When I woke next, my leg was throbbing and my head hurt. Not bad so far. I opened my eyes and saw stars. That couldn't be right. Blinking did not make the stars go away, instead they turned into a painted ceiling. It was dominated by a huge starbelt I didn't recognize at all.
``That's our home system.'' Zac said softly. If I turned my head a bit, I could see him. His face was as relaxed as his voice. ``I'm glad you made it,'' he added to my complete puzzlement. There really had been no love lost between him and his wife.
``You're right, it was a political arrangement.''
Groaning, I closed my eyes. A big enough dose of painkillers tends to loosen my tongue. He was still there when I opened them again.
``You said it was an arranged marriage. Was as in...?'' I trailed off.
He nodded and my stomach turned to lead. I'd killed again. Then his previous words filtered through the sudden haze in my head.
``Zac, your wife is dead because of me. And you're glad I'm alive, so you can kill me in a politically correct way or what?''
Surely, they'd given me some strong painkillers because I imagined him smiling briefly before he answered.
``We analysed the videologs from the duel. Raitel intended to kill you, provoking her own death. You are not at fault.''
Looking from his face to the ceiling, I let his words penetrate. Technically, I'd killed her out of self-defence. That didn't make the loss of her life any better. On the other hand, no one had forced her to try to kill me. What had the psychiatrist said?
``Most species will kill to save their own life or that of their young. Evolution breeds the instinct into us.'' She'd said that and curled her long furry tail around her ankles. De'tse Ti was the third psychiatrist I'd seen and the one who had finally been able to help me. Zac's voice snapped me back to the present.
``Pardon me?''
``I said our medic wants to talk to you.'' He frowned at me.
Nodding absently I thought about my condition. She'd shot me in the side. And trampled on my - now bandaged - hand. Depending on how much blood I'd lost, not exactly critical injuries. I wasn't even in pain, just feeling numb. Still, it would be nice to talk to the medic who had treated me and say my thanks in person. He or she would also be able to tell me how soon I would be up and running again. The sooner I got off this ship and on my way back home, the better. Well, there was one small problem.
``Ehm, Zac? Would you drop me somewhere for the call that I can also obtain a new ID?''
He looked at me strangely and it dawned me what he might be thinking, so I spelled it out for him.
``It's not anything illegitimate, I simply need an ID to travel.''
``Talk to the medic first, then we'll speak again. Ok?''
Uh oh. Not good. Maybe I'd been hurt worse than I thought, and it would take a long time to heal. The door chimed and I could hear someone walk in. Zac stood up and nodded to the female Razzan that had entered my field of vision. Her outfit, while cut differently, held the same palette of insignia as that of the other crew members I'd seen onboard. The sign of her profession, an arrow-shaped Zeta-leaf, was sewn next to her name. The Zeta shrub leaves hold a strong antiseptic which had been important in the history of Razzan medicine. I didn't even remember where I'd snatched up that particular piece of information.
``My name is Meral. You are my assigned patient until you step off this ship. If you follow my advice, you'll soon be as good as new.''
She flashed me a toothy grin and proceeded to check a hand-held she carried against the screen beside my bed. Zac stood a bit forlornly before he suddenly whipped around, nodded to me and left. As soon as the door had swished close behind him, Meral grabbed a chair and sat so I did not have to turn my head to see her.
``You were stupid to provoke the Exalted Raitel, but she was even more stupid to take you into the duel circle. She obviously thought she was superior to a half-blood.''
Great, so I could expect a lecture about my behaviour from every single Razzan on this space ship now? And about that half-blood comment -
``Well, she wasn't even superior to a quarter-blood.''
Meral looked surprised. Then she focused on her hand-held for a few quick brushes of her fingers before she turned the small screen to me.
``Here, that's a human skeleton to the left. On the right, a Razzan and yours is in the middle. See how much more similar yours is to the Razzan one? I could show you the blood values and hormone levels, they all say Razzan. You sure there are no dirty family secrets?''
Oh, I was sure there were plenty. Just not of this particular sort.
``The family resemblance is strong in our maternal line, Meral. My grandfather was a Razzan. My father was a human. That's all there is to me.''
``Pity. You'd make a striking Razzan. Even with only a quarter, you still favour that part of your genes to an amazing degree. Here - '' she tapped the screen again and another picture opened. ``There are your third teeth, breaking through.''
Ehm, third teeth? Since when did I grow a third set of teeth? Meral ploughed on without regard for my confusion.
