“Did you check inside the medical capsules?” asked Lev, a tad sharply.
The security officer shook his head. “They are completely dark. I did check the first one, and the monitor display was scorched and melted and the lid was locked.” If these were the best security officers, it was time to broaden the recruiting methods and raise the pay. Zane started for the storage room on his own, staggering a little from the dizziness.
His father stepped to his side and steadied him. Together they walked to the storage room, and Zane could see that the floor was coated in dried mud. The capsules were shoved in a jumble in the far right corner. It was as if they had tried to keep them out of the way of the mud. They were all completely dark and nonfunctional, and it seemed unlikely that a child could manage to lift the heavy lid of one, and even less likely that she would stay in one all day. But when they moved the first empty capsule out of the way and Zane peered closer at the second, he could see that the lid was not fully closed. He exchanged looks with his father and gently lifted the lid to reveal Berry, curled up asleep inside the capsule, a silky green blouse tangled around a hand and tucked under a cheek. Jenna’s blouse, Zane guessed.
“Hey. Berry, wake up,” Zane said gently. “Berry.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and they were red and swollen. “I want Mommy.” She sniffled and swiped a hand at her nose. Zane smiled. She had finally spoken to him.
“We’ll find her. It’s time to get you home.”
“It’s time to move,” Lev urged. “This isn’t the Red Zone, and though I doubt anyone really patrols this little smugglers’ haven, I still don’t think the Armada would approve of my unauthorized raid.”
Zane raised an eyebrow. “You risked that much to come after me?” he asked.
“You are my son,” Lev answered simply.
●●●
In the end, Berry wouldn’t let anyone carry her but Zane. She insisted on bringing the green blouse, hugging it close to her chest as if it were a security blanket. When anyone else—including Zane’s father—came too near her, she started to cry. If anyone else talked to her, her cries turned into earsplitting shrieks. In the end, Zane spent the long flight back to Omphalos unable to leave the side of the six-year-old little girl strapped right next to him.
When they arrived back at the Quintan Edge, Lev gave orders for their prisoners to be carted off to the security wing and then turned to Zane, who was sagging from exhaustion.
“I think we should get you straight to the infirmary,” he observed, his tone sharp with worry. His eyes dropped to Berry, who clung desperately to Zane’s left hand and stared around the helipad nervously, as if she expected an attack to come at any moment. “Miss Forrest probably needs to be examined as well, but I don’t think she’ll let them.”
Lev thumbed open the door to the bank of lifts and gestured Zane inside. Zane shuffled forward, tugging Berry along with him. She whimpered a bit but stayed at his side.
“Where’s Jimmy?” asked Zane as they reached the lift doors. “She needs her father.” Lev called the lift and then turned back to Zane.
“I commed him and had to leave a message. I haven’t heard back. However, I sent Ivan to track him down in person. Apparently, he managed to find Erik. Ivan says they arrived here late yesterday with a transport full of children.” His father’s brow creased.
“A transport full of . . . wait, why did Jimmy have to go out and get Erik? Lilah had Erik. She should have been able to get him right to our men. What happened?” His breath caught. Had something happened to Lilah?
Lev paused for a moment, his shrewd eyes studying Zane’s face. “Ms. Armenta and Erik went missing at the same time you did. Nobody could find them anywhere. James finally had a comm from Ms. Armenta just as I was heading out to retrieve you.”
Zane breathed out slowly. “So he found them both, then? Is Lilah all right?”
“He did find them both.” His father hesitated. “However, Ms. Armenta was . . . severely injured.”
“What?” exclaimed Zane. Berry squeaked in alarm and then started to cry again. The lift doors opened, and Lev waved them both in. Zane turned and bent down to Berry. “Berry, everything’s OK. I promise,” he soothed. She gripped his hand tighter, staring at him with wide eyes. “We’re going to your father. Right now, in fact,” Zane said. After a trip to the infirmary, he mentally added. He was more anxious than ever to get down there. Was Lilah all right?
