Blue Maneuver

by Linda Andrews

  On my right, Senior Medical Officer Layla Cereus conferred with her electronic tablet. Fine lines radiated from the corners of her eyes as muttered to herself about something on the display.

  I didn’t bother trying to decipher her murmurs. I was the topic of her self-conversation, just as I had been these last twenty minutes. Gulping a mouthful of soda, I rolled the syrup over my tongue and held still while the bubbles burst against my palate. Mmm.

  “Not too quickly now.” Layla’s boots clicked against the laminate floor just before her cool fingers brushed the inside of my wrist.

  I swallowed the soda and smiled. It said something that even with the UED’s amazing technology the doctor still touched her patients to take their pulse. With a sigh, I set the frosty glass of soda on the table by my bed and reached for a bite of veal parmesan. “I know the routine. A bite of food, a drink of water then repeat until full.”

  But would I ever get full? Scraping the piece of food off my fork, I quickly chewed it before it dissolved. The CeeBees had better be doing their job and not building extra organs—like four stomachs.

  In the doorway, Electronic Specialist Second Class Sterling Minor leaned against the jamb. Sighing, he twisted a purple cylinder in his hand. Restraint tempered the excitement sparkling in his brown eyes and his short black hair quivered as he tossed his weight from foot to foot.

  Right. I wasn’t on holiday. I had a job to do.

  I washed down the veal with another swig of soda. “When can we start with the data extraction?”

  Layla tucked the blanket under my hip then adjusted the cuffs of her green uniform. “Soon.”

  I speared another morsel on my fork. “You said that ten minutes ago.”

  “My first concern is for your health.”

  Right. Got that the first hundred times she said it. I glanced over my shoulder. A holographic projector rained a mixture of hieroglyphs, Chinese characters and Arabic letters next to a series of numbers. God only knew what it said, but none of the information flashed red or yellow. Surely that meant I was well on my way to being recovered. “And mine is for my family and friends.”

  Before Layla could argue, I raised my hand.

  “They live on this planet, you know. I can’t let Ulla win. She said the APres Guarda was close to implementing its final plan.” I wiggled into the mattress. No aches, pains or twinges registered. I moved my toes and fingers. All present and accounted for. Death seemed to have made me healthier. Yeah, I wasn’t about to try to shrink-wrap that thought. It was hardly a precedent I wanted to set. “We need that data out of me. Now.”

  Yesterday would have been better. I scooped up the rest of the sauce off my plate and sucked it off my fork.

  Layla pressed her lips together and remained silent.

  What would it take to convince the obstinate woman? I fisted the blankets and stopped myself from throttling her. “Ulla said if Rudd hadn’t messed up, they might already have control of Earth.”

  Tobias stacked my empty plates on the side table. “Did she say anything else?”

  I grabbed my soda and cradled it close to my chest. Condensation softened my stiff tank top and the coolness felt good against my skin. “No, but she’s up to something and that can’t be good.”

  Layla ran her fingers through the hologram above my head but her hazel eyes remained fixed on my face. “Are you still hearing the CeeBees?”

  I blew my bangs out of my eyes. Why had I ever admitted to hearing the stupid Spam dots? Since I’d mentioned it, Layla had regarded me with a mix of compassion and sympathy.

  I imagine inmates in an asylum received a similar look from their doctors.

  “I only heard them once and haven’t heard them again.” After setting my drink on the tray table, I crossed my arms over my chest.

  Layla nodded and consulted the electronic tablet in her hand. “And do you still believe they are studying you?”

  I closed my eyes and counted to ten. How many more times did we have to go over this? Twenty? Thirty? I’d already told her seventeen times and my story hadn’t changed.

  “First, they said they were studying me.” I merely repeated it and look what trouble I’d gotten in. I held up my index finger, maybe the coarse method of ticking off my points would get my message through. “Second, when I asked why they were studying me, they stopped communicating—saying something about my awareness corrupting the study.”

  Layla’s gray eyebrows rose on her pale forehead and her thin lips parted.

  Uh-oh. Guess I hadn’t mentioned that before. Oh well. It was the truth. It had happened. I wasn’t delusional and I should be allowed to get the stupid light tattoo off my forearm. While scratching the blue design, another possibility occurred to me.

