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Chapter Three

LEX

As I am walking back to the medical chambers the ship shudders slightly under my feet. “ Destroyer , what has caused this disruption?”

“ ANDI just came out of hyperdrive and is in the process of docking as we speak. I am sorry for the disturbance.”

“ How long until Father is here?”

“ Actually , he just landed and is talking to Captain EvO currently. From my understanding, he apparently did not want to wait on ANDI and decided to proceed to our location in one of his personal shuttles.”

I stand there for a moment, torn; do I head for the dock to see Father or go check on Rylie ? Thankfully , Father takes the decision from me as I suddenly hear his familiar, large footsteps heading my way. I am not sure who meets who first, but Father always makes me feel like a youngling when he pulls me close, and his massive arms swallow my smaller frame. Pulling back, he looks down at me.

“ Son , it is good to see you. I hear your hands have been full since the retrieval of the pods.”

“ Nothing could have prepared me for the events that have unfolded on this mission, Father . I have missed our conversations as well as your guidance since we have not been able to converse for rotations now. I was convinced I could handle anything thrown at me, but I have been proven wrong.”

“ That happens to us all, LeX .”

“ If you have a moment to spare, I could use some outside advice.”

“ ANDI is just now docking, so I have a few tics to spare.”

Within moments, we enter the medical chamber, and I find myself once again standing over Rylie’s unconscious form. “ Father , I do not know how to awaken her.”

“ I am the wrong male to be asking for that type of advice, Son . I can see the little female has already stolen your heart, as you are wearing it openly upon your sleeve for all to see. My heart swells with the many blessings the Lord of Light has bestowed upon our family. I am positive he would never bring her here only to tease you, and that you will know what to do when the time comes.”

“ Regretfully , my duties were neglected when the others were depending upon me, Father . I have become so consumed with her no one else matters, and that goes against every medical oath I ever took.”

His laughter has me looking up at him puzzled.

“ I am going to have to start keeping notes so that I can compare them at a later point in my life for just how many times my sons have said those words to me. As a father, I am proud that you hold your position and all your oaths as honorably as you do, LeX . But as a male with a demanding mate of his own, I understand more than you realize. Do you know how often I pushed my responsibilities off onto another so that I could spend more time with my Kira ? I am sure if it had been truly necessary you would have done what needed to be done.”

“ Thank you, Father , I have felt torn.”

“ As Kira would say, ‘ It just proves I raised you right.’ I do not understand the specifics as to why your female is not responsive, but I am smart enough not to waste time asking you about things you have already done, and I am going to assume she has been like this from the beginning.”

“ Yes , she almost drowned in the pod before we forcefully got her out.”

Father’s comm unit goes off and he glances down. “ I need to go but before I do LeX , if anyone can figure out what is wrong with her it is you. I have complete faith in your knowledge and your skills. In the next few risings, I will contact you to see how things are progressing.”

He pats me on the back before turning. “ Father , the Destroyer , mentioned something about heading into dry dock. Are we not accompanying the humans to their new colony?”

“ After many conversations between ZoD and I , we decided that we need to keep the location of their new planet a secret as long as possible. The Destroyer is a large vessel and not easily hidden. If she was spotted sitting stationary in one area for too long, it wouldn’t take long for the wrong eyes to notice. That’s why I am here with ANDI . With his hyperdrive system, he can jump from one location to another, and because of his size, he can remain in orbit without much cause for questions. Especially now that SCOUT has found a way to fully cloak his hull. We hope to get them all loaded and settled quickly onto ANDI , then head toward the new planet I believe they are calling Ethra so that we can start rebuilding their society. MeK is having several cargo ships loaded with new dwellings as we speak, and he’s supposed to meet us there shortly after our arrival. For now, I would prefer EvO’s crew to remain intact on the Destroyer . Once things calm down, we can look at reassignments if any wish to relocate.”

