Our ETA is two point five Earth hours. Usually when we travel, the men talk. This time we are silent. I suppose they are worried about the success of this mission. I am worried about Serena’s sanity. The Mastermind has the ability to do that.
“Rafe, do you think MSI will be able to save her?”
“I don’t know, Sabin. We’ve never dealt with his aftermath before in a human.”
I ask Verus the same thing. “It’s my belief it can. MSI can do a whole lot, Sabin. The little buggers can get in there and knock out all kinds of invaders.”
“I know that, but what about the damage that’s already incurred?”
Verus looks away and that’s enough of an answer for me. I’m not sure what I will do if Serena won’t come back to me … if I have a shell of her without her true self. My heart clangs against my ribs to the point that it reverberates in my ears. Pushing those thoughts away, I concentrate on the mission. I must focus on this and not the other, because I will crumble if I do.
Edge moves next to me and says, “We’ll get her back. And I’ll stop at nothing until she is the old Serena, Sabin. I promise.”
Our journey is uneventful, and when we near our destination, my trepidation spikes. Again, I push it down. The Mastermind cannot know he has the upper hand here.
“Remember to keep all mind blocks in place. This is one powerful motherfucker. Make sure your MSI is on full load everyone. And in about two minutes, only Helios and I will converse. The rest of you go silent and transparent. Good luck everyone.”
I hear murmuring and they fade into the blackness of space.
Helios and I arrive at our destination and are escorted to the bastard himself. I’ve only seen him one other time, and it was under less than ideal circumstances. It was when we invaded his little empire and two of my men died. That will not happen this time. I act like I’m a newbie here, because we were transparent and he doesn’t know for sure it was us. He suspects, but I’m not giving up that information, now or ever.
“Welcome.”
Welcome, my ass.
“I have what you want. Bring me what I want.” My voice cracks like a whip.
His head twists at an odd angle and those fucking eyes of his look at me as though to say, I have the power here, dude. Like I don’t know that. But I’m no pussy and I’m not bowing down to him.
“Show me.”
His voice stings my ears and I want to cover them. But I don’t. I refuse to let him see his effect on me.
“Not until you bring me the girl. A fair trade, wouldn’t you say?”
Our eyes gouge each other’s, painfully. Again, I want to cringe, but I don’t. Two Shaurok flank him and he finally flicks his head. One of them scrambles away. My eyes don’t leave his for one second. I sense motion and Helios moves away from me. At least he does until that bastard tells him to stop.
“Your man. Tell him to stay away. You can look, but you cannot touch her.”
Now I take my eyes off him and what a relief I feel. But it’s only for a second, because when I see Serena, I want to die. The Shaurok drag her by her arms. She is lifeless. Filthy, with matted hair, she appears dead. At least the bastard dressed her.
“She is not alive, as you promised,” I seethe. “This deal is off.”
“Serena Callahan lives. See for yourself.” He snaps his fingers and she lifts her head and then crawls toward him. It sickens me to see what he’s done to her.
“As you see, she lives.”
“Release her from your spell.”
“Show me Paradox.”
“Helios, get Serena.”
He holds out his hand. “Not so quickly,” the Mastermind says. “It appears we are at a standoff.”
“It seems we are.” I cross my arms over my chest. I won’t back down. If I give him what he wants before we have Serena, we may all die. “Give the girl to my man here, I’ll give you Paradox, and we’ll be on our way.”
He’s silent and I think he’s going to object, but he has his minion drag Serena by the arm to Helios.
I say to Helios, “Prepare her for travel.”
Helios starts to get her ready, which is a bit harder than usual because she’s dead weight.
Looking at the Mastermind, I lower my head, and say through clenched teeth, “Get out of her head. Now.”
He twists his fucking head around again in that disgusting way of his, and then blinks several times. I hear Serena moan.
“Helios? Is she ready?”
“Just about.”
“Tell me when.”
A couple of minutes pass and when Helios gives the word, I stand next to him, and right before we depart, I toss the Mastermind the fake Paradox. I see him catch it right as we flash out.
Once we’re in space, Helios hands me Serena and I say, “Fastest setting to home. And I want an accounting of the rest of the team.”
Serena is limp and out of it. There is no response from her, and I only hope he left her head.
“Helios, do you think he’s out of her head?”
“Don’t know.”
“We need to keep our blocks up, just in case. And nothing said around her until we can probe her mind.”
“Right.”
The trip home takes several hours. It’s interminable as I worry about Serena’s condition. Her lifeless body hangs in my arms, but I refuse to believe the worst. When we finally make it home, I waste no time in getting her to my quarters. I call for an SIMD, along with Edge and Verus, but Helios informs me they haven’t made it back yet.
“Get them in here as soon as they do.”
Then I get Serena out of her suit and into the bed as the SIMD begins its assessment. I pace. And pace.
When the SIMD starts to speak, I jump.
“Human’s condition categorized as severely compromised. Human is pregnant. It is recommended she be placed in a medical unit to reestablish homeostasis.”
Pregnant! Serena’s pregnant!
“Whose DNA does the baby carry?”
It doesn’t matter, because I would love Serena and raise the baby as mine, but I want to know for Serena’s sake.
The SIMD emits a series of bleeps and says, “The fetus is yours, L’han.”
I have to hold onto the wall because the room spins.
“L’han, the human is in need of a medical unit.”
The statement spurs me into action. “Fuck. Graylyn! Helios! Touhurandrun! Druh’ahan! Hrennuan!”