``I understand you were passing as a human? Nifty job on the teeth, though what a shame. I bet your third will be all shiny and pointy. Don't have them chopped down as well. Decon said they found contacts in your vest. Please look at the bird that is displayed and follow its movements.''
She set a wraparound goggle she'd quickly wired to her hand-held on my head before I could say anything. I complied, fixating the multicoloured animal first with my left, then my right eye until she was satisfied with the measurements and removed the gadget again.
``I would have offered you new contacts, they had to destroy the old ones for hygiene reasons, you know, but you don't need them. In fact, your vision is excellent and the reaction time quite extraordinary. Why did you wear the lenses?''
Meral looked honestly puzzled. I'd barely opened my mouth to answer when she continued.
``Ah, got it. The whole passing as a human thing.'' She bent down and stored the goggles in the bedside wall-cabinet again.
``I am human.'' I felt the need to clarify.
``All a matter of perspective, darling. Like I said, you'd make a stunning Razzan. And I'm sure you'd not be short your share of suitors.''
I stared at her. Was this some kind of joke?
``Meral, I have no idea what you are talking about. Besides, I'm happily married. To a human.''
``Oh, I guess that's that. Still, people will come to speak to you. And about you.''
Why that was a problem I didn't know. Let them talk. It was not like I would be staying with the Razzan for long. Would I?
``Meral? How long till I am up and running again?''
``A few standard tendays. Of course, you'll have to do rehab after that.''
Mercury. How was I supposed to get home like that? Maybe there was a hospital somewhere in this quadrant that I could afford to stay at until I was able to travel on. Which brought me straight back to the problem of having no ID.
``Thank you very much for looking after me Meral. I appreciate what you did and are doing for me. Could you do me a favour and call Zac back in? Our conversation was not quite finished when he left.''
``I'll ping him for you, no problem.'' She engaged her hand-held again - what could that thing not do? A few moments later she looked up.
``He's in a meeting. But Teraz wants to see you. Told you, you'd be popular with the guys.''
She actually winked at me. I frowned back. The door chimed and Teraz walked in. He wore a black outfit that reminded me of an old fashioned karate suit. This one however was richly adorned with golden and brown spirals. He nodded at the medic who saluted formally. The y exchanged a few quiet words in Razzan, then he turned and smiled at me. Not a simple baring of teeth, it was a real smile. I had landed in some parallel universe or at least in one of the serials Sara and I had watched at boarding school. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and the sudden movement jolted my side. The dull pain that radiated outwards from the wound anchored me back down. I was not a rebellious teen anymore but a grown woman with a career and a goal. To get home and find out what the hell had happened down in that mine. And get good with whoever had killed off my team and stolen my results. On my own I could do nothing, I needed Ore United's resources. Right now though, I depended on the Razzan. What I did not understand was why they were all so damned friendly. I had killed one of their dignitaries and they did not even seem to mind very much.
``I'll leave you two and report back to headquarters. See you tomorrow, Dr. Jemaina,'' Meral excused herself and left. Maybe she had also seen too many serials and figured herself some kind of matchmaker? I brushed aside that idle thought and focused on Teraz, who had taken the seat Meral had vacated. He turned his face slightly to look at the monitor beside my bed and I caught sight of the golden threads woven into his hair. He'd definitely dressed up. Turning his head back sharply, he caught me staring. His pupils shrank minimally, otherwise his face remained impassive. His presence felt almost intimidating even though I was fairly sure he did not mean me ill. The silence wore on and I felt that conviction crumble slightly. When he finally spoke I nearly jumped.
``When I gave you my weapons I intended a lesson for Raitel. Not her death.'' He paused. Here we go.
``But now the situation has changed. I will inform her family about her demise and the end of my association with them. It would be my pleasure if you accompanied me on this mission.''
Nothing about his body language conveyed that it really was a pleasure for him. It did not sound like it would be a nice experience for me, either.
``Do I even have the choice?''
``Of course. No one can force you. Seeing as it would only be a small detour and you are hardly able to travel on your own, why refuse?'' He sounded awfully sure of himself and his position while saying so. Time to burst his bubble.
``Simple: I'll contact my employer, request an extraction. Standard procedure for explorations gone wrong. So, tell me, how did you get injured?'' My voice was deceptively gentle.
``A previous duel.'' His voice was brisk as he rose stiffly.
``I will give you time to think over your options. Have a good sleep, Dr. Jemaina.''
While I watched him walk out of the room I realised that no one called me by my first name yet. Had they not found out? That, I could not imagine. Maybe they did not know how it worked with first and last names because they only seemed to have one? Pondering that issue I finally fell asleep.
