by Abella Ward
“Chief,” Rydel returned stiffly. “I have been deciphering the Scroll’s meaning. And I am still looking,” he lied. “But I can assure you that I am close.”
“Rydel, the situation here is dire. People are dying. How long will it take?”
“I don’t know, Chief. I am trying to find a solution here,” Rydel said, clenching his fists. He had to be careful. He couldn’t tell him the truth. Not now. He needed to think this over.
“Where are you, Rydel?” Hyrak said, suddenly suspicious.
“I have been following the Scroll. My last stop was this planet Ranus from which I collected the stone. The stone is the key to the Svix. That’s all I have. It hasn’t given me more clues to deal with.” Rydel said, trying hard not to lose composure. There was no way he was giving Tara to them.
“Alright then. But get back as soon as you find it, or there won’t be anyone left to save!” Hyrak said in a harsh voice.
“I’m trying,” Rydel said through clenched teeth. “See you, Chief,” He said, turning off the holoscreen.
Rydel slumped back in his seat. A headache began to throb at his temples. Why her? Why couldn’t it be someone or something else? He was sure fate was laughing at him at that very moment. He glared at the Scroll in his hand. How could he take her to Scyok and just hand her over to the Chief? Who knew what he planned to do to her. He would give her to the healers to be experimented on. She was his mate, damn it! The thought made his blood boil.
He got up and headed toward the common room. His footsteps seemed heavy, and the weight on his chest returned with a force.
Tara smiled at him as he entered. He stood there, gazing at her. Her beautiful smile made his chest constrict. She was so beautiful, even with her marred face. He wondered if he would ever be able to get her face fixed. He had promised her, but now he wasn’t so sure. Sadness seeped into his heart at the thought as a lump formed in his throat.
“Hey . . . ” She spoke softly as she came toward him. “You okay?”
He looked as if he had seen a ghost – as if he were lost. Something was definitely wrong. He walked past her over to the bar at the far end of the room and poured himself a drink. He took a swing and then lowered his head, breathing hard.
“Rydel?” she asked again, her stomach twisting. “What is it?” She went toward him. His back to her, she saw his head bend low as he stood with his hands on the counter for support, knuckles turning white. It was as if he was burdened with an enormous weight and he was tired of carrying it.
Tara reached out and lightly placed a hand on his back. His muscles tensed underneath her touch. She blinked as her stomach knotted. Why was he so tense?
He turned and she saw the anguish in those ice blue eyes. They were bloodshot and he did not mask the emotions there . . . Not this time. He let her see his soul – naked, vulnerable. She saw right through him. Something constricted her throat as the stab of pain crushed her heart. She had never seen this side of him, and it broke her heart.
“Rydel, please . . . Tell me what’s wrong,” she pleaded gently, her voice like a soft breeze in the summer sun.
“Tara . . . I . . . I’m lost . . . ” His voice broke as he turned and pulled her into his arms, crushing her into his hard chest, his fingers entangled in her lush hair. “I don’t want to lose you,” he said. Cupping her neck, he tilted his head, claiming her mouth with a fierceness that took her breath away. His tongue ravaged her mouth, fervent and demanding, wanting to possess her body and soul.
Mine. Mine. Mine. It was all he could think of as he grazed his tongue against her own, his hips grinding into hers.
She pushed him back gently after a while, breathless. “R - Rydel . . . Wait . . . ”
He looked at her, eyes dark, and again crushed his mouth to hers, ignoring her pleas.
“Rydel! Slow down, please . . . ”
He abruptly stopped, as if coming out of a trance, and let go of her.
“What’s going on, Rydel? Why won’t you talk to me?” she asked worriedly.
“Alright, we need to talk,” Rydel said soberly, his breathing labored as he moved toward the couch and sat down, pulling her down with him. “Tara . . . I found the Svix.” His intense gaze seared into her own.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Tara said, smiling.
