Winter Dread, page 17
“I met someone above you, your queen? Leader?” I asked him.
“You met Alaria?” Luke’s face paled even though his aura was still shining.
“If that is her name, then yes, I did. Back on Flaoer before I fought Motaki.”
“Ah, I do not think we’re of the same mind here. I only ever met her the once myself. She is many thousands of light years away. Maybe even closer to where you are from, Earth.”
“Your leader and you only met her once?”
“We are like Sitha,” he said. “Very much feared throughout the worlds.”
“Because you’re there at the end? Like the grim reaper?”
“Yes. Alaria doesn’t involve herself in things that happen much. She, like most of us, needs to watch but not interfere.”
“But she did. Your species has had their eyes on what was going on all along. They picked me up in space, kept me from being conscious for a year.”
“That’s unusual. You’re sure they were my species?”
“You’re glowing right now. I can see it even under the facade that is your outer skin.”
“Then yes, I guess you can. But I doubt those incidents are connected to me. Our species is just a helper, a healer. We’re passive.”
Dang, I thought I’d almost got it right. What the creature I saw on Flaoer was, what she expected of us, of everyone else. I could have sworn they were the same. That everything she did there was similar to his, to his mind and thoughts.
“Ah, okay.” I dismissed all those ideas. “Well, I’m grateful to meet another species in these times. You are so many, yet a lot of you hide amongst the worlds around us.”
“We hide because most of us don’t want war. We don’t want to see others hurting. But over the years we realised while you’re hurting, we can survive a little more. So we gravitated to help, to do things that yours couldn’t. Heal.”
“Almost like you keep kenosi running freely around everyone to help heal, I can see that.”
“I’m not much good here, though, with the sickness that took you, and that is spreading. I don’t seem to be able to help or do anything more than pacify everyone. That stings. I came here to the training grounds to help more of those who were going to war. To be ready for what was coming on a deeper level.”
Kyle, I’m sorry I was exhausted. The planet is compromised; there’re many ways onto this base via someone who can use underground tunnels in hidden spaces.
Xe, I asked, what are you saying?
That the two who came in and poisoned you had a long way to travel, but they delivered their poison twice. The first time it took. The second time was what boosted it to the others.
Luke watched me carefully as I talked to Xe, but he didn’t know what about.
“I could really do with meeting the denti queen we’ve been manipulated by for some time. I’d like to try to get to the bottom of it . . . the real why,” I said.
“Kyle, you already know the reasons, you just can’t accept them,” Luke said. “Just like I see it with your being here. The amount of times I’ve pushed myself to go do something else. That being here wasn’t enough for me. I knew something would come. Something I could help with.”
“You do a lot here, for those who get injured in training.”
“I’d like to think I do.” He tried to smile. His features were tired, though. I could see that. “I’m not as strong being here as I would be out in the war. Because the energies I gather aren’t as strong. Healing is good. I live, I am happy.”
“Thank you for trying, for being you. That makes a difference to us, to anyone who is injured out here.”
“You’re welcome. We are a helpful species.”
It seemed so—at least there were no other weird coincidences going on. For a moment I really thought he was connected to that creature I’d met on Flaoer. I was kinda disappointed he wasn’t.
But if he could help us here, now with this sickness. I was all for it.
I noticed the doctors moving around. “Seems they’re ready to give you another dose,” Luke said. “I should probably make myself scarce for a while. He chases me if he thinks I’m getting no rest too.”
“That’s fair. If you’re here all the time, you can’t work all the time.”
Luke laughed. “Yeah, I think I’d like to be working all the time. That’s half the problem.”
Dr Herin and Yil came over then, and he held up something else to me. “We think we’ve gotten something that will work. If you can handle a different dose so soon after the other?”
I don’t know if it was more than a statement or question. I just nodded. “Line me up. If it’s going to help, I’d prefer as soon as possible.” I glanced at Tyto, who was resting still but not asleep.
The fluid in the bag this time was different, almost a rainbow of colour, and it glooped the consistency thicker. It was also soon dripping through to my veins, even though each drop took longer.
“Feeling any different?” Yil asked, watching my vital signs on his pad.
“Yeah, just like before. It is making me feel sick already.”
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do to combat that,” Herin said just as I was about to dry heave.
Luke was, as usual, quick to my side. The guy seemed to just come from nowhere, even if he’d shied off to pretend he wasn’t really here.
“Thanks, Luke. Are you going to stay with him?” Yil asked.
“Looks that way now,” he said. “Should shove Tyto out of that bed and sleep here.”
“Hey,” Tyto laughed. “That’s not fair.”
I dry heaved again and closed my eyes. “Talk to me about anything. Your planet, your people, friends.”
And so he did. The doctors moved to the others, and Luke talked to me. He managed to tell me many things about his home planet, his species. I wanted to dub them the “helpers” because they really were. At some point I asked a few questions as the waves of nausea spread through me. He answered as best he could. I liked him for his honesty, even though I saw sadness many a time through his talking. At some points I even saw others come over. Maybe it was Naylar and Denn. They also sat and listened to his stories. I lost track of the time and the people. But they all gathered around me, helping to distract me. When I drifted off, I’d come back to different faces. Then Luke wasn’t there, and it was Trin.
