Everything had fallen to pieces, and we were on the run for our lives after the Qharr
had discovered the location of the resistance’s secret base. There
was every reason for us to give in to despair, but not all was lost. We soon found
ourselves on a quest to uncover a secret which could bring about freedom
for all the people of Earth.
Author's Note: Please note I am posting this as a serial, and while the bulk the story does need some final edits it is more or less done. I can't promise a set schedule, but I will try to post each part in a timely manner. The total length of the story is well over 200,000 words so please be patient.
Although, it's a bit spoil-rific I feel I need to warn people that I do kill off a lot of characters throughout this series. I make no apologies as I believe in staying true to the story even if it means putting my characters through hell.
A very big thanks to Zapper, Beyogi, Loki & Maggie Finson for providing valued input and assistance editing this story. Another big thank you to all those who participated in the following blogs Requesting help with a name for a race of aliens... and Questions about a human hair bracelet of all things. Although all participants in the former thread were very helpful (well, really both threads), I feel I need to thank Rasufelle and Elizabeth Jean both for their suggestions as those two inspired the final name for the Phyrr Lesch the most.
I am providing epub documents with this story. You can download said epub here.
Chapter One
"Ohhhh God," a voice groaned just a few feet away and my eyes flew open with a start.
I sat up with a soft groan of my own, only registering that I'd regained control from Khala after I did so. "That you, Kai?"
"Yeah," she coughed. "God, just promise me we'll never do that again."
"Not if I can help it. You alright?"
"I think I might have a few cracked ribs, and more than my fair share of aches, but other than that I'm just swell. I'll probably be a mass of bruises soon enough. How about you?"
"Fine," I paused suddenly realizing I didn't hurt at all, in fact I felt perfectly fine. "I think Khala somehow shielded me from the impact."
"God, aren't you the lucky one? Check on the others would you? I feel like my fucking head is about to implode."
"Alright," I responded climbing to my feet and started to sift through the debris.
‘You did shield me didn't you? How does that work?' I thought at Khala.
'It would be difficult to explain. I'm not even sure I understand how it works myself, but needless to say I possess the ability to create and manipulate fields of gravity. It requires a massive amount of power so I do try to reserve it for the most dire of circumstances unless I have a large amount of energy stored up.'
'Search over there where that pile of rubble is in the right corner,' she added with a sudden shift in tone.
I nodded and moved over to the general vicinity of where she had indicated. I knelt down picking through some of the debris, and uncovered a hand as I moved away a pretty sizable slab of metal. The hand very obviously belonged to a woman and I knew immediately it must have been Mara's due to the age lines on the palm. I called up the superior strength made available to me by Khala and started tossing large pieces of wreckage aside in a hurry to free my aunt.
It took a few minutes, but I finally managed to free away enough debris to reveal her still open eyes, arms and most of her torso.
"Doctor!" I called out once I got a good look at her blood-stained chest.
Vakrexid did not reply and felt a lump form in my throat as I reached down to check Mara's neck for a pulse and found nothing.
"Oh, God!" I screamed throwing myself away from the body unable to look into those unseeing eyes.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Kaya demanded suddenly.
"It's Mara, she's..." I trailed off feeling hot tears sting my eyes. "She's dead."
"No!" Kaya wailed suddenly shouldering past me and collapsed at her feet next to my aunt's dead body. She took one look at Mara's body then palmed her face with both of her hands and started to weep. I reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away and swirled around to look me in the eyes.
"You remember when I said that an older woman nursed me back to health after my sister betrayed me?" she asked her voice almost completely devoid of emotion.
I met her gaze, nodded, and placed my hands on her shoulders.
"The woman, it was Mara," she whispered and started to sob again. "Now I'm truly alone. I've lost everyone I ever cared about. When you were transformed by that thing I told myself it couldn't get any worse, but now with Mara gone I don't know if I can do this anymore. What do I have left to fight for?"
"Fight so that future generations can be free from the Qharr's tyranny. Fight for our child," I whispered reaching down to touch her belly.
She nodded and wiped her tears away. "C-come on. We don't have time to stand around. We may have bought ourselves some time by using the leapdrive, but the Qharr are bound to come to investigate."
"Are you going to be, okay?" I asked squeezing her shoulder.
She bit her lip and I could tell she was fighting to keep herself from bursting into tears, "I have to be. I'm Mara's second with her gone I'm in command."
She stood there for just another moment staring down at Mara's remains then with tears glistening in her eyes she turned around and started routing through debris. I joined her and together we found Jaysen who had been pinned under a collapsed console. He was unconscious, but didn't appear to be seriously injured. We found the doctor soon after that, he too was unconscious, but one of his facial tubes had been broken off and another had been bent at an odd angle. We didn't do anything for Vakrexid mostly because his physiology was so strange that we had no idea what could be done.
Strave, and Farris were both fine, but when we finally found Marta and Nate they were both dead. Kaya took both deaths in stride, but I could tell that their passing, Marta's in particular, bothered her.
"Damn," a voice abruptly pronounced and Jaysen sat up clutching at his head with both hands. "I guess this means we escaped?"
"Yeah, but..." Kaya trailed off choking up.
"But what?" he groaned.
"There were more deaths," I finished for Kaya having a hard time not choking up myself.
Jaysen paled and swallowed hard. "Who did we lose?"
"Mara, Nate and Marta," Kaya answered quietly.
"Jesus! Not Mara!" he exclaimed letting his hands drop away into his lap. "I-is everyone else okay?"
"Farris and Strave are alive. They're unconscious, but seem to be fine. As for the doctor your guess is good as mine," I replied shaking my head.
"Jaysen," Kaya asked suddenly her back to us both. "Do you think you could blow the ship up?"
He blinked. "Easily, why?"
She spun around and there were just the tiniest hint of that familiar manic fire in her eyes as she spoke. "I think I know how we can get another ride."
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"This is insane!" Farris protested standing over the doctor's still inert form after he had finished moving the Dexagarmetrax out of the ship.
"Suck it up, Farris," Kaya growled. "Mara's gone that means I'm in charge and I say we're doing this!"
"And what about that thing!?" He sneered and pointed a finger at me. "I still say we slit its throat and leave the corpse for the Qharr to find.
"Just shut the fuck up and do as I told you!" Kaya yelled.
Farris glared at me one final time before moving away to do as he was instructed.
"Did you get it?" Kaya asked turning to Jaysen.
"Yeah," he said holding up a small rectangular object about the size of his fist.
"I thought it'd be bigger," Kaya eyed it then reached out to touch it.
Jaysen shrugged and pulled it away before her hand could reach it. "Careful, it's pretty delicate."
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's the ship's transponder... I figured out how to modify it so that it sent out a false signal. It’ll trick any Qharr satellites who receive a signal from it into believing it's something innocuous like a bird or a communications relay. It was pretty difficult work, so it's easier just to bring it with us instead of reconfiguring another one. "
"And the other item?" Kaya asked quietly.
"Yeah, I got that too," he replied holding out a cylindrical tube which I recognized as my uncle's biometric key.
