by EJ Fisch
Ziva nodded and then shrugged, giving the cuffs another yank. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The doctor smiled again. “I’m sure you’re not, Lieutenant. It’s really just a formality at this point. We’re required by law to keep you under guard.” He made a slight adjustment on one of the nearby monitors and checked the IV line running into her hand. “Again, I apologize for the inconvenience, but things already seem to be looking up for you as far as the case goes. Like I said, you’re a lucky woman.”
Ziva watched as he shut the viewscreen off and took up the data pad. Nodding respectfully toward the group, he turned and strode out of the room, his long white coat billowing behind him. She waited until he had disappeared before running her tongue over her dry lips and taking as deep a breath as the bandages around her abdomen would allow. “I really wish you all would stop staring at me,” she said, closing her eyes to escape the pressure of their collective gaze.
The first signs of tears glistened in Marshay’s eyes, but her voice didn’t waver when she spoke. “We’re just enjoying seeing you in one piece, my dear.”
“I’m pretty happy to be in one piece.” Ziva pulled herself into more of an upright position, wincing against the fire that surged through her body as she did so. Her entire midsection was engulfed by an ache beyond description, and she instinctively placed her free hand on her stomach in a futile attempt to alleviate some of the pain. She instantly regretted it when every member of her entourage gasped and leaned forward. How they expected to help, she had no idea.
She masked her genuine discomfort by sending them all a glare that did a sufficient job of keeping them at bay. “I don’t need to be babysat, thank you.”
Skeet laughed. “I’d better call ahead and warn the guys on Na about who they’re dealing with. They don’t know what they’re in for.” With that, his smile faded; the thought was obviously bittersweet. “You know Z, if you go to that facility, we won’t hear from you for ten weeks. I think there’s still a lot we need to talk about.”
A tingle coursed through Ziva’s nerves, aggravating the ache in her chest and abdomen. She doubted he and Zinni appreciated being left out of the loop the way they had, but they were no worse off than anyone else. On the other hand, they were her best friends – some of the few people in the galaxy she actually trusted – and she had still kept them in the dark. Indeed, there was much that needed to be discussed.
“I know,” Ziva replied. “And we will, just not…now.”
“Right now, I think you need to get some rest,” Ryon said, taking up her hand again. “The last thing you need is all of us in your hair.”
Though Ziva couldn’t have agreed more, part of her was still glad they had come to see her. “I’m sorry you all had to get dragged into this,” she muttered.
“Don’t be,” Zinni said. “You did what you had to, and we weren’t going to just sit by doing nothing. There are some things you just can’t handle on your own. That’s when you need friends who can help you, whether you ask for it or not. We’re here for you – don’t you forget that.”
There was silence for several long seconds before Marshay spoke. “I think we could all use some dinner,” she said. Then she smiled and winked. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take good care of your crew.”
There was a series of soft goodbyes murmured as everyone turned and began shuffling toward the door, bumping and weaving around each other in the same awkward manner in which they had entered. Ziva imagined seeing her alive was still taking some getting used to. She regretted having had to deceive them in such a way, but there hadn’t been much other choice. In reality, her actions had been far from self-centered. She didn’t keep secrets because she didn’t trust her friends – she did it to protect them. But now she wondered if they would ever trust her again.
Aroska, the person who knew more of her secrets than anyone else, was the only one who had said nothing for the duration of the visit. Ziva watched past drooping eyelids as he fell into position at the back of the line of people filing out the door. He seemed to have an odd cloud of emotions hanging about him, some mixture of sadness, relief, and sheer exhaustion. She didn’t blame him – he’d dropped everything to follow her on what had turned out to be one crazy hyperspace trip. Even after he’d explained himself, Ziva still didn’t feel like she fully understood his reasoning.
“Aroska,” she murmured, catching him just as he reached the door.
He paused, startled by her voice, and sent her a questioning glance. He approached slowly when she beckoned, still moving in that same cautious manner. Ziva could sense a strange irrational fear emanating from him as he came to a stop beside the bed, hands shoved into his pockets. A confusing man, he was. In that respect the two of them had a lot in common.
He lingered there for a moment before taking another step toward her and flashing a mischievous smile. “You really need to quit getting yourself shot.”
