by C. C. Ekeke
“Reign, she’s a Cybernarr. She will kill all of you if you don’t leave! Go!”
Habraum shook his head. Only actions could get through to him. “Marguliese, let him go.”
The Cybernarr eyed Habraum incredulously, but complied and stepped to Habraum’s side. In a whipping accord, all the coils around Khrome came loose and slithered back into the ground.
Instantly the Thulican leaped into the air to renew his attack on Marguliese.
“And we proceed again,” the Cybernarr muttered dryly.
“No, we don’t.” Habraum planted himself between the two beings. “Khrome, stay back.”
Khrome hovered closer, still defiant. “WHY?”
“Because I’m ordering you to,” Habraum’s voice boomed with authority. That finally reached the Thulican. Khrome hesitantly flew back a half a metrid, never taking his eyes off the Cybernarr.
Habraum expelled a world-weary sigh, facing the three Brigadiers and a fuming Khrome. The Cerc hated having his hand forced like this. but now he had no choice. If Marguliese keeps my team alive, then I’ll take whatever punishment comes next.
Marguliese turned to Habraum. She stood only four inches shorter than him. “You did not inform them of my arrival,” she stated.
“You’re early,” Habraum replied peevishly, scratching the back of his head.
“Her arrival? Reign, what is she talking about?” Sam looked completely bewildered. She glanced at V’Korram and Tyris, both equally stunned. “What the hell is going on?”
The Thulican’s eyes bore into the Cybernarr still as he hovered impatiently back and forth above the other Brigadiers. “Explain. And make it quick.”
Habraum ignored the Thulican’s naked threat and focused on the entire Brigade, searching for the right words. The tension had grown thicker, if possible. Just spurt it out!
“Brigadiers, meet Marguliese. She will be Star Brigade’s temporary advisor supporting our combat training and tactical sectors…until further notice.”
Tyris’s cobalt-blue eyes widened in shock. V’Korram reared up like a viper and let out a surprised yowl. Sam looked simply furious. All that Habraum expected, but not the mechanical roar that echoed throughout the docking bay. The rage, surprise and betrayal of a thousand screams joined into one.
Such was the cry of Lt. Khromulus Threedwok.
24.
The poor Nnaxan miner kept mumbling gibberish. On and on, never stopping. Liliana found the distraction oddly welcoming. He twitched under the warm glow from the synaptic cleanser she focused at him, unscrambling the damage those Retributionaries had done. After a few moments, he went limp.
Still in Star Brigade field outfit, Liliana Cortes shuffled through her medical tools and pulled out two more items; a bio-cleanser and then a dermogenerator. She cleaned the gashes on the miner’s craniowhisks and then regenerated his dermis layers with a swift, practiced grace. The Nnaxan’s head tentacles now looked smooth and supple, as if untouched.
Liliana sighed and stood up, surveying the motionless miners sprawled around her. The Phaeton’s resources were enough to mend some of their injuries, but she silently prayed that Hollus’ medical facilities would be of greater use. Also, no blubbering gibberish came from any of her patients for the first time in an orv, leaving Liliana alone with her thoughts.
Liliana stepped gingerly over her patients and slid down against the wall near the cargo bay exit. She ran a shaky hand through her cropped hair and closed her eyes. Liliana could usually lose herself in treating others. Not today.
The hum of the stellar drive wasn’t to blame. The fight with the Korvenites—her first field skirmish—occupied every corner of her mind. It started with that dog-fight with the Korvenite ships. Liliana cringed away from that memory of all-consuming terror. It was as if her mind had shut down. Even worse, Liliana remembered screaming like a frightened child.
“Dios Mío,” Liliana swore. The screaming might have been funny had it been her only loss of nerves today. Liliana rubbed her throat tenderly and winced, remembering the VanoTech mines skirmish…and that iron-clad grip choking the life out of her. The Korvenite’s chest weapon had been so hot, coming so close to ending her.
But Liliana had defended herself, using the sonic powers that were her birthright. She had killed that that blekdritt who would’ve had no problem killing her. In the eyes of her CT-1 teammates, Liliana’s actions changed the course of the battle.
A lie. The doctor’s newfound bravery was false, filling her with shame. She was still a coward.