Kaya nodded then tucked both items into her pocket. "Good work. I sent Farris into the ship to get things ready. Why don't you go help him out?"
Jaysen frowned, but nodded without another word and made his way back into the wrecked Phoenix.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked hopefully.
Kaya shook her head. "It's probably a bad time, but I'm not sure there are going to be many good times from here on out."
"Kaya, what's this about?"
She pursed her lips and shook her head. "I've been meaning to talk to you about Strave."
I blinked. "About Strave?"
"You kissed him right before you challenged Duvak to that rite of whatever, remember?" She folded her arms across her chest.
"I-I... you see the thing about that is..." I trailed off feeling my cheeks burn.
"You slept with him, didn't you? That's why the two of were together all night."
"Yes," I admitted with a shudder.
"God, Lexa! Didn't I warn you about him? He and I had a fling a few years back, and let's just say it didn't end so well. Strave isn't the type to get involved in a serious relationship. He'll fuck you until the next pretty face shows up then he'll dump you like a sack of potatoes. My advice is to end it before he breaks your heart," she muttered glaring at Strave who was working just a short distance away.
"It was nothing. I don't have any feelings for him," I muttered shaking my head.
"Really?" she replied and began to walk away.
She paused craning her neck around to look at me. "Then why'd you kiss him?" she asked just before she withdrew and left me alone to muddle over what she had said.
"Find cover!" Kaya yelled as a Qharr ship appeared just over the horizon.
I put on the speed and leapt at the nearest bush, a moment later I was joined by the others. "Damn," Kaya panted. "That didn't take them long. You told them, in the distress call; there was a reactor leak, right?"
"For the twentieth time, yes!" Jaysen hissed back.
"I don't get it," I whispered. "Why would you tell them there was a reactor leak?"
Kaya smiled mischievously, "The reactor fluid the Qharr use is incredibly unstable when exposed to air. Even the smallest spark can cause a massive explosion. The rescue ship will land a safe distance away. Once they send a team in to investigate the leak we blow the Phoenix up and they naturally assume it was a result of the reactor leak. While the Qharr inside of the ship have their attention on the blast we attack and take control of the ship."
I shook my head and grinned back at her. "It's freaking brilliant, but you do know it's completely insane, right?"
Kaya rolled her eyes and shook her head. "All the best plans are."
"Why don't you hang back? The four of us should be able to take care of the Qharr inside the ship just fine," I said suddenly on an impulse.
Kaya let out a long dramatic sigh. "What and miss out on all the fun?"
"Well, I thought because you..." I trailed off as she issued me a warning glance. No one else knew yet that she was pregnant and I guess she wanted to keep it that way.
"Fine," I growled back. "Just don't get killed!"
"Relax Lexa," Strave said suddenly putting a hand on my shoulder. "Kaya knows what she is doing."
I glared back at him, but bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything I might regret.
"You know," Khala said thoughtfully appearing at my side. "If you were closer when that ship exploded I could absorb a lot of power."
'You want me to get incinerated?' I thought at her incredulously.
"Trust me. I'm not saying you should climb inside the ship even I can't survive the brunt of a blast that powerful. Just get close enough for me to absorb some of the energy."
'How close?'
"Oh, about ten feet," she grinned and winked at me.
"Ten feet?!" I hissed aloud. "You've got to be insane!"
Khala shook her head and let out a throaty laugh. "Remember that cluster of boulders on the oth--"
'Forget it!' I cut her short. 'I'm not going to do it.'
"Oh very well." She rolled her eyes then vanished with a puff of pretend smoke.
"Khala?" Kaya asked from nearby.
I nodded and let out a long sigh. "She wanted me to get closer to the blast so she could absorb some of its energy."
"Jesus!" Jaysen cursed. "You told her no, right?"
"No! I told her I'd gladly let myself be blown up! Of course, I told her no!"
"Everyone be quiet!" Farris howled suddenly. "The ship is coming in for a landing!"
I looked up and watched as the Qharr K'tarth class repair ship extended its landing gear and slowly inched toward the ground and settled there with a loud groan. Unlike most, Qharr vessels, the repair ship was quite cumbersome in appearance and resembled an uppercase "B", but like all Qharr craft it still had an organic almost insectine look to it.
We watched nervously as the ship rested there and nothing happened. Finally, there came a loud hiss as a ramp extended from out of the vessel's side. A group of five Qharr, all hazardous materials suits, stepped off the ramp and made their way toward the wrecked Phoenix completely unaware that they were walking into a trap.
"How big a complement does a rescue ship like that generally have," Kaya whispered looking over at Strave.
Straffen scratched his chin, then whispered back, "If memory serves a minimum crew would be eight, but max wouldn't be any more than eleven or twelve."
"Those aren't bad odds. Especially if we catch them off guard," Jaysen added.
"Fuck if we could be so lucky," Farris added growling softly then turning to glare at me.
"Shhh!" Kaya urged suddenly. "They're at the airlock!"
The Qharr team stood outside the Phoenix as the foremost manipulated the control panel. Then the entry hatch slid open and they each stepped inside.
"What are you waiting for? Press the button!" Farris urged as the entry hatch came shut behind them.
"Not yet," Kaya whispered between clenched teeth.
"Press the damn button!" Farris growled and grabbed at her hand.
"Fucking hell Farris!" Kaya yelled pushing him away pulling her phase pistol out of its holster and pressed it against his head. "Try something like that again and I'll blow your damned head off, got it?"
Farris gritted his teeth then nodded. "Got it."
Kaya glared at Farris one final time them held the detonator in front of her face before pressing the button and the Phoenix exploded with enough force that the ground itself shook. I held my hands over my ears and gritted my teeth against the roar of the blast then glanced at Kaya as the sound began to subside. She nodded and without a word I took off running toward the rescue ship.
The others weren't far behind and I slowed down to what felt like a crawl so they could keep up. We closed the distance to the rescue ship and I bound up the entry ramp in two quick leaps. I waited for the others to catch up then burst inside.
"Jaysen! Farris! You wait here! Don't let any of the Qharr to get out!" Kaya called over her shoulder then along with Strave followed me down the right fork.
Judging from the sound of their feet on the base deck Strave and Kaya weren't far behind as I made my way through the ship. It didn't take me long to find what served as a control center and when I stepped through the door frame I didn't stop to think I just acted. Two Qharr, a tall slender female who was missing an eye and an older male who only had half of his right hand, rose to their feet as I planted a fist into the head of a third, a male whose body was riddled with scars.
The blow proved effective and the soldier collapsed face-forward out of his seat unconscious. Kaya appeared in the doorway toting her big-ass phase rifle and opened fire on the nearest of the two remaining Qharr and Strave took out the final with a single phase blast to the chest.
"That went better than I could have expected," Kaya said looking around the bridge with an appraising eye then stepped back into the hallway. "Come on, we need to look over the rest of the ship."
"What a clunker!" Jaysen groaned planting both his hands on his hips as he looked around the bridge.