Ziva sent a half-hearted glare his way, unable to help but smirk herself. “You have no room to talk, considering you’re the one who shot me last time,” she said. “I thought we had decided it was your turn.”
Aroska laughed and sat down beside her, nervously keeping his distance. “I can’t help it if you want to go jump in front of bullets all the time.” He looked down at her and nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks to you, I guess.”
“So you remember?” He arched an eyebrow. “You seemed pretty out of it by the time I got up there. For a while, the only thing that told me you were even still with us was the death grip you had on my hand. I still can’t feel my fingers.” He winked.
“They look fine to me,” Ziva said, managing a brief eye roll. “Did Mag Reilly get his map?”
“We left it with Agent Zona. He stayed behind to make sure everything went smoothly. Word is they found that room of crystals. Argall is going to be okay.”
“Where’s my kytara?”
“I found it on Bosco’s ship on the way back here. I’ll put it away for you.”
She was surprised she’d even remembered those details after all she’d been through, especially the kytara. The last thing she needed was for somebody to stumble across it by accident – she was in enough trouble as it was.
“Do you remember what you said to me?”
There was something odd in Aroska’s tone of voice, the same sad quality Ziva had already noticed in his behavior. Curious, she looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed, and shook her head.
“I’d just made it to the landing pad, and I was sitting there trying to figure out what the hell to even do. For a minute I thought you were already gone, but you looked up at me…and you told me not to leave you.”
Ziva tilted her head, eyes narrowed. “I think you’re lying.”
Aroska broke out into a grin and shook his head. “Okay, I’ll admit you were mumbling and I couldn’t understand a thing, but it sounded like something along those lines.” He pivoted around to face her fully. “I want you to know that I’m not going to leave you. You’ve turned out to be a good friend and what Zinni said goes – I’m going to stick by you, for better or for worse.”
“It will most likely be worse, you know.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I figured.”
She wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Well, I guess that’s good, because I need to ask you for one more favor.”
“Anything.”
“If I’m gone, Skeet and Zinni are going to lose Alpha team status because of the Rule of Three. I can’t do that to them, not after how hard they’ve worked and everything I’ve put them through. I need you to stay on board – become the third member in my absence. You’ve got to help hold the team together or everything we’ve worked for will be for nothing.”
He seemed unsure. “The director’s not going to let me just walk on.”
“He will if I authorize it,” Ziva said, “and I will. I can’t order you to do this, but I’m asking you to – asking as that friend you
were talking about.” She paused and winced again as she drew a deep breath, surprised by the words she was about to say. “Please, Aroska, you’re the only person I would ever trust enough to do something like this.”
He hesitated for a long time, staring at the blank wall across the room. “Well,” he began, “I’m flattered to finally be trusted by Ziva Payvan. I would be honored to join your team, Lieutenant.”
Ziva sighed and closed her eyes, feeling as though a massive amount of weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. Somehow her wounds no longer hurt quite so much. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Aroska stood up, stretching a bit and flexing his fingers again for show. “Well, I’d better catch up to the others – I wouldn’t want to miss out on Marshay’s cooking. You get some rest, and for what it’s worth, enjoy your time on Na. The galaxy knows you could use the break.”
He reached down and patted her on the top of the head. Even the simple touch felt jarring, though she didn’t dare admit it. “You’re not so bad, Tarbic,” she said.
“I’m going to quote you on that sometime,” Aroska said, dipping his head with a sheepish smile. “Take care of yourself, Ziva. It’s been real.”
“See you on the other side.” Ziva watched as he turned and wandered out the door, standing up a little straighter than he had been before. Placing a hand on her abdomen once again, she carefully eased back down off the pillow and worked her way into a comfortable position. The room was completely silent now except for the gentle hum of the machines surrounding her bed, and she took a moment to bask in the peace and quiet. Settling her head down against the pillow, Ziva closed her eyes and fell asleep.
And now, enjoy an exciting excerpt from
Ronan: Ziva Payvan Book Three
The sound of the portable comm grid coming to life startled Skeet Duvo out of his thoughts. His long legs already dangled over the edge of the stiff little bunk he lay on, so he worked his way into a sitting position and planted his feet on the floor, standing bolt upright when he saw that the indicator light on the communications console blinked red.
