Ria nodded, not even noticing when the medi-cot injected her with just enough medication to help her slip into a light sleep. Vari waited until she was certain Ria was out. Then she took a deep, calming breath, exchanged nods with Dr. Jula, and left the room just as Pandora reappeared on her shoulder.
“Let me guess.”
“No need, you’re right,” Pandora said silently. “Mind your temper.”
“You’re not angry?” Vari asked archly.
“Of course I am,” Pandora said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that detaching the Admirals’ heads for not wanting to claim Ria might not be the most reasonable reaction.”
“Since when are you the voice of reason?” Vari asked, unable to hide the thread of humor in her tone. “Besides, I wouldn’t detach their heads. They’re my sister’s Rami.”
“Yeah, okay, sure, I’m convinced,” Pandora muttered.
Vari bit back a grin. She stopped outside the door to the waiting area and arranged her face into a blank mask that revealed nothing of her thoughts or emotions. Then she stepped inside.
When all three of the Katres swung their eyes to her, she not only saw their worry. She felt it. Her eyes narrowed, then she dipped into their minds to determine for certain whether they were concerned for Ria, or themselves. Talon and Tee were worried sick, but Thorn was shielding himself. She couldn’t fault him for it though since she really had no business taking without either a good cause, or permission.
“What’s going on, Miraku?” Declan asked. “Dr. Jula wouldn’t say.”
Vari looked at the Katres hesitantly. “Vari,” Declan said. “They have a right to know.”
“No they don’t,” Vari said, her eyes narrowing again. “They don’t want her and have chosen not to claim her, which means they’ve forfeited the right to know her personal business. They can’t have it both ways, Declan and you know it.”
Declan looked beyond the anger in Vari’s eyes and frowned. “What’s happened?” he asked in a soft voice.
Vari suddenly found herself blinking back tears. She glanced toward the Katres and gave her head an almost imperceptible shake.
“Lady Vari, I know it seems we don’t want Ria,” Tee said. “But that’s not the case. We’re simply respecting her choice. Nor did we come here to check up on her, though we realize that may be what it looks like. We had an urgent matter to discuss with the Commanders.”
Vari couldn’t ignore the sorrow in Tee’s eyes, but Ria was still her main concern. “If you’ve changed your minds and have decided to claim her now, I can only ask that you wait. This is not a good time. She’s having enough difficulty dealing with whatever’s happening to her brain at the moment. She doesn’t need any more stress.”
“What’s happening to her brain?” Declan asked tensely.
Vari glanced at the Katres again. “What do you think, Pandora? Should I tell them what’s happening?”
“I believe Tee that they’re staying back for Ria’s sake,” Pandora said. “For that reason, I think yes, you should tell them. If she suddenly regains her sight, it’s not going to be a secret anyway.”
Vari nodded, then told her men, and the Katres, about the nano-bots and what they appeared to be doing. When she was finished there was a long, heavy silence.
“Lady Vari,” Talon said so suddenly that she startled a little.
“Just Vari, please.”
“Vari,” he said with a nod. “Do you believe that the nano-bots are endangering her, or helping?”
“Helping,” Vari said at once. “If I thought they were endangering her I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. I’d be putting her in a hibernation tank until we return to Jasan.”
“Vari,” Dr. Jula said from the doorway.
Vari spun around. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I don’t believe so,” Dr. Jula replied, holding up a thin, square tablet. Vari understood what she was being asked.
“Yes, we should all see it, I think.”
Dr. Jula smiled her approval and approached while tapping on the tablet’s screen. Then she handed it to Vari and stepped back out of the way as all six men gathered around.
Vari gasped at the latest scan, then looked up, barely able to see Dr. Jula between Tee and Kai. “She’s still sleeping?” she asked, nodding her thanks when the two men shifted so she had a better view of the doctor.
“Yes,” Dr. Jula replied. “I think that’s helping.”
