Authors note
Back again so soon. As said in part 3 this was mostly all editing, no actual writing involved. But it is finished, and I can start on book 2 properly as well as get Six of a kind part 2 finished.
Hope you enjoy the moments between Jason and his alien women, I know I damn well loved going back over it all after so long (I finished writing this like 3 years ago) and I cannot wait to explore this universe and relationships more.
Peace out
Chapter 16
"He's waking up."
I groaned as I opened my eyes slowly, shielding them from the sudden burst of light from overhead before shutting them tightly with a wince. I was lying on something soft with my head propped up on a fluffy pillow. My whole body ached, and I felt like I might lose whatever I had left in my stomach if I sat up too quickly.
"I'll fetch Shara."
I finally forced my eyes open and glanced at my surroundings. I was in a medium-sized room with stark white walls and black trim along the top, and bright fluorescent overhead lights, like those you'd see in a hospital. Four matching steel-framed beds that looked to be bolted down took up much of the floor space, along four chest-high multi-tiered tables that seemed to hover a few inches from the stainless-steel floor. The two beds closest to mine were empty, but I spied Hayzi sleeping on the one furthest away.
"Hayzi," I said in more of a croak.
"She's safe, lad. Just sleepin."
I looked away from the dark-haired elf girl to see Gaz towering over my bed. His stony-like skin seemed to glow in the fluorescent light. His usual broad smile was vacant, replaced with one of worry and concern.
"Where am I?" I asked, sitting up. I gasped as a sharp pain shot through my stomach.
"Easy, lad," Gaz said soothingly. The large stone-skinned man laid a meaty hand on my shoulder and gently helped me sit up. "You've had a rough run of it since you arrived."
"What happened? Is everyone okay? Is Shara alright?"
Flashes of what we'd done flitted through my mind. The daring attack on the security outpost. Meeting Tumeth and his men and the fighting in the streets before meeting up with Gaz, Genry, and the others by the hangar entrance. Then I remembered seeing the security staff get shredded by gunfire.
"Shara is fine. She is hard to kill," Gaz grinned. His grin faded quickly. "We lost more than half of the men that came with you. I knew most of them."
"I'm so sorry, Gaz," I sighed heavily. "I didn't know them that well. But they were there for Shara and me when we needed them most. I owe each and every one of them my life."
"It is not your fault, lad," Gaz said. "Lay the blame on who deserves it."
"Skumo and the Crimson Hand," I all but growled.
"I will deal with Skumo."
Shara strode into the room like an avenging phantom, her crimson hair trailing in her wake like a flag announcing her arrival. The skin-tight jumpsuit she had worn earlier was now replaced with a form-fitting suit of matte-black armour. The overlapping carbon-like plates covered her chest, shoulders, and limbs. It looked lightweight and incredibly intimidating. Two slightly curved sword handles peeked out from over her shoulders, along with two long-bladed knives strapped to each thigh.
"Well, you look ready for war," I chuckled. "Give me a minute, and I'll get ready."
"You're injured," Shara said. "You'll have to sit this one out."
"Not a chance."
Shara stepped in front of me and placed her hands on her hips, taking on a no-nonsense stance. "Jason, you've been running on empty since we arrived. You haven't fully regained your strength since leaving your home world, and you haven't let your body recover from the implant sickness. That alone should be keeping you in bed, but you were shot again and need time to heal."
I didn't remember being shot, but I had blacked out after the auto-turrets came online. I pulled the sheet away from my body and noticed for the first time that I was shirtless. I must have really been out of it if I overlooked that. I ran my hand over my stomach where I felt pain earlier, feeling for a wound. On my lower abdomen, I felt a hard, smooth lump.
"What happened exactly?" I asked, inspecting the light-grey lump on my stomach, beside my hip.
"The station defences came online and opened up on us," Gaz replied. "They shredded most of the security staff you were with, and you were tagged. Luckily the shot was a ricochet, and Nalia was able to remove the shell without much issue."
"And what's this stuff?" I asked, tracing the hard grey lump.
"Healing paste."
I looked to the door to see the willowy, white-haired woman who had been working in the medical centre. She gave me a smile as she crossed the room.
"The paste will accelerate healing and fight off even the toughest infections," Nalia said, bending at the waist to inspect my wound. "It hardens to help protect the wounded area from further damage. You shouldn't be in too much pain, but it will feel stiff until the paste softens again."