He made it across the darkened room in two strides and hovered over the console for a moment, wide-eyed. A red message light meant only one thing: a transmission straight from Emeri Arion’s office at the Haphezian Special Police’s Noro headquarters. And that in itself meant only one thing: bad news.
Skeet ran a hand through his spiky orange hair and drew in a deep breath before accepting the transmission. “Duvo, Alpha 40318,” he said in response to the prompt that preceded the message. A series of tones and static followed, odd for a call coming directly from Emeri. But instead of the director’s gruff voice, he found himself listening to the eerie feminine voice of HSP’s virtual intelligence.
“General distress. Agency-wide emergency protocols in effect. All agents currently dispatched to the field are asked to cease communications immediately. Operate under Condition Black until further notice. Warning: for security purposes, do not attempt to establish contact with HSP or any affiliates during this time.”
Condition Black. The team had conducted a mission under Condition Black once, Skeet recalled, but mainly for training purposes. They’d been allowed no contact with the agency, no contact with any other ops teams, no contact with anyone on Haphez for that matter. Although it seemed like they were being hung out to dry, the protocol was in fact designed to protect agents; if the agency was somehow compromised, anyone in the field could remain anonymous and, theoretically, work independently to counter whatever force threatened headquarters. If Condition Black was in effect now, it could only mean—
“Does the user have any queries before this transmission terminates?”
Skeet drummed his fingers on the console. “What’s the status of Noro Headquarters?”
“One moment…Noro Headquarters remains under Code Red lockdown following an attack on the Grand Army’s Na Base. Casualties have been reported.”
He felt his pulse spike at the mention of Na. “Nature of the attack?”
“Base officials have initially categorized the attack as type: chemical. No other information is available at this time.”
“Find person: Ziva Payvan.”
“Accessing personnel database…searching. Alert; status of person ‘Ziva Payvan’ not found. Please try again.”
“Sheyss,” Skeet muttered, ruffling up his hair again. “No more questions. End transmission.”
“Ending transmission. Warning: Condition Black protocols in effect. Please cease all communications immediately.” The VI repeated itself twice more before the call went dead.
Skeet swore again and immediately began packing the communications equipment into its compact carrying cases. Everything in the room had been set up in a manner that allowed it to be torn down and stowed in a matter of minutes. Even on his own, he got the job done in no time. He held his pistol up to check the plasma charge, bristling a bit when the door of the room slid open. A quick glance revealed that the intruder was only Aroska Tarbic, and Skeet slid his finger away from where it had subconsciously come to rest just above the pistol’s trigger guard.
If the former field ops lieutenant was surprised to see the room empty and their supplies packed, he concealed it well. “Can I assume this is about the emergency code I just received from Headquarters?” he asked, holding up his communicator.
Skeet nodded and gave Aroska a quick rundown of what he knew, which, he regretted, wasn’t much. “It sounds like the agency is secure for now. I’m sure they’ll be on board with the investigation on Na.”
Aroska was quiet for a moment as he checked his own pistol and slid his field pack over his shoulders. “What’s Ziva’s status?”
“Unknown,” Skeet answered. “There…were casualties. But I’m sure she’s fine. That base covers the majority of the moon – what are the chances she was even in the vicinity of the attack?” He forced a good-natured snort, trying to ignore the knot that had formed in his throat.
“We can’t worry about that now,” Aroska said, brow wrinkled as if it pained him to speak the words. He held up the data pad he’d been carrying when he entered the room. “We may have a lead, and you know as well as I do that we’re running short on time.” He offered the pad when Skeet reached for it. “Emissions signatures from a ship matching our target were picked up by a science team on Bectin. They said it was headed further out into the Fringe, toward Aubin or Plaunus.”
Skeet handed the data pad back and gathered up some of the cases he had packed. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving.”
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About The Author
EJ Fisch is a long-time fan of the science fiction genre. She has a vivid imagination, and has been writing as a hobby since junior high. When she's not busy writing, she enjoys listening to music, creating concept art, playing video games, and spending time with her animals. She currently resides in southern Oregon with her family.
Nexus is her second novel, Book 2 in the Ziva Payvan series.
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