Page 10
Chapter Nine
LEX
A few marks later, I find myself walking back to med bay and nodding out of habit at the few crew members I pass in the halls, hoping no one stops me on the way. The moment the doors open I see that the Destroyer has removed the hover bed, replacing it with the adjustable one Rylie now lays on.
Qwin and Ember are standing at the foot of her bed deep in discussion. Both turn around when the door slides open. With her hands suddenly on her hips, Qwin asks me, “ Have you not noticed she’s turning yellow?”
“ Yes , shortly before I asked for your assistance.”
“ No , I mean like come here.” Qwin pulls the light covering off Rylie’s arms before pushing up the loose sleeve gently. “ The color is not just here, it’s all over her. It seems like it’s worse on her joints, but the change in coloring is not the worst of it. She is getting scales. OH - MY - GOD … they match yours. Ember , why didn’t we connect the dots? Of course, if we all took on something of our mates, it’s easy to see she’s going to do the same. But how, if you guys have not done the dirty? Please tell me you are not some perv LeX ? That would really tarnish my high opinion of you.”
I feel the scales on my neck flutter as her words sink in. “ If I was dishonorable, would I have asked for your assistance? Even though it is neither your concern nor your business, I believe it’s my blood that has done this to her. She was dying, and I had no other options.”
“ Ok , that was out of line, and I apologize, But LeX , did you even think of the consequences? She was probably forced to get inside that pod, a choice that should have been hers, but being yours … Your mate? Even that decision has been taken away now. Unless she is just super easygoing, this is not going to be all puppies and rainbows, honey. She is either going to be livid or destroyed, and neither is a good way to start a relationship.”
“ Aww , Qwin , it may not be as bad as you think. Hell , I was on the verge of being sacrificed and a Lava god reached out of the darkness, literally grabbing me from the hands of death and it all worked out.”
Qwin just shakes her head with a frown on her face. Ember , on the other hand, just stands there rubbing her belly with a smile on her face. Sudden movement on her abdomen has me highly concerned. Walking to her quickly, I run my hand down her side.
“ Ember , are you alright?”
“ I keep getting these twitches all over; they don’t hurt, it just feels odd. I swear she is getting heavier every moment. This pregnancy just started, and I already feel like I’m going to burst.”
“ So far, this pregnancy is not reacting normally. Let’s get you scanned again so that we can see what the little one in there is up to. Do you want me to summon ViN ?”
“ Absolutely not! Qwin is here she and can hold my hand.”
I motion for Qwin to take Ember’s hand while I raise the bed so she can lay down more easily. Once she settles back, I lower the scanner down as I move the material of her shirt out of the way. Aggravated , I turn it off, then back on again. “ Destroyer , I thought you said the machine was working correctly?”
“ Medic LeX , it is.”
Qwin looks at me from across the bed, but it’s Ember’s shaky voice that concerns me. “ What’s wrong?”
“ Ember , do not be alarmed; we are just going to have to go about this another way.” I move the machine off her and must stop from gasping when I see a bruise form right in front of my eyes. “ Ember , are you feeling anything from the baby?”
“ Yes , and no. It’s like there is something getting hard inside of me.”
“ The bruising on your sides has grown substantially. How have you managed to hide that from ViN ?”
“ Until this morning, it looked like it was getting better, but I’ll be honest, this is getting really uncomfortable quickly.”
“ Qwin , will you stay here with Ember ? I need to go look something up real fast?”
“ I’m not going anywhere.”
“ Destroyer , can you provide some light sustenance for the females until I return.”
“ Confirmed .”
Walking through the med bay into my lab, I grab my main holo pad. “ Destroyer , I need you to silence this lab while I research this issue.”
“ Can I be of assistance Medic LeX ?”
“ Actually yes, I need you to tell me all you can about pregnancy on the planet Vinzel .”
I do a manual search while awaiting the Destroyer’s inquiries. The only thing I keep finding is that their females require more heat during certain stages of their pregnancy. This does not reveal to me why her stomach is hard, nor what is hiding the fetus from the scanner.
