by Reagan Woods
“Look at you! Your English program even included endearments,” her newly unleashed motor mouth was probably going to get her killed if being a suspected subversive didn’t do it first. God, why did he have to keep talking? Her head throbbed in nauseating wave upon nauseating wave of pain but she refused to show her enemy weakness. He’d definitely use it against her.
“The Ventix attempted an incursion into the star system. An incursion we were prepared for. Until the data on our energy field magnification array was sent to them from a private terminal in the General’s quarters. And at the exact time that data burst was released into the atmosphere we have this:”
The playback clearly showed her exiting the reconditioner, walking across the room and logging into the hologym. The Arianna on the recording pulled up a command screen and immediately set to work.
A white hot lightning bolt of pain shot through her head. She said flatly, “I’ve never seen that screen before.”
Recording Arianna went right along tapping away at the screen. Calmly, she pressed a button causing the screen to retract into the wall and re-entered the reconditioner.
“How do you explain this, then?”
“I can’t,” the pain in her head was a blinding, whirling pool of painful light.
“Looks like you’ll be spending quite a bit of time in my custody,” the menacing words were obviously meant as a threat but she couldn’t bring herself to care.
“Lucky me,” her eyes burnt and ached so badly that she couldn’t look at him any longer. “I think I need a doctor,” she clenched her jaw against the rising tide of blackness threatening to engulf her.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I should have seen it sooner,” Darvan paced the stark white corridor of the Memorial, the ship that served as a field hospital.
“How would you have known? I’m a trained interrogator and I didn’t see it. She has a hell of a game face for such a fragile female,” Skylan calmly occupied a white chair outside the surgical theater. To the unenlightened eye, the eight-foot warrior appeared to sprawl negligently at his post, but Darvan knew Skylan assessed each medic and tech that traversed the hall, ready to neutralize any threat that came their way. Arianna was safe under Skylan’s watch, possibly safer than in Darvan’s own care.
Darvan continued pacing. He’d knowingly left Arianna within Jorkan’s reach, going so far as to give the Doranos the responsibility for her care and education. Instead of preventing Jorkan’s scheming, he’d played into his hands. Though, it still wasn’t clear to Darvan exactly what the Attaché’s plans were.
Jorkan’s pilfered shuttle had contained an outlawed mini-wormhole generator. The quick-thinking flier closest to Jorkan’s shuttle had launched a probe into the space fold. Just as the hole closed, the data stream from the probe identified coordinates just outside Ventix space as his destination.
Corians wouldn’t be the only people left vulnerable now that Jorkan had defected. The price for his safety in Ventix space was likely steep. The CGA’s plasma cannon technology and the plans for the wormhole generator fit the bill. Equipping their enemies so thoroughly would leave Doranos space open to potentially unmitigated loss of lives and resources.
“She was having nightmares every night and she often appeared puzzled by her own thought process,” Darvan ticked off the points on his fingers, before pacing away from Skylan.
“Both indicative of memory tampering,” Skylan continued their low-voiced conversation at Darvan’s next pass. “Also signs of survivor’s guilt and expansive amounts of time spent in the reconditioner. The headache and subsequent brain bleed are the only definitive outward symptoms of a logic or personality overwrite, neither of which are easy to diagnose.”
“She might not wake up,” Darvan couldn’t keep from voicing his fear aloud. He’d come to appreciate his little captive. He had desperately wanted to bond with her. Not only would bonding with Earthers solve some of the population issues the Corian people had been facing, but it would support the case for voting the Earthers into the CGA as a Tribe. After all, what leader wouldn’t want his female and her people treated with respect? That the subsequent population boom would bring more votes to the Corian side of the High Council was an added bonus.
“Wait and see what the medical team can do,” Skylan advised emotionlessly. “If her neural tissue isn’t too badly damaged, they can regenerate her cells in a matter of days.”
“General?” a white garbed medic stepped into the hallway from the theater.
