Cynthia- Empress of the Stars

by James Patrick Warner

“What happened?” Mike’s concern was palpable.

  “We don’t know, but her Parent implant is dead. That’s all we know right now.”

  Mike paused a moment. “Is she still alive?” he asked, softly.

  “The Parents say she was alive when the implant died. I’m sorry Mike, we don’t know any more than that now.”

  Mobilization begun, Caryn sat on her front porch and thought about me. My death would be a serious blow. At that time Caryn had no idea it would take over a year to find me and preparations to repel a massive invasion against her star system would take all of her time and attention.

  Chapter 15.

  The Vegetable

  I remained vaguely aware of my surroundings, though my body was in a deep coma. I was moved after a day or so from the operating room to an actual hospital. There I received normal care given any vegetative accident victim, while the doctors and nurses continued on what they considered more important patients who they thought might recover. I was hooked up to various IV solutions to feed and hydrate my body and hooked up to a machine that would exercise my limbs from time to time with isotonic movements.

  I was patient number 142445, no name and no other history or personal information. My hair had started to grow a little and it was a marvel to everyone who stopped by, since their species did not have red hair. It created quite a stir in the coffee shop and cafeteria gossip and there was a constant parade, not too frequent, but not ending either, of looky-loos through my hospital room wanting to see the alien creature. My beauty was admired and it wasn’t long before I became remarked upon to the hospital authorities.

  At that point because of my growing notoriety in the hospital and the threat public exposure might serve to the invasion plans, I was removed from the hospital by the Secret Police and placed in a psychiatric criminal hospital for continued observation and care as a war criminal.

  It wasn’t long before the temptation of my beauty and comatose state became too much for the psychiatric nurses assigned to me. An evil device was brought into my room and attached to my groin. I became the “life” of the party for all the sleazy nurses and guards in the hospital. I rapidly descended to the depths of despair of living through the agony and unending humiliation.

  The mechanical stimulation and rape continued for weeks. My bed was rarely cleaned, until a new administrator put a halt to the daily assaults. Doctor Habrux, as the administrator was called, another psychiatrist, took charge of me personally and she noticed quickly that I was slowly making some kind of recovery. Though my speech and hearing centers were still disconnected from my brain, the rest of my nervous system was healing progressively. Dr. Habrux assumed it was a characteristic of my unknown alien physiology. Eventually she disconnected all the machinery except the head brace.

  A year after my removal as Empress, I regained consciousness. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. It was a padded cell and I was lying in a low bed at the far end. The bed and I had been cleaned regularly. There were facilities for waste and washing, including an open shower. And there was a window showing a view of a mountain garden. I had no idea where I was. I was still alone inside my mind. I had no idea how much time had passed and I still had no contact with the world except my eyes.

  I cried on and off for days, helpless and nearly hopeless. I tried to get up but couldn’t, my coordination was not good enough yet. But I could wiggle my arms, legs and extremities. My head was bandaged and in a brace attached to my torso that kept it from turning or moving in any direction. I had to move my whole body to look around the room, which was extremely painful to do. And I had a constant excruciating headache.

  In a few days I tried to get up. I half fell off the bed and crawled to the toilet and pulled myself up to the sink. I looked in the mirror there and saw that I was really alive. My hair was actually growing out properly and looked very ragged. The room had no comb or brush. I thought about my friend Shanna from the Academy and her wedding party that I had undoubtedly missed. I cried a little again. Things had not gone the way I had hoped. But I was alive, at least. I still had no communication with my ship or Caryn. I couldn’t talk, nor could I hear anything.

  I tried to stand up and managed to balance myself on my feet, holding onto the sink, but my muscles were very shaky. I let myself down to the floor and crawled back to the low bed. I was able to pull myself up and back onto it. I sat there for a long time, waiting for someone to come in. The light in the room was not too bright, blending with the sunlight from the window. I looked more carefully at the window. It was a fake, an image on a screen that didn’t move. I felt like that myself without any way to communicate. I took stock of my clothing. I had fitting slippers, a loose robe and no underwear. Everything was a terrible color of yellow that clashed with my skin, my hair and my eyes. Probably the least flattering thing I had ever worn.

  Just then Doctor Habrux came into the room. She was surprised to see me up. She spoke to me, but nothing registered. I could only see the doctor’s lips moving. My hearing and speech centers were still damaged. The doctor produced a pad and stylus and handed it to me. I smiled and wrote one word on the pad: “Empress”. I handed it to the doctor who glanced at it and shook her head. She wrote, “You are not the Empress. You are an alien spy.” I read it and shrugged. I relaxed on the bed and lay down, handing the pad and stylus to the doctor.

  The doctor smiled at me and moved the one chair in the room to beside the bed. She sat and stroked my head, my lips, my neck and continued to play with my body like it was a personal toy doll. I grabbed the doctor’s wrist and nearly broke it. My anger was pent up, but under extreme control; I didn’t kill the doctor, though. I wasn’t ready to leave hospital care yet.

  The doctor tried to pull her arm away, she yelled at me, which was pointless. Finally she began to cry herself and I let her go. I couldn’t shake my head, but I thought the doctor understood, no more toy girl games.