  “Don’t you think it’s possible that the CeeBee’s original purpose was to study alien life and return information to the Archa?” Pieces clicked in my head, just like when a detective summed up the villain’s activities in a murder mystery. “Maybe inserting your programming inside them activated some latent subroutine and that became their study.” I pointed to the screen floating at the head of my bed. “Aren’t you using the CeeBees to report my vitals to these machines all around me? Wouldn’t a medical study do the same thing?”

  Layla set her two fingers against her pursed lips. “I suppose that makes sense, but to talk to you…”

  Tobias took the glass from my hand. “That’s never been recorded before.”

  Gee I wonder why? I licked my lips as he poured more grape soda into my cup. “Maybe if you didn’t treat people like freaks who reported the CeeBees talking to them, you’d get more stories about it.” I held out my hands as Tobias approached with my soda. “Of course, letting them do their jobs wouldn’t hurt either.”

  I nodded toward Technician Minor who might have started growing into the door jamb while waiting for approval to remove the data tattoo.

  “Hmm.” Layla’s white bun wobbled on her head when she bent over her electronic tablet.

  That wasn’t much of an answer. Wrapping my hands around my glass, I inhaled the fizz on my grape soda. The bubbles tickled my nose and my mouth watered. God, I loved that smell.

  After another spurt of humming, Layla rushed forward and cleared the plates off the table. She hustled forward to a platform that could only be a scale. Sure enough, she set the dishes and food remains on it then consulted her electronic tablet.

  “And I thought I watched what I ate.” Embarrassment licked my face and neck. Yeah, I’d eaten a lot. But Layla kept pushing food at me and… Well, I was starving. Still starving and I’d already eaten two meals. My stomach rumbled and I set my hand on my belly. For pity’s sake, be quiet.

  “It’s her job to make certain you have the correct nutrients so you’re in top form.” Tobias smiled and set his hand over mine.

  Right. I was training for an epic battle over planet Earth. Except shouldn’t that involve exercise or weapons training not a fork, knife and glasses of grape soda? As for Tobias going all touchy-feely on me… For a moment, I turned my hand over and laced my fingers though his. Don’t read too much into it, Rae. After a near death experience, lots of people reaffirmed life through touch. “I just don’t like sitting here while Ulla is out there doing God only knows what.”

  Freeing his hand from mine, Tobias stroked my arm. Dried blood flaked onto my white blanket. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  I tried not to lunge for his hand and hold it in mine. Maybe I was the one needing reassurance the most. “And this is only the beginning if the APres Guarda gets its way.” I shivered despite the heat coming off the blanket and leaned toward Tobias. “Can’t you do something? Surely, Mr. Minor can remove the tattoo while I’m fed enough food for a small country. I feel fine. Really.”

  Tobias shook his head. Fear flashed in his green eyes before he patted my arm. “If your CeeBees malfunction, they could erase or corrupt the data.”

  “Then it would all have been for nothing.” Pascel a
nd Rudd’s death, my CeeBee infection and my heart’s close encounter with Ulla’s knife. I pushed the thoughts aside. I had to focus on what I could do. Now. Not the mistakes I’d made. Or the odds stacked against me.

  Tobias winked. “Exactly.”

  I forced a smile. I wasn’t alone and with Tobias on my side, the chances I’d succeed went up dramatically. He was a trained soldier. He had lots of nifty James Bond gadgets to get us out of all sorts of trouble. I hoped. No, I needed to think positive. We would triumph.

  “You need more protein to repair the muscle damage.” Layla set a slab of red meat on the side table. A t-bone cut the marbleized steak in half. “I would suggest rare but you may pick.”

  My stomach thumped against my belly as it tried to leap out of my skin and ingest the food without using my mouth as middle man.

  “Well done.” I pointed to the fat circling the thick cut. “I like that crispy almost burnt and can I have steak sauce and salt and pepper?”

  Sacrilege at many chop houses, but I craved the spices almost as much as I wanted the meat. I sucked on my bottom lip. Maybe I could suck on a salt shaker until the steak was done.