When death stared her in the face, Liliana Cortes had been petrified. A voice had inexplicably spoken in Liliana’s ear—a female—through Khrome’s psychic damper. “Use your powers, Liliana,” she demanded frostily. “Hit the Korvenite or you will die.”
You will die. Those last three words had jolted Liliana into action, not any ‘battle instinct’. She was still a coward who should have died. After the battle she’d fallen into character—stoic Dr. Cortes, aiding Honaa and the miners—putting on her bravest face in front of her teammates. But alone with her thoughts, Liliana could no longer hide from her self-disgust. She rested her head in her knees, rocking back and forth.
And that happened after she had already embarrassed herself, when the Phaeton’ was spinning out of control, shields failing, about to collide with a massive asteroid. In the near-death spiral, the doctor was twelve-years old again, cringing at the chaos and fury that had knocked her family’s shuttle off course. Her ears rang anew with the shrieks of older brother, Tomas, her father and mother, the Cortes family spiraling wildly above Terra Sollus. In her mind-numbing panic, Liliana’s gaze had found purchase on the shuttle’s viewscreen, a window into pitch-black nothing…and starry everything.
Everything and nothing. Overwhelming. Nauseatingly scary.
Even after her father had regained control of their shuttle, any notion of space travel sent stabs of fear and queasiness through Liliana since that fateful day.
The coalescing memories almost made Liliana vomit. She squeezed her eyes shut. Then the doctor saw Captain Nwosu back on Phaeton visibly disgusted at her weakness. His penetrating, hazel-gold eyes had spoken volumes. You don’t belong in Star Brigade.
A rumble disrupted her pity party. Liliana looked up and around. Since the others had returned to the Phaeton, whenever any of the others moved through the cargo bay, Honaa, Sam, V’Korram, of course, and most surprisingly Khrome, she heard nothing but fury and bickering. Liliana had no clue what they were yelling about, but something must have happened after she transmatted back up to Phaeton.
“Liddell to Cortes,” the other Ensign’s voice in the comm system caught her off-guard, as did a screaming match raging on the bridge in the background.
“Go ahead, Liddell.”
“We’re prepping for dock at Hollus. Should I communicate anything to the Medcenter?”
“Yes, Ensign.” Liliana jumped to her feet, having forgot about that. “Tell Dr. Simony we have a Level 3 emergency.” Level 3, the medical term for a surplus of incoming patients.
“Aye, Ensign.” In the background Khrome bellowed something like, “I don’t have to take this!”
Liliana had to know, even if it was second-hand info. “Liddell, what’s going on up there?”
“You didn’t know?” Liddell’s accented voice sounded surprised. “Nwosu is in a gigantic throwdown with Khrome, Commander D’Urso and Captain Ishiliba about secretly recruiting a Cybernarr.”
Liliana gaped uncomprehendingly. “A Cybernarr?”
“Keep it down!” Liddell’s voice was a harsh whisper. “Nwosu enlisted a Cybernarr to join the Brigade. That’s all I know. Okay, we’re approaching Hollus dock, Liddell out.”
Liliana felt like her head was about to burst. A Cybernarr? One of the most feared races in the galaxy? She massaged both temples wearily. “I can’t deal right now.”
The smooth thrum of the Phaeton landing jolted the doctor to her senses, just in time to prepare
for the Hollus Maddrone medical operatives that flooded the cargo bay. Once again, Liliana fell into the role of Dr. Cortes, intuitively directing the traffic of the medics’ floating gurneys. The miners were easily moved onto them, out of the cargo bay and down the Phaeton exit ramp in one long procession. Liliana walked slowly at the rear, taking in her surroundings. The docking bay was awash with numerous starbase and UComm operatives merging around the Phaeton.
Dr. Simony elbowed his way to her side, firing off a barrage of questions about the miners’ conditions. So immersed in her role, Liliana barely even recalled her answers. They must have been correct because he nodded proudly and hurried toward the medics. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Tyris and V’Korram exiting the Phaeton.
V’Korram bristled in visible annoyance at the throng of sentients around him. The Kintarian easily weaved through the masses with amazing deftness for his size. Tyris was like his icy exterior; remote and unreadable, trying with less success than V’Korram to move through the crowd. No sign of Khrome, Habraum, Sam, Honaa or the mystery Cybernarr. A Cybernarr. Liliana shuddered.