Moments later, my quarters are filled with the ones I’ve called. “I need a medical unit up here as fast as you can.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Hrennuan says. He flashes out of the room, and a few minutes later, a unit appears. The SIMD programs it and I place Serena in it. It’s the size of a bathtub and it begins to fill with liquid that has the consistency of water. But it’s not water. It’s everything her body needs to heal. The unit will allow her to absorb it and bring all her bodily functions back to normal.
“L’han, she will rest comfortably in there. I have instituted a sedative for her to relieve her pain,” the SIMD informs me.
“Pain? Why is she in pain?”
“I do not know, but her brain registers it.”
“Will the baby be okay?”
“I cannot answer.”
I wish I had killed that bastard when I was face to face with him. He didn’t have to hurt her. There was no need.
Outwardly she looks fine, except for the smudges of dirt that mar her face and hands. I haven’t looked closely at the rest of her, because there are others in the room. “Does she have significant injuries, such as broken bones?”
“No, L’han. Her pain is of a different nature.” The unit clearly doesn’t understand and neither do I. “She will sleep for now and I will stand by. If there are any changes to her condition, I will be right here.” The SIMD positions itself at the foot of the unit and stays put.
“How long before we know the baby’s out of danger?”
“I cannot answer.”
Fuck!
I look to the others in the room and tell Helios to let me know when Verus and Edge return. “Thank you for what you’ve done today. Right now, I’d like some alone time with her. Please keep the news about the baby to yourselves. I would like to tell Serena before anyone else finds out.” They give me their sworn promise not to say a word and file out of the room. The gratitude I feel is immense, but right now my heart is too weighted down by the sorrow of Serena’s plight. I move next to her and my gaze roams over her. Cracked lips are the first things I notice. Did the fucker not give her any water? What about food? Was he letting her starve? The hollows beneath her cheekbones are pronounced and I’m sure she’s lost weight. And can’t be good for an unborn child. I haven’t seen her without clothes, and if I’m honest with myself, I’m not sure I want to.
“Should we disrobe her?” I ask.
The monotone comes back to me. “It makes no difference in her treatment, L’han.”
The response comforts me. When she awakens, she won’t feel as uncomfortable as she would if she were naked. “Is she cold?” I didn’t realize I’d spoken until I hear the SIMD answer.
“No, L’han, she is not. Her body temperature is kept a constant ninety-eight point six in the unit. She is not cold.”
I don’t have a chance to take comfort in that when Edge practically tears down the door, without asking permission to enter. Normally, I would severely reprimand him for this, but I can’t. I wonder who’s more upset about Serena—him or me.
“How is she? Will she be okay?” he asks.
“Physically, yes. Mentally? Time will tell.”
Her appearance is already improving in the short time she’s been immersed in the unit. “Her body needed to be restored to homeostasis. She was severely compromised.”
“I’m afraid her friend is in worse condition,” Edge informs me.
“Did we ever find out her connection to Serena?”
“Verus says she’s some diving friend.”
“Why the hell would he have taken her?”
Edge only shakes his head. “She isn’t used to intergalactic travel. Add that to her unstable condition. I hope she makes it, Sabin.”
“I do too.”
“How long will Serena have to stay in here?”
“Not long, I think. I’m going after him.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No. I can’t let you. It’s too risky.”
Edge doesn’t speak for a bit. But then he says, “It’s not your choice. You give orders on things that affect our world. This is a personal matter for you. It is for me, too. Serena is like a sister to me. I want him to pay for this.”
I digest what he says. He’s right. I can’t make this decision for him. “When we go, he pays with his life. We don’t return unless he dies. That means either he goes or we do.”
“I know, and I’m willing to take that chance.”
That’s quite a testament of Edge’s loyalty to Serena. But I’m not at all surprised. The two of them have shared a tight friendship from the start. I believe it began the day she stepped up and claimed she went into the kitchen on her own accord, covering up for Edge. She earned his respect that day, and it’s continued to grow. “Were you able to find Judgment Day?”
“No. We ran out of time. Drey grabbed the girl and needed help getting her ready for the trip home so I had to assist. That took me out of the hunt. Then it was down to the final minutes and the others had to abandon the search. You already cleared the place, so we left.”
“Good. We’ll get it after we kill him. And we’ll take out the Shaurok that are in the way while we’re at it. But Edge, I want to be clear on this. I won’t return until he’s dead. This is the end.”
“I’m with you, Sabin.”
“So am I.” I look up to see Rafe standing there. Neither Edge nor I heard him enter the room, as our backs face the door.
“I want him dead every bit as much as you. I’m responsible for this,” he waves his hand through the air over where Serena lies, “and I want him to pay for it.”
I watch him as he looks over Serena. This has totally set him back a notch or two. “I am here to offer you, once again, my apology. What’s Serena’s status?” Rafe asks.
I fill him in. I’m still not satisfied with what he did and the way he acted toward her. I don’t understand it and I need to get to the bottom of it. But it will have to wait because I refuse to leave Serena’s side until she is awake and responsive.
That takes days. The SIMD confirms the baby will survive and that is good news. When Serena awakens, sedation is required because she is so confused and disoriented. The SIMD recommends an implanted MSI to try and rearrange her brainwaves. Edge, Verus, and I discuss this and we decide to consult with the engineers on it. They agree with the SIMD.
“Is there any way to confirm he’s out of her head? We need to verify that before we do anything.”
The engineer, whose name escapes me, says, “We can send in an MSI probe, sir.”
“Is there any risk to her if we do?” I ask. “I don’t want to compromise her any further than she already is.”
“No risk. I can have the SIMD insert it at the base of her skull and it will travel and do an entire scan of her brain, sending back any anomalies as it goes. It’s extremely thorough. If he’s in there, he’ll never know the probe was there.”