  Layla snapped her fingers before carrying away my raw meat. “Of course, the salts will do your blood good.” She hustled across the room and popped the steak into a microwave. “Do you have a preference of crisps?”

  My nose twitched at the heavenly aroma of barbequed meat with garlic, onions and salt. Oh man, oh momma. I covered my mouth to check for drool while leaning toward the enticing scent. “Just burn the edges a bit.”

  And get it to me.

  Tobias pulled me back firmly in the bed before I toppled onto the floor. “She means potato chips.”

  “Ew, no. I’m a Funyuns girl.”

  Tobias handed me my half-full glass of soda.

  “Funyuns?” Layla tucked an escaped lock of hair into her bun and checked her electronic tablet. “I do not believe that is in our database. Give me a moment.”

  I sucked an ice cube from my glass and rolled it around my tongue before crunching it into pieces and swallowing. My stomach wasn’t fooled for a minute. It wanted food. Real food. Steak food. God, I felt like a vampire scenting blood first thing after the sunset. I sat up in the bed. No… The CeeBees couldn’t have turned me into a vampire. Sure they brought me back from the dead and the stench of blood normally repulsed me.

  “Colonel, why don’t you clean her up a bit? It looks as if the CeeBees won’t be recycling the blood.” Layla set the steak on the table tray. Steam danced above the sizzling meat.

  Would it be rude to fall on the meat and rip and gnash the flesh from the bone with my teeth? Bed rails cut into my ribs when I stuck my face into the steam.

  Layla produced a steak knife and fork from her pocket and began dicing the slab into bite-sized morsels. “No doubt the blood degenerated too much in the time she was hibernating.”

  Tobias strode to the bank of cabinets on the far wall. “Won’t a sonic bath interfere with the data’s signal?”

  After setting the fork on the plate, Layla scooted the meat offering forward. “Use soap and water on that arm.”

  I plucked up the fork, speared two cubes of steak and shoveled them inside my mouth. Salt and spice tangled with the tang of tomato, smoke and Worchester sauce. Closing my eyes, I fell into meatsa nirvana. What had we been talking about?

  Warm water trickled over my free arm followed quickly by the soft lap of a sponge.

  Oh right. Adding another couple pieces to the other bite of steak, I plucked at my stiff shirt. “Can I have clean clothes too?”

  Layla grasped the edges of the yellow Funyuns bag with both hands and popped it open. “After Technician Minor removes the data.”

  Now she was concerned about the data? As soon as she set the bag on the table, I dove inside and scooped out a handful of salty loops. “And when will that be?”

  I ate all the pieces sticking out of my grasp before uncurling my hand and nibbling my palm clean. Salt. Onion. Salt. Onion. Salt and, oh God, salt. My taste buds chanted in a tantric orgasm.

  “As soon as the colonel cleans up your arm, I’ll inspect the area around the light stamp to make certain it is stable.” Layla refilled my cup with soda from a fresh two-liter bottle.

  Ice chinked against glass as I picked it up. Tobias’s people must store enough food for a nuclear winter in those cabinets. Not that I was complaining. But the shallow shelves hardly seemed deep enough to contain an infinite variety of goodies and a refrigerator.

  Layla removed a silver Lifesaver roll from the side of her electronic tablet and inspected the light bar on its side. “I’ll stand by to remove the arm if the tissue starts to become necrotic.”

  My glass landed with a thud and grape soda splattered my hand. I stared at the purple droplets. “You’ll amputate my arm?”

  I liked my arm. We’ve been together since before I was born. I didn’t want to part with it.

  “Only if absolutely necessary.” Layla nodded and the Lifesaver roll buzzed softly.

  “Nice to know you don’t do it for kicks and grins.” That was the saw? I tucked my arms behind my back. Dampness seeped through my shirt and along my back.

  Tobias tugged my arm free before wrapping a towel around it and patting it dry. “Don’t worry, we can re-grow you another.”

  Easy for him to say, he’d already gone through the process. I glared at his broad shoulders, seeing in my mind’s eye the raw scars circling his joints. I’d never be able to wear a tank top again. Oh for pity’s sake. The fate of the Earth is in my hands and that’s what I’m thinking about. Right. Positive thoughts. My new arms might not have flying squirrel skin flaps. “How long will that take?”