"Well the Qharr don't exactly see rescue ships as the most glorious of rides. Most soldiers that get assigned to them are maimed so badly that they're almost no good in a fight which probably explains how we took them out so easily," Strave replied stroking his chin.
"We were lucky it was such a small ship. If the crew compliment had been any bigger it wouldn't have been so easy to take them out," Kaya added swinging around on her seat to meet his gaze.
"Jaysen," she added suddenly. "How long till you can get the ship underway?"
Jaysen shrugged. "Well, I don't know five, ten minutes maybe. It really depends on how fast I can find the transponder and shut it off. This ship has a completely different layout than the Phoenix and since I have almost no experience with this class of ship I can only guess at where it might be."
"Well, I can help with that!" Khala pronounced suddenly from my side. "Until about thirty years ago these G'tarth class ships served as light cruisers in the Qharr armada. Only a few of them are still in service and they have all been retro fitted to act as repair craft like this one. Pled K'dem, one of my previous hosts, commanded a G'tarth class cruiser back when they were still very new. She knew everything there was to know about them and she shared quite a bit of that knowledge with me."
"Thank you so much for the life story," I replied dryly before turning to Jaysen. "Khala says she can help find the transponder. She has some experience with this class of ship."
"Perfect!" Jaysen responded with an enthusiastic smile.
Farris glowered at me, but with a warning glance from Kaya he gritted his teeth and didn't say a word.
"Great while those two... three," Kaya corrected glancing at me then back to Strave, "are working on that I want you and Farris to go retrieve the doctor from where we hid him."
"Fuck, whatever you say your royal majesty!" Farris pronounced then traipsed out of the bridge without waiting for Strave.
Strave shrugged then shook his head and followed Farris out of the bridge.
"Right then," Jaysen said. "Why don't we get started?"
Chapter Two
"Where the fuck are we supposed to go?!" Farris demanded pounding his fist against the console. "We don't even know how the Qharr found us or whether or not we were betrayed and who's to say if they found one base they didn't find more!"
"I am aware of this!" Kaya replied coldly glaring back at him.
"Can you get this piece of shit in the air, already?!" she snapped glaring at me.
"Sorry," she said with a wince. "Farris must be really getting to me. Just, please get the ship in the air. I have a contact in Salt Lake who should be able to clear some things up for us."
I nodded, then closed my eyes and gave control over to Khala who promptly converged on the navigation panel. "Where should I set the course?"
"Set us for a general course toward the Rocky Mountains. Mara and I setup a cache of supplies there a few years back," Kaya replied.
"Isn't that a bit risky?" Jaysen asked. "If the Qharr found our hideout what's to say they haven't found the cache too?"
Kaya shook her head, "Mara and I were the only ones who knew about it. Unless you think either Mara or I were traitors there shouldn't be any reason to worry."
"Pain!" A strange voice suddenly proclaimed. "There is much of it!"
"Doctor!" Kaya said scrambling to her feet. "God, you had us worried."
"Indeed? What has transpired?" he tooted his hands moving across his broken and bent face tubes.
Kaya repeated back what had happened since the attack and the doctor sat there silently and listened. When she finished the doctor threw his head back and let out a long high pitched wail.
"Vakrexid is deeply saddened by the loss of Mara. She took me in when no other would. She shall be missed as shall the others," he quivered then suddenly reached up to grasp hold of his center broken face tube and promptly broke it off.
"Good Lord!" Jaysen gasped. "Doesn't that hurt?!"
"No, the tubes themselves do not have any pain receptors. They are similar to your fingernails in many respects and Vakrexid has been meaning to trim them for some time. Although I did not wish them to be quite so short as it makes feeding slightly more difficult," he tooted grabbing at his third undamaged tube and broke it off. "Uniform length is most important. It would be very helpful to Vakrexid if I had a proper pair of tube trimmers. Unfortunately, Vakrexid have been unable to procure any in many---"
"Doctor all that is just fascinating and all, but in case you haven't noticed things are looking pretty dire," Kaya said suddenly cutting him short.
Vakrexid blinked. "Of that I am well aware, but there is little we can do at the moment."
"Don't you feel... anything? I mean Mara was your friend.” Kaya said blinking away tears.
"Indeed, I feel her loss as keenly as if she were one of my hatch-mates," the doctor said reaching up to absently trace his hands across his broken face tubes. "My kind... we are not as you. We feel our emotions as keenly as any human, but visible displays... they do not come easily to us. We were designed in such a way that we would not be hindered by emotions."
"Your race was designed?" Khala gasped suddenly turning away from the control panel to stare slack-jawed at the doctor.
"Indeed, by our gods, the Phyrr Lesch," the doctor cocked his head.
"The Phyrr Lesch are no gods," Khala said narrowing my eyes then looked away.
"What would you know of it, K'teth?" the doctor shot back.
Khala slowly shook my head, "I have memories passed onto me be the first H'ra. They were flesh and blood just like you."
"Genetic memory, most fascinating," the doctor mused. "How is it that this first H'ra came to meet the Phyrr Lesch?"
"The Phyrr Lesch were the creators of our kind. They made us so that we could further enhance their peacekeeping force, the Qharr," she replied quietly. "They disappeared shortly after creating us."
"Dear god!" Strave proclaimed. "But that would mean..."
"That the Qharr and the Dexagarmetrax share a common history and perhaps even common ancestry," Kaya muttered with a shake of her head.
"This is most strange," the doctor twittered. "Would you not have memory of my kind?"
"The first H'ra did not pass on such knowledge it is possible that she did encounter your early ancestors but chose not to pass on the memories. Qharr religion does, however speak of your kind. They name you the 'forsaken ones'. The holy books don't say much else, but there is a verse claiming that any Qharr who kills one of you will be corrupted by their blood.”
"Mara always suspected there was some tie between the Qharr and the Dexagarmetrax, but I doubt she would have ever guessed that it was something like this," Kaya shook her head.
"I didn't even know the Qharr had a religion," Jaysen mused absently.
"There is much about the Qharr that has been kept secret. If they knew I had shared this much they would likely have me destroyed. Although my betrayal would already warrant a death sentence so it really is a moot point," Khala replied.
"You know Doc," Jaysen frowned. "If someone had just told me that the beings I worshiped weren't gods I'd be pretty upset."
Vakrexid blurped. "Even if what Khala says is true. They are still my creators. If they were mortal creatures does that make them any less worthy of my devotion?"
"Fuck, why the hHell should we give a damn?" Farris said suddenly folding his arms across his chest and scowling.
Strave let out a long sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it. The jackass does have a point. These revelations as strange and disturbing as they happen to be are not particularly relevant to our present undertaking."
"Right," Kaya muttered. "Khala how far are we away from our destination?"
"If the navigation array is correct, and I see no reason to suspect otherwise. We are approximately an hour away at full speed," Khala replied back.
"Good, set a course for the following coordinates," she said streaming off a string of seemingly random numbers. "That's where we'll find the supply cache."
"Just a moment," Khala said abruptly. "There's an incoming transmission."