“No, Tara. Listen to me,” Rydel said, taking her small hands in his. Her skin was soft and delicate as he unconsciously ran a thumb over them, caressing her. “The symbiont that you have been joined with is actually the Svix,” he said cautiously, waiting for her reaction. “But don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen to you. The species of your symbiont comes from a planet in the Delta Quadrant. So I will go there and get it. The only thing is that it might take us months to reach there.”
“Then we should go there at once,” she said.
“The chief called today. The situation is bad back home. So there’s no point in going there. And I am not going to take you to Scyok. There must be some other way. Someplace else where I can get this symbiont . . . ” Rydel said, his mind racing.
“Rydel, take me to Scyok. I want to help your people. Maybe your doctors can find a cure and I can help save your race,” Tara said softly.
“No way! They will experiment with you – not caring whether you live or die. You are mine, Tara. I won’t let that happen,” Rydel said adamantly.
“You have a responsibility to fulfill, Rydel. Your people have their hopes pinned on you. You can’t just abandon them,” she said, irritated by his inflexibility.
“When did you start caring about the Klai?” he said, eyes blazing a brilliant blue. “You should be happy my race will be almost wiped out. With only a few survivors like me, nobody will remember us.”
His words stung her. “You are wrong. I don’t care about the Klai. It’s not about my personal vendetta here. It’s about you. Rydel, when you took on this mission, you chose to fulfill it. It’s just not right that you are letting your people die when you have the chance to save them,” she reasoned with him gently.
“And let you die instead? I did not choose to be here. I did not choose any of this!” he said through clenched teeth, eyes blazing embers. She was surprised at his stubbornness.
“Who says I’m going to die?” she asked incredulously.
“I have the background info on the Svix. Once joined with a host, it is for life. Until the host dies. And if you try and extract it . . . it will kill you,” Rydel said quietly. The sadness in his eyes was immense.
“Your destiny chose you, Rydel. You cannot undo it,” Tara said in an ever-so-soft voice.
“I shouldn’t have gotten you into this mess . . . I will not force you to risk your life,” he said adamantly.
“How can you be so selfish?” she gazed at him, surprised. He was stubborn as a bull. “Look, I want to do this. I want to save lives. All my life I have been a worthless slave. Let me be someone better,” she said as tears welled in her eyes.
“Tara, you are not worthless. You are so much more . . . I . . . I can’t let you do this.” His voice was hoarse as he pulled her onto his lap. “Have you ever thought about me? How could you leave me, Tara?”
Tara gazed at him with tears in her eyes. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him hard on his mouth. Pulling back, she gazed deep into his eyes. “Do you love me, Rydel?”
“More than my life,” he said fervently.
“Then let’s go back to Scyok. We are not arguing over this anymore,” she said, raising a brow.
“Okay,” he yielded to her half-heartedly.
A short while later, they were in the control room as Rydel set a course toward Scyok. It would take four months to reach there. That was enough time for him to look for another way. Anywhere he could find the symbiont. He started his search that very day.
Chapter 9
Four months later, they landed on Scyok. Two men rushed up to them and handed them masks to filter their breathing as they got off the ship. Tara almost gagged at th
e stench that filled the air. It was so bad that it seeped through the cloth covering her nose and mouth. The breathing clip could not keep it out either. The men then instructed them to take some pills to prevent infection. The gravity felt slightly heavier. She was almost dragging her feet. And the air was so dry it burned her throat.
They were taken directly to the Chief’s house by a vehicle that hovered above the ground and flew through the ruins. It reminded her of cars in old sci-fi movies from Earth. The two suns were hot at this hour, and the red smog that hung over the gray buildings gave a dreary appearance. Tara shuddered, wondering what happened to the place. It was quiet – as if they were the only ones driving through the city.
Reaching the chief’s house, Rydel helped Tara out of the car. They quickly made their way inside. They crossed a long hallway with a glass ceiling. Subdued sunlight streaked inside, creating shapes and patterns on the floor, reminding Tara of some medieval castle created out of metal, glass, and wood instead of stone. Inside the house, the guards led them toward two huge doors. They entered a large room where the leader of the tribe, Hyrak, was waiting for them. He stood tall, his back to them, wearing a long thick coat with a slit at the hip that revealed his tail, leather pants, and high boots. His long gray hair was tied with a band at the nape of his neck. He turned and looked at them.
