Leaping forward, she slashed down hard on the dinosaur's shoulder with the sword.
The creature let out an angry barking howl.
Jet hit it again, this time in its softer-looking underbelly, below those strangely useless-looking forelegs. She sawed another cut into the creature's thigh, hoping to topple it, and was rewarded when the dinosaur stumbled backwards with another howl. It lowered its head then, and Jet was forced to leap back and out of the way as it rushed her. Nearly tripping on the chain, Jet looked back just long enough to see that Ogli was back on his feet.
“The table!” she shouted, pointing at the stone structure. “Wait for me to attack again, then run for the table!”
Wide-eyed, the kid only stared at Jet, standing as close to the security field as he dared. Jet wondered if the kid would be able to escape the same way he came in...then was forced to focus back on the T-Rex as it whipped its tail around, trying again to knock her to the floor, or maybe all the way into the force field. She barely managed to get out of the way, slashing down once more with the sword as the tail went by. She heard another howl from the dinosaur in reward, and saw that once more she'd managed to break the tough hide.
The baby dinosaur tried to circle her, but Jet continued to drive it back towards the center and away from the Nirreth kid. It seemed to have determined that the shiny object in Jet's hand was the source of pain, just as the force field had been.
It opened its mouth and growled a half-roar at her, lowering its head, and Jet lunged at it again, moving out of the way of the feet as she got it in the underbelly again, this time closer to the creature's chest.
The dinosaur was backing off by then, still growling and hissing at her angrily.
Jet was just starting to feel like she might actually get this thing, when that hard tail whipped around again, this time faster than her reflexes could compensate for. It knocked into her side, hard...so hard she was thrown to the floor and couldn't move at first.
For the second time in two days, Black left her fingers, clattering across the tile towards the far loop of force field. Before she'd stopped the spinning in her head or behind her eyes, Jet was crawling towards the sword, gasping, nearly whimpering in pain as she felt the floor tremble under the dinosaur's large feet.
She was done. Jet knew she was done.
She couldn't move one of her legs. If she couldn't get to her feet, the dinosaur would simply break her spine with one crunching step. On the plus side, she might not be able to feel it when it began eating her alive. Maybe it would start with her legs and she would bleed out before it got high enough where she could feel pain.
Her fingers closed on the handle of her sword. She chanced a look backwards once they had, saw the baby T-Rex nearly on top of her.
Behind it, the Nirreth kid was watching her, terror in his eyes. He screamed a yell, holding out a hand towards her as the T-Rex bore down on her.
“Run!” she yelled at him. She held the sword over her, hoping she might at least be able to hurt the thing one last time before she died.
The creature reached her, its foot looming up over Jet's face. Relief washed over her briefly as it occurred to her that at least it would be quick...
When suddenly, everything went dark.
Jet opened her eyes.
She raised her head from her arm, staring around at the faces surrounding her in bewilderment. Clawed, Nirreth hands pulled her to her feet, not ungently. One of them was unlocking the cuff around her wrist while another knelt down to deal with the one at her ankle. Jet just stood there, watching them as if from a great distance. Her leg no longer hurt. Neither did her side, where she'd been positive only a few seconds ago that at least a few of her ribs had been shattered.
The Nirreth working over her smiled at her, and that time, its eyes almost reflected the friendly attempt to mimic a human facial expression.
Then Jet heard laughter. Human laughter.
Unfortunately, she also recognized the voice.
Rubbing her neck, she turned her head. Before she found the owner of the laughter, she found herself looking at Ogli, the son of the Royals. She felt her shoulders unclench in spite of herself.
“You okay?” she asked him.
He didn't answer.
“Of course he is!” Richter said, slapping her on the shoulder.
The blow didn't hurt exactly, but it caught her off guard enough that it nearly toppled Jet over. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so exhausted. Still, at least Richter could speak English, and about then, she really needed some kind of explanation.
“What happened?” she said to him.
“You did marvelously! Far better than even I expected, truthfully...” He grinned at her, grabbing her shoulder again with his thick fingers. “I could kiss you right now!”
“I wouldn't if I were you,” Jet growled, jerking her shoulder out from under his fingers.
Richter chuckled. Then he gestured out over the room. Following the motion of his hand, Jet was stunned to realize it looked exactly as it had prior to the demonstration.
“What happened?” she said again, numb.
“A very interesting simulation,” Richter said, chuckling. “Very, very interesting indeed. They threw the kid in there just to see how you'd react towards the end, since you did such a great job outmaneuvering the T-Rex. I admit, I was a little nervous you might hurt the kid...”
Jet gave him a disgusted look. “You would be.”
“Jet.” He grabbed her shoulder again, shaking her a little gently, as if frustrated with her lack of understanding. “You don't understand. You didn't just do well. You did incredible in there! Incredible! Selflessly protecting the most beloved son of the Royals...” He chuckled again, bumping her arm with his good-naturedly, almost like something Anaze might have done while they were setting traps. “You have no idea how much money you just made me, girl. I think every Nirreth in the place bid on you after that...”
Jet scowled, rubbing her wrist where the shackle had been. She didn't want to talk to him, but again felt like she had little else in the way of options.