"So, it's like a super-duper glue," I laughed, immediately regretting it as pain shot through my stomach. "I thought you said there wouldn't be much pain."
"That pain is from your sickness," Nalia replied. "You didn't let your body rest while it adapted to the implants. You're lucky you lasted as long as you did."
"That was probably the serum."
Another voice drew my eyes back to the door, only I didn't see anyone.
"Down here," the high-pitched voice said again.
I looked down to see the tiny doctor who had performed the implant surgery on me when Shara and I first arrived. He gave me a happy little grin before clambering up onto the bedside table. The room was starting to feel a little crowded.
"Good to see you again, Doc," I nodded at the tiny alien physician.
"I am pleased you are still alive too," he nodded. "Especially after you ignored my warnings."
"Well, next time, I'll tell the bad guys to wait a couple of days," I laughed.
"I do not think they would have listened," he replied. Not a hint of humour in his tone at all.
"What was this serum you mentioned?" I asked, deciding to skip over any explanation of sarcasm.
"You were weak and malnourished when you arrived at my laboratory," the chipmunk-like doctor replied. "Zullo had requested I give you an identification implant and a translator. I thought it strange that you did not have these already, but maybe you were from a primitive world. You look very primitive and have the scent of one who plays in the dirt."
"No need to be rude," Nalia chimed in.
"Oh," the doctor looked to Nalia, then back to me. "Apologies, I did not mean to offend."
"It's fine," I chuckled. "Compared to this place, my planet is very primitive. Please, can you explain the serum?"
"I needed to sedate you for the procedure, and while you were sleeping, I gave you a serum to help with muscle growth and fatigue," he replied. "It's a simple injection that accelerates healing and battles fatigue, infection resistance and generally gets your body back on track."
"That sounds pretty awesome," I said. I had expected it to be something like that since I did feel much stronger after waking up from the operation.
"Only we did not know what species you are," Nalia added. "The serum works on particular species and is developed using their genetic make-up in a way to keep the side-effects to a minimum."
"And I'm guessing you don't have any human serum," I sighed.
"Is that what you call your people?" the doctor asked, typing something out on a small tablet in his hand.
"Yeah, and no," I said. "My planet has never encountered another species before. We call ourselves humans, but the word humanoid would also be used to describe most of you."
"Ah yes," the doctor nodded. "I see how that translates."
"We are getting off-topic," Nalia said, placing a hand on the small doctor's shoulder.
"Yes, apologies," he said, clearing his throat. "Could you take over, Nalia? I have some patients to see."
The willowy, white-haired woman nodded, then helped the little doctor down from the table. I watched him waddle out of the room, still tapping away on his tablet.
"He gets distracted easily with new knowledge," Nalia smiled.
"A man of science," I nodded. "I knew a few back home who were similar. Only a few feet taller."
"I guess we aren't all so different," Nalia laughed. Her laugh was soft and musical, almost like what I'd expect a siren to sound like.
"So...what do I have to worry about with this serum? What species did I get?" I asked.
"Mine," Shara said.
"Why yours?" I asked.
"The doctor couldn't tell you two apart," Nalia sighed. "You are both of similar proportions and biology that he just figured you were of the same species since you were travelling together."
"Isn't that a little careless?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Very," Shara nodded. "I didn't know he gave you this injection. Otherwise, I would have mentioned it earlier."
"It was careless and could have been dangerous," Nalia cut in. "But in this instance, I think it actually helped."
"How do you mean?" I asked.
"Normally, after a procedure like the one you had, a patient would be bed-ridden for most of the first day. With a serum of their own species, they could be up and about as long as they didn't do anything strenuous," Nalia explained.
"Hence the doc's warning," I said.
"Exactly," Nalia nodded.
"So, the serum designed to aide Shara's people helped more in this instance?" I asked.
"In a way," Nalia nodded. "It helped fight off the effects of fatigue and exhaustion far better than it would have for Shara or any of her people, and it also seemed to have mixed with your genealogy on a permanent level."
"Permanent?" I asked.
"Yes. I will try to explain," Nalia nodded. "Both of your species are very similar in biology and genealogy, so similar that I believe the Thylonians were once more like your Humans and have just evolved."
