Euthara

by Michael McClain

  Jon waited until Arianna was close before he spoke, “I want you to get my wives here as fast as possible.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Arianna said as she motioned to her guards. “I’ll send my guards for them…”

  Jon grabbed her arm as he spoke, “No, I want you to escort them here. So, I’ll know they will be safe. I trust only you with this task, please just do this. I don’t know how much time I have left. Tell them nothing but that I sent for them; no need to cause worry.”

  “But Primus, my place is here, protecting you,” Arianna protested.

  Jon coughed violently again as pain ran through his body, “I beg you, as my last order.” Jon let go of her arm, leaving behind a bloody hand print, the blood having come from the last time he covered his mouth and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. This only smeared the blood that was already there across his face.

  Arianna gasped slightly and when she looked up at Terri and saw the tears forming in her Matriarch’s eyes. She nodded and said, “As you wish Primus.” Without saying anything else and to cover her own tears, she turned and motioned for her guards to follow her as she went to get Jon’s wives.

  “Breq,” Jon said, “Let the Bridge know that Arianna and her guards are on the move.”

  Siloq motioned to Breq as she spoke, “I’ll let them know, you tend to him.”

  Breq nodded as he looked up to Terri and back to Jon before he spoke. “Jon we need to get you some medical attention,” Breq said as he motioned to the Med Tech.

  Jon looked at Breq and then Terri and smiled as he motioned the Med Tech to stop. He knew they were just trying to help him, and that they didn’t understand that he was past any medical help. It was the bond that was killing him, and the reason for that was on the other side of the glass.

  Then for a brief moment it was as though someone had breathed life into him and suddenly his head clear and the world came into focus. He shrugged out of Breq and Terri’s grasp and took a step towards the glass as he watched the Duke motion at Andie. She screamed in pain as her arm bent in an odd direction.

  “Jon,” Terri started to say as she reached for him again.

  Jon reached out and grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze and he smiled at her.

  “I’m fine,” Jon said. “Don’t ask me why but I don’t feel sick anymore.”

  Terri glanced at Breq, who shrugged as if to say, ‘I don’t know’, and nodded as she stepped back.

  Jon turned his attention back to the Duke. “I asked you nicely to leave her alone,” Jon said.

  “Yes, and I decided that she needed to be punished for that attempted attack on me,” the Duke said. The Duke looked at Andie then back to Jon and grinned as one of Andie’s fingers blew apart as if one of the bones in it exploded. Even in her numbed state Andie let out a loud scream of pain. A half grin crossed the Duke’s face as Andie’s mouth suddenly slammed shut with a force that broke several teeth.

  “Hush now,” the Duke said, “or I’ll rip your tongue out next.”

  Blood dripped out of the corners of Andie’s mouth as she struggled to breath, every breath sending a fine red mist into the air that seemed to never reach the Duke. Jon knew he had to do something soon or Andie wouldn’t make it. Even her nanites couldn’t keep up with the level of damage the Duke was doing.

  “Please,” Jon said. Some of the weakness was starting to return as he took another step towards the glass.

  The Duke eyed Jon warily, he couldn’t understand how this man was still standing when only minutes ago he was all but falling down. There had to be something else going on that was giving Jon strength. He knew Jon had sent for his other wives, maybe they were giving him strength. Impossible, the Duke thought, none of the others were trained enough to help Jon. It was then that Jon’s body sagged just a bit. It was evident that Jon had just caught a second wind.

  The Duke grinned at Jon as he spoke, “Again with the begging.”

  “Whatever you want just don’t hurt her anymore,” Jon said. He put a hand on the glass in front of him to help steady himself.

  “Really?” the Duke said. “Whatever I want, you say?”

  “Anything, just name it,” Jon said. He was trying to stall the Duke long enough for his wives to get to him and maybe for some of his Marines to gain access to the Medical Bay from the other side.

  “Fine, I want a shuttle and safe passage for me, my troops…” the Duke said.

  Jon interrupted and said, “You have it.”

  “Not nice to interrupt someone speaking,” the Duke said.