"What? Who could be trying to contact us?" Kaya demanded.
Khala tapped the corner of the control panel. The screen flashed and a long scrolling list of characters appeared arrayed across it. "It looks like a general broadcast to all Qharr vessels. They're warning them to be on the lookout for a rogue transport that has been commandeered by a group of human rebels."
"Well, that took longer to get out than I would have guessed," Kaya sighed.
"This is the second alert," Khala replied then tapped my thumb down on the bottom of the screen. "It looks like there are two more documents attached. The first seems to be instructions on what to do if they encounter us and a warning about an unusually strong blue-haired human female and the other is..."
"What?! The other is what?!" Farris demanded.
"The second is a list of possible places where they think we may try to hide. Including what the documents list as 'fallen rebel strongholds'," Khala said glancing at Farris irritably.
"What? Let me see!" Kaya said, leaping across the control room and pushed Khala out of the way.
"Fuck! There's got to be at least twenty locations listed here. God, there's our base in Idaho and the one in Texas! God dammit!" she cursed bowing her head as tears cascaded down her cheeks. "The rest of these... they have to have been ours too. Somehow they knew where they all were! There isn't a single rebel who knows the location of all our bases! How the fucking hell did they find them!?"
"You're jumping to conclusions!" Strave proclaimed. "There's no way we can know that for sure! They could be sending out this information to try and bait us! We can't--"
"Bait us?! That doesn't make any sense!" Jaysen interrupted. "I think the only thing that message would do is drive us into hiding!"
"And that's exactly what we have to do," Kaya said raising her head and locking gazes with Jaysen. "Go into hiding. We need to give it some time so those bastards cangrow complacent again. Any attempts to try and contact the movement and we could alert those gray-skinned bastards to our whereabouts."
"No!" the doctor protested. "We must speak privately before you make such a decision."
"Privately? Doctor--"
"There are things you must know. There is still hope. Mara prepared for this eventuality," the doctor interrupted Kaya his hands quivering.
"Mara," Kaya mused letting out a sound that seemed to be halfway between a sob and chuckle. "Is there anything she didn't prepare for?"
"Khala keep the ship on course. The doctor and I, we'll be back very shortly..." she trailed off then glanced at Vakrexid and added. "Most likely," before stepping out of the bridge with towering alien in tow.
"Change of plans," Kaya said stepping back onto the bridge about twenty minutes later.
"What? What's going on?" Jaysen asked spinning around to glance at her.
"Put this damn thing in autonav and give control of that body back to Lexa. She and I are going to have a long talk," Kaya demanded glaring at the symbiote. I half expected her to tap her foot on the ground and begin counting down, but she never did either of those things. "Once we retrieve our supplies our destination will be a short stop into Old Salt Lake City from there we'll be headed to compound Het'ma."
What reason could she possibly have for sending us off to compound Het'ma? I'd spent most of my youth in that damn place and the idea of returning wasn't very appealing. Then again willingly going to any slave compound didn't sound all that fun either. There was my sister to consider... there was a chance she might still be there and I think I would do just about anything if it meant seeing her again.
Khala turned away from her tapping my fingers against the control panel. "It is done," she said closing my eyes.
I let out a long sigh as I resumed control of my body, "Kaya, what's this all about?"
"Just... follow me. The doctor and I, we'll explain everything," she shook her head and motioned for me to follow as she turned away.
I complied, following her out of the bridge, down a short hallway and into a small room that looked to be the crew quarters. The doctor was waiting inside and he cocked his head to the side as Kaya and I entered the room.
"Vakrexid is most unsure that this is a good idea," the doctor tooted.
"Lexa and you are the only pe--" she stopped abruptly glancing at the doctor. "--beings I can trust. Strave, Farris, and Jaysen all knew the location of our base which means any one of them could have betrayed us."
"And the doctor?" I asked.
Kaya sighed. "Mara trusted the doctor with information that would have been devastating to us if the Qharr had caught wind of it."
"Devastating? What's to say the doctor didn't--"
Kaya cut me short. "No, the nature of this information wouldn't have led to the Qharr finding our bases. This involves the salvation of Earth. "
"What how?" I shook my head.
"There is much Vakrexid has been asked to hold back, but it pertains to the biometric key and what it gives you access to. Kaya asked me to give you these coordinates should either her or I die," he replied flapping his arms up and down.
"Me? Why?" I asked folding my arms across my chest.
Kaya pursed her lips. "Because I want you to be my second."
"Your second? You can't be serious? Why on Earth would you pick me? You can't honestly believe that I actually have any idea how to lead?"
"You're the only person I can trust and besides you know how to be in charge," she planted her hands on her hips. "You used to run a kitchen, remember?"
"Running a kitchen and leading people into battle is completely different Kai, you know that as well as I do!"
"Obviously, but I already know you can keep your head in a fight and you do know how to give orders," she replied.
"You know what? It doesn't matter because you're not going to die!"
Kaya rolled her eyes and sighed. "God, if I would be so lucky. I've watched so many of my friends die, and I've always known there was a good possibility that I could too. I have to be prepared for that eventuality, Lexa."
I nodded. "So then what's next?"
"Well, we have your uncle's biometric key. The next step is to find your sister," Kaya said folding her arms across her chest.
"The question I keep asking myself is why didn't Mara make contact with Becca once she realized I couldn't use the key?" I asked.
"We’ve managed to keep an eye on her from a distance, but every time one of our agents tried to make contact they disappeared. We think her husband might have gotten to them. He's an enforcer for the compound's head Corrector, Taevok Typel. "
"Husband?" I blinked. That was a surprise, Becca had always been quite adamant that she'd never get married and to an enforcer, of all people. What could my sister have been thinking?
"Someone named, Jerem Anders, do you know him?"
"Shit! She married Jerem? Holy hell that asshole used to make our lives miserable!" I cursed. "There's no way Becca would willingly marry him, but God if he's enforcer now she might not have had any choice. He always had a thing for Becca, but she hated him! The Qharr would have to go and make that damned bully an enforcer, wouldn't they?"
"That's why we need you. You might be able to reach your sister where no one else has been able to and you're special abilities will help you take care of her husband should he cause you any trouble," she folded her arms across her chest.
"What are we waiting for? We've gotta be coming up on that supply cache of yours!" I said putting my hands on my hips then whirled around, burst through the doors and bolted down the hallway toward the bridge.
"We're close," Kaya assured us as she led us down yet another mountain path.
"Fuck, I hope so," Farris cursed.
We'd been hiking up the nearly overgrown mountain path for almost an hour and despite Kaya's repeated assurances that we were close I couldn't escape the feeling that we had become completely lost. As someone who had spent nearly the entirety of his... her life within the slave compounds I did not feel at all at home outside at. Still, it was better than living under the thumbs of the Qharr.
"It feels good to be outdoors," Khala remarked suddenly, and then shrugged. "It is in the nature of every being to seek to create for themselves a safe environment. The wilderness is a wild unpredictable place, but I think at least in some small way most intelligent beings crave to return to a more primal and animalistic state."