“Yes,” Darvan strode to meet him. “How is she?”
“We’ve managed to stop the hemorrhaging,” the medic led with good news. “It appears the patient has had an extended period of reconditioning so her neural plasticity is good. Our main area of concern is a small frontal lobe burn she received as a result of blatant personality tampering.”
“The first medic on-scene already communicated this,” Darvan waved an impatient hand, urging him to get on with it.
He gave Darvan a bemused smile, “The methodology was quite ingenious. But we are without any comparable studies to indicate the likelihood of recovery in our own population let alone to apply that knowledge to an Earther. If we accelerate her neural tissue’s healing, we might inadvertently lock in whatever behavior patterns or suggestions were forced on her.”
“What are you recommending, exactly?” Darvan was both impatient and strangely reluctant to hear Arianna’s prognosis.
“I recommend that you leave her body unconscious to handle the repair at its own rate,” the medic replied.
“If I may, General?” Skylan stood and approached.
“Go ahead,” he’d asked Skylan to head up this operation because his counter-espionage experience was unmatched. And Vank had trusted him. Darvan needed whatever input the other male could give.
“I understand the medical team’s concerns for the patient. However, she has not been debriefed. We have no idea what Jorkan told her in the time he spent with her. We also have no idea where the Earther he escaped with came from. None of the camps are missing females,” Skylan pointed out.
“Is there any way to wake her without harming her chances of recovery?” Darvan addressed the medic.
“Perhaps,” the medic gave the idea quiet consideration before nodding his agreement. “General, I have to urge you to keep her out of the reconditioner at all costs once she’s awake,” he advised. “She won’t quite be herself.”
“Of course.” As much as he wanted to see and speak with Arianna, Darvan felt wholly unprepared to face her. But he didn’t have a choice. He squared his shoulders.
“Let me be clear: she’ll have to avoid emergency situations, entertainment holos and anything else that blares loud noises or flashes lights. Any jarring external stimuli could induce seizures that might cause serious brain damage in addition to what she’s already suffered,” the medic was adamant, going so far as to place a halting hand on Darvan’s arm. “I hesitate to medicate her against seizure because of her small size. Her personality could be altered permanently.”
“Will she be in pain?” Darvan didn’t want to cause her any undue discomfort. He’d been beside himself when he witnessed her faint on the feed into his office of Skylan’s interrogation. The thought of her paying the heavy price the medic cautioned against made his stomach churn.
“We will implant her with a mechanism to control the pain for now. She will tire easily due to the trauma her neural tissue has sustained. Her recovery will not be short or easy. She will have headaches, nausea, and memory loss at the very least,” the medic cautioned.
∞ ∞ ∞
Where ever Arianna was, everything felt warm and fuzzy. And her nose itched unbearably.
“Grab her hands, General, so she can’t scratch up her face. Pain medicine has that effect on some people,” an unfamiliar voice advised. “Arianna, you need to wake up now.” The voice was Corian but speaking English.
“Wha-?” she slurred. “Don’t wanna.”
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“Arianna, open your eyes,” Darvan commanded softly. She wanted to make him happy. She liked Darvan. He smelled yummy.
“’Kay,” she smiled dreamily up at him. He sat so close to her that she could count the flecks of darker bronze in his copper eyes.
“Keep your eyes open, Arianna.”
“I’m tired. You’re cute,” she thought he looked worried and she wanted to ask him about it but the thought fled.
“Eyes open,” he said gently. “Do you know where we are?”
“Space. Such a cold, beautiful place.” she answered promptly. “I don’t like him.” She narrowed her eyes at the alien who’d made her head hurt when he stepped into her line of vision.
“Skylan was just following orders,” Darvan said. “Do you remember what happened?”
Something tickled her memory. She needed to focus. But it was hard.
“It hurts,” she moaned and trying to free her hands from Darvan’s so she could clutch her head.
