Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man come to a halt in the doorway. Immediately he raised his comm unit.
“I have an emergency and need a medical team in the quarantine bay.”
Deian moved slowly into the room and knelt next to Karo. He studied the small display of lights and asked quietly, “Do you know who’s inside?”
“Aevum.” Karo could hear the pain in his own voice.
Deian’s brows knit together. “Who’s Aevum?”
“I think she’s my mate.” He looked into Deian’s green eyes which were round with surprise. “She’s sick. We have to save her.”
Deian nodded and rubbed his palm up and down Karo’s back in a comforting gesture.
“We will do everything we can.”
Karo nodded.
Soon he heard hurried footsteps and saw Doctor Notani round the doorway. It took her a moment to absorb the scene in front of her.
“Oh my goodness,” she gasped. Security officers arrived on her heel and quickly scanned the cargo bay for threats. Karo knew there wouldn’t be any, but he stayed where he was and let them work around him in the tight confines.
When it was cleared, Notani made several attempts to scan Aevum through the chamber’s walls, but it was nearly impossible to get an accurate picture of her health while she was inside.
“The Medical Unit would be able to get a clearer picture. If we could just bring her out of stasis…”
“No!” Karo yelled. The sound echoed in the small space. He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm. “She’s in there because she’s sick and I had no way to cure her.”
“How do you know this? Have your memories continued to surface?” the doctor asked.
“No. There was a message… I recorded a message to myself and encoded it. I was only just able to uncover it.”
“Did it say what kind of disease she has?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, but I don’t know enough about it.”
“I do.”
Everyone jumped as LINK’s sudden statement broadcasted through the numerous speakers throughout the ship. In the dark cargo room his voice sounded eerily disembodied.
“Before initiating your memory purge, you uploaded her medical file and all known medical documentation regarding her illness into my matrix.”
Karo closed his eyes in relief, but the feeling was quickly followed by anger. LINK had played a huge part in the deception.
You programmed him to do it. The echoing thought did little to temper his resentment, his feelings of betrayal. His only friend had been lying to him for millennia. He’d never felt so utterly alone.
But I’m not alone anymore.
He looked down at the chamber and placed his palm against the cold surface. He wasn’t alone. This woman had once been vital to his existence.
You must save her! His own words echoed in his mind.
He had every intention of doing just that.
*****
Karo planted himself at the foot of the stasis unit, where he could see everything happening inside the small room. Several doctors had brought equipment in the hopes of boosting their scanning capabilities, while LINK had transferred Aevum’s medical files and all pertinent information to Notani, who was diligently going through every page.
No one spoke to him. He wasn’t surprised, since he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, feet braced apart as if he were gearing for a fight. His expression was keeping people away too.
He seethed with emotions, all battling for supremacy inside his mind. He was furious with LINK for the deception, mad at himself for not being able to remember this woman. Mostly he was mad at himself.
He’d let this happen.
She’d become ill, then was forced to sleep while he failed for years upon years to find a cure. He’d been so weak-minded that he hadn’t been able to handle being alone, and had resorted to removing his own memories to cope.
How many times over the millennia had he found an advanced race that could have saved her? With his memories gone, he wouldn’t have even known to ask them for help.
Weak, pathetic, and certainly not a man worthy of her.
Disgust for himself burned through his chest. He deserved any discomfort his emotions gave him. It was his fault that Aevum was like this. He had been furious with LINK for keeping him locked in suspended animation for centuries at a time, but he’d done far worse to the one person he was supposed to put above everyone else and protect.
“Karo?” The feminine voice pulled him from his self-deprecation. Jayda stood next to him.
“Notani is hoping that you know something about the chamber’s power supply. Would it be possible to move it to the Medical Center without disrupting it?”
Karo nodded. “The power is contained within the unit itself. Moving it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That’s good. Will you help us?”
Of course he would help. He’d do everything he could for Aevum.
It took several men to lift the chamber onto a hovering dais, but once there, it was easily taken from the cargo bay to the Medical Center. Karo kept contact with the unit, but finally stepped back a few feet to let the doctors continue their efforts. His back hit a wall, and he felt himself slide down to sit against it.
He felt so helpless.
Jayda silently joined him, but Karo refused to allow himself to be comforted by her presence. He didn’t deserve it. The guilt he felt was like a creature living inside of him that was tearing through his body and psyche. The worst was not remembering that she had even been onboard the ship.
She’d been locked inside the small room. Alone. For millenia.
Finally, Karo couldn’t stand it any longer; he needed to do something… anything! He jumped up from his place on the floor, startling everyone.
“We have to wake her!” he declared to no one in particular.
Lukas rose to his side. When had he joined them? “We can’t do that yet; not until the doctors know more about her illness, and devise a treatment.”
Karo looked at him desperately, not knowing exactly what he needed or expected the man to do.
“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” Lukas encouraged. Karo allowed himself to be led out of the Med Center and through the ship. When Lukas stopped, they were in an area that Karo didn’t recognize. At least they were alone.