Berry didn’t speak, but she searched Zane’s face as if trying to be certain he was telling the truth. Then she nodded, and they stepped onto the lift.
“Is she in the infirmary?” asked Zane, turning back to his father. His father gave one short nod. Zane swallowed. Why did it matter so much to him?
The answer struck him as the lift stopped and they stepped out onto the infirmary floor, greeted by muted beeps and the pungent odor of astringent cleaner.
She’s my friend, thought Zane. Possibly the only one I have.
A medtech approached them, and Lev pointed at Zane. “Full scans for them both, please,” he requested.
“No,” contradicted Zane. “I want to see Lilah first.” The medtech glanced nervously from Zane to his father, clearly wondering which Quintan he was supposed to listen to.
“Lilah Armenta,” Zane repeated insistently. Lev sighed and gave a clipped nod to the medtech. The medtech tapped at his tablet for a moment and then looked up at Zane. “She’s not conscious, but you can see her if you want.”
“Yes, please.”
“Follow me then.”
Lilah’s room hummed with activity. Several medtechs hovered, and Dr. Maclin bent over the end of the bed. Lilah lay motionless in a foam cradle molded to her body shape. Zane moved closer, stepping around one of the medtechs, who was busy with a machine connected to the bed. She could almost be peacefully asleep instead of unconscious, Zane thought wistfully. Her chest rhythmically rose and fell, so she was breathing fine on her own. He couldn’t see any wounds or signs of laser damage. However, her closed eyelids didn’t flutter, and someone had clipped off her beautiful long braids so the foam could rigidly encase her head.
“A brain injury?” he asked quietly. “Or the spinal cord?”
“Both,” the doctor responded. “A concussion, though that is responding quite well to treatment. The swelling is almost completely gone. The spine—well, the nanobots do not seem to be having any effect.” The doctor straightened up, and Zane saw that there were nodes attached to Lilah’s thighs, calves, and the soles of her feet. Were they testing her nervous system? Berry pushed herself up on tiptoes, trying to see. Zane lifted her up above the edge of the cradle, wondering if Berry remembered Lilah.
“What does that mean for Ms. Armenta?” Lev asked. Zane hadn’t realized that his father had stepped up beside him, on the other side of Berry.
The doctor frowned. “It means, as of right now, Ms. Armenta is paralyzed from the waist down.”
●●●
Back in the main waiting area, Zane stood in a daze, barely listening as his father discussed Lilah’s care with Dr. Maclin. He heard phrases like “mobility chip” and “long-term rehabilitation,” but they really didn’t mean that much to him. What he couldn’t stop thinking about was how gracefully Lilah had walked, how she had moved like a dancer. How she fought dirty and fierce and wild. How would she cope if she never really recovered the use of her legs? There were implants that helped people regain the use of their limbs after accidents like this, but they didn’t always work, and sometimes the tech had glitches. Would she dance again? Would she fight again?
Then the doctor said something that actually penetrated Zane’s circling thoughts.
“There is a new implant, made on the planet Caligua, which is supposed to be nearly miraculous. The patients often have even better reflexes and motor control than they had before the injuries. However, the price�
��well, unless Ms. Armenta has a large amount of savings, it will cost more than she could ever afford. It will significantly exceed the benefits provided to Quintan Edge employees.”
“We do have basic mobility chips here, though,” said Zane’s father. The doctor nodded. “Good. Who is her medical DM?” his father wanted to know.
The doctor grimaced. “Mrs. Jenna Forrest.”
Zane blinked. DM stood for “decision maker.” It was the person that Lilah had legally given permission to make her care decisions if she was unable. With Lilah in a medically induced coma and Jenna missing, who was going to make the decisions?
“Well, there’s no rush to implant a mobility chip. You’ll just have to wait until she is stable enough to wake and make the decision.”
“Wait,” Zane interrupted. “I’ll pay for the Caliguan implant. Order one and bill it to me,” he said.
Both the doctor and his father turned to him. The doctor’s face stayed neutral, but his father raised both eyebrows. “Zane, you can’t possibly . . .”