“So what was that?” she said. “All fake?”
“A lot of it, yeah.”
“How did they manage that?” she said. Her voice was still openly furious, but almost low as she continued to examine the condition of her body, assuring herself she was in one piece, more or less. If Richter noticed her anger he didn't react.
“Most of it was projections inside the VR field,” he said, shrugging. “Your clothes were fitted with sensors, so you'd feel pain...think you were really hurt via electical signals telling you what to see and feel. Part of the deal is, you can't know it's not real...”
Jet gave him a disbelieving look, biting back her fury with an effort.
“Hey!” He said, holding up his hands in a mock apology. “They can't hurt the merchandise before it's even changed hands now, can they? What kind of businessman would I be, if I let them dent you up before I'd been compensated fairly?”
“So the dinosaur, that was fake?” she said coldly.
Again, Richter shrugged, looking at her like he thought she might be soft in the head.
“They bring out a real one, so you'll buy into the illusion,” he said, still watching her face, his eyes holding an open scrutiny. He put his hands on his waist then, sighing. “Once you get a good look, they lead it out. You don't see it, because they do it after you've been immersed in the virtual arena. We saw everything, of course...”
Jet nodded, her jaw still clenched.
“The kid was fake, too?”
He snorted a little, shaking his head. “Sure, he was. I thought that part might tip you off, actually...I was worried the gig was up, but the Royals wanted to see what you'd do, so they insisted.” At Jet's deepening scowl, Richter chuckled again. “Jet, for crying out loud. Did you really think they'd risk harming a hair on that kid's head? He's the heir to the throne...I told you that. I thought for sure you'd figured
it out by then. I even wondered if maybe you were playing to the crowd a bit, giving them what they wanted...”
Jet didn't answer. She tasted the coppery tang of blood in her mouth though, and realized she'd bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to break the skin.
“So what now?” she said coldly.
“What now?” Richter said, slapping her on the shoulder again. Nothing seemed to dampen his mood now, certainly not her anger at him. “Now you belong to the Royals, sweetheart! You're the new bodyguard for Ogli, future ruler of the Earth...and scheduled to begin training for the Rings in two weeks.” He motioned with his head towards Laksri, who had somehow managed to join them silently on Jet's other side.
“...Laksri here's going to be your translator, at least for now. He'll teach you the local language, and some of the cultural stuff.”
“What about Anaze?” Jet asked, her voice still hard as ice.
“He's part of it,” Richter said coolly, removing his hand from her. “He'll be staying with you for awhile. Until they can assess a role for him in the palace.”
“What kind of role?” Jet said.
Richter's expression didn't flicker. “I don't know. What can he do?”
Jet didn't answer, but felt her teeth grinding into her check once more.
“Can he fight?” Richter said.
Jet nodded, her eyes following the progress of Ogli, son of the Royals as he passed under the care of what looked like some kind of employee. He stared back at her, his eyes wide in his face, a kind of awe expressed somehow in that dark blue countenance.
“He can fight,” Jet acknowledged.
“Great!” Richter said, slapping her again. “Maybe he can join you in the Rings. Or we can groom him as a trainer...”
Jet didn't ask what that meant. She watched the small entourage of Nirreth disappear through the far doors of the long room. The boy Ogli walked in the center of them, still watching her with wide eyes. Jet noticed only then that he was holding his pet otter again, gripping it tightly in his arms as he stroked its fur with long, blue fingers.
“That's me, too,” she muttered. “The new pet.”
Richter was watching her face warily again when Jet turned.
“So what now?” she said again, speaking bluntly, matter-of-fact.
She held his eyes levelly. He folded his arms, staring her down, just as she did him.
When she didn't break the silence, Richter smiled.
“A shower?” he suggested, looking down at her humorously.
She fought not to hit him in the face. It was probably good she no longer held Black in her hands either...then remembered the sword had been fake, too.
“Sure,” she said instead. “Why not?”
Even as she said it, she found herself wondering if there was some way she could kill Richter if she got him alone.
Somehow that bothered her the most, the idea that he could leave from here, happily in his ship, swimming in Nirreth currency. Currency she'd earned him, by proving herself a worthy addition to the Royal's collection of artifacts and animals from what had once been a human-ruled Earth.
Worse than that, even, was the thought that she wasn't the first, and would be far from the last. Richter would leave here well fed, refueled and looking for more skags to drag back to his Nirreth overlords.
To think, he'd once been known as a bigger radical than the rebels themselves. He'd been feared by the skags as a fanatic, as one of the few humans left who claimed he would fight to the death, for as long as it took, until every last Nirreth on Earth was dead.
Jet hadn't expected to find anyone in her quarters when she exited the shower cubicle they'd provided her.
When she saw the tall Nirreth standing in the middle of the small room, she came to a dead stop. Shifting her weight from one leg to the other, she gripped the thin robe she wore tightly across the front of her, hating how self-conscious she felt.
She recognized him, though.
“Laksri?” she said. “What are you doing here?”