Karo felt better once he was in a larger room where the walls weren’t closing in around him. He paced the floor and ran his palms over his head. A part of his mind noticed that he’d been sweating.
Lukas stood quietly, hands inside his pants pockets, and watched Karo’s movements. He seemed content to wait until Karo was ready to speak.
Karo finally blurted the words that had been racing through his mind.
“It’s my fault.”
“What is?”
“Aevum being trapped in the regeneration chamber. It was me who erased her from my memories. I reprogrammed LINK to change my timeline and lock the cargo bay doors so I wouldn’t stumble upon her.”
Karo expected disapproval from Lukas, but the man’s voice remained steady as he watched Karo’s agitated movements.
“How do you know that?”
“I decrypted a message that I recorded for myself. It explained everything.”
“Does the message explain why you did all those things?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t matter. I did something reprehensible to that woman.”
Lukas stepped in front of him and placed his hands on Karo’s shoulders.
“It does matter,” Lukas argued. He looked directly into Karo’s eyes and held the man’s gaze.
“I haven’t known you for very long, but I’m absolutely certain you wouldn’t have gone to such lengths if it wasn’t for a very good reason. You’re an honorable man, Karincin.”
Am I? Karo’s shoulders slumped. Lukas pulled him into a hug, and Karo held onto the man for a moment, embracing the comfort.
CHAPTER 26
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They embraced until Lukas’s comm unit began to beep. He reached to answer the device.
“Yes?”
“I think you and Karo had better get back to the Medical Center right away.” It was Notani. She spoke softly, as if she was trying to contact them in private.
They were already walking.
“What’s wrong?” Lukas asked.
“General Bogaard is here.” Barely a whisper this time, but shouts could be heard in the background.
Karo saw Lukas’s jaw clench. “We’re on our way.” Lukas walked like a man on a mission, and Karo suddenly had a wave of dread.
“Do you think he’s unhappy about Aevum?”
Lukas’s eyes bounced to him then away. “Perhaps.”
Neither said another word. They entered the Medical Center and quickly took in the scene in front of them: Jayda and Deian were in a standoff against General Bogaard. The man was livid.
His face was scarlet, finger poking in Jayda’s face, as spittle flew out of his mouth with every word spoken. The duo stood firm, silently glaring at the man.
It was not lost on Karo that they had planted themselves between Aevum’s chamber and the general, as if to defend her.
“This is still my ship!” the general shouted.
Karo glanced towards Lukas, but he was already storming across the room. He inserted himself between the man and his mates, bumping the general back with the plane of his chest.
“You will watch your tone,” Lukas growled menacingly.
General Bogaard was too angry to heed his warning. “How dare you bring another unknown alien onboard my ship without my approval!”
Deian and Jayda flanked their mate, and Karo moved to stand at their side: a united front.
“She was already onboard,” Lukas stated flatly. “None of us knew. We were only able to bypass the encryption to where she’d been kept in stasis a few hours ago.”
“And why was that, hmm?” He pointed at Karo. “Why did he hold her prisoner? Is she a threat? I heard that she has some kind of disease. Is she meant to infect our entire race? And why didn’t he tell us about her?”
He didn’t wait for anyone to answer, but pointed his finger accusingly at Jayda. “I’ll tell you why: it’s because he took advantage of your soft, female tendencies. You’re not fit to lead—not in the Defense, and certainly not our planet!”
Lukas planted his weight on his back heel, fist ready to strike, but Deian grabbed his wrist. The general snorted in derision. “Yet another weak monarch to lead our planet. Well I’m not weak. I say we jettison the alien female into deep space where she belongs!”
White hot fury flashed through Karo, and with barely a thought, he struck the general with his right fist, connecting with the man’s nose. Blood sprayed as his head whipped to the side. He yelled in pain, and unsteadily stepped back.
“You hit me!” It wasn’t a question but Karo answered anyway.
“Damn right I did.” He stepped closer to the man who forced himself to straighten his back, hands still holding onto his gushing nose. Karo barely noticed that none of the doctors had stepped forward to offer their help.
“Don’t you ever threaten my woman, or I will fucking kill you.”
General Bogaard wisely stepped back. He turned his attention to the trio. “I will have you all thrown out of the Defense for this!”
“It would be our pleasure to watch you try,” Jayda replied.
The general stammered for a moment before closing his mouth, grabbing a rag out of a doctor’s hand and storming from the room. Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Karo turned around, expecting to see condemnation on his friends’ faces. Instead they headed straight for him with expressions of concern.
“Are you alright?” Jayda asked.
He nodded and looked from one to the other. “It sounds like you’re all in a lot of trouble. I apologize.”
“Nah, it’ll blow over,” Deian answered nonchalantly.
Lukas continued, “Truth is we’ve been planning on resigning for a while now, but had stayed around to finish testing the new engine prototypes. Your arrival delayed that a little, but it’s been worth it. Getting you get back on your feet is more important than all that.”