“Yes, I can.” He turned back to the doctor. “Please. Order the implant. She can decide when she wakes if she wants to use it.”
His father opened his mouth, probably to remind Zane that a purchase like that would strip every last diezmo from his savings, when the door slid open.
Berry darted forward with a shriek. “Daddy!”
Jimmy stood in the doorway, Erik in his arms. He stepped into the waiting room and dropped to his knees, gathering his daughter with his right arm while he still hung onto Erik with his left.
“Berry!” he gasped. “My Berry-girl!”
Zane watched the reunion, his chest warming and his mouth curving upward into a smile. Jimmy beamed, tears streaked down his cheeks, and Berry pressed her cheek against his, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Erik squirmed out of his father’s arm, and he tugged at Berry’s dark curls.
“Ber!” he said insistently, giving her hair another tug. Berry ignored him, still hanging on to her father. Finally, Jimmy swiped at his cheeks and stood, though Berry kept one hand wrapped around two of his fingers while the other one gripped her father’s pant leg.
Zane found himself face-to-face with Jimmy for the first time since Jimmy had slugged him in the jaw. Jimmy strode forward directly toward him, and Zane tensed, tempted to step back just in case. Then Jimmy grabbed him in a hug.
“Thank you,” he said fervently. “Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me.”
“You’re welcome,” Zane said awkwardly, not quite sure how to respond to Jimmy’s abrupt change of heart.
Jimmy laughed. “I know, I’m crying and hugging and about to burst with joy all at the same time. I’m sure you don’t even know what to say. But thank you.”
Zane’s father smiled too, one of the most genuine smiles Zane had seen on his face in years. “We are just happy that Erik and Beryl are safe as well.”
“I know, I feel like I could kiss everyone in this room!” Jimmy grinned.
“Please, don’t,” Zane protested, putting his hands out. Inside he felt just a tiny bubble of joy in response to Jimmy’s own happiness. When was the last time he had heard Jimmy make jokes?
“I just heard from my father-in-law too. They have confirmed there is a village of Rorans in Zoria. He said Admiral Lacker was personally putting together a special team to search it. Jenna’s message said they were heading for a Roran village.”
Zane’s little bubble of joy dissolved instantly into panic.
“Who is putting together a special team?” he asked anxiously.
“I thought he said Admiral Lacker. I guess he is the admiral who oversees any special forces?” Jimmy said uncertainly.
“You mean Admiral Leckey?” his father asked, shooting a worried glance at Zane.
“Yes, that’s it!” Jimmy said. “Anyway, Richard said that the team would be leaving in a few hours, and if all goes well, Jenna and Kendra could be back home tomorrow.”
“Oh no,” Zane gasped.
“What?” Jimmy asked, looking from Zane to his father.
“You can’t let Leckey get to them first,” Zane said urgently. “You may never see them again.”
47. A Roran Conspiracy
When Jenna reached the top of the pit, several sets of hands reached down and hauled her back over the edge. They dumped her unceremoniously on the ground. Her exhausted, poisoned body was still numb, and she couldn’t even push herself to her knees. She raised her weary head, searching for Kendra, but she couldn’t find her anywhere. Instead, there was a crowd of people talking animatedly to one another, though several pointed at her and said things that didn’t exactly sound like approval. Then a man stepped right next to her, and she looked up into the stony face of Torben.
“Take her to the cell,” he ordered. “We must have a council to determine whether her interference invalidates the Trial.”
“Where’s Kendra?” Jenna demanded weakly. Torben ignored her, turning away and striding through the crowd, which parted like waves of grass before him. Two guards dragged her upright.
“Tell me what you’ve done with my daughter!” she cried. Torben didn’t even glance backward.
“She’s safe, that’s all you need to know,” one of the guards answered gruffly. Then with her arms over the shoulders of a guard on either side, they helped her away from the Trial pit.
Back in the hut, she collapsed as soon as the guards stepped away. Kip dashed forward.