Grabbing me in a quick hug, Father turns to leave and I watch as he walks out of the med bay. I am grateful and torn, because I know I should have been one of the crewmembers accompanying the humans to their new world. Father never does anything without thinking it through, so hopefully he has other plans, or at least a replacement for me. Because disappointing him with my refusal to leave would have been hard to live with.

I have just turned back to view the screens above her bed when SCOUT appears out of nowhere. Startled , I jerk back, … “ Frack SCOUT !”

I don’t know what is more shocking, his sudden appearance, or his laughter.

“ Pardon me Medic LeX , I should have announced myself. I forget this colossal form of mine tends to get that same reaction out of many. Since ANDI’s successful attachment to the Destroyer , I am able to link up successfully and have the spare time to help you assess this issue further. I have gone through all the references to these types of cases on her previous world and one thing was constant; comas were never the same. Seems like each individual reacted differently, as some awakened quickly while others would be in this state for years.”

“ Years ?”

“ Orbital rotations.”

I doubt I am able to hide the horror on my face as his words sink in. Pulling a chair over, I collapse into it bonelessly, leaning forward with my head in my hands, his words rolling over in my mind, ROTATIONS !

“ Fret not Medic LeX , I do not believe your human will remain in this state for long, as already there is more movement from her form than originally recorded.”

Jumping to my feet, I begin looking her over. “ Where , what have you seen?”

“ As you well know, the hover bed is extremely sensitive as it needs to be in order to safely elevate the being upon it. If you look back from the time you brought her in until now, you will see she is slowly waking. The movement behind her eyes and the twitching of her fingers show active brain activity. There were huge studies on whether a person in a coma could hear sounds, and it was proven that they responded to voices. Maybe you should talk or read to her?”

“ That is so simple, why did I not think of this sooner? I have studied stimulation and did multiple experiments on the subject.”

“ This current scan shows her blood has improved. Did you find a suitable and reliable source for the transfusion?”

“ I am giving her my blood SCOUT . I tested all on board and none were suitable. However , you were right about the test and the mate bond. My blood would kill another, but her body accepted it greedily.”

He blinks for a second. “ Yes , I see the results now. I believe I would have chosen the same path. I understand that you are impatient, but make sure you do not weaken yourself to the point you cannot care for her properly.”

“ The machine is set up to alert me once a safe amount has been transferred. I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of a rushed procedure on patients in training, so even though I would love to rush this, I know better. With a blood transfusion, I hope to buy time to reverse the pancreatic damage.”

“ I have done all I can here at the moment, Medic LeX . Now that the Destroyer is returning to the main shipping lanes, I will be able to help if you need me. From my understanding, she is going to dock with Falcor for a short time while being repaired and restocked. The crew is to be given a short-term leave before new orders are issued.”

“ SCOUT , I was unaware that was our new course. I have no one to blame but myself for that though, as I have been absent for most of the meetings.”

“ If my sensors are reading correctly, there are only a few remaining humans left to board ANDI . Then the Destroyer will turn and head back into the main shipping lanes while ANDI heads in the other direction with his new cargo. It will take several rotations to reach Falcor from this position as the Destroyer is not equipped with the new hyperdrive system yet. This is something that will be remedied when she dry docks.”

“ I appreciate your council SCOUT . I know you are usually stretched thin.”

“ SAGE will be available to your females when you get a few rotations closer. Right now, she is tending to the cargo ships being loaded from Targres Four and Darverius for the new human settlement.”

“ SCOUT , before you go, do you have any recommendations on human reading material? I don’t believe my medical journals are engaging enough.”

My holo pad promptly appears before me. “ There is an extensive list loaded on there now. However , I have heard several of the females speak about one book in particular. I would start with that and I have it highlighted it for you.”

“ Thank you.” SCOUT nods his head, and then before I can blink, he is gone. I open the book, scrolling through the first few sentences, and I’m swiftly intrigued at the mystery unfolding from the pages. Reading more than I planned, I set the holo unit down so I can double check her warming pad and start another transfusion. Hooking both of us up, I attach the other scanner that will record her brain activity and sit down, opening the human book back up to where I’d left off.