“Ah, Rydel . . . I was beginning to think you would never make it,” Hyrak said, gazing at him with a strange look in his eyes – almost hollow. His skin was sickly pale. He glanced at Tara. Rydel saw with horror that he was infected.
“Oh. I see you’ve brought a guest,” he said, eyeing Tara as if she were a piece of meat. She cringed, pulling her hood lower over her face and moving behind Rydel, trying futilely to hide from view.
“Chief, this is Tara. My mate,” Rydel said, pulling her close to him and putting an arm around her shoulders.
“Oh, a human. Hmm. I always thought you had better taste in women,” he said, throwing a look of disgust at Tara. She winced, not looking him in the eye. He knew very well that mating for Klai men was not a matter of choice. Fate chose their mate.
“Guards, take the lady to the guest hall and make her feel comfortable,” Hyrak barked. “Rydel, I want a minute alone.”
Rydel turned toward Tara and whispered, “You go ahead. I’ll be there in a while.”
Tara nodded as she reluctantly let go of his sleeve.
Rydel thought about the situation as Tara left the hall with the guard and the doors closed. The chief wasn’t himself. It had been almost a year now since he had left Scyok to look for the Svix. Hyrak seemed to have contracted the illness. This wasn’t good.
“How long has it been, Hyrak?” Rydel asked as Hyrak’s shoulders slumped a little.
“A few months . . . It’s still in the early stages.” Hyrak obviously wasn’t comfortable discussing it. “Now, let’s get down to business. Where is the Svix?” he asked.
“The stone indicated that the Svix lies within Tara. She was joined with a symbiont as a child. The Svix is that symbiont,” Rydel said.
“How do we get more of these things?” Hyrak said impatiently, taking a swig of dark wine. He poured a glass of wine for Rydel and handed it over to him.
“There is a planet that has plenty. I could go there right away and hunt them down. But it would take months to reach,” he said, taking a swig.
“What about the woman? She already has the Svix. We could extract it from her . . . ”
“Chief, please. That’s not happening. Nobody touches her. I don’t want any procedures done. She is my mate, and I want her to be treated as such,” Rydel said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Extracting the Svix would kill her. I am seeing if we can find more of them elsewhere.”
“Where did the woman get her Svix?” Hyrak was not liking the fact that Tara would be of little use.
“Tara? She has never been off Andromeda 13. She must have got it from there . . . ” Rydel said, wondering why he didn’t think of it before. “Of course, she got it from the sickbay at the Station . . . ” Rydel’s spirits lifted at the prospect. He could get more from there . . . “Chief, I’ll call the Station and ask if they have more Svix at their medical hub.”
“We don’t have that much time,” Hyrak said.
“Let me ask them first. I’ll let you know tonight,” Rydel said.
Hyrak looked at him for a long time, gauging him. “Rydel, you and your woman head to the sickbay for regular screening right away. You can send me your findings later in the evening.”
“Okay . . . ” Rydel left the room with an uneasy feeling in his gut. Something wasn’t right. The Chief seemed calm. Too calm.
Rydel quickly walked toward the guest hall, his tail swishing behind him. Tara . . . He would take her to the sickbay and then to his house. She must be tired.
Tara almost ran into his arms as he entered the guest hall. She kept wringing her hands. “Rydel, please take me back to the ship. The chief does not like me.”
“Okay. Calm down, Tara. Nobody will hurt you here,” he said, gently taking her in his arms.
“I . . . I don’t like it here . . . ” she whimpered.
He saw the fear evident in her eyes. “Let’s get out of here,” he said as they quickly made their way outside, the guards following them.
