Tali went over to the small cart in the corner that Natalie hadn’t noticed earlier. It was stacked with what appeared to be medical supplies, but what caught her attention was the handheld device Tali grabbed off the top.
It was a strange metal rectangle with small red buttons on the side and a large blue button on the top toward one end.
“What’s that? Some sort of mind reader?” she half joked, hoping her worry didn’t show.
Tali gave a sharp laugh, not missing her hesitation.
“Don’t worry dear, this is a healing device called a MedHand. It can clean all wounds, but can only heal superficial ones without scarring. Unfortunately, our scientists haven’t been able to make it heal deep lacerations without a permanent marking. Meaning, you will most likely have scars on your shoulder.”
Natalie sat still as Tali turned on the device. A faint green light shone from one of the edges. Tali turned toward her and wiggled the device.
“Okay dear, I need you to take off your lovely sheet. I need to be able to see the injuries and run the green light over it. When the light is green, it means it is in cleansing mode and,” she pointed to a barely discernable small grey switch on the side, “if you switch this toggle, a purple light will come on. That is the healing mode. Again, I have to warn you that it will heal your deep lacerations, but you will always carry the marks. I hope that doesn’t bother you too much. Oh, and it can also mend bruises too, so don’t you worry your darling little head.”
“Wow, we don’t have any technology like that. The furthest we’ve gotten in any technology is being able to sustain an outpost on Neptune with cold fusion and travel to some neighbouring galaxies. This technology is amazing.”
“Okay, now sit tight. Depending on how much damage there is, this could take a while. You’re more than welcome to ask me questions if you wish.”
As Natalie let her sheet drop, Tali ran the MedHand over her shoulder. When the green light hit the bite marks on her shoulder, she felt a strange bubbling sensation deep in the tissues. It must be disinfecting her of the creature’s saliva.
ICK!
“So, you mentioned myths from Earth? What did you mean by that, and how does that explain why you speak English?”
“Well, there is an old legend about a far off planet called Earth that is populated by a people similar to us. Once, long ago, when our people were first learning space travel, they encountered a dark matter anomaly. The dark matter sucked them inside, and teleported them into an unknown galaxy.
“Remember at this time, we had already encountered the Nezleans, so we were aware of other beings in the universe. Anyways, they decided to see if there were any beings in this galaxy. Imagine their delight when they happened upon a planet populated with people like themselves. They landed on your planet, but they encountered rock, stone, and wooden buildings. Not many things had been made of your precious metals at this time, let alone a ship built for space travel. So they decided to go on a fact-finding mission. They spent two years immersing themselves into your world, getting to know the people, the customs, the language, and how to survive in your world. It was said that it was quite primitive, like ours had been many ages ago.
“Anyways, a few of the men and women had become romantically involved with the people they had been studying. They said that they were their soile-miena’s. So they told their mates about their origins, after they had gone through a marriage ceremony of course. A few of them thought they were mad, while the others believed them. So the doubters were shown the ship and asked if they would return home with them.
“Fortunately for our ancestors, all of their mates agreed to come back with them. When they came back through the anomaly, just as they were ejected into the galaxy we are presently in, it collapsed and vanished. We were never able to go back through to your galaxy and verify the stories about your world. A lot of my people believed yours to be a unique breed from Nezlea.
“So there are two main reasons we know your language. The first is that some of our people believed the stories and wanted to learn your language to be able to communicate with the Earthians if they ever found a way back to your planet. The second reason was because many of them also believed that your language was a secret Nezlean language, not meant for our ears. So we learned, just in case.”
“How the heck could they even think that? We look nothing alike for one thing, and we are nothing alike in temperament either.”
“I do not know, but many of my people were paranoid about being invaded, so although we lived in peace with the Nezleans at that time, we learned English in case of any such occurrence. Imagine our surprise when they waged war on us and English wasn’t actually a ‘secret’ language. And I have to agree on the looks part. You and your people are definitely more attractive than they have ever been.”
Without Natalie noticing, being too caught up in the story as she was, Tali had been able to clean and heal her shoulder, and to mend the bruising on her breasts and face.
“There, that wasn’t too bad now, was it?”
Tali grinned at Natalie, smug as only a healer could be.
“Wow, the pain in my head and shoulder are gone. Thanks. Do you think the scarring looks too bad?”
“No, you can barely notice them. There are only small silvery patches where it was mended and you can only see them up close. Plus, it makes you look like a warrior.”
They looked at each other, grinning. A slight sound from the direction of the door had the women turning to look.
Taavi was standing there, staring directly at Natalie.
For a moment, Natalie was stunned by the hunger she read on his face.
A brief moment of Why is he looking at me like that? transformed into Holy shit, he’s staring at your boobs, dumbass!
Natalie quickly grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to her chin, certain her face was the colour of a tomato.
“Don’t cover up on my account, I rather enjoyed the view,” Taavi said, a small smirk gracing his lips.