Tyris was less than a metrid away as he met up with V’Korram near a cargo bay exit. Liliana started toward them to ask about this Cybernarr incident. A cold, hard slap of reality stopped her in mid-stride. V’Korram was right. Mama was right. Captain Nwosu knows it too. Liliana had no place on Star Brigade. The doctor had let herself get caught up in something new and exciting, never considering if she could handle its tougher elements. Today’s mission proved indisputably that.
Exhaling noisily, Liliana headed to where she could actually make a difference. The Medcenter. At least Dr. Rynaar Simony still believed in her, as they spent the better part of an orv reviewing the mining station victims. “I must say, Liliana. I am thoroughly impressed with how you treated these patients,” the Xyobic doctor beamed, his ear fronds wriggling with pride. If not for the medics and medroids speeding back and forth down the Medcenter aisles, Simony seriously looked ready to execute a cartwheel.
Liliana stood beside Simony, feigning a smile. “Just doing my job, sir.” The only part I do right, she thought.
“Which has been superb in my book!” Rynaar excitedly slapped Liliana’s back with his two right arms, nearly bowling her over in his enthusiasm. “The way you used the synaptic cleanser to reduce the output of neurotransmitters as opposed to just cleaning out the excess synaptic impulses was brilliant!”
Simony beamed at the rows of filled beds on either side of him. Each patient wore neurostimulator headgear, with various medics and medroids bustling around to check. “And we did it all by ourselves,” he mumbled through his smile. Simony prided himself in Hollus Maddrone’s small but capable Medcenter staff.
“I’m going to finish the correspondence for the patients, Dr. Simony.” Liliana rubbed her upper back gingerly. The Xyobic nodded approvingly. Liliana quickly maneuvered around a supply-carrying medroid and ducked into her office, a perks of being a full-time doctor on staff. Once behind its plasteel doors, the doctor slumped into her seat. Treating all those patients had just drained her. Liliana sighed as she straightened out the scrubs that she had changed into half-an-orv ago.
She dropped her hands to her sides and stared at the ovular holoscreen floating above her desk. The San Ysidro Medical Insignia, a myrypose superimposed against the Winehorn Mountains, filled the screen. Liliana had prepared a TransNet call straight to her Galdorian ex-boss—right before Dr. Simony had barged in to compliment her work. All she had to do was press the connecting button on her console and request Dr. Hashliol. Liliana had already begun to mentally rehearse what she was going to say. “Dr. Hashliol. I made a mistake….”
The holoscreen abruptly switched off and vanished. Liliana frowned and requested the screen to turn on. Nothing. The console was dead. “What just happened?” Liliana stood and ran her hands all over the desk console’s dull, flat surface searchingly.
She glanced through her plasteel windows at the sea of patients and the medics watching over them. With the aisles free, Rynaar actually executed a cartwheel.
Liliana did a double take, but at the window reflection.
Someone, in the office with her—behind her!
Liliana whirled around and stood looking up at a statuesque, golden-skinned Amazon with long fiery-red hair. This female looked like a walking adflash for bodysculpting. Her aquiline face and cerulean eyes gave off a predatory nature, too detached to be human.
How this Amazon snuck in without Liliana noticing was just one of many fears assaulting her brain. The doctor tried backpedaling and ended up slamming the back of her legs into the desk. Wincing, a terrified scream started bubbling up out of the doctor’s throat….
…until a silvery hand clamped over Liliana’s mouth.
Dios mío! Liliana silently winced as her legs slammed again into the edge of her desk. Then she got a good, long stare at the arm connected to the metallic hand over her mouth. Whoa!
This female’s whole right arm was an arresting tapestry of silvery, detailed cybernetics fluidly blending into the golden skin at her shoulder, truly a marvel in xenobiomechanics. Then Liliana wondered why the hell her mind was even heading that route, especially in her current predicament!
The female brought a finger to her own mouth, signaling for silence. Her eyes bore frigid daggers into Liliana’s brain. “Your screams are unproductive, Dr. Cortes.” The female’s voice had a flat, mechanical timbre. She slowly lowered her non-cybernetic hand back down. “They cannot hear or see you. I have placed this room in privacy mode.”