"Isn't there a reason why most intelligent beings build cities to escape the wilderness? And why do you like it so much? Weren't the K'teth made artificially?"
"We were engineered true, but I've long suspected the Phyrr Lesch harvested genetic code from other species in order to create us," she replied absently then turned to me and let out a sigh. "This place is beautiful, but it doesn't compare to the beauty of Tel'c. It makes me feel a little homesick just thinking about it."
"Tel'c as in the Qharr homeworld?" I scrunched my nose up and glared at her finding an image of a harsh yet strangely beautiful wilderness with brightly-colored carnivorous plant-life and fierce creatures with armored hides and massive clawed paws. The vision was a bit too vivid to have come from my imagination and I realized that it must have originated from Khala's memories. The realization was disturbing, but it wasn't the first time something from my symbiote's mind had popped in my head and I doubted it would be the last. "I suppose it is appealing in a dangerous and strange sort of way, but I hardly think it comes close to Earth. If I were you I'd forget how beautiful, it is 'cause there isn't a chance in hell you'll ever going back in which case I'd recommend that you gain a better appreciation for this world."
"We're here!" Kaya pronounced coming to an abrupt halt in front of a large boulder.
"Where?" Strave asked looking around and absently scratching at his beard.
She rolled her eyes then knelt down next to the boulder and pressed her hand against the side. There was a click and a panel popped free to reveal a control interface. "You have thirty seconds to enter the correct passcode," a female voice intoned.
"Now let's see," Kaya muttered her hands trace across the screen as she inputted different characters. Finally, she finished mashing her thumb against the bottom of the screen.
"Passcode accepted," the panel intoned again and the entire side of the boulder swung open with a loud hiss.
"Niiice!" Strave said eagerly reaching into the now open cavity to pull out a phase pistol. "It looks new!"
"Alright, everyone grab as much as you can hopefully we can get it all in one trip," she said reaching inside to pull a large white bag free.
"Damn I forgot how heavy some of this shit was," she grunted flinging it over her shoulder.
"Give it to me," I said suddenly lifting it from her arms and throwing it over my shoulder with about as much effort as it took to lift a bag of feathers.
"That is so damned unfair," she grumbled grabbing a second sack which I promptly snatched out of her hand.
I grabbed a third sack from her hands then waited for the others to load up. Farris and Strave took the largest loads next to me, of course, and Kaya took the last two bags, which were relatively small.
"Let's get back to the ship, before the good doctor starts to wonder if we're coming back at all," Kaya said and without another word we made our way back to the ship.
Upon arriving back at the ship we went through the supplies. The bulk of it was weapons, ranging from phase pistols to explosives but there appeared to be a small selection of other things including food, medical supplies and clothing.
"God damn, what's this all for?" I said rifling through the clothes.
Kaya shrugged, "Disguises. They're actually the main reason I chose this cache. If we're going to sneak into the compound we're going to need a disguise for you. We have what we need to make hair dye. Let's face it, that blue hair is just too fucking conspicuous."
"And my eyes?" I asked.
Kaya pursed her lips, "Well... I was hoping the symbiote could help with that she changed your eyes once maybe she can do it again."
"I'll help," said appearing beside me. "On one condition."
"You pick now to start making demands?" I grimaced then shook my head; I really didn't want to get drawn into an argument with her. "Just tell me what it is."
"You help me find a host for my offspring," she replied.
"What?! No, I'm not going to let you infest any other humans with more like you!" I protested fighting the sudden urge to swing my fist at Khala's illusory form.
Kaya glanced at me with wide eyes, but she didn't say a word as I glared at Khala.
"My kind were created so that we would be extremely limited in how often we can produce offspring. I happen to be in a very important phase of my reproduction cycle. The infant symbiote that is growing within us is another H'ra. If my child does not find a host she will die and it will be many, many years before I am able to spawn another Queen. Please, I am begging you. The future of both our races is riding on this!" she pleaded a single tear running down her face.
"Cut the waterworks. You don't have any damned tear-ducts so don't pretend you do!" I yelled then grabbed at the sides of my head as I tried to think of some other alternative.
If the K'teth were allowed to spread to other humans what would become of humanity? What if we gained freedom from the Qharr only to turn around and find ourselves enslaved to the K'teth? But was it slavery? The K'teth were extremely limited in what they could do. Khala had been able to change me physically, but she couldn't take away my freedom of will away and I was almost certain by that point that she could only gain control of my body if I let her. I was stronger and capable of much greater physical feats than an ordinary human, but I'd lost far too much to make it worth it. Despite all that I knew what I had to do.
"Shit!" I cursed finally. "I guess I have no choice, but I have a condition of my own. I don't want you putting a symbiote into anyone unless they are willing."
"If that is what it takes then I swear it. To the fullest of my abilities I will insure that no offspring of mine shall be joined with a human against their will," Khala nodded locking gazes with me.
"It's agreed... God, I think I just made a deal with the damned devil. Change me... do it before I reconsider!" I yelled and clenched my eyes shut waiting for the symbiote to begin the transformation. I waited for what had to be a good thirty seconds then opened my eyes again. I opened my mouth to speak and that's when it happened. A very familiar bright white light flooded my vision and I gasped as my eyes burned with intense pain.
"Damn, that hurt a lot more than I remembered," I exclaimed shaking my head as my vision cleared then turned to Kaya. "So... how do I look?"
Kaya pursed her lips. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about?"
"The symbiote and I made a deal. She helps me in exchange... I help her find a willing human to act as host for her offspring.”
"Fuck! You actually agre--"
"Don't Kai... I know I'll probably live to regret it, but if we stand any hope of being successful I'm going to need Khala’s cooperation," I interrupted her.
Kaya bit her lip then titled her head so she could look into my eyes. "Those eyes... they're so much like the ones you had before you were changed," she muttered absently tracing her hand across my cheek.
"The ones that belonged to the man I loved," she said with a slight shudder before quickly snatching her hand away.
"So..." she said averting her eyes and quickly changed the subject. "What about the hair? Like I said we could dye it, but it might be easier if Khala just changed it."
Khala rolled her eyes, "Your hair is composed of dead cells and I can only bond with living tissue. I can't change its color once it has grown, but if you really want I can make it fall out, like I did before, and regrow it."
"Do it, just this time maybe don't make it so long... like maybe ten or eleven centimeters," I replied reaching up to touch the top of my scalp and run my hand through it.
Khala's granted me an illusory smirk then just as it had before when my hand moved across my scalp my hair fell out. Once it was all shed away, I picked up a strand and held it up in front of my face and dropped it with a loud yelp as new sharp pain flared across the top of my head. I felt my eyes widen and I gritted my teeth then gripped the side of my head as fresh hair sprouted atop it.
"Damn, I know some people who would kill to be able to do that," Kaya said with a lopsided grin.
"Yeah, well they should count themselves lucky that they can't." I shook my head.
"So how's the hair look?" I ask grabbing a lock and holding it out in front of my face.
