What Happens In Orbit Pt 12

The first group had already left, led by the captain. They were long gone by the time the second group stepped through the airlock.

Tai and Mar led, followed by Della, Leo, and Erie. Tor walked next to her.

Shit, it's cold out here.

Cora fought back a shiver, thankful for the tiny ball of warmth nestled against her neck. She started to ask Tor why this port was so cold, but was cut off by her heart beginning to pound.

Oh, no. Oh, no. I know what this is. It can't be time already.

She looked up at Tor, suddenly feeling guilty.

I didn't tell anyone. Why did I not tell them?

It was becoming impossible to fight the shivers. Cora trailed slightly behind Tor, hoping her cloak would hide it. He was distracted anyway, chatting with Della about something.

Something tugged on her arm, gently.

Someone was behind her.

Cora turned to find three creatures behind her, wrapped in clothes. She couldn't make out their faces, but they weren't armed. Before she could react, they seized her, covering her mouth and dragging her down the alley behind them.

They moved fast. Cora's reactions were slow, her joints aching. It wasn't enough. By the time Cora was able to thrash hard enough to free herself, they were on a lower level. It was dark here. She jumped back, relieved to feel Mel still clinging to her.

"What the hell?"

Cora froze.

One of the figures pulled at the fabric covering their face. Blue eyes, then a human face. It was a man, maybe in his mid-40's. He frowned at her. "Are you Cora?"

"Why?" She shifted her weight downwards. Her new instincts were telling her to run.

"This can't be right. You don't look human at all. Fran, can you call Zomari?"

Cora fought back a snarl. "What do you mean, I don't look human?"

"You just don't." He turned to the person next to him.

Mel can't hold on while I run.

Reaching up, Cora freed Mel from her hair. "I'm probably not, not anymore." The minute Mel was firmly against her chest, she lunged down a dark alleyway to her left.

"Hey!"

I won't go back.

She charged down the alleyway, following it as it turned sharply, right, right, left. Suddenly, there was nothing under her feet.

Oh, shit-

The ground was fast approaching.

Oh, no, Mel-

When she hit the ground, Mel was still safe, pressed into her chest. For a moment, everything faded out.

Then it faded back in.

Her right arm and both her legs were under her. And they were on

fire.

Mel cried out. "It's okay," Cora wheezed, trying to move. It wasn't happening. Everything was fucked. Her knees, her elbow- they weren't joints anymore. It all felt like shards of glass. She tried to focus on Mel, but there was a sickening, crunchy noise coming from her right arm as she tried to move.

I have to move-

At some point, she'd hit her face. Her mouth was full of blood and what felt like dirt. Everything was crunchy. And it fucking

hurt.

There was a massive hand pressing into the ground just within her field of view. Someone was speaking.

I- I gotta- Oh, God.

[Help-] she managed to choke out, her vision darkening. [Please, help us.]

A soft, gravelly voice came from her right. [Us?]

She was getting weak. Another hand reached for Mel, taking her.

Oh, fuck, I'm gonna black out.

[Tor?] Tai came to a halt, seizing Mar roughly by his shoulder and turning him around.

Tor leaned over, pausing his conversation with Della. [What?]

[Where's Cora?]

The entire group stopped, whipping around in unison.

Tai's grip on Mar's shoulder tightened.

[When was,] he paused, trying to remain calm. [Where were we when you last put your eyes on her?]

Tor pointed back to the last corner they'd come around, where a small crowd had gathered. It was only a short distance behind them.

Upon closer inspection, the crowd consisted of a few vendors and two of the port's security officers. Erie pushed forward, listening to their conversation before speaking up.

It wasn't a language any of them spoke, not even Mar.

One of the officers gave him a funny look, replying in his language before switching to Roshak. [One of yours?]

He nodded, just as one of the vendors pointed a spindly finger down the alleyway.

Mar gestured to Della. [Tai, you stay with them.]

Tai huffed, turning back to the officers. Mar and Della darted left and were quickly out of sight. Erie continued to speak with the vendor that had pointed, asking him more questions.

Mar lead the charge down the alleyway, Della close behind. There was a group of figures just ahead, one of them much taller than the rest.

He snarled, reaching for his belt. [You!]

The tallest of them turned. [Oh! Mar, it's you-]

Mar tackled Ray, slamming him to the ground and pressing a knife to his throat. [Where the fuck is she?]

Della squared off against the others, standing between them and Mar. [You know him?]

[Mar- Mar, I don't have her! We're looking for her!]

Tor was approaching now, followed by the others. [Bullshit! They're the ones that took her in the first place.]