Pyrite glint - snippet 10 by Kat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licence.
``That's our home system.'' Zac said softly. If I turned my head a bit, I could see him. His face was as relaxed as his voice. ``I'm glad you made it,'' he added to my complete puzzlement. There really had been no love lost between him and his wife.
``You're right, it was a political arrangement.''
Groaning, I closed my eyes. A big enough dose of painkillers tends to loosen my tongue. He was still there when I opened them again.
``You said it was an arranged marriage. Was as in...?'' I trailed off.
He nodded and my stomach turned to lead. I'd killed again. Then his previous words filtered through the sudden haze in my head.
``Zac, your wife is dead because of me. And you're glad I'm alive, so you can kill me in a politically correct way or what?''
Surely, they'd given me some strong painkillers because I imagined him smiling briefly before he answered.
``We analysed the videologs from the duel. Raitel intended to kill you, provoking her own death. You are not at fault.''
Looking from his face to the ceiling, I let his words penetrate. Technically, I'd killed her out of self-defence. That didn't make the loss of her life any better. On the other hand, no one had forced her to try to kill me. What had the psychiatrist said?
``Most species will kill to save their own life or that of their young. Evolution breeds the instinct into us.'' She'd said that and curled her long furry tail around her ankles. De'tse Ti was the third psychiatrist I'd seen and the one who had finally been able to help me. Zac's voice snapped me back to the present.
``Pardon me?''
``I said our medic wants to talk to you.'' He frowned at me.
Nodding absently I thought about my condition. She'd shot me in the side. And trampled on my - now bandaged - hand. Depending on how much blood I'd lost, not exactly critical injuries. I wasn't even in pain, just feeling numb. Still, it would be nice to talk to the medic who had treated me and say my thanks in person. He or she would also be able to tell me how soon I would be up and running again. The sooner I got off this ship and on my way back home, the better. Well, there was one small problem.
``Ehm, Zac? Would you drop me somewhere for the call that I can also obtain a new ID?''
He looked at me strangely and it dawned me what he might be thinking, so I spelled it out for him.
``It's not anything illegitimate, I simply need an ID to travel.''
``Talk to the medic first, then we'll speak again. Ok?''
Uh oh. Not good. Maybe I'd been hurt worse than I thought, and it would take a long time to heal. The door chimed and I could hear someone walk in. Zac stood up and nodded to the female Razzan that had entered my field of vision. Her outfit, while cut differently, held the same palette of insignia as that of the other crew members I'd seen onboard. The sign of her profession, an arrow-shaped Zeta-leaf, was sewn next to her name. The Zeta shrub leaves hold a strong antiseptic which had been important in the history of Razzan medicine. I didn't even remember where I'd snatched up that particular piece of information.
``My name is Meral. You are my assigned patient until you step off this ship. If you follow my advice, you'll soon be as good as new.''
She flashed me a toothy grin and proceeded to check a hand-held she carried against the screen beside my bed. Zac stood a bit forlornly before he suddenly whipped around, nodded to me and left. As soon as the door had swished close behind him, Meral grabbed a chair and sat so I did not have to turn my head to see her.
``You were stupid to provoke the Exalted Raitel, but she was even more stupid to take you into the duel circle. She obviously thought she was superior to a half-blood.''
Great, so I could expect a lecture about my behaviour from every single Razzan on this space ship now? And about that half-blood comment -
``Well, she wasn't even superior to a quarter-blood.''
Meral looked surprised. Then she focused on her hand-held for a few quick brushes of her fingers before she turned the small screen to me.
``Here, that's a human skeleton to the left. On the right, a Razzan and yours is in the middle. See how much more similar yours is to the Razzan one? I could show you the blood values and hormone levels, they all say Razzan. You sure there are no dirty family secrets?''
Oh, I was sure there were plenty. Just not of this particular sort.
``The family resemblance is strong in our maternal line, Meral. My grandfather was a Razzan. My father was a human. That's all there is to me.''
``Pity. You'd make a striking Razzan. Even with only a quarter, you still favour that part of your genes to an amazing degree. Here - '' she tapped the screen again and another picture opened. ``There are your third teeth, breaking through.''
Ehm, third teeth? Since when did I grow a third set of teeth? Meral ploughed on without regard for my confusion.
``I understand you were passing as a human? Nifty job on the teeth, though what a shame. I bet your third will be all shiny and pointy. Don't have them chopped down as well. Decon said they found contacts in your vest. Please look at the bird that is displayed and follow its movements.''