“ Medic LeX , I reached out to the AI that monitors that system, asking if he could give me any insights. The only thing he could relay is that some of the younglings born early have to be put into a hot enclosure. When I asked for exact temperatures, I had to verify the one he provided twice. We have nothing on this ship that can generate that type of heat besides ViN himself.”
Suddenly , I see Qwin waving her arm in the air. I am on my feet immediately; the moment I clear the lab I can hear Ember’s cries.
“ Qwin , what happened?”
“ Ember ? One of you two talk to me!”
“ LeX , something is wrong, it’s like my insides are being torn apart.” I watch Ember turn pale before she arches up, a horrifying scream leaving her lips. “ Qwin help me hold her. Destroyer , get ViN here now! SCOUT , I sure as frack hope you are available!”
Before I can blink, he is at my side. “ When did her distress begin?”
“ Moments ago, she said she feels like something is ripping loose inside of her.” Another anguished scream leaves Ember’s throat, and I watch as Qwin gently brushes her hair back; a stray tear flowing down her own cheek.
SCOUT moves me aside. “ Mistress Ember , I am going to place my hands on your stomach so I can scan you manually. I know you’re hurting right now, but I need to watch your next contraction. I promise after I get done, we will give you something to help with the pain.”
“ Is my baby, ok? It’s too early … Damn , I just found out I was pregnant. Please , SCOUT , I can’t lose her.”
“ She is fine; I can faintly hear her heartbeat. You need to calm down and concentrate on breathing through the pain. Grab onto my arms if you need to, but I need you to let go of Qwin’s fingers before you accidentally break them.”
“ She’s fine … I can take it.” I watch an eternal bond form between the two females right then.
SCOUT’s massive hands transform so there are now receptive sensors on the ends of his fingers. I watch in horror as her stomach starts turning purple all over. The bruising is so intense she must be in extreme pain. Suddenly , she breaks out in a sweat all over, and when her body bowed up this time, the sound of complete torture coming from her lips has me reaching for the first pain blocker I can find. Just as I start to inject it into her arm, SCOUT manifests a third arm to reach out and stop me.
“ That is not what she needs. Destroyer , where is this female’s mate?”
He no more than utters those words when ViN storms in the door, steam literally flowing off his body as smoke curls from his nostrils. Two strides and he is by her side. Qwin moves back when she sees him come in and quickly heads into EvO’s waiting arms. I am so focused on ViN that I missed my other brother entering right behind him.
I can tell that ViN is barely holding on as he watches Ember tremble all over while SCOUT maintains his hold on her stomach. He reaches down, kissing her forehead gently, and I swear I instantly see her pain lessen.
“ What the FRACK is going on?” he roars out when he notices the bruising on her stomach.
SCOUT doesn’t let me say a word. “ ViN , your female is having complications. You have a choice … we save her or the youngling. I cannot see the child, nor what is ripping your mate in half. What I can see is that her uterus has somehow hardened around the baby. Due to this being the first interracial birth from one of your species, we have no idea the destruction or complications going on within the womb. However , I can tell you that if we do not remove the fetus, your mate will die.”
“ GET IT OUT !” His roar makes the walls of the ship seem to shake around us.
“ NO ! … ViN !” I am shocked at the determination you can hear in Ember’s voice even in such distress. “ SCOUT , you save my baby … if anyone can do it … it’s you. Please , just give me something to deal with the pain. I am strong enough to carry her a little longer until she is bigger.”
I watch SCOUT’s whole personality change when he turns his attention from ViN , whose eyes are wild as his runes pulse rapidly all over his body, to look at Ember .
“ Little female you must listen to me. Your life and the younglings are both in distress and rapidly declining. There is no way we can put this off; she is ripping you apart as we speak. This means you will bleed out internally if we wait any longer. You also need to understand that if I take this child, you will never bear another, and I cannot guarantee that you will survive this procedure even if I do.