One of the figures shook their head, pulling their scarf down. "It's not our fault that she ran."

Blood began to bead up under Mar's knife. "I told you not to

grab

her! I told you to wait and report back! He's going to kill me-"

Mar raised the knife, his eyes burning. "Why shouldn't I?

Where is she?

"

Della looked around, worry rising. [Did they see Mel?]

Tor yanked Mar back, pulling him off Ray. He turned, addressing the humans. "Did she have someone with her?"

One of them spoke up, uncertainly. "She was carrying something, yeah. Looked like a baby one of y'all."

"Which way did she go?"

They all pointed. "That way, but we lost her. She's fast as hell."

Ray sat up, holding a hand over his throat. "Wait, a baby?"

Mar moved to kick him, but was pushed back by Tai. [She went that way. Let's go.] Tor had already ran off in that direction, followed by Erie and Leo.

When Cora woke up, everything was numb. She opened one eye.

Okay, I've still got all my limbs.

She opened the other eye. The room was lit by a single bulb that dangled from the ceiling above her. A quiet

beep

sounded from her right. It was some kind of medical equipment, connected with silver tubing to several bands around her arms and legs.

The door swung open. [You are awake?]

The creature that entered was the one that had spoken to Cora before, judging by their hands. They stood about as tall as Mar, but much stockier. Mel was sitting in one of their hands, happily munching away on what looked like a rice cracker. They held a bowl in the other hand.

[You are Roshak?] Pulling up a seat, the creature groaned as they sat down.

Cora tried to sit up, feeling a distant ache. [Yes.]

Close enough, anyway.

The inside of her mouth felt strange. Her teeth weren't sitting right.

Did I lose some?

Her tongue didn't find any gaps, only unfamiliar sharp edges.

Aw hell, I broke some of them.

[You are healing like Roshak.]

She looked down at her right arm. Her elbow was swollen, her skin mottled purple and black.

Jesus, that looks like gangrene. But it's not?

Cora shifted her arm, trying to move it.

[I would not do that right now. What is your name?]

[Cora,] she answered, looking up at her rescuer. [That's Mel. Is she hurt?]

They shook their head. [No. You kept her safe.]

She relaxed back against the bed, noticing her stomach.

Aw, hell.

It was distended, just like before. There was no bruising or pain there, just the same moderately unpleasant weight. [I'm- What's your name?]

They responded with a string of syllables that Cora couldn't hope to remember. [No worry. You can call me Arch.]

[Arch, where am I?]

[You're in the Core. Very lucky that you're Roshak. No one else could have survived that fall.]

Cora wasn't so sure. She couldn't feel her feet. [Do people fall often?]

They nodded. [This is one of the oldest spaceports. Many places to fall. Very long way to fall.]

It wasn't cold here, Cora noticed. The air was dry, but pleasant. Thinking back to how cold the surface level was, she tried to gauge how long she had left.

[Thank you for helping me.]

Arch nodded again, offering what looked like a smile. There was a shout in the distance. [Oh, you have visitors. They've been begging to talk to you.]

Visitors?

Arch stepped out, holding the door open for someone.

Oh, oh, no.

It was two Roshak women, in heavy canvas clothing. One of them was still pulling her gloves off.

[Cora?]

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

The second woman had taken Mel and the bowl. Gently, she shut the door behind them.

They sat. Cora couldn't read their faces, but they didn't seem hostile.

Should I be nervous? I feel nervous.

[You're from Mission 12, aren't you? Don't worry, we haven't told anyone.]

[I- Yes, I am. I thought that everyone believed it was just a conspiracy theory?]

The woman holding Mel laughed. [Obviously not! No, we heard about you already. My mother actually

just

called. She can't keep a secret to save her life.]

[Your mother?]

She nodded. [Tor is my brother. Was he with you?]

Cora shifted uncomfortably as a cramp hit. [He was. I had some- some humans, I think? Some humans grabbed me. I ran, and now I'm here.]

[Humans?] They looked at each other. [But- Then why did you run?]

[I-] Cora wasn't sure. She was afraid, and the only emotion she had when she saw them, was fear. [I didn't want- I can't go back. I don't want to.]

[To Earth?]

She sighed, feeling strangely guilty.

The other woman spoke up. [You could have been a little more careful when you ran. This port is a deathtrap.]

Mel began to wriggle, reaching for Cora. [Oh! Here you go.] She set her down next to Cora's uninjured arm. [I'm Meri, and this is Sar.]

Another cramp hit. Cora winced. [I'm sorry for all the trouble.]

Meri waved a hand at her. [No! This is the most excitement we've had in years. And there's about to be more, isn't there?] She looked at Cora expectantly.