She set a wraparound goggle she'd quickly wired to her hand-held on my head before I could say anything. I complied, fixating the multicoloured animal first with my left, then my right eye until she was satisfied with the measurements and removed the gadget again.
``I would have offered you new contacts, they had to destroy the old ones for hygiene reasons, you know, but you don't need them. In fact, your vision is excellent and the reaction time quite extraordinary. Why did you wear the lenses?''
Meral looked honestly puzzled. I'd barely opened my mouth to answer when she continued.
``Ah, got it. The whole passing as a human thing.'' She bent down and stored the goggles in the bedside wall-cabinet again.
``I am human.'' I felt the need to clarify.
``All a matter of perspective, darling. Like I said, you'd make a stunning Razzan. And I'm sure you'd not be short your share of suitors.''
I stared at her. Was this some kind of joke?
``Meral, I have no idea what you are talking about. Besides, I'm happily married. To a human.''
``Oh, I guess that's that. Still, people will come to speak to you. And about you.''
Why that was a problem I didn't know. Let them talk. It was not like I would be staying with the Razzan for long. Would I?
``Meral? How long till I am up and running again?''
``A few standard tendays. Of course, you'll have to do rehab after that.''
Mercury. How was I supposed to get home like that? Maybe there was a hospital somewhere in this quadrant that I could afford to stay at until I was able to travel on. Which brought me straight back to the problem of having no ID.
``Thank you very much for looking after me Meral. I appreciate what you did and are doing for me. Could you do me a favour and call Zac back in? Our conversation was not quite finished when he left.''
``I'll ping him for you, no problem.'' She engaged her hand-held again - what could that thing not do? A few moments later she looked up.
``He's in a meeting. But Teraz wants to see you. Told you, you'd be popular with the guys.''
She actually winked at me. I frowned back. The door chimed and Teraz walked in. He wore a black outfit that reminded me of an old fashioned karate suit. This one however was richly adorned with golden and brown spirals. He nodded at the medic who saluted formally. The y exchanged a few quiet words in Razzan, then he turned and smiled at me. Not a simple baring of teeth, it was a real smile. I had landed in some parallel universe or at least in one of the serials Sara and I had watched at boarding school. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and the sudden movement jolted my side. The dull pain that radiated outwards from the wound anchored me back down. I was not a rebellious teen anymore but a grown woman with a career and a goal. To get home and find out what the hell had happened down in that mine. And get good with whoever had killed off my team and stolen my results. On my own I could do nothing, I needed Ore United's resources. Right now though, I depended on the Razzan. What I did not understand was why they were all so damned friendly. I had killed one of their dignitaries and they did not even seem to mind very much.
``I'll leave you two and report back to headquarters. See you tomorrow, Dr. Jemaina,'' Meral excused herself and left. Maybe she had also seen too many serials and figured herself some kind of matchmaker? I brushed aside that idle thought and focused on Teraz, who had taken the seat Meral had vacated. He turned his face slightly to look at the monitor beside my bed and I caught sight of the golden threads woven into his hair. He'd definitely dressed up. Turning his head back sharply, he caught me staring. His pupils shrank minimally, otherwise his face remained impassive. His presence felt almost intimidating even though I was fairly sure he did not mean me ill. The silence wore on and I felt that conviction crumble slightly. When he finally spoke I nearly jumped.
``When I gave you my weapons I intended a lesson for Raitel. Not her death.'' He paused. Here we go.
``But now the situation has changed. I will inform her family about her demise and the end of my association with them. It would be my pleasure if you accompanied me on this mission.''
Nothing about his body language conveyed that it really was a pleasure for him. It did not sound like it would be a nice experience for me, either.
``Do I even have the choice?''
``Of course. No one can force you. Seeing as it would only be a small detour and you are hardly able to travel on your own, why refuse?'' He sounded awfully sure of himself and his position while saying so. Time to burst his bubble.
``Simple: I'll contact my employer, request an extraction. Standard procedure for explorations gone wrong. So, tell me, how did you get injured?'' My voice was deceptively gentle.
``A previous duel.'' His voice was brisk as he rose stiffly.
``I will give you time to think over your options. Have a good sleep, Dr. Jemaina.''
While I watched him walk out of the room I realised that no one called me by my first name yet. Had they not found out? That, I could not imagine. Maybe they did not know how it worked with first and last names because they only seemed to have one? Pondering that issue I finally fell asleep.
Pyrite glint - snippet 10 by Kat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licence.
Wooo she killed the 'beep' lol good she was a pain. Great snips hun.
ReplyDeleteawesome! can't wait for more.
ReplyDelete