“What happened to you?” he asked anxiously. He helped her stretch out on the mat.
“Wattenwils,” Jenna whispered. The leg numbness was wearing off, but the drawback was that the fiery pain was returning. She felt like she had second-degree burns on her legs, back, and neck. At least they hadn’t gotten near her eyes. Jenna had a lot more sympathy for Lenata now.
“How was Lenata able to walk through the forest like this?” Jenna moaned. “I can’t even stand.”
Kip wrung his hands. “Well, I was able to irradiate her right away. It neutralized much of the effect of the toxins, though it can’t be used on the eyes. I wish I could help you, but my portable lamp is in my pack. Of course they took it away.”
“They use wattenwils in their Trial, I take it,” Kip continued, sitting next to her on the floor.
Jenna nodded and then recounted what had happened during the Trial.
Kip waited until she had finished to say anything, though he did nod several times. “I’m not surprised she attracted so many of the roaches. She exudes quite a strong signal. Every roach within ten kilometers must have headed straight in her direction. What I don’t understand is why they head straight into the pit. Why don’t they flood the village? They should. There are more than a few people with the signature that attracts them living here. Why aren’t wattenwils sneaking right into this cell as we speak? After all, you are a beacon yourself.”
Jenna shuddered. “Don’t even say that,” she groaned.
“It’s true though,” Kip said. “Have you seen a single one inside the village? Except in that Trial pit?”
Jenna shook her head. She hadn’t. Judging by the horde of them that had eagerly invaded the pit, heading directly for Kendra, they should have seen one before the trial.
“Some barrier keeps them out of the village but allows them into the pit, I guess,” Kip mused. “Blast if I know what, though.”
Jenna bit her lip, not sure she wanted to suggest it to Kip. She didn’t like thinking of it herself. But . . .
“What if the Rorans that they call Blessed keep them out?” she asked hesitantly.
Kip cocked his head. “Keep them out how?”
“I don’t know how exactly. But there must be some way they can do it. Torben said that it was part of the Trial. For the person to climb down among the roaches and stay safe until they reached the edge.”
&
nbsp; Kip stared at the packed dirt of the cell floor, frowning slightly as he considered her idea.
“It seemed to be what Kendra was doing. When I reached her, the roaches were clear of her body, even though she had curled up and wasn’t moving. Then when I was trying to get her to the edge of the pit, I wasn’t going to make it. They were all over me. Kendra asked for help, and then the roaches cleared away. I had a pathway to the side of the pit, and even the roaches that were on me fell off.”
Kip’s frown grew more thoughtful. He absently traced triangles in the dirt.
“Kip,” Jenna said in a low voice, “I don’t think it’s just energy. Kendra has some kind of alien being watching over her. I think all the Blessed do, and I think some of us who register on your instruments used to be followed by one of those beings that has since left us.” She waited anxiously for his response. Would he think she was crazy? Would he want proof? She didn’t have any proof—just anecdotes and intuition, useless to a scientist.
When Kip finally raised his eyes to hers, his gaze was calm and pleased, no hint of the surprise or fear or skepticism that she had expected. Any of those responses would have been rational. This calm satisfaction was not what she had expected at all. She sucked in her breath.
“You knew!” she accused. “You knew there were creatures—aliens—something alive and sentient—surrounding my daughter, and you didn’t say anything!”
Kip sighed. “Well, I’ve suspected that the energy signature I was reading was alien in nature for a long time. After spending quite a bit of time studying the Roran traders, I’d begun to suspect that I was actually studying an intelligent life force. At least one and maybe more. Proving it, however, is a cat of another color entirely.”
“A cat of . . . what?” Jenna repeated, confused.
He waved his hand. “Never mind, it’s just a saying. I’ve been trying to gather enough evidence to prove that we have contact with a sentient alien species for years. The Armada has suspected also ever since the Roran Uprising, but they’ve buried it so far underground that anyone who even comes close to the truth quickly finds himself blocked at every turn, or worse the victim of an accident.” His dry tone grew especially mocking at the term “accident.”
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