screamed for just a second, as the floor was quickly coming up to greet her, but she never made it. Inches from the cold, hard floor, Li’ara remained suspended in the air, where Sef had caught her. The Gomar corrected her, sitting the commander back down.

  “Argh!” Li’ara groaned in frustration. “I forgot… It feels like it’s still there! I can feel my goddamn foot!” She looked up at Sef, sure that she was wiggling her toes.

  It will take some adjusting.

  “I don't want to adjust. I want to walk again.” Li’ara tried so hard to keep the tears back, but it was impossible.

  I’m working on it. There is an augmentation facility not far from here. I have already started gathering the equipment I will need.

  Li’ara looked from Sef to her leg and back again. “You’re going to build me a new leg?”

  I aim to, yes. Though it will not look as it did. I do not have the skills to fully replicate a human leg, skin and all. The whole process is going to take time and healing.

  “Thank you.” It suddenly hit Li’ara how much the Gomar had done for her. Sef had saved her life in Protocorps, saved her from infection and was now going to help her walk again. “Why are you doing all this? Why did you save me? Why aren't you as keen on killing all humans as Savrick was?”

  Sef smiled, and it was hard not like that smile. Answers will come. For now, just know that we are on the same side with the same goals. Trust is something we build. And eat. You have quite the journey ahead of you before you can walk again…

  “Wait, wait, wait…” Roland sat upright on the sofa in the Rackham’s kitchen and looked at Li’ara with his one good eye. “You’re telling me that leg is fake?”

  Li’ara sighed, exasperated with the bounty hunter already. She lifted her right leg and pulled her boot off, revealing the skeletal, robotic leg and foot.

  “I bet that stung a bit.” Roland swigged his beer, while Ch’len flapped about the place, trying to collate all their medical equipment and give Sef a wide berth at the same time.

  “I felt kinda’ how you look right now.” Li’ara would never say it, but she was continually impressed with the beatings Roland was capable of taking. The idiot just refused to die.

  “What, this?” Roland shrugged and immediately winced. “I've got plenty of painkillers.” The bounty hunter waved his beer about. “So the gorilla over here’s on our side, huh?” Roland looked Sef up and down with no small amount of suspicion.

  Sef collapsed his helmet and Li’ara knew he was doing it to appear more familiar.

  “Hideous like the rest of them I see...”

  Li’ara couldn't help but chuckle at Roland’s sarcasm, though she hated encouraging him. In truth, she hated the way he looked at Sef, but she also knew that everyone would look at the Gomar that way. Just as it had taken her time to learn to walk and run again, it would take patience and time before people learned to trust Sef.

  “So you guys have just been shacked up behind the walls of the capital all this time…” Roland appeared to be chewing over the information. “You didn't think to communicate with anyone? Let someone know you were alive, maybe?”

  Ch’len turned on Li’ara. “Do you know how many people he’s tortured to -”

  “Len!” Roland’s face twisted in agony. “Easy with the leg, okay, it’s not a pork chop.”

  Ch’len went back to examining his leg while muttering under his breath about stupid humans and questioning what a pork chop was.

  “We had a different mission.” Li’ara looked to Sef, who in time had told her the truth of everything. “Sef needed my help, and we needed to do it in secret, partly because the Conclave would freak out if they knew a Gomar was walking about the place, but also because we didn't know who we could trust. Protocorps was proof that the cubes have infiltrated the Conclave.”

  “What mission?” Roland tried to raise his eyebrow but found only pain.

  “We need to find the rest of the Gomar and wake them up.”

  Roland looked at them both, expressionless, before bursting into laughter. “You’re crazier than I am! What did blondy say to you? It must have been good to convince you that waking up his genocidal buddies was a great idea.”

  If Roland had more to say, it was drowned out by his cry of pain, as Ch’len applied a blue, gel-like substance to the wound on his leg. Sef moved for the first time, putting both Roland and Ch’len on edge, and held out his hand, palm down. The floor of the kitchen responded by forming a sleek column that rose up to greet the Gomar’s hand. They had all seen Esabelle do something similar during their time on the Rackham together, and Roland had pulled the same quizzical expression then, too. The column opened up and a hand-sized cylinder of nanocelium floated to the top.