I can hear your child’s heartbeat and yes, she has grown rapidly, but something is off. This trembling you’re feeling is not coming from you, it’s from her. For some reason, she cannot regulate her temperature inside of you. She is in distress, too. But you need to know, you nor the youngling may come out of this alive. To save this child, I will have to destroy your insides, if she hasn’t already.”
He looks up from Ember at ViN , who I know we are going to have to restrain at any moment. “ What do you want me to do, Master ViN ?”
“ SCOUT , this is not his choice! It’s my body and you will do what I say. ViN , I love you more than my last breath, but I will not allow you to live with this choice either way. SCOUT , you do to me whatever it takes to save my child.”
I watch EvO push Qwin behind him as I swear ViN is getting larger and the room’s temperature is increasing as he looks down at his crying mate.
“ Wait ! Can we not put her and the child in stasis, SCOUT ?”
If it was here and available, it could open up some options. … His head turns to me, but all I can see is code running behind his eyes as he processes my words. “ Unfortunately , the damage is too great, and stasis has never been used if the occupant was pregnant. Although , a healing chamber may be an option for Ember if we can keep her stable long enough to get her there. Destroyer , I need you to chart a course to Falcor at top speed. You have permission to pull on my power reserves if needed.”
“ Captain EvO ?”
“ Do as SCOUT says, Destroyer .”
“ Attention all personnel, please brace yourselves until I can moderate our acceleration.”
The entire ship shudders and I have to hold my hand out to catch myself when I feel like I’m being pushed back. In the meantime, SCOUT has completely reformed into something I have never seen before. He almost looks like a large arachnid, each arm an extension of a medical device of some sort.
“ Medic LeX , I need you to monitor Ember’s vitals at all times. ViN , step to the top of the bed. Captain , I request that you and your mate wait in the lab where you can assist the Destroyer in assembling the new incubator.”
SCOUT reconfigures the bed, raising it up higher before physically moving Ember slightly sideways. “ Master ViN , I need you to control your emotions. I am giving you two very important jobs. First , your mate has calmed since you got here, and her pain is now manageable because you are unwittingly pulling it from her into yourself. I need you to gently keep up that reassurance, place your hands on both her shoulders and make sure she doesn’t move. Second , I need this room hot, but not to the point Ember is uncomfortable. Can you do this?”
His eyes flash red, but I can see the true fear behind his grumpy persona. And I fight back my tears when she reaches up, pulling him down to her as he kisses her gently. I thought I felt helpless with the circumstances surrounding my own mate, but now I realize that if this had happened before we got back in contact with SCOUT , I would have lost my brother’s mate and their child.
A mask forms in one of SCOUT’s many arms, while two others are connected straight into the mainframe of the med bay. “ Ember , I am going to place this over your nose and mouth. You will be slightly aware of what’s going on, but you won’t feel anything. If you do, tell me immediately.”
ViN kisses her once more and I walk up beside him as the mask is lowered over Ember’s face. Within a few breaths, you can see her begin to relax.
A curtain is lowered from the ceiling, blocking ViN and Ember’s view of her lower body. While SCOUT had been talking, I’d scrubbed up and covered my clothes in a sanitary suit. Standing beside this reconstructed SCOUT , we both work together quickly to get her ready for surgery, as this is going to be so much more than a normal cesarean.
Within a few tics, the room becomes almost swelteringly hot, and I know ViN is fighting himself and the urge to protect his family with more strength than I believe I would have had in the same situation.
SCOUT flips a small laser cutter around in one hand. “ Medic LeX , the moment the fetus is free of her mother, you will need to get her to the incubator quickly. I will be working against time to fix whatever we have to decimate and ravage in order to free the child. Her primary care will be left in your capable hands until Ember is either stable or in stasis.”
I can’t stop the gasp that leaves my lips as he slowly slices her lower stomach open. What comes into view is not a normal youngling in an amniotic sac; her uterus has completely hardened around the child. SCOUT gradually starts cutting Ember’s interior walls. Where the uterus had reached out in an attempt to either stabilize itself or gain more nutrients, her inner cavity is bruised more intensely than her exterior. Ember was in extreme pain all this time and told no one.