Even as she said it, she felt the back of her neck burn with heat. It crossed her mind that she might have misunderstood Richter's comment about Laksri sticking around. She also hadn't forgotten Richter's promise to Laksri in that medical examination room...that he could sting her all he wanted once the demonstration was completed.
So, what? Was she supposed to 'entertain' the giant? Is that what Richter had meant? As the thought crossed her mind, her muscles tensed. She also let her eyes dart around at the furniture closest to where she stood, looking for a weapon.
Laksri must have noticed the change in her stance.
Showing his teeth in a less-exaggerated version of a human smile, he made one of those reassuring gestures with his long fingers, flicking his tail around behind him. Jet saw humor in his demeanor somehow, but wasn't sure how to interpret that, either.
“What do you want?” she said.
That time, her voice was blunt, almost a threat.
Laksri walked deeper into the room, folding his hands neatly over his belly as he walked. He approached Jet in a roundabout way, as if still attempting to disarm her with his casual strides, and perhaps by keeping his hands and tail in visible sight.
“That's close enough,” she said, holding up a hand when he stood within a few yards of her. She hadn't moved herself, but continued to drip water on the plush carpet, mostly from her long hair, which hung down her back.
“What is it, Laksri?” she said again, biting back impatience. “What do you want?”
She told herself it was impatience anyway, and not fear at being alone with the dark-skinned giant with those deep black eyes with the iridescent flecks.
“There is more to Captain's message,” Laksri said, hissing the words softly, still seeming to have to struggle slightly to form the words.
“More?” Jet said, gripping the robe tighter.
She'd already zeroed in on a heavy lamp she was pretty sure she could wield well enough to crack the Nirreth over the head, if he tried to get any closer to her with that tail.
“How much more?” she said warily, feeling her jaw tighten when she saw Laksri glance at the lamp, too. “Where is he? Why didn't he come himself?”
Laksri smiled again, motioning towards her with his hand.
“It is things he cannot say. He is friend of Nirreth...but he deals with Royals.” Laksri again made that stiff imitation of a smile. “They check him before he goes. Make sure you are clean. They know he is not clean, but they not care. Care only about you.”
Jet felt her posture stiffen. Still watching the Nirreth's tail, she adjusted her feet backwards slightly, still balancing with her legs tensed, in case she had to move quickly.
“Clean how?” she said. “What do you mean?”
“They need to know you not a spy,” Laksri said, giving another stiff smile.
“A spy?” she snorted, still watching his tail. “A spy for who?”
“For Richter.”
Jet didn't answer at first, taking in the Nirreth's face warily. “Why would Richter need spies inside the Royals?”
Laksri made a strange blowing sound, one that reminded Jet almost of the baby T-Rex. The baby T-Rex that hadn't even been real, her mind reminded her tautly. In any case, the noise sounded somewhat disparaging.
“Am I supposed to know why Richter would need spies?” Jet said, her voice carrying more of an edge. “Should this be obvious to me?”
“Yes,” Laksri said, his tail flicking behind him, moving more like a predator's once more.
Jet continued to try to read the face of the tall Nirreth, but she couldn't get anything that made sense to her. She was about to turn around, maybe lock herself back inside the shower cubicle, when something made her ask,
“So am I?” Jet said. “Am I Richter's spy?”
Laksri smiled. That time, he didn't show teeth, and she got the sense it was a real one...a real smile, that is. Or as close as a Nirreth could get to a smile, anyway. In
any case, she distinctly got the impression that she'd finally asked him the right question.
“Yes,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Correct,” Laksri said.
Jet gave him a disbelieving look, gripping the robe she wore even tighter.
Laksri didn't change expression, or seem to react to the pointedness of her stare. If anything, he grew even more still. All but the sensual back and forth of his snake-like tail, which coiled through the air in odd patterns behind him.
“So what am I supposed to be spying on, exactly?” Jet said, folding her arms tighter. “Or am I not allowed to know that?”
Laksri made that dismissive sound once more.
“We'll let you know,” he said.
“What does that mean?” she said, feeling her face grow hot.
“We'll be watching you.”
That last part sounded almost like a threat.
Without another word, Laksri turned on his broad feet, and padded soundlessly out of the room.
Jet just stood there, staring after him.
She considered trying to call him back, but couldn't seem to form words that made sense, not even in her mind. She was so exhausted from the day of lunches and battling virtual dinosaurs, she was almost swaying on her feet, especially after soaking in a hot shower, her first in as long as she could remember. She was barely able to even make sense of Laksri's words...much less decide if she believed them.
If it was the truth, why would he tell her? And if it wasn't the truth, what was the point in telling her something like that? Were they testing her still? Was this just another security measure of the Royals'?
Before she could think about that, either, he was already gone.
She was still standing there, motionless, when the door to her suite opened again.
That time, it wasn't open for long.
Someone was shoved through the opening. Whoever it was, they stumbled, nearly falling on the shag carpet before they caught their weight by grabbing the heavier table. Jet saw Laksri's face briefly on the other side of the door. He was staring at her, as if taking in her expression, or maybe her reaction to this new event. Jet saw his stare intensify, right before it flickered down, staring at her body through the robe.
Alien Apocalypse: The Complete Series (Parts I-IV) Page 13