by Elin Wyn
“It’s not our job anymore,” Rokul shrugged.
My temper flared. Before Rokul or any of the other crew members could react, I grabbed his arm, pulled him to me, and twisted his arm around behind his back.
When Rokul struggled, I pushed the toe of my boot into the back of his knee, forcing it to buckle. Once he was on the deck, I put my knee between his shoulder blades and tightened my grip on his arm. At least he was smart enough to stop fighting me.
The others looked on in shock. They’d never seen me do anything like this before. It wasn’t the sort of leader I wanted to be, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable when it was necessary.
And it was necessary.
“Listen now, and listen well,” I snarled. “I have given all of you a mission. We are not leaving until that mission is completed. If you disagree with that, I will walk you off the Aurora myself, and we will see how long it takes you to leave this planet from there. Do you want me to do that?”
“No,” Rokul grunted from underneath me.
“I didn’t hear you,” I shot back.
“No, Sir!” he yelled.
I released his arm and lifted my knee off his back. I extended a hand to help him to his feet. He took it.
“All of you are to go down to the galley and report to Snipes,” I said. “He is your superior for the next week. When this week is up, I better receive glowing reports from him, or else there will be another week. And another. And another. As many as it takes for each and every one of you to prove to me that you deserve the rank you were given.”
They stood rigid, mouths agape.
“Did I mumble?” I demanded. “Report to Snipes, now!”
The crew members hurried off, tripping over each other as they went.
Thribb stood off to the side, looking nervous.
“I’m tempted to send you down to Snipes, as well,” I grumbled.
I disliked losing my temper.
“I—” Thribb stammered.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you chose that moment to announce these surprise repairs for the sole purpose of riling the crew.” I looked at him through narrowed eyes.
“You can’t be serious,” Thribb scoffed, though a hint of nerves threaded through his voice. “I discovered what I thought was good news and reported to you immediately.”
Thribb held my gaze, thin lips pursed.
Afraid, or just angry?
Anxious for his work, to return to the war, or was there something else in there?
I sighed. “In the future, you will make your reports to me in appropriate, calmer fashion. You’re dismissed.”
“General,” Thribb nodded before walking away.
I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so tired.
14
Vidia
It had been a few hours since Rouhr and his crew returned to the Aurora. I’d been working non-stop since then, yet there was still so much to be done.
The doctors were still seeing survivors. The main square was still filled with dazed people waiting to be examined and then given a bed.
The rooms we were using for shelters were spacious. Hundreds of cots had been found, built, and donated. Rows upon rows of these cots filled the rooms allocated to the survivors.
Any doctor that was not currently giving examinations was stationed in these rooms, watching over the patients. Most of the survivors crawled into bed and went to sleep as soon as they were given a cot.
“Everyone is so tired,” I mused to Hannah.
She was comfortable in her human body once more and much more talkative than she’d been earlier, insisting on staying with me as I worked.
At first, I worried about her health. I wanted her to rest, but she didn’t want to. I kept a close eye on her, all the same. The moment she started to look unwell, I would march her right back to her cot.
“We didn’t sleep,” she explained. “None of us were allowed to. I don’t think the queen knew what sleep was.”
“The Xathi don’t sleep?” I asked.
“Not the ones I saw,” Hannah replied.
We walked together through the rows of cots, the set-up perfect for medical emergencies. The doctors on watch duty could be notified almost immediately if needed.
However, with no dividers and roughly seventy people per room, they offered nothing in the way of privacy.
Despite all of the people that had flooded into the city, there were still cots to spare. But I didn’t think there were enough to simultaneously fit the survivors from all three camps. I had to find a place for the people from the first camp to make room for people coming in from the final two camps.
I racked my brain for a solution as Hannah and I walked together through the wards, back to the city square, past massive homes carved into the stone itself.
“I’ve got it!” I exclaimed suddenly, startling Hannah in the process. “Let’s make a broadcast and ask people to open up their homes to the survivors that just need rest, not further medical attention.”
“That could work,” Hannah nodded.
“We’ll keep it simple, just a written message that will show up on the public screens,” I continued.
“You could use my picture, if you want,” Hannah offered.
“Are you sure?” With my hand on her shoulder, I could feel her small bones under my fingers. How much more could she take?
“I think it’ll make people more likely to help,” she answered, biting her lip.
“You have a big heart, Hannah. Your mother would be proud.”
For the first time since she was rescued, she smiled.
We found the central broadcasting station for the city. After taking one look at Hannah, they couldn’t deny our request.
Within twenty minutes, Hannah’s picture ran along the bottom of every broadcast screen in the city with the message reading ‘Help me reclaim my life’ and where to go to offer help.
“Good job, Hannah.”
By the time we returned to the city square, three people had offered their homes.
I caught Hannah yawning and sent her back to her cot to sleep.