"It's a pretty big change, but I think it suits you. The black is a definite improvement... I mean anything would be better than blue... Don't get me wrong you're beautiful no matter what color your hair is, but that blue really makes you stand out!"
Khala folded her arms across her chest and glared at Kaya, "What's wrong with blue?"
I let out what I intended to be a chuckle, but wound up sounding like a girlish giggle as I looked from Kaya to the symbiote and back again.
"What?" they both asked in unison.
I cleared my throat and quickly changed the subject. "Are we done here? Suddenly I'm just starving."
Kaya rolled her eyes, and grabbed a shiny-reflective box from the stack of supplies and tossed it to me. "Here, we can't be far away now. You can eat on the bridge."
"Hey, what the hell does freeze dried mean?" I asked furrowing my brows as I read the label on the box, but when I looked up Kaya was gone.
Chapter Three
"I said empty your damn pockets, Farris!" Strave screamed holding a weapon trained on the other rebel.
"Would someone please explain what the hell is going on?" Kaya pronounced as the two of us stepped onto the bridge.
"Yeah, Strave's gone fucking nuts!" Farris yelled frantically.
Jaysen stepped in folding his arms across his chest. "Well, Strave and I came in and we found Farris fiddling with something. I didn't get a good look at it, but Strave thinks it might be Qharr tech. Farris stuffed whatever it was in his pocket and insists it was nothing."
"Oh for hell sakes!" Kaya cried stepping between Strave and Farris. "Would you two just calm down?"
Strave holstered his weapon then folded his arms across his chest and glared at Farris who turned to look at Kaya. "Look," he said his eyes darting back and forth between Kaya and Strave.
"I found this thing in my pocket, but I swear to God I have no idea how it got there. Someone must have planted it on me," he said turning to glare at me as he produced a small black cube that was about four centimeters square.
"When Strave and Jaysen walked in on me I panicked and tried to hide it, but, hell Kaya, you've got to believe me... It's not mine!" Farris protested wiping sweat from his brow.
Kaya snatched the cube from his hands and held it out to Jaysen. "What do you think?"
"It's definitely Qharr tech. Looks like one of those personal communicators the Inquisitors like to carry around, but sized for a human. Let's see if I'm right there should be a slight indent in the side there that should open it," he said absently as he gently plucked the device from her hands then turned it over and over in his hands as he held it up to the light.
"WAIT!" Kaya said flinging her hand out and clenching it around Jaysen's. "Is that such a good idea? Opening it I mean."
Jaysen shrugged, "Well, it's really the only way to confirm that it's a communicator. If you're worried about the Qharr using it to track us. I don't really think that's how it works otherwise they'd probably already know where we are.”
Kaya nodded. "Do it."
Jaysen pressed his finger into a small indent on the side of the cube and there was the faintest click as the device opened to reveal a small screen. "Damn, looks like I was right," he muttered with sad shake of his head.
Kaya didn't wait for a reply, she grabbed the communicator back out of Jaysen's hand threw it up in the air, snatched the phase pistol from Strave then blew the damn thing to smithereens. "That takes care of that. Now, we just got to decide what to do with you!" she rounded on Farris, her teeth clenched as she pressed the barrel of the gun against the left side of his jaw.
"Please!" Farris begged openly weeping as his whole body trembled. "It wasn't me! Please, just give me a chance."
"I can't take that risk," she muttered her eyes narrowing as her whole body tensed.
"No stop!" I cried stepping toward the two of them with an outstretched hand.
"You're about the last person I'd expect to come Farris's defense," Strave said his eyes wide with surprise.
"As far as I'm concerned we should string him up and flay him," Kaya growled pressing the phase pistol into Farris's skin with such force that he stumbled backward.
"We are NOT the Qharr," I said looking about the room. "We're better than they are! Or at least I've always believed so! How many of us have lost friends or family because one of those bastards decided they'd done something wrong? You guys want to kill Farris without even giving him a chance to prove his innocence! How is that any different from the gray-skins? He had a Qharr device! So fucking what! Any one of us could have easily slipped that in his pocket without him noticing! Being a jackass isn't proof of guilt!"
Jaysen nodded. "She's right. We can't kill him... not without being completely sure. I don’t want his blood on my hands."
"Yeah, well what do you propose we do with him until then? We're coming up on your old compound now! We can't just leave him in the ship with no one but the doctor to guard him!" Kaya panted the hand holding the pistol quivering as she yelled.
"We need to interrogate him... " Jaysen trailed off glancing at Farris. "Maybe then we can figure something out."
Kaya shook her head, glanced at Farris then raised her phase pistol and slammed the butt into the side of Farris's head. The platinum-haired goon's eyes rolled into the back of his skull and he fell to the ground face first.
"Damn, I've been wanting to do that for a long time," she said with a dramatic sigh and turned to Strave. "You and Jaysen go and lock him up in the rear crew quarters and see if you can't find some rope or maybe some of that organic cabling the grays like so much, so we can tie him up."
Strave nodded then without a word bent over and flipped Farris over his shoulder then turned to Jaysen grinning from ear to ear. "Care to join me?"
Jaysen nodded then just before he left he turned to me. "Oh, by the way the new hair and eyes... Th-they look nice."
"Shit, what the hell was that all about?" Kaya rounded on me after the two of them had left.
"This all seems a bit too convenient doesn't it? We think we may have been betrayed and suddenly we find Farris with a Qharr communicator. I think it's a setup. I think whoever is really responsible planted it on him knowing that we'd all be quick to jump down his throat," I muttered with a shake of my head.
"Then what the hell do you propose we do?"
"Oh, the solution is quite simple," Khala said suddenly appearing leaning against Kaya's shoulder. "Set the ship down and set a trap for your betrayer."
I relayed what Khala had said to Kaya, who then grimaced. "And how does she propose we do that?"
I stopped to listen to Khala then turned to Kaya with a shrug, "We bluff them and hope someone falls for it."
"Well then," Kaya grimaced. "What the hell do we have to lose? Let's do it."
"Vakrexid is most fond of potatoes," the doctor proclaimed his head titling back and forth. "The taste of them when they are juiced... It is most nectarous!"
"I guess I'll have to take your word for it," I mumbled letting out a long yawn as the doctor continued to babble on.
"You know," I said suddenly. "It's probably best if no one heard me talking. I mean you are supposed to be guarding Farris alone."
"Ah, yes. Of course, of course!" the doctor proclaimed absently running his hand across his face tubes. "Vakrexid shall talk to myself then."
"Won't that seem a little odd if anyone heard?"
"Odd... Why? I frequently talk to Vakrexid," he replied letting out an odd sort of trumpeting sound.
"Alright, well just... forget it," I mumbled running a hand through the back of my head. It felt odd having so little hair there. I'd sort of gotten used to my longer tresses.
I shook my head and let out a long sigh as the doctor continued to name the Earth foods he liked to juice; including, oddly enough, salmon and mice. How in the world could you juice a fish much less a rodent? I shook my head, suppressed a chuckle and looked down at Farris's form. He was chained to the bed and was sound asleep thanks in no small part to the cocktail of drugs the doctor had given him. It would be so much easier if he proved to be the traitor, but as much as I tried to convince myself that he was I couldn't bring myself to believe it.