If anything, the remark made her blush harder.
She slowly looked away from Taavi toward Talisha, relieved to find that her face was red too. Only, when her laughter filled the room, did Natalie realize it wasn’t from anger, but from trying to suppress her merriment.
“Oh brother dear, keep that up and you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.”
Tali giggled again, turning to place the MedHand on the cart.
As she bent over to grab something from the bottom of the cart, Natalie caught a glimpse of red and exclaimed, “Hey! Is that my kimono? Oh my gosh, thank you! Thank you so much. Can I please have it, Tali?”
Talisha straightened with a pair of what appeared to be their equivalent of scrubs, and grabbed the robe.
“Wow, what a beautiful colour. And I love the texture. What is it? It’s so soft.”
“Thank you. I got it on a trip with my family back on Earth. It’s a kimono, which is a traditional Japanese dressing gown. It’s made of silk. It feels even better when you’re wearing it.”
Tali rubbed the material between her fingers, as if memorizing the texture then turned to hand the clothing and the robe to Natalie.
Natalie turned to look at Taavi, a bit unnerved to realize he was still staring at her.
“Hey, can you please turn around or leave? I need to get dressed.”
Taavi shook himself and stated, “Right. Yes, of course. And you do need to dress. I came to get you and Talisha. King Tyeron and the Elders have requested an audience.”
Natalie just stared at Taavi stunned, but the only thoughts that were running through her head were absurd.
First, how am I supposed to go before an alien king dressed in scrubs and the even more absurd How the heck can I go before all those people if I’m freaking horny?
Chapter Seven
Natalie stuffed the collar of her kimono under the scrub top and shoved the bottom into her pants. It might feel weird and a tad uncomfortable, but she couldn’t ris
k leaving it there or carrying it around. Plus, it gave her a sense of comfort for it to be so close.
As they left the clinic, Natalie was struck speechless at what greeted her as the doors opened. She had only ever seen pictures of castles, but this place was – the best word she could think of – palatial.
The clinic doors opened into a massive, sunlit corridor with vaulted ceilings of stone. In fact, everything outside of the clinic was made of stone, with small hints of some sort of metal in the ceiling and walls, which seemed to be reinforcing the structure.
The windows on the opposite side were something to behold. They weren’t even windows really, but archways to an outside walkway. There were sheer curtains on either side of the multiple archways that ran the length of the corridor, and they danced in the breeze. Beyond that, the sun was shining on a whole new world. It was something out of one of those science fiction movies she had watched so many times over the last few months.
She walked out, past the archways, and leaned against the balustrade to try and take in what she was seeing.
On the horizon, not far from where she was now, was a desolate place that appeared to be mostly blackened and charred. Massive craters seemed to plunge into the ground and then shoot back up high into the sky, casting shadows for miles; almost the way tidal waves used to look back on Earth. Closer still to where she stood was an expanse of nothing. No charred land, no craters, and no buildings. There was just sand, or what she assumed was something that would be considered a Tarlon equivalent.
Below her was a bustling metropolis. There were metal and glass buildings towering up into the sky, shimmering as they glinted in the sunlight. Interspersed between the high-rise buildings were wide flat-topped buildings, some glass and metal, and some that looked like brick, which appeared to either be plazas or warehouses of some sort. Vehicles and monorails were zipping through the city, winding around the buildings, slowing at stops and accelerating to leave the stations. The people looked like insects, converging and scattering as they went on their way.
Then there was the palace she was currently in. It stood tall, overlooking the tallest buildings. It appeared to be built into the side of a mountain. All around her the windows and archways, which opened up to the outside, disappeared again into the mountain itself. If she looked up, she could see at least five more such walkways before she could see the peak of the mountain.
She pinched herself hard and winced.
Yup, she was definitely awake and not dreaming this.
This was real.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” came a husky voice from behind her.
“Yes. It’s breathtaking. I have never seen anything so beautiful. My world is crammed full of people and pollution. It’s rare to be able to go outside without protective equipment because of the toxic air.”
She looked at Taavi from the corner of her eye, taking in his handsome profile.
She turned back to the view, frowning into the distance. She pointed at the various blackened craters near the horizon.
“What happened there? Why does it look as if there was some type of nuclear explosion?”
Taavi turned toward her, staring intently at her face when he said, “That’s exactly what happened. When the Nezlean decided they wanted our planet, they dropped bombs to decimate our population but not to destroy the planet. This isn’t even the worst one. This particular one ended up killing seventeen billion people. There were fourteen other explosions like this one all over the planet. Altogether, around one hundred billion of my people died.” He shoved a frustrated hand through his hair, and leaned into the balustrade.
Natalie felt her mouth drop again.
One hundred billion people? Earth only has about fifty-seven point eight billion people and we struggle with our population!
“Are you serious? One hundred…billion? Earth only has fifty-seven point eight billion and we killed our world. Literally. That’s why I was sent out. And you had to have had twice that number if you’re still here now.”