I gave instructions to the doctors to send anyone who seemed ready to leave immediate medical supervision to the central desk to be matched with a generous resident.
Every nerve in my body felt alive and wired. I’d missed this level of productivity.
There was still so much to do, it was probably better if I stayed here in Glymna for the night.
I’d let Rouhr know as soon as I reported back to Evie on how well her and Leena’s cure was working.
I didn’t think Evie had a comm on her at the moment, so I borrowed a comm unit to call her lab. There was a good chance she was still working. I found a quiet alcove and waited for her to pick up.
“Yes?” she answered in a brisk tone. Definitely still working.
“It’s me,” I announced.
“How’s the cure working?” she asked.
“Fantastically,” I replied. “There’s almost no side effects. How did you manage that?”
“What do you mean by almost?” Evie asked, ignoring my compliment.
“A few people are having allergic reactions,” I explained. “Something in the cure is making their skin red and blotchy, but it goes away with antihistamines.”
“Interesting,” Evie hummed. “But nothing serious, right? No swelling, no difficulty breathing?”
“Nothing like that,” I said.
“That’s good,” she said. “Out of all the side effects that could occur, that’s one of the mildest. Anything else I should know?”
“About one third of all the people we’ve rescued are experiencing memory loss,” I explained. “I think that’s the Xathi’s fault, not yours.”
“I’d like to do brain scans on those affected.”
“I’ll let the doctors know,” I agreed.
“No one has reverted back, right?” I could hear the worry in her voice.
“Nope,
” I said proudly. “As far as we can tell, the queen has been kicked out of their brains for good. The doctors have given everyone instructions on how to fight her off the way you did, just in case, though.”
“Tell the doctors to examine every patient daily to check for scaly patches of skin and bumps on the base of their skulls, that’s the earliest sign,” Evie instructed.
“They already know,” I reassured her. “Don’t worry. Things are going better than I’d ever hoped they would.”
“I’ll stop worrying when the Xathi are all dead and gone,” Evie muttered.
“Same here,” I sighed. “Anything happening on the Aurora I should know about?”
“We’re almost done making a slightly stronger batch of the airborne cure. Jeneva found an animal extract that makes the pink mist dissipate more slowly. Longer exposure might help the ones the cure didn’t work on the first time around.”
“Sounds like it’s worth a shot,” I agreed.
“Also, Sakev and I think it’s worth going around to the smaller towns that haven’t been bothered as much by the Xathi,” she continued. “We can hand out the pills and construct sonic barriers. If we do it right, we could have little safe havens for people to live.”
“That’s perfect!” I gasped. “Maybe I have some survivors here that are from those towns. It would be great to send them back to their original homes.”
“I bet that would speed up their recovery, too,” Evie agreed.
“I’ll talk to the doctors about that,” I said. “I need to comm Rouhr, and let him know I’ll be staying here overnight.”
“Oh!” Evie exclaimed before I could say goodbye. “Sakev told me there was an interesting moment with Rouhr and a few of his men right after they got back from Glymna.”
“What happened?” I asked, dread pooling.
“Thribb and some of the strike team members tried to urge Rouhr to leave Ankau before curing the other camps,” Evie explained, voice heavy. “Thribb’s been running repairs in secret, or something like that. The Aurora is almost completely fixed up.”
“That little sneak,” I muttered. “Why is he so against us? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t think it’s that he’s against us,” Evie mused. “I think he just places his homeworld as a higher priority than ours.”
“That makes sense,” I admitted. “I would do the same in his position. Hell, I was in this position, and I did the same thing. But Rouhr and I had an agreement. I don’t like that Thribb is trying to force Rouhr to break that agreement behind my back.”
“Rouhr came down hard on the strike team members,” Evie explained. “I don’t think Thribb was officially punished, though. Sakev said he’d never heard Rouhr lose his temper the way he did. Sakev didn’t see anything, but it sounded like Rouhr physically fought someone.”
“Holy crap,” I gasped. “Where’s Rouhr now?”
I already knew the answer before Evie said it.
“He went into his office, and he hasn’t come out yet. Not even to eat.”
Exactly as I suspected.
“I’m going to get him on the comm and invite him back here,” I decided. “I think it’ll reinforce the idea that the people here still need help.”
“Don’t lie,” Evie said in a knowing voice. “You want him there to make sure he eats, sleeps, and doesn’t drive himself crazy. You’re hiding behind work and you know it.”
I did know it.
But I sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it.
“Bye, Evie,” I sang into the comm link before hanging up.
I fiddled with the comm settings, looking for the private channel he’d used to call me before the cure strike started.
Years ago, it felt like. Decades.
There.
Maybe.
“Rouhr, come in?” I crossed my fingers.
“Is that you, Vidia?” His voice crackled through. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes,” I hesitated for a moment, wondering if the conversation was private or not, how much I should say. “I heard things got tense earlier today.”