  The doctor didn’t return for several days. The food was slipped under my door where I could crawl to get it. I ate there, sitting by the door and slid the tray back out under the gap. The food was a gray-green mush. And it tasted like three day old pea soup. There was no contact. The door had no window in it. I was again alone. I could feel my body healing itself, even the neural pathways in my head. I knew now I wouldn’t be dumb and deaf forever.

  Eventually the doctor returned with the stylus. She brought two other husky women with her who acted like her bodyguards. I did nothing to threaten her. The doctor motioned for me to lie down on the bed on my stomach. The other two women snuck up on me and held me down while the doctor examined the head brace and the surgical wound.

  She stroked my head and then began to unfasten and remove the head brace. She held my head for a while after the brace was removed, caressing my face and letting me adjust to the weight and muscle tension. Then she and the other women helped me sit up on the bed. She kissed me on the lips while the guards held me still and then signaled the other two women to leave with her. I gently shook my head in disgust and lay back down on the bed, careful to not strain my neck.

  The next day the doctor pushed an exercise machine into the room with two huge men as guards in the doorway, who were constantly leering. I looked it over after the doctor and guards left and found it easy to use. I crawled onto it and started a routine. My muscles complained vigorously as I pushed myself to build up a sweat. My body would recover.

  Over the course of a month the doctor brought various people in to examine me. Some of the exams were legitimate by curious medical professionals, who wanted to see the alien for themselves; some were just more disgusting sexual advances. I could tell most of the bogus visits were from psychiatrists. They had a certain air about them: slimy, covert, trying to pretend they were real doctors while examining in places that were unnecessary, invasive and blatantly sexual. I vowed not to kill any of them until I could figure out a way to leave this place. Doctor Habrux was somewhat professional, trying to communicate wi
th me and learn secrets for her employers, the Secret Police.

  I wrote volumes on the doctor’s tablet, all false, all implying a huge invasion and destruction of the Pirate star systems unless I was returned to my people. My people were never named nor was any information revealed about where I was from. All the generalities kept things moving along without actually compromising my identity.

  Then one day the real catastrophe occurred. I was ID’d by the Secret Police. A photo of me with Caryn at the Admiralty counter-coup was given to the doctor while she was examining my head wound. She took it from the guard and dismissed him. She studied it for a while, glancing at me and the photo, back and forth. I got a glance at it. It was unmistakable. My hair and face were clearly revealed and the resemblance between Caryn and me was obvious. The photo was damning. It probably meant the end of my recuperation and my imminent execution. The doctor wrote on her stylus one word: “Human?” I did not react.

  I thought hard about what to do. I was strong enough that I could probably overpower the doctor and if there were no guards I could get out of the building. But if I was on an airless moon or some other inhospitable place like a space ship, I was done for. There would be nowhere to escape to. I didn’t know what to do. So I decided to play the doctor. At the next visit I wrote: “Where am I?” I handed the pad and stylus to the doctor, stroking the doctor’s hand gently as I withdrew my own, cringing to myself.

  The doctor looked at me, puzzled by this apparent change of attitude to her, then wrote on the pad: “You are safe in a hospital on the moon Corron. There is no escape for you. Should you survive, you will be publicly executed.”

  I read the message and nodded. I knew where I was now, as this was one of the moons of the Pirates’ home world, reserved for enemies of the Empire. I knew there were extensive tunnels on this moon as part of an old evacuation hideout for the Imperial Palace. I knew if I could get into that tunnel system, I could hide for a long time, providing I could find food and water.

  “You are a long way from home,” the doctor wrote. I smiled wryly. The doctor snuggled closer to me and began petting and kissing me. I decided it was time to act. I kissed the doctor to throw her off guard, then grabbing her head with both hands, I broke the doctor’s neck, killing her instantly. I put her down on the bed and covered her up. I found the doctor’s keys, ID tag, phone and money. I judged I could not fit into the doctor’s clothes, which were several sizes too small. But I took the fancy rope belt off the doctor’s dress and tied it around my hospital gown, making it look more like a dress.

  I opened the door and walked gingerly out into the hallway. I followed the signs in the empty hallways and found my way to the parking lot. There were only a few vehicles in the parking structure and it didn’t take long to find the doctor’s car. I opened the door with the key chain remote control and fell into the driver’s seat. I paused a moment to catch my breath, I was still very weak. I put the doctor’s home address into the nav unit and started up the car. It took me to an apartment complex nearby and parked itself. I knew that when they found the doctor they would come here first. I had to get further away. But I couldn’t run far, I was too weak and I was dizzy.

  I crawled out of the car, hoping no one was looking and pulled myself up by the roof. I straightened up and walked the short distance to the garage elevator. The empty elevator took me to the sixth floor and I stumbled out into the hallway. The apartment used a key lock instead of a biometric device, thankfully and I entered and locked the door behind me. I found food in the kitchen refrigerator and stuffed something that looked like fruit into my ravenous mouth. I finished it off with some drink that fizzed and tasted like alcohol. I then stumbled into the bedroom, my headache somewhat less. I fell down on the bed and immediately fell asleep.