“What happened?” I asked.
“He’s just gone for a break,” she said. “He’s been at your side for nearly forty-eight hours. I told him if he didn’t, I’d get his ass dragged away.”
You’ll be feeling really weak, Xe said. I haven’t been able to do anything to help. I’m sorry.
I even heard gentle moans coming from Asht.
You as sick as I was?
Never felt anything like it, he said.
I’m sorry too. I really didn’t know what those forty-eight hours had brought. I looked up at Trin. “Frenk?”
“He’s been by twice, while dropping me off and picking me up. He’s checked in on you those times. Spoken with your second.”
I looked over at Tyto’s bed. He also wasn’t there. “Anyone else actually left here?”
“Most of your team have fully recovered, though the sickness has spread, and Los has not only been getting spasms though the pod but suffering worse than others.”
“That’s because she was injured so badly in the first place, and her kenosi is strong.”
“We think so, yes. She was already vulnerable.”
I glanced to the cannula in my hand. It seemed to be the same colour liquid. “Still the same stuff?”
“Yes.” Trin smiled. “It seems to be working! Dr Herin is sure he’s got the right combination.”
“I still feel so bad.” I coughed.
“You’ve been through a lot. Maybe it will have a lasting effect, especially with kenosi and transference. We’re not sure yet.”
“You don’t think we’ll be able to merge, do you?” I asked.
I could tell that was exactly what she was thinking. “I don’t know. Only you and the team and Dr Herin will be able to work those sorts of details when you’re fit enough to get back out there and try a merge.”
I pushed myself up, even as weak as I felt. “Screw that, I need to know now.”
18
I tested my legs, my feet, standing on them. I felt wobbly for sure, but this was okay, I could deal with wobbly. Hiroto noticed I’d gotten up; he’d been over with the others are the far side of the hangar. “Be with you soon,” he mouthed, and I nodded back at him.
I made my way into the lab and was soon digging into my own long lists of stats. The waves the kenosi damage were doing looked like it was going to be permanent.
I pulled up the extra details and sighed. There was something permanent showing:
Kenosi = Minus 25%
Minus Effect = 50%
Crikey, that took a chunk off.
Think I’ll ever merge again? I asked internally.
I don’t know, came the reply from both Asht and Xe.
There were several redeeming factors though as I looked through the research. What was in my veins now was running at half capacity, giving me back that extra? So instead of a fifty percent loss, it was at twenty-five. That was something, and it rounded it up to a loss of twenty-nine, also taking my Intensive Healing off. I technically was back to basics? But it didn’t show it on my stats. Weird.
I heard movement behind me, “We’ve been working flat out, Kyle. Think we’ve actually done some good?” Herin asked.
I smiled at him. “The numbers are good. They don’t tell me any lies. You’ve done good work, but out there . . .”
“We’re still stuck.”
I nodded. “I’ve got some things I need to see out of the base. I need to leave for a while. Will you be okay with that?”
“You’re asking permission or you’re telling me that’s what you’re doing either way?”
“I’m telling you, that’s what I’ll be doing. If you can get me a couple of bags of this stuff, I still need to keep this at bay while I’m gone.”
“We have enough synthesised. I can sort you out a few to keep you going.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You’re almost there, I’m sure of it. Have you tried reading any others? Outside of my circle.”
“We’ve been monitoring one of the other mega teams. They’re showing initial signs of infection. So we’ve already started them on the drug you’ve got.”
I saw something else flicker across his eyes. “What is it?”
He moved to the screen and brought up something else. “It’s already made a jump to others, not in the mega teams. I’ve seen signs in Trin and Luke.”
“They’re kenosi capable to what ranks?”
“Trin is one of the highest in kenosi here, mostly for healing. She’s the best; that’s why I’ve always had her with me.”
I looked across. “Damn, I made them all sick? Your whole team?”
Dr Herin nodded. “We think it’s spread to the front line already. Though we don’t know how it was so fast.”
“I’ve asked Frenk to take me out there, on a ship just to see.”
“I don’t understand the why you’d want to see it. It’s your choice. I think you and Frenk would be fine in a small craft. Not a fighter, though. If your Kenosi starts to really go wild, you’d blow it easy. We have a smaller craft with a pod. I think if things got bad, you might be okay in there at least till you got back. Plus, obviously the respawn if needed.”
“Will this sick travel through a respawn?”
“I wouldn’t like to put it to the test, because yes, I think it will. I also think it will cross contaminate any pods and anything else it then comes into contact with.”
Fuck, that was not good.
“You need to check out on those on the front line,” I said.
“I can’t get anyone out there. Even the field marshall won’t let us do that. The rift is delicate, and those keeping it all safe are seriously high up.”