Sar huffed. [I hope they're all okay in there. You hit the ground like a hammer.]

[I don't know.] Cora tried to move. [How am I gonna do this? My legs are-]

Placing a hand on her chest, Sar pushed her back against the bed. [We're helping. Calm down.]

They searched for Cora for hours.

Defeated, Ray held up his tablet. [Zomari, have you found anything?]

[No. You all need to come back and rest. We'll keep searching.]

Tor bristled at this, but quickly gave in as he tripped over his own feet.

[I'm sure they're fine,] Tai sighed. [She's tough.] He placed a hand on Tor's shoulder.

Ray led them down an alley, stopping short at what looked like a plain wall. [Quickly.] He knocked twice, and a doorway appeared.

The three humans had split from the group, going their separate way at some point. Ray didn't seem to care.

There was a tall Foshar waiting for them inside. She reached for Ray, pulling him close. [I'm sorry.]

Mar was far too tired to be angry. Tor, however, was a different story. As everyone else was led to rooms to sleep, he sat in the main room, resting his chin in his hands.

[Are you not tired?] Zomari asked, concerned.

Tor shook his head. [Doesn't matter. I won't sleep.]

Ray sat next to him, looking particularly miserable. [Did you say she had a child with her?] He shrunk back as Tor gave him a withering look. [Yes. She does.] He buried his face in his hands. [And now we don't know where either of them are.]

[She-]

[What the fuck was your plan?]

Setting drinks in front of them, Zomari sat next to Tor. [We intercepted a message that claimed Cora was in Foshar custody. We had no idea she was still with you all.]

[Oh.] Tor sat up. [No, the Foshar that tried to take her are dead.]

Zomari took a sip, unbothered by this news. [Good.]

[Why are you here? Hiding?]

Ray nodded. [Kind of. We're working with the Sheevae, which is why we had those humans with us. Turns out we weren't the first to make contact.]

[They're still looking for her?] Tor shook his head. [She must have made a better impression than we thought.]

A laugh startled him. Zomari was reaching around Tor, poking Ray in the side. [He doesn't believe the rumors.]

[Rumors?] Tor leaned forward, mildly annoyed.

Ray shooed her hand away. [The queen never said anything directly, but one of her servants

alleged

that Cora, uh, well-]

[Participated in their orgy with zero hesitation.]

He went pale. [Ah. She did, then. Was she still struggling with her symptoms?]

[Yeah.] Tor nodded. [Imagine a repeat of what happened on our ship, but with double the crew.]

Somehow, Ray managed to go paler. [Ah- I'm- I'm sorry. That's all my- Wait a minute.] He straightened up, turning to Tor. [That means she could have eggs again! And she's just out there-]

[No. The first time was a fluke, it happens.] Tor spoke confidently. [We were careful, and everyone involved was on suppressants.]

Ray slumped against the table. [She's still got a little one with her.]

Zomari stood, walking around the table to Ray. [Come on. The sooner you rest, the sooner we can go back to looking for her. You too,] she added, looking pointedly at Tor.

He didn't respond, instead putting his head down on the table.

Cora had learned a new phrase in Roshak.

[Local anesthesia,] Sar had said, pointing to this bands around her arm and legs. [That's why you don't feel your injuries, but you'll still be able to do what you need to.]

She wasn't likely to remember this new phrase, especially since it was promptly followed up by the breath getting knocked from her lungs by a particularly nasty cramp. "Fuck!"

[I don't miss having to go through this,] Meri laughed. [Sar, did you ever-]

[Fuck, no.] She murmured, focusing on lifting Cora into a kneeling position. [If your legs start hurting, say something.]

Cora nodded, trying to breathe deeply. It wasn't happening. The numbness in her legs made it hard to get comfortable. Then, shade made the mistake of looking down at them.

Holy fuck.

They were horribly swollen and discolored, the skin around her joints a dark purple. Stitches ran up her legs and across her kneecaps, which were hopefully still in one piece. The shape her knees were in said otherwise. Her stomach turned.

Focus, Cora.

She relaxed, immediately regretting it as the muscles in her stomach spasmed.

Shit, I don't want to focus, why the fuck did I want this?

It wasn't as painful as last time, but it was still incredibly unpleasant. Cora slouched forward, groaning.

[Okay, there's one.] Through blurred vision, Cora watched her set the first egg aside. She pressed a hand into Cora's stomach. [One more, I think?]

Sar tapped on Cora's back. [You're supposed to be breathing.]

"Ugh," was all Cora could say as the last rolling wave of agony hit.