“I’m not showing any physical pain readings,” the big Corian in white said. “I’d have to say her complaint is part of the conditioning. Whatever she is remembering must be triggering a response, telling her she is in pain.”
“Who’s that?” she was distracted from the pain, her attention drawn across the room. A Corian she didn’t know stood at a large anti-grav screen, swiping and pecking away. He never looked at her when he spoke but she was sure he was talking about her.
“That’s the medic,” Darvan answered. His voice was gentle and she liked it. It made her feel tingly. Literally, her nose tingled and itched.
“Who’s hurt?” she asked, curious. “I need to scratch my nose.”
“Your head was hurt,” he replied, tightening his grip on her hands. “Do you remember?”
“No. Remembering is bad.” She didn’t know where that came from but she went with it. It didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt good, so she said it again. “Remembering is bad.” Yep, it definitely felt good.
“The reward center in her brain is activated every time she tells you she can’t remember something,” the medic said.
“May I?” the jerk Skylan had been standing quietly at the foot of her bed. Now he stepped towards her and she reacted.
“Did she just growl at you?” the medic asked, sounding shocked. He slid an assessing glance her way.
She jerked a hand from Darvan’s grip and waved all friendly-like at the medic. Maybe he was a new friend.
“Arianna,” Darvan said firmly. “I want you to answer Skylan’s questions.”
“Let go,” she snatched her other hand from Darvan’s grip and poked her bottom lip out in a sulk. He started to smile at her but then he just looked sad. She didn’t want him to be sad.
Skylan switched places with Darvan and grabbed her hands when she moved to scratch her nose. She narrowed her eyes at him in frustration.
“She does not like you,” the medic commented.
“Nope,” she agreed, noting that Skylan’s eye had begun to exhibit a tick. Good. It served him right.
“Can you dial that pain inhibitor back a little? I think it’s making her….twitchy,” Skylan directed towards the medic in Corian.
“I can hear you,” she told him testily in English.
“Good. I need you to focus on my words and answer with the first thought that comes to mind,” Skylan replied, also in English, leaning towards her to take up her entire field of vision. “Can you do that for me?”
“Fine,” she huffed. Craning her neck to look around him, she realized the three Corian males were crowded into a small white room. She was tucked under soft blankets, reclining on a very tall bed. How odd.
Skylan sat next to her, leaning very close, face a mask of irritated concern. That gave her pause. There must really be something wrong for Mr. Meanie to be affected.
“Have you seen any Earthers lately?”
“Just Nora,” she answered still looking about the room. Something was different here.
“You have windows here. I like windows,” she turned accusing eyes on the room at large.
“Where did Nora come from?” Skylan ignored her outburst.
“She said the Texas work camp,” Arianna answered staring at the velvety blackness beyond. “My master said he took her early and he hoped they wouldn’t be mad at him.” Her what? She heard the words come from her mouth but had no idea whatsoever why she said them.
“Who is your master, Arianna?” Skylan squeezed her hands and leaned in closer to her, practically vibrating with intensity. He smelled good but not as good as Darvan. Hadn’t he just been here with her?
“My head hurts,” she answered in a panic, but her head didn’t hurt. She felt completely out of control of her mouth.
“No, it doesn’t,” the medic said. “It appears to be a response geared at deflecting the question.”
“Is Jorkan your master, Arianna?” Skylan asked quietly.
“Yes,” she agreed, feeling relief course through her body. Part of her silently watched the exchange in mounting horror. This was a lot like the video she’d seen that had upset her earlier. Something definitely was not right here.
Her eyes shot to Darvan, pleading with him to understand. He looked so remote standing by the door, for a moment she thought she saw pain in his eyes.
“Who did Jorkan want to keep from angering?” Skylan asked gently, clearly waiting for her to focus her wandering eyes on him. She couldn’t stop her eyes from seeking Darvan out again, but he was nowhere to be found.