Liliana’s bowels nearly liquefied. She knows my name? And her voice—the doctor knew that voice.
The cyborg noted the recognition. “It was me you heard in the VanoTech mines.”
Then, a startling fact occurred to the trembling doctor. This was the Cybernarr that Captain Nwosu recruited into Star Brigade. A Cybernarr. Liliana’s terror increased a thousandfold.
“You were about to contact your former employer, correct?”
How—? Liliana didn’t even try to rationalize how she knew that and just said, “Yes.” But the Cybernarr’s hand still covered her mouth, muffling her answer. All of a sudden Liliana’s shame surmounted her terror.
“Because you feel that you lack the necessary fortitude and combat skills to perform field duties with Star Brigade?”
Liliana nodded awkwardly. “Why?” Marguliese dropped her cybernetic hand from Liliana’s mouth. Her cerulean eyes penetrated into the doctor, more disquieting even than Captain Nwosu’s gaze.
Liliana rubbed her jaw. “If not for you….” She trailed off, not knowing what to call the Cybernarr.
“Marguliese.”
Liliana stared at the female, who stood about three inches taller than her. She never knew Cybernarr had actual names. In fact, the doctor hadn’t expected something so…human-like. “If not for you, Marguliese, I would’ve died. I froze out there.”
The Cybernarr arched an eyebrow. “Fear is a natural humanoid reaction for those untested in combat, especially since today marked your first live field operation.”
“But my teammates are relying on me not to be afraid,” Liliana answered bitterly. “And cowards have no place on Star Brigade.”
“Which can be remedied with training,” Marguliese replied. Her mechanical, monotone voice never changed inflection. Not once. “From my viewpoint, your maximal talents effectually turned the tide of the conflict, correct?”
“It might have—.”
“Yes? Or no?” Marguliese demanded flatly.
Now that Liliana recalled, things did turn out better after she used her powers. “Yes, it did.”
“Then you must work assiduously to become an indispensable asset on the field. Your sonic discharge talent has measureless potential, Liliana. Do not let an ephemeral setback discourage you.”
Liliana stared at Marguliese. What is she, a walking thesaurus? “Y-you don’t look like a Cybernarr.”
&nbs
p; “Sorry to disillusion you,” Marguliese said with a dryness that could parch one’s ears off. “Now,” the Cybernarr gripped Liliana by the shoulders and spun her around to face the plasteel doors of her own office. “Observe these patients currently in the Medcenter.”
Medics and medroids still darted through the aisles to check on the patients. But now the Medcenter was more subdued. Rynaar snapped off yet another cartwheel, almost colliding with a medroid.
Why is she showing me Simony’s acrobatics? Liliana turned to ask that to Marguliese.
“Observe.” The Cybernarr grabbed and jerked Liliana’s chin rather forcefully in the direction of the Medcenter patients. “Your proficiency saved these patients from permanent brain damage. Habraum selected you for a reason. Do you still feel valueless to your team?”
Habraum. Odd hearing anyone other than Sam casually call Captain Nwosu by his first name. “You’re right.” Liliana felt somewhat better. “Thank you, Mar—?”
“Save it,” Marguliese cut in abruptly. “Illustrate your gratitude by bettering your skills and your self-assurance in the field.” The short digitized noise chirped again, startling Liliana back to reality.
She turned. Marguliese was gone.
Liliana shook her head, her brain still processing what had just happened. A Cybernarr in her office—and she, a doctor, didn’t ask to examine her for research? “Stupid!” Liliana slapped her forehead and eased back into her seat. Suddenly, her desk console hummed back to life, holographic viewscreen and all. The San Ysidro Medcenter TransNet logo came back on the floating holoscreen, tempting her to come back. For a long while Liliana sat with fingers steepled under her chin, mulling her future.
Going back to San Ysidro would be so easy. But she knew where that easy path would lead.
Nowhere. Liliana took another long look at the San Ysidro logo on her viewscreen, and said, “Abort San Ysidro Medical connection.”
“Connection aborted,” her console replied politely. “Goodbye.”
The San Ysidro logo was instantly replaced by a gold Star Brigade logo spinning slowly.