I'm not fucking another single one of those assholes, why the fuck did I-

[There we go!] Meri's bright voice cut through. [These are beautiful.]

Cora opened her eyes as she was laid back on the bed. [Thank you.] Worry sparked in her chest. [Are they gonna be warm enough here?]

Sar waved a hand through the air. [We're in the Core. It's fucking hot.]

Meri patted her shoulder. [It was just a question. This room is about the same temperature as where we kept the eggs back home. They'll be just fine, Cora.]

[Oh, okay, good.] She sighed, already half-asleep.

Cora woke some time later to Sar muttering over her stitches. [Oh, sorry,] she mumbled, distracted. [You fucked these up pretty bad.]

[My knees?]

Sar nodded, tilting her head. [They should heal fine, but they'll hurt for a while.]

I should hope so.

Her legs were unrecognizable, with nasty bruising going halfway up her thighs. [I couldn't let Mel get hurt.]

[You did well with that.]

The baby in question was snuggled into Cora's chest, sleeping soundly.

Humming, Sar sat down. [I'm trying to get an actual doctor down here.]

Cora frowned, thinking about Tai. [I think I know one? He was with Tor.]

[Meri!] Sar called out, startling Mel awake. She whined, rubbing at her eyes. Cora smoothed a hand over her head, pursing her lips. [Oh, sorry.]

Meri peeked in. [Yeah?]

[You can call your brother, right?]

She looked uncertain. [Which one?]

Sar gave her a long, dry look. [Which one, Meri? Which one would you want to call?]

Meri looked around the room, bewildered.

[Tor?] Cora offered, feeling bad. Meri was soaked in sweat, with smears of ash and grime on her face. She looked exhausted.

She lit up. [Yeah! Why didn't I think of that?]

Cora looked over at the eggs and cringed. [Oh, shit. Uh...]

They gave her a funny look. [What?]

[So, neither of those are Tor's. And I really wasn't supposed to have any more.] She shrunk down in the bed. [I don't think him or Mar are going to like this.]

Startling her, Sar let out a hearty laugh. [That's classic.]

[What do you mean?] Cora ran a finger down Mel's nose, smiling as she blinked sleepily up at her.

[Let me guess, ship full of Roshak men, several of them

not

taking their suppressants?]

Cora nodded, concerned. [How-]

[It happens all the time. We're all supposed to be on this foolproof schedule for taking them, but the minute one of us screws up, the entire colony is in trouble.] When Cora looked confused, she continued. [My colony moved to one of the cities, where they're very picky about who has eggs and where. They put us all on these pills. Problem was, when just one of us missed a dose, we

all

went into heat.] Her tone went from wistful to bitter. [Then they split us up. They'd rather our people die out than have any kids born in a colony.]

Tor hadn't mentioned anything like this. [That's horrible,] Cora sighed. [I'm sorry.]

Sar gave her an odd look. [Why? It's not your fault. You're just another victim of this bullshit.] Her expression went blank. [Wait, fuck. Meri. Meri! Stop trying to call him.]

She frowned. [What? Why?]

Taking the tablet, Sar began typing something into it. [Your brother is a wanted fugitive. Every transmission that goes out on this port is monitored. They'll know he's here.]

Meri whined. [Damn. I forgot about that.]

[But,] Cora started, feeling her heart sink. [Doesn't that mean your mother is in danger? You said she called you.]

[She's not on this port. The authorities only care about what's happening

here

.] Sar pointed at the ground. [So her mom is fine. You, on the other hand...] She trailed off thoughtfully. [The only ways in and out of the Core for

you

require you to walk.]

[Oh.] Meri sighed again, sounding sad.

[What?]

[There's a way to sneak out, but it's all climbing.]

Sar tilted her head at Meri. [Yeah, that's what I just said.]

[No,] Meri started, gesturing at the eggs. [I'm saying, how is she going to get them out?]

Oh, fuck.

Cora covered her face with her hands. [I need to wait for them before I can leave.]

[You could leave the-]

Cora held her hands up, barely restraining her sharp reply. [I can't do that.] She took a deep breath. [I can't.]

Sar elbowed Meri. [Don't suggest things like that.]

[I was just saying, if she wanted to try to reach her crew and tell them she's okay. What if they left her here?]

Panic washed over Cora. [I can't- but they don't know-]

[You'd have to sneak back in once you found them. That's the dangerous part.] Sar shook her head. [It'd be safer to just try to get a message to them, in some kind of code. Or one of us could go find them.]

Meri was thinking hard, staring at the ceiling. [There's a guy here, he lives on this port. There's a rumor that he faked his death, that he's the guy from your mission. You know, what's his name?]