  The alarm went off a few hours later, saving my life. My arm was draped over the nightstand and I felt the vibration and woke up. I got out of bed and looked into the clothes closet, which was a waste of time. I decided it was past time to get the hell out of there. I left immediately and went down the elevator to the garage. I hid in the elevator lobby for a moment until the garage was clear, then ran/stumbled to the doctor’s car and fell in. I sat gasping from unfamiliar exercise and groaned from the headache that had returned.

  I knew it was time to leave; I just had no idea where I could go. Just then there was a tremendous crash near the car. It looked like the ceiling was caving in. Debris struck the car, denting it and breaking a couple of the windows. I huddled in the seat with my head in my arms, protecting myself from the debris. I peeked out and saw a sight I would never have dreamed of seeing in a hundred years.

  Chapter 16.

  Escape!

  A year ago Merlin had set up a standard search pattern and begun the long search routine. It would be many weeks, possibly months before she could locate me. If the implant had been removed, as the emergency signal suggested, it would take even longer. Merlin set up a screening program to track all the emergency, police, Secret Police, military and medical communications lines for any trace of an alien. Even the tabloid holo shows.

  It made sense that if the implant was disabled or removed, I might be an invalid or somehow crippled. Merlin calculated possibly I would recover some day. The Makers (as she called the Parents) could repair my body and reinstall another communications device, if the damage wasn’t too great, if I was alive.

  Merlin sent her data back to Caryna and WitchCraft and presumably the Parents as well. She was used to operating alone, watching over her Captain and defending herself. Merlin had the opinion that because of my use of the Parents’ ‘droid body, she was attached to one of the chosen children, the first in 30,000 years. It required an extra effort and perfection to locate me as soon as possible.

  The year went by, as the human and Pirate forces continued their preparations for the coming war. Merlin stayed in touch with what she began calling her base. She almost spotted me when I was transferred to the psych hospital but the shielding made identification uncertain. However she focused on the moon that contained that hospital for the next few months. Eventually she intercepted a Secret Police report about a doctor who had been killed by a psychopath patient at the moon’s secret mental hospital the day before. The fugitive had escaped and was being sought. Merlin activated her long-range sensors and searched for a human genome amongst all the Pirates on the lunar base. She found only one.

  “I found her.” Merlin sent simply. WitchCraft responded immediately.

  “Get her out. We will meet you one parsec from your current position.”

  Merlin approached the moon in stealth mode, completely cloaked and all sensors at the highest gain. A random system sweep almost revealed her, but she quickly moved closer to the moon and avoided the sweep. She found my bio signs inside an apartment building. Her Captain was definitely alive and functioning, more or less. I had just left the elevator and was getting into the vehicle. Merlin crashed into the building and tunneled down to the parking garage and stopped next to the vehicle I was sitting in. Atmospheric emergency alarms began all over the underground city. She had to work quickly or I could be sucked into outer space.

  “Merlin!” I said. My first word since my surgery. Merlin uncloaked and opened the hatch. I fell in, legs shaky and exhausted by my recent exercise. I pulled my legs inside and the hatch closed and Merlin resumed her cloak, but not before a parking lot security guard in a breathing mask spotted her and fired a clip full of projectiles. They were absorbed by the shields. Merlin blasted a larger hole in the garage and up through the six floors of apartments. We flew out of the basement and out of the artificial atmosphere and ran into a small fleet of starships waiting for us.

  The fleet opened fire and rocked Merlin, exposing our position with the energy of the reflected blasts. They redoubled their efforts and shot everything they had. Particle beams, rail guns, even nukes hit our position. Merlin shed energy by firing back, a deadly beam of energy that atomized any ship it touched.
The Pirate ships did not flinch. They knew the stakes that were involved. If this alien spy, this imposter Empress were able to escape, the invasion plans would be disrupted. The time schedule would have to be moved up dramatically. And the enemy would be forewarned.

  The Pirates kept up their shooting, as the only way their targeting computers could stay focused on Merlin. Merlin continued to shed energy by firing on them. Under fire Merlin was not able to activate her warp drive and was stuck like a fly on flypaper. Soon more ships arrived from the Pirate bases nearby. They surrounded Merlin but their firepower was not up to the task of breaking her defenses. I took command of Meph’s equipment and began picking off ships as fast as the targeting devices could be aimed. But more ships arrived, faster than we could destroy them. At this rate Merlin might even be overwhelmed by sheer volume of energy. I had no idea what Merlin’s limit was. So far they hadn’t reached it.

  I talked out loud to Merlin. I couldn’t hear anything from the ship because the Parent ships only communicated via the implanted device I had once had. But it didn’t stop me from giving a running tally of ships destroyed. Merlin was far ahead, but as I gained familiarity with the controls, I became faster. Finally two battle ships arrived and began firing in earnest. The sheer force of the combined energy beams was like a wall, pushing us back toward the moon. Merlin’s engines couldn’t overcome the combined attack. I focused on one of the battle ships and cut it in half. It stopped in space, but each half continued to fire as before. They apparently had two engines, one at each end, powering their weapons.