Vari nodded as she glanced back at the screen. “It looks as though they’re attempting to bridge the wound entirely.” She looked at Dr. Jula again, who nodded her agreement. Vari studied the tissue on either side of the wound. Tissue that had looked like a sponge filled with liquid metal after the explosion, but which now looked completely healthy. There was still a band of metal soaked tissue around the wound, but it was thinner than before.
“I hope there’s enough of them to complete the bridge,” she murmured.
“If there isn’t, can we…I don’t know…add more?” Tee asked. “We have three more containers of it in quarantine.”
“Absolutely not,” Vari and Dr. Jula both said at the same time, startling all six men.
Vari handed the tablet to Declan, then took a deep, calming breath. “The material we’re talking about was not only created by the Doftles, it was once part of a Doftle mainframe. We have no idea how, or why, these nano-bots are doing what they’re doing. Nor do we know what the end result will be. Introducing more material that we know nothing about into Ria’s brain would be…,” Vari paused, discarding the word she’d been about to say as too insulting.
“Stupid,” Tee said.
“And moronic,” Talon agreed. Vari looked at Thorn to see if he’d weigh in, but he remained silent.
A soft chime sounded and Tee glanced down at the hand terminal at his waist. “That’s our alarm.”
Talon nodded. “We have a meeting to attend. I wish we could remain here, but…,” he paused, gave his head a shake, and looked at Vari. “If you think there’s the slightest chance that Ria will want or need anything we can provide, or if you think she’s in any danger, we will remain here.”
The gold flecks in Vari’s eyes flared briefly. “I promise to contact you if there’s any change.”
“Thank you,” Talon replied, though he still looked hesitant.
“What troubles you?” Vari asked in a far gentler tone than she’d used with them so far.
“It’s just difficult for us to leave.” Vari had no idea what to say to that so she said nothing.
“Don’t worry, Talon,” Declan said. “We will keep a close eye on our young sister, and we will keep you informed.” Talon still didn’t look as though he wanted to leave, but he turned around and walked out of the infirmary anyway with Tee and Thorn behind him.
After they were gone Vari turned to Declan and leaned her forehead against his chest, allowing her fear and worry for Ria to show. Jay and Kai pressed close so that her men surrounded her, all of them touching her, soothing her.
“Tell me, Miraku, what do you really think the nano-bots are doing?” Declan asked after a few minutes.
“I think they’re attempting to repair Ria’s eyesight,” she said, looking up at him.
“You sound certain,” Kai said.
Vari turned within the circle of her men, leaned back against Declan, and reached for the tablet he still held. She scrolled back through the images until she found the one taken a few days after the explosion.
“Look here,” she said, pointing, “where the metal is soaked into the tissue all around the injury.”
She waited until they’d all seen it, then she scrolled back to the most recent image. “Here,” she said, pointing again at the same area.
“The tissue is healthy,” Jay said.
“Exactly,” Vari said. “If they were trying to cause harm, I don’t think that tissue would be healthy. I don’t even know how they managed to heal it. I just know that they did.”
&nb
sp; “This reminds me of one of those computer programs that run in the background,” Kai said. “It makes sure everything works as it should, and corrects problems before they have a chance to cause too much damage.”
Vari nodded slowly. That made sense.
“Do you think they’ll succeed?” Declan asked her quietly.
“I want to say yes,” Vari replied. “But again, these things were created by Doftles.”
“That’s true, babe,” Kai said. “But don’t forget, they were part of the Doftles’ mainframe. Not a Controller. They weren’t designed to cause harm or be malicious in any way.”
Vari nodded, then glanced at the tablet in her hand as a new scan was downloaded. She took a moment to study it. “I don’t think we’re going to have to wait much longer to get the answers to our questions.”
Chapter 14
Once again Talon led his brothers to the nearest conference room after transporting back to the Hilgaria. Thorn’s rude and sarcastic huffs and grunts while Declan spoke of Ria’s condition were a very bad sign that needed to be addressed.
