After enlisting the aid of Parvac soldiers, Jazon had all of Tracy’s possessions packed and loaded into the back of a large land transport. A crowd of young boys had watched from their yards around the wealthy neighborhood. Tracy’s friends had come to say their goodbyes in person. It had caused his wife sadness to say farewell to her friend, Jaimie. Worse was the goodbye she now said to her mother.
“You will come back to visit?” Melinda asked.
“I assure you. We will visit each time we return to the Laconian Sector,” Jazon promised.
Melinda kissed Jazon’s cheek. “You’ll take care of her?”
“I will.” As a favor to his mother-in-law, he had bound his new nephews to himself telepathically to provide them with the mental stability they had lost once again when their stepfather had been assassinated. He calmed his mother-in-law’s emotions and kissed her cheek in return.
Tracy and her mother waved to each other until their transport was out of sight. The large land transport was unloaded by the time they drove up the ramp and into the warship. Jazon was as gentle as possible with Tracy as he carried her into the lift and to the infirmary. She was paler than usual with pain.
“What about the sea stars?” Tracy asked.
“They are in our room.”
“Oh. Oh, no. What about Andy?” Anguish laced her words.
“He is in the infirmary.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, he got a new look, a permanent one.” The doors to the infirmary made a slight puff of sound as they entered. “Dr. Avitus, I have a patient for you.” Gently, Jazon placed Tracy on an exam bed.
A handsome man on the exam bed beside her smiled at her. Tracy blushed at him and worried Jazon might punch him for flirting with her. The man looked hurt by her behavior.
Jazon spoke to him. “It’s a good thing, Andy. If Tracy didn’t recognize you, no one will.” Andy’s reconstructive surgery had been quickly approved, so there was hope he would be granted citizenship as a sentient individual. Jazon, Agata, and Vasco had spoken on his behalf.
“Andy, is that you?” When he smiled at her again, there was no mistaking him.
“Yes, Tracy.”
“Thank the stars you’re okay.” It wasn’t enough of a surprise to distract her from the pain when Dr. Avitus began unwrapping the bandages around her left thigh. “Oh, sick.” There was a bloody hole through her leg where the assassin had blasted her with his highest setting. Purple bruising surrounded it.
“Lean back, and don’t look at it,” Jazon said as he helped her to recline back on the pillow.
“I’ll begin another nanite series, and I’m keeping her here for a few days,” Dr. Avitus stated.
Tracy held Jazon’s hand and did her best not to cry. Then, she began looking around the infirmary. She had never before been aboard a Parvac warship. “Oh,” Tracy said.
“What is it, darling?” Jazon asked. He smoothed her hair away from her face with his fingers.
“Parvac pain patches are stronger.” Tracy’s eyelids became too heavy for her.
“Keep her safe, Andy. I’ll be back.”
“I will,” Andy promised.
Jazon had to work off his rage. Felix’s assassin might have permanently crippled his wife. Had the shot been any higher, she would have died. He had stopped short of beating the bastard to death, but only because he wanted to watch his execution. Jazon, Agata, and Vasco had received praise for the destruction of the clones and the arrests of the scientists. Vice Admiral Kane Valen had been deployed to assist them while they had been on Leucon undergoing decontamination and had only recently docked his warship on Aurilius.
Jazon arrived at the gym and went into the dressing room to change out of his uniform. After entering the ring, he had to wait a few moments before the soldiers who were present managed to convince someone to join him.
“Two more,” Jazon called out.
Once there were three Parvac soldiers in the ring with him, the sparring began. Jazon tried to clear his mind and concentrate on the match. One of the soldiers made contact with his jaw. While deflecting their blows and kicks and throwing a few punches of his own, Jazon’s thoughts returned to Tracy. Vasco had gotten to her quickly after the assassin had shot her. He was good with blaster wounds. Tracy’s family physician had taken over from there. Seeing her pale, injured, in pain, and being unable to do anything about it had been infuriating.
That the man had tranquilized both Tracy and her mother, taken them from Sinope, successfully tricked Jazon and his team that the serum was his objective, tried to bury them beneath a pile of rubble, and shot his wife filled him with rage. However, ordering the traitorous inquisitor’s death was the Emperor’s right.
“Enough! Enough!” a man called out.
Jazon froze. The three soldiers were down, drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily.
“Feeling better?” Kane asked. Vice Admiral Kane Valen was tall for a male, heavily muscled, and had the same dirty-blonde hair and green and gold eyes as his cousin, Teagan.
The other occupants of the gym were silent. Jazon glanced around at the soldiers who had been watching the match. His skill in the ring impressed them. Jazon glanced over at Kane and climbed out of the ring. “He could have killed my wife. I almost lost her. Aww, shit.” He bowed his head. The moisture running down his face wasn’t sweat. Kane helped him remove his gloves and handed him a towel. Jazon used it to wipe away his tears.
“Dr. Avitus believes she will make a full recovery.” Kane scrunched up his face. He leaned in closer and gave Jazon a sniff. “Jazon, you stink. You really stink. Take a shower before you return to your wife. You wouldn’t want her passing out from the smell.”
Jazon chuckled at him. “Yes, sir.”
Jazon had showered and changed but paced the ship’s corridors restlessly. He sensed someone’s approach.
“What’s wrong now?” Kane asked. “That’s new carpeting you’re wearing out.”
“I don’t know. My mission is complete, and now I don’t know what I’m doing. I have a wife. I’ve never even had a girlfriend. Shouldn’t I bring her a present or something?”
“Yes, women like gifts. What does she like?”
Jazon cringed. “She collects dolls. She has so many dolls.”
Kane laughed. “I have just the thing. Come with me.”
Jazon followed Kane to his quarters. He pulled a crate out of his storage unit, opened it, and handed Jazon one of the dolls the Chan family of Arachne had been manufacturing to resemble Teagan, the Arachnean Princess.
“How many of those do you have?” Jazon asked incredulously.
“About fifty or so.”
“Why?”
Kane looked at Jazon as though he were an idiot. “To annoy my tiny cousin, of course. Why else?”
Tracy was still sleeping when Jazon arrived at the infirmary. He sat beside her and watched her sleep. Vasco came for Andy. He had watched over her while Jazon had been gone just like he said he would. When Tracy woke up in pain, Jazon did his best to hide it from her. After helping her see to her physical demands, he gave her the new doll. It got him a kiss.
Dr. Avitus decided to keep Tracy under observation in the infirmary for the duration of the return journey to Parvac. The severity of her injury required uninterrupted nanite therapy, antibiotics, and pain patches. Keeping her comfortable and still was the best way to assist with her recovery. Unfortunately, Jazon wasn’t royalty and wouldn’t be getting any special treatment. Dr. Avitus had no intentions of allowing him to sleep beside his wife in the infirmary. He was forced to return to his quarters each night to sleep alone.
By the time the warship arrived in Parvac space, Jazon was eager to be free of Dr. Avitus’ tyranny, even if it meant being at the mercy of either Dr. Phillip Svenson or Dr. Ryan Fotri, the two private physicians in service to House Probus.