  Jon had interrupted him because he knew what the Duke was going to say.

  “As I was saying,” the Duke said. “And Deatra. Agreed?” The Duke grinned as he knew Jon could never agree to that. He knew Jon was playing a game and stalling, though he wasn’t sure why. Probably to get Jon’s wives close enough, that is if Jon knew how to release them. Did he? Would someone not from their world know how to do that?

  The Duke glanced over at Deatra as he considered the question. His brow furrowed as he saw a light sheen of sweat covering Deatra’s face. She was fighting him, but he couldn’t feel anything. He should have felt her struggling to break free of his grip. He glanced back towards Jon and returned his gaze back to Deatra. That’s when his paranoia kicked in, and he knew that Jon was now delaying him so Deatra could break free. He knew they had to be in communication even though he had her mind all but shut down and was monitoring her brain activity, which was not showing any signs she was fighting.

  Rage took over the Duke as he looked back at Jon. “You’re tricking me!” the Duke yelled. The Duke lashed out at Deatra clamping hard into her mind and locking her down tighter. It made her gasp and almost stopped her from breathing. Deatra let out a long low moan of pain.

  Jon was taken by surprise and took a step back as the Duke yelled. It was true, he was tricking the Duke, but only to get his wives here so he could release them. Jon felt a wave of nausea wash over him as the Duke yelled and Deatra gasped in surprise. He almost fell but Terri grabbed him just in time.

  Arianna rounded the last corner with her guards and a few escorts she had picked up along the way. She knew deep down that Jon was dying, she also knew if he did there would be no place the Duke would be able to hide from her wrath. She would hunt that man down and make him pay in blood for a long time before she executed him.

  Long ago her mother had told her, just before she joined the Ga’sahde, that according to the ancient texts of her people she was destined to protect the ‘Changer of Worlds’. At the time she didn’t believe her mother, and then when the Ga’sahde shut down and people went into stasis, she knew it wasn’t going to happen in her time. Now she was here and the ‘Changer of Worlds’ was someone she was constantly in touch with on a regular basis. She had never mentioned anything to Jon because she knew how he felt about the prophecies, so she decided to keep it to herself.

  Arianna stopped in front of the door that lead to Jon’s quarters and signal for entry. She was trying to think about how she would deal with the women when Nefeit answered the door. Kelly was standing just behind her, she didn’t look so well, a light sheen of sweat covered her face.

  “My lady…” Arianna started. She gave a slight bow as she spoke.

  “Arianna right?” Nefeit said in a hurried voice. She pushed past Arianna as she spoke, dragging Kelly with her.

  “Yes,” Arianna said.

  Nefeit didn’t stop as she made her way down the hallway. Guards fell into place on either side of the two women. Arianna had to hurry to catch up, her own guards setting up another ring of protection. Both guard units working together to afford the best protection to the two women.

  “I’m sorry,” Nefeit said. “We’re kind of in a hurry, and they’re telling us Jon is indisposed right now.”

  “Actually, that is why I’m here,” Arianna said, as she fell into pace next to Nefeit and Kelly. Every once in a while Kelly would grunt slightly and start breathing a bit funny.
“I’m here at Jon’s request, I’m to…”

  Nefeit stopped and turned towards Arianna as she spoke, anger coloring her voice slightly. “He needs to get here for the birth.” Nefeit said. Nefeit waggled her finger slightly in Arianna’s direction, as if telling her to go get Jon.

  “Uh…” Kelly grunted and she grabbed her large belly. “Nefeit, I don’t think we should stop, it’s almost time now.”“I…” Arianna said, then it dawned on her what was happening. “Oh, shit!”

  Nefeit had turned and continued towards the Med Bay on their current level. “Yeah, ‘oh, shit’, is right,” Nefeit said. “You tell that man to get his ass down here right now!”

  Arianna was a bit taken aback, Nefeit wasn’t usually this aggressive. The few times Arianna had met Nefeit she had been quiet and reserved, almost as though she wasn’t even in the room. But, Nefeit had found her place among the wives and was gaining confidence that she actually belonged and was accepted.