I work on cauterizing the many tears while SCOUT meticulously cuts her uterus out. We work together cutting and closing and everything is going well until Ember’s blood pressure suddenly drops. Alarms blaring, SCOUT hands me the removed uterus with the fetus inside and I run toward the incubator. I hear SCOUT telling ViN to go with the youngling, but I knew he would refuse until his mate is stable.
EvO and Qwin both obtained sanitary suits, and he is holding the unit open for me to lower the fetus into. I was hoping the moment we freed her of her mother’s body we would be able to break the casing around her, but to my horror, it starts hardening even more. The creepy part is the outer layers are still reaching out like they are seeking something.
“ Why is it doing that?” I hear Qwin whisper as she steps back with a horrified look on her face.
My mind is racing over what is occurring in front of me. Even when I turn the heat up as much as possible, the sack-egg-like surrounding only seems to become more irritable in its movements. Suddenly , it stops moving altogether and I see it shrink in size, and in my heart, I know the child is dying. My mind races through every text I have ever read. Then it hits me, she needs warmth and the essence of her parental unit, but Ember’s body wasn’t enough, so she was searching for more.
“ ViN , I NEED YOU NOW !”
When I don’t see him coming through the door, I look up at EvO . “ Help me move this unit to the other room. I have a hunch.”
He picks one side up while I grab the other, both of us walking quickly but steadily as I try not to jar the fetus any more than we must. Just as we clear the doorway, SCOUT drops a curtain all the way around Ember so that EvO can’t witness her at this stage. The smell of burning flesh hits my nose as we round the bed.
ViN comes into sight, his eyes never leaving Ember’s as she looks up at him. EvO blocks her from being able to see the bloody, hardened uterus. “ ViN , I need you to come here and pick her up.”
“ No .”
“ Listen , you know how you are making it easier on Ember ? Well , what if you could do the same for your youngling? This may not work, but either way it will be a parental unit holding her if she leaves this world to go play at the feet of The Lord of Light .”
“ I cannot take both hands off Ember , you will have to bring her to me.”
“ Before I do, I am going to cut off your vest so that she can feel the direct heat of your skin.”
He motions for me to go ahead and with two flicks of my fingers, the vest falls to the floor. Slowly , I reach in for the child, while EvO moves the incubator out of the way. The closer the uterus casing gets to ViN , the more active it becomes. He looks at me horrified, when I press it against his side. “ What in the frack, brother?”
“ Hold still, I have no idea if this is going to work or not.”
When ViN starts to hold out his arm, I grab it and place it against the back of the casing. “ Hold her tightly against you.” The squirming tentacles of broken veins, blood vessels and her external umbilical cords move around frantically. But that’s when I see it; his runes start pulsing rhythmically like they are calling to one of their own, and within the blink of an eye … it … she fully merges with ViN . The amniotic sac seems almost absorbed by the fetus as now you can see her tucked into her father’s side, curled up against him in a hard but clear casing. EvO and I both stand there in wonder as we can now see each tiny finger and toe even though she is no bigger than her mother’s hand.
ViN looks up at me in amazement before moving his hand away from her slowly. With a huge smile on his face, he looks down at Ember , only to find her eyes closed and her body eerily still. His eyes flash red and just as I start to step back, two massive arms come around the privacy screen, pinning ViN effortlessly to the wall that starts to indent, melting as he loses himself in anger and grief.
My heart hits my chest as he fights against SCOUT , and EvO and I both stand here helplessly, his pain our own as all our hearts break. How did this happen? We were on top of the world only moments ago.
Just then, two med bots come into the room, carrying a stasis container. SCOUT uses three of his other eight arms to gently pick up a now very unpregnant Ember before placing her gently inside it. The moment it seals, and her vitals show that she is stable, he re-forms into himself right in front of ViN .
