Chapter 26
Medical
She refused to leave his side, even though every inch of her body burned. There was little left of her uniform. After an accompanying guard trod on one of the strips of fabric that clung to her boots and trailed behind her, she pulled her feet out of them, leaving her totally naked. A couple of times she slipped and nearly fell when she stepped on a patch of blood and her foot slid out from under her, but she managed to stay upright. No one offered a hand to help or dared to touch her, much less speak to her.
One medical tech tried to shove her out of the way, to prevent her from walking at Kyber’s side, but Kelen resisted, giving him an angry, determined look. “I am his Confirmed. I know my rights,” she firmly stated. In truth, she didn’t know if she had the right to stay with her husband, or if she had any rights at all, especially since she was a Terran. But she knew Seneecians held in high esteem those who showed bravery and determination, and she was banking on that. Luckily, the tech didn’t make any further attempts to shoo her away.
Once they were inside the medical lab, Kyber was placed underneath a sterile dome. Only then did she move to one corner of the room and park herself on the floor where she could keep a close eye on her husband’s unconscious figure. The floor was cold, and sitting on her lacerated buttocks was painful, but she refused to ask for help for herself.
A Seneecian came to stand guard over her. She couldn’t tell whether he was there to protect her, or to prevent her from going off on her own. Irritation made her grimace.
“What? Do you think I’m going to attack someone in my present condition?” she muttered, not caring if he heard her or not. “I’m naked, I’m cold, I’m hurt, and I’m bleeding. How much danger can I be to any of you?”
Lifting her knees, she wrapped her arms around them and lowered her face. She was shivering. Compounded with the fact that her wounds were still bleeding, she was beginning to feel lightheaded. Every time she moved, the slashes in her flesh reopened, sending fresh waves of agony through her. She had no way of knowing where the worst of the lesions were located. She was cut and stabbed on her arms, legs, thighs, hips, buttocks… If there was anything to be grateful for, it was the fact that she was in the medical bay and not left to suffer in the shuttle bay.
Lifting her face, she looked up at the sterile dome. From where she sat, the only part of Kyber that she could see was the soles of his feet. At some point his boots had been removed. She squinted slightly. The bottom of his feet were also furred. Funny, she’d never realized that before now. It would explain why he’d been able to walk over the ice and snow barefooted. Until now, she’d assumed they were void of any hair.
That means there isn’t a spot on him where he doesn’t have a pelt, she gathered. The only exception was his penis, and that really didn’t count as it came from within his genital cavity. She couldn’t help but smile, remembering how his lightest touch always tickled, whether he was using his hand or the tip of his claws. Sleeping on or against him was like being wrapped in the softest blanket.
“Get well, my one. Don’t leave me. Don’t let them win,” she whispered.
A pair of legs stopped in front of her. Kelen glanced up to see a medical tech holding out what appeared to be a towel or some sort of wrapping to her. She took it with a word of thanks. It turned out to be a length of thin cloth. Not knowing if she was supposed to wear it or mop up the blood beneath her, she opted to tie it around her. If they wanted her to clean up the mess, they’d need to give her another one to use.
The tech walked away, but another Seneecian replaced him. She started to ignore the man when he spoke directly to her.
“Terran, what shall we call you?” He spoke Terranese.
Surprised, she stared at him, noting his rank. It wasn’t one she recognized, which meant he wasn’t an officer. “I am Kelen. Who are you?”
“Ambrun Goolith.”
“Forgive me. I’m not familiar with that rank.”
The man appeared to hide a smile. “It is not a rank. It is a designation. Ambrun means I am a scientist. In this case…” He pointed to a portion of his emblem. “This shows I work in medical.”
She gave a nod. “Oh. Like a doctor. A medical professional.” She pointed to the sterile dome. “How is my husband?”
“He is…” Goolith paused, uncertain how to continue.
She sat up straighter. “Will he live?”
“I cannot give you that reassurance.”
Kelen tried to get to her feet, but she’d lost too much blood. Her legs went out from under her and she started to fall, when a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders. Goolith immediately lifted her into his arms and carried her over to another medical bed, laying her across it. When the Seneecian stepped away, his arms and the front of his uniform were smeared with her blood.
A sterile dome slowly descended over her. Kelen closed her eyes and succumbed to the computer’s examination. Above the bed’s soft hum she caught the sound of voices. The translator buzzed softly due to interference. The bed beneath her was warm, comfortable. She was about to drift off when the voices increased in volume.
Kelen peeked through her lashes to spot the physician and hopefully see what the man was doing. She found him standing near the doorway. D’har Duruk was there, along with two other Seneecians. She assumed one of them to be D’har Stek. They were deep in conversation, frequently glancing at her and Kyber, and a few times waving a hand in her direction. From their facial features and body language, it appeared they were at odds with each other.
The computer finished its analysis of her condition. The hum ceased. Her ear bud instantly resumed working.
“—return her injured? I cannot deny her treatment.”
“Her injuries are her fault. She chose to board this ship without permission.”
The translation bud didn’t differentiate between voices. Everything came out in the same monotone, but it wasn’t too difficult to tell who was saying what.
“The skint claims to be the Por D’har’s Confirmed.”
“Skints lie. Do not believe anything she says.”
“Then why did she come with him?”
“To spy on us?”
“Or he was using her as his concubine.” The Seneecian laughed. The translator interpreted it with the sound of uh, uh, uh.
“She defends him. She acts like one who is Confirmed.”
“It is an act. The sooner we are rid of her, the sooner we can return to Seneecia and dispose of the traitor’s body where the populace can cheer his demise.”
A voice came over inter-ship communications, addressing D’har Stek. The man went over to the wall to answer it. The translator was unable to hear Stek’s conversation, but when he was finished, he signaled to Duruk, and the two D’hars left the room.
Goolith walked over to her dome, noticing she was still awake. After a quick examination of her readout, a frown crossed his face, which quickly disappeared. “How are you feeling?” he asked through the transparent covering. Kelen noted he spoke Seneecian and continued to stare up at him without replying.
The man touched the side of his head where the entrance to his inner ear canal was located, as Seneecians did not have a distinguishable outer ear or lobe. “The computer has tagged a device in your ear,” he continued in Seneecian. “I am guessing it is a translator.” When Kelen continued to remain mum, he nodded. “Do not worry. I will not betray your secret.”
Unable to resist, she retorted. “Why not? I am your enemy.” She could sense a fine mist being released into her dome. Its slightly antiseptic odor told her she was being cleansed to prevent her wounds from becoming infected. It also turned her muscles into jelly, and she could feel herself drifting off again.
“Your bravery,” Goolith replied as she gradually lost consciousness. “Only a Confirmed would accompany her mate into death’s mouth.”
The mist overtook her before she had the chance to respond.