Thorn had been growing more and more angry by the day ever since the explosion. Since Ria had awakened from her coma it had gotten progressively worse. He was rapidly reaching a dangerous point, and Talon knew it. He loved his brother, and he sympathized with him. But he was no longer in full control of himself. That was an unacceptable and intolerable state for a Clan Jasani male with the ability to shift into an enormous and deadly creature. Thorn was endangering the crew and the ship, and Talon couldn’t allow it continue.
Pulling rank on his brothers wasn’t something he’d had to do in all the years they’d served in the military. He didn’t want to do it now. But he no longer had a choice.
“Why are we in here, Talon?” Thorn demanded rudely. “I have work to do.”
Talon glared at his brother as he released his katrenca just enough to change his face and hands. Then he bared his teeth, extended his claws, leaned into Thorn’s space and snarled a warning. It was the first time he’d had to assert his dominance since they were boys, and the display shocked Thorn out of his anger. Talon waited for his brother to dip his head, then growled once more to let him know that his patience was at an end before releasing his alter form.
“Sit,” he snapped, then took a breath, fighting for control of his own feelings.
“I’m sorry, Talon,” Thorn said, and Talon knew he meant it. He always meant it.
“No, Thorn,” he said. “No more apologies, no more excuses. You’ve lost your temper with crew and service personnel so many times over the past week that I’ve lost count. That is not acceptable and you know it.”
“Yes, I know,” Thorn said, rubbing his hands over his face. “I really am sorry, and I’ll apologize to the crew.”
“We need to address the problem, Thorn, not just the behavior.”
“The problem is that we finally found our berezi only to discover that she rejected us out of hand because of my face,” Thorn said. “I don’t see how that can be addressed.”
“You always assume you know what everyone is thinking and feeling without bothering to wait until they can tell you themselves,” Tee said. “You don’t know she’s taking suppressants because of you. You don’t even know how long she’s been taking them. You don’t know that she even realizes she’s our berezi. You’ve never spoken a single word to the woman and you’ve got her accused, tried, and convicted of crimes you made up in your own head and, as usual, they’re all about you.”
Talon and Thorn both looked at Tee in mild surprise. He rarely got angry, but this was the second time in as many weeks. By the time he was finished speaking he was actually shouting, shocking his brothers further.
“He’s right, Thorn,” Talon said. “You’re behaving as though she personally insulted you in the worst possible manner, and you’ve never spoken a single word to her, or she to you.”
Thorn shook his head with another sarcastic grunt, but said nothing. Talon growled again to let him know it hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Your behavior has gotten out of hand, Thorn. You are behaving without honor, sense or reason, and I’m not tolerating it any more. You need to get a grip, Brother. I mean it.”
Thorn started to argue, but he knew Talon was right. He’d been letting his emotions run wild, and he did need to get control of himself. Somehow.
“Let’s agree to disagree on this,” Thorn said. His head jerked up when Talon started growling. “I mean on the issue of Ria Lobo.”
Talon quieted, but his eyes narrowed. “Explain.”
“If you two decide you want her, that’s fine. Claim her, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to complete the linking. But don’t expect me to have anything else to do with her after that.”
Tee stared at Thorn for a long moment. Then he stood up, leaned over the table and waited until Thorn met his eyes. “Don’t worry, Brother,” he said coldly. “It’s unlikely that your sacrifice will be necessary.”
“What do you mean?” Thorn asked warily. He’d never seen Tee like this.
“I mean there’s always a chance that those nasty little Doftle nano-bots crawling around in her brain will kill her. How lucky for you.”
Thorn froze, barely noticing when Tee stormed out of the room. The thought of Ria Lobo dying made his blood run cold.
“Tee’s right,” Talon said, his voice throbbing with an emotion Thorn couldn’t name. “You may not have anything to be angry about after all.” Then he got up and followed Tee, leaving Thorn alone with his thoughts.
He tried very hard to remind himself of all the reasons he shouldn’t care if Ria Lobo died. He attempted to convince himself that it would actually be a good thing for him. He even went so far as to put his horror at the thought of her death down to nothing more than physical chemistry.