“Yes. There were around one hundred and fifty billion when the bombs dropped. Now we are sixty-two billion. We have been able to rebuild our numbers, but it has taken us over a century to achieve it.”
“How big is your planet? How do you sustain life? What’s the oxygen like? Soil? Sun? Water?” Natalie fired off questions in rapid succession.
She had just had an epiphany.
What if this was what they had been searching for all of this time? A planet that could sustain all of their people, all the Tarlon’s, and then some? What were the chances?
Maybe this was meant to be.
She started to grow excited, her smile growing bigger and bigger, spreading across her face the more the idea took root.
“Our planet is about fifty-thousand miles in circumference I believe. We sustain life the same way I imagine your people do. We drink water, breathe air, soak in sunlight and eat what the soil has provided. I assume we both breathe oxygen, considering you’re breathing it right now and haven’t asphyxiated. Our planets water is seventy percent fresh water and the other thirty percent of it makes up our oceans. I hope that answers your questions.”
“I’m sorry, I was just curious. Okay, I’m ready to meet your king and elders. I have a… proposal to make.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Once she had been able to pull herself away from the immensity of the new planet, she followed Tali as Taavi kept pace beside her, his warm hand low on her back.
They walked down the corridor and turned into the mountain. Everything was still stone, but it was obvious they had dug out and reinforced the hallways with a metal alloy. The lights looked as if they floated above her head, so small and intricate was the wiring.
She was so busy staring up and around, that she forgot to watch where she was walking. As she stumbled, with Taavi catching her, she marveled at the floor.
A stunning carpet, made of so many different shades of reds and oranges, was interwoven in a complex and beautiful work of art that lay beneath her feet. To the sides of the carpet were beautiful tiles of tan shot through with blues and greens. It made a startling, and yet almost hypnotic feature.
She felt a tug on her elbow and looked up to find Taavi smirking. She realized Taavi had been trying to move her forward but she had been looking intently on the floor. She felt her face flush and wondered how many more times she was going to let him get under her skin.
They walked a few more steps before they turned into a small alcove that turned out to be an elevator terminal. Tali pushed a button in a glass inlay that was set into the wall.
When the glass wall opened in front of them, Natalie was surprised to note that it turned out to be the actual elevator. It was a box made completely of glass. When she walked in and looked down, she gasped and grabbed onto Taavi. The bottom was also made of glass and dropped into a black chasm with intermittent streams of light from other floors shooting through the empty space.
To say it appeared terrifying was an understatement. Give her the blackness of space, at least she knew she would float and then suffocate to death in an instant. If she dropped, that was probably minutes of falling, of terror before death, and that was something she could do without.
It seemed Taavi didn’t have any problem with her hands grasping him so tightly; in fact, he took the opportunity to put his arm around her waist and pull her into his body. She didn’t have the heart to move; having his warm strong body surrounding her, she felt cherished and sheltered.
As they moved up two floors, she closed her eyes and held her breath. She felt slightly foolish considering she was a pilot in outer space, but there was something about standing on a glass floor that was really disconcerting. It skewed ones perception of what was real and what wasn’t. She knew the floor was there, and yet it was so clear, it appeared she was standing on air.
As they disembarked, she allowed Taavi to keep his arm around her. She quickly glanced at the arm around her waist. She wondered how he
was able to maintain such massive biceps, since they appeared to be bigger than her thigh.
She was brought out of her pondering when they were abruptly stopped by two large men holding guns; both men were wearing the equivalent of what Taavi had been wearing when they had first met. They were standing in front of a pair of large brass coloured doors; apparently that is where they had been heading.
“Taavi, Talisha. You know protocol. You need to be searched.”
The man who spoke had shoulder length black hair pulled into a low ponytail. He had a scar that started at his left temple and bisected his left eyebrow. When he glanced at Natalie she saw mean black eyes. He appeared to have an aggressive ‘I-have-to-prove-my-strength-by-being-a-bully’ attitude.
She instantly didn’t like him.
Taavi subtly moved Natalie behind him, trying to block the man’s view of her.
“Carik, I am Captain of the Elite Warriors of Team One. I trained you. I do not have to stand on protocol, as you well know. And King Tyeron is more like a brother, to both Tali and I. You know he doesn’t stand on such ceremony.”
“Well, I don’t know this woman, so she needs to be checked.” As he spoke, he looked down her body, lingering on her breasts.
His lascivious look repulsed her and made her think of Imhal.
Those two would get along nicely if they ever met.
The thought made Natalie sick.
As the staring went on longer than necessary, Taavi shifted again, straightening to his full height, which made him tower over the other man.
“You will not touch my soile-miena, Carik. Ty is safe with her.”
Natalie frowned up at Taavi. Whatever he had said to the two men had caught them by surprise. Both of their eyebrows were high on their foreheads and their mouths were open in shock.
Hmmm, very interesting. Note to self: Ask what the heck a soile-miena is.
Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Page 5