  One thing bothered Arianna, why didn’t the bond affect the two women? Maybe they were too far removed to be affected and debilitated the way Jon was. So, if she brought them to Jon, which clearly wasn’t an option considering Kelly’s condition, would they be affected too?

  Nefeit looked back over her shoulder as she helped Kelly down the corridor towards the medical station on their deck. “Well, are you going to help me or not?” Nefeit asked. She gave Arianna a stern look as she waited for an answer.

  “I’m sorry,” Arianna said. She had picked up her pace to catch up and helped support Kelly.

  Arianna switched com channels in her helmet and told two of her guards to go back to the main group and report on the current situation. She then turned her attention to the ladies she was escorting and said, “There’s something you should know…”

  Kelly let Nefeit help her on to the bed as the Medical Techs started attaching monitoring equipment. It was then that one of Techs noticed that something wasn’t right with the contractions. Concern creased the Tech’s face as she went back over the reading to double check her findings. The Tech handed her readings to the Doctor as she walked up to Kelly. The Tech had highlighted part of the readings to call the Doctor’s attention to the anomalies. It was done that way so that the patients stayed calm and the Doctor could double check the readings one last time.

  The Doctor laid her hand on Kelly’s arm as she looked over the report. The Doctor was careful to show no emotions as she read over the anomalies in the report. “How are you today Kelly?” the doctor asked as she gave Kelly a reassuring smile.

  “In pain,” Kelly said as she adjusted herself on bed. “Ariel, isn’t it too early for me to be in labor?

  Ariel shrugged a bit as she spoke, “A week or two doesn’t really matter. It happens all the time, some mothers are early others are late.”

  Ariel reached over and touched a few screens and started a fresh scan as she tried to understand what was going on. Kelly had all the outward signs of being in labor, but none of the internal signs. It was as though her body was rejecting the twins Kelly carried. Kelly’s body was starting to suffocate the unborn children as it slowly rejected them, and her body was in the process of having a miscarriage. Kelly’s body though wasn’t allowing the miscarriage to happen. It was as if Kelly’s own body was trying to kill her and the twins it contained.

  “Is there something wrong Ariel?” Kelly asked as another small contraction started, it made her grunt the doctor’s name.

  “Oh, no,” Ariel said as she smiled over at Kelly. Ariel patted Kelly’s hand as she watched the reading scroll across the diagnostic screen. “Why would you ask?”

  Kelly panted a few times before she was able to speak, “You were frowning and I have never seen you do that before. To see you frown is a little disturbing and to be honest something doesn’t feel right inside me.”

  Ariel sighed, she had been frowning, and that was something she never did around patients. She looked over at Kelly and looked down at the bed. Almost instantly she realized what she was doing and looked back up at Kelly and flashed her a small smile. Ariel and Kelly had become pretty good friends, Kelly had even stopped going to Main Medical to see Andie. Though Kelly promised Andie she would have the babies in Main Medical, Kelly had asked to be transferred due to the closeness of the satellite infirmary. So, Kelly knew something was very wrong to have Ariel acting the way she was now.

  “What's wrong?” Kelly asked. Kelly’s voice had an edge of fear and panic in it.

  Ariel sighed again as she spoke, “You are not in labor, it appears as though your body is rejecting the twins. Your body is also attacking itself, it is as though your body is trying to kill you and the twins.”

  Kelly reached up and grabbed Ariel’s arm. “You have to do a C-section. You have to save the twins.”

  Ariel gently pried Kelly’s hand off her arm and grasped it. “Dear we can’t do that, we were trying to do some stronger diagnostics to try to determine what was happening, and your body reacted by speeding up the process. Something else is happening here and I don’t know what, hell I don’t know what to do. One of the nurses tried to reach Andie with no luck. The only response we could get was there was electronic issues on Main Medical level and they were working to resolve it.”

  “But you have to save them, it’s all I have left of him,” Kelly said as tears filled her eyes.