Unfortunately for him, none of it worked.
***
Ria awoke slowly, remembering all that had happened before she’d gone to sleep. She drew in a slow breath, then opened her eyes.
An incomprehensible blast of color and motion assaulted her, causing her to gasp as she instantly squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart was racing, her breathing harsh with the unexpected dump of adrenaline into her system. She heard a high pitched beeping sound but ignored it as she focused on trying to breathe through her body’s reaction.
Moments later she heard the whoosh of the door, then two sets of footsteps. “Ria, are you all right?” Vari asked as Dr. Jula reached up to switch off the alarm.
“Yeah,” Ria replied, still panting. “Just um…startled.”
“Startled?” Vari asked, noticing Ria’s pale face and clenched fists. She looked up at Dr. Jula who was reading Ria’s vitals from the medi-cot’s data screen.
“What happened?” Vari asked after Dr. Jula nodded to her, indicating that Ria was fine.
“I opened my eyes.”
Vari and Dr. Jula both stilled at that, then exchanged glances. Dr. Jula opened the latest scan from the neuro-cap and they both studied it for a moment. “The bridge has formed,” Dr. Jula said softly. “Not completely though. There are gaps.”
Vari nodded, her eyes searching the entire area carefully. If there was more material available to close the gaps, she didn’t see it. Of course, the nano-bots were tiny.
“What did you see, Ria?” she asked, turning away from the screen.
“Too much,” Ria replied, her eyes still closed. “A mass of bright colors moving and shifting and spinning around. I closed my eyes too quickly to know if I could actually decipher what I was seeing.” Ria bit her lip. “What do you see on the scan?”
“A nearly complete bridge connecting both sides of the area of missing tissue.”
“Nearly complete?”
“There are some gaps. The wound itself is four inches long. I’d say about seventy-five percent of that distance is bridged.”
Ria’s chin lifted just a little, a mannerism Vari was familiar with. Her sister was working out
what she hadn’t said. “I don’t know if there’s enough material to fill in those gaps,” she said, answering the question she knew was coming. “It doesn’t look like it to me, but I could be wrong. We’ll have to wait and see.”
“Thanks,” Ria said, glad that Vari had explained before she’d had to ask for it. “Nothing I saw resembled normal sight. Not in the brief moment I looked anyway. Maybe I better try again.”
“Sounds like a good place to start,” Vari said.
Ria lifted her eyelids a tiny bit. She still didn’t understand what she saw, but at least she was able to pay attention to it this time.
“I can’t make any sense of what I’m seeing,” she said. “It’s all bright colors, some of them swirling around, some flashing on and off like strobe lights. I think I can make out your body, Vari, but it’s just a shape in red and yellow.”
“That sounds like infrared,” Vari said.
Dr. Jula nodded slowly, her brow creased in thought. “What are you thinking, Niri?” Vari asked.
“Infrared is invisible light,” she said. “It’s in the electromagnetic spectrum.”
“Whereas our eyes see visible light,” Vari said, picking up the thread. “She can no longer see visible light, but if she can see the rest of the entire electromagnetic spectrum…wow.”
“Wow indeed,” Dr. Jula said. “It would also explain why she saw too much when she first opened her eyes.”
“Excuse the idiot but…huh?” Ria asked with half a smile.
“The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses a huge range of different wave lengths,” Vari said. “Gamma rays, radio waves, ultra violet, even x-rays.”
“Why would I be seeing what I’m not supposed to be able to see at all?”
“Good question,” Vari said. “I even have an answer, wild as it is.”
“Well, don’t keep us guessing,” Dr. Jula said.
“The report I received from Dr. Michael on the Doftles’ remains indicated that their eyes see invisible rather than visible light, which is why they have no pupils.”
“Oh, I get it,” Ria said. “The nano-bots are translating what my eyes see into what they believe to be proper sight before sending it across their little bridges to my brain.”
Ria's Visions (Hearts of ICARUS Book 6) Page 18