Chapter 10
Hyrak slowly poured the dark wine in the glass, watching the liquid fill it. He had never been fond of Rydel. He always thought of him as an outlaw. If it hadn’t been for the Scroll, he would never have given him the task. He took a swig and gazed at the glass as if noticing it for the first time. That pathetic bastard, he thought. He would let his people die over that puny woman. Rydel was blind. She was the cure, the Scroll said so . . . The Svix was within his reach.
The woman meant nothing to Hyrak. She was not one of his tribe. She wasn’t even Klai. She was only a means to the cure. Sacrificing her was for the greater good. He would make sure Rydel was punished for objecting to his plan. Hyrak held the glass so tight that it cracked and shattered to pieces. He absently wiped the blood and shards off his hands. Then, pressing the comm button, at his wrist, he called the doctor at the hospital.
“Make the extraction first thing tomorrow,” Hyrak said, a sinister smile curling his lips.
“Sir, I need to run some tests on the subject before I can proceed with the procedure. It will take a few days. I can’t ignore it” said the doctor.
“Go ahead. But you must deliver. Three days. No more excuses.” Hyrak's voice was so cold that it would have made any living soul shudder.
***
The building that used to be a hospital and medical facility was in ruins. Tara clung to Rydel’s arm as they hurried inside. The guard guiding them to the doctor’s office led them through the doors to another corridor. Screams shattered the place as they crossed rooms full of people. Men, women, and children, locked up.
“What’s going on?” Rydel asked the guard.
“Sir, this is where they keep stage 4 patients. The Chief wants them here till they are cured. They would die anyway when the virus reaches stage 5.”
“The doctor is not giving them the pills to slow down the disease?”
“I don’t know, sir. From what I’ve heard, they don’t seem to be working anymore,” he said as they came to another corner and entered the elevators.
Rydel felt sick, his stomach knotting as the elevator took them to another floor. He would talk to the doctor, he decided. They walked down another hallway. Rydel held Tara’s hand as they stepped out onto the hallway. The Guard took them down the end of the hall and swiped his hand in front of the scanner. The metal doors opened and they walked inside.
It was a semi-circular room with white walls and floors. Bright lights hurt their eyes momentarily. Tara blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light. The guard stood to watch by the door.
Doctor Jaydel came toward them wearing white overalls and gloves. He was a pleasant-looking man, but at the mome
nt it seemed he hadn’t slept in days. He looked harassed – nervous, even. “Oh, you must be Rydel. And this is the woman?” he asked, gesturing toward Tara. He stared at her for a little while longer than necessary.
“Doctor, what’s going on?” Rydel asked, rather irritated by the pleasantries. “I want to know everything,” he said.
“Um . . . Well, where do I start? When we heard the Chief had sent you to find the cure, the Svix, that is, we had hope. But soon after you left, things got worse.” He paused, taking a deep breath and wringing his hands. “This virus is mutating. It’s spreading faster than before. Our drugs have started failing . . . There is no way but to get the cure. Or we all die.”
“Listen to me, Jaydel. You will only make the necessary scans and check her health. I will get you the other Svix soon. As many as you want. We can’t separate her from the symbiont. It will kill her.”
“Okay, alright. Let me see her,” he said. “Please, lie down here and I will take a blood sample.”
Tara glanced at Rydel and he nodded. She walked timidly toward the bed and sat down. “Just relax and lie on your back, please. What happened to her face?”
As Tara lay back, a chill ran down her spine. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she had a feeling something wasn’t right.
“She was in an accident,” Rydel lied. “Can you fix it?”
“Let me see,” Jaydel said, leaning over her.
Tara hesitated and glanced at Rydel who nodded again. She took off her scarf that was tightly wrapped around her head and side of the face. He looked at the scars, unflinching, as if he was examining a new species of fish. “Acid burns . . . third degree.”
“Reconstruct her face, doc,” Rydel said anxiously.
“I could, but that won’t be necessary,” Jaydel said as he glanced back at the guard near the door. And then turned around to tap commands on the small panel he took from near the bed.