“He didn’t say,” she answered, more comfortable now that they were veering away from pain-inducing subjects. Her mind began to relax and she became extremely fatigued. She scanned the room restlessly again, from beneath drooping eyelids.
“Arianna, are you alright?” the medic spoke up from his post, sharp eyes studying her.
“Where’s Darvan?” She would feel much better if he’d come back and hold her hand again. Better yet, he could strip down and squeeze onto this bed with her.
“He had to step out for a moment. He’ll be back. Why don’t you sleep now?”
“’Kay,” she slurred, already drifting into a dreamless sleep.
∞ ∞ ∞
Darvan felt his hopes for building a life with Arianna being crushed. She’d been little better than a child, answering his questions with that glassy-eyed, drugged stare. When the medic had dialed back the medicine that controlled her coma and neutralized any pain she felt, she’d become restless and unable to focus. Unsure if she would recover, the medic had given him a grim signal to leave her. He was trying to maintain a positive outlook but he doubted she’d ever be herself again.
He was ashamed to admit, even to himself, that he was still pulled to her. As she lay there, confused and hopeless, he’d felt the need to be the male who sheltered her. He’d briefly resented Skylan for being present when the medic had given him the option to let her sleep and heal. Even with so much at stake, he’d needed the Commander looking over his shoulder reminding him to choose his duty over his affection for the little Earther. Damaged and broken or healthy and whole, his soul cried out that she belonged with him, that she should be his to protect.
“Enter,” Darvan answered the buzz of his office door distractedly. He’d updated the High Council on Jorkan’s escape. They were not happy with the situation. None of the shuttles had been built with a space-folding engine, let alone a warp core but the warriors who’d been in pursuit had been clear. Jorkan’s small craft had disappeared into a self-generated wormhole.
“General,” Skylan strode in.
“Most of the crew and civilians from the Horizon have been recovered. It would appear that we’re only missing about twenty souls,” Darvan relayed the good news.
“Vank? Bram?”
“No. I believe they perished with the ship. Two life pods are unaccounted for but Calyx and Domik reported they were the last of the command personnel Vank ordered off the ship. They stated the two unrecovered l
ife pods were still in the bay when they left. Those pods might never have launched.”
They each took a moment to reflect on the situation.
“You will take a contingent of warriors to Earth,” Darvan informed Skylan.
“Yes, Sir.”
“The surviving warriors from the Horizon will need housing and are the most logical reinforcements for the Earth camps.”
“Will we tell them we suspect an attack against the camps?”
“If Nora really was taken from the Texas facility and the Doranos in charge still claim they aren’t missing any Earthers, we can safely assume Jorkan has allies that remain in the camp.”
“Agreed.”
“I’d like you to hand pick the team for that camp. We have to assume that all of the staff is compromised in Texas. Organize the remainder and disburse them to the camps throughout the planet.”
“Yes, Sir.” Skylan saluted and left Darvan alone with his dark thoughts.
He didn’t know who to turn to. Everywhere that he looked, he saw betrayal and intrigue. His instincts screamed at him to insulate himself against attack but isolating the ship and ignoring the danger would only lead to more losses. He fell back to relying on Skylan simply because he knew the warrior’s history and knew Vank had respected him. Sending the one warrior he felt he could trust to the surface severely depleted his reserve of confidence.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two Days Later
“Arianna,” a voice intruded into her nice, cozy dream world.
“Hmm...,” she turned her head away from the sound. Fighting the unwelcome intrusion of cold reality, she snuggled further into Darvan’s strong embrace.
“Arianna, wake up now,” the unusually subdued tone registered before the actual words. “Come on, you need to wake up now.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked, realizing Darvan had been carrying her and was now lowering her to stand on her feet. “I’m must’ve fallen asleep,” she slurred as he steadied her. She stood in the little reception area of his quarters, confused.
“Speak Corian, Arianna. No more English,” he chided.