“ Calm yourself Master ViN , your mate … she lives.”
ViN holds his arms up, and SCOUT releases him, stepping back. Qwin has somehow snuck in and is crying against EvO who looks over her, watching.
“ Why the frack did you put her in that, then?” ViN roars out, fire sparkling all around him as he fights against his feelings.
“ Her small human body has gone through great distress with the bearing of your youngling. She has been in intense pain and discomfort, but she was hiding it from all of you. I have placed her in stasis so that her body will not deteriorate any further. The medical chamber has a higher success rate of healing her properly than I do alone. I was not able to save her uterus. This will be the only youngling she will ever bear, and that might be a hard reality for her to accept once she recovers.”
“ Do you really believe I would ever put her through this again? If the Lord of Light wills it, and this one survives, we will praise his name and be thankful for the blessing. Speaking of younglings, what do I do now?” He points to his side.
“ It seems like you have taken on the role her mother would have performed if she could have carried her to term. She will need sustenance and possibly protection now that she is no longer protected by her mother’s womb. I will monitor you continuously, as there are no other cases like this anywhere I can find in any records.”
“ How long do you think she will remain like this? What if I roll over and squish her, or bump into something accidentally? How will she get the nutrients and sustenance she needs?”
“ She will obtain it from your body the same way she did from her mother. That casing surrounding her has her better protected than we all are when in the bowels of the Destroyer . If I were you, I would enjoy this bonding opportunity you are having with your daughter. It would seem simply from appearances that she has taken on her mother’s features. Nevertheless , I have a feeling she will be more like you than you’ll want. I believe she will remain in this external uterus for several orbital rotations, but we will know more as time progresses.
I will have the med bots transfer Mistress Ember and the stasis pod to your private chambers as it will comfort you and the youngling with her being near. If nothing interferes with our current course, the Destroyer will dock with Falcor within two rotations. I will meet with you at that time and accompany Mistress Ember and yourself to the Explorer and the med chamber.”
“ SCOUT , should I be worried?”
“ I see no reason for you to stress yourself at this time, nor will it be good for the youngling. The Destroyer and I will be monitoring Ember’s every breath; if she twitches, I will be here.”
“ I will be forever grateful for your assistance SCOUT .” ViN reaches out, grabbing SCOUT in a hug, a rare form of affection from my brother. EvO and I both watch as he follows Ember’s stasis chamber out of the room, his hand tucked protectively around his daughter on his side.
The moment the door closes I collapse into a chair. “ Destroyer , please decrease the heat from this area.”
Qwin moves up beside me, her small hand patting me on the back, but her words are directed at the massive male in the room “ Is that normal? It sure as shit didn’t seem that way to me. I’m pretty freaked out right now and even though you saved the day … who are you again?”
A rare smile appears on SCOUT’s face. “ Mistress Qwin , I am SCOUT . I would love to chat, but I am late for a date with my own mate.”
Promptly , he disappears right in front of us. Qwin stands there and I can’t help but laugh at her many reactions.
“ So , was that something else that’s common around here? I mean, the Destroyer talks to me all the time, but what I just witnessed … well, I can’t explain that in words, but logically I didn’t believe anything physical could redesign its own body like that. And LeX , just what the hell made you think to take that squirming mass of blood and yuck and stick it on ViN’s side? Ughh ! Damn , I need a drink. A nap would be even better … but I know I’m going to have nightmares about this … forever, so that’s out. And don’t you look at me all frisky either EvO ! If that is what I’m going to go through if by any chance we can have a child, well you can just keep your pleasure rod all to yourself, I’m not playing that game.”
“ Pleasure rod brother?” I can’t help it, now I am laughing so hard I have tears flowing down my cheeks. I do not know if it is from the stress of all that has happened or the relief that somehow, at this very moment everyone seems to have survived this nightmare.
EvO picks Qwin up, who is not laughing with either of us and heads out the door. The last thing I hear is him negotiating the use of his rod.