The doctor continued to babble and nothing happened for what seemed like the longest time, then all of a sudden the door slid open and Straffen poked his head in. "Doctor," he grinned pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "It's time for Jaysen and me to have a turn."
Vakrexid cocked his head. "Has it been four hours already? It is as you humans say, the passing of events flies when you are enjoying yourself."
"Close enough doc, close enough," Strave muttered before strolling into the room followed closely by Jaysen, who was so much smaller than the bearded rogue that he had been completely obscured by the other's larger frame until Strave had stepped away. They both carried pistols at their hips but Jaysen's was of a much smaller and thus less powerful variety. I gritted my teeth and sunk down further into the bunk-bed then waited for the doctor to depart.
"I don't know why the fuck we don't just blow Farris's brains out here and now," Strave growled once the doctor had zoomed out the still open door.
"I don't know..." Jaysen trailed off. "Maybe Lexa's right about Farris deserving the chance to prove his innocence. I know he's a huge asshole, but he's been fighting with the resistance for almost ten years."
"Come on, Jaysen you and I both know the bastard's guilty why waste the time on him?"
"Because we know who the real traitor is," Kaya muttered suddenly appearing in the doorway toting two phase pistols in either hand.
I gritted my teeth and felt my muscles tense up. I hadn't expected Kaya to make her appearance so soon, but knowing her impatient nature I wasn't really surprised. It really didn't affect the plan whatsoever so I suppose it didn't really matter.
"It's Strave," Kaya said grimly.
"Very good, Kaya. So you figured it out did you?" Strave said suddenly pulling out his own phase pistol and training it on the other rebel.
"No, actually. I didn't, but you just gave yourself away," she scowled training both of her pistols on Strave. "Lexa thought this whole thing seemed jilted, but she didn't know whether you or Jaysen was the traitor so we came up with this little plan. Personally, I didn't expect it to work, but we had to try something."
"Clever, but I'm afraid it doesn't do you any good," Strave muttered. "The Qharr have destroyed nearly all your bases and captured or killed most of the members of your rebellion. You're all that's left."
"Why?!" Kaya shaking with rage. "Why the fucking hell did you do it Strave? You hate the Qharr as much as any of us!"
Strave threw his head back and let out a throaty laugh, "I used to, but... then I met up with a couple Hunters about a half a year back and they showed me the error of my ways. The Qharr are our rightful masters and why shouldn't they be? We are a loathsome honor-less people. Under their rule we'll learn the true meaning of honor and thus bring true everlasting joy into our lives."
'By the makers! His mind has been bent!' Khala curses echoed through my mind.
'Bent?!
'This is inconceivable! I did not believe the Ascendancy would go to such lengths! To do such a thing... it is without honor!"
"Christ, you're freaking insane!" Jaysen muttered stumbling backward with a horror-filled look on his face.
"No, it's you damned rebels who are insane! You fight the Qharr and bring misery to the rest of us! If you served the masters like you were supposed to, they wouldn't bring so much pain down on us! Don't you see? It's all your fault!"
"News flash!" Kaya yelled. "You've been fighting right alongside of us."
"I know," Strave shook his head and started to sob. "When the masters helped me to understand the truth. They gave me this task so that I could earn forgiveness and if you join me and tell them what they need to know they'll forgive you too."
"What they need to know? What the fuck would that be!?" Kaya yelled between clenched teeth.
"Mara's secret plan. I never was able to figure it all out, but I know about the biometric key and I know she thought it could be used to save humanity. My handlers thought it was important enough that they instructed me to help you escape so I could find out what she had planned."
Kaya was shaking with rage and I knew it was only a matter of time before she pulled the trigger on one of her pistols. "Just tell me one more thing, you only knew the location of a handful of bases, how the fuck, did you figure out where the rest of them were?"
"That, my dear Kaya was easy. You see as you might recall I was involved in the transfer of supplies. I didn't need to know the locations all I had to do was place small almost undetectable tracking devices inside some of the supplies so that the Qharr could track their comings and goings."
"That's all I needed to know," Kaya narrowed her eyes then pulled the trigger.
Strave suddenly dove out of the way and the phase bolt struck the wall instead. The bearded traitor trained his own phase weapon on Kaya. I picked that moment to act. I dove off the bunk bed and went flying at him, but he was ready for me. There was a flash of metal and a bang, pain exploded in my chest and I collapsed to the ground at his feet clutching at my right breast.
"Mara's Magnum," Strave grinned. "I grabbed it from where she had it stashed on the Phoenix. I thought it might come in handy if you caused any trouble. You honestly think I didn't see you hiding up there on that bunk?"
"Now," he growled turned back to Kaya and placing the barrel of the gun against my back. "Put the god-damned pistols down or I fire again!"
"Fuck," Kaya muttered dropping both of her guns and glaring at Strave with a look that sent cold shivers up my spine.
"Well, that was easy," Strave laughed. "... but Lexa's too dangerous to keep alive. So I'm going to have to kill her. It's too bad really she really knows how to give a guy a good fucking."
"Nooo!" Jaysen yelled and threw himself at Strave.
I gasped and rolled onto my back then staggered back to my feet. My chest hurt like hell, but I didn't let that stop me. Of course, if I wasn't bonded with Khala I doubted I'd have the strength to even lift my arm. I slowly turned and watched as Jaysen struggled against the other man.
I swallowed hard as I realized that the much smaller man didn't stand a chance. Whatever advantage Jaysen had gained when he jumped Strave quickly evaporated when the bigger man began to fight back. Suddenly, there was another loud bang and Jaysen collapsed to the ground with a huge wound in his chest from Strave's weapon. I didn't even know if Jaysen was dead or alive when his assailant rounded on me, but I did know I was going to make that bastard pay.
Rage the like of which I'd only felt a handful of times in my life filled me and I raced to where Strave was standing not caring if he shot me or not. He brought the weapon up, but before he could fire I grabbed his wrist and twisted it away from me. I felt something snap, probably one of his bones, and he howled out in pain as the gun slipped from his grip "That was a mistake, you mother-fucking bastard," I spat and locked my hands around his neck and with one violent jerk snapped it. I shoved his body aside then I fell to my knees next to Jaysen's inert form frantically feeling for a pulse and felt a surge of hope as I found a very faint thump.
I turned to look at Strave and felt a deep sadness come over me. Poor Strave, he didn't deserve what had been done to him. He was a womanizing bastard to be sure, but to actually have his mind twisted in such a manner. It was horrendous. Killing him was probably a mercy to his soul, but this realization didn't make me feel any better or help to remove the sour taste from my mouth.
"Kaya," I breathed bowing my head over Jaysen's chest. "Get the doctor... Hurry!"