  “A week.” Layla pinched a Funyun and crunched into it. Her forehead wrinkled for a moment before she swallowed and filched another one. “But it will require more raw materials.” Dusting her fingers on her blue uniform, she glanced at the hologram above my head. “Did you perchance loose an appendage while you were hibernating?” She popped another round into her mouth. “Or were you not aware when Ulla was mutilating you?”

  Tobias flinched before twisting the towel into a tight rope.

  I shrugged. At least the good doctor didn’t try to wrap the ugliness in pretty bows and ribbons. “I was aware of everything while she worked.” I patted his trembling hand and rubbed the taut muscles of his forearm. “I didn’t feel anything. I’m pretty sure Ulla took off my baby toe.”

  I wiggled said toes under the blanket and resisted the urge to look. Last time I checked, they were all present and accounted for. No need to tempt fate by constantly counting my good fortune.

  “That explains the imbalance.” Layla tapped an onion chip against her lip before biting it in half. Chewing slowly, she walked around my bed to stand beside Tobias. “You haven’t suffered any damage from hibernating for so long.” She bent over my arm and pressed the lifesaver tube against my tattoo. The bar light on the side flashed green. “Technician Minor, you may begin.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” The black-haired man leapt from the doorway like a thoroughbred fresh from the gate. Bounding across the room, he plowed into the space beside Tobias and latched onto my arm. Bending at the waist, he practically shoved his nose into my tattoo while his purple flashlight banged against my knee.

  Moving my leg aside, I shuffled the steak against my cheek and felt the lump dissolve. “Do you need me to do anything?”

  “Just hold still.” His fingers trembled as they traced the swirling pattern of the blue ink. Humming, he bounced on the balls of his feet.

  “I might say the same to you.” I swallowed the remnants of food in my mouth. Thank God the man wasn’t a surgeon. I’d probably end up with a finger attached to my armpit. I glanced up at Tobias.

  He nodded once but couldn’t quite meet my gaze.

  Not the vote of confidence I’d been hoping for.

  Minor scratched at the wispy moustache on his upper lip before
his gaze traveled up my arm to focus on my face. “You’re right. This is my first removal.”

  I blinked. Surely, I didn’t hear what I thought I heard. I set my fork on the plate and wiped my lips on my napkin. “You haven’t done what before exactly?”

  “Remove a light stamp in the field.” His smile wobbled then stiffened, before falling away completely.

  In the field, that’s different. I relaxed into the mattress and swallowed a swig of soda. “For a moment, I thought you hadn’t removed a light stamp tattoo thingy at all.”

  Revealing bright, white teeth, he tossed back his head and laughed. The high pitched notes would have done a mad scientist proud.

  My skin crawled. It’s just the dried blood, not fear.

  Tobias clamped a hand on Minor’s shoulder.

  The tech snapped off his merriment and squirmed free. “I’ve performed the procedure once in the lab.” With a sideways glance at Tobias, Minor straightened his uniform and swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed. “But with the others watching me, I became quite nervous.”

  I nodded. Yep, having an audience always made me nervous too.

  Tobias narrowed his eyes. “And how did the procedure go, Minor?”

  The tech shrugged. “The animal exploded from a positive feedback loop.”

  Soda shot out of my nose. I blinked back the tears from the burn and blotted the dots of liquid on my chest.

  “Uh. Ouch.” Maybe I could have my arm removed now and save the blowing up in my face for later?

  Tobias patted my arm but he speared Minor with a look just short of homicidal. “You’ll be fine.”

  Yeah threaten the already nervous tech who admitted to blowing up an animal because of anxiety. Someone had to remain calm. While it should be the tech, I might need to set the example. I filled my lungs then let the breath out slowly. One by one, I pried my fingers off the bed rail. I was calm. Assured. The tattoo removal would go smoothly. No exploding pieces of Rae. Donning a serene mask, I eyed Tobias—my protector and major source of Tech Minor’s discomfort. “Have you ever done it before?”