  Ariel’s own eyes began to tear up as she let go of Kelly’s hand and began running a batch of different tests on Kelly. “I’m trying, and I won’t give up,” Ariel said.

  “Promise me if I start to die you will save the twins no matter what,” Kelly said. A contraction hit her and made her grab her belly.

  “I…” Ariel started to say.

  “Promise me!” Kelly said though gritted teeth.

  “Kelly,” Ariel said. “It will be ok.”

  “Then promise me anyway,” Kelly said as the pain from the contraction receded.

  “I promise I will do everything I can to save you and the twins,” Ariel said. “If push comes to shove I will save the twins if I can.”

  Sadly this was a lie as Ariel knew that Kelly had to live or very important people would die. It was something, the first thing, they learned in training while serving on the Atlantis. Jon and his wives are top priority, not that Jon was married to them all. According to Eutharan Law the bond made them all legally married, so everyone just called them his wives. So, Kelly couldn’t die even if that meant sacrificing the twins to save her. Ariel watched Kelly relax and rest her head back as she accepted what Ariel had said. Ariel sighed and turned back to the diagnostic read outs as she tried to figure out what was going on.

  It was strange as the readings were all over the place. Kelly’s brain was hyper active as though it was processing too much information. According to the readings, the brain was causing Kelly’s immune system to attack itself. Her body was reacting in an abnormal way as far as the pregnancy was concerned. Kelly was in labor according to the reading and she was also not in labor at the same time.

  Ariel scratched her head as she looked over the information once more. She ordered one of the nurses to run a different battery of tests as she continued to try to find the cause of the problem.

  It was then she saw activity in a part of the brain that isn’t usually active. She had seen this activity before in Eutharans. It was where their bonds originated and it was a part of the brain that allowed them to make that connection. Could the bond be killing Kelly, and if so, why?

  Ariel patted Kelly’s hand and said she would be right back. Once Ariel reached her office she called the Bridge and got the answers she needed.

  Chapter 25

  The End of the Matter

  Across the room Nefeit and Arianna were deep in discussion as the swarm of nurses and Ariel worked on Kelly. Arianna was explaining what was going on down on the medical deck.

  “Do what?” Nefeit said.

  “Jon is not doing well,” Arianna said. “He sent me to come get
you and Kelly and bring you both to him.”

  “What do you mean by ‘Jon is not doing well’?” Nefeit said as she frowned.

  “We really do not have time for this,” Arianna said, she let out a small sigh as she realized that the current situation was almost impossible to manage. “I need to get you both to Jon.”

  Nefeit waved to where Kelly was at, “I seriously doubt Kelly is going anywhere. Now explain about Jon.”

  “Well…” Arianna hesitated, she wasn’t sure how much she should tell Nefeit.

  Nefeit crossed her arms as she stared at Arianna. Nefeit had learned a few thing in her time around Deatra and Jon, and the most important was her position and how to use it. “Not well,” Nefeit said. “Tell me what is going on.”

  “What’s going on…” Jon said from behind Nefeit.

  Arianna gasped as she bowed, she hadn’t seen Jon walk in.

  Nefeit turned to Jon, and when she saw that he looked fine the worried expression left her face.

  “Is that Deatra is under attack by the Duke. Opellissa is down and in an unknown condition. I am also afraid Andie will be dead shortly. The Duke has banged her up pretty bad after she attempted to kill him,” Jon continued. He suddenly looked very tired as he stood there.

  Nefeit stepped towards him and Jon held up his hand to stop her. “What?”

  “Please keep your distance,” Jon said. “Deatra’s bond with me is under attack by the Duke. I think the only reason you and Kelly are not feeling it yet is due to your distance.”

  “Actually, I think the attack is killing her,” Ariel said as she walked up to Jon. “I traced the reading back to the bond, well, her mind. It has turned her body on itself and in doing so it has attacked the twins.”

  “I figured as much, and it is one of the reasons I am here,” Jon said. He turned his attention from Ariel and back to Nefeit. “Nefeit, I have grown to love you deeply. I respect your views and you have helped me learn a few things about myself I might not have if you had not come into my life…”