I felt tears well up in my eyes as I stared down at him and let in a long intake of breathe as I confronted a new set of emotions. Guilt. I felt bile rise in my throat and shuddered as I thought of having sex with Strave. I'd let myself find comfort in the arms of a traitor even if he wasn't responsible for his actions. If only I'd seen through his veil! Maybe I could have prevented this whole mess. Maybe, we could have even found a way to save Strave and return him to his former self. If I had just done something differently...
"Move aside! Vakrexid is here!" the doctor suddenly proclaimed from the doorway.
I bit my lip, struggled back to my feet and stepped away still clutching at my bleeding chest.
"No, no, this... it is not good," Vakrexid muttered his hands tracing across Jaysen's wound.
"Is he... is he going to be alright?" I mumbled fighting back tears.
"Vakrexid cannot say. His condition is most dire. If I had access to my equipment from the bunker Vakrexid is certain I could save him, but the implements the Qharr use they are unfamiliar and Vakrexid is unsure if I can make proper use of them."
'There is another way. My child, the symbiote, which is growing within your body, is nearly mature. If we were to let my daughter bond with your friend she may be able to save his life,' Khala's voice whispered in my mind.
I felt cold chills run down my spine as I realized the implications. I could save Jaysen, but only by making him like me. 'He's unconscious,' I answered her back. 'You agreed not to let another human be bonded against their will.'
'I think there is call for an exception don't you? I made the agreement with you therefore you can override it. You could save his life isn't that what you want?'
I swallowed hard and looked down at Jaysen's inert form. The symbiote would surely transform him just as Khala had transformed me, but wasn't that what he wanted? He’d be saddled with an unwelcome guest for the rest of his life, but wasn't that worth it if it meant saving him? I didn't know, but I made the only choice I could stomach and felt an even greater surge of guilt as I came to my decision. Jaysen had taken that shot trying to save me if only I hadn't acted more quickly.
'Tell me what I have to do.'
'My daughter is not mature and as such she will need extra help with the bonding process.'
'So you need energy?' I replied, but didn't wait for a reply. I swirled around; my gun wound temporarily forgotten thanks in no small part to Khala, as I practically leapt out the door.
"Lexa wait!" Kaya called after me, but I didn't stop or give any sign that I heard her.
"God dammit Lexa!" Kaya yelled grabbing my shoulder from behind.
I whirled on her, and stared into her eyes. "Let go Kaya!"
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"I... I can save her Kaya," I growled.
"Her?! Who's her?!"
Jaysen was a woman, even if she had the body of a man. I'd let my own perception of gender keep me from seeing that. "Jaysen! I can save her life. Now let go!"
Kaya eyes were wide as her hands slid away and I didn't waste any more time as I broke out in a run. I hadn't been far from the engine room so it didn't take me long to reach it, but I could not escape the feeling that I was wasting precious minutes.
"Okay, you're going to have to help me out here," I spoke to Khala aloud. "What's the best way to way to do this?"
'Remove that wall-plate in the right corner there above that panel. From there I should be able to drain power directly from the ship's reactor.'
"Damn, I really hope you know what you're talking about," I said before grabbing hold of the wall plate. There looked to be a mechanism for releasing it, but I didn't waste the time trying to figuring it out. I summoned up all the enhanced strength Khala granted me and ripped the damn thing off the wall.
"Okay, what now?" I asked tossing the wall plate to the ground.
There was a single thick tube about twenty centimeters in diameter within the opening, and as I stared at it, Khala told me what to do. In the middle there was a slight bulge and I grabbed at it pressing my finger into an indentation wide enough around to accommodate a Qharr finger. There was a faint click and the sheathing slid away to reveal the bare wires within.
"That's convenient," I said tentatively reaching out to grab the exposed cords.
I felt a surge of sudden energy as electrical currents swam up and down my arm. 'There is nothing convenient about it. All Qharr ships have an access such as this in the event of an emergency,' she replied just before she began to feed.
Power beyond anything I had ever experiences before slammed into me with the force of a stampeding bull, so much so that I was almost painful and yet... it felt good at the same time. An abrupt and very sharp pain flared in my right breast and I heard the ping of metal against the floor as the bullet flew out from my wound. I reached up to grab at my chest only to find that smooth flesh where before there had been a mass of bloody tissue. I let out a high pitched squeal as Khala continued to take in more power and the pain seemed to increase tenfold.
"God!" I screamed.
Then, with no warning whatsoever the pain fled, I let my hand slip away from the wires and it was all I could do to keep myself from collapsing to my knees. 'Shit! You could have warned me! That hurt like hell!'
'Pain is a part of life. You cannot let it rule you.’
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. "I'm not some damned Qharr! I haven't been trained to keep pain at bay! I've lived with pain all my life! It doesn't mean I enjoy it!"
Khala didn't answer and I didn't waste any more time with her. I raced out the door and back to the room where Kaya and the others were waiting. While I was away, Kaya and the doctor had moved Jaysen from the floor to one of the bunks. I moved nervously toward where Jaysen's inert form was resting then I took a deep breath and...
"Lexa!" Kaya said suddenly her hand latching down on my shoulder. "You're not going to put one of those things inside of him. Are you?"
I shuddered and reached up to touch her hand, "It's the only way."
"Most fascinating, Vakrexid would not believe it possible for a K'teth symbiote to mature so quickly."
I shook my head, "It... isn't mature. Khala hasn't exactly clued me in on all the details, but I think she's got it figured out somehow."
"God, Lexa I don't know. Are you sure about this?!" Kaya asked.
I turned to grip her shoulders in either of my hands. "Hell no. The symbiote may not even be able to heal her, but there's a chance. I just can't let her die. I... I just can't. "
Kaya pursed her lips, nodded then took a step back. "Do whatever you have to do."
'Give me control. It will be much simpler that way,' Khala urged through our bond.
I hesitated, a thousand reasons why what I was about to do was a bad idea sprung to mind all at once, but all my misgiving fled before one inescapable truth if I didn't do it Jaysen would most likely die. I barely knew Jaysen, but I lost so much in my life that I couldn't bear the thought of losing another person that I cared about. It was selfish act one born out of desperation and my own guilt at not stopping Strave, but at that point in time all I cared about was making sure Jaysen didn't die. I swallow hard, closed my eyes and gave over control to my symbiote.
I could feel the energy pulsating into my hands as Khala placed them on Jaysen's chest. It started out as a trickle at first, but the thick goo soon came gushing out from my pores at an alarming rate. It didn't hurt at all, but I suspected Khala may have taken my protestations against my earlier pain to heart and was numbing the pain. Finally, the pulsating subsided and Khala withdrew my hands.
I got my first good look at a symbiote and I actually pretty underwhelmed at the sight of the creature. It looked to have the consistency of a thick pudding, but was a semi-transparent milky white and devoid of color. It was hard to believe that such an unremarkable looking fluid could actually be a living thinking being. Then, the fluid suddenly moved seeming to slink its way across Jaysen's skin before seeping into the phaseshot wound in his chest.
I stumbled backward and fell down flat on my ass realizing, too late, that Khala had returned control. "I-It's finished." I whispered then felt tears cascade down my face. "My God! What have I done?!"
To be continued...
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