“A bit,” he admitted. “The situation is taking a toll on everyone.”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed. “I have a proposition.”
“I’ve been doing a bit of research on human metaphors,” he teased. We better be on a private channel, I fumed, cheeks heating.
“Come back to Glymna for the night,” I pushed on. “Get away from Thribb, the strike teams, and that stupid cot in your office. I promise it’ll do you some good before the next cure strike.”
I had another three arguments prepared in case he refused, but to my surprise, he didn’t.
“Very well,” he agreed.
“What?” My surprise was obvious enough to make Rouhr laugh.
“Getting away from everyone for a little while is exactly what I need,” he repeated. “I’ll clean up and ask Fen to open a rift.”
“Great!” I exclaimed. “I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon.”
It was a makeshift hospital in the middle of an imperiled city during an invasion.
But it was still a date.
15
Rouhr
For the first time in my entire military career, I was glad to be away from my crew.
Standing in the city square with Vidia, looking at all the people we were helping, only reinforced my belief that I’d made the right choice.
I was disappointed with my men for not seeing how important our work here was.
Somewhere, I must have failed them.
But I wasn’t going to think about that any more today.
“I didn’t think you were going to come,” Vidia confessed.
“Really?” I was surprised. “Why?”
“You’re a lot like me,” she explained. “We don’t like to leave our work unless we are forcibly dragged away. Your work is on the Aurora.”
“It’s here now, too,” I said. “Whether you like it or not, I’m invested in what happens to these people.”
“I like it very much.” Vidia smiled up at me, the soft happiness on her face soothing all of the irritations of the day away.
She was magic.
I laced my fingers through hers, marveling at how tiny her hands were. “I also came to see you, you know?” I said softly.
A deep blush bloomed over her cheeks, and she leaned close to rest her head on my arm.
“I know we both have mountains of work to do,” she said. “But I want,” she stopped, started again, “I’d like to make time for you, for us, for a change.”
Oh. My brave little human.
“I’d like nothing better.” I wondered what we would’ve been like if we’d met when we were younger, less weighed down by the burden of our responsibilities.
But Vidia was an intelligent woman. And I could see in her eyes as she looked at me that she understood my position as well.
We were in the middle of a war. There were events that were transpiring larger than us. But through it all, whatever time we would have left, we would do our best to make it for each other.
Compared to that understanding, our words seemed small.
Suddenly, a young woman rushed up to Vidia looking flustered and worried.
“Vidia, we need your help,” she pleaded. “People keep getting sent to the wrong places. Names are getting mixed up. It’s a disaster.”
“I’ll be right there,” Vidia soothed the girl.
She turned to me and winked.
“Well, that was fast. I won’t be long.” She let the frantic girl pull her back to the tables at the center of the city square.
I stood alone, looking around at all the people. A tall, reed-thin man caught my eye. His skin was so pale, I knew he had to be one of the survivors.
He struggled to rise from a bench, as if his limbs wouldn’t listen to his commands. I rushed to help him, grateful that I’d remembered to wear my holo-disguise.
“Are you all right?” I
asked, extending a hand toward him but not yet touching him.
“Leg hurts,” the man groaned.
I let him make the decision to grab my arm. He gripped my forearm and my shoulder and then hauled himself up. He held tight until he could stand steady.
“Let me help you to one of the doctors,” I suggested. “Have you been seen at all yet?”
“Saw doctor hours ago,” he explained in halting speech. His voice was scratchy with disuse. “Leg is only bruised. Will heal by itself.”
“I see,” I nodded. “Have you been assigned a cot? I could help you get back to it.”
“Have a cot,” he grunted. “Sitting here to wait.”
“Waiting for what?” I asked.
“Wife,” he answered, glancing around hopefully.
“Do you remember the last time you saw her?” I asked, fearing the worst.
“Not since before those bug things attacked.” He cleared his throat. “We escaped our town with others, but they caught us anyway.”
Many of the humans in similar situations to this man ended up as hybrids. It was possible that his wife was here somewhere or in one of the other camps.
Far better than any of the alternatives.
“There were a considerable amount of people suffering from memory loss,” I explained. “Your wife could be one of them. If not, my team and I are performing two more rescues in the coming days. Your wife could be in one of the other camps.”
“Do you think so?” he asked, turning to look me in the eyes.
“Giant bugs fell through the sky and are attacking the planet,” I forced a laugh. “After that, I don’t think anything is beyond the realm of possibility.”
The man smiled. “That’s a good way to look at it,” he nodded. “I’ll look and see where the helpers put the people with memory loss.”
“That’s a good place to start,” I replied. “Let me know when you find her, will you?”
The man nodded and waved before hobbling toward the central tables.
Vidia would point him in the right direction, figure out what he needed.