  “What the hell is that?” Roland asked. “I really need to read the manual…”

  Sef strode over, sending Ch’len scurrying around the small table, and held out the cylinder for Roland to take. The end of the device was identical to that of a syringe, with a series of small holes at the end.

  “What am I supposed to do with this?” Roland took the object out of Sef’s hand as if it had belonged to him all along.

  Inject the nanocelium into your arm. It will heal you.

  Roland’s mouth fell open and he stared at Sef for a moment, before turning to Li’ara with a questioning look.

  “He doesn’t speak, remember.”

  “It’s still damn weird. You had this for a whole three months?” Roland waved Ch’len’s questioning look away.

  “You get used to it.” Li’ara had come to enjoy the sound of Sef’s voice, often finding it soothing, especially when the pain in her leg returned. It had taken a couple more operations to get her new leg right, and the wound had to be opened every time. He had been there for her every step of the way.

  “I guess I just don't like the idea of someone in my head.” Roland stabbed his arm with the cylinder. “So how long does this stuff take to…” The bounty hunter stopped talking, which was a miracle in itself, and contorted his face and gripped his leg, then his ribs. “It feels weird.”

  Li’ara watched as his eye changed colour, before the swelling went down and his lids took shape again. The smaller cuts and bruises that had marred his face and hands slowly disappeared as well. Roland closed his fists and cracked the knuckles with a satisfied smile on his face.

  “I really need to read the manual…”

  Sef nodded, as if Roland had thanked him, and returned to his position on the other side of the kitchen. Roland on the other hand, stood up and tested his leg and patted his previously broken ribs. After a few stretches, the bounty hunter picked up another beer, dropped back onto the sofa and rested his legs on the table.

  “Well, it’s a damn sight better than nurse Len over here. So…” Roland downed half the beer. “Let me get this straight. You’ve been hiding in the capital for three months trying to track down the whereabouts of the Gomar, while also having your leg cut off and learning to walk again. And all the while, you’ve been doing it with him in your head.”

>   Li’ara could see what Roland was getting at. The idea that Sef had been controlling her thoughts had come up a couple of times. Sadly, there was no way to prove he wasn't, leaving her to trust in his explanation.

  “He can't control our thoughts, it doesn't work that way. Because of our physiology, he can tap into the frequency our brains emit. He can see into our mind, but he can't change the way we think. Its also why Ch’len can't hear him, different frequency.”

  Roland became serious for a moment. “What could he possibly have said to convince you he can be trusted?”

  Li’ara looked at Sef, aware that it was his story and not her own. He nodded just once, approving of her to tell it right.

  “During the Gomars’ hunt for Earth, they were regularly put to sleep inside Rem-stores due to the scale of their search. When the Gommarian came across a civilisation or something of interest, the crew would be woken up and given the chance to investigate. This was all controlled by the ship’s pilot; Esabelle. There were often thousands of years between anything worth investigating. As you already know, Esabelle achieved a level of consciousness at some point along the way, and started training herself inside the virtual world.”

  Roland waved her on. “Yeah yeah, I remember; she’s the reason Savrick never found out the Conclave had already discovered Earth, blah blah blah. How does any of this change the fact that he’s one of them.”

  Li’ara ignored the insulting finger being pointed at Sef. “When Esabelle realised that the cube was affecting Savrick’s mind, and caused the civil war, she started strategising a way to combat it. During the periods when the crew was asleep, she would wake up a select few, twelve to be exact. The same twelve she kept behind when the Gomar attacked the Valoran.

  Now, she didn't wake them all up together, but one at a time, over a period of thousands of years. While they were awake and unable to enter their Rem-store, Esabelle would speak to them, incessantly, until they really started listening. Eventually she even showed them the cube and her findings. While Savrick and the others slept for centuries, millennia, twelve of his soldiers were being shown the truth he had kept hidden from them.”