“‘I can’t’ isn’t good enough. That ship, with Frenk, you’re on it. Gather what you need. Who do you need?” I looked to Luke, and Trin. They might be both sick, and she was partners with Frenk, but if we had to get out there and do the tests ourselves, then that would be what we would do.
“I’ve never been there.” His hands shook.
“We’ll do what we must, okay? That’s been my motto always.”
“Okay.” Herin steadied himself. “I’ll get a team together. You know Luke and Trin will come. Tyto?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll speak with him now.”
Dr Herin moved to Trin and Luke, and they nodded my way and then started to gather equipment.
I stood and then made my way to find Tyto.
“Hey,” I said, interrupting a small chat, he was having with Hiroto.
“Hey,” Hiroto said. “Feeling better?”
“Somewhat. We’re heading out for a couple of days with Trin, Luke, and Frenk. Need some backup.”
“How many?” Tyto asked.
“Just you. Wanting to keep the shuttle as small as possible.”
“You heading to the front line?” Hiroto asked, his face twitching.
“Yes, there’s a few things I need to see for myself. And a few checks I need the doc to do. We’ll be going in to talk to some of those right there, one of the teams.”
“You really think you can hide from the military above you?”
“Err, I don’t care if they see us in the end.”
“Fair. I’m in,” Tyto said. “But neither of us are at full health. I don’t think we should take too many risks. What are you looking for?”
“I need to see inside that darkness, and we need to check this isn’t already on the front line. Even in a small capacity, if it is, we’re stuck here, trying to sort this out instead of doing some of the things we need to be doing out there. Like training.”
“Yeah, let’s get moving,” Tyto said. “Seems the doc’s already ready to go.”
He was, and I was surprised because he’d been so nervous. I expected maybe going the next day.
We wandered over, and Trin tried to smile. “We’re aware what’s going on,” she said. “We also thought it best we go now, before anything else happens.”
“I’m up for that.”
Frenk appeared in the doorway, “We’re going now?”
I nodded at him. “Seems that way, yes. Can you pull it together?”
“Yeah. I have clearance, and I’m sure the doc would too.”
Dr Herin smiled. “Yeah, we have clearance to take any ship out at any time. We’ve just never used it before for doing something like this, only emergencies.”
“Well, I do class this as an emergency.”
“I agree,” Tyto said. “If this is out there. We’re in more trouble than we ever thought.”
“I know.” We moved out of the hangar and to the shuttle Frenk had got for us. It was smaller than could seat us all, but we squeezed the equipment in and the drugs we needed.
“You think we have everything we need, even if we have to fetch samples back?”
“We’ll be fine. There’s lots of other bits on some of the ships we can take, depending on what Frenk’s got lined up for use. We can pull stuff from the others. Or we can take something else.”
“It’s a good enough shuttle. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine, and there’s some good med supplies on it. I wanted that, knowing how sick Kyle’s been.” Dr Herin said.
I sighed, but he wasn’t wrong. Not really.
We made our way slowly out of the area, then off this part of the base towards what I could only describe to myself as a rather large space port. The ships we started to pass were big.
“Dropships,” Tyto said as we passed. “They’re bigger than anything I’ve seen because I presume they’re also carrying megas.”
“Yeah.” And he wasn’t kidding. The ships were big, I wondered how they’d get off the ground. Eventually, I’m sure we’d see some of it. Out there, by the rift.
“What are we looking for?” Tyto asked.
“I just know I’m going to know when I see it,” I said. “I can’t say, but there’s something calling me out there.”
It is the darkness in general calling to you, I’m sure of it, Asht said. From everything I’ve seen in your mind, everything you’ve been through and the fact your stats still say, “debt to darkness owed”.
Yeah. I hadn’t forgotten it. I knew it was still there. But I had no clue to what he would ever want from me, certainly not out here.
You don’t know that, Xe said. None of us do.
So I began to accept it; it was darkness that wanted me, and I was heading right out there to go see him. Taking my friends and those I’d just met with me.
“If I need some time alone, will you make sure you watch me, but that you—”
Tyto frowned, “You know we’ll watch you and we’ll all have your back. That’s a given. We’ll all make sure we get out of this with minimal injuries.”
“We’ll be small enough that most people won’t think we’re a threat, right?” I asked.
“You’ll both get your eyes opened.” Frenk chuckled. “Sorry, doc, you too. Trin’s heard me talk about it and what happens out there. She’s seen the effects it had on me while I was in rehab and recuperating. Just be aware that whatever you do see out there is something that you have to work through.”
“I can see that. We will.” I said.
The little shuttle stopped eventually, and we were before a medium med shuttle. It had signs all over it, ones that no one on the field could miss. I hoped it would give us a pass and not make us a target.
I think I slept a little of the ride, because Tyto was shaking my leg gently not too long after. At least it felt like it really wasn’t too far on.
“We’re not far out from the outskirts of the first sector. Frenk said if you want to go up front and sit with him, he’d show you the first quarter. While I can see it from here, it’s probably better you see it that way.”