That was thoughtful of them, but what was he going to do when the general made good on his promise? He wouldn’t have anyone fighting on his side, and right now he needed these people’s help. Not just with his ship—that was the last of his worries—now everything revolved around Aevum. How was he going to get her the help she needed?
Jayda must have sensed his concern. “Don’t worry Karo. Even if the general succeeds, it will take him a while to get approval to forcibly remove us from the Defense. By then we’ll have resigned formally, and made plans for you both. We’re not going to leave you in his hands.”
That made Karo feel better. They weren’t going to abandon him.
Notani came to their side. “I don’t think it will take that long. I’ve been able to go over Aevum’s medical files and I believe I have a treatment for her HCA. We should be able to wake her very soon.”
Karo’s heart leapt. “You can cure her?”
“I believe so. Before you put her into stasis, the defective cells had multiplied, forming small tumors throughout her body. My plan is to use nanites that are programmed to target those cells and prevent them from reproducing further. Her healthy cells would then be able to take over.”
Nanites. Karo had heard of them before, but had never met a race that utilized them for medical purposes.
“You’re sure the nanites are safe?” he asked.
“I believe so, yes. We use them for a variety of purposes in Arathian medicine, but I admit that they’ve never been tested on a Sirilian before.”
She pulled up images of magnified cells on the vid screens, and Karo watched as tiny robotic… things… attached themselves to certain types of cells, but left others alone.
“This is your blood, Karo,” Notani explained. “I programmed them to latch onto your red blood cells, and they had no problem targeting the proper ones. I believe we’ll have success with this treatment.”
Karo watched the doctor, but her expression was guarded. Not what he’d expect when she was delivering such good news.
“There’s something else,” Karo stated. It wasn’t a question, but she knew what he wanted to know.
She sighed. “We’re worried about bringing her out of stasis. She’s been in there for eight-thousand years, and we have no idea what that’s done to her body. She may not survive it.”
Awaking her may kill her? Another thing to add to the list of ways he’d wronged this woman.
“She’s alive now, right?”
“Yes.” Notani brought up information onto the large screens and they gathered around. “This is the readout from her stasis unit. It shows that she’s still in a perfect state of suspension, we just don’t know what will happen when we disrupt it.”
“What are you asking? For my opinion or permission?”
“Both.”
Karo ran his palms over his head. What was he supposed to do? He’d already done irrevocable damage to this woman, had done things that he could never forgive himself for. How was he supposed to make another choice that would impact her life?
He went over to her chamber and placed his palm against it. Inside was a woman who didn’t deserve what’d been done to her. There was no way he could live with himself if he kept her in that condition forever.
“Wake her,” he said softly.
The words sped the entire medical staff into motion. Before he knew it, the Medical Center was prepped for the procedure to come. The Med Unit was ready to scan her body the moment she was removed from the chamber, Notani had several vials of nanites ready to go, the operating room was fully staffed; they’d taken every precaution, but Karo was still a bundle of nerves.
He knelt next to her chamber. “Please forgive me,” he whispered, then stepped aside to join Ja
yda, Deian, and Lukas where they stood against a wall, out of the way.
Karo locked himself in place, his muscles held rigid, and watched nervously as Notani inputted commands to begin the process of bringing her out of stasis. Everyone collectively held their breath while they waited the agonizingly slow minutes until the chamber’s locks disengaged.
It took the doctors several attempts to pry open the hatch that had been stuck together with age. Karo’s breath lodged in his throat as they reached inside, gathered Aevum’s body, and lifted her.
Even from his position several feet away, he could tell that she wasn’t moving. Her limbs and head hung unsupported, and there was a gray tone to her skin.
Hands suddenly gripped his arms, and Karo looked to see Deian and Lukas holding him from either side. He hadn’t realized he’d begun to move towards her. He stepped back again and watched the doctors place her on the Medical Unit’s platform, arranging her arms and legs into a natural position.
Doctor Notani began to issue instructions, even as the large unit began its in-depth scan. To Karo, it was all a blur of sound, as he stared at her lying lifeless a few feet away. When the Medical Unit sent a concentrated beam into her body to restart her heart, and the vid screen still showed no movement within her chest, Karo lost it.
He fought against the men holding him, and felt other hands and arms lock around his body. He had no idea how many people held him back. His eyes remained locked on her, and the flurry of doctors trying to save her.
“Fight Aevum!” he yelled. “We did not survive eight-thousand-fucking-years traversing the galaxy to have you die right when there’s hope!”
Another beam hit her chest, and he willed the monitor to show her beating heart.
It didn’t.
A wave of emotion unlike anything he’d ever experienced swept over him. Rage, desperation, and grief surged through him giving him strength he didn’t know he had. He threw the hands off of him and battled his way to her side.
His hand shook as he ran it over her forehead and through her hair before leaning down to placed his mouth against her temple. She felt cold—so cold.
“Karo, get back,” Notani harshly instructed.
Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) Page 21